The Gods Would Laugh
Chapter V
Crawford was surprised when Bombay decided to start a conversation. He had thought the Weiss boy had come to an understanding not to talk.
"What's it like in America?" America. Not a place Crawford wanted to think about. However, Bombay kept a deluge of questions going. "How are the people? I've had American food, it's pretty good." Crawford ignored him while he continued talking gaily about what he had heard about America, and how he wanted to go there. He was good, Crawford mused, at ignoring people. He had to put up with Shuldich, after all. Finally, however:
"America is a place filled with people who don't care anything about anyone else. They think they're the best country that's ever existed, and most people live in their state for the entire lives. Americans are overbearing, thinking they need to patrol all the countries. They waste their time on working for peace in countries that have been at war for thousands of years."
This stopped Bombay short. The golden haired boy looked up at Crawford. "You hate it?"
Crawford didn't answer, and Omi wasn't sure if he should take that for a yes or a no. It didn't seem like he was going to get an answer, anyway. "I'm hungry," Omi announced suddenly, causing Crawford to look at him out of the corner of his eye.
"There should be food once we make it to our destination."
"What are we going to do for food if there isn't?"
"We do have weapons at our disposal."
"But no animals."
Crawford slowed, considering. His eyes narrowed as he realized Omi was right. They hadn't heard the sounds of any birds or the rustle of leaves that would indicate squirrels, or even larger game like deer. They were far enough away from civilization too, that human noises shouldn't frighten them that much.
And then Crawford felt a flash of extreme foreboding. "Get down!" He shouted, shoving the boy while diving to the left. Omi twisted around in time to see a flurry of darts fly overhead. After a few moments, the two hesitantly got up. Omi went to examine the darts embedded in the tree.
"Hey, these are mine!" Omi looked at the darts oddly while Crawford came to stand next to him, peering over his shoulder.
"We didn't put a trap there."
"What?"
"A booby trap. We didn't put one there."
Omi let that sink in as something finally dawned on him. "Then you were the ones-"
Crawford smirked.
"But that could've killed us!"
"Then you wouldn't have worth our while, anyway."
"Crawford, who would've been able to set up these darts if Schwarz didn't?" Omi looked up at the American who was frowning slightly, fingers unconsciously rubbing the bridge of his nose as if he were deep in thought. He did not answer.
* * * *
Aya watched in disgust as Farfarello happily ate some grubs he had found beneath a log. The two had been trudging up hill when the Irishman suddenly wandered off to an old fallen log. He had given the thing a push and as it roller over, leaving moist dirt beneath, Aya had watched as Farfarello shot his hand out and grabbed several bugs. The Irishman had studied them carefully, holding his handful up to his eye and looking at each intensely. With his other hand he chose one and then popped it in his mouth. Aya didn't have to ask why he was eating bugs. He knew they were high in protein and that certain cultures ate them. He supposed that enough would probably be filling, too. However, Aya had limits, and eating bugs was on the same level of disgusting as the movie Alive had been. Some things you just weren't supposed to eat.
Aya was very determined to get back up that mountainside to where their packs were. MRE's were better then nothing, and definitely better then bugs.
"We need to hurry up," Aya said. He felt there was a good chance they'd get up that mountain before nightfall. He knew if his teammates were alive, that's where they would try to go to. Aya only hoped there was enough stuff left standing to make it identifiable.
"I know," Farfarello said, eye glittering. Aya looked over at him, hoping for an explanation. The Irishman stared back at him for a while before answering, "Things that don't belong cause problems for the guilty one."
Aya frowned. That hadn't helped him at all.
"I follow you until we find Crawford," Farfie announced, a complete non sequitur to what he had just said. "You have more emotions then he."
"." "You are very angry," Farfarello chuckled then, as if he had just made a joke.
"Let's go," Aya said shortly. He didn't need to listen to the ramblings of a madman.
The two were climbing up the mountainside, following the river. Aya had his arm clutched to his chest. It was paining him more then he would admit. To top things off, Aya was really worried for his team. He would never admit it, of course, but he was.
Just as the two were carefully making their way up a rocky part of the slope, Aya felt something grab him suddenly. Purple eyes opened wide and he turned his head to see what had a hold of him. All he caught sight of was a ripple in the air right next to him before he was slammed forcefully into a large boulder. Immediately he felt himself sliding towards unconsciousness, the pain from his arm overwhelming. Blurred eyes searched for Farfarello, and just before Aya succumbed gratefully to unconsciousness he saw the Irishman was getting the same treatment as he.
* * * *
Ken felt like someone had reached into his chest and cruelly ripped his heart out. In place of his heart was the overbearing feeling of emptiness and loss forming a hard lump of pain where his heart had once been.
