Author's notes: I just want to thank everyone so much for all of your
reviews and support. It's been a real encouragement to both Chase and I.
This is not the end of our story, and I hope you'll continue to read and
enjoy. Next chapter up the twenty-seventh! Thanks again so much,
Anna.
Chapter Eight: A Struggle Ends, A New One Begins, And How Long is Goodbye?
Brad almost wished he were still dead as the rampage of voices rushed through his skull. He screamed. Julia pulled the voices from his head to hers through their connection as fast as she could, and into Herr Geheim.
Another scream escaped Geheim's lips as he fell back, struggling to get barriers in place that could take the pressure. He glared at the three and grabbed his head between his hands. "Du kannst mir nicht entkommen..." he hissed.
Julia glared back, and Schuldig and Brad ignored him. Schuldig touched his friend's shoulder. "You okay?"
"Yeah, I'm great. If I'm crazy after this, that *is* your fault," Brad said with gritted teeth. Julia sank to her knees as the voices faded away.
"I'm sorry," Schuldig whispered in quiet, broken English.
Brad squeezed his friend's hand. "It's okay." he replied softly in German.
Schuldig's eyes widened as he felt Geheim's shields go into place. The man released the voices into the three heads of the people surrounding him.
Brad clutched Schuldig and tried to throw up his shields around the both, having little success. Julia screamed as she fought for control. This wasn't supposed to happen.
Schuldig closed his eyes. He could hold out against this mostly. Make some of the voices disappear from each of their heads, if he only tried harder...
Suddenly, with a mechanic like control, Julia pushed herself to her feet and drew her gloc. "I warned you." she murmured. She fired directly at Geheim, three precise times.
The voices faded as Schuldig's shields returned to their place. He sighed heavily, collapsing against his friend, his energy spent.
Julia flopped down on the floor and glanced over at the two boys. They lay there, Brad holding Schuldig's head against his chest with one hand, his other arm limp against the ground. They were both breathing deeply, as if for the first time in weeks. But now they had a problem. Geheim was dead. The teachers that supported them would not stand by and let them go. But she could only take one of them with her.
Schuldig's golden orbs slid open and he looked up at his friend. "We won, right?"
Brad met his gaze. "Right. Geheim's dead. You're free."
The young German sighed, his eyes beginning to slide close again.
Brad smiled softly and looked at Julia. His smile faded as he saw that this wasn't over yet. There was a guarded expression in her eyes. She was still going to have to take Schuldig.
The young German looked up at him, reading the older man's thoughts. /You should go with her,/ he whispered.
Brad groaned. /What did I tell you about doing that?/
The young teen smiled broadly.
Brad absently toyed with a lock of hair. /No. It would be better for you to go. It's an opportunity, Schuldig./
/This place is hell, Brad. You've got too much goin' for ya to stay here./
/It won't be so bad now that Geheim's gone. Go./
/His people are still here./
/Doesn't matter. I can make myself obscure enough for them to leave me alone./
Schuldig pushed himself to his knees, shuddering visible as he did so. He was unkindly reminded of the recent beating he'd taken from Geheim.
"We have to leave. Now. If you have anything of value you want to take with you, get it and let's jet. We can make the next plane to Tokyo." Julia said quietly.
Schuldig looked at her. /Please take him with you. He's worth a heck of a lot more than I am to you./
"No. You would be much more useful, Schuldig. We need to go. Quickly." she said.
The young German felt Brad pull him to his feet. He sighed inwardly. As soon as he found someone he could call a friend, it seemed he'd loose him just as quickly as he'd gained him.
/We'll see each other again. I know it. Just stay out of trouble, ne?/ Brad said.
The grin appeared again. /Trouble? Me? In trouble? Nah!/
"Chop chop, ne? You have anything you want to take with you? Get it and let's go." Julia said, pushing for the door.
Schuldig grabbed his bandana from his room and said that was all he needed. "I don't want to remember this place," he mumbled. "Ne, Braddy?"
"Hmm?" The older boy acknowledged. /I really wish you wouldn't call me that.../
"Tell Jack good bye for me, ne? And Amy and Abby."
