Red Shaman

Crawford turned his head to look at Blaze.



“Make sure this is taken care of properly, Edana,” he said.



“Oh, don't worry about it, Dad. I'll send the writhing, mutilated pieces to you,” she said, smiling a little.



“Nothing less than I expect of you,” he said. Crawford's eyes rolled back in his head suddenly and he started to slowly crumple to the floor.



Schuldig, using his speed, caught him before he could fully crash onto the marble.



“Stupid bastard,” Schu muttered, pulling him to the bar area where Tatsumi, Watari, and Sunny still stood. “He's out cold.”



“Hardly surprising,” Sunny said, taking Crawford from Schu's arms and settling him on the bar.



“I've heard of passing out on the bar but never quite like this,” Watari said.



“Blaze, what are you doing?” Tatsumi asked, eyes narrowed while watching his wife.



Blaze smiled slightly over her shoulder at him as she walked to where Crawford had been standing. A sudden pillar of flame erupted in front of her and from it she pulled two long and lethal looking sabers. As the swords hissed across each other the metal sparked, making those present give an involuntary shudder at the sound and sight.



She extended her right hand, the hilt of the sword lying across her palm anchored by just her thumb, her fingers curling and extending in a “come hither” motion.



“If you think you've got it, coward, bring it,” she said.



The rest of the group stared in fascinated horror as Blaze was immediately surrounded by a mass of black, scale covered bodies. They were equally stunned when a ring of flames shot up around them all, keeping them contained within the circle of fire. Every creature within range attacked at once, piling onto Blaze's small form and causing Tatsumi to leap over the wooden bar trying to get to her. A few seconds later the building rocked with the force of the blast as several burned bodies blew out of the confines of the circle, carrying with them the stench of burned skin. The ones left were being slashed into pieces by Blaze, who looked more pissed off than worried at that moment. She seemed utterly indifferent to the sharp claws tearing at her skin and clothing and continued to cut a path through the mass.



“These are insulting,” she said. Suddenly everything around her seemed to contract then explode into flames.





Crawford groaned and rolled a little onto one side. Staring at the long mane of orange hair in front of him that could only belong to Schuldig. He reached up and wrapped a few of the tendrils around his fingers. Schuldig was too distracted in watching Blaze maul whatever she was fighting to notice for a few moments. When he did, he turned to look oddly at Crawford.



“What the hell are you doing?” Schuldig demanded.



“Playing with your hair,” Crawford said matter of factly. He felt so mellow just then that the glare Schuldig sent him wasn't enough to deter him from sliding his hand more firmly into the other man's hair. “I've always loved it.”



Schuldig shot Skye a strange look.



“He feels like he's stoned,” Schuldig said, trying unsuccessfully to remove Crawford's fingers from his hair.



Skye shrugged. “I suppose it could have gone either way. Not surprising that he's mellow. I honestly can't see him going hyperactive.”



Crawford was grinning now, letting his fingers roam at will through the bright orange strands of Schuldig's hair. “So beautiful. In every possible way. I could get lost in your hair forever.”



“Where the hell are the Valkyries when you need them?” Schu muttered.



“But I think I left my heart with you,” Crawford sang from the bar. “You're always on my mind. I don't care if I've lost my heart this time. I'm not beggin' but …Maybe you could be so kind to make a home for this heart of mine. Maybe I could live there too, I think I left my heart with you”



“Oh, gods, he's singing. Can't someone zap him back to normal?” Schuldig said in frustration, trying again to remove Crawford's hands from his hair without breaking them.



“Sorry, Schu. Energy like that has to run its' course,” Skye said.





//Sunny, Skye, Star, when you've finished snickering at Oracle acting like a love struck teenager, I suggest you prepare for something a bit nastier than these.// Blaze said, nudging a piece of burning meat away from her before turning back to the rest of them.



“Seiichiro, put your ass back behind that bar if you're staying,” Blaze ordered.



Tatsumi's look was mutinous. “Why would I want to do that?” he asked.



