The air was cold, the waves, relentless. And all over a failed mission. No, not failed. Just incomplete. Pulling himself from the water, he had one thought and one thought only. Their moment would come in due time.

M4: Presence

"Oi, minna!" Yohji called, jogging up the stairs to get to Omi's room. He reached the door and opened it, only to find that that room was empty as well. Yohji let out an exasperated sigh and backed out of the room to close the door when he noticed that Omi's bottom drawer was opened slightly. He gripped the door knob tightly in response, then went over to the drawer and kneeled in front of it. He pulled the drawer out. It was empty, but for boxes of darts. "Mission ga…" Yohji whispered to himself. "Kuso!"

Yohji pounced up and fled from the room, going down through the house to get to the basement. He grabbed his assassin attire and tossed everything on his bed but his mission box. He opened it to retrieve his watch. He paused as he took it from the box, looking it over strangely.

Birman had brought over their things when she returned, Omi being the only one in the house who had them on hand. It had been a long time, it seemed, since Yohji held the watch, but he knew exactly everything about it, and would never forget it. He put the watch on and took out his phone to contact the others, but their phones weren't on. Yohji set the phone to track down Aya's car and it gave him a location the mission didn't call for.

Confused, Yohji sat down on the bed and sighed. Were they on the mission or weren't they? Why were they all gone at the same time, with Omi's clothes and weaponry gone as well? But if they were on a mission, why hadn't they used the phone for communication? And why be somewhere other than the designated locations?

Yohji took his things with him out to his car. Even if they weren't on the mission, he could still get out there and see where Aya was. Trying to call Aya's cell could prove to be fatal in some cases, if Aya had kept the device with him and was working on the mission. Yohji took off for the location, keeping his phone on in case they decided to call.

A good twenty minutes later, Yohji pulled to a stop on an incline that led to several bridges. He got out of his car and looked around. The phone gave the location as that of Aya's car. He walked forward a few steps and paused when he heard voices. He listened, but couldn't decipher much. He scrambled across the incline, ducking when he saw Aya, Ken, Omi and that one member of Schwarz, Schuldig. Just what had gone on without his knowledge, anyway? Yohji peered over the bluff to watch what was going on.

Aya was standing very unsteadily and Ken looked ready to strike at any moment. Omi was standing next to Schuldig with his bow pointed at Aya. Yohji's eyebrows dipped harshly, and his legs tingled as they lost their feeling. What was going on? Why was Omi going to attack Aya?

"Too strong?" Schuldig asked. "It wasn't too strong for me to pull you to safety, was it, Angel?" Angel? Yohji asked himself. Omi was shaking his head.

"You left me," Omi said to Aya.

"I thought…I thought… Omi…no…" Aya's voice was shaky and his hand was at his sword.

"You left me to die," Omi said. Schuldig chuckled.

"Are you going to stand there all day, aiming that thing or are you going to shot it?" he asked. "It's time for you to repay your so-called partners, Angel. It's time to show them how it feels to be done in by who they trust." Yohji's hands dug into the grass and he went to spring towards his car when the sound of Ken's voice stopped him.

"You pig!" Ken exclaimed, and extracted his blades, moving forward towards Schuldig.

"Shoot it!" Schuldig exclaimed. Yohji's face twisted into pure horror as Omi shot Ken with one of his darts.

"Omi!" Aya exclaimed. Schuldig was laughing. Yohji sprung from the bluff and towards his car, getting dressed as quickly as he could, as they were all trained to get dressed in a moment's notice. He was heading towards the bridge when his mind cleared enough for him to hear again.

"Omi no longer exists…" Omi was saying.

"Omi…please…" Ken murmured. Yohji reached the bridge and had just turned to enter it when Schuldig spoke.

"Hit him again, Angel. And this time, make it lethal." Omi stepped closer to Ken, his bow clacking as he pulled back on the trigger.

"Si…berian…" Omi muttered

"Omi…" Ken said, looking up at him. "Omi, please don't do this." Click, swoosh. Yohji stopped again, not believing his eyes or his ears. He…really did it. He actually…

"One more to go, Angel," Schuldig said, "before you go and lose your nerve on me…"

"Omi, listen to me…" Aya pleaded. Yohji spun the wire from his watch quickly and it shot out to the right of him. He grabbed one end once there was enough length and dipped the middle length down towards where Omi stood.

