TATTOO YOUR SOUL

China seemed so utterly different.

It had taken so long to actually reach China, days it seemed. They had gotten to the boat by riding the high speed trains to Kitakyushu, heading southwest through the Sea of China, towards Shanghai.

Kristo, Robin, and Sakaki had known it would be different, but the others were surprised. They had been expected something, more stereotypical. What they found was a bustling metropolis, filled with tourist destinations. Huge skyscrapers towered, reaching for the heavens themselves. Everywhere they turned, something new caught their eyes.

At least, Brett and Kristo didn't pay any attention. They kept moving. As soon as the boat had gotten close enough, the pair leapt from the deck and onto the old, wooden, creaking dock. They helped the others clamber off the tiny scow before turning and walking towards the city itself. Customs didn't exist in those bustling fishing ports, more or less trusting the fishermen to be honest about their cargo. In a place as busy as Shanghai, no one could keep track of such things anyway.

Kristo led the way, having been to Shanghai at least once or twice before, and knowing the city. Or, at least, as much of the city as the shadow walker cared to know. He led them on foot as far as they seemed able to walk down and south through the city, past the commercial buildings and towards the suburbs. There, Kristo allowed for a brief respite on a bench and sprawled on the sidewalk under a dying tree.

They seemed so sad and lost. Kristo had noted it when they first arrived in Japan. Where Kristo had thrived, knowing the language and the world they had entered, they hadn't been prepared for the culture shock. No one else spoke Japanese. And, now, no one else spoke Chinese. They couldn't read the signs or understand a word anyone said. In time, the others adapted as best they could. Now, everything had just thrust them into yet another alien world. And, instead of relying on themselves, they had to rely on some unknown person Nagira had given them the address of.

Nycole looked saddest at all, lost without Kathain's presence at her side. She seemed so meek, worried about her missing friend. Kristo hoped, for her sake, they got to Kathain quickly before Nycole just allowed herself to waste away.

"Let's keep moving."

xxxx

The world seemed to clear.

The girl blinked, trying to sort things out. The world was so disconnected, so distant. She felt lost and fading, Moving and swaying, perhaps? But, no. The universe remained as fixed and as constant as it had always been. The room was still white, and she was still human, alive.

"Kathain…."

She blinked again.

There was a dark form, hovering over her. No. Not over her. Things were so unclear, so muddled. She felt dizzy, and, yet, not. Maybe it was the earth spinning and not her head. Kathain almost wanted to laugh, musing on how the earth did spin. It was just the planet's natural movement, the girl rationalized, not her dazed mind.

"What's so funny?"

Amon!

Kathain gasped, surging upright and almost clocking the man in the head as she did so. Amon moved back just in time to avoid her skull colliding with his. But, the motion was too severe, too quick, too soon. Kathain slumped back, into the warmth of his arms.

How long had she been there?"

"Amon…." Kathain couldn't quite form the full question yet.

The hunter didn't seem to need any further prompting. "It's alright. They brought you back, unconscious, maybe a few hours ago." The girl made a tired, waving sort of gesture with her hand, flopping it on an unsteady wrist; Amon caught her hand and held it, squeezing lightly and reassuringly. "What did they do to you?"

He sounded angry, fuming, in fact. Kathain wasn't sure why. She couldn't remember. She couldn't recall anything in fact. The last thing the girl remembered was Dr. Conner, sounding most displeased with her and the girl's refusal to answer any of his questions. Then, there was bleariness and blurriness. At least, that's what Kathain recalled.

No, there was more. They injected her with something. Conner sat there, smugly. He was still asking her questions. They blurred together, the words becoming one, cohesive mass. And, somehow, Kathain resisted.

"How long was I gone?" the girl whispered. "Before that?"

Amon shrugged. "Perhaps two hours."

"What did they want from you?"

Again, the former hunter shrugged. "I'm not sure." The man looked to her with fretful, gray eyes. "What did you tell them, Kathain?"

"Nothing." Kathain prayed her memory had not failed her.

"Good…"

xxxx

Xi-Wang.

Kristo studied the name on the piece of paper. Dusk had settled again, and he could shadowmeld, within reason. The warrior felt better, eased by this. Once again, he could reach into the shadows and draw forth any of the weapons he needed from the abyss, including his own sword. Instead, the man didn't, knowing the shadows would be ready if he needed them.

Slowly, on tired, aching legs, they walked down the long hall of the apartment building, trying desperately to stay as far away from the disgusting, grayed and weathered walls as possible. Kristo led, holding the crap of paper with the address in his left hand, leaving his right had ready to push into the shadows and take up his katana, providing he could get to real dark. The hall was only dim, not dark.

They trudged on, until they got to a door on the left. Kristo gave a nod to it; this was the one. He gave a knock, a gentle rap.

The door swung inwards, into darkness, and a grizzled hand reached out, pulling the swordsman in. Immediately, Kristo drew the dark around him, massing it and slipping into the abyss of night. As the man became one with the shadows, melding into them, the hand went through his wrist as Kristo dematerialized.

