Author's notes: ANGST!!!! …… Just thought I'd throw you a small warning. ^^; Mood swings affect the fiction, people. Anyhoo…some of the usual dry humor is still there, but quite a bit of angst in this chapter. Thanks so much for reviewing!! We love you!! *big hugs* Enjoy.

            Chapter Three: Reaching Egypt With a Bang

Most of the group had either dozed off or was reading thirty minutes later. Aya shifted and woke up because of the uncomfortable position of his neck. He glanced around and realized that Yohji hadn't come back to his seat. Julia looked up when she heard Aya move.

The redhead looked back at her. "He's been gone a long time." he murmured, standing.

Julia waved him down and put her book in Adrian's lap. "I'll go see. I have to go anyway." She made her way to the back.

Schuldig stirred awake and looked back. "Where's Julia?" he asked groggily.

"She went to the restroom and to see if she can find Yohji." Aya answered distantly, still looking towards the back. He had a really bad feeling.

Julia knocked twice on the bathroom door. "Yohji?" she asked tentatively. She'd glanced around second class to see if he'd just needed some space, but he hadn't been there. She couldn't sense his presence, either. She knocked again and the door swung open an inch or so. Fear gripped her as she pushed the door open the rest of the way.

Julia's scream had Adrian, Brad, Schuldig, and Aya on their feet in a split second. Aya's bad feeling had just multiplied by hundreds.

Julia was backed against the opposite side of the plane with her hand over her mouth. Yohji was seated on the floor, his back to the sink, blood dripping down his face. There was a single bullet wound to the side of his head, as if he'd been shot while washing his hands. One thing was for certain; he was very dead.

"Oh, God." Julia breathed.

 Schuldig cursed under his breath. "Well this certainly isn't getting off to a good start," he muttered.

Aya grabbed the doorframe and began shaking as soon as he saw his partner. "Yohji? Oh, God, no. Yohji?" He knelt by the older assassin and grabbed his shoulders. "Yohji?"

"He's dead," Schuldig mumbled. "They're quick to work, ne?"

Aya slowly pulled Yohji against him, cradling his head against his chest. He looked up at Julia with a totally stunned expression before his composure started to slip and he leaned his face against the brown hair.

Brad and Julia were automatically scanning all the passengers with little success. The young woman looked up at her lover. "Adrian," she whispered. "We may be in over our heads all ready."  

"I knew I had a bad feeling about all this," the German mumbled. His eyes darted around the room.

"There it is again... Someone's here from hell."
 Omi and Ken crowded in with them. "Yohji-kun!" Omi gasped.

"Oh, Yohji..." Ken murmured.
"We're sitting ducks on this plane." Adrian muttered. Julia nodded, her heart breaking with the anguish radiating off the leader of Weiß.

Schuldig grabbed Brad's arm. "Do you feel that?"

Brad was about to respond when a light exploded through the area, blinding all of them momentarily before fading away.

The German opened one eye, checking to see if the light was gone. "What the hell... "
The light had vanished, leaving the group squinting and trying to refocus.
"Damn..." Adrian growled. "Why didn't I see that coming?"

Julia grabbed his arm. "Adrian... look at his temple!"

Adrian looked at the fallen assassin's wounded temple and let out an exclamation. The bullet wound had disappeared, leaving only a minimal cut.

Yohji's eyes flooded with life and inhaled shakily before groaning. "Aya?"
            Aya's eyes were wide as he grasped onto his teammate, shaking slightly. "You were dead," he whispered.

"Oh...man...I think I wish I were.... headache...What happened?" Yohji paused, as he looked up, wide-eyed at Aya's tearstained face. "What do you mean dead?"

"He means no heartbeat, no breathing kind of dead," Schuldig deadpanned sarcastically.

Yohji grabbed onto Aya with both hands to keep himself from being sick. "How...who? How am I alive, then?" he managed.

Schuldig burst out laughing at the panic and received a glare from Aya. /You're dead, Kudoh.... All of us are. Did we forget to tell you?/

"Stop that!" Aya yelled, still hearing Adrian's broadcast.