"Kill him!" Schuldig demanded, then tensed and looked up toward Yohji as Omi shot one of the larger darts at Aya. Yohji pulled his arms apart and the wire hitched Omi's arms upward on one end and tightened around Schuldig's neck on the other. Omi's bow dropped from his hands and he stumbled backwards.

"Ken-kun!!" he exclaimed and ran over to Ken.

"Ima, Aya!" Yohji called to Aya, who was standing in a daze, it seemed. As if on cue, Aya jetted forward and unsheathed his sword. Yohji felt a slack in the wire, and he knew that Schuldig had cut it. Schuldig moved out of the way and under the bridge. Yohji leaned to keep his eyes on him, then moved to the other side to catch him coming out the other end. Distantly, Yohji heard the screech of a car and he turned in time to see a green one headed towards the second bridge. "K'so," Yohji muttered and ran to the other bridge, seeing Schuldig jump onto the bluff and then to the second bridge's ledge. He climbed up and over it, and Yohji spun his wire, aiming for Schuldig's neck.

The car screeched to a halt at the head of the bridge where Yohji caught up with Schuldig after he'd snagged him. He yanked him back and Schuldig turned and swiftly brought his leg up, kicking Yohji in the chin. Yohji's head snapped back.

"Not yet!" Schuldig told him. "You're last." Yohji felt the wire sag again and went to run, but all he saw was telltale orange hair as Schuldig entered the backseat of the car. The car sped off, and absently, Yohji heard Omi's wails from below.

"Ken!!" Yohji took off in their direction, sliding down, then leaping from the bluff as he passed the first bridge. Omi was patting himself down hysterically, lifting his jacket lapels to look for something inside them. Aya was kneeling beside Ken, holding onto him, shaking him. Ken's body was heaving and his entire body had broken out into a sweat. "Where?!" Omi sobbed. "Where?! Ken!" Yohji placed a hand on Omi's shoulder to stop him, and reached into his inside jacket pocket for him.

"It's in there," he told him calmly, then unzipped his track suit to breath a little easier. Omi reached into the pocket and pulled out a small vial. He unscrewed the cap and Aya leaned back, tilting Ken's head so that he was facing the night sky. Omi took Ken by the chin and set the vial at his lips. They were both shaking as Omi poured its contents into Ken's mouth. Aya positioned Ken so that his body would accept it and they each sat and waited. Ken's body ceased in its shaking, and Aya put his fingers to Ken's neck. He let out a heavy sigh and looked up at Omi. Omi looked like he'd seen hell and hadn't quite made his way back yet. Yohji pulled out a cigarette and sighed as he lit it, looking around the area as he sat there.

"You guys wanna tell me what the hell is going on?" he asked.

"Mind control," Aya said, his head up but his eyes down. "He's controlling Omi…the same way he did Sakura-chan…" Omi pressed his sleeve up to his mouth and sniffed deeply.

"It…felt so familiar…" he said. "It felt like the right thing to do…"

"Shooting Ken?" Yohji asked.

"Being…with him…" Omi said.

"Schuldig," Aya said. He shook his head slightly and stood up, holding Ken in his arms. "Let's go." Omi stood up on shaky knees and Yohji walked behind him to make sure he wouldn't fall over. Omi sat in the back seat of Aya's car with Ken, and Aya drove them home. Yohji took his own vehicle.

Later that evening, with Ken and Omi resting in their rooms, Yohji and Aya sat talking in the kitchen over coffee. They sat on opposite ends of the table, both quietly sipping at their mugs, and both reluctant to accept what was happening.

"Are you sure?" Yohji asked. Aya had spoken with Omi in the car, and Omi had told Aya about all the things he felt while he fought by Schuldig's side.

"I can't think of anything else," Aya said. "All those days Omi was unaccounted for…"

"You think they had him?" Aya nodded.

"That was when they influenced him," he said. Yohji sat back in his chair, his arms folded across his chest. "That was when he brainwashed him with that garbage."

"What was all that, anyway?" Yohji asked. "About…you leaving him to die…?"

