Part 2

Brad awoke with a vague sense of unease, and what was possibly the worst reaction migraine of his life. Keeping his eyes tightly closed, he groped to the side where his nightable should be. He'd learned from experience to keep some VERY strong painkillers handy - sometimes when a particularly vivid vision hit him in the night, he awoke with a blinding headache. This one was the strongest he'd ever had, though... and oddly, he couldn't remember the vision for the life of him. He couldn't seem to find the nightstand, either. He was just debating risking a mental call for help to Schuldig when his groping hand encountered something cold and metal.

At about that point he realized that the surface he was lying on didn't resemble his soft feather mattress in the least. He'd slept in plenty of strange beds over the years, but this felt like a concrete floor. He was rather fussy about his bedding, and he couldn't remember taking a job that would have required him to sleep on a floor of any kind, much less a concrete one.

Gritting his teeth against the pain, he forced his eyes open, shielding them from the harsh lightsource as best he could with his hand. The room swam before him, refusing to come into focus, and he finally realized that he wasn't wearing his glasses. Squinting, he forced his vision to focus, and froze when he realized what he was looking at.

Dark bars slashed across his view, cutting the light sharply. He was indeed lying on a concrete floor, in what amounted to a very small cell. It looked like a prison cell of some kind... there was an empty bunk bed behind him and a small sink and toilet to one side, and those were definitely iron bars across the front of the room. Still reeling from pain, he sat up slowly and strained to see outside his cell.

More iron bars, lined up in rows upon rows... definitely some kind of prison. It was quiet though, much too quiet to be a working prison. He held his breath and listened carefully, and thought he could make out tiny whimpers of pain. There was someone else in here with him...

"Who's there?" he called out, his voice hoarse with pain. The whimpers stopped, and he heard rustling and a groan.

"Crawford? Is that you?" Schuldig's unmistakeable nasal voice came back. He sounded more than a little panicked. "I can't Hear you!"

It took Brad a moment to realize that the telepath meant he couldn't hear him mentally, rather than physically. The moment he realized that, he checked his powers to see what the immediate future held - and, as he'd feared, came up with nothing at all. "Something is blocking us," he said aloud, grimacing. "I can't See anything either. Do you remember what happened?"

"I... yeah, kinda..." Schuldig replied slowly. His voice was coming directly from the left, so he must have been in the next cell over. "We were having a meeting, you and Farf came over... uh... I think we ordered out for food, and then when the buzzer rang, Nagi went to get it. Everything is kind of fuzzy after that..."

His voice changed abruptly. "Oh, Gott. Nagi? Liebe, are you here? Answer me, Liebe..."

They both remained silent for a long moment, waiting for the reply. There was nothing, only the sound of their own breathing. "He might still be unconscious," Brad finally offered, knowing Schuldig was probably thinking the worst. The telepath had never been mentally separated from his sub since the first day they'd met - they both relied on the contact far more than either was consciously aware of. "Or he might even have gotten away. Nagi is stronger than most people give him credit for - including us."

"Yeah... yeah, you're probably right," Schuldig said, but he didn't sound like he was sure he agreed. "If he got away, and can't find me, hopefully he'll home in on the nearest people he trusts - Omi and Youji. Weiss will protect him, even if it does end up blowing Omi's secret."

Unfortunately, as Brad knew very well, Nagi was all but helpless without direction from his Master, especially when he was in a very stressful situation. Assuming the telekinetic had survived at all - which he was beginning to doubt as more of his memories of the fight returned to him - Nagi was far more likely to simply huddle in a corner until the police discovered him, rather than take the initiative enough to go looking for Weiss.

He leaned against the wall between him and Schuldig, and tried to marshal his thoughts into some form of order. He remembered the meeting. They had been meeting because... because...

Because his powers hadn't been functioning correctly recently. He'd been experiencing grey spots and a general lack of clarity when using his powers, and he'd wanted to see if the others were having similar problems. He remembered Nagi going to open the door, and being picked up and flung backwards by an invisible force. He remembered his shields going down... small wonder he was so confused, if he'd lost all of his shielding all at once. He remembered Schuldig screaming, probably as his shields were torn down as well. After that...

