"What does Eszet WANT from her?"

Crawford's fingers curled around a strong wrist, face pale, but staring calmly past the knife point leveled at his right eye, into the burning gold orb that was the essence of the madman. "It's not your concern, Farfarello. Put me down."

"Like hell it isn't," Farf growled, lips pulling back in a macabre grin. "And like hell I will. Would you still See the future if I took out an eye? I wonder, would it taste like…"

"STOP it, Farf," Schuldich told him sharply, his hand curling around Farf's wrist just above Brad's. "Let him down."

"How were we bought? I want to know. You should too, Schuldich. This is your bank account I'm talking about."

Schuldich's face was implacable. "Don't make me stun you, Farf. Back off."

"I will NOT," Farfarello spat at him, slamming Crawford into the wall once again. The precognitive had, indeed, seen the attack coming, but Farfarello had been too fast for him to react, as usual, and now his toes were barely on the floor as the madman held him up and held the knife to his face.

And then he dropped to the floor as Farfarello twitched, face contorting in rage, and swung around, dropping the Oracle and taking one predatory step toward Schuldich before he stiffened and dropped like a stone in his tracks.

Standing slowly, Crawford straightened his tie and his hair and pushed his glasses up his nose. "Well. That was entertaining, but if you'll excuse me, Schu, I have work to do."

"He had a point," Schu said almost absently, nudging Farfarello's body with his toe. "What DID she offer Eszet that made them willing to hire us out to someone other than our official client?"

"I'm just the go-between. The Elders set the terms and Sabbath accepted them."

"But you delivered them," Schuldich insisted, eyes tilting slyly as he probed at Brad's shields, seeking an opening, the tiniest crack.

"Stay out of my head, Schuldich!" the Oracle snapped.

"Ja, ja, whatever you say Bradley. But the other kids don't play as nice if you keep secrets on the playground."

"And you need to learn when to mind your own business," Crawford told him crisply. "Put Farfarello in his straightjacket. Unfortunately we don't have ceiling hooks, so tie him to the bedposts. Make CERTAIN he's secure."

Schu rolled his eyes. "Again with the babysitting… and while I'm at it, do you want me to read him a story too?"

"No stories. This is punishment after all." Picking up his briefcase, Crawford checked his hair in the microwave reflection. "Now, get to it so I can smooth over this mess with Takatori. He's furious that you slipped away without asking for permission."

"I'm a bodyguard," Schuldich reminded him boredly, "not a hired hand."

"You are whatever Takatori wishes you to be," Brad told him coldly. "Remember that, Schu. We are good for Takatori, he is good for Eszet, and Eszet is good for us. Secure him." He strode toward the door and stepped through it, the latch falling into place with a crisp click.

"Well, don't thank me for saving your life or anything," Schu said with a roll of his eyes and shoulders. He eyed the lithe body at his feet and smirked darkly, bending down to hook his hands under Farfarello's arms. Turning him slowly around, he dragged him to the bedroom, boots stuttering along the carpet.

When he finally got him there, he heaved him onto the bed (Farfarello wasn't that heavy, but his dead weight was awkward to manage) and set about getting him into his straightjacket. He tightened all the buckles, then knotted the ends of the straps down, then wound the straps of his bondage pants around his legs and knotted those down. Farfarello, they had quickly discovered, needed to be trussed up like a mummy if you expected him to stay put. He had no compunctions about dislocating a limb or four to escape a straight jacket, and he had very, very nimble toes. Schu found the chains to attach the rings on the jacket to the bedposts, as well as the rings on the lower strap of the bondage pants. And, believe it or not, he had even seen Farfarello get out of this before. It had taken the madman a good five hours, of course, and five hours was plenty of time for him to cool down.

