All heads turned towards the source of the dark sound. An ominous shadow standing in the doorway started it's way over to where Teito lay. The chocolate haired boy made no move to stand up. He merely lay there in Hakuren's arms. The dim light fell upon the shadow's face once he neared. The all-too familiar silver locks fell gracefully over his violet daggers, gently caressing his childish face that hid so much hate.

Teito glared up at the man, "Ayanami, is this what you wanted? To get us all in the same room and finish us off quickly? Well, it won't work!" Hakuren shushed Teito as he saw the look in the Captain's eyes; humor. An evil smile crept onto the older man's face.

"Why, whatever made you think that? I'm not that shallow, you know." His voice made shivers run down Hakuren's spine. He could see now why the church considered him such a threat. Just his mere presence was enough to scare Hakuren into submission. Teito eyed Ayanami like a hawk as he began to circle the group. Hakuren made sure to glance around every now and then just to make sure that none of his subordinates were hiding in the shadows somewhere.

"Leave them alone." Teito said suddenly. All eyes turned to the small boy as he finally gained enough strength to free himself from Hakuren's arms and stand on his own two feet. "I'm the one you want. Let them go and I'll do whatever you say." The group drew in a collective gasp. "No!" Frau shouted. Teito looked over to the bishop; wanting so badly to reassure him but not finding the right words.

Frau's eyes narrowed, "I'm not letting you give in to this maniac. Teito, you're coming back with us." Teito's face lightened at the bishop's determination. "I know what I'm getting myself into, Frau. It was nice of you to come find me, but I feel that I need to stay here." Hakuren stood up suddenly, "But why? Why would you knowingly throw yourself into the fire when you know you're just going to get burned?"

Teito smiled sadly at his friend, "Hakuren, you have to trust me on this." Hakuren's eyes widened, then narrowed. "I won't let you!" He threw himself at Teito and wrapped his arms tightly around his friend's neck. He buried his face into Teito's chocolate hair, the warm scent of his friend flooding his nostrils and reminding him of better days.

However, to Hakuren's surprise, Teito didn't hug him back. Hakuren stood back and placed his hands firmly on Teito's shoulders. "You don't know what you're doing. Please, listen to us. Hear us out. We only want what's best for you." Teito shook his head, his eyes slowly losing their piercing vibrancy, "And I want what's best for you." He said simply, shaking off Hakuren's hands and turning to face Ayanami.

Hakuren's arms dropped loosely to his side. He took a step back, trying to steady himself. He didn't know why Teito was acting this way. Was he trying to protect them from Ayanami? Didn't he realize that he didn't have to be the hero? He couldn't take it anymore. He threw his head back and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Mikage!"

All eyes fell upon the small blond. Teito froze at the sound of his lost friend's name. He turned around slowly and glared at Hakuren. "Where is Mikage? Is he here? Tell me!" The sharpness in Teito's tone made Hakuren flinch. He also felt a twinge of jealousy at how upset Teito was becoming at the mention of the spirit's name. He brushed his own selfish feelings aside and turned towards the spirit, who had simply been standing by silently the entire time watching the events unfold in front of him

Mikage's face was twisted into a horrendous frown. Hakuren didn't think it was possible for one's mouth to turn down that much. "What do you want me to do?" The spirit finally said. Hakuren glared at him, "If you can make yourself known to me then you can do the same for Teito! He needs you right now." Mikage's face softened a bit. "It's not that easy, you see."

Teito was by Hakuren's side in an instant at the prospect of seeing his friend again. "Mikage? Are you there? Mikage!" Teito was shouting in the spirit's general direction. Hakuren eyed his friend sadly, taking pity on the poor boy who had been through so much. The blond shook his head and turned his attention back to the spirit. He was genuinely surprised to see that Mikage's face had turned more gentle as he approached his best friend.

"Hakuren, please relay a message to Teito for me." Mikage said suddenly. Hakuren flinched at Mikage's strange request, but agreed once he understood the implied message; there was no possible way for Mikage to make himself known to Teito. Hakuren alone was the only person able to see and converse with the spirit for reasons beyond his control. "Teito, Mikage has something he would like to say to you."

Teito's head snapped to glare at Hakuren angrily, "Why can't he tell me himself!" He turned back towards the unseen spirit, eyes searching frustratingly for any sign of his friend in front of him. Hakuren let out an exasperated sigh and set his hand on Teito's shoulders gently, "Teito, you can't see him because I'm the only one who can. My guess is he could only make himself known to one person and he chose me because he knew how much I cared for you and wanted to rescue you."

Teito's shoulders visibly relaxed and his face darkened, "I see. Fine then, what does he have to say?" Hakuren truly felt sorry for Teito, but he had no time to waste now on trivial matters. He turned to Mikage, motioning for him to continue. Mikage smiled slightly and caressed Teito's face with gloved hands, even though he knew Teito would feel nothing.

"Teito, you have no idea how much I worry about you. I loved you with all my heart. I knew that someday we would be happy together. You don't know how much I regret not running away with you that night I helped you escape the academy. Maybe things would've turned out differently. But, that's not what fate had in store for us. For you. I know these people care about you greatly, and I would gladly put your life in their hands. I have come to terms with my death. You need to do so as well. I will forever be by your side. Please, let these people take care of you. I trust them completely."

Hakuren relayed the message with a smile on his face. So it turned out that Mikage didn't hate him after all. That was somewhat of a relief for the blond. Frau stood with Shuuri, watching as Hakuren informed Teito of Mikage's message; the bishop always keeping a close eye on Ayanami. The captain merely stood aside and let them speak.

Teito's eyes grew wide as Hakuren finished relaying the heartfelt message. "M-Mikage? I...I mean..." The young boy was at a loss for words. He fought the oncoming tears and nodded his head fiercely. "Right! I will continue to fight by their side!" He turned to Hakuren and smiled. Hakuren returned the smile and turned to face Ayanami.

"Now then, we'll be taking Teito with us." Hakuren stated and took Teito's hand in his own. He started to lead him toward the door, past Ayanami. Frau motioned for Shuuri to follow and the group started to make their way towards where the large door used to stand before Frau completely obliterated it.

However, when they heard Ayanami chuckle darkly, the group froze. Hakuren cranked his head around and saw Ayanami staring at them creepily. "And just how do you suppose you're going to go about doing that?" He stated. Suddenly, five soldiers appeared in the doorway armed with weapons that didn't look like standard military weaponry. Hakuren gasped as the soldiers charged at the group.

(lololol Sorry for the cliffhanger XD)
SO. MUCH. DRAMA. (aru)

UGHHHH. I need to finish this story! It's eating away at my sooooooul~
Any suggestions about how to end it would be fantastic. Just saying. :3

Anyways, at least it's almost done! Yay!