Brazil: Slay the Dream

Getting an idea, Ruusu said "Let me see that mirror." When he got it, he looked and said "If this is an Innocence, I shouldn't be able to touch it, right?" But he saw his worst nightmare: Tionne, dead on the ground with blood all around him, and his chest ripped open. Standing over him, was himself, holding his heart, and smiling.

Why do you love him? He is an exorcist...the enemy...surely you can't deny the lust of his blood, and not his love? the reflected him said, while Ruusu felt himself grow sick. "No...I would never hurt him! I love him too much to do that!" Right...and if you loved him, then why are you with another man? And why is he with other men as well? "Y-you're lying!" Ruusu screamed, before dropping the mirror and curling in on himself, tears running down his face.

Jaegar knelt down quickly, wrapping the mirror up and shoving it in his vest before he picked up Ruusu. "Calm down, let's get back to the inn, and then we can discuss what to do next," he said. "Clarimonde sensed some more innocence coming in. It can sense innocence already wielded by an exorcist, so you MUST recuperate, now."

Jaegar ran to the inn, worried about Ruusu and what he had seen to make him break down like that so horribly.

Ruusu felt himself being picked up and nodded, knowing immediately that it was Jaegar who had picked him up. "Please...give me a moment." After taking a few deep breathes, Ruusu looked at Jaegar with a steely gaze and said "That was either not an Innocence, or it was a very twisted Innocence."

Deciding to elaborate, Ruusu said "The mirror shows us our worst fears, and materializes them as reality. It doesn't copy Innocence...but distorts our fears, dreams, and hopes...turning them into a monstrous vision that will break anyone who looks into it." Glaring at the wrapped-up item in question, he continued "And if I had a choice, I'd destroy it immediately."

"I see," Jaegar mumbled, placing Ruusu down on one of the beds. "Well, Rose, looks like we're going to have to destroy this thing soon...but I need it to infiltrate into the Black Order team heading down here."

He pulled the hand mirror out of his vest and threw it face down on the dresser in the room. Clarimonde was angry, he could sense it. Feeling comfortable with Ruusu, Jaegar proceeded to undo his vest and shirt. The two articles of clothing fell to the ground and he started examining the tattoo, making sure everything was alright.

"I'm hoping the Black Order team came in today," Jaegar said. "I'd like to get this mission done and over with soon."

Blushing profusely, Ruusu said "Jaegar! Don't you think we need to find that team, and fast?" After getting no response, the Noah sighed in exhasperation and stood up before tripping and landing on top of the "exorcist."

"Ai! Voi, olen väsyä kompastuminen kaiken!" Ruusu cried out, before realizing exactly what he'd landed on. "Oh, um...I'm so sorry!"

Jaegar blinked, staring up at Ruusu before turning red himself. "Ah, it's okay," he said, helping Ruusu up and off of him. "Just let me finish the last check on Clarimonde..." Jaegar looked over his shoulder to make sure nothing was wrong with the tattoo on his back (one time, the acid on Clarimonde wasn't fully neutralized in his blood on his back, and Jaegar had missed it because then he didn't check their. He was bedridden for weeks.). Seeing nothing out of the ordinary he placed his shirt and vest back on.

"Okay, let's go to the harbor to see if they are in," Jaegar said. "Oh, and you'll be in your human guise, right?"

Trying to maintain his composure, Ruusu walked over to the dresser and said "Yes, I'll be in human form when we meet up with the exorcists." Looking into the mirror over the drawers, Ruusu knew that with his black hair and Noah features, he'd stick out like a sore thumb; allowing himself to go with the flow of energy that came with changing between forms, Ruusu felt his hair go to his waist, and his eyes go from gold to silver.

Turning on his heel, he also changed the atoms of his clothes and then smiled benignly. "There! All done."

Jaegar nodded his head in approval. "Good, now let's go before we're too late," he said, exiting the hotel room after he grabbed the mirror. He was nervous, though. Jaegar had never been in contact with other exorcists without the intention to kill them. This would be a new experience and he wasn't quite sure on how to deal with these kinds of things.

"Hope I won't mess up," he thought, even if his track record for missions was perfect. Finding things, killing things he could do easily. Befriending other humans, exorcists at that, was a little harder.