Omi was dead.
Ken's breath hitched and felt the pain that was his heart enter his eyes in the form of tears. It hurt so MUCH. How could his best friend be dead? He felt so alone and lost. He couldn't handle it.
As the two trudged on, Shuldich surprisingly quiet, Ken wanted nothing more to collapse and crumple into a little ball. The stress on his heart was too much, the effort from hiding back tears causing too much pain. Why had Omi died? They'd been such good friends. It wasn't FAIR. All his best friends had died or left him. First Kase, now Omi. Ken's mind began pulling up images of Kase. Memories caught Ken in their web and he was left with wisps of the good times he'd had with the man he had to kill. He remembered all the times they had, and still couldn't accept his friend had been evil. He knew he had cared, even if no one else believed it. It hadn't been Kase's fault. It had hurt then to kill his friend, but he had been able to cope because Omi had been there for him. Omi had always been there, and even though he always had problems of his own, he was always so happy and kind.
Now Omi was gone and Ken wouldn't hear his voice again or see his smile. As he tried to cope, to somehow rationalize it, the only thing he realized was that he would no longer be able to have new experiences with his friend that would turn into good memories.
He couldn't do it. He couldn't. He fell to the ground, resting his head on his knees. And Ken cried. * * * *
While Ken slowly cracked and crumbled, Shuldich watched with interest. He hadn't had this much fun in a while. The assassin had been so close to breaking down anyway. It had only taken a few nudges here, a few pushes there. Now the boy was a blubbering sobbing mess. Granted, it wasn't really helping getting his mind of the pathetic Kase, but it was entertaining nonetheless. As Shuldich watched, leaning against a tree, he pondered why he didn't just go through and rip all memories of Kase from Ken's mind. He concluded that he wanted Ken to realize what Shuldich had done for him. A little self promotion never hurt anybody. Besides, then Ken wouldn't realize he really HAD been betrayed.
Damn, but he was evil.
Shuldich smirked. Really, what he was doing was not all that evil. He was getting the poor Weiss boy over his damn Kase obsession. One could argue that was more for Shuldich's benefit insomuch as he was absolutely tired of Kase always being on the mind. Of course, it could even be argued that if Shuldich were to keep his mind to himself, it wouldn't be a problem.
It was all a matter of perspective, really. Either way though, it gave him something to do; something to keep his mind busy. Shuldich was more worried about the Guardians then he was willing to admit. Guardians were a lot of trouble. Only a special few had the power to control spirits and give them a somewhat physical form, depending on the element they were assigned. Most people who did that were weak, only able to control one elemental spirit or so. The Guardians that they had come across were powerful, and there were probably a lot more. This didn't bode well. It either meant there was a huge team working together on this mountain.and that didn't make any sense, because they should've been able to pick up some hint of that. The only other option was that there was someone very powerful here. Shuldich stopped himself suddenly. He was almost sounding.serious! If he didn't watch out, he'd start acting responsible, and maybe even mature. Then there would be TWO Crawfords. If that happened, they'd probably get into lots of fights and issues over control and obsessive-compulsiveness. No, it was better to leave those things to their fearless leader. Shuldich was the annoying one. It was his niche, if you will. Besides that whole telepathy thing, anyway. So, while Shuldich was in charge temporarily, he realized it was a role he would give up quite readily once they got Crawford back.
And he WOULD be coming back.
* * * *
"Come here," Nagi said, his voice tight. Yohji looked over from where he was sorting out the packs, eyes slightly raised. He hadn't heard this sort of commanding voice from the boy before. Nagi wasn't looking at him thought. His look was far away and he seemed to be concentrating on something. Yohji immediately put himself on guard, glancing around cautiously. He got up and edged over to the boy.
"What's wrong?" "There's something out there."
"What?"
"I'm not sure. Probably Guardians. I have a wall up. They're fighting me," Nagi spoke in short sentences, is mind obviously on the task at hand. Yohji looked out to where Nagi was staring.
"There's nothing there." What were Guardians, anyway? When Nagi didn't answer him, Yohji turned his attention back out, looking around. There wasn't anything-
Oh, wait.
Yohji saw a slight shimmer in the air, like the heat that rose from the pavement on a hot day. As Yohji watched, the thing became a little more visible.and suddenly started rushing at him.
"What the fuck!?" Yohji scrambled backwards as the thing came closer.
