Aisoku, finally back in his room, climbed up onto the lame dresser-ish furniture item in his room and jiggled one of the ceiling tiles loose. It had been a day and a half since they'd done the surgery, and though his arm still ached he wanted to leave tonight. Vlad was really the only person he trusted here, and once he left Aisoku wasn't sure if he could really trust anyone working in this facility. Either they were oblivious or on Lenka's side. And even the oblivious person would tend towards Lenka's argument simply because he was a smooth talking adult- being compared to a thin straw-haired kid Aisoku wouldn't believe himself either.

He grasped the slightly damp papers and slapped them down on the dresser. If they had seen where he'd hidden them they hadn't done anything to them. He'd noticed just as he'd been drifting around between consciousnesses he'd heard the familiar dull click as the camera near the doorway of the examination room switched modes.

He sat down in the chair and winced as he tried to straighten his back. His shoulders had been growing a bit lately- no doubt to accommodate the roots of his wings which still hurt. As he sat and scribbled down the time the cameras had a single break he wondered vaguely if his back would ever feel the same. But as he reached back and felt the smooth ripple of muscle under the silver feathers he knew that once he flew with them, all this pain would be worth it. Which, coincidentally was what his plan to escape ended with. Since they were near a town all he would have to do is get far enough away that they lost contact and find somewhere to sleep. After that he could probably steal enough food, clothing and money and get a hold of a phone so his parents could come and get him. It wasn't the best of plans but he wasn't in the best of circumstances and all that really mattered was getting out from under this companies wing.

He fingered his necklace as he worked, then checked the clock. Ten minutes until the first cameras began off in sequence. Six cameras in total lining the singular hallway, then a turn left, then up the stairs and to the right, where Lenka and Inessa usually went. He figured the final door out wasn't far from there and after he got past the first six cameras he'd still have about three minutes before the cameras in his room turned back on to inform everyone of his absence. He wasn't fool enough to think that they weren't top notch heat sensing cameras that could possibly be fooled by stuffing pillows into the shape of a human being under his blanket. He glanced at the camera in the upper right corner of his room with irritation. Since he'd removed the bugs that first day they'd been replaced by larger ones with shatter-proof lenses. However, the person installing them obviously believed that Aisoku was incapable of doing any sort of damage since he hadn't bothered to screw in the stand holding it right. He'd adjusted one of them to point at the opposite corner of the room from him.

He ran over the plan again in his head and, satisfied that it had enough room for improvising in case something went wrong, rocked the chair back.

That still left one little plothole he'd noticed since he'd first come here.

Where were all the artworks?

They'd swarmed him like sharks at a feeding frenzy in Japan, and he could sense a good number of Hikari artworks here as well. So why were the holding back? The only thing he could think of is that there must be something other than the spell Krad had cast on him. He rubbed his wrists as he thought about it. There must be a barrier. But then why hadn't he sensed it? Aisoku closed his eyes for half a second and opened them again. If he didn't sense it, either it was being cloaked or it was so weak that he wouldn't have any problems getting though it. He folded his wings the way Dark told him to so that they were neatly underneath his skin.

He didn't want them getting in the way tonight. He checked the clock again, steadied his breathing.

One minute. He fingered the two cards he'd confiscated from Lenka as he'd been drifting awake from surgery and winced as his arm twanged with pain. The scientist had been turned away from him and the poor little thief just couldn't resist. Thirty seconds. He retrieved a jar hidden in one of his desk drawers and headed over to the door, making sure to linger in the area the right camera didn't cover. He unscrewed the lid but kept it pressed down on top to keep the rat he'd captured two hours ago inside.

I'm probably gonna get rabies from this… He thought morbidly.

Ten seconds. He pressed a shoulder gently against the door and used the first card, a standard-looking black and white one, to jiggle the lock the rest of the way open. Click. He opened the jar then shut it and waited until he heard the metallic chime of the first camera. Placing the jar flat he jiggled it a bit and watched as the light brown rat skittered out, using his foot to direct the rodent down the hallway and in front of the motion detectors.

