The girl spun around at the sound of the door opening. Brother and sister stared at each other for a moment, both trying to make sure that what they were seeing was real.
"VICCY!!!!!" the girl screamed, running toward Schuldich.
"IRI!!!!!!" Schuldich replied, his arms open and ready to receive his sister. They connected with a force that staggered Schuldich.
Eventually, they let go in favor of looking each other up and down.
"What happened to you, Iri? Your hair. . ."
"What about my hair?" she asked with the air of familiarity to it.
"It's blue. . ." Schuldich replied, suddenly finding this very funny. He tried hard not to laugh but didn't succeed.
Iri pouted.
"Shut up Viccy! It's the first time you've seen me in 13 years! Can't you think of anything else to say to me."
"Oh, I'm sorry, liebe, it's just, I've been so stressed these past few hours and now that I've found you, it feels so damned good."
Iri's expression softens a little.
"I've missed you, too, Viccy. Sometimes I've almost given up hope that you'd return to me,"
Just then, Crawford and Nagi reach them. Iri's eyes immediately becomes guarded.
"Who are those people?" she demanded of Viccy.
"Oh, those are just my teammates. The chibi over there's Naoe Nagi and the tall Freakazoid's Bradley," Schuldich replied with a wide smirk. His expression is his usual "devil may care" look but his eyes are wary and apprehensive. Iri's expression darkened and she took a step backward from her brother.
"Iri. . .," Schuldich said, reaching toward her.
"If you think you're taking me back to Estet, you've got another thing going, Viccy."
"I'm not," Schuldich said softly. "We're not part of Estet anymore."
Iri looked at him with suspicion. Schuldich knew there's just one way to convince his sister of his sincerity and without a moment's hesitation, he dropped all of his carefully crafted shields, baring himself completely to her. Iri's eyes widened as she was given full access to her brother's mind. She shifted to all of the horrors her brother had gone through these 13 years, tears springing in her eyes as she gazed into his face.
At the core of those memories is something buried so deeply inside him, it had become part of his personality. Iri probed gingerly at those memories only to have Viccy push at her gently with mental hands, silently begging her not to explore any further.
/I must know, Viccy./ Iri said, knowing her brother wouldn't be able to help but pick it up. The mental hands abruptly disappeared. Iri continued her explorations. Suddenly those long-buried memories reached up and grabbed her, pulling her into their depths.
//An unintelligible scream ripped through the woman as she saw the man get shot. She reached frantically for his limp body but was restrained. The leading man in his immaculate business suit turned to question her. For a time, she could do nothing but cry and he smacked her loudly in the face. She didn't even cry out but as she raised her head, a slight trail of blood trickled down her chin. She stared at the man with dull eyes and abruptly turned toward where the little boy stood, wailing. Wordless she conveyed what she wanted him to do. He stood, shaking his head frantically.
// /You must, Viccy. I can't go on like this and it's the only way to keep her sister safe. Please, Viccy do this one thing for me. For my sake and for her's./ she said into his mind.
//Sister. Viccy must protect sister. The thought buzzed around his mind and he steeled himself for what he was about to do. Reaching out with mental hands, he went into his mother's mind, meeting no resistance. Grabbing the part of her mind that kept her heart pumping, pulled and twisted cruelly. His mother made a choking noise and fell to the floor, her eyes staring at him accusingly. The men in suites finally figured out something was wrong and tried to resuscitate her but they were too late. Viccy watched as his mother's eyes glazed over and death claimed her.
//After she had died, his mind went into shock.
// /Schuldig,/ his mind kept whispering. /I am Schuldig./ He had committed matricide, though he hadn't known what to call it back then.
// /So what's the difference between me and them?/ a part of his mind asked. /Nothing./ another part whispered back. He wiped the tears from his face and stared ant the men in suites.//
The memory abruptly let go and Iri found herself staring at her brother, stunned.
A/N: I'm sorry, but I really must leave it at that or it'll take me a month to finish this piece and some people are getting annoyed with me. Hehe.
Evil Muse: Besides, she's got bigger problems to attend to.
Good Muse: Yea, like how she's going to get Farfarello to cooperate. ~Giggle~ ~She nudges a curtain with her foot. The curtain magically falls away to reveal Farfarello bound to a pole.~
Anna-chan: That's no problem. I'll just bribe him with food! ~Beems at readers.~
Everyone develops sweatdrops. Anna-chan is oblivious and approaches Farfie with a plate full of food. As she gets close enough, he lungs forward and tries to bite her. Anna-chan backpedals fast and goes to hide.
Evil Muse: ~shakes head~ Let me talk to him alone. ~He ushers everyone out.~
Evil Muse: You cooperate and I'll get birdbrain to write a fic about you.
Farfie: Two fics.
Evil Muse: One and a half and that's my final offer.
Farfie: Fine.
Evil Muse: ~Pulls out a knife and cuts Farf free.~
~a minute latter~
Anna-chan: Wow! I'm really impressed. How'd you persuade him to cooperate?
Evil Muse: Oh, you had the right idea. The wrong bait but the right idea all the same.
Anna-chan: Heh?
Evil Muse: I bribed him.
Anna-chan: ~sweatdrop~ With what? ~involuntarily draws back~
Evil Muse: A fic and a half with him as main character.
Anna-chan: ~relax~ Oh. I as planning to do that anyways. ~wanders off~
Evil Muse: Really? ~eyes goes shinny with hope.~ Yes!!!!!! I get to torture hapless civilians with Farf. ~starts dreaming up ways to hurt people.