.and bounced harmlessly off Nagi's barrier. Soon many such things were slamming into the wall and Yohji looked over to see the Schwarz boy sweating, teeth clenched. Yohji inched closer to the boy. Maybe he'd be able to close the barrier a little more? A shiver raced up his spine as he watched the things continue the onslaught. They looked harmless, but they were slamming in with enough force that if Yohji had been caught by those things alone. Yohji stopped the thought, suddenly very appreciative of the telekinetic beside him.
Yohji stood next to Nagi, feeling extremely helpless. There should be SOMETHING he could do besides stand here and look cool. Well, a panicked, fearful sort of cool, but cool nonetheless. Maybe he could fight them? He doubted his wire would do any harm, but some part of him-the heroic part, probably- argued that he should go in to the mess, fists pounding into these creatures. But then the larger and much more reasonable side of him argued back that these appeared to be creatures of air, and if his wire couldn't do anything, then his fists certainly couldn't. That was the whole reason he'd gotten the wire anyway, remember? Because it was better then his fists.
Hmm, point.
So Yohji was back where he had started. Helpless and pretty much a third wheel in this mess. Yohji looked over at Nagi again, and it was during this moment that he suddenly felt something bump into him. Yohji wheeled around to see the creatures were gaining ground. Now when they were slamming into the wall they were starting to come through, ever so slightly.
"We have to run," Nagi managed out. Yohji looked over at him. "On my signal." He continued, not paying attention to the whether Yohji had acknowledged him or not. "NOW!" Nagi broke away, running in the opposite direction they had been facing. Yohji followed suite, noticing somewhat unhappily that Nagi had chosen to choose a path up the mountain. If it wasn't one thing, it was the other. It was bad enough they were running from invisible (Well, nearly so) opponents, but to have to run away from them up a mountain? Escaping up hill from invisible creatures was one of those things Yohji marked down in his book as Unfair. Invisible creatures were Unfair. Being chased by them uphill was really Unfair. It irked Yohji to no end that someone wasn't playing on even playing grounds. What bothered him even more was the fact that he seemed to always be on the side that had the disadvantage. Not once, not even at the flower shop, had they gotten what was called the 'home field advantage.' You'd think they would've at least had an easy break there when Schwarz came after them, right? They lived there. They should've definitely had the advantage. But nooooo. Aya-chan had been taken back, no problem, and pain on Weiss' part had been involved.
When they got back from this mess, Yohji was going to definitely consider retiring. Maybe some job where at least he wouldn't live under the delusion of getting a chance. Something like a guidance counselor. Or a porn star. Yeah, at least that would be fun. Easy too, probably. He was definitely going to have to look into that. He'd even get some name with sexual connotations. Hardware, or something like that.
Yohji noted with definite consternation that he was running out of breath and Nagi was lagging behind. Yohji grabbed the boy's wrist, dragging him forward. "Come on, Nagi!" The Schwarz boy looked up in surprise, dark blue eyes meeting green. The boy seemed to put more energy in, suddenly. By the time they had gotten far enough away though, Nagi had begun to lean on Yohji.
The two paused at a landing of sorts that overlooked the valley. The trees up here were sparse, and so they had a better view of the things below them, if only slightly.
"We're safe from them here.for now," Nagi managed through gasps as he tried to get his breath back.
"What WERE those things?"
"Guardians. Shuldich warned me of them."
"That doesn't explain anything."
"Spirits assigned to elements. Only certain people have the ability to take a spirit and bend them to their will like that," Nagi explained.
"How do we fights against that?!" Yohji asked, somewhat aghast.
"It's somewhat of a problem," Nagi admitted. "The spirits usually have boundless energy, and not only do they have semblance of a physical form that causes harm, but they also have a way of sucking the life energy from you."
".Great." Yeah, the life of a porn star was looking more and more promising. At least he wouldn't have to deal with invisible life sucking monsters. Yohji watched as Nagi's eyes became faraway again. The boy seemed to do that on a fairly regular basis. What was he doing?
* * * *
~We just ran into Air Guardians.~
~You get out okay?~
~Yeah.~
~Where were you?~
~Near the remnants of the house. I'm going to try to go back there later.~
~Good. When I get there I should be able to help you fight them off. We could set up our basis of operations from that point.~
~Hey Shuldich.you're almost sounding.like a leader.~
~Don't I know it? It's been a matter of slight worry for me. Where will Schwarz be if I start acting mature?~
~Found Crawford yet?~
~No, but for a moment before I was attacked, I thought I felt him. Farf's unconscious. He and Abyssinian were attacked, too.~
~What's going on?~
~I don't know, but I don't think we were brought here to protect a drug lord, Nagi-Chan.~
Shuldich felt a sigh from the boy for being called 'Chan.'
