Across the city in a hotel, Nagi set Sarah down in his room. Sarah didn't want to mess with the kid as they were 'flying' across the city. She was amazed at the feeling of floating, but wasn't thrilled about the prospect of possibly falling. Granted she did get to see a nice view of the city, but that was beside the point.
"Thank for not dropping me," Sarah said as she was set down.
Nagi looked to her in surprise, as if he didn't expect the thank you. "You're welcome. The others will arrive shortly." A noise at the window captured his attention. "Greetings Farferello."
Farferello looked between the two of them and licked his dagger. Sarah suppressed a shudder. "You're not the one that threw a pillow at me," he stated twirling his dagger.
"No, she is not," Nagi said walking toward him. "Your room is ready next door. I think Crawford even bought you some new daggers."
"Daggers to hurt God," he said as he left the room.
Sarah breathed a sigh of relief, and then turned to Nagi. "Where are Alex and Kristi?"
"Probably with Schuldig and Crawford," he replied.
"That's hardly reassuring," Sarah said.
"Just be glad that you were not captured by Farferello," Nagi said. "His hostages tend to leave with less blood than they came with."
Sarah's eyes widened.
"My apologies, I did not wish to frighten you. I was merely stating a fact," Nagi said settling himself near a computer. "We may use you to bargain with the men of Weiss."
"Over my dead body," Sarah said stubbornly.
"Don't let Farferello hear that," Nagi said nonchalantly.
Sarah closed her mouth and sat down with a sigh.
Alex recovered from her faint when she felt Schuldig walking on solid ground. She yelped slightly when he placed her in a plush chair. She scooted away from him when he sat beside her.
"What? You don't like me?"
"You kidnapped me!"
"So?"
Alex hugged her knees to her chest and looked away from him. She thought to herself, 'Why did he have to be so good looking?' Shaking her head, 'No, he's a bad guy.'
Schuldig edged closer to her. "So, that's what you really think?"
Alex nearly smacked her forehead, remembering that he could read her mind. "Please don't do that."
"Do what?" He absently played with her hair.
"You should already know the answer to that," she said trying to edge away from him more.
Throwing his arm around her, "I don't know what you see in that member of Weiss. He's such an angsty goody goody, but myself on the other hand, I make evil an art."
"I'm not a fan of art," Alex said gritting her teeth.
Schuldig read her mind and whispered in her ear, "I think you are."
Crawford placed Kristi down on his bed and watched her sleep. He lightly touched her bangs and brushed them from her forehead.
Kristi stirred and groggily opened her eyes. She felt a cold hand on her warm forehead and sighed softly. Blinking, she froze at whom she saw, but her head throbbed and she put a hand to her head.
Crawford helped to sit her up and handed her a glass of water and some pills.
"How-?" Kristi shook her head. "Never mind." Looking at the pills, "what are those?"
"For your head," he replied. "I foresaw you had a headache. . .among other things."
Kristi stared at the pills.
"I'll make you take them," Crawford said threateningly.
With a sigh Kristi took them and sipped the water. She mumbled a 'thanks' and fell back against a pillow inwardly thinking, 'I bet those pills were to make me even more drowsy.'
Several hours passed, for the men of Weiss it seemed like an eternity. Ken stared out the window, but his vision focused on nothing in particular. Aya rested against the wall, with his sword against his shoulder. Yohji sat in a chair, holding an unsmoked cigarette, and seemed to be in a daze. Omi's fingers flew over the keyboard as he hacked into various databases.
Omi hit the 'enter' key triumphantly. "I've found them!"
Yohji and Ken ran over to the computer and asked in unison, "Where are they!"
Omi pointed out the hotel on the screen and described how he found the girls through surveillance cameras.
Aya slowly stood. "It's a trap."
"You don't have to go if you don't want to," Ken said.
"I didn't say that," Aya said.
Yohji chuckled as he adjusted his mission attire. "I say, he's downright smitten."
Aya glared and walked out the door. Omi raised an eyebrow, but grabbed his weapon and followed the others.
They are coming. Schuldig relayed the message to the members of Schwarz.
"As expected," Nagi said at the computer.
Sarah raised an eyebrow and thought, 'great, the kid is talking to himself.' She froze as Farferello walked into the room and grinned to her, and then walked out.
"Do not fret, he is in a good mood. Your rescuers are coming." Nagi rose and headed to the door. "Stay here. . .if you get in Farferello's way, things could get rather messy."
Yohji peeked his head into the window. "That kid is creepy."
"You're telling me," Sarah mumbled. She paused realizing it wasn't her thoughts that said that and turned toward the window. "Yohji!"
Climbing through the window and posing slightly, "Super Yohji."
"Don't flatter yourself, I'm not going to say 'my hero' in an overly dramatic voice."
Yohji snapped his fingers. "Damn."
Sarah strolled over to him. "But, I am happy to see you."
Yohji wrapped an arm around her waist and planted a kiss on her lips. Sarah blinked in shock at his action. . .but that didn't mean she didn't like it. "Now you know how happy I am to see you."
"Wow, I'd like to see you when you're really happy."
Yohji just smirked, then turned serious. "Time to get you out of here." The door opening on its own drew his attention. With a curse he threw Sarah out the window as a dagger and a wave of energy came toward them.
Sarah screamed, but stopped when she landed on a net. She looked down and then back up to the window. "When this is all over, I'm going to hurt that playboy. Then again he may like that." She sighed, "why do I have to get thrown from high places!" She composed herself and made her way to an outside staircase.
She watched as Omi crawled up to the window and started firing darts into the room.
Ken crept into a dark room and held his clawed hand at the ready.
"So good of you to join us," a voice said.
"Schuldig," Ken growled, "where is Alex?"
"Right here," he said shining a flashlight on her.
Alex blinked at the bright light. It hadn't occurred to her how dim the room really was. She raised her head, "Ken?" Schuldig being in her mind was starting to make her dizzy.
Ken charged and Schuldig deftly dodged the attack. Alex watched in awe as the two fought…it was as if she was watching a dream. She paused in her watching to realize Schuldig was smirking at her thoughts. She huffed and folded her arms, rooting for Ken in her mind, imagining people holding up banners that read 'Ken.' Schuldig grimaced in reply.
Alex mumbled, "serves him right."
Kristi awakened as she heard commotion in another room. Looking to Crawford she watched him roll up his sleeves and raised an eyebrow.
"We're going to have a visitor," Crawford said, answering her questioning stare.
Aya opened the door and drew his sword. "I will be taking Kristi now."
"No you won't," Crawford said, "I've had a vision of how this all ends."
"I will change that vision," Aya said moving into a kata.
"Perhaps," Crawford said looking back to Kristi.
Kristi's jaw dropped as she watched Crawford unsheathe a sword…Aya and Crawford were sword fighting. . .thank the gods Schuldig wasn't around to hear her thoughts.
Schuldig in the other room grimaced and Ken took advantage of that to shove Alex out the window. Alex screamed as she fell.
Sarah watched a body fall into the net and blinked slowly. "Alex?"
"I think I'm going to hurl," she said. "Am I dead?"
"No, just in a net," Sarah said casually. "And besides if you were dead you wouldn't feel like you were going to hurl." She offered her hand and helped Alex onto the outside staircase.
Alex asked, "Where's Kristi?"
"I don't know," Sarah said, "but if the pattern continues we may want to keep an eye on the net."
Author's Note: Next chapter is the final installment. Is true escape even an option at this point? We shall see.
Review and I promise that if you fall you'll be caught in a net. :grins: