Omi recognized the gray building in an instant. Nagi had shown him pictures and floor plans of the entire laboratory. It was a three level estate with a full build basement and a flat roof. All entrances were guarded by cameras, the ventilation held an electric security system. In addition to that, the whole site was surrounded by a lush garden and a high wall complete with iron spikes to repel intruders. The gate was, of course, also equipped with cameras and something else. Something that was unexpected even for the leader of Schwarz and his visionary powers.
"Why are the dogs outside?" Crawford's voice only showed little of his incertitude, but the fact that he had spoken aloud already told Omi that this was out of the ordinary.
"Which dogs?" Yoji wanted to know and drew his eyebrows up at the sight. "Oh, those dogs. Four teeth-baring, slavering, murderous expression, I'm-a-badass-watchdog Doberman Pincher kind of dogs." He nudged Crawford with his front paw. "Didn't see that coming, eh?"
Crawford frowned and did not answer, but Omi knew, that Yoji had hit the nail on the head. The dogs were an obstacle, Crawford had not foreseen. Or perhaps he hadn't bothered to look, because Schuldig now threw in:
"But I thought, she only lets them out at night. You told me so."
"It was like that when we last met. I wonder what made her change her patterns," Crawford muttered.
"Maybe she has changed into an animal, too," Omi suggested. He got an irritated look from Crawford. "No, she hasn't. I clearly saw that in my vision."
"Don't badger have poor eyesight?" Ken asked and was granted a glare. He almost managed to shrug. "Just saying. But how do we get in there now? Do you think we can talk them into letting us through?"
Schuldig snorted. "These are normal animals. They will wipe the floor with you if you try to persuade them into letting you in."
"So why don't you talk to them then?" Ken growled. "And take that Farfarello with you. Maybe he and those beasts will make good friends."
The ferret grinned. "Why not? It may be worth the try."
"No." Crawford made a very serious face. "None of you will try to fight those dogs. It's not safe. We will have to find another way."
"Perhaps Bat-Boy can just fly in?" Yoji suggested, but Omi had already noticed that their youngest accompanist had fallen asleep the moment he had stopped the car. The trip must have been more exhausting than they thought. He looked at the small silhouette clinging to the red fur of Schuldig's back. Nagi would not be of much help like that.
His gaze wandered back to the dogs. They had stopped barking, but paced back and forth behind the metal bars of the gate and did not take their eyes of them. The only thing that would let them get past them was...
"We need a decoy." Aya's face showed no emotion, when he rose and made a move towards the gate. "I will lure them away, while you get in and try to find the doctor."
Omi jumped up. "What? No, Aya! You can't take on four dogs all by yourself. I will go with you."
Aya turned round and eyed him coolly. "You can't come with me. They will tear you apart."
Omi sniffed in annoyance. "Only if the catch me. Come on, Aya. I can do it. I'm the fastest of us and the second-smallest. I will be able to hide somewhere in the bushes once they are far enough from the gate."
The tip of Aya's tail started to twitch. "I will do this alone."
Omi stood up on his hind legs and poked his head in Aya's direction. "No, you will not. I say, you need help there. I'm the strategist after all. And one cat fooling four dogs won't work. Simple math. They will corner you in no time. So either we go together or no-one will." He would have crossed his front paws, but as this was not possible, he just put a determined expression in his too-cute face.
Aya tried to stare him down. He really did and Omi had to admit, that he was good at it even as a cat. Or maybe especially as a cat. He did not blink but kept those feral yellow-green eyes piercing right through Omi with his large cat ears slightly turned to the side and his tail lashing behind him like a live whipping cord. When Omi did not back down, he finally turned as if nothing had happened.
"Fine," he spat. "We'll go together. You others try to get into the building as quick as possible."
Omi noticed Schuldig open his mouth, but when Crawford slightly shook his head, he closed it again. The structure of Schwarz was something, that Omi still had to figure out. They were not unlike Weiß, but with different roles, their gifts adding to the complexity. They were more independent when acting, but on the other hand adding to each other as a team. Crawford sometimes showed the demeanor of a patriarch, but did not quite fit the picture on other occasions. It was a fascinating riddle, he would have to investigate later on. Now there were other tasks lying ahead.
"I'll get them away from the gate, so you can come in," Aya said, already scanning the site for possible escape routes. "You join me in the garden, the others take the main path."
"What about the cameras? We will have to deactivate them," Omi pointed out. He had to admit, that this would be a little more difficult than he and Nagi had thought. Nagi's gift had been an essential part of their plan.
"I will take care of that," Farfarello offered and clicked his teeth. "I can't let you two have all the fun."
Omi frowned. "You will have to bite through the electric wiring. That's dangerous."
The ferret snickered. "I have done worse, kid, and I'm still alive. God is afraid to let me into his haven. He knows I'm after him."
With that the white animal took of to mount the wall for the first device. Aya had already reached a tree near the wall and climbed onto it. He gracefully hopped between the metal spikes, nodded back in Omi's direction and disappeared behind the gray stones.
The next thing Omi heard, was a loud mewing that immediately caught the watchdogs' attention. They perked their ears and turned their heads to spot a reddish cat hissing and caterwauling at them. Their bafflement only lasted seconds, before they spun around and chased after the offensive feline. Aya turned tail and ran.
"Quick now," Yoji barked and already was at the gate before someone could react. He jumped up and hit the door handle with his front paws. To Omi's surprise it really opened and swung inside to let them in. He did not hesitate and followed the wild chase into the garden, while the others hurried to the front door.