Following Jaegar, Ruusu held the mirror in his hand, letting the wrappings touch his skin and not the mirror itself; he had a feeling that by touching it, the mirror could sense one's fear. "Jaegar, don't worry about a thing; I'm sure that we can surpase the Earl's expectations easily."

Arriving at the docks, they saw a woman with dark circles around her eyes and a disk clasped in her hand, a bald-ish man with a long ponytail with panda-esque makeup, a vampiric-looking man, and a red head with an eye patch. Okay, here they are; now remember, Jaegar; we can't let them find out about us.

Jaegar stared intently at the group, wondering if they were REALLY the famed exorcists of the Black Order. The red head seemed too....carefree, the vampire was too timid looking, the woman was panicky, and the old man...well, he just looked like a panda. Period.

"Can't judge a book by its cover, though," Jaegar said. He looked at Ruusu and then back before approaching them.

"Excuse me, are you exorcists from the Black Order?" he shouted. His heart was pounding a mile a minute and he was nervous, but it was like any other mission...just, it involved infiltration.

Bookman stared at the two who approached them, and analyzed their body language; the silver haired one was laid back, but seemed to be a little too casual about being near the famous Black Order; the other one seemed nervous as hell. "Yes, we are; and who might the two of you be?" he asked gruffly, while Miranda gave a shaky smile.

Ruusu gave a gentle smile to the vampire and to the panicky-looking woman, saying "I am Ruusu Lilja, a supporter of the Black Order. This is Jaegar, an Exorcist who I've been travelling with for a year now."

Miranda smiled back and said "I-I'm Miranda Lotto; these are my friends Arystar Krory and Lavi; the elderly gentleman is Bookman."

"Nice to meet you, I'm Jaegar Redwood, an exorcist from America," Jaegar said, shaking hands with Bookman.

They seem...not very threatening, that's for sure. He thought, his body relaxing significantly. "It's a pleasure meeting someone of the Black Order," he said, smiling gently at Miranda. The woman blushed wringing her hands together.

"N-nice to meet you as well," Miranda said. Jaegar chalked her off as one of the ones to either be first or last. The weakest ones to be dealt with later.

But you don't know what their innocence is capable of, he reminded himself. Clarimonde seemed to hum in happiness to be around other innocence for once instead of Noah. If Jaegar focused some more, he noticed his body felt light compared to the typical heavy feeling that usually plagued his body.

Ruusu smiled at the vampire, and walked over, saying "You're Krory, right?" The vampire nodded, saying "You are a supporter? Wonderful!" Ruusu nodded, thinking His Innocence is in his teeth, and he is obviously Parasitic...that means that I can't alter anything about his body. Though, I could alter the air and ground around him to do something. And the woman...she seems to be Equipment, but I'll leave that to you, Jaegar.

"Mr. Lilja, who does your hair?" Miranda asked, while Lavi and Bookman stared at them from the background. "Oh, this is my natural color and style. It takes forever to tame it in the mornings, though!" he replied, studying them back.

"Lavi, be cautious of the silver haired one. There seems to be something off about him..." Bookman said, smoking a cigarette. Lavi nodded, but he was too preoccupied with looking at Ruusu's clothes and body.

Jaegar noticed Lavi staring at Ruusu as the silver haired Noah talked with the other two. A sense of annoyance seemed to flood his body as he approached Lavi. The red head blink, about to say something until Jaegar's fist connected with his chin.

"You make me sick," Jaegar growled, shaking his hand a little before he moved to wipe it on his handkerchief, as if it were diseased from just watching Lavi. "I catch you eying my friend again and it's my whip to your neck," he threatened.

Ruusu walked over and said "Jaegar! What on earth is wrong with you?!" Krory and Miranda walked over to help pick up the redhead, and Krory said "Lavi! Are you all right?"

Lavi looked up at the German man and said with a smirk "Oh, are we possessive of your boyfriend? Trust me, I get what I want." Miranda, Bookman, and Krory all looked shocked as Ruusu said "What are you talking about? Why did he punch you?" Lavi turned to face the Noah and said "Because he caught me looking at you. Personally, I don't see why you are dating him, Ruusu. I'm much more attractive than him..."

