[A/N: a paradigm shift is like a change of the state of mind. And since I'm
here already, thanks for the reviews, you rule. Sorry for the cliffhanger,
by the way. I couldn't help myself. Hope you forgive me. ^_^]
Paradigm Shift [7]
...
"Where are Schuldig and Naoe?" Brad caught up to Farfarello a short way down from the building.
"I haven't seen them since we separated before the mission," Farfarello replied, looking around for his team mates.
"They can take care of themselves," Brad insisted but tried to channel his thoughts to Schuldig anyway.
~
/Brad, where are you?/ Schuldig looked around at what was happening around him and couldn't think of the first thing to do but contact his leader.
/Where we designated to meet after the mission. Farfarello is with me./
/I see Nagi. We'll be alright. Go ahead without us./ Schuldig insisted and heard no opposition from Brad.
Yohji finally caught up to him and almost lost his breath as he saw what everyone had been starting at. "Aya!"
~
Ran felt real panic, something that doesn't come to him very often. He was falling and fast. He let go of his katana some time ago and now had nothing to grasp on to. Suddenly, he felt himself stop in midair. Not quite sure what had caused this, he looked up to see Ken desperately clutching his arm from the sixth story fire escape.
"Close one, huh?" Ken smiled down at him despite the circumstances.
"Ken.." Ran looked a bit awestruck for a moment until he regained his senses. "No, you have to let me go! This fire escape will collapse under your feet. Just let me go and run like hell!"
"Yea, right." Ken almost laughed it off. "I just need a better grip on your arm so I can pull you up. Just hold on to.." He wasn't able to finish his sentence before, as predicted, the fire escape gave in altogether and both men went falling to the ground, with nothing to hold on to this time.
Omi caught his breath for perhaps the sixteenth time that night. "Ken! Aya!" He shut his eyes and moved his head to the side, refusing to see the outcome of this.
Nagi looked up at Omi and, for a split second, was completely lost in his own mind.
"Schwarz and Weiss..."
"There's no black and white, good and bad, little one." Schuldig's voice appeared out of his memories.
"Find me a weakness, something I can use." Brad this time. That uncaring voice, interested only in his own ominous purposes.
"Abyssinian and Siberian.. what do they dream about?"
"Each other." That conversation with Schuldig that started all of this. What if they both died? He'd be responsible. Worse yet, what if one died and the other didn't? Nagi got the most awful feeling in his stomach.
"You're a good kid." Schuldig again.
"You're stuck between what you know and what you want."
"I won't let you hurt my friends!" Finally, Omi's voice broke through in his memories, and there was no more doubt.
Nagi pulled his arms away from Omi's, bleeding side or no bleeding side, and forced out every last bit of energy left in him. Ran and Ken suddenly stopped near the top of the first floor and gently descended to the ground. Nagi collapsed totally from exhaustion.
"Holy shit," Schuldig couldn't believe what he was seeing.
Yohji allowed his lips to curve a bit to one side. Well that was.. unexpected. He wasn't quite sure what to do with himself. He looked over at Schuldig who seemed to be having the same problem.
Omi opened his eyes, bewildered. He looked down at Nagi who was almost unconscious on his shoulder.
"Let's go, kid." Schuldig finally moved and picked Nagi up off the ground. "You've done enough for one night."
"Schuldig," Nagi murmured into his shoulder. "Promise you won't tell Crawford?"
Schuldig laughed and waved good-bye to Omi and Yohji as he disappeared, like he often does, into thin air, with Nagi in his arms.
/No, I won't say anything. You have too much blackmail on me, anyway./
/Thanks./
/You and I need to have a conversation, though./
~
Omi finally stood up off the ground and looked up at Yohji. Without words, they walked over to where Ran and Ken were trying to recover, themselves.
"What the hell happened?" Ken was kneeling on the ground, one palm on his forehead.
"Omi, you're bleeding," Ran noticed and picked himself up.
"It's not my blood," Omi replied quietly, looking at his feet.
"Aya," Ken said, looking over at his team mate. "How are we alive?"
Yohji sighed and pulled his dirtied glasses off his nose, wiping them with the cuff of his jacket. "It was that Schwarz telekinetic.." he started but was interrupted by Omi.
"Nagi."
"You are not serious," Ken groaned as he picked himself up off the ground. He wiped his forehead and looked at the blood on his hand with disdain.
Ran didn't say anything as he barely managed to limp towards them, holding his ribs.
"Here, I got ya'." Ken moved to hold him up, but Ran pushed him away.