Then he sucked in a lungful of air, closed his eyes, and just as the first alarms from the motion detectors set off his small frame wavered and dissolved into the darkness of the hallway. Now I guess I'll see how long I can hold this. He thought and glanced down at his body to make sure it wasn't visible. As he waited he took a miniature flashlight from his jeans and shone it down the hallway, revealing an intricate web of red lasers. He waited. If they're going to send men down here to investigate they'll have to shut down the laser grid on this half, at least. Sure enough a few seconds later the grid flickered off. The two thugs who had hauled him in before came thundering down the hall and Aisoku had to flatten himself against the wall to avoid being crushed. The one on the left looked inside Aisoku's room and spoke in rapid Russian to the other, who nodded and indicated down the hallway. He was so close Aisoku could see the sweat on his forehead and smell his breath. As the other turned the one with a slighter build turned and stared at Aisoku for a second, his dark brows furrowed. Aisoku didn't even breathe.

He reached out, his fingers inches away from Aisoku's nose and after a half second, drew back with a little snort. His footsteps landed heavy on cement as he ran to catch up to his coworker and Aisoku dashed the other direction, timing it perfectly to the chimes of the cameras. Once he got past all six of them he slid the first card through the security card reader. It flashed green and he was up the stairs, circling so fast he began to get dizzy. The second door out the stairwell had a card reader too. He fumbled to read the letters on the second card in the dark but decided to try it anyway.

It whirred for a moment, then stated in what felt like a ridiculously loud voice "Handprint identification please." Damn.

He ran a hand through his hair and retrieved a hairclip, jamming it into the tiny crack between the face and back of the machine. Once he'd pried it open enough to see the wiring he rerouted it to replay the last handprint and after a few muttered curse words it flashed green. Once he came in the room it was clear why it had been a pain to get in here- there was lab equipment and computers everywhere, a row of low windows on the right-hand side and… as he made his way across the room to the nearest he noticed a long sheet draped over and under all of this organized chaos. 'Subject A DNA sequence' was printed along the top and despite his urgent need to vacate the building he couldn't help but pause to take a closer look. Pretty sure that's me .It was sheets of paper taped together top-to-bottom, filled with the letters G,A,T and C and always fluctuating in order.

In fact it looked mind-numbingly dull except for the last two pages which were highlighted in pink and written on all over in pen, pencil. Basically they were scribbles of confusion like 'subject has a full 2% DNA that doesn't match any human we've compared to…' 'subject's DNA resembles certain protein patterns of birds but is not an exact match to any known species on record.' His body froze up and his hand went automatically to the necklace underneath his shirt where the two feathers lay smooth and warm against his skin.

Not an exact match to any species on record.

It was official, then. Right there in black and white. Footsteps pounding up the stairs snapped him back into the present.

He hopped onto the row of desks and opened one of the windows with his elbow, going out feet-first and having to wiggle a little to get his shoulders out of the frame. As he squeezed he nicked his left cheek on the edge and hot red dribbled in a single line down the side of his face. He hit the snow running and almost stumbled as he fumbled with the thick jacket in an attempt to let his wings loose. Oh screw it. He pulled the fabric in tight and pushed with his wings until the fabric broke and his wings burst out, ruffling immediately from the cold. Back inside the building Lenka watched as his two officers and Inessa swarmed around the open window. "What are you doing?" She demanded incredulously. "Your letting him get away?" He detected the hint of hope in her voice an almost grimaced- really, how could he keep her by his side unless she was completely loyal? "No. I only want to see if his wings are fully grown. You will see in a moment why escape is impossible for him."

Aisoku wasn't really sure what he was doing- but as he was flapping and running something strange started happening. It was getting harder for his feet to touch the ground- he was running nearly on his tiptoes now… He brought in the white-and-black striped tips just enough to get his feet fully on the ground and pushed off. Everything slowed down- the shouting behind him, the sting of the cut on his face, even the weight of his boots seemed to disappear as his wings rowed down, furiously trying to break the hold gravity had bound him to his whole life. Then it sped up. He was up and over the chain-link fence and the air stung with cold.

