Past Prompts: FIC: From the Ashes - chapter 6

[oracle-dreams.livejournal.com]

I intended to get this posted for Halloween but Hurricane Sandy had other ideas. Better late than never I suppose!

Title: From the Ashes
Author: draelynn akaoracle_dreams
Fandom: WK / Saiyuki (in later chapters)
Rating: R - for horrorshow violence
Summary: The end of the world has arrived and it is not the one anybody could have anticipated. But assassins are uniquely qualified at surviving a zombie apocalypse. Can they overcome their differences long enough to save what little is left of the world?
Disclaimer: WK is not mine no matter how many times I click my heels...
A/N: Many thanks to crescentium for the beta. Last edits and all mistakes are my own.

Cuts to my journal...

Schuldig followed the blond in through the side door. It was a well-fortified entrance that had clearly withstood plenty of abuse from the outside.  Once inside, he confirmed what he had already sensed – Weiss was still up to their old tricks. They had gathered a small group of survivors into their little flower shop fortress, still driven to save the innocents… whatever that was supposed to mean. 

The young girls eyed him cautiously as he emerged from the hallway but otherwise had little reaction. He recognized the old woman in the corner – the aging Kritiker agent from the shop. He stepped through doorway, intent to follow Balinese and Abyssinian and the silent tension that was just begging to erupt between them.

“YOU?!”

The accusation was accompanied by the distinctive click of a hammer locked in place, a gun ready to fire.  The girls in the room backed away in a confused huddle like a small flock of skittish ducklings. 

Schuldig’s eyes shifted to meet the barrel of a gun aimed cleanly between them.  He recognized her... somewhat. 

“Birman…” Yohji’s smooth voice interjected. “It’s okay. He’s with us.” The blond put a hand on top of the gun struggling with the Kritiker agent to lower her weapon.

“With you?! “ Her tone was beyond incredulous. Instantly she reminded herself that Mastermind could be forcing Yohji to say those words.  And her thoughts immediately snapped back to ‘the mission’, just the way they were trained to do.

Schuldig smirked. Such a good little solider.

“We could just put them back where we found them, you know… “ Schuldig drawled, fake innocence glistening in big blue eyes.

“He’s not lying… for once.” Yohji half rolled his eyes. “They saved us.”

“They?! You mean…”

At that moment, Crawford walked in through the door, Nagi cradled in his arms like a ragdoll.  Schuldig reached out to lightly muss Nagi’s hair, the gesture more affectionate than anything else.

“Impeccable timing, as usual… “ He grinned up at Crawford, clearly unconcerned for the weapon still mostly pointed at his skull.

Manx stepped around the pair, reaching for Birman’s shoulder.

“It’s true.” She looked back, still trying to shake the disbelief from her own words. “They actually rescued us. I’m fairly certain we would not have made it back without their intervention.”

Slowly, reluctantly, the brunette lowered the weapon just as Omi and Ken shoved in past them all. They dumped their load of bags in a heap on the floor. Ken turned to head back outside.

“I got the rest.”

“Wait!... he can’t go out there alone!” Birman moved to chase after him. Again, Manx held firm to her shoulder.

“It’s okay. We’re safe. For the moment.”

 “Not without a price.” Crawford added as he adjusted his grip, Nagi’s head lolling to the side to rest against his chest. “He’ll need someplace comfortable.”

Birman’s eyes snapped to Schwarz, finally registering the limp form in Oracle’s arms. The myriad of questions and objections flashed across her face.

Manx leaned in closer. “It’s okay.”

After a long silent moment of consideration, Birman’s head dipped in acquiescence as she let the gun fall fully to her side.  Manx gave her shoulder a final squeeze and turned to Crawford.  “Follow me.”

Manx led them to the rear of the building and down the spiral staircase. It occurred to her it may be difficult for Crawford to navigate with the unconscious boy in his arms but her concern was clearly unfounded. As tall, wide and encumbered as he was Crawford descend without a single misstep.  Manx led them to the side of the basement they had arranged as sleeping quarters and offered a thick futon for the boy.

Her mind was still wrestling with the same sense of disbelief and distrust that Birman was introduced to upstairs.  It was beyond surreal inviting their sworn enemies into what had been the heart of Weiss’ operations. And watching Crawford gently lay Nagi down with tender care and concern warred with everything they had come to know and believe about Schwarz.

“Will he be alright?” She questioned as Crawford tucked the boy in.

“We’ve been on the road for a few days… he just needs sleep and a few good meals.”

“The meals may be an issue. Our supplies are limited.”

Crawford cocked his head slightly in the telepath’s direction. The redhead gave a barely perceptible nod a moment later as he poked around on Omi’s desk. Manx filed that away for further consideration.

“We’ll make due.  We may be here for a few days.”  Crawford stood and surveyed the basement, his eyes falling to the windows, the doors, the stairwell and the store of makeshift weapons piled beside each of them. “You’ve fortified the place well.”

“Are you surprised?”

Crawford turned to face her.  In that instant, Manx was suddenly struck by how imposing the man was in person.  Sure, he was tall and wider in the shoulders than his suit belied but it wasn’t just his physical size. He just seemed to radiate confidence. There was no way to tell if it was because of his talent, a well-rehearsed act or the real thing but it felt overwhelmingly reassuring. He had, even this, under control. He offered a disarming smile as he took a few steps closer. 

“Not in the least.”