"Of course."
"Thanks." He paused. "I'm going to miss you," he said quietly, in the best English he could manage.
"I'm going to miss you too. You're worth a lot, you know that, ne?" Brad said softly.
"I still think you're wrong about that, but it's good to know someone cares."
"Gentlemen," Julia interrupted gently.
Brad nodded. "I'll see you."
Schu nodded, turning. /Maybe next year, ne?/ he asked as he followed Julia out of the room,
/Maybe./ Brad echoed.
Julia had closed her mental links with Geheim and Schuldig, but was still connected to Brad. /You know they're going to kill you,/ she murmured as she ushered Schuldig quickly down the deserted hall.
/They can try./ Brad replied.
"Will he be okay?" the German teen asked quietly.
She looked down at the telepath and smiled. "Of course. He's a strong person." They were outside now, and close to the gates.
Schuldig climbed into the car, still looking back at Rosenkreuz. "I'm going to miss him," he whispered
Julia squeezed his shoulder. "I know. It's never easy to loose someone."
"Will your partner bring him with her next year?"
Julia smiled. "Yes. I'm sure he will."
"Then I haven't lost anyone," he whispered.
"No. I suppose not."
Schuldig watched the young woman start the car and he gave the school one last look. He turned back, frowned, and quietly began probing the young woman's mind.
Julia sensed it immediately and put her shields up. "That isn't polite, you know." But now she had a mental link with him.
"I found what I was looking for," he muttered.
"Gomen." She said with a sigh. She wrapped a shield around his memories of Bradley Crawford. The only way he would ever remember the American was if he ever saw him again. Which wasn't likely.
"What are you doing?" Schuldig asked, uncertain when he felt the mental shields come around him
"Helping your mind out. You've been through a lot, ne?"
"You're giving me a headache," the teen mumbled. She patted his shoulder. "It'll be all over soon. We'll be at the airport in about fifteen minutes."
"Will I be working directly for this Takatori guy or will I be working for Estet?"
"You'll be working as Takatori's bodyguard, and he will give you orders. But if orders come in from Estet, they take precedence."
"Right."
Julia swerved into the airport parking lot, abandoning the car there. She pulled Schuldig from the car. They were just barely going to make the flight. The German cringed as his still battered body seemed to refuse to move, but he still felt himself being drug behind.
"It'll be all over soon, Schuldig. I promise." Julia murmured. They got their tickets and they headed towards the gates.
She stopped suddenly, frozen in place. Schuldig cocked an eyebrow. "You okay?"
The young woman looked around her, trying to decipher what she was feeling. It was the flight, the plane, maybe. "We're skipping this flight." she said quietly.
"Doshite?"
"Call it intuition." Julia said. She connected her mind to the clerk, making him mark them as being on the plane. "Come on, let's get something to eat." she murmured. Schuldig's eyes narrowed slightly, but he nodded, following her.
Fifteen minutes later, Schuldig was pushing his food around on his plate and Julia was sipping on her coke, looking distracted. A new bulletin came on, announcing the crash of the plane. Julia sighed, and her phone rang.
"That was our plane."
Julia nodded and answered the phone. "What? Hi, Adrian. No, we weren't on the plane. It wasn't safe. No. We'll be there later. We may have to take a train. Yeah. Ja."
Brad also heard the report, and his heart seized in his chest. That plane was headed for Tokyo. He growled quietly as he started out the door. It didn't matter the consequences. He was going to go check on Schuldig. He had to be alive, or he would have had a vision. He had to be alive.
Schuldig stared out the window of the restaurant. Julia drummed her fingers on the table. Something was going to have to change, fast.
"Who was it?" Schuldig asked, gaze still fixed on the window. "Who tried to kill us?"
"Geheim's people, no doubt. They probably aren't happy I killed him."
Schuldig muttered a curse in German. "And do they know we missed that flight?"
"No. I took care of that."
"Good."
Brad drove fast and furious through the pounding rain. He wasn't dead. He wasn't.
