The X Files

Hatochiisai

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Criminal Minds, OR the X Files

Hotch/Reid

Chapter 6

The team walked into the public library which was over run with police. They grouped around the body and stared down at it.

Reid knelt and picked up a library card that was lying on the floor, flicking open his phone.

"… Garcia, I need you to look up hospital records on any children of Jeremiah Mason." He said, turning and walking away from the group while Hotch, Prentiss and Scully all knelt to inspect the body. Morgan, Rossi and Mulder began interviewing hysterical witnesses.

"Okay, thanks Garcia." Reid said, walking back over. Suddenly, his phone flew out of his hand and clattered across the floor. Reid blinked. Prentiss looked at him.

"Reid?" She called.

"Uhhn!" Reid grunted suddenly, doubling over and stumbling back.

"Reid?!" She stood and the other Agents all turned and looked at him.

"Ahn!" Reid yelped, and his head snapped to the side as if he'd been punched across the jaw. Then his head snapped back and he fell to the floor. A whoosh of air escaped him as his body jerked upwards as if someone had kicked him in the stomach. He jerked upwards again and again and again. Then his head snapped back again and his entire body was sent sprawling on his back.

"REID!" Hotch shouted and ran to him. But as soon as he got within five feet, he felt a harsh impact to his chest and he fell backwards. "REID!"

The beating continued. Reid was pinned down to the floor on his chest, and his arm was jerked up behind him into the air and twisted. Hotch grunted, doubling over and groaning.

"Ah! AHHN! LET GO!!!" Reid cried, grimacing in pain. "OW!!! You… NO!" He lifted his head and looked up. Through the shelves, in the large window that covered the back wall of the library, he saw Nagi.

Promise you will leave me be.

"I won't!" Reid shouted. "You're a murderer! And we will not rest until we stop you!" A moment later, his arm was dropped and he gasped in relief. But suddenly, something grabbed him and hurled him across the library.

Prentiss screamed as Reid's body slammed into a bookshelf. Books rained down around him. Then his body was flung across the room again and slammed into the wall.

"GET HIM OFF ME!" Reid cried, writhing against the wall. Morgan ran over and grabbed Reid… but he couldn't get him off of the wall. A moment later, Morgan yelped as he was shoved to the floor, and the team stared in horror as Reid's body slid up the tall wall that stretched the entire two stories of the library. Reid's eyes were wide and frightened. It seemed as if he was suddenly let go. His body fell forwards a few inches, but then was slammed against the wall again. Reid yelped as his skull cracked against the wall and he was pinned there.

"FIND NAGI!!" Mulder shouted, pulling his gun and looking around. "He has to be able to see what he's using his telekinesis on!" Scully and Rossi pulled their guns as well and the three split up. But Morgan, Prentiss and Hotch didn't budge. They just stared up at Reid as the young man's body suddenly dropped. Reid cried out and Hotch ran to get beneath him, but the man was thrown away. And Reid's body suddenly stopped and hovered three feet above the floor. Reid groaned, his body throbbing in pain.

"Reid!" Prentiss called, and despite seeing that Hotch had been unable to get close, she ran towards her colleague. Reid gasped as his body suddenly was hurled into Prentiss. The pair tumbled across the floor and landed in a tangled heap. Slowly, they stumbled to their feet.

"Reid… are you okay?" the woman gasped, taking his hands. But Reid didn't get a chance to answer. They both suddenly found themselves up in the air, something trying to drag them apart. But they clung on to each other. Hotch and Morgan were flung into the wall and pinned there, their feet dangling a foot off of the floor.

"Ahhn!!! Morgan!!" Reid cried as muscles strained and joints creaked.

"I can't move!" Morgan howled, struggling, then yelped as it felt like a fist buried itself into his gut.

"REID!" Hotch shouted, struggling furiously, growling at the unseen impact across his jaw. "Prentiss!"

"Emily…" Reid groaned, staring at her. Suddenly, their bodies were flying through the air, straight at the end of a bookshelf. "LET GO!" Reid cried.

"No!"

"We'll break our arms!" Reid cried. And a moment before they hit the bookcase, they let go of each other. Emily was hurled across the room and sailed over the librarian's desk, slamming into the wall and falling to the floor with a sharp cry of pain. Reid was thrown back and slammed into a book case. He was thrown forward into the next case in the row. And Hotch and Morgan couldn't do anything as they watched their colleague being slammed back and forth between them like a rag doll, unable to stop what was happening to him.