~Just let me know if anything else happens.~
~Only if you do the same. Relationships are two way, you know.~
Nagi let the link go dormant. While he we never admit it, he was glad for Shuldich's personality, even if it was sometimes trying and had, upon occasion, pushed Crawford to far. It lightened things up, and for that Nagi was grateful.
* * * *
"We should be there soon," Crawford announced. Omi looked over at him. The two had been trudging up the mountain in silence for the majority of the morning and through the afternoon. Even though they hadn't spoke much, Omi had begun to feel a sort of companionship towards the American. Perhaps it was the shared experience.
"What then?"
"Everyone should be meeting up there again. It would make the most sense," Crawford explained. Omi glanced over at him. What if everyone hadn't come to the same conclusion? He knew Yohji was liable to just leave the mountain and hope everyone regrouped somewhere else. Like maybe a bar.
"How do you know?"
"Because Shuldich can link everyone. He would have told them," Crawford responded.
"Has he contacted you?"
"No."
"Then."
"We're being blocked," Crawford said as way of answer.
"Wait, by what?"
Crawford paused before answering. "I'm not sure yet," he finally admitted, causing Omi's eyes to raise in amazement at the American's admittance. "We're here," Crawford announced as the two final raised themselves up into the depression where the house had been. They were crossing the area when two things suddenly happened. The first was that Omi heard Yohji yelling at him. Omi looked up, relief and delight etching his features. At least Yohji was okay!
The second thing that happened was that several somethings attacked him and Crawford, throwing them back several feet. Omi felt the air being knocked out of him as he landed hard against the ground. Immediately he was pounced on, and Omi lashed out viciously. What was going on? He couldn't even see it, but there was DEFINITELY something there!
And then Omi felt his energy seeping from him and he felt himself sink towards apathy quickly. Things were also very painless, so what would it matter if he gave up?
Yes, giving up seemed like a very good idea. It was the prominent thought, anyway. A smaller and rapidly decreasing part fought back. It told him to get up, to get out of here and fast.
Omi found himself not really caring. The will to live slipped, and so did the will to move. Suddenly Omi found himself not caring about a lot of things that had once been important. Friends, Weiss, the situation of being on the mountain. Omi realized how petty it all was. How little it mattered. Nothing mattered.
Nothing at all.
* * * *
"Fuck, there's more of them!" Yohji announced loudly in a frantic voice. Nagi gave the older man an annoyed look. The increase of enemies was something he'd figured out. "Get up, Omi!" Yohji cried out to his friend who had fallen from the initial attack and hadn't moved since. Crawford didn't seem to be doing to well either. They hit him hard, too, throwing him back into a tree. His eyes were narrowed, his face tight. He was fighting against them, Yohji knew. How long he could hold out was something Yohji didn't know. "You gonna do something?" Yohji looked over at Nagi.
"There are more of them. Blowing them back like I did before will be harder. I haven't regained all my energy yet," Nagi explained.
"You're saying we can't do anything?!"
".I'm saying that they've been thrown in opposite directions and I do not have the energy to expand my wall for a long enough time to rescue both," Nagi finished. Yohji looked at him, eyes narrowed.
"So what you're saying is-"
"Crawford is my teammate."
"Fuck no!"
"I have no obligation to Bombay," Nagi said coldly, climbing back down from where the two had been hiding out.
"Damnit, Nagi! You save both of them!" Yohji yelled down, anger and fear mixing in his voice. No way was Omi going to die down there among those.things. Yohji scowled when Nagi didn't answer. Omi wasn't going to die.
Yohji began descending, following in the wake of Nagi. He wouldn't allow this to happen. He'd be able to get Omi, somehow.
* * *
End Chapter 5!
I'm sorry it's taken so long to update! I had a little writers block. I got over it, but yeah, it took a little while longer. Also, there's only ten pages today. My laptop has decided to completely die on me now. I'm running out of time before it decides just to explode. I wanted to get this chapter saved and uploaded before that happened, because I don't know when I'll be able to write again. Where there's a will, there's a way though, so look forward to it! ^^ About Farf eating bugs.yeah, I can see it happening. I've had a worm and an ant. The worm was okay by the ant was acidic. I guess I chose the wrong kind of ant. I plan to eat a cricket some day.but yeah. More action here, and Aya's unconscious! Bad stuff going down, bad stuff. Well, I figured out a bunch of stuff for the story, and where it is going and all. I hope you all will like it, and I apologize for taking so long! I also want to THANK everyone for reviewing. It's meant a lot to me, I mean a LOT. So, do keep it up. ^^ Anyway, you'll have to forgive the roughness of it. I was getting it out ASAP. I'm going to fix it later, mmkay guys! Ciao
Crawford was surprised when Bombay decided to start a conversation. He had thought the Weiss boy had come to an understanding not to talk.