Jaegar saw red before he even knew what he was doing. Lavi was picked up by his collar, Clarimonde out and coiled in his hands. His arm was trembling with rage, Clarimonde pulsing in his hand and ready to shed blood.

"He's not yours," Jaegar said evenly to the smirking red head. "He's....he's not mine either but I don't wan you messing with him...at all."

That's right, because he is looking for Tionne while I'm looking for White. There's nothing else behind that except...except what? Why do I feel so angry just thinking of him with...oh, no...

Jaegar dropped Lavi, clutching at his head in annoyance. Something...something needed to be destroyed NOW or Jaegar was going to go insane. With a quick turn and a brutal lash, a couple of the lamps in the harbor were cut clean in half. The metal fell on to the ground as Jaegar stalked off angrily.

Smooth, Redwood. You're supposed to infiltrate and here you go punching people and destroying things.

Giving the exorcists an apologetic look, Ruusu walked after Jaegar, following him to a nearby chapel.

"Smooth, really smooth, Jaegar. I really liked how you tried to defend my honor by nearly killing Lavi. Mabe next time, you can try and save me from a pidgeon!" Ruusu said in a scathingly sarcastic voice. "So why are you so hellbent on defending me from Pervert back there? I am perfectly capable of protecting myself, you know." When all he got was silence, the Noah just gave an aggravated groan.

"Look, I'm really grateful, but we need to remember our mission! If we screw this up and don't do what the Earl ordered, then we're screwed royally!" Plopping down to sit next to Jaegar, he said "Lavi is not going to try anything, so you can relax."

"Sorry," Jaegar said, leaning back in the pew. "I just...I just felt angry all of a sudden...I don't know why." His blue eyes softened and he lifted his arm up to cover them with the back of his hand. The ink of Clarimonde greeted him and he was reminded of why he was there. Working...working for a man who couldn't be trusted and searching for a girl who probably forgot about him.

"I'm a pathetic man," he said. "Running, chasing...looking for something that I don't know is still there or not...it's just like father said that one day. I'm pathetic, no better than a guard dog..."

"You follow that girl around like a pup! We named you 'Jaegar' for the hopes that you'd attain something great! Not follow some girl around like a...like a FOOL! You're not my son, you DOG!"

"Father..."

"Jaegar, don't worry, your father...your father is just drunk..."

It was something he held on his heart for so long, and what happened in the harbor just PROVED it. He couldn't stop them. Tears that he held up for so long started falling, his chest heaving in attempts to calm down.

Seeing Jaegar cry like this made his heart reach out to him; Ruusu did what he always did whenever a friend or a loved one was hurt. Pulling the sobbing Jaegar into his lap, the Noah held him close and sang a soft lullaby that he'd learned from Tionne all those years ago.

"Jaegar, don't worry. I still care about you, and if you think you're a guard dog, then you're wrong. You are strong, kind, and loving; these are your strengths, and not a weakness."

Jaegar just cried, listening to the soothing melody that Ruusu sang. "Thank you," he whispered through his tears. Silence passed for a while before he pulled back, gently clasping Ruusu on his shoulder. "You're a good friend," Jaegar said. "It's...it's almost like..." His words trailed off. No, he couldn't compare Ruusu to White. That would be unfair to the Noah.

"Nevermind...we should go and rejoin with the exorcists," Jaegar said. He stood up and the mirror fell out of his vest noisily. He reached down to pick it up, forgetting to touch the cloth surrounding it. His eyes widened and what he saw...what he saw...

White lying there, body limp, bleeding, and head smashed in. Standing above her was him, holding Champion, the innocence she held in her head, with Clarimonde in his other. In the background, the vile form of Clarimonde was holding Champion's head in her hands and the kid looked pained.

Jaegar dropped the mirror again, face pale. He didn't want...he didn't want to kill White, no...never...

"I'll wait outside," Jaegar mumbled, walking outside the chapel.

Seeing the pained expression, Ruusu glared at the mirror and picked it up, holding the cloth around the handle. "I think you've hurt me and Jaegar enough times, Innocence." Shifting into his Noah form, Ruusu destroyed the mirror around the Innocence, and then destroyed the twisted Innocence itself. "There. Much better."