"It's fine."
Without another word, they all made their way through the ruins of the building and to where Yohji parked Seven, their mode of transportation for the night. He got into the driver's seat (only Yohji was allowed to drive Seven), and Ran slipped into the passenger's seat, wincing as he put pressure on his bruised ribs. Ken and Omi perched themselves at the doors of the backseat, each lost in his own thoughts.
~
"I think we should take him to the hospital," Schuldig said to Crawford as he watched Farfarello wrap a bandage around Nagi's wound.
"And tell them what?" Came the cold reply.
"Well, at least get a private doctor over to look at him. It's a deep wound."
"If you insist," Brad said as he retreated to his office to call for some sort of private medical assistance.
/Talk to me, kid./
/Since when do you care about what happens to me?/ Even Nagi's thoughts sounded strained.
Schuldig sighed and sat on the edge of the bed. /This isn't the time to discuss my morals. It's time to discuss yours. How about you explain a little bit of what went through your head back there./
Nagi almost smirked. /I thought you knew everything that goes on in my head./
/I'm not playing games, kid. Do you have any idea how serious what you did was?/
/Yes, I'm not stupid. I know very well how serious it was./
/Not stupid? Really? Could've fooled me./ Schuldig laid down at the foot of Nagi's bed, stretching his arms over his head.
"I'm going to go clean my knives," Farfarello announced and stood up. "Siberian's blood is drying on them."
"See ya, Fraf." Schuldig called, not betraying anything of the tone of conversation he and Nagi were currently having.
/If you must know, your words were the majority of what was going through my head right before I saved them./ Nagi's voice forced itself into his mind.
/Don't blame this one on me./
Nagi's mind became silent for a moment. Well, as silent as a mind can be. Human thoughts are screaming entities, each one trying to be heard over the next. /You said before the mission that you knew I wouldn't kill them./
/There's a neutral territory between not killing someone and actually going out of your way to keep them alive. You completely just skipped right over that territory, kid./
/I was thinking about what you said about there being no real good and bad, and if there is only gray than how can I say that they're not good enough to live? Then I thought of Crawford and how he's never looked out for us a day in his life./
/And that sounds like a good reason to act as irrationally as you did?/
/Abyssinian and Siberian both risked their own lives to save each other. They did it without even a second thought, and I've never known people in my entire life to act like that.
/I'm hurt./
/Shut up, I'm being serious./
~
Yohji's foot kept slipping a little harder onto the pedal. He felt like driving right off the edge of the world. That kid, he thought, rolling his cigarette in his mouth. Doesn't he know the rules of this game? We're rivals, nemeses. But damn, would it be easier if we weren't.
Yohji looked over at Ran who seemed to have made it his duty to scowl at everything they drove past. "You alright, Aya?"
"Hn." The grunt and the frown.
"Drive you to a hospital?"
"No. I said it's fine."
"You always say that."
"And I'm always fine."
Can't argue with that. Ran had an eerie ability to just walk his injuries off. Well, the physical ones at least. The emotional ones would take some work on the part of someone who's willing to get their hands dirty.
Yohji turned away from his teammate and focused his attention back on the road. His mind lingered on his fight with Mastermind earlier that night. Why is it that whenever they fight, they can never bring themselves to give it all they've got? He knew that if they had been both trying tonight, one of them would have ended up dead. Instead, they both left with barely a scratch. It wasn't normal protocol to go easy on the enemy.
Ran tuned Yohji out of his head and focused his attention back to the trees they quickly passed by. He kicked himself for being so impulsive. He has always gone out of his way to deliberately be as rational, levelheaded, and composed as possible. Losing it all like that because of one thing made him feel weak and at a disadvantage to the enemy. Oracle could have very well gotten his head on a silver platter tonight, and that thought bothered him immensely. No, Ran thought, no more of allowing this to hinder his abilities and clear thinking.
Omi closed his eyes and tried to still his mind. It was still racing from the mission. He was relieved beyond belief that his teammates were safe, but confused by everyone's unusual actions. Why did the Schwarz telekinetic help his friends? 'More importantly, why did I help him?' Omi thought and rested his head on the door. He had a sinking feeling in his stomach that this was just the beginning of something much bigger.
Ken mentally kicked himself. How could he have been so royally stupid and careless? He bit his lip and looked over to Ran in the front seat. He had the haunting feeling that their fearless leader would not let this slide by easily. How could he have just completely missed the explosives attached to his belt? He turned his attention back outside and sighed. 'I put all of them in danger. Especially Aya,' he thought, guilt building up inside of him.