Schuldig continued to laugh and Aya started to move to get at him, but Yohji held on to him.

"Please don't leave me on the floor..." he murmured.

Aya relaxed and then smirked as an idea hit him. He had a gift; he may as well utilize it. "You won't always be laughing, Schuldig. I see people's hearts remember? I see whom you hold dearest. You won't be laughing when he's ripped away from you."

Schuldig smirked slightly. "You've been hanging' around Adrian when I wasn't paying any attention, ne? That's always his trick to shut me up."

"Adrian wouldn't do it. I would."

/You wouldn't lay a finger on him, because you know that if you tried, he'd see it. And if he didn't, you'd watch your precious teammates die slowly, and then I'd pull your sister's plug, and then I might have the decency to kill you and put you out of your misery,/ the telepath said behind thick walls that no one else could hear.

"Enough." Julia barked. "The point of all this is that Sushiko knows we're coming. He's also made it very clear that he could kill any of us at any time. This has become a game, and if we don't play it right we'll all wind up dead. We land in an hour, thank God, let's try to keep everyone alive until then."

Schuldig's eyes were icy as he continued to glare at Aya, apparently not having heard Julia or outright ignoring her.

Aya glared back and tightened his hold on Yohji ever so slightly, as if to protect him from whatever evil Schuldig might produce simply by standing there.

Julia sighed. "Brad, you mind controlling your German?"

Schuldig smirked slightly. /Just leave him alone ,ne?/ he whispered mentally. /Or I'll make sure I go through with my threat./

Aya made no response as Schuldig flipped his hair over his shoulder and made his way back to his seat. Brad followed him, shaking his head ever so slightly. Ken and Omi moved to let Aya help Yohji up and out of the cramped space.

On their secure line, Adrian nudged Julia. /Schuldig just made Brad a target. If Sushiko was paying attention to that little discourse, he'll note the dissention between those two. The worst thing that could happen now was if this girl got to Brad./ he said.

Julia nodded. /What was it we said years ago? Brad keeps him stable.... I'd hate to see what would happen if that were taken from him./

/But I think it's become the same with Aya and Yohji. If Yohji were killed -and stayed dead- he would be a formidable opponent for Schuldig./ Adrian mused.

/It wouldn't be Schu's fault./

/If we don't watch him it might be. He's making me nervous./

/Schuldig always made you nervous, Adrian./

/Don't get defensive with me, Jules. You know he's impulsive./

/He's older now. Give him SOME credit, ne?/

Adrian abruptly cut the link and headed back towards their seats. They only had to make it for forty-five more minutes, and then they could split them up in the hotel.

Schuldig had moved to the seat closes to the window by the time everyone returned and was entertaining himself by staring out the window.... well... as entertaining as that can be for a telepath.

Brad sat next to him, and Aya placed Yohji between himself and the leader of Schwartz, where he figured the brunet would be safest. It was understood between the two leaders that the animosity between the groups was now mostly business, except in the case of Schuldig. Aya eyed the German carefully before turning his attention to treating the cut that still adorned Yohji's temple.

Schuldig yawned, stretched, and then laid his seat back to sleep again. He laid it back right into Adrian. Again. "Do you always insist on sitting right behind me?" the German grumbled.

"No. God put me here."

"My foot He did..."

The rest of the trip passed in tense silence, until the plane landed. Now they faced the madness of the airport, and finding all of their luggage.

/Remind me,/ Schuldig's voice echoed in Brad's mind, /that lack of sleep, people trying to kill you, and loud crowds are a perfect mixture for a head ache, ne?/

"Tell me about it." Brad murmured. Large crowds were no place for people with special mental abilities. Way too much overflow. Even Aya looked slightly overwhelmed.

"Look at this place!" Omi exclaimed. "It's amazing!"

Nagi nodded his agreement. "Too bad we're here on business...."

"Hey, with the money we're getting, we'll be able to afford a vacation afterwards." Yohji said, pushing his sunglasses onto the bridge of his nose.

"Not if we're dead," Schuldig muttered, for once serious.

"Been there, done that, I suppose I should find a t-shirt." Yohji replied.