Walking out of the chapel, Ruusu rejoined Jaegar and said "That vile mirror is gone forever. It'll never harm anyone again." Suddenly, a barrage of needles nearly impaled the duo until Ruusu altered the water molecules in the air to form a barrier. Bookman stood there, his hand outstretched with his fingers spread, a scroll flapping around him, with Lavi and Krory standing beside him with Miranda holding her disk, which floated near her hands.

"So, a Noah clansmen and an exorcist working together. Why?" Bookman asked in his calm yet gruff voice. Ruusu looked at himself and cursed at the fact that he forgot that he'd been in his Noah form. "Well, well, well. The Bookmen really are as observant as the Earl said. How did you know we were here?" Lavi smirked and said "I followed you on my hammer, and listened in on your conversation. Still, if you survive this fight, Bookman said that I can have you, Noah. The Central Agency has devised a bangle that can supress either Noah or Innocence, depending on the situation."

"I never thought I'd see the day a hammer could track me down," Jaegar said, standing in front of Ruusu. "There's a reason I'm with a Noah, Black Order exorcist." He pulled out Clarimonde, the whip cracking the ground and leaving a deep scorch mark from the acid.

"As I said before, I am Jaegar Redwood," he said calmly. "I'm looking for White Mahogany and will do anything to get my information. As for taking Ruusu, I won't let that happen."

Jaegar lunged forward, pulling Clarimonde back to lash at Lavi and Bookman with the intent to cut the exorcists in two.

Krory lunged at Ruusu, trying to bite him, but Ruusu just gave a small smile before jumping into the air; altering his bones to make him as light as a feather, and he floated. "Nice try, Krory. But you'll be surprised at what I am capable of!" Flinging his hands towards some metallic chains, he charged the ions in the air to bring them towards his hands. Altering the atoms in the air, he caused them to trap the vampire exorcist.

"I'd stay still if I were you, Krory. These chains? I altered them to have a mind of their own." Turning to face Miranda, she activated her Innocence to create a barrier around her and Krory, while he struggled to get out. Sighing, he walked up to the wall and just poked it. ZZAANNGG! Electric currents of Innocence shocked his finger, and he pulled back. "Impressive. By altering time around you, I can't enter it." Picking up a nearby piece of wood, he charged it with dark matter so it would put a dent in the Innocence and it cracked the wall!

Meanwhile, Bookman threw numerous needles at Jaegar, while Lavi tried to swing his hammer at the whip, which left scorch marks along his clothes. "Damn! These two are first rate fighters, and we're gonna lose, Gramps!" "Lavi, be patient. That Noah is just attacking the area around Krory and Miranda, as if he doesn't want to hurt them. Observe it, you fool!"

Jaegar cursed, bringing the whip back to shield against the needles. He cringed when a couple hit him in his arm. He moved to pull them out, wincing at the pain coursing through him. "Careless," he mumbled to himself, Clarimonde morphing into its cross bow form. Jaegar dodged to the side to avoid the incoming hammer attack, pulling Clarimonde up to fire a charged arrow at Lavi.

"This is annoying," he muttered, bringing Clarimonde back into its whip form when the arrow was batted to the side by Bookman's needles. "Clarimonde, we're going to have to do something soon." Jaegar looked over briefly to see if Ruusu was okay, noticing the Noah playing with his enemies. "At least he's safe," he mumbled before lashing out at Lavi again, the whip wrapping around his over-sized hammer. Jaegar started pulling, intent on removing the exorcist's weapon.

Ruusu looked to see that Jaegar was in trouble, and he cursed himself. "This is tiresome." Ruusu froze the water molecules in the air, freezing Krory in place, while he looked at Miranda and said to her "I am going to leave you with him; if either of you attack me and Jaegar while my back is turned, I won't take pity the next time we meet."

Running over, Ruusu took some stones and altered them to increase their size, and made them as hard as diamonds. "Jaegar, are you alright?" At seeing the wounds, he healed the German before saying "I'm going to try something different, ok?" Running over to Bookman, the Noah said "I'll make you a deal, Bookman. You tell everyone to stop fighting, and I will give you the Innocence."