"Who the hell are you?" a strange female snarled, in English peppered with a Chinese accent.

Kristo swished around the form, carried by the shadows. Brett snapped his fingers, sparking a flame over his hand and building it into a ball. As soon as the fire elemental stepped inside, the apartment became illuminated with that soft, orange glow of pure fire. The stranger, an elderly, Chinese woman, with snow white hair and dark, ebony eyes, glared, pouting and pursing her lips together in annoyance and anger.

"Who are you to just come here?" Again, the old woman barked.

Robin stepped forward, bowing her head slightly. "Forgive us. Nagira… he told us you could help us."

"Nagira?" The woman softened. "Then, what about this shadow mage? What of him?"

Kristo dropped from the darkness. "You grabbed me."

The old woman sniffed. "Your train is waiting."

xxxx

"I couldn't tell them, Amon. They drugged me."

They had been given food and drink, and even hauled out to use a restroom. The restroom, to Kathain, was most welcome. However, the two stared at the food unsurely. It looked so good, sitting there at the foot of the door, smelling utterly delicious. He raised an eyebrow at the girl.

"Do you think we should eat it?" Kathain asked.

Amon shrugged. He had already grown tired of this game, of waiting for Solomon to make it's move. Obviously, now, the game was making friends. They were bound and destined to try anything to get in Kathain's good graces.

"It's probably safe."

The girl giggled, unable to control herself with the stress. "Probably?"

"You're the seer."

Kathain flopped over, laughing to herself. She couldn't take it anymore. Amon was right. She was in this mess because of her precognition, and only that would get them out. But, something kept her from looking directly into their shared future. Perhaps death. Perhaps her death. Definitely Amon's death. Kathain had seen it. It was certain. Written in stone, even, the marble of his own headstone.

The girl stopped, growing serious. She folded her knees up, resting her chin on them. "Amon, what do you think they're going to do to us?"

He shook his head. "They want your gifts intake. They'll do anything for that."

"And you….?" Kathain dared ask the question.

Amon hadn't thought about that. In truth, the man wasn't worried about himself. The hunter had been ready for death every moment of his life. Well, ready wasn't the word. Prepared and accepting were really the terms for what Amon felt in regards to death. But Kathain? She seemed so depressed and sullen at the thought. Dying, with her there, was not an option, no matter what her sight said. If Amon had anything to do with it, he- and Kathain- would die free, years from then.

"Try not to think of it."

xxxx

The rocking of the train cars lulled the witches to rest, to sleep, unaware of what lay ahead of them. They shared a box, crammed together, resting heads on shoulders as pillows. Kristo prowled about the dark halls, moving up and down, patrolling as he had the house. He barely slept. The others took shifts, keeping an even closer eye on the boxes and every passerby.

On a night train, however, there were few. Especially on such a long trek on those bullet trains. Robin had dreaded the thoughts of being cramped into yet another train, but suffered on, for Amon.

When his watch beeped, Brett jumped awake, but he could barely lift his eyelids to stay so. The young man had spent the entire day before awake, watching the sea slip beneath the trawler. And the days before saw sleepless nights as the fire elemental worried about their lost friend. In truth, the only reason why the others slept so soundly was purely from exhaust and nothing else. Their bodies gave out not by choice to rest, but by necessity.

That, and Brett couldn't quite figure out how to detangle himself. Nycole sat on one side of him, so closely, her head rested on Sakaki's shoulder. Bear had set his feet upon the arm rest to Brett's left. Moving even the slightest chanced waking up both the girls, something he'd rather not have done. They needed their rest for whatever fight lay ahead of them, in Italy.

Geoff waved a hand at Brett, gesturing for him to go back to sleep. "I'll go. You need to rest."

Brett didn't argue. Instead, he rested his head back against the seat to return to his slumber. Geoff meanwhile, slipped from between Robin and Bear and out of the box just as Raven returned from his rounds for sleep.

Geoff yawned, heading to the dining car to catch a quick cup of coffee if they were still serving before taking his watch. The lights were so blindly bright from the dimness to the car. Geoff glanced at the red L.E.D. scrolling marquis at the end of the car, waiting for the time to come up in numbers he could read. 4:36. Only five or six hours had passed since they left Shanghai.

The man shrugged. This was too slow, far too slow.

Geoff shoved his hands in his pockets, removing them only to give Kristo a quick wave before retreating for the dining car. The car was empty, save a man behind the counter, looking rather bored. Geoff did his best to order what he wanted, obviously incapable of saying the words in the appropriate language, before sitting down at the counter.

He trailed his fingers over the furmica, spelling her name. "Be safe."

Something dug into the base of his neck. Something cold and metal. It pressed, as if digging around for the bones beneath Geoff's skin.

"The fuck?"

He didn't get a chance to ask anything. A gruff man called back, shouting something in Chinese that Geoff roughly translated to, "You're under arrest."

And, then, there were those letters, sticking out in that string of syllables.

STN-C.

xxxx

Poor Geoff… he just wanted a cup of coffee.