The thing that materialized in front of him not two seconds later was his height, much lighter and faster than the things Blaze had just disposed of. It had slashed open his tuxedo vest and shirt before he could so much as twitch to command the shadows.



The thing jerked slightly as it heard a double growl behind it. Aya had shifted fully: a massive black monster with blood red markings down either side of his face. He had crouched in front of Yohji, ready to attack at the slightest indication of the demon being headed anywhere near his mate.



As far as Blaze was concerned, her teeth and claws were bared, but aside from that she was her normal self.



Tatsumi had taken a step backward, away from the thing, when Blaze launched herself onto it. Only catching the faint gust of air behind it before Blaze forced it to the ground, the thing didn't have time to react. She wrapped one hand beneath its chin while putting the other hand flat against one shoulder.



“Nothing. Touches. What's. Mine!” she snarled and pulled its chin back while holding it down, forcing its head back until everyone present could hear the bones crack and the muscles tear. Within seconds the head had come loose from the body and with one swift movement of her arm Blaze ripped the spine out of its back as easily as pulling a zipper.



Covered in grey green blood, she stood and faced Tatsumi. “That's why.”



Tatsumi made a hasty retreat back behind the bar.



“Yutaka?”



“Hmm? What is it, Sei?” Watari asked, looking at his husband's oddly flushed face.



“For no rational reason should what just happened have made me . . .”



“Hard as a rock?” Watari asked, smiling.



“Hard as diamond,” Tatsumi said, squirming and trying to adjust certain body parts without being too obvious.



“No rational explanation, it's just something that happens when she does things like that.”





“Damn it! I hate these things,” Sunny groaned, digging into the side of his tux jacket and producing a wicked looking sword. He reached up and pulled the tightly rolled ponytail at the back of his neck free; allowing it to swing loosely down his back.



“Why?” Schuldig asked.



“Have to take them physically apart. No magick. Even Goddess' fire doesn't exactly work on them,” Sunny said, already moving away from the bar.



//Wonder where the hell he pulled that sword from. His ass?// Schuldig thought.



//No, but I'd gladly shove it up yours if I wasn't fairly certain you'd enjoy it.// Was Sunny's reply.



//If any of those who are still alive want to get in on this make sure that you watch their backs. I'm not losing anyone tonight.// Blaze said.



There were noises of assent made from the Red Shaman team as they took their places around the room.



Skye shot Schuldig a look from underneath her lashes that made him tremble slightly. She reached up and touched one cheek before leaning forward and very gently kissing him.



“Stay here,” she said.



He nodded then hugged her hard against him, eyes closed, breathing in the smell of her hair.



“Couldn't love you more if you were still breathing,” he said. “Be careful.”



“Stay safe. I love you, Schu.”



“Glad someone does,” he said, releasing her and watching her walk away.



“Hey! I love you. Don't I count?” Crawford said from behind him. Giggling.



Schuldig stared at him for a moment. “No, it doesn't count because you're stoned.”



Crawford flopped back on the bar. “Ow!” he said as his head banged a little too hard against the wood. “Still doesn't mean I don't love you.”



Schuldig rolled his eyes and snorted. “Prove it.”



Crawford propped himself up on one elbow. The smile on his face was the most lecherous and wicked Schuldig had seen on him, or anyone else for that matter, in a long time.



“Oh, I will.”







*Grab onto my arm now.

Hold tight.

We are going into a number of dark places, but I think I know the way.

Just don't let go.*



“Nagi, are you sure you're okay? You're still really cold,” Ghost said, holding on to his hand.



“I'm fine. It's just the residuals of the alpha state wearing off. It will take a few minutes for it to fade,” he said, stumbling a bit. “It may also take a few minutes for my vision to adjust after all the light as well.”



Omi frowned a little. “Why would that voice say you were in darkness if you weren't?”



“Not all darkness is physical darkness, Omi. Sometimes it means a dark place inside,” Nagi said. “For me, the real “dark”, the real horror of my life was always in the light. It was when I could be found. When I was so cold that I almost couldn't breathe. The dark was always welcome as far as I was concerned. Because, no one could ever find me after the sun had set.”