"What's it like in America?" America. Not a place Crawford wanted to think about. However, Bombay kept a deluge of questions going. "How are the people? I've had American food, it's pretty good." Crawford ignored him while he continued talking gaily about what he had heard about America, and how he wanted to go there. He was good, Crawford mused, at ignoring people. He had to put up with Shuldich, after all. Finally, however:
"America is a place filled with people who don't care anything about anyone else. They think they're the best country that's ever existed, and most people live in their state for the entire lives. Americans are overbearing, thinking they need to patrol all the countries. They waste their time on working for peace in countries that have been at war for thousands of years."
This stopped Bombay short. The golden haired boy looked up at Crawford. "You hate it?"
Crawford didn't answer, and Omi wasn't sure if he should take that for a yes or a no. It didn't seem like he was going to get an answer, anyway. "I'm hungry," Omi announced suddenly, causing Crawford to look at him out of the corner of his eye.
"There should be food once we make it to our destination."
"What are we going to do for food if there isn't?"
"We do have weapons at our disposal."
"But no animals."
Crawford slowed, considering. His eyes narrowed as he realized Omi was right. They hadn't heard the sounds of any birds or the rustle of leaves that would indicate squirrels, or even larger game like deer. They were far enough away from civilization too, that human noises shouldn't frighten them that much.
And then Crawford felt a flash of extreme foreboding. "Get down!" He shouted, shoving the boy while diving to the left. Omi twisted around in time to see a flurry of darts fly overhead. After a few moments, the two hesitantly got up. Omi went to examine the darts embedded in the tree.
"Hey, these are mine!" Omi looked at the darts oddly while Crawford came to stand next to him, peering over his shoulder.
"We didn't put a trap there."
"What?"
"A booby trap. We didn't put one there."
Omi let that sink in as something finally dawned on him. "Then you were the ones-"
Crawford smirked.
"But that could've killed us!"
"Then you wouldn't have worth our while, anyway."
"Crawford, who would've been able to set up these darts if Schwarz didn't?" Omi looked up at the American who was frowning slightly, fingers unconsciously rubbing the bridge of his nose as if he were deep in thought. He did not answer.
* * * *
Aya watched in disgust as Farfarello happily ate some grubs he had found beneath a log. The two had been trudging up hill when the Irishman suddenly wandered off to an old fallen log. He had given the thing a push and as it roller over, leaving moist dirt beneath, Aya had watched as Farfarello shot his hand out and grabbed several bugs. The Irishman had studied them carefully, holding his handful up to his eye and looking at each intensely. With his other hand he chose one and then popped it in his mouth. Aya didn't have to ask why he was eating bugs. He knew they were high in protein and that certain cultures ate them. He supposed that enough would probably be filling, too. However, Aya had limits, and eating bugs was on the same level of disgusting as the movie Alive had been. Some things you just weren't supposed to eat.
Aya was very determined to get back up that mountainside to where their packs were. MRE's were better then nothing, and definitely better then bugs.
"We need to hurry up," Aya said. He felt there was a good chance they'd get up that mountain before nightfall. He knew if his teammates were alive, that's where they would try to go to. Aya only hoped there was enough stuff left standing to make it identifiable.
"I know," Farfarello said, eye glittering. Aya looked over at him, hoping for an explanation. The Irishman stared back at him for a while before answering, "Things that don't belong cause problems for the guilty one."
Aya frowned. That hadn't helped him at all.
"I follow you until we find Crawford," Farfie announced, a complete non sequitur to what he had just said. "You have more emotions then he."
"." "You are very angry," Farfarello chuckled then, as if he had just made a joke.
"Let's go," Aya said shortly. He didn't need to listen to the ramblings of a madman.
The two were climbing up the mountainside, following the river. Aya had his arm clutched to his chest. It was paining him more then he would admit. To top things off, Aya was really worried for his team. He would never admit it, of course, but he was.
Just as the two were carefully making their way up a rocky part of the slope, Aya felt something grab him suddenly. Purple eyes opened wide and he turned his head to see what had a hold of him. All he caught sight of was a ripple in the air right next to him before he was slammed forcefully into a large boulder. Immediately he felt himself sliding towards unconsciousness, the pain from his arm overwhelming. Blurred eyes searched for Farfarello, and just before Aya succumbed gratefully to unconsciousness he saw the Irishman was getting the same treatment as he.
* * * *
Ken felt like someone had reached into his chest and cruelly ripped his heart out. In place of his heart was the overbearing feeling of emptiness and loss forming a hard lump of pain where his heart had once been.