After that... vague, hazy memories of Nagi being beaten bloody... of Farfarello charging the door, throwing his knife, and then stopping dead in his tracks... and a face, several faces that he recognized from the distant past...

"Was it Estet?" Schuldig asked, interupting his thought process. "You think they're trying for revenge because we killed the Elders?"

"No," Brad whispered, feeling sick to his stomach with the realization. "No, it's something much worse than that. It's the Institute... they've tracked us down."

Omi stowed the last of the medical supplies back under his bathroom sink where they belonged. Over the years they'd all learned to keep such things handy, and to treat their own wounds, up to a point. Kritiker frowned on them going to doctors for anything but emergencies, as it meant a lot of trouble covering up the paper trail and making sure nobody questioned where the injuries had come from.

Nagi was in bad shape, but he would make it. He was young and resilient, and frankly, he'd lived through worse already. Omi knew the stories behind most of his friend's scars, and none of them were anything but gruesome and horrifying. Omi was far more worried about his mental state. Nagi had improved greatly from his early days as a pet, but he still relied on Schuldig for most of his stability. Worse yet, it was entirely possible - seemed likely, given his behaviour - that he'd regressed, losing a lot of that progress, in the face of this overwhelming stress.

Omi had tried repeatedly to contact his former Master via telepathy, but Schuldig either wasn't listening or wasn't answering. It was possible that he was simply out of range... his range was unbelievable, but it wasn't infinite. But one way or another, he was out of contact. Omi knew Nagi's bond with the German went much deeper and was much stronger than his own, so he could only hope that the telekinetic would still be able to reach the telepath. If not... they had bigger problems on their hands.

He made his way back to his bedroom, and walked right into a wave of tension. He paused in the doorway, and took in the scene. Ken was perched on the edge of the bed, an angry expression on his face, holding a mug of ramen. Nagi was curled up in the corner, as far as he could get from Ken without moving off the bed, knees tucked up against his chest and his arms wrapped around him. "What happened?" Omi asked, keeping his voice soft and steady to avoid startling Nagi.

"He won't eat it," Ken said, gesturing angrily with his free hand. Nagi flinched away from the gesture, huddling further into the wall and burying his face in his knees. His shoulders were shaking - from silent sobs or from fear, Omi wasn't sure.

He padded over to the bed and settled on the edge, reaching out to touch Nagi's hand gently. His heart sank when the telekinetic flinched away again, unwilling to sustain even that small contact. "Liebe," he said softly. "Liebchen, look at me."

Even though he was a submissive himself, he was still a leader in his everyday life, and that had given him the ability to imbue his voice with quiet authority. As he'd hoped, Nagi responded to that authority, looking up at him with redrimmed eyes. "Liebe, tell me why you won't eat," Omi said, remembering to make it an order and not a question at the last moment.

Nagi tried twice to speak before he could force anything out. "I tried," he whispered, hardly loud enough to be heard. "I tried, I DID... I c-can't. Gebieter... d-didn't say... I could..."

Omi bit his lip to keep from groaning out loud. Nagi had regressed more than he'd even feared - he hadn't needed explicit permission from Schuldig to eat since LONG before Omi had come into his life. Frantic, he wracked his brain. Obviously the psychic wasn't in mental contact with his Master, or the problem wouldn't have come up. That meant they had to find another way around it. Nagi would sometimes respond to orders from another Dom if they didn't conflict with Schuldig's orders... but the nearest Dom Omi knew of was Youji, and he might not be back for hours. Nagi needed the warmth and sustenance NOW, not later.

Suddenly he was struck by inspiration. "Liebe, remember the day we went to the park?" he said, and Nagi nodded slowly. "Gebieter told you to obey my orders, in case we ran into trouble without him. Remember? Did he ever rescind that order?"