 "Hmm... And maybe the rest of us should get 'we see dead people' t-shirts."

"Yeah, that would be cool."

Schuldig laughed. "Ne.... I feel kind of out of place here," he muttered, looking at his pale skin and touching his wild red hair.

"Hai..." Julia murmured, brushing a lock of her white hair behind her ears. "Well, I fit in." Brad said with a smug look.

"Just keep telling yourself that, Braddy," Schuldig answered with a grin.

"Don't mind if I do." Brad said, a little ruffled. "There's the baggage claim!" Omi announced.

The group gathered their belongings and headed out toward the exit.

"We're staying at the most prominent hotel in downtown Cairo, so every one behave. We don't want to be deported." Julia said as they hailed three taxis.

"Us? Misbehave?" Schuldig feigned innocence.

"See you there!" Julia said as they split by teams into the three taxis.

After they reached the hotel and Julia had begun to check in Nagi made his way up to her. "Julia-san?"

"Hai, Nagi-kun?" She asked with a smile. One couldn't help loving the kid.

"I was thinking.... Would it be better to put Omi-san and I in the same room so that we might be able to do the computer work together more efficiently?"

"Nagi, darling, in a world of grown-ups gone wacko you are my saving grace. That would definitely be wise. I'll arrange it."

The normally stoic boy smiled slightly and bowed politely. "Domo arigato, Julia-san."

"Doutashimashte." /So that puts Nagi and Omi in the same room, Brad and Schuldig, Aya and Yohji, so what to do with Farfarello?/ she mused.

 /He can always be leashed outside to a tree...../ Schuldig's thoughts invaded her mind.

 /Oh, yes. Wouldn't the citizens of Cairo love that? An Irish madman loosed in Egypt by Japanese, German, and American idiots./

 /I am not a part of that,/ Brad said over the Schwarz link.

/He's your goonie, you darn well are a part of it./ Julia shot back. /I suppose Ken can room with me and I'll put Adrian with Farfarello./

"You're going a night without Adrian?!" Schuldig asked, faking astonishment and saying it rather loudly.

"Farfarello? Get him."

Schuldig used his speed to run away... and ran right smack-dab into Adrian.

 "Julia, you can't be serious," Adrian said, looking at her over the German plastered to his jacket.

"Yeah.... you have trouble being around ME and saying that I'm hurting myself...... What are you going to do around 'must have knife so I can continue my cutting habits' boy?"

"Adrian, other than Nagi you're the only one who could handle it if he...flipped or something. And since Nagi is rooming with Omi...."

"Let Schuldig handle him. They're about on the same level."

"Hey..." the German growled.

 "But what would I do with Brad?"

"See? You're stuck with the psycho," Schuldig said smugly.

Adrian sighed. He was in the doghouse for something, to have Julia doing this to him.

 Schuldig stretched. "Well, I'm ready to go to bed."

 "I think that's a good idea. We could all use the rest." Adrian agreed.

Everyone split into different groups and headed to their rooms.

Brad Crawford woke later that night to hear Schuldig tossing and turning in the bed across the room.

The German telepath was whimpering slightly.

He pushed back the covers and sat on the edge of his bed. "Schuldig?" He called softly.

The only response that came was a slight whimper.

Brad moved to sit on the side of Schuldig's bed and reached out a hand to touch his shoulder. "Schu?"

The German shot up, a scream escaping as he did so.

Brad jumped nearly a foot in the air, the scream taking him by surprise. He moved in front of Schuldig and grabbed his arms. "Schuldig!"

The telepath struggled for a moment, seemingly unaware of who was grabbing him.

"Schu, hey, easy, easy. Schuldig? It's me, Schu. Look at me." Brad coaxed.

Schuldig turned frightened gold eyes toward the older man. "Brad....?"

Brad gave him a half smile while trying to bring his own heartbeat down. "Hey."

The German shivered and clung to the precog like his life depended on it. "I never wanted to see that again," he whispered. "I never wanted to see him again..... Not even in a dream."

Brad realized whom the telepath was dreaming about and sighed. He hugged Schuldig to him and gently stroked his hair. "He's dead. It's been over for a long time."

