LUCKY THIRTEEN
They fled.
The entire group of them.
They just packed up everything they could from the loft and left Nocturne abandoned. Maybe, someday, they could go back. But, right then, at that moment, as the sun rose, they had to leave. The sign in the window read "Closed Indefinitely" in dual languages. They filed out somberly upon leaving that sign and locking the doors behind them.
Geoff paused to give one last, sighing look to Hell, to the runes above the stage.
He shook his head and pulled the door shut.
Who knew when it'd be safe enough to return?
They thought they were safe at Nocturne. The STN and Solomon couldn't attack a large group like that, and especially not in the middle of a nightclub. Or so they had thought. Amon's very presence the night before indicated otherwise. Nocturne was no longer the nice, safe, cozy sanctuary it had once been. The trust and welcome that ragtag band offered had been broken and betrayed.
Even then, as Geoff climbed into the driver's seat of the green sedan, Sakaki feverishly rested, still trying to recover from the psychic outburst; Nycole stroked his hair, trying to sooth his pain. Geoff saw the pain written on her face. Nycole was an empath. She felt the emotions and thoughts of others, sometimes hurtfully so. Haruto's guilt, mingled with his sadness and fear, sting at her.
Sakaki had become the very thing he once hunted. The hunter was a witch, and an uncontrolled, dangerous one at that.
"How's he doing?"
The girl shrugged. "They're talking to him."
Geoff nodded, knowing exactly what she spoke of. "It'll be ok. We'll be back to the house in no time."
Nycole rubbed her head dolefully, desperately attempting to force the migraine from her head. Sakaki's migraine. It happened from time to time, with newly awakened witches. Without the proper control, they could easily overload and essentially blow a circuit. It was quite excruciating for the witch in question, along with any nearby empath. However, Sakaki wouldn't know this or understand any of this until he had rested up fully. He'd only been out for maybe three hours and was barely coherent when they loading him into the backseat of the car. Another 8 to 24 hours would see him up and ready to go.
Geoff twisted the key roughly in the ignition, and the sedan roared to life.
"We'll be home soon."
The few cars there peeled out, leaving Nocturne behind them.
xxxx
Karasuma had been ill in the night, violently so. Robin had cringed at the sound of the woman retching in her own toilet. The girl didn't want to think about whatever had hurt her so badly while scrying that it made Karasuma so sick. She wanted to go to Miho's side and comfort her, but the empathy had locked the bathroom door securely behind her.
Thus. Robin spent an unsuccessful half hour pleading with Kaasuma through the door.
After some time, the woman grew still and quiet, possibly sleeping even. Robin gave up and returned to the living room. There, Amon just stood, staring out the windows as the sun rose.
"Amon…. What's happening?"
The man didn't answer exactly. "We need to wrap this up as quickly and neatly as possible before Solomon figures out we've been helping the STN-J."
"And Sakaki?" she dared utter the question.
"He has chosen to side with the witches." Amon sat in the armchair, still not deigning to face the teenage girl behind him. "He has become one of them, and must be hunted."
Robin blinked. "But, you saw, he didn't want to hurt you. It was an accident."
"He has the secrets of the STN-J; he knows about you and the Arcanum," the man pointed out. "That's the only reason why we came to help Karasuma."
The Craft user shook her head. "No, it isn't. You enjoyed hunting."
Amon surged up onto his feet and before her in an instance. "Do you think I enjoy hunting down my friends. Sakaki, Kate…." The man swallowed hard. "You?"
Robin gasped. It was the first time she'd ever seen the distant Amon truly show emotion, and a real attachment to anyone. It was also the first time she'd ever hear him refer to anyone as his "friends." Amon had a softer side, somewhere under the rugged, gruff exterior of a hunter. He had a heart.
"I'm sorry."
Robin watched as he just backed away and sat again. "It's alright, Amon."
"No, it's not," Miho piped up.
Robin whirled around. The empath had been standing the doorframe for Lords knew how long. Robin prayed Miho had only just caught the tail end of that conversation, but, somehow, judging from the look on Karasuma's face, she'd been there longer.
"What did you see while scrying?" Amon pressed.
The empath let out a heavy breath. "If I told you, you probably wouldn't believe me. But, I'm going to tell you anyway." Karasuma let her full weight fall onto the couch before continuing. "Sakaki's gotten himself into a world of trouble. There's something different about him." Her fingers traced out the lines of fabric on the arm of the couch. "There are voices in his mind, telling him to do things. Voices that aren't his."