Omi could feel Ken's eyes burning holes into him as he waited anxiously for Nagi's response. There was absolutely no way he was going to get out of telling the entire story now... but if it meant Nagi would eat, he'd spill his secrets and do it gratefully.

"N-no," the younger boy finally murmured. Omi kept his sigh of relief silent.

"Good. Then, I'm ordering you to eat," Omi said immediately. Nagi reached out and took the cup from Ken and lifted it to his lips, drinking obediently. "Good!" Omi said, pleased and thankful. "Very good, Liebchen. Gebieter would be proud of you."

When he'd drained the cup, Nagi lowered it and looked back at him uncertainly. Smiling to encourage him, Omi reached out and took the mug from him, handing it to Ken, who was watching everything with narrowed eyes. Ignoring his best friend for the moment, Omi gestured for Nagi to lie down, then tucked the smaller boy into the covers. "Now, I want you to rest. Try to sleep if you can, but if you can't, just rest here," he ordered. "I will be right outside in the other room. If you need something or have any trouble, I want you to come and get me, do you understand?" Nagi nodded. "Good. Now, rest, Liebe." Omi leaned over and kissed the telekinetic gently on the forehead. "It'll be okay," he whispered in the boy's ear. "We'll get him back for you, I swear it."

Standing, he gestured to the door and waited until Ken had left. Nagi had already obediently closed his eyes and evened out his breathing, just as Omi had hoped he would. One advantage of Nagi's pathological need to follow orders was that you COULD get him to rest, even when he was too stressed to want to. He turned out the lights and shut the door, leaving it open a crack so he'd hopefully be able to hear it if Nagi had a nightmare.

He entered the living room, and nearly flinched at the look on Ken's face. His best friend was looking at him as if he'd suddenly turned into something both horrifying and fascinating all at once. "Wait until Aya-kun gets back," Omi said, hoping to head his friend off at the pass. "Please? I only want to go through this once."

Ken gave him a hard look. "I'm not sure I really need you to tell me anything at this point," he said, voice low and dangerous. "Your Master, the one you had before Youji... Nagi belongs to him, too, doesn't he?" Omi sighed and nodded, giving in to the inevitable. "Who is it? Crawford?"

"Schuldig," Omi replied, sprawling down across one of the chairs. Ken took the other, still watching him closely. "It's a very long, complicated story. I promise I WILL tell you everything when the others get back."

"Schuldig?" Ken repeated, and understanding dawned on his face. "He screwed with your head, didn't he? THAT'S why..."

"That's NOT why," Omi cut in. He'd been afraid Ken would come to this conclusion... it was, after all, the logical conclusion to come to. "He didn't do anything to my mind. And yes," he cut off the next objection before Ken could say it, "I know that of course I'd say that if he HAD done it. You're just going to have to trust me on this, Ken-kun... trust me, and trust Youji."

"I just... don't believe this is happening," Ken said, shaking his head. "I mean... it was weird when I found out you were a sub, but I adjusted. But THIS... Omi, how could you? They're our enemies!"

"And I love them," Omi responded quietly. That shut Ken up in mid-rant, the older man's jaw hanging open as he stared at the youngest Weiss. "They saved me, they protected me, and they gave me hope. I'd have been lost without them. Youji is the be-all and end-all of my world... but I will never stop loving Schuldig and Nagi for what they did for me."

Ken visibly groped for something to say in response to that, apparently in vain. Finally he just sat back and shut his mouth. "This is insane," he muttered, covering his eyes with one arm. "I'm having a nightmare, that's all. WAY too much pizza before I went to bed."

Omi's mouth twitched, but he was far too wound up to actually laugh. If Ken's reaction was bad, he knew Aya's was going to be horrid. Of all of them, the redhead was still carrying the biggest grudge against Schwartz, and Omi really couldn't blame him.

They sat in silence for a good half hour before they heard the sound of Youji's car coming up the alley behind the shop. Omi went over and opened the window, leaning out. "Youji!" he called, and his lover looked up. "Come up here when you get in - Aya-kun too. I told Nagi I'd be here if he needed anything, so I don't want to leave."