His heart dropped into his stomach and wasn't returning to his chest anytime soon and the frozen ground sped by underneath him.

The base of his neck tingled as he became aware of the magic barrier surrounding the place and he realized he was a few seconds away from flying right through it. If he didn't clear it he'd end up getting toasted and drop like a rock. For some reason, the thought that he'd gotten this far just to be stopped by something most people couldn't even see really pissed him off. He didn't want to let his magic loose for fear of passing out but it looked like he didn't have a choice.

He shot an arm out in front of him with a hissed, "Get out of my way!" and suddenly his magic darted out of his palm in a streak of blue fire. It spread like a web across the interior of the barrier and melted a hole just big enough for Aisoku to fit through. Aisoku folded his wings and snapped them open once he was across with a dull feeling of awe. That spread into full out happiness as he realized he was going to get away. Away from this place and that grey-eyed man and everyone that had been willingly or not holding him hostage.

I'm free. I'm-

"Oh, that definitely stopped him." Inessa said sarcastically as Aisoku obviously blasted through whatever had been there that she couldn't quite see. Lenka frowned at her sarcasm. "Hm. Interesting. That's a Hikari level barrier." He fished around in his jacket and brought out what looked like a small metal remote with about six different buttons and a thin black antenna. "Well, this will."

"What is that?"

His finger hovered over the button for a half second as he sighed and lied humanely, "You will see. I was hoping I wouldn't have to use this." before pressing the first button. And then the second and third.

Red.

That was the first thing Aisoku's brain processed as the pain swept over him, crushing and twisting him in its iron hands.

His wings snapped up next to either side of his body and he fell, the terror of falling nothing compared to the hell going on inside his head.

fingers scratched and scrabbled across the thick, slick metal surface that could be the only source for the agony and as he hit the ground black bloomed in his vision to join the red. Vaugely he was aware that he was screaming. His legs and knees were trembling and he felt one of them slide down flat but he couldn't feel the cold ground. He could hear his wings slapping on either side of him in the snow like dying fish, throwing the white powder both away and over him in thin bursts.

Still his fingers couldn't find purchase on the damn metal and he was aware he was bleeding from the neck now too from his own efforts.

The blood was a tiny speck of warmth through the chaos in his skull.

He wanted to die- wanted everything to end if it would stop the pain.

Oh god! Oh god!

Krad sat up from a dead sleep. His body shook, his hand at his neck and the tendons in his neck taunt from holding down a scream that belonged to his son. His yellow eyes were wide and the top and bottom of his pupils slit from fear.

"LENKA!" The way he looked at her then, slate grey, without the slightest trace of remorse, only irritation- instantly took out the will in her to scream. Screaming didn't get him to stop. But words would. "You don't want your 'subject' to get damaged do you?"

"I suppose not." He said and drew secret delight from her struggle. If he didn't have her family's health in the palm of his hand no doubt she would have assaulted him to get the device off. What a stupid, simple-hearted woman. But then that was the reason he'd hired her in the first place. Along with everyone else. He clicked the three buttons off and watched the boys struggling form relax, the wondrous wings stiffening before falling and spreading flat in relief. "There." He nudged one of the two men who also worked for him, slightly repulsed by his odor.

His voice came out in plain Russian, "You two go and fetch him."

They stared at him for a moment too with the same dumb animal look Lenka often attributed to cows.

"I said go." He repeated with his voice low and velvet and laced with animosity. They both moved as a unit to the nearest door and Lenka gave a small irritated snort. There was no need to raise his voice when a thinly-veiled threat within words could get the job done just as well.

Aisoku couldn't hear anything but a loud ringing in his ears.

His body was trembling and though he'd tried to stiffen his muscles to stop it that had actually made it worse. All the colors seemed brighter, painfully so.

His fingers were sticky with his own blood and now he realized what he'd been feeling along his neck had actually started from a cut on the back of his head.