Prentiss groaned, stumbling across the room and running towards Reid, trying to reach him, but she was thrown back again. She hit the wall to the left of Morgan and fell to the floor. This time, she lay still…

"Emily!" Morgan called, then choked as he felt invisible hands close around his throat. Hotch's eyes widened as he felt the same thing… Their chests grew tight… they couldn't breathe…

Reid uttered a broken cry as he suddenly hit the floor, rolling over several times before coming to a rest right before Hotch and Morgan… Then, gun shots rang out. Hotch and Morgan lurched forwards, crashing to the floor by Reid's side.

"SCULLY, LOOK OUT!!!" Mulder shouted, and Rossi ducked as the woman sailed over his head. He watched Agent Mulder go flying over the bushes and land in the fountain with a splash. Then something hit him like a runaway truck and he found himself flying through the air. He hit the ground and rolled. Horns blared. Tires screamed. And Rossi just ducked and covered, waiting for the fatal impact to occur…

The public library was complete mayhem. Ambulances and police everywhere.

"… Way to create chaos, Nagi." Came a chuckle. Nagi said nothing. The red haired man turned and grinned.

"This was unnecessary." Crawford growled, frowning. "Don't encourage him, Schuldig."

"He's trying to scare away the FBI, what's wrong with that?" Schuldig asked, amused.

"We can't risk Nagi getting caught. We need to lay low until we can get out of the country." Crawford said, watching Hotch and Morgan cross the parking lot together. Scully and Mulder were at one of the ambulances, getting checked out. Mulder was dripping wet and did NOT look happy. Prentiss was at another ambulance and an EMT was shining a light into her eyes. Rossi walked over to meet Hotch and Morgan. A moment later, Reid limped over to them, a band-aid on his forehead. Hotch reached out, laying a hand on the boy's cheek. Reid nodded at him and the pair turned back to Rossi and Morgan. The other three Agents joined them a moment later.

"We should go." Crawford said.

"… I want to kill her." Said the fourth man. Crawford, Nagi and Schuldig looked at the one eyed man. He was extremely pale and his arms were swathed in bandages. He was flicking a blade in his hand.

"Who?" Schuldig asked.

"… Her. The red head."

"Agent Scully." Nagi calmly supplied.

"No." Crawford said, firmly.

"… It would hurt God…"

"So does masturbation." Schuldig snorted. "Do that."

"… Oh, please... ew." Nagi winced.

"Enough. Let's go." Crawford ordered, rolling his eyes. The four turned and walked away.

"He's spiraling." Rossi announced. The others all stared at him from over their dinners.

"I don't think so." Reid said, frowning. Rossi looked at him and sipped his beer, waiting for Reid to continue. "We're threatening him. He feels he has a mission. And we are standing in his way. He's torn. He wants to continue his work, but we are threatening his ability to continue."

"So why hasn't he just killed us?" Scully asked.

"Because he believes that we're good people. He wants us out of his way but he doesn't really want to hurt us." Reid said. "So he's trying to scare us away."

"How do you know that?" Mulder asked, frowning.

"He's a profiler." Scully snorted.

"Uh… actually, it's the feeling I keep getting from him whenever his mind links with mine." Reid said, smiling slightly and gulping down his soda. "God… I wish he would stop. I feel so… drained afterwards…" Hotch frowned and looked at Reid.

"You do look pale…" The man said.

"I'm tired." Reid admitted.

"We all are." Prentiss groaned.

"Man… I just wanna get this little son of a bitch…" Morgan groaned, running a hand over his head.

"I don't know if we can." Reid sighed. "And even if we did catch him… no prison could hold him." The team lowered their eyes.

Two hours later found the entire group in Mulder's room. They were staring at the case files scattered around the room… for the most part.

"… What's the point?" Reid asked suddenly, not even looking away from the television screen on which he was watching 'The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers'. Eyes turned up to look at him. "We know who, how and why. But none of this stuff will tell us the one thing we need. WHERE."

"I still think that Bradley Crawford isn't telling us everything." Mulder said.

"He's not." Reid snorted. "And he won't."