The grass was long and had not been cut for a while. It slowed Omi down and made him worry, if his plan was really that flawless. But there was no turning back now. He had to help Aya. The barking dogs were getting louder, as he approached the corner of the building. The next thing he noticed was a streak of red passing him by.
"Go left!" Aya shouted and was gone. Omi did not question the command, but bolted. He heard the dogs yelp in confusion. The next moment, eight heavy paws slammed the floor behind him. Omi could feel the vibration on the floor and sped up. He did not think anymore, but let his instincts take over. He dodged sharp teeth aiming for his back and felt hot breath wash over him. He made a quick change and ran right under one of the dogs, its jaws closing behind him. Then he had an empty field before him. He picked up speed and suddenly turned right, when he felt one of the dogs getting closer. He never would have guessed, that they were that fast. He turned and jumped, tried to dazzle them by feinting moves and running of in the other direction. His paws did not seem to touch the ground, his heart was pounding, his muscles flexing and contracting in lightning speed. He felt adrenaline pumping through his veins and started to feel light-headed by the breathtaking pace of the action. The dogs were right at his heels and growling and barking behind him. The sound kicking his flight reflex to exorbitant heights.
He went into a bush to hide there, but the dogs just broke trough all the leaves and branches like miniature bulldozers. His heart jumped, as a yowling muzzle appeared next to him, almost biting him in two. Claws dug into the ground sending pieces of dirt and roots flying. He heard the dogs whine, furiously trying to get inside. It was only moments until they would break through. Omi did not think, but went right through the dog's legs and darted for the next cover. Like that he would at least keep them from noticing the others. He had to keep them interested or they would...
Suddenly something hit him. He lost his balance and crashed to the ground out of full run. Up and down became a whirl of colors, he scraped his face on the floor and then something hit his back hard. Foggy-brained he blinked and saw two large shadows move in his direction. He wanted to get up, get moving again, run for his life, but his head hurt and his vision blurred. The shadows came closer, filling his field of view.
All of a sudden pointy teeth closed around his neck and he was moving up and up. The bark of the tree he had smashed into scratching his nose, his feet dangling high above the ground. He was pressed against the trunk by a warm, sinuous body. The teeth pierced his fur, his skin, making him whimper in pain, but he suddenly knew, this was good. Shard claws digging into the wood around him, moving both of them up inch by inch. He saw them stretch and strain, almost loosing their footing, while the dogs went berserk under them. There was a small moment, when Omi thought, that they would not make it, but then Aya drew both of them up on a branch. He made sure, Omi had was surely seated on the broad piece of wood, before he let got of his neck.
Omi ducked down, not comfortable with the height and no means to hold onto the branch properly. He felt the dogs jump at the tree, leaves rustling around them, the branch trembling slightly. His breath came out in small, shallow puffs.
"That...was...amazing..." he finally managed to get out.
Aya, who looked no better that he did, only nodded at him. All of a sudden, he chewed and coughed and finally spat out some light brown fur.
"You're hairy," he said with a look of disgust an his face. "And you're heavy. I almost dropped down. At least you kept still."
"I remembered how cats carry their kittens and decided it would be the best to act like one." Omi grinned. "I'm glad you did not drag me up here by my ears."
Aya looked at him and Omi thought, he saw the hint of a smile on the cat's face. He would not have vouched for it, though, but it felt good. It felt even better to be alive.
"Do you think, they managed to get in?" he asked while looking down at the fuming dogs. It would not be long until they remembered their duty and would leave the cat and the rabbit to rot on their tree in search for other potential trespassers.
Aya looked at the building, his tail twitching behind him. "I hope so. I really hope so."
Yoji wrinkled his nose at the ferrets stench beside him. The slender, white animal smelled of burnt hair and ozone. It had been a weird sight to see it get electrocuted and fall down from the camera's power cord, only to get up a moment later, shake his head and hop on like nothing had happened. Neither Crawford nor Schuldig seemed to be astonished by that in the slightest. Maybe this was Farfarellos's power. Being indestructible, feeling no pain, no fear. The thought made his skin crawl.
"Where do we go now?" Ken asked.
They had entered the mansion and were now standing in a dimly lit hallway. There were doors leading to different rooms, all of them closed. Yoji perked his ears and tried to pick up some clue, where to start with their search for the scientist, but he heard nothing but a distant humming. This would take ages.
"She's in the basement," Schuldig suddenly said. The fox had closed his eyes, as if he was listening to something. It made Yoji wonder about his gift again. He already had a strong assumption of what Schuldig was capable, but he still needed some proofs.
"To the basement then," Crawford directed and started to move towards a door that probably held the stairs. In front of the door he stopped and looked at Yoji.
The greyhound let out a small growl. "Since when am I your door opener?"
"Since you have the longest legs," Crawford simply stated and made an inviting gesture towards the door handle. "If you wouldn't mind?"
Yoji snorted, but opened the door anyway. Crawford nodded at him and began the descent. Ken pushed past the badger, almost head-to-head with Farfarello, both of them swarming out to secure the bottom of the stairs. Schuldig was the last to get to the stair-head. He turned and smiled at Yoji.
"Nevermind. Not all of us can be as useful as others. It's best you learn your place quickly."
'Don't tempt me' Yoji thought and was greeted with a widening smirk and a wink. He blinked while the fox went down the stairs. The thought forming in his head was not pleasant at all. But before he could really get hold of his suspicion, he heard voices rise from the basement. One of them female. Yoji pushed all of his resentments aside and hurried down the stairs. Dr. Nishimura might not be a damsel in distress, but Yoji would make sure she was treated right anyway.
Music: "How much is the fish?" - Scooter