Author's Notes: Sorry for the delay of this chapter, guys. Some things can't be helped. Gomen nasai. Enjoy!

            Chapter Five: Into the Lion's Den

They all followed the clairvoyant leader of Schwarz down the winding tunnel.

/Will he be in here?/ Schuldig whispered through the Schwarz link.

/Yes.../ Brad answered, upholstering his weapon.

/Anything we should watch for?/

/I don't know yet./

/When WILL you know?/

The ten entered a large chamber to face a menacing looking man sitting on a golden throne. "So, you came. It's been a while, Julia, Schuldig."

"Not long enough, for my own liking," Schuldig muttered.

"Aww, that wasn't nice. It's nice to see you alive. I was surprised to hear my pet had let you go."

Schuldig let a small smile appear on his lips. "She'll regret doing so soon enough."

Daniel Sushiko shrugged. "She can take care of herself. You can't hurt her." He turned cold, grey eyes on the tallest assassin of Weiß. "I heard you had an encounter as well."

"Real pretty girl, but not my type, actually," Yohji said nonchalantly.

Sushiko smirked. "I like that. A sense of humor." He held out his hand and a black haired girl stepped out and took it. Her black eyes glittered with amusement and malice. Sushiko smiled. "This is Kuroyuri. My angel."

"If she's from Rosenkreuz, she's no angel," Schuldig assured him.

"I wouldn't insult her. She's very vengeful."

Schuldig shrugged. "It's not an insult, only the truth. Angels don't come out of the deepest pits of hell."

"Black ones do." Kuroyuri said softly. A soft blue light began to glow around her. "I have business to finish, don't I, Daniel?"

"Indeed you do," he agreed.

She gathered the light in her hands. "Die!" she exclaimed, letting it go.

"Aya!" Yohji cried. He shoved his leader to the side, the orb ripping through his arm.

Kuroyuri laughed. "Daniel, would you mind?"

It was chaos in an instant. Schuldig found himself rooted to the spot as the place was flooded with henchmen, dressed to everyone's mild surprise, as mummies.

All at once, all shields fell. He felt the world spin. /Brad....?/

"Schuldig!" he heard the cry. The American had a mind splitting vision as he laid out one of the people they were fighting. Kuroyuri was gathering energy again. "Schuldig!"

The telepath sank to the ground, holding his head in a numbing pain. No, not numbing. Numbing would be welcome. This was paralyzing. He couldn't move, but he could feel. He could feel the intense pain that he had near to forgotten accompanied absolutely no shielding.

"Damn it! Schuldig!" Brad cried. He wasn't going to reach him in time.

"Ken!" Omi screamed suddenly. "Watch out!"

Kuroyuri released her orb just as Brad slammed into Schuldig, throwing the German well out of range of the hit. Brad felt his body being lifted off the ground before feeling himself slammed into the far wall. He fell to the ground in a heap, blood staining his jacket.

Schuldig's eyes widened. "Nein.... Brad......BRAD!"

Ken whirled at Omi's outcry. "Omi?" he questioned. He gasped as a sharp pain overtook his body, and he sank to his knees, a man behind him driving his dagger further into the former J-League player.

"KEN!"

"Omi-kun! Move!" Nagi yelled out, throwing one of the advancing men back with his Gift.

Omi was heedless to the young boy's warning as he plunged darts into Ken's attacker. He fell to his knees and cradled Ken against him. "Ken?"

Ken groaned and his eyes fluttered open. "Daijoubu, Omi-kun."

Omi ran his fingers over the wound in Ken's side. "You'll be all right..."

Kuroyuri smirked. "I got one."

Daniel nodded and clapped twice. All the 'mummies' vanished within seconds.

Schuldig struggled to his knees and made his way to where Brad was lying motionless. "Brad? Please," he whispered in German. "Please, Brad...."

Adrian helped Julia up from where she had fallen earlier and they watched Schuldig try to wake the unresponsive American.

Kuroyuri laughed. "Oh, silly. He isn't dead. Yet."

/Don't kill him..... Please..../

"Too late. He has four days before he dies."

/What did you do?/

"It's a nice little trick Daniel taught me. Some people can kill instantly. Some people can make a hit that kills slowly. I can do both."

Schuldig's golden eyes flashed widely. "Don't you dare kill him. Reverse it!"

"I can't. It's irreversible."

"I don't believe you," the telepath growled.

"Believe it." Sushiko said. "It's like one of your mental attacks. It cannot be reversed."

"Nein.... You can bring people back, though. So you can bring him back!"