"We're going to have to wait." Hotch sighed. "We won't catch the Naoe boy until he comes to us."

It had been three days since in the incident at the library. The group stuck to the rule that no one is ever alone. Aside from Mulder, who refused to share a motel room. He didn't much care for his three choices; the women, the lovers, or the Snoring Chorus aka Rossi and Morgan. So he elected to take the risk of staying alone. But for three days, all was quiet. Nothing happened. They had seen no sign of Nagi Naoe. No more victims. No more psychic attacks against the team. Nothing. They had surveillance on Bradley Crawford's house, but the man had also vanished.

And so the team was sitting around the table in the conference room of the local precinct when the door opened.

"Well. Don't you look like you're having fun." A voice giggled. Everyone turned. Mulder and Scully just blinked, but the others grinned.

"JJ!" Emily exclaimed. "Hey!"

"Hi, JJ."

"Hey Spence. What the hell happened to you?"

"You wouldn't believe it, even if I told you." Reid snorted, jerking away when JJ prodded his bruised cheek.

"Oh, Spence…" JJ crooned, stroking Reid's hair. Reid rolled his eyes but smiled, and Hotch just chuckled at JJ's maternal instincts kicking in and Reid's loving tolerance at constantly being the focus of it.

"Hi. I'm Jennifer Jareau." And she held out her hand.

"Dana Scully. And this is my partner, Fox Mulder." Scully said, taking JJ's hand and shaking it. Mulder stood politely and also shook her hand. "I guess you'll be bunking with me and Agent Prentiss?" Scully asked.

"Absolutely." Hotch said firmly. "No one is EVER alone."

"… Why? What's going on? Tell me about the case." JJ said.

"Okay. But you're not gonna believe it." Morgan sighed. And the team told her everything. They showed her the videos of the murders that were available. They told her about every psychic attack and telekinetic assault. And she was stunned into silence.

"… You guys are serious." She said, staring around.

"As serious as the cuts on Reid's back and the bruises on all of our bodies." Hotch snorted, running a hand up and down Reid's back. Reid sighed and shook his head.

"This kid is NOT done." He said, firmly. "Nagi will strike again."

"But how can we catch him?!" JJ asked. "And how can we prove that he is the killer?"

"We can't." Hotch sighed. "But we have to do something. We catch him and Agents Mulder and Scully will have to take him from there."

No one noticed Reid's eyes swimming out of focus, or his head slowly falling forwards. But they turned when he gasped and jerked. He lifted his head and they stared at him. Dark blue eyes stared back.

"… Spence?!" JJ gasped.

"… Nagi Naoe." Mulder growled. Reid turned and looked at JJ.

"I told you to leave me alone." Came the soft, monotone voice from Reid's lips. "And you bring in another Agent? Isn't that the opposite of what you were supposed to do?"

Reid's fingers twitched on the table top. The blue eyes blinked and stared down at the long fingers. He frowned and curled his fingers into a fist, then looked at the group again.

"Leave. Or I will tear you apart one by one. Rip you limb from limb!" But then Reid's face was twisted in a horrible grimace. His head twitched to the side and his fingers flexed, then clawed at the table. A strangled groan escaped his throat.

"… Reid?" Hotch gasped, and he and Mulder slowly approached the boy. Reid gasped, throwing his head back and arching his back, crying out as if in pain. Then, he began to groan and thrash. He opened his eyes briefly… they were glowing red. They fell closed once more, and then with an almighty jerk, he fell off of the chair and crashed onto the floor. The team was quickly surrounding him. Reid gasped and jerked again, and his eyes snapped open.

"Oh my God…" Scully breathed. Reid's left eye was still the dark midnight blue. But his right eye was the golden brown that the agents knew so well. His body writhed… his eyes fluttered and rolled in his skull. He whimpered and groaned.

"What's happening to him?!" Hotch gasped.

"… He's refusing to let Nagi take control of his body." Mulder said, looking strangely delighted. "He's fighting back!" Suddenly, Reid's left hand shot out and JJ gasped as his long fingers closed around her throat in an iron grip. Reid's eyes darted around at the Agents.

"Leave! Or I'll snap her neck!" Came the papery hiss.

"No!" Reid's own voice rose from his body. "You won't! I won't let you!"

