Warning: A little more on the disturbing side. Lots of blood and butchery. Some swearing. You've been warned. o_o

Disclaimer: I do not own Weiss Kreuz or Sailor Moon.

Fear Me

Chapter 8

It was the middle of the night and I was standing outside of Farfarello's bedroom. The dark hallway was suffocating around me and I feared another episode with the distorted souls. Without knocking, I twisted his doorknob open and let myself in. Farfarello stood by his window as if he had been waiting for me.

I slipped in and shut the door behind me with my foot, studying him as he studied me. Steeling myself with a composed breath, I strode up to him as far as I deemed safe. I looked into his impassive face.

"Why?" I more demanded than asked.

"It's none of your business," he returned coldly.

Unflinching, I said softly, "I'm not afraid of you. Tell me why."

His mouth suddenly twisted into a sadistic parody of a smile. He took one meaningful step towards me and I took a step back. He let out a short bark of laughter. I felt my cheeks burn, but I held my head high.

"Why did you allow it to take your body?"

"I don't like people prying into my life."

"Well, now our lives have crossed and I want to know why! Why would you let a demon take residence in your body?" My hands clenched and unclenched by my sides as my stomach flipped.

Death, like heavy, thick smoke filled the tiny spaces around him. My eyes began to tear as if they really burned. How many deaths had he caused? How many families had he ruined?

Too many, the cloak of grey mist whispered to me. It began with his own.

His own. His own family. He had killed his own family. I gathered a mouthful of air and swallowed it, forcing back down an esophagus full of bile. I hadn't eaten after the incident, so there was nothing left for me to throw up except brown-yellow gall.

I swayed on my feet, but locked my knees. He must have seen the repulsed look on my face, because I was doing a poor job of hiding it.

"Does it hurt?" he asked thickly, but not in a way to ease me. "You're one of His blessed children. It hurts Him when you hurt."

"Him?" I ventured to ask. He hadn't moved from his spot, but I felt like he was standing less than an inch away from me.

"Why didn't you save them? Why didn't you protect them?" he growled suddenly. I wondered what was going through his head, too stunned to be afraid. What did he mean by saving them? The people he had killed? His family? Why would he say such a thing to me if he had killed them himself?

"Who?" I whispered, dazed.

"You let them die. I will punish you to hurt Him. I'll make God cry tonight."

His emotions were so strong; I nearly collapsed under their weight. I blinked in hopes of blocking myself from this violent torrent, but I was drifting away and I suddenly saw myself standing in the same place as I had been for the past ten minutes. I brought my hands in front of my eyes, even as I drifted faster and faster away, and stared in horror at their transparency. I wasn't standing in Farfarello's room anymore; I wasn't in the mansion; I wasn't in Tokyo or even in Japan. I flew through time and space and across oceans. I was in a small shantytown in Ireland. I was standing in a small modest home as I watched a boy tear his family apart with nothing but his hands and teeth.

I shook with disbelief. My hands crawled to my face, over my mouth as I screamed and screamed and screamed until my throat became raw, and even then I continued to scream wordlessly, voicelessly, as my tears clouded my vision enough to blur the revolting scene. But even then, they didn't hinder the splotches of red or the salty smell of Death and blood. My ears couldn't close out the sounds of screaming and begging and the prayers to God.

Farfarello, I wanted to cry out, stop, stop! But I couldn't stop screaming. I struggled to gain some semblance of sanity and control. The child Farfarello turned and stared straight at me. Our eyes met and I saw the terrible power-hungry demon inside of him. It laughed. It laughed at me and at Farfarello.

I faded away from the most unreservedly disturbing scenes of ruthless carnage. Time and reality jolted me back into my physical body where I was still facing the man who had slaughtered his own family. I was sick to my stomach. Was that what he had meant? I hadn't protected his family?

Like he had known what was going through my head, he said, "I will punish you for God's crimes."

"God's crimes?" I spat, suddenly both disgusted and full of pity. "The crimes are no one's but your own. Don't blame someone else for your wrongs just because you're too afraid to own up to them!"

As soon as I had said that, I was knocked against the wall. My head made a sickening noise as it slammed against the cold, white plaster. I blinked once, twice, images doubling in front of me. Two Farfarello's loomed with unconcealed menace above. Oh, shit.

"You understand nothing about me, so don't presume to know everything," he whispered darkly against my ear as his hand came up and grasped my neck.

I struggled for breath, tears of pain burning behind my eyelids. My throat worked against his slowly tightening grip as I gasped for breath. "I understand," I breathed, "that you project your mistakes against God because you are afraid."

His exposed eye gleamed with maniacal rage. I guess he didn't like being called a scaredy-cat.