He ducked back inside before they could do anything more than nod their assent. The cold, set look on Aya's face did not bode well for his reaction. Omi hadn't seen the swordsman THAT angry since Estet had fallen and he'd gotten his sister back. He wondered how much Youji had been forced into revealing already.

Moments later the front door opened, and Youji and Aya entered, still dressed in their mission clothes. They both kicked their boots off at the door, and Omi noted flakes of brown on the soles. "I take it you found where the fight took place?"

Youji nodded, coming in and slinging himself down on the sofa. Omi joined him, leaving the extra chair for Aya rather than having Aya and Youji sitting together. Not only did he want to avoid the potential problems that seating arrangement might incur, but he desperately wanted to feel Youji's solid warmth at his side while he told this story. This was not going to be easy for him.

"We found it, all right. Schu's place. The livingroom looked like a battlezone. Farfarello is dead," Youji added, and Omi and Ken both sighed in relief.

"You're SURE?" Ken asked, anxious. "I mean... he's come back from the 'dead' before..."

"He's dead," Aya confirmed. "We're not sure what killed him... there wasn't a mark on him, but he was bleeding from the mouth, nose, eyes and ears. No heartbeat, no respiration, and we checked for a good fifteen minutes straight."

"Thank God," Ken said, relaxing slightly in his chair. "That would have been just one thing too many to worry about."

"Did you find any sign of Schuldig or Crawford?" Omi asked. "Or the people who took them?"

"Before we go any further," Aya cut in, glaring at him, "I think Ken and I deserve that explanation you promised. I for one want to know why the HELL Youji has a key to Schuldig's apartment." Ken stared at Youji in surprise.

Omi drew a deep breath, and felt Youji squeeze his shoulder. He cast a grateful glance at his lover, and began the painful story. "You all know by know that I'm a submissive, and have been for some time. Ken-kun now knows, and I'm sure you've started to guess, Aya-kun... that my Master was Schuldig."

Aya's eyes narrowed, but he didn't react otherwise. Omi wasn't sure whether he was grateful that the redhead wasn't going to interrupt every three seconds, or worried that Aya was storing up everything to blast him with at the end.

"When I first got involved in the scene, I was... in a really, really bad place mentally and emotionally," Omi said, lowering his eyes to stare at the carpet. He just couldn't bring himself to look at his teammates. "I'd... had a lot of things wearing away at me. Remembering my past, discovering who I really was, losing Ouka, turning against Hirofumi... It all ate at my sense of SELF, at my knowledge of who and what I was inside. Then..."

He glanced at Youji, who just smiled at him sadly. "Then I had a fight with Youji," he continued after a moment. "I offered myself to him... asked him to be my first... and..."

"And I turned him down in just about the worst way possible," Youji finished when Omi was clearly having trouble. "Told him I didn't want anything to do with him, that he wasn't worth my time, essentially. Biggest damn mistake I ever made, and I've regretted it every day since."

Something clicked for Ken. "That was... when you were drinking all the time, wasn't it?" he asked, looking at Youji. The older man nodded, and pulled Omi a little closer to him.

"It destroyed me," Omi picked up the thread of the story, having composed himself a little. His voice shook slightly and his hands were trembling, but he knew he just had to get it out and get it over with. "I was already fragile, and it broke me almost past mending. I became convinced that I was worthless... that no one would ever really want me."

He took another deep breath. "So I did something monumentally stupid. I went online, found a BDSM club that would let people in without interviewing them first, and went. Alone, and without any weapons."

Ken looked horrified, and even Aya made a bit-off sound of shock. Omi nodded. "I'm sure you can guess what happened. The only clubs that let people in without checking them out first are the ones who don't care what kind of person is there. The only thing the Doms there were interested in was hurting their subs to gain power over them, to make themselves feel stronger and more important." His voice dropped to a whisper. "But I... didn't think I deserved anything better."

"How could you think that?" Ken burst out, obviously unable to stay silent any more. "Omi, how could you ever think that? Why didn't you come to me, if you were hurting so much?" He sounded hurt. "Aren't we best friends?"