Schuldig shuddered, vivid images of the nightmare in his head. "Why now...? Why is he haunting me now?"

"It's probably Sushiko, rehashing the past." Brad answered. He hadn't dreamed of that time in ages, but he could remember it like it was yesterday.

"Sushiko knew him," the German whispered. "He was Geheim's pet to do whatever Geheim wanted." His voice was low and dark, but his eyes were empty and haunted looking.

Brad's gaze hardened. "I know." he murmured. He held the telepath closer. "I know."

A tear found its way down the pale face. "Damn him.... Over and over again. I just want him to leave me alone...."

The American sighed pressed his face against the top of Schuldig's head. "I wish I could take it from you."

Schuldig's eyes suddenly darted around the room. "Someone's here..."

Brad moved one arm and grabbed the gun out of the waistband of his pants. /You're right./

/Did you see something?/

/Ah./

Schuldig shivered again. /Brad....../ The German's breath was coming in short gulps and he clung tighter to his American friend.

Brad's eyes darted around the room and he clutched Schuldig to him. /I'm here./

The telepath suddenly slumped against him, eyes sliding shut.

/Schu? Schuldig!/ Brad called mentally, shaking the German. /Julia! We have problems!/ he shouted over their link. "Schu, come on, look at me."

A small groan escaped from the telepath, but nothing more.

"Who the hell are you?" He demanded of the room, and of whoever was doing this.

A childish giggle floated through the room as the only response.

Brad frowned. "Hello?" he called. "Who are you?" A child?

"Aww... is he hurt?" the voice echoed.

"What's your name?"

"Why do you care?"

"Why are you doing this?"

"Why not?"

"You're hurting him."

"Oh.... So sorry." Schuldig shifted slightly and groaned. The giggle came again. "I meant to kill him."

Blue eyes widened. "Why? Who told you to do this?"

"Who says I have to be told?"

"You wouldn't even know who we were if Daniel hadn't sent you. You're the one that attacked the man on the plane, aren't you?"

"Oh? You mean the assassin sent to kill us?"

"You killed him and then revived him. I've met people like you. You have the ability to kill and then bring back to life, on your whims. Why are you doing this to Schuldig?"

"Because I'm bored."

 "Why don't you play with Daniel?"

"Oh, but I love Daniel. I wouldn't hurt him." The giggle came again. "He's gone, you know?"

Brad immediately looked down at the still German in his arms. Too still..."Schuldig?" he breathed.

The American found no pulse, no breath. His face was paler than usual, even in the dark light.

 He felt his own heart skip a beat. "Schu?" he whispered, trying to elicit some reaction from him. He looked up at the girl. "Don't do this...don't...please..."

"Doshite?"

"I need him..."

"Pathetic."

"I love him."

"Love..." the girl whispered. "I could always kill him again," she said lowly.

Schuldig tensed suddenly, letting out a long breath. "Brad....?"

The girl was gone in a blinking of the eye, but Brad wasn't watching anyway. His whole body sagged and he tightly embraced the German. "Schuldig..."

The German shuddered. "Let's not do that again."

Brad let out a half laugh half sob as twin tears fell down his face. "No, let's not."

"I'm tired," the German whispered.

"Me too." Brad replied softly.

"Is she gone?"

 "Yes."

Schuldig laid his head down on the pillow. "Will I dream again?"

Brad laid down next to him. "No. Not tonight."

The German nodded.

Brad held him and placed shields around his mind. That had been too close. Way to close.

/Do you really care about me, Brad?/ the tired voice echoed in his head.

He kissed the back of Schuldig's head. /I do./

/Danke./

/Always./

Nagi Naoe stretched and yawned in front of his computer screen. "Blasted thing," he mumbled.

"What's the matter?" Omi asked, looking up from his laptop.

"Nothing. It's just taking a while the dial up system...."

"Ah. Aya-kun got me a laptop with DSL for Christmas last year. Thought I'd died and gone to computer heaven."

"My computer at home has it, but I couldn't bring it on my laptop. Should have anyway."

"It's a two-sided sword. KenKen's always getting onto me for being up until all hours of the morning while I'm still in school."