Farf began to stir to consciousness and that yellow eye snapped open, fiercely dilated and predatory, upper lip pulling back in a snarl. Schu seized his mind momentarily, holding him still as he strapped the bite-mask over his face and tightened it around his head and neck. Releasing him and stepping back just in time to avoid catching the steel prongs across the mouth gap of the bite mask in the hand, Schu backed toward the door, shaking his head and flipping his hair from his face.

"Attacking Crawford was stupid," he said flatly as Farfarello began to thrash, causing the springs in the bed to scream. "Stay here, cool off. I'll dig the contract you seem to want so badly out of the witch's skull and give it to you if you behave."

A wild growl was his only answer, a sudden lurch in his direction, and Schuldich laughed. "Oh, I see. Don't want me mucking around in her head, do you?" He closed on Farfarello, the only Schwarz member who would dare when he was in this state, and crouched by the bed. Blue eyes locking on that single amber orb, he smirked slowly. "She's in bad shape, you know? Truly massive internal damage, every cell bleeding. The Healer's been trying to contain the damage, but it's tough going, you know? Things like Healing are complicated gifts… you really have to know HOW to use them right. She's pretty good though, Catria. Hot, too. If you want to see your witch, you're going to have to calm down."

Farfarello lurched in his direction again, teeth gnashing behind the bite guard.

Schu stood and shook his head. "All right, have it your way. Do yell when you're mostly calm again." He waved a hand flippantly and strode out the door, flipping the light switch and leaving Farfarello in smooth, unbroken blackness.

Crossing the apartment, he knocked on the door to Sabbath's room and opened the door without waiting for a reply. Lounging against the frame, he took in Sabbath's body sprawled across her bed and Catria crouching over her.

"Ladies. How are we doing?"

"Is that the royal 'we'?" Catria asked dryly, smirking back at Schuldich. "I've repaired her body, but her systems are still very much off-kilter. It's going to take some work to bring her back… this one knew how to kill, when he wasn't Collective. Poor Isaac." There was no real sympathy in her voice. "Where's the other guy? The one with the scars?"

"Farfarello? He's on a leash, don't worry."

She gave him a sardonic look. "Yes, and does he need healing as well?"

Schuldich laughed. "Oh, Farfie's got his own quick-healing system built right in. Feel free to take a look if you like, but I'm warning you; even as tightly as I've got him chained, he's still a bloodthirsty psychopath."

"Your concern is noted," she said boredly, brushing past him in a whisper of soft lilac and waving a hand. "Which room?"

Schu pointed, glancing skyward and tossing her a wry smirk as he stepped into the room with Sabbath. "Don't say I didn't warn you…."

Catria made a scoffing noise and he shrugged. Fine, let the bitch find out her own way. Sabbath lay unconscious across her bed and he sat at the edge of it, brushing a strand of dyed-black hair away from her face. She wouldn't hear him if he spoke aloud, of course, but Schu had other methods of communication. Eyes closing, he leaned slightly over her and dove into her mind.

There was no mist, no trees, no path this time. That had been a meditative arena, after all. This was the essential Sabbath, all her thoughts and emotions. It really didn't LOOK like anything or FEEL like anything, since he had a sense most others didn't. But to describe it in terms of sight and touch, it was a hot place, constantly burning and flaring. There was bright light and deep shadow, equal parts goodness and blackness, comforting sapphire pools and a web of blue lightening stretching from horizon to horizon. The landscape was jagged, full of pain and broken pieces, though of course there was some good and whole, and contained in this mental landscape, somewhere, were her memories.

"Schuldich. Nice of you to pay me a get-well visit." It was Sabbath's voice, bitingly sarcastic and humored, as usual.

Good morning, liebchen. Don't mind me, I'm just passing through, he sent back cheerfully as he riffled through her memories, searching for a conversation with Crawford. A very specific conversation….

"How's Farfie?"

Fine, of course. He can take much more punishment than that. You are another story… though miss Catria is doing her best.

"Catria. Then I did see Ice come to the rescue…. What are you looking for?" She materialized even as the demand was voiced, her essence taking on the form of her own face.