Omi was dead.
Ken's breath hitched and felt the pain that was his heart enter his eyes in the form of tears. It hurt so MUCH. How could his best friend be dead? He felt so alone and lost. He couldn't handle it.
As the two trudged on, Shuldich surprisingly quiet, Ken wanted nothing more to collapse and crumple into a little ball. The stress on his heart was too much, the effort from hiding back tears causing too much pain. Why had Omi died? They'd been such good friends. It wasn't FAIR. All his best friends had died or left him. First Kase, now Omi. Ken's mind began pulling up images of Kase. Memories caught Ken in their web and he was left with wisps of the good times he'd had with the man he had to kill. He remembered all the times they had, and still couldn't accept his friend had been evil. He knew he had cared, even if no one else believed it. It hadn't been Kase's fault. It had hurt then to kill his friend, but he had been able to cope because Omi had been there for him. Omi had always been there, and even though he always had problems of his own, he was always so happy and kind.
Now Omi was gone and Ken wouldn't hear his voice again or see his smile. As he tried to cope, to somehow rationalize it, the only thing he realized was that he would no longer be able to have new experiences with his friend that would turn into good memories.
He couldn't do it. He couldn't. He fell to the ground, resting his head on his knees. And Ken cried. * * * *
While Ken slowly cracked and crumbled, Shuldich watched with interest. He hadn't had this much fun in a while. The assassin had been so close to breaking down anyway. It had only taken a few nudges here, a few pushes there. Now the boy was a blubbering sobbing mess. Granted, it wasn't really helping getting his mind of the pathetic Kase, but it was entertaining nonetheless. As Shuldich watched, leaning against a tree, he pondered why he didn't just go through and rip all memories of Kase from Ken's mind. He concluded that he wanted Ken to realize what Shuldich had done for him. A little self promotion never hurt anybody. Besides, then Ken wouldn't realize he really HAD been betrayed.
Damn, but he was evil.
Shuldich smirked. Really, what he was doing was not all that evil. He was getting the poor Weiss boy over his damn Kase obsession. One could argue that was more for Shuldich's benefit insomuch as he was absolutely tired of Kase always being on the mind. Of course, it could even be argued that if Shuldich were to keep his mind to himself, it wouldn't be a problem.
It was all a matter of perspective, really. Either way though, it gave him something to do; something to keep his mind busy. Shuldich was more worried about the Guardians then he was willing to admit. Guardians were a lot of trouble. Only a special few had the power to control spirits and give them a somewhat physical form, depending on the element they were assigned. Most people who did that were weak, only able to control one elemental spirit or so. The Guardians that they had come across were powerful, and there were probably a lot more. This didn't bode well. It either meant there was a huge team working together on this mountain.and that didn't make any sense, because they should've been able to pick up some hint of that. The only other option was that there was someone very powerful here. Shuldich stopped himself suddenly. He was almost sounding.serious! If he didn't watch out, he'd start acting responsible, and maybe even mature. Then there would be TWO Crawfords. If that happened, they'd probably get into lots of fights and issues over control and obsessive-compulsiveness. No, it was better to leave those things to their fearless leader. Shuldich was the annoying one. It was his niche, if you will. Besides that whole telepathy thing, anyway. So, while Shuldich was in charge temporarily, he realized it was a role he would give up quite readily once they got Crawford back.
And he WOULD be coming back.
* * * *
"Come here," Nagi said, his voice tight. Yohji looked over from where he was sorting out the packs, eyes slightly raised. He hadn't heard this sort of commanding voice from the boy before. Nagi wasn't looking at him thought. His look was far away and he seemed to be concentrating on something. Yohji immediately put himself on guard, glancing around cautiously. He got up and edged over to the boy.
"What's wrong?" "There's something out there."
"What?"
"I'm not sure. Probably Guardians. I have a wall up. They're fighting me," Nagi spoke in short sentences, is mind obviously on the task at hand. Yohji looked out to where Nagi was staring.
"There's nothing there." What were Guardians, anyway? When Nagi didn't answer him, Yohji turned his attention back out, looking around. There wasn't anything-
Oh, wait.
Yohji saw a slight shimmer in the air, like the heat that rose from the pavement on a hot day. As Yohji watched, the thing became a little more visible.and suddenly started rushing at him.
"What the fuck!?" Yohji scrambled backwards as the thing came closer.