Paradigm Shift [7]
...
"Where are Schuldig and Naoe?" Brad caught up to Farfarello a short way down from the building.
"I haven't seen them since we separated before the mission," Farfarello replied, looking around for his team mates.
"They can take care of themselves," Brad insisted but tried to channel his thoughts to Schuldig anyway.
~
/Brad, where are you?/ Schuldig looked around at what was happening around him and couldn't think of the first thing to do but contact his leader.
/Where we designated to meet after the mission. Farfarello is with me./
/I see Nagi. We'll be alright. Go ahead without us./ Schuldig insisted and heard no opposition from Brad.
Yohji finally caught up to him and almost lost his breath as he saw what everyone had been starting at. "Aya!"
~
Ran felt real panic, something that doesn't come to him very often. He was falling and fast. He let go of his katana some time ago and now had nothing to grasp on to. Suddenly, he felt himself stop in midair. Not quite sure what had caused this, he looked up to see Ken desperately clutching his arm from the sixth story fire escape.
"Close one, huh?" Ken smiled down at him despite the circumstances.
"Ken.." Ran looked a bit awestruck for a moment until he regained his senses. "No, you have to let me go! This fire escape will collapse under your feet. Just let me go and run like hell!"
"Yea, right." Ken almost laughed it off. "I just need a better grip on your arm so I can pull you up. Just hold on to.." He wasn't able to finish his sentence before, as predicted, the fire escape gave in altogether and both men went falling to the ground, with nothing to hold on to this time.
Omi caught his breath for perhaps the sixteenth time that night. "Ken! Aya!" He shut his eyes and moved his head to the side, refusing to see the outcome of this.
Nagi looked up at Omi and, for a split second, was completely lost in his own mind.
"Schwarz and Weiss..."
"There's no black and white, good and bad, little one." Schuldig's voice appeared out of his memories.
"Find me a weakness, something I can use." Brad this time. That uncaring voice, interested only in his own ominous purposes.
"Abyssinian and Siberian.. what do they dream about?"
"Each other." That conversation with Schuldig that started all of this. What if they both died? He'd be responsible. Worse yet, what if one died and the other didn't? Nagi got the most awful feeling in his stomach.
"You're a good kid." Schuldig again.
"You're stuck between what you know and what you want."
"I won't let you hurt my friends!" Finally, Omi's voice broke through in his memories, and there was no more doubt.
Nagi pulled his arms away from Omi's, bleeding side or no bleeding side, and forced out every last bit of energy left in him. Ran and Ken suddenly stopped near the top of the first floor and gently descended to the ground. Nagi collapsed totally from exhaustion.
"Holy shit," Schuldig couldn't believe what he was seeing.
Yohji allowed his lips to curve a bit to one side. Well that was.. unexpected. He wasn't quite sure what to do with himself. He looked over at Schuldig who seemed to be having the same problem.
Omi opened his eyes, bewildered. He looked down at Nagi who was almost unconscious on his shoulder.
"Let's go, kid." Schuldig finally moved and picked Nagi up off the ground. "You've done enough for one night."
"Schuldig," Nagi murmured into his shoulder. "Promise you won't tell Crawford?"
Schuldig laughed and waved good-bye to Omi and Yohji as he disappeared, like he often does, into thin air, with Nagi in his arms.
/No, I won't say anything. You have too much blackmail on me, anyway./
/Thanks./
/You and I need to have a conversation, though./
~
Omi finally stood up off the ground and looked up at Yohji. Without words, they walked over to where Ran and Ken were trying to recover, themselves.
"What the hell happened?" Ken was kneeling on the ground, one palm on his forehead.
"Omi, you're bleeding," Ran noticed and picked himself up.
"It's not my blood," Omi replied quietly, looking at his feet.
"Aya," Ken said, looking over at his team mate. "How are we alive?"
Yohji sighed and pulled his dirtied glasses off his nose, wiping them with the cuff of his jacket. "It was that Schwarz telekinetic.." he started but was interrupted by Omi.
"Nagi."
"You are not serious," Ken groaned as he picked himself up off the ground. He wiped his forehead and looked at the blood on his hand with disdain.
Ran didn't say anything as he barely managed to limp towards them, holding his ribs.
"Here, I got ya'." Ken moved to hold him up, but Ran pushed him away.
"It's fine."