“So your personal hell reflected that,” Omi said. “For me, I couldn't wait for daylight.”



Ghost nodded. “Me too.”



Nagi smiled a little. “We all have our own versions of hell.”



Ghost and Omi both said, “That's the truth.”



“So, where and how do we start hunting for this thing?” Omi asked. “I'll defer to the two of you because I don't have a clue.”



“You may have more of a clue than you know, Omi,” Nagi said mysteriously.



“What is that supposed to mean?”



“Just what I said.”



“Remember that the voice said we were all we ever were or would ever be,” Ghost said. “You were always the tracker. Finding and cutting through barriers, as well as holding them up, was always your strong point.”



“Okay. But what does that mean? How am I supposed to help if I don't know what I'm looking for?”



“Look for a place where the energy is very different. Chances are you'll feel pressure and it will almost feel like a physical wall to you,” Ghost said.



Nagi nodded. “This thing is bound to be guarded.”



“Maybe not,” Ghost said thoughtfully. “It was arrogant enough to go against us unguarded before when it knew the three of us were at full strength.”



“So?” Omi said.



“So, the chances are very good that it doesn't know we've come back into our full abilities.”



“Some of us have at any rate,” Omi mumbled.



“Stop it,” Nagi said firmly. “You're just as strong as we are. You have to stop worrying about trying to force something to happen and just let it flow.”



“Nagi's right, Omi,” Ghost said, putting her arm around his shoulders. “We play off of one another's strengths as well as our weaknesses. What he and I are weak in, you're strong. It's all about balance.”



“But how am I supposed to stop fighting it? I don't know how. I wasn't trained like the two of you were,” Omi said.



“It has nothing to do with training, Omi, and everything to do with trusting yourself,” Nagi said. “You trust yourself with your darts, right?”



“That's different. I've trained with the darts and crossbow for years. This is just . . . I don't know exactly what the problem is,” he said. “I guess it's because so much is riding on this. I don't want to screw it up because it could get one of you hurt or worse. I feel like I'm the weakest link in the chain here.”



“If you could see the things in you that we do, you wouldn't think that,” Nagi said.



“Maybe we can show him, Nagi,” Ghost said. “Omi, you trust Nagi and I, right?”



Omi nodded. Ghost took both boys' hands.



“Keep in mind that I might not be able to filter out everything without Star or Sunny's help so you may get the full force of it.”



Omi nodded again, looking slightly nervous as he felt the first initial pulses into his mind. A thousand visions, thoughts and perceptions seemed to fill his head all at once. Each one sparked off of the others, winding and rejoining, weaving intricate patterns. All of them building from one simple thing. Complete trust in him. Trust that he could do anything he set his mind to do. Trust that he could and would use his rediscovered abilities perfectly when needed.



Omi blinked, somewhat startled by the revelation. He didn't think he'd had anyone's trust at that level before. Not even with Weiss.



“You really do believe in me.”



Nagi sighed and put his hands over Ghost's ears. “My gods, Omi, you are such a blond. Of course, we believe in you,” he said exasperatedly.



“You know I can still hear you, right?” Ghost said, sounding as though she was both amused and annoyed.



“Sorry,” Nagi said, taking his hands off of her ears and settling them on her shoulders. “So? Think you can swing this now?”



“Let's go,” Omi said.



“Lead on, bleach boy,” Nagi said grinning.



“I'll have you know it's natural,” Omi said, sticking his nose in the air and walking off.



“The peroxide has soaked through to his brain,” Nagi mumbled, starting after him.



“I heard that,” Omi said, grinning over one shoulder.



//Baka.//



//Loser.//



//Orphan.//



//Freak.//



Ghost sighed and rolled her eyes. //Boys!//





***********Author's Notes**********



The song used in this chapter is I Think I Left My Heart With You by the Little River Band. Again, I know those under thirty probably won't know who that is.

The quote is from Stephen King, I think it's part of the prologue for the original Skeleton Crew collection but I'm not sure.