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ARC 9/?

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It was the next morning, when Schuldrich entered Omi's bedroom.

"It's time for you to wake up, Weiss. Make yourself presentable and change into these clothes. We're leaving in an hour." The tall German declared, as he threw a pile of clothes down upon the bed.

"... Where are we going? Dare I ask?" Omi replied, reaching over suspiciously to take the clothing the older man had deposited.

Schuldrich smirked, as he stepped out the open door. He carelessly tossed a lock of his long reddish hair over his shoulder.

"We're going to go see Mr. Takatori, of course."

Omi's eyes widened in stunned horror as Schuldrich closed the door behind him hard, the lock clicking into place.

"... No..."

~~**~~ ~~**~~ ~~**~~

[One Day Later...]

"Manx? You're here early." Ken noted in surprise, as the tall redhead entered the mission room, where the three remaining Weiss members had gathered at her request.

"True, but I wanted you three to act on this as soon as we found out the information." Manx replied.

Yohji looked at the woman, curiously. "Did Kritiker find some information on where Schwartz has taken Omi?"

Manx nodded, holding up a folder. "Yes. All of the information isn't completely gathered, but I'm sure that you wanted to know about what we have as soon as we had found it." She replied, glancing over to Yohji.

"What were you able to find?" Aya asked, quietly, from where he stood, leaning against the wall on the far side of the mission room.

"Kritiker has several dozen informants located all over Japan, and so as soon as Omi was listed as missing, we put a bulletin out for him; that if anyone were to have a sighting of Omi, or Schwartz, because most likely Schwartz wouldn't leave Bombay unguarded for very long; that they had to notify the Kritiker authorities as soon as possible." Manx explained.

"Did someone contact Kritiker?" Ken queried.

Manx nodded once again. "Yes. One of our informants who is a resident on a small island north-west of Japan, called Sado. They were out in one of the cities there called Aikawa, when they spotted Omi with two Schwartz members. Where they were going, the informant was unable to tell us, or where they had come from. But, the informant did say that they had seen the youngest Schwartz boy several times, but alone he didn't raise any suspicion, so that was why they didn't call in sooner."

"... Aikawa..?" Yohji repeated, ponderously.

"So, we have to do some scouting and research to find out exactly where they are, but your informant presumes that they are staying somewhere in Aikawa?" Yohji asked, straightening out of his bored-looking slump.

"I would assume so, but I gave you all the information that I have. I'm sorry that I can't be of any more help to you, but you're on your own." Manx said, looking somewhat apologetic.

"I'm sure we can manage quite fine." Aya stated.

Manx frowned, as she turned. "Well, I'll leave you to your work. Ja!" She said as she departed the room.

The three men looked to one another.

"Well, I suppose it means we have work to do..." Yohji muttered, scratching the back of his head.

Aya scowled, but said nothing.

"Yohji, least you can do is pitch in to help, this is Omi were talking about." Ken scolded.

Yohji raised an eyebrow. "I certainly intend to help find Omi."

Aya snorted, but not before tossing the envelope that Manx had given him into Yohji's lap.

"Fine, then you can start getting to work on gathering information." Aya replied, almost smugly.

Ken coughed to hide a laugh as he turned and started up the stairs, with Aya shortly after him.

Yohji frowned. "... Funny, I don't remember volunteering..."

~~**~~ ~~**~~ ~~**~~

 "Hmmmm.... yes, I do see the potential..." A tall man in a white lab coat replied, rubbing his stubbled chin thoughtfully.

"I knew that you would agree with my assessment, Dr. Heathe." Schuldrich smiled, leaning against the wall, observing through the glass into the laboratory area where the pale form of the Weiss boy lay unconscious upon an examining table.

Nagi stood silent in the shadows of the far corner of the inner lab. Claiming to his older companion that he would be more useful in the experimental room, should the Weiss teen decide to try and cause trouble, that his powers would be helpful.

Schuldrich knew that the boys excuses were just that. He knew that there was more going on then what Nagi was telling him. The youngest Schwartz member had developed feelings for their young Weiss captive, although the extent of which, Nagi was unwilling to acknowledge or admit, even to even himself.

"So, what exactly is it that you want me to try and do with this boy?" Dr. Heathe queried.

"Remember that proposition I asked you about a little while back?"

"...Hmmm.... Oh, yes. The one involving the hypnotism causing him to regress to his true self, or something like that?"

"Yeah. I want you to go ahead with it after Mr. Takatori leaves here after our 'meeting'. But, remember, not a word about this to Mr. Takatori." Schuldrich warned, the latter part of the statement hushed.

Heathe nodded absently. "Of course. If that's what you wish."

"Good, I see you're all here." A deep baritone voice rumbled from the doorway, as both Heathe and Schuldrich turned to see Takatori Reiji entering the room, with Crawford following shortly behind him.

Schuldrich nodded almost lazily at Crawford, acknowledging the initiation of Schwartz's secret plan.

Crawford returned the nod, nearly imperceptibably.

~~**~~ ~~**~~ ~~**~~

 "I'm glad that we are all under agreement." Takatori replied, sounding pleased, as he stood up from where he had been sitting at the doctor's small conference room tha twas a short distance away from the examining room that the Weiss boy was being held in.

"Yes, sir. I'm glad that I could offer my assistance in whatever way that I could." Heathe said, smiling at his superior.