Without another word, they all made their way through the ruins of the building and to where Yohji parked Seven, their mode of transportation for the night. He got into the driver's seat (only Yohji was allowed to drive Seven), and Ran slipped into the passenger's seat, wincing as he put pressure on his bruised ribs. Ken and Omi perched themselves at the doors of the backseat, each lost in his own thoughts.
~
"I think we should take him to the hospital," Schuldig said to Crawford as he watched Farfarello wrap a bandage around Nagi's wound.
"And tell them what?" Came the cold reply.
"Well, at least get a private doctor over to look at him. It's a deep wound."
"If you insist," Brad said as he retreated to his office to call for some sort of private medical assistance.
/Talk to me, kid./
/Since when do you care about what happens to me?/ Even Nagi's thoughts sounded strained.
Schuldig sighed and sat on the edge of the bed. /This isn't the time to discuss my morals. It's time to discuss yours. How about you explain a little bit of what went through your head back there./
Nagi almost smirked. /I thought you knew everything that goes on in my head./
/I'm not playing games, kid. Do you have any idea how serious what you did was?/
/Yes, I'm not stupid. I know very well how serious it was./
/Not stupid? Really? Could've fooled me./ Schuldig laid down at the foot of Nagi's bed, stretching his arms over his head.
"I'm going to go clean my knives," Farfarello announced and stood up. "Siberian's blood is drying on them."
"See ya, Fraf." Schuldig called, not betraying anything of the tone of conversation he and Nagi were currently having.
/If you must know, your words were the majority of what was going through my head right before I saved them./ Nagi's voice forced itself into his mind.
/Don't blame this one on me./
Nagi's mind became silent for a moment. Well, as silent as a mind can be. Human thoughts are screaming entities, each one trying to be heard over the next. /You said before the mission that you knew I wouldn't kill them./
/There's a neutral territory between not killing someone and actually going out of your way to keep them alive. You completely just skipped right over that territory, kid./
/I was thinking about what you said about there being no real good and bad, and if there is only gray than how can I say that they're not good enough to live? Then I thought of Crawford and how he's never looked out for us a day in his life./
/And that sounds like a good reason to act as irrationally as you did?/
/Abyssinian and Siberian both risked their own lives to save each other. They did it without even a second thought, and I've never known people in my entire life to act like that.
/I'm hurt./
/Shut up, I'm being serious./
~
Yohji's foot kept slipping a little harder onto the pedal. He felt like driving right off the edge of the world. That kid, he thought, rolling his cigarette in his mouth. Doesn't he know the rules of this game? We're rivals, nemeses. But damn, would it be easier if we weren't.
Yohji looked over at Ran who seemed to have made it his duty to scowl at everything they drove past. "You alright, Aya?"
"Hn." The grunt and the frown.
"Drive you to a hospital?"
"No. I said it's fine."
"You always say that."
"And I'm always fine."
Can't argue with that. Ran had an eerie ability to just walk his injuries off. Well, the physical ones at least. The emotional ones would take some work on the part of someone who's willing to get their hands dirty.
Yohji turned away from his teammate and focused his attention back on the road. His mind lingered on his fight with Mastermind earlier that night. Why is it that whenever they fight, they can never bring themselves to give it all they've got? He knew that if they had been both trying tonight, one of them would have ended up dead. Instead, they both left with barely a scratch. It wasn't normal protocol to go easy on the enemy.
Ran tuned Yohji out of his head and focused his attention back to the trees they quickly passed by. He kicked himself for being so impulsive. He has always gone out of his way to deliberately be as rational, levelheaded, and composed as possible. Losing it all like that because of one thing made him feel weak and at a disadvantage to the enemy. Oracle could have very well gotten his head on a silver platter tonight, and that thought bothered him immensely. No, Ran thought, no more of allowing this to hinder his abilities and clear thinking.
Omi closed his eyes and tried to still his mind. It was still racing from the mission. He was relieved beyond belief that his teammates were safe, but confused by everyone's unusual actions. Why did the Schwarz telekinetic help his friends? 'More importantly, why did I help him?' Omi thought and rested his head on the door. He had a sinking feeling in his stomach that this was just the beginning of something much bigger.
Ken mentally kicked himself. How could he have been so royally stupid and careless? He bit his lip and looked over to Ran in the front seat. He had the haunting feeling that their fearless leader would not let this slide by easily. How could he have just completely missed the explosives attached to his belt? He turned his attention back outside and sighed. 'I put all of them in danger. Especially Aya,' he thought, guilt building up inside of him.