The Fighters (Peregrine x AkikoYukito)

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"Learning." Vienna answered, tilting her head slightly to one side. Emily was plainly stressed over this despite her efforts to remain - or at the least appear to be - calm. "We can help improve his memory." That may very well have been a lie as unintentional as it was. They could try to help Ty, and they certainly would do their best; however, whether or not they would actually succeed at it was something else entirely. But they had little choice now since it was just made part of the deal. In the end it could prove beneficial to both parties.

While the two girls spoke, Sharona's attention was on the doors of the cafeteria. She was watching for Steve and Toni, wondering if they had any luck finding the young man in question. Eventually, the two appeared just outside the doors where they stood watching and waiting. It was only the two of them, no Ty. Steve caught her eye and shook his head; Sharona nodded and turned back to her daughter, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Unfortunately, we don't have much time. We need to speak to him now." Vi took Shari's hint and cut to the chase.
 
And that was it. Everything came down to this one moment. Despite Emily's concern over the whole situation, she had just been presented with an ultimatum, whether Vienna intended it in that matter or not. Either she helped them find Ty right now, or... what? Maybe they would walk away, leaving Ty to forever struggle with his inability to remember, even as he tried his hardest to learn. Somehow, Emily doubted that. They had come all this way, clearly uncertain on whether Ty was who they were looking for or not. Vienna had already made it clear that without Ty they could not learn what they wanted to know. With a sudden rush of relief, Emily realized that all the cards were in her hand. There was nothing they could do to threaten or force her into handing over Ty without question.

"No." Emily said, voice calm and sure. Not wanting to upset Vienna, Emily still having not seen through her facade as a sweet, truthful young woman, she was quick to amend that statement. "At least, not yet. I'm not Ty. I can't speak for him. But I can speak for you. I don't think... there's any way Ty would willingly speak to you right now. Not after how badly you scared him a few minutes ago. But I could convince him to talk with you, maybe even to go with you."

She glanced at the clock, sitting above the door out of the cafeteria, and then back to Vi. "Give me forty five minutes." There was no question in her voice. "Rushing won't give you anything. Give me the time to talk to him, and convince him that this could be a very good thing."
 
That first one-syllable word struck a chord in Vienna. It didn't make her angry or really rouse any feelings other than surprise. The dark-haired girl blinked, eyes widened slightly as if she'd been struck. There were no indicators in Emily's voice that she was upset or about to argue, of course that didn't mean anything. The next instant, she continued. She spoke the exact words Vienna needed to hear. Hook, line, and sinker, she thought. Her expression brightened at the young woman.

"Yes, certainly." Vi nodded in agreement to the time. Forty-five minutes could be spared if it would possibly get them closer to getting Ty, but they didn't have all day. Steve had a vendetta to be back on the road by evening and had emphasized many times that he would not make any exceptions. That meant that if Emily couldn't get Ty to agree, the group would have to take some more drastic measures. While Vienna hoped it would not come to that, she was willing if it became necessary to do whatever it would take to get the young man to Montana.

"Th-thank you."
 
"Okay," Emily agreed. Her mind was already off in other places, to the conversation she was going to need to have with Ty. They had been best friends for three years now, she should know him well enough to know what to say. But they had never spoken of what Ty could do. The one time she had tried she had seen the way he had airily laughed off her comment as though it was the most ridiculous thing in the world, turning his head aside to hide the sudden widening of his eyes and rush of blood to his face. She had never mentioned it again. But now... now she was going to have to talk to him about it, as though it had never been a secret. And she was going to have to persuade him to go against that ingrained fear that seemed to consume his very being. This was not going to be easy.

Suddenly realizing that she'd been staring, Emily mentally shook herself and began to speak. "There's a lounge area just across from here. It's got a fire going, and there's a TV for music or shows. It should be a comfortable place to wait. I'll meet you there. Hopefully with Ty."

Without further words she turned away. The cafeteria was almost completely clear by now, and it was easy for her to dart between the few people, scoop up her backpack, and race off towards the dorms. By this point she almost knew the way to Ty's room better than she did her own. It was a small room, as were most dorms, on the third floor of a simple building. He shared it with two other people, even though the room was really only large enough for a double, but the two people he shared it with had been more than happy to bunk up, and leave the space under Ty's bed for him to study in. Of course, Emily had no guarantee that Ty would have gone to his room, but somehow she couldn't imagine he would go anywhere else. It was the closest thing he had to a safe space, with the only other possibility being the small corner in the basement of the library that she and him occasionally used for study sessions. But, after that performance, Ty would want to avoid people. She would go to his dorm first.