Takatori started for the door, with Crawford at his heels.

"Well, I would like you to keep me informed, Dr. Heathe." Takatori stated, before turning and leaving the room, not even waiting for the doctors answer.

Crawford paused in the doorway, just out of the earshot of Mr. Takatori.

"About our 'plan'?" Crawford queried, glancing from Schuldrich to the doctor.

"The boy's first session shall begin tonight, sir." Dr. Heath replied.

Schuldrich smirked. "I'm going to like watching Weiss' reaction when they see their poor little Bombay next." The tall German chuckled.

Crawford frowned. "Don't get too confident, Schuldrich. There is still a lot at stake right now. Weiss does have the habit of being rather unpredictable."

The red-head scowled. "You don't have to remind me."

Crawford didn't reply, just turned and moved to catch up with Takatori.

~~**~~ ~~**~~ ~~**~~

Omi moaned, struggling to free himself from the weights of unconsciousness that bound him tightly into slumber. He could hear hushed voices around him. He wasn't sure if all of this was a dream, or if he was lucid enough to be able to hear the voices through his slumbering mind.

Whatever it was, he knew that something was going to happen, and that the something wasn't necessarily going to be something good. He tried harder to wake up, but failed.

Where were the others? Aya-kun, Yohji-kun, Ken-kun... Why hadn't they come to save him yet? He had been held captive be Schwartz for roughly a week now... why hadn't Weiss come to rescue him? A small part of his mind that Omi refused to acknowledge, whispered that maybe Weiss had abandoned him; had deemed his too much trouble to waste their time to come and risk their own lives to retrieve.

His heart felt nearly shattered at the prospect, but another part of him forced him to shove that small voice down, that Weiss wouldn't abandon him, wouldn't leave him here with Schwartz... Omi tried with all of his heart to remain optimistic, but... that one little voice wouldn't rest...

Where was Weiss...?

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Arc 10/?

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Heathe watched the Weiss boy's response to the stimulus with pleased interest.

Omi's face was scrunched in a faint frown, his fair brows furrowed.

The teenager's brainwaves were exactly where the doctor's simulations said that they should be. Slightly elevated, but not responding negatively to the experimental drugs that had been introduced into his system.

It was true that the method he was using wasn't totally charted, and used as an accepted means of treatment; in fact, it was a completely experimental theory that was devised by Heathe himself, which earned him some recognition within Esset. Takatori thought that he owned Heathe, when in actuality, it was Esset.

Heathe replaced his white lab coat and entered the examination area to examine the patient himself.

The boy lay flat and still upon the table, enclothed within a white hospital-like gown that reached to his mid-thighs. His fair skin was pale beneath the single flourescent light that hung over the table. The only movement coming from the boy was the flickering of his eyelids, from all of the elevated brain activity, which was not to be a concern.

Heathe smiled faintly at the boy, remembering absently that Schwartz had said the boy's name was Tsukiyono Omi; although he was actually Takatori Mamoru and had just lost most of his childhood memories of being Mamoru.

The plan that Schwartz was allowing him to proceed with, was an experiment that would supposedly bring Omi's memories of his childhood as Mamoru to fore, and then to somehow block his memories of being Tsukiyono Omi, and make the boy believe wholeheartedly that he was Takatori Mamoru.

But, also in that plan, with 'Mamoru' returning to Schwartz, when the boy's own friends from Weiss came to rescue him, he would not be able to remember ever being Tsukiyono Omi, and thus making Weiss believe that Omi had betrayed them to join Schwartz.

That wasn't the only thing. The brainwashing would be a difficult task, if not done correctly, but then again, doing it correctly would also be rather time consuming. But, if things went according to plan, then it would be time well spent.

Heathe paused by the boy's bedside. At the moment, he was the only one in the examination area. Heath, observed the boy's angelic features, pale and unblemished. The doctor reached out and brushed a lock of the teen's dark blond hair off of his forehead.

Yes, this boy would indeed be a good 'addition' to Esset.

The doctor smiled thinly, almost cruelly. He wondered, did the boy have any idea at all what was going to happen to him? Not that Heathe himself cared, it was just an amusing prospect to ponder.

Straightening, the doctor watched the unconscious boy for another few moments, then turned and strode out of the laboratory, the double doors swishing closed behind him. And, then the silence returned.

~~**~~ ~~**~~ ~~**~~

The room was silent, save for the sound of someone crying softly. Heathe looked up through the glass window into the lab to see where the sound was coming from.

At that time of night, all of the technicians had gone home, nad there was only Heathe and two other technician's, the latter of which were three doors down in the lab facility.

The boy was the only other person nearby, so Heathe crossed the short distance to the sliding door that adjoined the smaller lab where he had been before, to the examination room, where the boy lay sedated upon the medical table.

Taking a step closer to medical table, Heathe thought at first that Omi had regained consciousness was whispering softly, but he quickly discarded that idea when he checked the readings upon the monitors, then observed the boy himself.

Omi was still sound asleep, but, his cheeks were damp from the myriad tears that coursed down them. Heathe could see the boy's lips moving faintly, so he leaned over to attempt to make out what the teenager was saying. Heathe raised an eyebrow in surprise at the barely audible mantra the boy chanted in his sleep, in a small, child-like voice:

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