He moved past her to join Schuldig as he surveyed Omi’s workspace. By the looks of it, the youngest of Weiss slept about as much as Nagi did. There were piles of maps and charts, many keeping track of their supply expeditions into the city but also logbooks noting online contacts and network activity worldwide. It was ambitious, unexpected and somewhat impressive. As Crawford paged through a logbook, the redhead reached out and touched the computer screen. Nothing happened. With a sneer, he tapped the monitor again with similar results. Crawford reached around him, giving the mouse a push. The monitor sprang to life.

“Oh you’re fucking kidding, right? Nagi’ll be pissed…”

Crawford made a small sound of amusement that defied classification as an actual variety of laughter.  “He’ll survive.” He pivoted again in Manx’s direction. “You still have internet access?”

Manx gave a curious tilt of her head and stepped closer. It wasn’t as if there were anything worth hiding from them anymore. Kritiker’s files were worthless with the current state of the world. And while Omi had successfully communicated with a few random survivors around the world, the internet had slowly grown silent.

“I’m not sure how we still have access but… yes… we do.”

Crawford stepped around Schuldig as he put the book aside. Taking the seat in front of the computer, he quickly navigated to something that looked like some sort of monitoring screen.  Manx closed in behind him, peering over his shoulder as his fingers flew across the keyboard, flashing through screen after screen before settling on one, making some sort of adjustment, then moving on. She was just beginning to put together the random pieces before her, and to tame the sense of awe that threatened to accompany it, when she looked up. The telepath was staring at her with a disturbing grin that said more than words ever could. 

“What are you doing?! MANX!” Omi screamed as he flew down the stairwell, nearly diving for Crawford in his place at the computer.

“Omi… wait…” She put her hands up and stepped in his path, grabbing his shoulders as he made to bypass her.  He struggled against her briefly but she held fast.

“Don’t worry. He won’t delete your porn… “ Schuldig offered.

Manx rolled her eyes, hard pressed not to make the immediate comparison to a blond assassin she knew all too well.  “This is going to be weird for all of us. There is nothing to hide anymore.  Besides, I think he is actually doing some good… “ She looked sidelong to Schuldig for some confirmation.

“If you’d like to keep the power on, someone needs to monitor the reactors, you know… “

“You mean he’s… “The streams of thought coursing through Omi’s mind were clear on his face. His anger slowly morphed into skeptical disbelief. Manx released her grip as she felt the tension leave Omi’s shoulders. He stepped around her, taking her place just over Crawford’s shoulder, eyes glued to the screen.  “… is that… a satellite uplink?”

Crawford smirked as he continued his work.  “Japan is more modernized than any other nation. The majority of the country’s infrastructure is connected virtually.  Keep the communications satellites in orbit and the electricity and water keep flowing with a bit of diligence.”

Schuldig backed away with a dramatic sigh. With a swing of his arms he gave a loud single clap and looked to Manx.  “So, now that the computer geeks are occupied for the next…” He checked his nonexistent watch. “… couple days… how ‘bout a tour? I’d love to see what you’ve done with the place since my last visit.”

Considering that the redheads last visit concluded with the kidnapping of Aya’s sister, Manx had to forcibly renew her resolve to make this new situation work.

“Come with me.” She bit the words out after a long, harsh glare. Managing her icy tone would have been asking too much. She led the redhead to the stairwell. She gave a cautious glance back to Omi but felt confident that Schuldig’s assessment was accurate. He and Crawford were entirely engrossed in the screen before them. She started up the stairs as she decided that now was as good a time as any to put her suppositions to the test. 

*Can you hear me?* She thought outward. Or what she thought was outward. She tried to think in the telepaths direction. She had no idea what to expect in return. That thought brought a small sense of dread – who and what she was inviting in by intentionally reaching out in this way.  

The redhead chuckled behind her.

*You really are quite clever.  And here I thought Persia just surrounded himself with pretty faces.*

The telepaths ‘voice’ was just the same in her mind as if it had been spoken aloud. There was no feeling or sensation, it was just there. Like it had been there all along. That definitely disturbed her more than anything else.

* That. What you just … thought…  do you have to keep doing that? This is going to be hard enough as it is. If you are going to keep rubbing salt in the wounds, this will end in bloodshed.  I don’t think that’s the reason you bothered to rescue us.*

She felt his grin rather than saw it.

*Ask the tiger to change his stripes, why don’t you?*

Manx had the distinct impression that this tiger was currently circling her, biding his time before he pounced as they both walked calmly through the hallway.

*They are hanging on by the barest of threads, aren’t they?* The clear glee in those words bore no semblance of sympathy. *Make a deal with me… answer a few questions, save me the trouble of having to go digging for the answers for myself and I’ll spare your brood. For now. * Schuldig stopped her with a gentle tug on her arm.

*It depends on the questions…*

*Ah a aaaa, no disclaimers. It is a one time offer. Yay or nay, mother hen?*

Manx turned a glare on the redhead, her anger simmering over the fact that he would turn even this  - under these horrific circumstances, with this ungodly level of stress - into a mind game for his own amusement.

She briefly considered what he could possibly ask her and, more so, what he would do with the answers. But, she knew, this was just a game. The telepath was more than capable of taking whatever he wanted from their minds and doing whatever he wanted with the information anyway. He was toying with her just as he would eventually toy with them all. At least he had been honest about that. This tiger would not change his stripes. She gave a deep mental sigh.

*Ask your questions.*

[Chapter 5]  [Chapter 4.5]  [Chapter 4 ]  [ Chapter 3 ]  [ Chapter 2 ]  [ Chapter 1 ]