He wondered if he had a concussion. Seemed likely. He struggled to stand up and his legs betrayed him by wobbling precariously and dropping him halfway on the ground. Get up. Get up. He told himself. God dammit you've already made it most of the way out.

He could hear two of them behind him. He got up and started walking, cursing the landscape for its potholes and divets that made him look even weaker.

If he could just get back in the air- his fingers began the loop around his neck again- or better yet if he could find a way to get this off then… then maybe…

His legs officially gave him the finger and dumped him out onto the frozen ground hard.

Be that way. He thought angrily. The snow wasn't soft here at all. It was so cold it burned the side of his face, his body. He curled one wing underneath him to keep out the cold and the other above so he wouldn't have to see those stupid men catch up to him and haul him back to the facility. Being surrounded in a cocoon of feathers at least gave him a little comfort. His hand slid inside his jacket, gripped around the necklace under his shirt. I'm sorry… dad… And thought he may have felt a bit of that warm yellow color humming around his body. That was when he lost consciousness.

Krad let a breath out, brought another in to take its place. He wondered if Aisoku had heard his reply. He was still alive. That had been too close. He scooted over to the other side of the bed and leaned out just enough to be able to reach Dark with a foot. Then he paused as he heard the thief muttering,

"Well you know I like it like that baby…" and blushed, kicking him in the butt sharply.

"Awaken, pervert. We have to leave. Now." Purple eyes flickered with magic angrily. "Nn-gh, Krad, its three in the-"

"And Aisoku just got shocked by a very powerful dog collar."

Dark blinked twice, then stretched and slid out of bed with a soft, "Well I guess we'd better get going then huh." He yawned and Krad noticed his canines were a tad longer than usual. He must have been more affected by the news than he let on.
"Indeed." Ten minutes later they piled into the rental car and drove off. Dark pulled in to a gas station and went into the minuscule store as Krad waited in the back, his yellow eyes thoroughly creeping out the man taking their check. Dark came back a minute later with a large coffee and a croissant, which he plopped into the listless Krad's lap. "Eh?" The blonde raised an eyebrow. "I don't want this."

Dark dropped his coffee into the cup holder and stated, "Yeah well you didn't want coffee either. Your gonna need something in your stomach."

Krad growled a bit but accepted the offer and gnawed thoughtfully on a corner of the flaky item. "How long is it going to take us to get there?" He asked when they were back on the highway. "About seven hours." Krad stifled a groan and directed his gaze out the window, ignoring the annoying music Dark had turned on.

"Don't give me that look." The thief said and took a sip of his hot beverage. "If we're lucky we'll make it six. There isn't much traffic at three thirty in the morning, though I can't imagine why." Krad adjusted his coat and said dryly. "Me neither." Dark wrinkled his nose. "Well aren't you a bundle of joy this morning."

"I'm not always?" Krad smirked but before the phantom could get around the fact that Krad had just thrown back what he was dishing out, the blonde said, "I'm going to take a not to be too friendly with Kiryu." Dark's hands flexed on the wheel. "Well you do need your beauty sleep."

The blonde brushed the comment aside, pulled the hood over his head and asked without looking at him, "Dark- do you think he will be okay?"

The sentence hung in the air for a moment.

Dark glanced at Krad, the tight line of his lip and his burning yellow eyes before he answered, "He'd damn well better be."

He waited until the blonde had transformed before giving the Hikari a friendly poke in the shoulder, "Oi. You want some coffee?" Kiryu blinked sleepily for a moment, his blue eyes muddled, before taking the cup and replying. "Do you even need to ask." He took three good mouthfuls and wiped a coffee mustache off his top lip. "Final stretch huh?"

"Final stretch."

He let loose a nervous little sigh. "I'm...kind of anxious about this." Dark gave him the longest look safe driving would allow and his purple eyes went soft like velvet. He reached over with one arm and ruffled the boy's thick brown hair. "It's just the coffee." Kiryu smiled a little before looking down at the beverage and silver steam drifted up past his face, swirling before disappearing somewhere around his hairline. "Yeah. I guess so."