Oh, nothing really. Farf just brought up an interesting question or two concerning our agreement with the Inconnu. I would have just asked you, but since you're unconscious…

"Ask Crawford."

Schu laughed. No can do, darling. Our leader has an Eszet-shaped stick up his ass and he never tells us anything unless he absolutely has to, for HIS own benefit.

"Well, you're not going to find it here. That deal is between me and Crawford until the terms are fulfilled. Leave it be." She looked angry and for the briefest moment, Schu hesitated. He didn't very much relish the idea of hearing that shriek in his head again. Like an opera singer with crystal, Sabbath seemed to have a talent for pitching it at just the right tone that it made his mind bounce around in his skull like a tennis ball. Decidedly unpleasant, that. But even the prospect of pain didn't slow him for long.

Well, you know me, kitten. I never could leave anything be….

"Schu, please. Ask Crawford. If he finds out you got information from me, the deal's off. I already know you don't give a shit about my friends, but when Eszet finds out they lost their end of the bargain because of you… you might find yourself on the wrong end of a golf club."

Schu felt his shock reverberate through the connection he'd formed with her. How did you find out about that? he demanded, outraged, even though he thought he might already know. Dammit, he was going to KILL Farfarello….

"I talk to your teammates you know, including Nagi and Crawford. Nagi mentioned it once, I figured out what he meant to say between the lines. It doesn't matter. This is a business deal. Leave it alone."

Schuldich was about to fire back a snappy retort, but then dimly felt his body being moved. He withdrew, finding his own mind in the cacophony of others around him, and sank down into himself again. He was on the floor in a rather uncomfortable position where he'd landed after Catria had apparently shoved him off the bed. He glared up at her only to blink in confusion as she dragged Sabbath off the bed and struggled to carry her out toward the door.

"What are you doing?" he inquired, blue eyes narrow.

"Saving her life and bringing him down," she grunted as she dragged Sabbath's dead weight across the hardwood. "At least, I hope so." The hardwood turned to carpet and she adjusted her grip, moving out of the doorway and Schuldich's line of sight.

Farfarello was still thrashing like a trapped animal when Catria peeked back into his room, blood spattering the neck and chest of his straightjacket where he'd spit it through the bite guard, having bitten his tongue during his struggles. He writhed, body bending in ways human beings should not be able to and making animal noises. When he saw Catria, he lunged toward her, but the chains held him fast.

Unafraid, the violet-eyed healer sat on the edge of his bed. "I've managed to heal Sabbath's body," she said quietly.

Golden eye wild with rage, he snapped his chest at her only to fall short.

She continued anyway. "Her metabolic energy has been sent severely off-kilter, though. She's comatose and I doubt she'd come out of it, even with my best efforts as a psychic healer. But there might be a way to reset her energy currents and revive her. You've got a lot of excess energy, I noticed. I'd like to take that from you if you're willing… though in this state of mind, I'm not sure there's such a thing as 'willing'… and use it to bring her back."

Farfarello fell back momentarily, panting as blood sprayed out through the bite guard with every breath, eyeing her like he wanted to split her open with his bare hands and feast on her intestines. Of course, in this particular mood, he probably did.

Catria shrugged and returned to the doorway. It was risky bringing an unconscious person this close to a psychopath who was having an episode, but she didn't really have much choice. She pulled Sabbath into the room and fought with her dead weight until she was on the mattress.

She noticed that Farfarello did not try to snap at her, did not even seem to notice her.

"Gaia, raise your healing hand. Hecate aid me, mistress of clear vision open my eyes. Let me see beyond sight, let me feel beyond touch, let me listen beyond hearing…"

She let out a slow breath and connected herself to the earth several stories beneath her feet, holding her hands up and still as she began to take mental stock of herself, and her own energies. As Farfarello kicked and growled on the bed, she ignored the surface that bounced beneath her and slowly opened and cleaned out her chakras, preparing herself for the channeling she was about to do. Farf's energy was rage and insanity and to pour that directly into Sabbath would do more harm than good, but there was a way to purify the current first; send it through the earth, through Gaia's lap. The Earth Mother returned love for hatred and she would receive that energy back purified and yet more powerful.