Julia sat up in her chair. A familiar feeling was coming over her...someone she'd had a mental link with. She recognized it immediately. Brad. Brad had come for Schuldig.
Chapter Eight: A Struggle Ends, A New One Begins, And How Long is Goodbye?
Brad almost wished he were still dead as the rampage of voices rushed through his skull. He screamed. Julia pulled the voices from his head to hers through their connection as fast as she could, and into Herr Geheim.
Another scream escaped Geheim's lips as he fell back, struggling to get barriers in place that could take the pressure. He glared at the three and grabbed his head between his hands. "Du kannst mir nicht entkommen..." he hissed.
Julia glared back, and Schuldig and Brad ignored him. Schuldig touched his friend's shoulder. "You okay?"
"Yeah, I'm great. If I'm crazy after this, that *is* your fault," Brad said with gritted teeth. Julia sank to her knees as the voices faded away.
"I'm sorry," Schuldig whispered in quiet, broken English.
Brad squeezed his friend's hand. "It's okay." he replied softly in German.
Schuldig's eyes widened as he felt Geheim's shields go into place. The man released the voices into the three heads of the people surrounding him.
Brad clutched Schuldig and tried to throw up his shields around the both, having little success. Julia screamed as she fought for control. This wasn't supposed to happen.
Schuldig closed his eyes. He could hold out against this mostly. Make some of the voices disappear from each of their heads, if he only tried harder...
Suddenly, with a mechanic like control, Julia pushed herself to her feet and drew her gloc. "I warned you." she murmured. She fired directly at Geheim, three precise times.
The voices faded as Schuldig's shields returned to their place. He sighed heavily, collapsing against his friend, his energy spent.
Julia flopped down on the floor and glanced over at the two boys. They lay there, Brad holding Schuldig's head against his chest with one hand, his other arm limp against the ground. They were both breathing deeply, as if for the first time in weeks. But now they had a problem. Geheim was dead. The teachers that supported them would not stand by and let them go. But she could only take one of them with her.
Schuldig's golden orbs slid open and he looked up at his friend. "We won, right?"
Brad met his gaze. "Right. Geheim's dead. You're free."
The young German sighed, his eyes beginning to slide close again.
Brad smiled softly and looked at Julia. His smile faded as he saw that this wasn't over yet. There was a guarded expression in her eyes. She was still going to have to take Schuldig.
The young German looked up at him, reading the older man's thoughts. /You should go with her,/ he whispered.
Brad groaned. /What did I tell you about doing that?/
The young teen smiled broadly.
Brad absently toyed with a lock of hair. /No. It would be better for you to go. It's an opportunity, Schuldig./
/This place is hell, Brad. You've got too much goin' for ya to stay here./
/It won't be so bad now that Geheim's gone. Go./
/His people are still here./
/Doesn't matter. I can make myself obscure enough for them to leave me alone./
Schuldig pushed himself to his knees, shuddering visible as he did so. He was unkindly reminded of the recent beating he'd taken from Geheim.
"We have to leave. Now. If you have anything of value you want to take with you, get it and let's jet. We can make the next plane to Tokyo." Julia said quietly.
Schuldig looked at her. /Please take him with you. He's worth a heck of a lot more than I am to you./
"No. You would be much more useful, Schuldig. We need to go. Quickly." she said.
The young German felt Brad pull him to his feet. He sighed inwardly. As soon as he found someone he could call a friend, it seemed he'd loose him just as quickly as he'd gained him.
/We'll see each other again. I know it. Just stay out of trouble, ne?/ Brad said.
The grin appeared again. /Trouble? Me? In trouble? Nah!/
"Chop chop, ne? You have anything you want to take with you? Get it and let's go." Julia said, pushing for the door.
Schuldig grabbed his bandana from his room and said that was all he needed. "I don't want to remember this place," he mumbled. "Ne, Braddy?"
"Hmm?" The older boy acknowledged. /I really wish you wouldn't call me that.../
"Tell Jack good bye for me, ne? And Amy and Abby."
"Of course."
"Thanks." He paused. "I'm going to miss you," he said quietly, in the best English he could manage.