.and bounced harmlessly off Nagi's barrier. Soon many such things were slamming into the wall and Yohji looked over to see the Schwarz boy sweating, teeth clenched. Yohji inched closer to the boy. Maybe he'd be able to close the barrier a little more? A shiver raced up his spine as he watched the things continue the onslaught. They looked harmless, but they were slamming in with enough force that if Yohji had been caught by those things alone. Yohji stopped the thought, suddenly very appreciative of the telekinetic beside him.
Yohji stood next to Nagi, feeling extremely helpless. There should be SOMETHING he could do besides stand here and look cool. Well, a panicked, fearful sort of cool, but cool nonetheless. Maybe he could fight them? He doubted his wire would do any harm, but some part of him-the heroic part, probably- argued that he should go in to the mess, fists pounding into these creatures. But then the larger and much more reasonable side of him argued back that these appeared to be creatures of air, and if his wire couldn't do anything, then his fists certainly couldn't. That was the whole reason he'd gotten the wire anyway, remember? Because it was better then his fists.
Hmm, point.
So Yohji was back where he had started. Helpless and pretty much a third wheel in this mess. Yohji looked over at Nagi again, and it was during this moment that he suddenly felt something bump into him. Yohji wheeled around to see the creatures were gaining ground. Now when they were slamming into the wall they were starting to come through, ever so slightly.
"We have to run," Nagi managed out. Yohji looked over at him. "On my signal." He continued, not paying attention to the whether Yohji had acknowledged him or not. "NOW!" Nagi broke away, running in the opposite direction they had been facing. Yohji followed suite, noticing somewhat unhappily that Nagi had chosen to choose a path up the mountain. If it wasn't one thing, it was the other. It was bad enough they were running from invisible (Well, nearly so) opponents, but to have to run away from them up a mountain? Escaping up hill from invisible creatures was one of those things Yohji marked down in his book as Unfair. Invisible creatures were Unfair. Being chased by them uphill was really Unfair. It irked Yohji to no end that someone wasn't playing on even playing grounds. What bothered him even more was the fact that he seemed to always be on the side that had the disadvantage. Not once, not even at the flower shop, had they gotten what was called the 'home field advantage.' You'd think they would've at least had an easy break there when Schwarz came after them, right? They lived there. They should've definitely had the advantage. But nooooo. Aya-chan had been taken back, no problem, and pain on Weiss' part had been involved.
When they got back from this mess, Yohji was going to definitely consider retiring. Maybe some job where at least he wouldn't live under the delusion of getting a chance. Something like a guidance counselor. Or a porn star. Yeah, at least that would be fun. Easy too, probably. He was definitely going to have to look into that. He'd even get some name with sexual connotations. Hardware, or something like that.
Yohji noted with definite consternation that he was running out of breath and Nagi was lagging behind. Yohji grabbed the boy's wrist, dragging him forward. "Come on, Nagi!" The Schwarz boy looked up in surprise, dark blue eyes meeting green. The boy seemed to put more energy in, suddenly. By the time they had gotten far enough away though, Nagi had begun to lean on Yohji.
The two paused at a landing of sorts that overlooked the valley. The trees up here were sparse, and so they had a better view of the things below them, if only slightly.
"We're safe from them here.for now," Nagi managed through gasps as he tried to get his breath back.
"What WERE those things?"
"Guardians. Shuldich warned me of them."
"That doesn't explain anything."
"Spirits assigned to elements. Only certain people have the ability to take a spirit and bend them to their will like that," Nagi explained.
"How do we fights against that?!" Yohji asked, somewhat aghast.
"It's somewhat of a problem," Nagi admitted. "The spirits usually have boundless energy, and not only do they have semblance of a physical form that causes harm, but they also have a way of sucking the life energy from you."
".Great." Yeah, the life of a porn star was looking more and more promising. At least he wouldn't have to deal with invisible life sucking monsters. Yohji watched as Nagi's eyes became faraway again. The boy seemed to do that on a fairly regular basis. What was he doing?
* * * *
~We just ran into Air Guardians.~
~You get out okay?~
~Yeah.~
~Where were you?~
~Near the remnants of the house. I'm going to try to go back there later.~
~Good. When I get there I should be able to help you fight them off. We could set up our basis of operations from that point.~
~Hey Shuldich.you're almost sounding.like a leader.~
~Don't I know it? It's been a matter of slight worry for me. Where will Schwarz be if I start acting mature?~
~Found Crawford yet?~
~No, but for a moment before I was attacked, I thought I felt him. Farf's unconscious. He and Abyssinian were attacked, too.~
~What's going on?~
~I don't know, but I don't think we were brought here to protect a drug lord, Nagi-Chan.~
Shuldich felt a sigh from the boy for being called 'Chan.'