"VICCY!!!!!" the girl screamed, running toward Schuldich.
"IRI!!!!!!" Schuldich replied, his arms open and ready to receive his sister. They connected with a force that staggered Schuldich.
Eventually, they let go in favor of looking each other up and down.
"What happened to you, Iri? Your hair. . ."
"What about my hair?" she asked with the air of familiarity to it.
"It's blue. . ." Schuldich replied, suddenly finding this very funny. He tried hard not to laugh but didn't succeed.
Iri pouted.
"Shut up Viccy! It's the first time you've seen me in 13 years! Can't you think of anything else to say to me."
"Oh, I'm sorry, liebe, it's just, I've been so stressed these past few hours and now that I've found you, it feels so damned good."
Iri's expression softens a little.
"I've missed you, too, Viccy. Sometimes I've almost given up hope that you'd return to me,"
Just then, Crawford and Nagi reach them. Iri's eyes immediately becomes guarded.
"Who are those people?" she demanded of Viccy.
"Oh, those are just my teammates. The chibi over there's Naoe Nagi and the tall Freakazoid's Bradley," Schuldich replied with a wide smirk. His expression is his usual "devil may care" look but his eyes are wary and apprehensive. Iri's expression darkened and she took a step backward from her brother.
"Iri. . .," Schuldich said, reaching toward her.
"If you think you're taking me back to Estet, you've got another thing going, Viccy."
"I'm not," Schuldich said softly. "We're not part of Estet anymore."
Iri looked at him with suspicion. Schuldich knew there's just one way to convince his sister of his sincerity and without a moment's hesitation, he dropped all of his carefully crafted shields, baring himself completely to her. Iri's eyes widened as she was given full access to her brother's mind. She shifted to all of the horrors her brother had gone through these 13 years, tears springing in her eyes as she gazed into his face.
At the core of those memories is something buried so deeply inside him, it had become part of his personality. Iri probed gingerly at those memories only to have Viccy push at her gently with mental hands, silently begging her not to explore any further.
/I must know, Viccy./ Iri said, knowing her brother wouldn't be able to help but pick it up. The mental hands abruptly disappeared. Iri continued her explorations. Suddenly those long-buried memories reached up and grabbed her, pulling her into their depths.
//An unintelligible scream ripped through the woman as she saw the man get shot. She reached frantically for his limp body but was restrained. The leading man in his immaculate business suit turned to question her. For a time, she could do nothing but cry and he smacked her loudly in the face. She didn't even cry out but as she raised her head, a slight trail of blood trickled down her chin. She stared at the man with dull eyes and abruptly turned toward where the little boy stood, wailing. Wordless she conveyed what she wanted him to do. He stood, shaking his head frantically.
// /You must, Viccy. I can't go on like this and it's the only way to keep her sister safe. Please, Viccy do this one thing for me. For my sake and for her's./ she said into his mind.
//Sister. Viccy must protect sister. The thought buzzed around his mind and he steeled himself for what he was about to do. Reaching out with mental hands, he went into his mother's mind, meeting no resistance. Grabbing the part of her mind that kept her heart pumping, pulled and twisted cruelly. His mother made a choking noise and fell to the floor, her eyes staring at him accusingly. The men in suites finally figured out something was wrong and tried to resuscitate her but they were too late. Viccy watched as his mother's eyes glazed over and death claimed her.
//After she had died, his mind went into shock.
// /Schuldig,/ his mind kept whispering. /I am Schuldig./ He had committed matricide, though he hadn't known what to call it back then.
// /So what's the difference between me and them?/ a part of his mind asked. /Nothing./ another part whispered back. He wiped the tears from his face and stared ant the men in suites.//
The memory abruptly let go and Iri found herself staring at her brother, stunned.
A/N: I'm sorry, but I really must leave it at that or it'll take me a month to finish this piece and some people are getting annoyed with me. Hehe.
Evil Muse: Besides, she's got bigger problems to attend to.
Good Muse: Yea, like how she's going to get Farfarello to cooperate. ~Giggle~ ~She nudges a curtain with her foot. The curtain magically falls away to reveal Farfarello bound to a pole.~
Anna-chan: That's no problem. I'll just bribe him with food! ~Beems at readers.~
Everyone develops sweatdrops. Anna-chan is oblivious and approaches Farfie with a plate full of food. As she gets close enough, he lungs forward and tries to bite her. Anna-chan backpedals fast and goes to hide.
Evil Muse: ~shakes head~ Let me talk to him alone. ~He ushers everyone out.~
Evil Muse: You cooperate and I'll get birdbrain to write a fic about you.
Farfie: Two fics.
Evil Muse: One and a half and that's my final offer.
Farfie: Fine.
Evil Muse: ~Pulls out a knife and cuts Farf free.~
~a minute latter~
Anna-chan: Wow! I'm really impressed. How'd you persuade him to cooperate?
Evil Muse: Oh, you had the right idea. The wrong bait but the right idea all the same.
Anna-chan: Heh?
Evil Muse: I bribed him.
Anna-chan: ~sweatdrop~ With what? ~involuntarily draws back~
Evil Muse: A fic and a half with him as main character.
Anna-chan: ~relax~ Oh. I as planning to do that anyways. ~wanders off~
Evil Muse: Really? ~eyes goes shinny with hope.~ Yes!!!!!! I get to torture hapless civilians with Farf. ~starts dreaming up ways to hurt people.