"How will you stop me?" Came the hiss again. And suddenly, Reid's right hand fumbled.

"NO!" Emily gasped when Reid suddenly seized his revolver and lifted it to his head, pressing the barrel against his temple.

"I will pull the trigger." Reid snapped.

"… You would take your own life?" Nagi's voice asked.

"To protect my team, yes. And if you will use me to hurt them because it's easy to get into my mind, then I will destroy that mind so that you CANNOT take it over!"

"Spence, no!" JJ cried, but then gasped as the hand at her throat tightened. Hotch grabbed Reid's wrist and began trying to pry the gun out of the Reid's fingers.

"Reid, don't!"

"You seek to kill yourself to deny me access to you." Nagi hissed. "But it seems that your lover will not allow it to happen." Reid cried out as Hotch pried the gun from his fingers. Reid groaned and rolled onto his side, releasing JJ and gripping his head in his hands. Then, he uttered an angry cry and staggered to his feet, running from the room.

"Reid!" Morgan called, and the agents followed him. Reid burst out the front doors of he station and stumbled out into the middle of the street. He looked around, then snarled and charged off towards the bushes across the street. The team came out just in time to see Reid launch himself over the bushes and tackle Nagi Naoe. The boy yelped and the pair crashed to the ground and rolled, wrestling with each other.

"Get off!" Nagi cried. "GET OFF!!! I WILL RIP YOUR MIND APART!!!"

"TRY IT!!!" Reid shouted back. And then, there was an explosion of psychic energy. It whirled around the pair, throwing the agents back. Within the whirling vortex, both Reid and Nagi were staring up at the sky, clutching their head in their hands, screaming…

"REID!" Hotch shouted, staring in worried fear, as were the other agents with him.

Reid and Nagi were both hanging about eight feet in the air, and the vortex prevented anyone from getting close.

"What do we do!?" JJ cried.

"Shoot the son of a bitch!" Morgan snapped, pulling his gun and raising it, taking aim at Nagi.

"NO!" Mulder shouted, grabbing Morgan's wrist and lowering his head. "If you shoot him and his mind is linked with Dr. Reid's, you could kill them both!"

"How do you know?!"

"I don't. But it's not worth risking it." Mulder hissed.

"We have to do something!" Emily insisted, raising a hand against the wind; it was getting stronger. The agents had to brace themselves to keep from being blown over. But suddenly the whirlwind exploded outwards. The agents were flattened to the ground and deafened by the roar. And then, all was quiet. Slowly, they raised their heads and looked up. Reid and Nagi were both sprawled out on the ground, and three men were walking towards them.

Bradley Crawford walked over and knelt, reaching a hand out and taking Nagi's pulse. Finding it strong and steady, he lifted the slight body into his arms and stood, then turned.

"Uh… Brad?" Schuldig called. Crawford turned.

"What?!" He snapped. Schuldig pointed at the third man, the quiet, pale one eyed man covered in bandages. Crawford looked at him.

"JEI!" He called sharply. The one eyed man was standing over Reid, with Reid's hair in his hand, holding his head up… a knife was in his other hand. He looked up and stared at Crawford, looking disappointed.

"He needs to die." The one eyed man hissed, pressing the blade to Reid's throat.

"No. Not now." Crawford said. "Let's go."

"DROP THE KNIFE!!!"

All three men turned and stared at the seven FBI Agents pointing their guns at them. Hotch was in front.

"Drop the knife and put your hands in the air! NOW!!!" The Unit Chief commanded.

Nagi groaned from in Crawford's arms. The man blinked and looked down at the teenage boy, then slowly set him down on his feet. Nagi looked around and his eyes widened.

"Let's go." Crawford said. "Schuldig. Get Jei."

Nagi stepped forward and raised his hand. The Agents all yelped as they were sent flying backwards across the street. When they all managed to get back to their feet the four men were gone, and Reid was lying on the grass. The group split up. Mulder and Scully ran one way, Rossi and JJ another, and Prentiss and Morgan in another. Hotch ran to Reid, falling to his knees by the boy and rolling him over onto his back.

"Spencer?" He called gently, reaching out and brushing his hair out of his face. Reid's eyes were closed, and he looked like he was sleeping, peacefully. Hotch slid his arm under Reid's shoulders and drew him up into a sitting position, leaning against the elder agent's body. "Reid. Come on, wake up…" Hotch said, running his free hand through Reid's hair. "Come on…"

Reid furrowed his brow and sighed slightly, turning his head towards Hotch.