"I'm going to miss you too. You're worth a lot, you know that, ne?" Brad said softly.
"I still think you're wrong about that, but it's good to know someone cares."
"Gentlemen," Julia interrupted gently.
Brad nodded. "I'll see you."
Schu nodded, turning. /Maybe next year, ne?/ he asked as he followed Julia out of the room,
/Maybe./ Brad echoed.
Julia had closed her mental links with Geheim and Schuldig, but was still connected to Brad. /You know they're going to kill you,/ she murmured as she ushered Schuldig quickly down the deserted hall.
/They can try./ Brad replied.
"Will he be okay?" the German teen asked quietly.
She looked down at the telepath and smiled. "Of course. He's a strong person." They were outside now, and close to the gates.
Schuldig climbed into the car, still looking back at Rosenkreuz. "I'm going to miss him," he whispered
Julia squeezed his shoulder. "I know. It's never easy to loose someone."
"Will your partner bring him with her next year?"
Julia smiled. "Yes. I'm sure he will."
"Then I haven't lost anyone," he whispered.
"No. I suppose not."
Schuldig watched the young woman start the car and he gave the school one last look. He turned back, frowned, and quietly began probing the young woman's mind.
Julia sensed it immediately and put her shields up. "That isn't polite, you know." But now she had a mental link with him.
"I found what I was looking for," he muttered.
"Gomen." She said with a sigh. She wrapped a shield around his memories of Bradley Crawford. The only way he would ever remember the American was if he ever saw him again. Which wasn't likely.
"What are you doing?" Schuldig asked, uncertain when he felt the mental shields come around him
"Helping your mind out. You've been through a lot, ne?"
"You're giving me a headache," the teen mumbled. She patted his shoulder. "It'll be all over soon. We'll be at the airport in about fifteen minutes."
"Will I be working directly for this Takatori guy or will I be working for Estet?"
"You'll be working as Takatori's bodyguard, and he will give you orders. But if orders come in from Estet, they take precedence."
"Right."
Julia swerved into the airport parking lot, abandoning the car there. She pulled Schuldig from the car. They were just barely going to make the flight. The German cringed as his still battered body seemed to refuse to move, but he still felt himself being drug behind.
"It'll be all over soon, Schuldig. I promise." Julia murmured. They got their tickets and they headed towards the gates.
She stopped suddenly, frozen in place. Schuldig cocked an eyebrow. "You okay?"
The young woman looked around her, trying to decipher what she was feeling. It was the flight, the plane, maybe. "We're skipping this flight." she said quietly.
"Doshite?"
"Call it intuition." Julia said. She connected her mind to the clerk, making him mark them as being on the plane. "Come on, let's get something to eat." she murmured. Schuldig's eyes narrowed slightly, but he nodded, following her.
Fifteen minutes later, Schuldig was pushing his food around on his plate and Julia was sipping on her coke, looking distracted. A new bulletin came on, announcing the crash of the plane. Julia sighed, and her phone rang.
"That was our plane."
Julia nodded and answered the phone. "What? Hi, Adrian. No, we weren't on the plane. It wasn't safe. No. We'll be there later. We may have to take a train. Yeah. Ja."
Brad also heard the report, and his heart seized in his chest. That plane was headed for Tokyo. He growled quietly as he started out the door. It didn't matter the consequences. He was going to go check on Schuldig. He had to be alive, or he would have had a vision. He had to be alive.
Schuldig stared out the window of the restaurant. Julia drummed her fingers on the table. Something was going to have to change, fast.
"Who was it?" Schuldig asked, gaze still fixed on the window. "Who tried to kill us?"
"Geheim's people, no doubt. They probably aren't happy I killed him."
Schuldig muttered a curse in German. "And do they know we missed that flight?"
"No. I took care of that."
"Good."
Brad drove fast and furious through the pounding rain. He wasn't dead. He wasn't.
Julia sat up in her chair. A familiar feeling was coming over her...someone she'd had a mental link with. She recognized it immediately. Brad. Brad had come for Schuldig.