"Because I can't bring people back unless they're dead." Kuroyuri said with a smile. "So, unless you want to risk killing him yourself and then begging me to bring him back, there's nothing I can do."

Schuldig used his speed and was at her in less than a second, a gun to her head. "You WILL save him. One way or another," he growled out.

She laughed. "And what good is killing me going to do?" she challenged. "He'll die if you kill me."

Brad groaned and forced himself to sit up.

An evil glint entered her eye. "Kill him and I'll bring him back."

Schuldig's golden orbs narrowed. "I don't believe you."

She shrugged. "What are you going to do? Kill me and he dies."

The German looked back at his leader.

Brad stood, and straightened his jacket. "It would seem that I am in an undesirable position either way."

/It's your call./

"Whatever you wish to do, Schuldig. It would seem that I would die no matter what. It would be fitting if you decided how."

/I can't kill you, Brad.../

"Well, then I suppose we wait for the end."

/Demo.... If I don't...../

His dark blue eyes flickered past him to rest on something behind the German. He smiled and nodded.

"I will." The shot rang out.

Brad kept his smile as he slumped forward, dead.

Aya looked up at Yohji in semi-shock.

Schuldig fought back the panic. "Now bring him back," he growled at the girl.

Kuroyuri laughed. "I lied." She and Sushiko vanished from sight.

"Nein...." Schuldig whispered. "Nein......" He fell as his knees gave out on him and sat on the cold ground, eyes blank. He mumbled several things over and over in his native language.

/It wasn't enough...you said.../Adrian called to Julia over their link. Julia wasn't listening. Her eyes were fixed on Brad's body as she stumbled forward.

Nagi shook slightly, but then pulled himself together and walked over to the telepath. "Schuldig?"

"Well that didn't go as planned." Yohji stated, lowering his weapon.

"You don't say..." Omi muttered, helping Ken over towards the group.

Schuldig shivered slightly, golden eyes still a dull color.

"Schu?" Nagi whispered.

"I think he's gone into shock." Ken rasped, sitting heavily against part of the wall. "One time there were three of us headed back from a soccer game. We got into a wreck, the driver died. The other passenger kind of spaced at first, and then went cold. Shut down from the inside, I guess. They were good friends."

"But they were okay, right?" Nagi asked.

"Yeah...but I don't think even they had the kind of bond that those two do.... did..." Ken said, trailing off.

Nagi turned his half desperate gaze toward Julia and Adrian. "Julia-san...? Help him... Onegai?"

"Julia...you can't..." Adrian said, watching his lover kneel between where Brad was lying and where Schuldig was sitting.

"Something has to be done," she whispered.

"There has to be another way."

"No."

Julia closed her eyes and stretched out her right palm. A strange, pale light began to emanate from with in her, and wind swirled around her. Both Schuldig and Brad began to glow as well, and the German felt an odd tugging at his insides, like someone was pulling at his heart. The light and the wind became stronger until there was a sudden flash, and all fell still. Julia swayed and collapsed.

"Julia!" Adrian leapt forward to catch her before she hit the ground.

Aya looked confused for a moment. "He's alive..." he said finally.

Schuldig stirred and blinked, eyes returning to their normal shade. "Brad.... Brad!" he called, sitting up from where he had fallen and shaking his friend.

The clairvoyant groaned and attempted to roll over, not making it very far.

The German telepath nearly glomped him. "You're alive!"

"Obviously..."

"You were dead just a minute ago...."

"Gotcha."

"Excuse me....?" Schuldig managed.

"Never mind." He ran a hand over his chest, pausing when he came to the bullet hole in his shirt. He glanced up at Yohji. "You're a good shot."

The Weiß assassin smirked. "I know.

"How... did she do that?" Omi managed, staring in disbelief.

"Do you remember the flash of light just before Yohji was brought back to life?" Adrian asked quietly.

Omi nodded.

"Julia has the ability to do that too, only it drains her. The last time she did it she was comatose for a week."

"You should probably take her back to the hotel. It won't be safe for her like that."

"We should all go back. They won't return here, now that we've found it. Everyone has injuries that need to be tended too." Adrian said.

Crawford seemed to think about this for a moment, and then nod. "That would be best."

Julia stirred. /I'm sorry, Brad./ she whispered.

/For what? You just saved my life./

/All I did was buy you time. I couldn't reverse her attack./

/Don't worry about it. All you need to do right now is rest./

/We'll find a way, Brad. I promise./ Julia said before drifting off again.