"… Aaron…" He murmured, and forced his eyes open. Hotch let out a relieved sigh.

"Are you okay, Spencer?"

"… God… I feel so heavy…" Reid groaned.

"Come on. On your feet." Hotch said, and helped Reid stand. The boy winced and leaned heavily on the Unit Chief. Hotch frowned. "Are you okay?" He asked again.

"… Tired…"

"Come on… let's get you inside." Hotch said, looking up when Mulder and Scully reappeared.

"No sign of them." Scully said. "Dr. Reid, are you feeling okay?"

"… Tired. Heavy." Reid mumbled.

"You look pale." Scully said, frowning. "Come on, I want to check you over."

Reid groaned as Mulder ducked under one of his arms and Hotch under the other. The two elder men helped the younger back into the precinct, ignoring all the police officers looking scared. They all scattered out of the Agents' way as they took Reid to the break room and sat him down on the sofa. Scully quickly checked him over. Reid was terribly pale and had uncontrollable tremors that would come and go. Scully checked his eyes.

"… Hmmm… pupils are dilated. Eyes are glazed. Dr. Reid, are you having trouble focusing?"

"Um… A bit…" Reid admitted, his voice soft and tired.

"Pallid complexion, heavy perspiration…" Scully listed off. "Lie down. You look dizzy." Reid obeyed, and she pressed her fingers to the side of Reid's neck just under his mandible and watching her own watch. "Pulse is fast, fast heavy breathing, resp rate high… Elevated temperature."

"I'm tired…" Reid mumbled, letting his eyes fall closed.

"Is he okay?" Hotch asked. Scully sighed and looked up at Hotch.

"The confrontation took its toll, but he'll be okay." She said and stood, looking at the man. "I think you should get him something light to eat and take him to the motel. He needs to rest. A good night's sleep will be the best thing for him right now." She turned. "Mulder, I want you to go with them."

"What?"

"You don't have to stay in their room, but I want them to have backup nearby. I'll send the others along when they get back."

"Good idea." Hotch said, frowning. "Now there are four of them."

"The man in the suit was Bradley Crawford." Mulder said with a frown. "The red head was Schuldig. I don't know who the third is…"

"I'll have Garcia look into it." Hotch said, and helped Reid up.

"… Take him to the bathroom." Scully said when Reid turned green. Hotch blinked and looked down. He took one look at Reid's face, and jerked him down the hall to the men's room.

An hour later found Reid kneeling before the toilet in his and Hotch's motel room, his stomach expelling the small amount of soup he had eaten. Hotch was kneeling beside Reid, gently running a hand up and down Reid's back.

"… Any more?" Hotch asked. Reid swallowed and shook his head, reaching up and flushing the toilet with a shaking hand. Hotch helped Reid to his feet and wrapped an arm around him, helping him stand as he rinsed his mouth out and brushed his teeth. Then Hotch helped Reid across the room and tucked him into bed. Reid groaned weakly, closing his eyes. He heard Hotch move across the room and the sink running. A moment later, he felt a cool wet cloth on his forehead.

Reid cracked his eyes open and turned, looking at Hotch. He offered the man a small smile. Hotch returned it.

"Aaron?"

"Yes?"

"What happened? When I was out?"

"… Bradley Crawford came and took Nagi away." Hotch said. "He had two other men with him. The one you described as Schuldig, and another man. Very pale. Patch over one eye… He… held a knife to your throat." Reid's eyes widened and his hand flew up to his neck, rubbing it nervously. "But Crawford wouldn't let him hurt you. They ran."

"… Damn…" Reid breathed, still rubbing his neck.

Hotch sighed and reached out, gently brushing Reid's hair out of his face. "Get some sleep, Spencer." He said, softly. "You're safe." He offered Reid a smile. "You know I won't let anything happen to you." He told his subordinate, gently rubbing the cool cloth over Reid's face. Reid sighed and closed his eyes, leaning into every touch of the cloth. It felt so good on his fevered skin…

With his free hand, Hotch reached out and took Reid's hand in his own. Slowly, the young man relaxed. And eventually his breathing evened out and he slept.