Schuldig watched the rat pack the food he promised to give to them. The little animal wrapped everything in paper and put the packages into a bag.

"Bow down", it said to Ken and the black and white dog obeyed. The rat tied the bag around his neck and whistled approvingly. "That ought to keep it in place. Can you walk like that?"

"That's fine," Ken answered and waved his tail. "You're one true friend, Yuma."

The rat made a dismissive gesture with its front paws. "It's nothing. But I guess you should hurry. Your friends are waiting for you and I have patrons to attend. However, I doubt they have their wallets with them."

"I think they will come back to pay you, when we all have changed back to normal," Ken tried to reassure.

"I really hope so." The rat laughed. "But if we don't, I guess I won't notice it anyway. So it's fine either way. Now of you go!"

"We will. And thank you again!"

"You're welcome."

'If they don't stop this father and son-I-never-had crap, I will throw up. Literally!' Schuldig thought at Farfarello who was still chewing on something. Schuldig took a closer look and frowned. 'Chicken feet? Really? You got a whole haven of the finest meat to chose from and you go for chicken feet?'

'The looked tasty', Farfarello answered and swallowed the last piece. 'And they're good for your health. Why are you so mad about those two? Are you jealous?'

'Of course not', Schuldig replied and rolled his eyes. 'But I wonder if our boy wonder is really that glossy or if there is something more gruesome lying underneath.'
'You heard something?' Farfarello looked intrigued. He liked when Schuldig invited him into his games. They usually led to tears and violence at some point. He preferred the latter, while Schuldig went for the suffering. They matched each other so well.

'Perhaps.' The fox smirked. 'Want to see, if our Brutus is really a man of virtue or if we can push him over?'

'Brutus? I thought his name was Ken.'
'Ah, that's from a German poem. Der tugenhafte Hund. Like to hear it?'
'Please, spare me. Your language makes my ears curl up.'
'You like Nietzsche, though.'

'You got a point there.'

"Are you two coming?" Ken looked at them impatiently. "We have a long way home."

"Home?" Schuldig mused. "Is that what you call this flower stuffed broom cupboard?"

"Well...yes. More or less. There's a flat above the store and... Wait a minute! Are you making fun of me?"

Ken turned round and growled at the fox.

"Wouldn't dream of it, Brutus." Schuldig snorted and tried to hide his amusement. Without success.

"My name is Ken," the shepherd dog said with a snarl.

"But you look so much like him," Schuldig replied, an innocent smile on his face. "It's a really famous German poem about a dog who carried home the groceries for his owner day by day. They praised him for being so reliable and intelligent."

Ken did not look very convinced, but turned around to resume his path.

'What is he thinking?' Farfarello wanted to know.

'He thinks I just made up an excuse. I'm hurt' Schuldig outright grinned at the ferret at his side. 'I did not tell him the conclusion of the poem, though. Because in the end, the noble dog feeds on his owner's belongings just like all the other common dogs that assaulted him earlier. He only had so see them do it to get drawn in.'

'Madness is like gravity...all it takes is a little push' Farfarello quoted from their favorite movie. And Schuldig was good when it came to pushing.

"I wonder," he began while he caught up with Ken. "Are you Weiß really that close? I mean, you live together, but what do you know about each other? Are you friends? Do you trust them?"

"I would trust any of them with my life." Ken did not look at Schuldig. Otherwise he might have seen the mischievous gleam in the fox's eyes.

"Is that so?" Schuldig marveled. "I remember seeing at least two of them stray from your path of virtue. Little boy blue eyes and your red headed katana wielder were too much caught up in pursuing their own goals. And I do not see Blondie as a real team player. Player, yes, but not in a team. Isn't that right?"

Ken clenched his teeth. "We all have strayed from time to time."

"And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil", Farfarello recited while looking up at the sky.

Ken slowed down a bit and looked at the ferret. "Are you Christian?"

"He's Irish. That's pretty much the same." Schuldig shot Farfarello a look to stay quiet. He had discovered something. A name that had come to Ken's mind the moment he spoke about his lapse. Perhaps it was worth some more poking around.

"So if it really was the case, that you went the wrong way, I am sure it was a case of inevitability. Or more a case of pride? Or maybe a case of injustice?"

"Shut up!" Ken barked and nearly snapped at Schuldig, but something still held him back.

Schuldig could hear his thoughts running around like ants on an ant hill somebody had set on fire. He picked up the bits and pieces and finally got the full picture. He had to bite his lip no to laugh about the gullible simpleton at his side. How stupid was he to be cheated on by a so-called friend twice? Schuldig would have shot the bastard the moment he realized he was not dead. But not Ken, oh no. He kept on believing in man's inherent goodness until it bit him in the ass. What a fool! He even thought of Schwarz as a kind of new team members. Maybe it was about time to show him some of the dark light they were made of.

"We're there," Ken interrupted his thoughts. Schuldig shook his head. It seemed that he got lost in someone else's mind again. He had to keep alert to that. These Weiß really were too much fun. They were so dwelling in their misery and angst and still the clung to moralities and self-righteousness while washing the blood of their hands. It amused the hell out of him.

"All right, Brutus. So let's deliver your precious cargo. I don't see someone looking four you, though. Maybe they have decided to got without you? Maybe the deemed you expendable after all?"

"Your friends will abandon you," Farfarello gloomily added to the mood.

"Nice try, Schwarz," Ken snarled. "But they would have left you as well. I doubt that they would have done that. So get moving."

'He's not that stupid' Schuldig thought at Farfarello. 'I have to try something else.'