I seized his eyepatch with my right hand and his anger doubled. I tore it off and both ocher eyes glared at me. There was a fleeting canvas of white before my sight and I was him, Farfarello as a child with the knowledge of being a bastard, of being deceived and unwanted. No one had stood up for me, no one cared about me. I loved God, but God no longer wanted me. God, it hurt!

"Don't look at me like that." His fingers convulsed.

"That's why you let it inside. Because you were afraid. You thought you were already damned. It hurt you when you thought God didn't love you!" I suddenly choked, futiley scratching at his forearm. The excruciating pain from his memories began to slowly dull as my lungs sucked wetly inside my chest for air. Grainy blackness veiled my vision. Weak and heavy-limbed, my senses began to cloud.

But even as I began to lose feeling in my entire body, I was still able to think. Sluggishly, I reached out with my mind towards his demonic side. I wanted to save Farfarello. I wanted to save him from this demon and his inner pain. Ridiculous, wasn't it? Wanting to save him when I needed saving.

As I grazed the demon, it hissed at me as if I had disturbed it from a meal. It raised his claws to strike at me, to draw blood—my blood, to draw pain—my pain. It had been feeding, I realized, too slowly. It had been feeding on Farfarello's soul, feeding on it since the day it had entered! If left alone, Farfarello would become nothing but a shell of a human being. The demon would eventually take over his body to do as it pleased to other people and feed off of that. It had been doing this for years and the cycle would continue on and on until he was dead. It was nothing but a dirty, ugly parasite!

"It lied," I tried in reality, to whisper to Farfarello. I didn't know if I had actually said it. I didn't know if my voice had worked or if he had heard me. I tried to tell him again, warn him, about the thing's lies and deception.

It won't help you. It can't heal your pain. It lied.

Air, air, I needed air! My leaden hands clawed weakly at his forearm until I could no longer move them. I took one last breath before my body gave out and I prayed for Farfarello's soul.

On the edge of consciousness, I felt the pain diminish, the calloused hands slip from my neck as I myself slipped to the floor. Crumpled on the soft carpet, I coughed and touched the tender skin around my neck. I was in pain, but alive and awake. Lucky me.

Willing all my strength to my eyes, I glanced up to catch a glimpse of my savior. Schu-kun and Farfarello were having a deep conversation interspersed with death threats.

". . .Control your demon. . ."

"Her blood. . .to me. . ."

". . .Immortality. . ."

Immortality? Was this what Reiji Takatori wanted with me? That was really too bad for him because I couldn't grant that. But it didn't make any sense to me. I haven't seen Takatori at all and if he really did want immortality, wouldn't he have tried to get it when I had first moved in? If that was what he was really after, then what's the point with dilly-dallying?

I shook my head and rolled myself against the wall. My head was throbbing like crazy, but I wasn't feeling sick. Schu-kun squatted down in front of me and shot me a nasty look before picking me up. Over his shoulder, I stared at Farfarello who stood with a detached expression. Just before we turned the corner, he smirked at me.

I decided that it wasn't a good smirk.

-----

"What the fuck were you thinking? He could've killed you," he snarled right after he deposited me on my bed. Schu-kun looked ready to either kill or shake some sense into me. I hoped it was the latter.

"He wouldn't have," I shot back, "and you know it." Because, if he really had wanted to kill me, I would already be dead. Demons like the one inside of him knew. Last night had been a full moon and it was very likely that it had happened. "Besides, Brad wouldn't let him."

The boiling anger simmered a little. He leaned stiffly against the wall. I didn't even know why he was so angry in the first place. "Crawford." His eyes narrowed. "Fuck."

His generous use of the profane term piqued my interest. "Do you know what he knows?" I whispered to him, eyes darting to the door. I was afraid that any minute now, Brad would come through then like some sort of vengeful apparition. The very thought scared the crap out of me.

"What does he know?"

My tense face went slack. Stupid jerk was trying to confuse me again. "You tell me."

Schu-kun smirked, but it died on his lips. "I'll tell you this. He's the only person besides you who I cannot mentally or physically impose thoughts on. You, I can suggest a few things and you'll get uptight like a frightened little bunny," he said as he relaxed into a slouch. "Brad, on the other hand, does not get frightened."

I crossed my arms over my chest and paced the length of the room. First of all, I do not get scared like a little bunny. Second of all, I am not uptight. Finally, I said, "He knows something that I also know, but I don't know this something that he knows, you know?"

His dangerous mood slipped and he chuckled. "Not quite."

I paused and stared at him seriously. "You two are very close."

"He was the one who saved me."

I blinked and said softly, "Saved you?"

His eyelids lowered over his green orbs as he was pulled into a distant memory. "He reached his hand towards me and said, 'I've come to take you away from here.' I was twelve."