But to do that, she had to come dangerously close to touching Farfarello. Schuldich had already warned her that even in this state, he was dangerous. Even as she held her hands over Sabbath, opening her chakras and feeling the misaligned currents of energy flowing through her, Farfarello yanked his shoulder out of the socket and began to squirm, the straightjacket riding up dangerously. Catria refused to be rushed. She carefully aligned those currents, though doing so ripped open several lines and left them bleeding, on top of the already broken currents throughout her body. One by one, she found the lines and repaired them, as Sabbath's breathing grew shallower and her heartbeat more panicked.

Finally, she turned her hands toward Farfarello and cautiously opened her third eye to his aura, paling slightly when she was met with rage and madness so strong she wasn't entirely sure she would be able to withstand it. His current ran red-hot, and several of his chakras were painfully bright; specifically, the first, fifth, and sixth ones, the centers of soul, body, and sex. She hummed quietly, feeling the burn against the palms of her hands, and drew that energy into herself.

It almost knocked her off focus entirely. Catria had been manipulating chakra energy since she'd been old enough to recognize what she was seeing with her third eye open, but this sort of malevolence, this sort of wickedness, was beyond her ken. She didn't like to deal with individuals like this, which was why she never channeled Ice. Swallowing, she ground her teeth and forced the energy through her body and DOWN. Down into the floor, into the struts of the building, into the foundations, and finally, into the earth. She kept feeding it, and slowly Farfarello's struggles began to slow as she leeched away his power. Finally, when he collapsed against the mattress, she closed off his chakras and cut the flow, moving her left hand away from his body and pointing it toward the floor to receive even as she switched her right hand to Sabbath to funnel that energy into her. Reaching down, she found that current and tugged.

The rush knocked the breath out of her. Could she really put this much energy into a person? It might fuck up her system even more, but she already had so little… biting down on nothing, she opened herself as a conduit again.

Sabbath's body convulsed on the floor, and a droplet of sweat rolled down Catria's forehead. Her skin was on fire, but she knew she could do this, and she concentrated hard on letting that power flow through her and leave her unscathed. A whimper tore itself from Sabbath's throat but she didn't hear it. The girl's feet drummed on the bed, but she didn't feel the vibrations. There was only the current moving from left to right.

And then it ended and Catria shut her open centers down, quickly tying off the end she'd opened up in Sabbath. The girl glowed white now, and Catria was utterly exhausted. She opened her eyes slowly, groggily, and found herself staring into a honey-gold orb belonging to Farfarello.

For a long moment, neither of them moved. Then Catria forced herself to tear her gaze away and get up. "I'm going to leave her here," she said tiredly. "I hear you're fond of her. I hope it's true because I can't carry her out of this room right now. She should wake up before too long, and she'll be confused. So… yeah. Whatever." She stumbled to her feet and toward the door.

Schuldich was there, waiting.

"What did you do?" he inquired curiously, peeking into the room where Farf had turned slightly on his side to nudge his head against Sabbath's shoulder.

"Made history, what do you think? I'm going home. I'll send you a bill," she said sarcastically as she slammed the apartment door.

Schuldich shook his head. "Women," he muttered, and went to watch TV.

X-X-X

Sabbath woke slowly, brought back to consciousness by a tingling energy under her skin that insisted she run, jump, climb trees, do SOMETHING to burn it off. Giving her body a good shake and finding that it eased the sensation a bit, she shifted on the mattress and turned her head.

She didn't hurt anywhere. That struck her as a good sign.