'You've got an idea?'

'Maybe...'

When they got back into the shop, Schuldig looked around. He could sense the waves of comfort and reassurance radiating from Ken with every breath of the humid and soil-reeking air he took. This really was his home, his tie to a normal life, his anchor to sanity. The last straw Schuldig had to burn to get him. With a grin he knocked on of the plants over.

"Oops, I must have slipped."

"Hey, watch your steps", Ken growled. "We still need these."

"Really?" Schuldig smirked and crashed another potted preciosity. "Do you want me to stop, then? It must be hard to see your thin layer of normality falter."

He gave Farfarello a sign and the Ferret hopped onto one of the shelves. The next moment three of the flower pots were sent flying and landed with a loud crash.

Ken whirled around. "Stop that!" he growled and wanted to get Farfarello down, but the ferret had already jump onto the next shelf and continued his destructive work there. All Ken could do was jump back, so he was not hit by one of the pots. In the meantime Schuldig spilled the contents of the watering buckets on the floor. Roses, gerbera and lilies mixed into a colorful potpourri.

"Consider this a chance", the fox schmoozed. "It's time to jump into the rabbit hole, Alice. Just let go of all this and you will be free. Free to do whatever you like. Free to go out and get them. Free to kill."

"What are you talking about?" Ken snapped. He as torn between the two evildoers and Schuldig could sense his tension build up.

"Why don't you give up. You have no chance against us. Come on, Brutus. Come to feed."

"That's not my name!" Ken yelled and finally decided to go for Schuldig. He bared his teeth and growled from the depths of his throat. "I warn you. Get away from the flowers or you will regret it."

Schuldig smirked. "I see. You like the killing. You think that we deserve it. You are not reluctant to get your hand dirty. You think you are already doomed for hell so you might as well take us with you. So come on, then. Try to catch me."

Ken jumped forward and aimed a ferocious bite at Schuldig, but the fox was too quick for him and leaped onto the counter. He gave the cash register an push and it fell to the floor. Coins and bills spilled between the flowers and added an odd note to the picture. Meanwhile, Schuldig had no time to admire his work as he had to get away from Ken's fangs that now clearly aimed for his feet. He sprang from the counter and wanted to get away, when something heavy hit him. He fell over and was pressed to the floor by a very angry dog. Its teeth were only an inch away from his throat.

"You treacherous scumbag," Ken growled and the fox could feels the vibrations in his chest. "I never should have trusted you."

"You did?" Schuldig was really surprised. "Well, that was kind of stupid, wasn't it. I never said..."

"Schuldig!" An angry voice interrupted the both of them. Schuldig felt the weight of the dog being lifted from him and sent a small thought of approval to Nagi, who was fluttering above his head and had obviously used his gift to free him from the fuming shepherd dog.

"What have you done?" The whine came from the lanky greyhound who was standing next to Crawford. They really looked hilarious together.

"We redecorated," Farfarello said and bounced down from the shelf. Not without knocking another plant over.

"They ruined everything!" Ken barked and wanted to got for Schuldig's throat again, but Nagi still held him in place.

'I thought I had made it clear, that no-one from Weiß was to be hurt' Crawford growled in Schuldig's mind. This was a rare sensation. Normally the precog kept away from telepathic contact. Telepathy and precognition did not mix very well. In most cases it gave Schuldig the hell of a headache. When Crawford resorted to this form of communication, he was dead serious.

Schuldig got up on his feet and shook of the dirt on his fur. 'We did not hurt him. We just...played with him. A little bit.'

Crawford shot him a disapproving look. 'You nearly got killed in this game. We really have bigger problems to solve right now. I need you for this, Schuldig. You better get a grip quickly."

Their connection ended with the telepathic equivalence of a slammed down telephone receiver. Schuldig winced and felt his ears twitch. Damn, he nearly had forgotten about those. Perhaps Crawford was right. They had to change back to their human forms before he was stuck with these abominations forever.

Crawford turned round to the other animals. "It will be getting dark within the next two hours and we have a long way to Dr. Nishimura's laboratory. We have to leave at once, if we want to be on time before sunset."

"I disagree with that. We should wait until nightfall, before we go out. The streets will be much quieter than." The reddish cat had joined them together with the rabbit. It looked around the shop and frowned. "I hope you are going to refund the damage your subordinates have caused."

"Subordinates?" Schuldig snarled. He did not like the cat's attitude at all, but he contained himself when Crawford gave him a warning look again. This was not the time to discuss the line of command. However, he was getting thoughts about this topic from the leader of Weiß. The angry redhead wondered who was in charge of the whole operation and who would follow who's call. Schuldig passed this information to Crawford and leaned back as the two of them got into a serious argument about it. The really matched each other in stubbornness, but Crawford was much smoother with words. In the end he got the upper hand and the kitty hissingly retreated.

"As we won't reach the laboratory before darkness, we will wait until next morning to get there," Crawford declared.

"Didn't you say, we should get rid of this transformation as quick as possible?", the rabbit piped up. He had been nibbling on some salad leaves from Ken's bag until now, but got on his hind legs to speak up to the badger.

"We wouldn't reach our destination on time. We are too slow," Crawford tried to brush him of.

"I heard that", the rabbit continued. "But what if there was a possibility to get to the laboratory more quickly?"

Crawford turned to the rabbit and scrutinized its face. "You have an idea?"

The small brown animal blinked and hesitated a bit, before it said: "Yes, I do. But I will need your help for that."

Music: "What You Waiting For" - Gwen Stefani