Omi gave him a watery smile. "You know how bad I am about letting other people see that I'm upset. I didn't want to burden any of you with my problems... I figured you all had enough of your own. And by the time it got really bad, I was so convinced I didn't deserve help, that I couldn't bring myself to ask for it."

Once again, Ken was left speechless. Omi steeled himself and continued. "I was incredibly lucky that night. I was rescued before they did much more than scare the hell out of me. Schuldig claimed me so that nobody else would be able to touch me, and then he got me the hell out of there." He raised a hand to touch his throat, where the German's pendant had hung for so long. It wasn't there now, of course... his collar was safely tucked away in a drawer in his bedroom, but the gesture had become habitual. None of his teammates missed the movement, but nobody said anything.

"He lectured me for being stupid enough to get into the situation in the first place," Omi continued. "Then when he realized how bad I was... that I had every intention of coming back the moment his back was turned..." He closed his eyes. "He told me that if I was going to go, I had to go with HIM, because otherwise he'd lose status and would have to fight to protect Nagi from people who thought Schuldig had gotten weak." He looked up at them again. "He never harmed me. He worked HARD to convince me that I was worth something again... and then he went out of his way to help me fix things with Youji. And THEN he helped us with that mission - without him and Nagi, I'd probably have died then."

"Whoah, hang on," Ken interjected, frowning. "Omi, you hated Schuldig worse than any of us. And then suddenly you were willing to put your life in his hands, just because he rescued you once? And it really doesn't seem to you like his powers just MIGHT have had something to do with that decision?"

Youji shrugged. "You have no reason to believe us, of course... but if there's one thing I've come to respect about Schuldig, it's that he doesn't fuck around when it comes to sex. For one thing, as Omi pointed out to me when I first found out about all this, he's a touch-based telepath. If he's touching you skin to skin, then he feels EXACTLY what you are feeling, just as if it was happening to him. So rape in any form really just isn't an option for him."

"And he couldn't just make me think that I liked it," Omi headed off the next obvious objection. "Not without a hell of a lot of effort, time, and prolonged continuous contact with me. I was never with him for more than 24 hours at one stretch, and that's not even close to long enough to rearrange something that deepseated."

"None of this can be proved, one way or another," Aya growled, unconvinced. "You might both be under his control, you might not be. If you are, we need to put a stop to it. If you're not... then you've betrayed us knowingly and willingly."

It was four in the morning, and Omi had just had an incredibly stressful night. He did something he rarely did - he lost his temper. "Listen to me, and pay close attention," he snapped. "I'm not asking you to like or forgive Schwartz. But don't you DARE accuse either Youji or me of betraying Weiss in any way. If anything, we've given them good reason NOT to kill us all off as an annoyance. Because that's all we ever were to them... annoyances, and pawns," Omi asserted. "Nagi alone could have killed all four of us with nothing more than a moment's thought."

"And the fact that someone or something took them down... someone that might very well be coming after US next... really ought to be our only real concern here, guys," Youji added. "We've also got an injured, incredibly dangerous kid under our roof, who is going to go seriously unstable if we don't find Schuldig soon. You can decide to try to kill us both as traitors later... right now we have work to do."

Ken sighed. "Yeah, fair enough. This is just... a lot to take in, guys. I mean, Christ."

"Don't think this will be the end of it," Aya warned them. "I have no intention of dropping this issue for longer than it takes us to track down what happened to Schuldig and Crawford."

"Fine," Omi said, weary beyond belief. Telling that story had been draining and painful, and right now all he really wanted to do was go curl up somewhere safe and quiet - preferably with Youji to hold him. Having Schuldig and Nagi there as well would have been a bonus. But Youji was right... they had work to do. "We'll argue about it later. For now, tell me what you've got."

|Part 1| |Part 2| |Part 3| |Part 4| |Part 5| |Part 6| |Part 7| |Part 8| |Part 9| |Part 10| |Part 11| |Part 12| |Part 13| |Part 14|

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