I wasn't quite sure what to say. Brad must have saved him from some sort of Hell to be able to affect Schu-kun like that. Twelve years old—a child. He must have suffered through a lot, but none of it bothered him like it should have.

He smirked at me as if he knew what I was thinking, which was impossible, of course. "Don't pity me, Usa-chan. I have no use for it."

"I could never understand what you've been through."

"Then don't. I'd rather you not."

I held Schu-kun's somber gaze. "Where did he save you from?"

"Rosenkruz."

The name was a cold and merciless knife to my heart. I felt my eyes growing wider and wider. My breath had been knocked out of my chest as if I had fallen from a great height, and anger surfaced to take its place. I saw my parents' tortured faces as Setsuna pulled me away, cloaking me with a magic veil so that I could no longer see them with my eyes but with my mind, and even then, it could not stop their optimistic voices. They had cried to me. Be strong, they had said, even as they were slaughtered.

I spat the filthy word from my mouth like a curse and a promise, "Rosenkruz."

Estet. You will pay.

"You know of it?" he inquired, eyes going over my face.

Rosenkruz. Estet. Rosenkruz. Estet. Pain. Estet. Death. Estet. Blood. Estet. Hate.

Fury melted my insides into one quivering mass of singed and blackened flesh. My fingertips burned and without looking at them, I knew they glowed red. My untamed anger fed my power as my control slipped. I had never hated anyone in my entire life like how I hated Estet. "Know of it?" I whispered heatedly, struggling for restraint. Cold metal bars slipped down and trapped the energy that knew no bounds. "How could I forget the people who murdered my parents?"

He said nothing, but the silence spoke evocative volumes. No words were needed. No words could describe.

I abruptly pulled my eyes away to stare out the window at my celestial guardian. Its cool and pale light soothed my nerves, chilled my rage. "You guys aren't taking me ever to see Reiji Takatori."

"Why would you think that?"

"Call it a gut feeling."

"Instincts aren't always correct."

"Is that a yes or a no?"

"Both and neither."

In a clipped voice, I answered, "Fine." Then I sighed, defeated and worn-out. Estet. "Be careful, Schu-kun. I didn't tell you this earlier, but something terrible is going to happen and it involves all of us. Just be careful."

It looked like he was playing around with my warning in his head before he nodded curtly. He lifted himself off the wall and strolled away from me. "Fine. But stay away from Farfarello. His thoughts are easy to read and none of them involve good things with you," he whispered, his voice heavy, dark, ominous. He exited my bedroom and I was left to the spirits of my dead parents.

AN: I didn't send this through my betas. _ Sorry for any errors, etc. . . I've actually had this chapter on my HD for the longest time. I'm sorry! T.T I got distracted with the start of another fic. x___x I realized how long I haven't updated and I decided to post!! Ack, I hope this chapter wasn't too bad. *sniffles* Sorry!

Ugh, yeah, Usa is like so extremely OOC. ;-; I can't help it, but I'm very ashamed of myself nonetheless. I keep telling myself it's because it's AU, lol. :P She didn't have the "charmed" childhood she had in the anime/manga. For now, just pretend she was really influenced by her friends who have not really appeared yet (the inner "senshi," namely Rei and Makoto for their more explosive personalities). ^^;;

Argh, yeah, Farfarello is also OOC. *sighs* He's such a hard character! I don't think I'm psycho enough to be able to write him. xD;; Just kidding, of course. A lot of people do know how to write him very well. . .but I just can't. x.X

Lady Miz: ^^;; I agree, I don't think I ever really meant for this fic to get so. . .dark and disturbing, but somehow. . .heh heh. . .it just sorta went out of control! Well, if you thought Chapter 7 was bad, this one is definitely worse. x_x Thanks for reviewing, though! ^__^

Solus Nox: Aww, thanks! Lol, and I'm afraid "The Angel/Devil on the Shoulder Syndrome' is either finished or put on the backburner. ^^;; I'm glad you liked it, though!! ^__^ It was just a funky idea that I couldn't get out of my head. I can't really think of a plot for it, so it'll be filed away for now. ^^()

lilshortey: Rofl, you must love Farfarello so much! ^^;; I gotta admit, he's a pretty cool character, but tough. Anyways, I'm glad you liked that slightly ecchi scene, though that'll probably be as much as it'll go between them. X.x;; Sorry!

x3-staRr3e-x3: Thanks! ^_^ I'm glad you like it!

themoonmaiden: Nooo! It's okay, lol! I'm just glad you're back xD and hopefully you'll update the stories I've been waiting for! :P And good guess xD Weiss has some serious suspicions about the blonde bunny. x_x;; Eck, yes, U/F has gotten even darker with this chapter. The WK arc has taken longer than I expected. . .hopefully by the next 1-2 chapters, FB will finally be introduced. ^_^