There was a warm body next to her. Farfarello, she noticed as she made out the mop of white hair in the dark room. She moved slowly, flexing her fingers and shivering as they sparked. She felt hyper, like getting up and running circles around the room, bouncing off the walls. That would probably amuse Farf. The rest of Schwarz, though, wasn't liable to find it quite as funny.

Her hands found his face and she realized why he looked so odd in the very dim moonlight; there was a bite guard over his mouth, similar to the one she'd seen on Hannibal Lector, in 'Silence of the Lambs'. Without thinking, she fumbled for the buckles, finding that they were very tightly cinched. She yanked a strap and it came loose, and she slowly slid the end of the strap through the buckle.

Farfarello opened his eye and stared at her. Even in the darkness, the iris gleamed gold. She caught his gaze and then noted the dark splatters on his chin. Leaning in, she tasted them. Blood.

"Why did they lock you up?" she asked as she pulled the bite guard all the way off.

"I tried to strangle Crawford," he said matter-of-factly.

She snickered. "Not that we don't all WANT to, but why did you do that?"

"Because he would not tell me what Eszet wants from you. I have always hated Eszet; I do not want them to have you."

She shook her head. "You worry too much. Which is sweet, but I can take care of myself, Farf." She dropped the bite guard on the floor and sat up slowly, squinting at the gray blur of the straightjacket. "Do you want me to let you out?"

"Crawford will do that when he feels 'punishment' is over." He stretched and shifted, seeming comfortable even in his bonds.

"I didn't ask whether he would. I asked if you wanted ME to."

His eye narrowed, and she smirked at him, and after a long moment, he smirked back. "Yes, please."

Snickering, she felt along the jacket until she found the straps that kept his arms crossed over his chest. The sleeves tied together behind him, though, so it took quite a bit of wiggling on both their parts for her to get at them. Even then, the knot was painfully tight. "Hang on," she muttered. "I'm going to turn the light on."

He nodded, and she tumbled off the bed, catching herself as she made her way toward the door. She'd been Helen Keller in a play, once, and had been taught how to move as though she was blind, hands out, head tilted back so she'd meet obstacles with her hands and not her nose. She found the door and it thumped in the frame, then felt along it for the light switch.

Flicking it, the room was filled with painful brilliance and she was forced to grope her way back to the bed, just as blind as she'd been in the dark. Her night vision was excellent, but those knots had thwarted it. Rubbing her eyes, she felt for them again, found them, and stuck her tongue between her teeth as she worked.

Several minutes later, they finally came undone. She unbuckled the arm straps and he pulled his limbs free as she unhooked the chains from the straightjacket and pants.

"It's too bright," he said simply. "Turn it off."

As she flicked the lights again, he freed himself from the straightjacket entirely, dropping it on the floor and unbuckling the straps that bound his legs. She chuckled and sat down next to him. "So why did they leave me in here with you?"

"Catria healed you," he said, deliberately moving to the edge of the bed to make room for her. "She took energy from me to revive you. The effort wearied her, so she left you here, trusting that I wouldn't hurt you even if I wasn't entirely lucid at the time." His lips twitched upward in a slight smirk, and she returned it.

"And so you didn't," Sabbath pointed out.

"She drained me. I went to sleep." He closed his eye and settled down, skin marble-white in the moonlight.

Nodding, Sabbath got off the bed and sat on the floor. She took a deep breath and folded her legs under her, pressing her palms against the carpet and letting that breath out slowly.

The bed creaked and Farfarello peered over the edge at her. "What are you doing?"

"Grounding and centering. She gave me too much energy and I need to get rid of some of it or I'll break something." Feeling her roots extend to the earth, she gathered that ball of hyperactivity and sent it down.

"Was it dangerous for her to do that to save you?" he inquired, sounding thoughtful.

Sabbath considered that, then nodded. "Yes. I don't work with chakra energy much, but I'm fairly sure that a transfer between two people is at least a little risky."

He nodded, then eyed her. "Come here."