"The telepath." Robin was the first to jump to that conclusion.
Amon nodded, taking it in. "Could he be brainwashed?"
"Possibly. Or possibly something worse," Karasuma lamented. "I can't be sure at the moment. But, whatever it is, it's violent."
"Is it controlling him?" the teenager inquired.
Miho shrugged. "I don't know. It doesn't seem to be actively controlling him like brainwashing, but it is affecting his mental stability. This could be what's triggered his awakening." She closed her eyes. "You two go home for a while. I'll scry him again later and see what I can pull up."
Robin smiled warmly. "Rest well, Miss Karasuma."
xxxx
Sakaki's eyes cracked open.
"Good morning," Nycole purred.
Haruto's head pounded from the sound, almost like a hangover. Every sound beat his brain sharply, thumping on his skull. But the bright, happy sunshine was worse. The light blinded him, forcing his eyes immediately shut in instinctive response. Fortunately, the fairy sitting over him seemed to know and pulled a bandana over his eyes, tying it lightly behind his head.
"What happened?"
The girl placed a hand atop his heart. "You did good, Sakaki. It's ok." She spoke in hushed whispers, as if sensing his acoustic sensitivity. "You had an instinctive, defensive reaction. We'll have to work on controlling that."
"Where are we?" he asked.
"Leaving Tokyo."
xxxx
Miho drank her coffee slowly, holding the green jacket Sakaki had accidentally left at his desk. Amon and Robin returned to their haven, wherever that was. Haruto, however, refused to show up for work, or answer his found. This was providing the man was still capable of making the choice to answer or refuse her calls.
Amon's questioning burned in her mind.
"Brainwashing, mind control."
She had to be sure.
She had to scry one more time.
xxxx
Voices. Distant.
"Future."
"What do you see, Kathain?" It was Sakaki who asked this.
Kathain? A name. At last, Miho was making progress.
A female voice, obviously this Kathain's sang back. "I see the end of the world as we know it, Sakaki. It is the beginning of a new era. War is coming. In one short month, you will lose your closest mentor and a dear friend of yours."
The memory of the Factory flashed before Karasuma.
"A woman by the name of Karasuma shall be bound and held."
This was a memory of Sakaki's. Kathain had known about the Factory.
"They will die and be reborn, for she is the phoenix. A child of flame, magic, and science."
xxxx
"She knew…."
Miho breathed the words.
A precognitive. In Tokyo. And a powerful one at that. Precognitives had the ability to look into the future, just as Karasuma could look into emotions and the lingering energy on objects. They could tell you exactly how something was going to happen. And this one had known about Robin and the Factory. Who knew how dangerous this precog was as she wandered about Tokyo? Who knew what else these people were capable of?
Karasuma sighed. This had gone on long enough.
She had to report Sakaki and his friends.
For his own safety, Miho rationalized.
xxxx
Brett's sedan thundered down the highway, screaming and darting through traffic, threading through the lanes. He'd lost Geoff and Bear's cars amidst the morning rush long ago. It was a good thing everyone knew where they were heading. Brett had to drive like that, to loose himself in the adrenaline and pour out his energy into the engine and the road.
Loud music poured out of the speakers. Luckily, only Brett and Kathain rode in that car. Kristo, Raven, and Bear had taken one car, while Geoff, Nycole, and Sakaki were in the other. Kathain didn't mind the volume at all. She actually seemed to be enjoying it, loosing herself in the lyrics as much as Brett fell into the pure action of driving. Getting out of Nocturne and cutting loose like that seemed oddly comforting to the two of them, almost homey and welcoming.
The highway yawned before them, as much of the traffic disappeared along with the dwindling traffic.
"Slow down. Cop ahead."
Brett dropped his foot from off of the accelerated. After years of being around Kathain, he had learnt to trust the girl whenever she said such a thing. And, sure enough, just as they rounded a curve and hit a legal speed, Brett caught sight of the patrol car parked along the shoulder of the highway.
"Thanks," Brett called over the volume.
Kathain didn't answer. After a few seconds, he glanced over to her, taking his eyes off of the road just long enough to see the girl writing in her brown, leather bound book, ornamenting the name on that page.
The young man blinked disbelievingly. "He's one of the Thirteen?"
"Yup."
Brett looked again to make sure he'd read it right, but the name was there, emblazoned in black ink against the starkness of the page. "You're sure."
"Positive," Kathain flatly replied.
The name on the page, read simply:
Amon.
xxxx
Me even meaner. Have a wonderful day stewing over this one.