"Really? If Crawford thinks I'm overworking he just walks in, shuts it down and walks out without a word."

Omi laughed. "Seriously? No, if Ken ever did that I'd stick darts in awkward places, and he knows it."

"Brad... Crawford... well... I know he cares, so I just let him do it. He won't ever admit it openly of course. Not in front of anyone else standing around."

"Aya's like that. You know he cares, especially with how many times he's dragged Yohji in when he got drunk off his rocker. But he'd never say anything either."

"Brad saved Schu and me from Rosenkreuz. I... We both owe him our lives."

"That must have been hard for you, growing up there."

"I didn't.... not as much as Schu did."

"Is that why he's so bitter sometimes?"

"Schuldig? Yes...."

"And that's why he's so attached to Crawford." Omi concluded.

"Yes. Crawford was the only one that could save him from Geh.... I'm talking too much..."

"I'm not going to tell anyone. It's okay, if you feel like talking."

"There was a headmaster at Rosenkreuz that was known for finding the weaker ones to.... torture... Mentally, physically... it didn't matter. Schu got that honor. I was foolish enough not to see what was going on and I even...."

"What?" Omi asked gently.

"I helped Geheim and nearly killed Schuldig. But Crawford took me away from Rosenkreuz and they gave me a home."

Omi nodded. "I understand...Sometimes I wonder..."

"Hmm?"

 "I wonder what I would have been like if my father would have paid my ransom. But I don't wonder long. I would have been a victim of Aya's 'Takatori...SHI NE!" he said, imitating Aya's fury look as he said it. He scrunched up his nose. "I don't think one of my goals is being shishkabobed by Aya-kun."

Nagi laughed, and then looked surprised by his own action. "I wouldn't be here if I didn't have Brad and Schu. And I know Schu wouldn't be here if not for Brad.... and Adrian to keep him from overdosing..."

"Yeah. I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for Aya, Yohji, and Ken. Yohji wouldn't be here without Aya. I guess in both our cases, everyone needs each other, huh?"

"Yes.... But I suppose everyone needs someone, ne?"

"I suppose then, we're fairly lucky after all."

Nagi smiled. "Yes, I suppose we are."

Aya was torn between staring at the ceiling and staring at Yohji breathing. The brunet assassin wasn't sleeping, but he was breathing, and that's all Aya cared about at the moment. Aya kept a hand on his gun underneath his pillow, trying to get rid of the uneasy feeling in his chest.

Something had happened and he was sure of it. He just wasn't sure of WHAT had happened.

"Aya? You awake?" Yohji finally asked quietly.

 "Yes...."

 "She shot me, didn't she? I remember it now."

 "Yes."

 "I remember thinking how pissed off you were going to be at me for getting killed so early in the mission." Yohji said with a dry tone in his voice.

 Aya sighed. "That wouldn't be the term I'd use...."

 Yohji turned his head to look at Aya in the dark. "What term would you use?"

 "Scared to death."

 That wasn't what Yohji was expecting to hear, of all things. "Scared?" he echoed softly.

 "Yes..."

 "Doshite?"

 "Because you're my best friend and I'd die without you!"

 Yohji stared at him in the darkness, green eyes wide. He'd considered them friends, and he'd lay down his life for Aya without thought because he'd sworn to protect the younger man. He hadn't thought...

 "I've lost too many people," Aya whispered. "I will not loose you too."

 Yohji closed his eyes and smiled. "Arigato...It's nice to know I'm alive."

 Aya smiled in the darkness. "Stay that way."

 "Can we sightsee?" Yohji asked a few minutes later. "I've never seen the Sphinx..."

 "Sphinx, huh? That could be fun."

 "Cool."

 "Get some sleep, Yotan. You'll probably need it if we're playing the part of tourists."

 "Night, Ayan."

 "Night."

Author's notes 2: All right, before some of you flip and ask why we didn't warn you this was a shounen-ai fic, it's because this isn't a shounen-ai fic. All fluff is meant platonically, but I suppose you can view it as you like it. ^^; But it was meant platonically. Thanks!