~Just let me know if anything else happens.~
~Only if you do the same. Relationships are two way, you know.~
Nagi let the link go dormant. While he we never admit it, he was glad for Shuldich's personality, even if it was sometimes trying and had, upon occasion, pushed Crawford to far. It lightened things up, and for that Nagi was grateful.
* * * *
"We should be there soon," Crawford announced. Omi looked over at him. The two had been trudging up the mountain in silence for the majority of the morning and through the afternoon. Even though they hadn't spoke much, Omi had begun to feel a sort of companionship towards the American. Perhaps it was the shared experience.
"What then?"
"Everyone should be meeting up there again. It would make the most sense," Crawford explained. Omi glanced over at him. What if everyone hadn't come to the same conclusion? He knew Yohji was liable to just leave the mountain and hope everyone regrouped somewhere else. Like maybe a bar.
"How do you know?"
"Because Shuldich can link everyone. He would have told them," Crawford responded.
"Has he contacted you?"
"No."
"Then."
"We're being blocked," Crawford said as way of answer.
"Wait, by what?"
Crawford paused before answering. "I'm not sure yet," he finally admitted, causing Omi's eyes to raise in amazement at the American's admittance. "We're here," Crawford announced as the two final raised themselves up into the depression where the house had been. They were crossing the area when two things suddenly happened. The first was that Omi heard Yohji yelling at him. Omi looked up, relief and delight etching his features. At least Yohji was okay!
The second thing that happened was that several somethings attacked him and Crawford, throwing them back several feet. Omi felt the air being knocked out of him as he landed hard against the ground. Immediately he was pounced on, and Omi lashed out viciously. What was going on? He couldn't even see it, but there was DEFINITELY something there!
And then Omi felt his energy seeping from him and he felt himself sink towards apathy quickly. Things were also very painless, so what would it matter if he gave up?
Yes, giving up seemed like a very good idea. It was the prominent thought, anyway. A smaller and rapidly decreasing part fought back. It told him to get up, to get out of here and fast.
Omi found himself not really caring. The will to live slipped, and so did the will to move. Suddenly Omi found himself not caring about a lot of things that had once been important. Friends, Weiss, the situation of being on the mountain. Omi realized how petty it all was. How little it mattered. Nothing mattered.
Nothing at all.
* * * *
"Fuck, there's more of them!" Yohji announced loudly in a frantic voice. Nagi gave the older man an annoyed look. The increase of enemies was something he'd figured out. "Get up, Omi!" Yohji cried out to his friend who had fallen from the initial attack and hadn't moved since. Crawford didn't seem to be doing to well either. They hit him hard, too, throwing him back into a tree. His eyes were narrowed, his face tight. He was fighting against them, Yohji knew. How long he could hold out was something Yohji didn't know. "You gonna do something?" Yohji looked over at Nagi.
"There are more of them. Blowing them back like I did before will be harder. I haven't regained all my energy yet," Nagi explained.
"You're saying we can't do anything?!"
".I'm saying that they've been thrown in opposite directions and I do not have the energy to expand my wall for a long enough time to rescue both," Nagi finished. Yohji looked at him, eyes narrowed.
"So what you're saying is-"
"Crawford is my teammate."
"Fuck no!"
"I have no obligation to Bombay," Nagi said coldly, climbing back down from where the two had been hiding out.
"Damnit, Nagi! You save both of them!" Yohji yelled down, anger and fear mixing in his voice. No way was Omi going to die down there among those.things. Yohji scowled when Nagi didn't answer. Omi wasn't going to die.
Yohji began descending, following in the wake of Nagi. He wouldn't allow this to happen. He'd be able to get Omi, somehow.
* * *
End Chapter 5!
I'm sorry it's taken so long to update! I had a little writers block. I got over it, but yeah, it took a little while longer. Also, there's only ten pages today. My laptop has decided to completely die on me now. I'm running out of time before it decides just to explode. I wanted to get this chapter saved and uploaded before that happened, because I don't know when I'll be able to write again. Where there's a will, there's a way though, so look forward to it! ^^ About Farf eating bugs.yeah, I can see it happening. I've had a worm and an ant. The worm was okay by the ant was acidic. I guess I chose the wrong kind of ant. I plan to eat a cricket some day.but yeah. More action here, and Aya's unconscious! Bad stuff going down, bad stuff. Well, I figured out a bunch of stuff for the story, and where it is going and all. I hope you all will like it, and I apologize for taking so long! I also want to THANK everyone for reviewing. It's meant a lot to me, I mean a LOT. So, do keep it up. ^^ Anyway, you'll have to forgive the roughness of it. I was getting it out ASAP. I'm going to fix it later, mmkay guys! Ciao