"I didn't!" Aya snapped, his eyes dilated, wide and angry. He leapt up from the table. "I had him! He…he was right there…" Aya voice trailed off and he looked down. He rubbed his hand on his chin. "Yohji…I let him go…" Yohji sat up and stood, approaching Aya slowly. "I really thought he'd died, Yohji… When he…when Manx told us he was in the hospital, you don't know how relieved I was. And to see him awake…I was so happy…" Yohji put his hand on Aya's shoulder and squeezed it.

"Aya…"

"But there was something wrong with him…" Aya said. "I knew he wasn't himself. They…they corrupted him… They….corrupted him with that garbage." Aya's voice was uncharacteristically harsh.

"Aya, please. Have a seat and let's talk this over." Aya looked at Yohji, and then out the large picture windows beyond the table. The moonlight was the only light coming in through the windows and besides that, the room was bathed in darkness. Aya pulled out the chair he stood near and sat down. Yohji resumed his seat, but pulled it closer to Aya's.

"Yohji…?"

"Yeah?"

"I had this nightmare…" Aya began, his voice so low, Yohji could barely hear him.

"From before?" Yohji asked. Aya nodded. "What about?"

"I'm reading…and he comes out of nowhere, and starts pestering me. Telling me that Omi is dead."

"Who?" Yohji asked.

"Schuldig."

"I see." Aya looked over to Yohji, resting his elbows on the table.

"Tsukiyono Omi…is dead, isn't he?" he asked. Yohji looked appalled.

"I'd like to think not!" he said, picking up his glasses from the table. He pointed them at Aya as he spoke. "Omi's alive, you've seen it for yourself. If that's not Omi, then who is that walking around this house with us?"

"Someone else…" Aya said. "He's right. When I let him go that day, I let the Omi we knew die."

"You're wrong," Yohji said. "You're letting him get to you, and that's showing me that there is seriously something wrong with this picture."

"Yohji, he…he's not the same."

"Hell, would you be?" Yohji asked. "Is Little Miss Aya-chan the same from before? Sakura-chan even?" Yohji said. "Hell, we've all been through a lot, and yeah, we've all changed. But…you had to have expected that." Yohji sat back, shaking his head. "An experience like that, Aya…? What else could you expect?"

"How did they get him?" Aya asked, looking out the window again. "How on earth did they find him…? I looked everywhere for him." Aya shook his head.

"Aya…"

"And they brainwashed him…with God knows what…" Aya's face frowned up. "I knew that wood wouldn't support our weight…but I just sat him there, anyway…"

"Aya…"

"And I let him sink, Yohji. I watched him as he went over, he couldn't swim anymore. That fucking wave… I don't even know where that wave came from…there were no waves there the entire time, but that one fucking wave." Aya's mouth was pursed tightly in disgust and anger. "I let him die that day, and they got him and they turned him into one of them."

"Cut it out," Yohji said.

"Yohji, damnit." Yohji looked at him. Aya's eyes were fierce. "I let him die that day."

"I said cut it out," Yohji said. Aya's face went through a multitude of changes, ultimately settling for one Yohji had never seen on him before.

"I did…" Aya said slowly. "I did let him go, Yohji." Yohji stood behind him and placed both his hands on Aya's shoulders. "I saw that you were okay, and Ken was with you. Omi wasn't there. I couldn't handle that, I knew he was alive, and waiting to be found, just like you were. I looked for him, and I found him, floating along the surface, half unconscious. I called to him and I reached for him. He was right there, I pulled him up and I had him on that wood, and he was coming to. But the wood snapped and he went under…" Aya's body flinched and he closed his eyes, leaning forward. "He called for me…his voice was so…he was so…scared… I had him…and I just let him go…" Aya trailed off and Yohji felt his shoulders slump. Yohji slid his hands around the front of Aya's chest and pulled him back. He leaned down and rested his face near Aya's.

"You saved his life," Yohji said, his voice softened from the effects of Aya's explanation. "He would have died if you hadn't have pulled him up when you did." Aya shook his head slowly. "Babe, listen to me," Yohji said, resting his head against Aya's and staring down at Aya's hands. "The only thing you did was save him. So what if they got to him, at least he's alive, and he is with us now. We are going to work with him, and everything's going to work out. We'll kill those bastards, and move on, won't we?" Aya looked up, his lips quivering very slightly. He gave a faint nod and Yohji squeezed him. "You're damned right we will."

Please review,

kaj