Hiking an eyebrow, she crawled back up onto the bed. When he reached for her, she caught his hand and bit one of his fingers.

He seized a handful of shirt and yanked her down, prompting a yelp from her as he spun her over his body, twisted like a big cat, and pinned her to the mattress. She wrapped her fingers around his wrists and pushed, grunting with the strain of trying to get him off her, but her struggles were ineffective at best. Changing tactics, she released him and found the wall behind her head, thrusting up with her hips even as she shoved herself down. When he landed again, it was directly on her stomach, and she coughed, prompting a feral grin from him as his hands left her shoulders and searched for hers, fingers curling hard around her wrists, bruising. She fought, rocking from side to side and making little snarling noises even as she dexterously twisted her wrists in his grip. She managed to tear one hand away and slid it between her body and his thigh, loosening his grip on her and sitting up to wrap her arm around his waist. As she fell back to the mattress, she pulled him with her, then snapped her hips upward and popped him off, rolling quickly away and coming to a stop facing him.

Like a cat who'd just found a tasty-looking mouse, Farfarello found his feet on the mattress, teeth showing white in the darkness, and prowled toward her.

Sabbath rotated one wrist. It felt slightly sprained. Farfarello didn't really understand pain, or else he didn't care about causing it. She should end this if she didn't want to get hurt, but she had never backed down from a wrestling match before, even when she was grossly overmatched. He pounced and she leaped sideways, bouncing on the springy bed as she twisted and threw herself at him from the side. She bore him over sideways and he rolled onto his back, hands finding fistfuls of her clothing and hauling her onto him. She laughed and he clapped a hand over her mouth.

"Shhh. Crawford," he scolded amusedly.

She bit him and he groaned. "Fuck Crawford. No, really, I mean it; fuck Crawford. He's one of the few people I could learn to truly hate."

Farfarello shrugged. "You could, but I don't think he would enjoy it. That requires a certain willingness to loosen up, to let go, and to fall. Brad will never fall, and he feels there's too much weight on his shoulders to kneel."

"That's sad, when you're too uptight to even orgasm properly," Sabbath snickered, then yelped as with ridiculous ease, Farfarello reversed their positions, laying her flat on her back and pinning her. He was strong, amazingly so, and if she'd escaped OR topped him, it was only because he found it amusing to let her.

"Enough about Brad."

"You're not angry anymore?"

He considered that for a moment, then smirked at her. "I am. But there's a line between anger and rage and I've sunken back to the lesser side."

"Are you angry at me?" If he was, this position would get a hell of a lot more threatening in a heartbeat. He saw the defiance flash in her eyes and shook his head.

"No. You're doing what you must. I think it's wrong, but it won't help to argue with you, will it?"

"My choice. I had others, but I made this one."

He nodded. "And now it's the future we should concern ourselves with. You made a choice and it will play out. But we have…."

"A fight against The One to orchestrate. I know." She flexed her wrists under his cruel fingers, feeling their bite against the soft skin. "They tried to assassinate me. They upped the stakes."

Farf leaned in, teeth blazing along her throat. She kneed him in the hip. He ignored it. "Then we should up the stakes in return. You got your vengeance on the biokinetic. He splattered nicely across stone, like music."

"He's not the only one."

"Hungry for another kill?" He found an artery and bit down, prompting a cry from her. Sweetness flooded his mouth, enhanced by a bit of salt taste that still remained from her sweat and tears. Too bad Catria had washed the blood from her lips.

She gave her wrists a sharp twist and made a noise of pain and anger through her teeth, promptly twisting them again and arching into him, drawing close even as she tried to push him away. "This one's deserved. But it's risky as hell. I don't know where they are and I promised I'd dowse."

"Not now," he said simply, teeth finding her earlobe and making a toy of it.

Her nails scraped his cheek, hard, and he released her earlobe to savage her fingers. "No," she agreed. "Not now."

X-X-X