When she knocked on the simple, faux wood door there was no answer. For a moment she thought she had guessed wrong, but instinct and understanding for her friend kept her in place. Faintly she heard the shifting of springs, and she could imagine Ty's large form rolling over on the bunk, turning to stare blankly at the white wall.

"Ty? It's Emily. Please, let me in. We have to talk."

---

Almost two hours, to the minute, from the time Emily left Vienna in the cafeteria she arrived at the lounge where she had told Vienna to wait. Ty lurked near the entrance, his shoulders pulled up as though trying to make himself disappear. He couldn't help but watch his friend as she walked into the area, looking around with concern. Even now she seemed nearly flawless. Ty wondered if he was the only one who would notice the faint, puffy redness around her eyes that was the only evidence she had been crying.

Unlike Emily, Ty was not worried that the girl in the wheelchair and her three chaperones would have already left. A part of him had procrastinated even after he had realized that Emily had convinced him to go along, hoping that, if he waited long enough, they might leave. Then his decision would be made for him. But no, there she was, rolling forward with a wide grin on her face, her hands shaking. Wat was her name again? He nearly snorted. It wasn't like it really mattered all that much.
 
"Forty-five minutes. We agreed on forty-five minutes and it's been over an hour." Steve growled, pinching the bridge of his nose between his index finger and thumb. His face was etched in wrinkles of aggravation. It was actually well over an hour that Emily had been gone to talk to Ty for Vienna, and the wait was starting to get on Steve's nerves. He wasn't a patient man when he didn't sleep, which he didn't do much of on the drive to Chicago.

"I know it's taking a w-while, but we can't leave now! Not until w-we have an answer!" Vienna objected eagerly. Her hand shook as she clenched it in her lap. The man heaved a sigh that was more akin to a groan and sank down on the sofa next to his wife. The group had gone to a lounge of sorts to wait for Emily to return with Ty. Sharona patted her husband's arm with an expression of precarious sympathy. She felt for him, but she felt for Vienna just a little more. Toni, who had been sitting, now stood and paced about the short distance between the sofa and the other articles of furniture.

It wasn't long after that that Vienna caught sight of a familiar blonde head out of the corner of her eye. She started towards her, grinning. Only when she got close did she realize the redness around Emily's eyes, but Vi didn't mention it. She was too thrilled to think about it for long, anyway. As the others stood to crowd around her, the young woman's gaze drifted past the blonde to the young man standing in the doorway. Her grin muted to a sort of knowing smile, a gleam in her eyes.

"Is everything in order then?" She inquired to Emily.
 
Ty tried to keep himself from immediately disliking the girl, reminding himself that they were going to be spending a fair amount of time together, and it really wasn't her fault that he didn't like people knowing about what he could do. He should have been congratulating her on such a skilled way of tricking him into revealing himself. Of course, the one who really deserved the kudos was Emily. She had explained to him about Vienna, who she was, what she could do, and why she was looking for him. The fact that the college girl had managed to get the information from Vienna really was a feat in and of itself.

At least Emily had the courtesy not to talk about him as though he wasn't even there. Rather than answering Vienna's question she beckoned him over. Ty hesitated for a moment, almost ready to change his mind. But, as he felt the urge to turn away swelling within him, he also remembered some of the potential Emily had set out before him, in careful, sweeping strokes that he was easily able to recall. Vienna implied that they might have a way to help him, to make it so that knowledge stuck in his head a little better, and wasn't always pushed out whenever he called on his latent ability to do things. The dream of being able to do that was what had brought him to college in the first place. Now he had an opportunity to take it one step further.

He stepped forward carefully, shoulders still hunched. As much as he towered over Emily, he towered over Vienna even more. Unconsciously his shoulders hunched forward a bit, a combination of both an attempt to protect himself, and an attempt to not be quite so tall over her. All it did was make him look as though he was looming. The silence began to stretch.

"Ty?" Emily prompted gently, when it became clear that he wasn't going to speak.

"Yeah," he finally grunted. "I'll come. But only for a bit, mind you. I've got classes, and I can't fall behind."
 
"Excellent!" Vienna apparently didn't notice the way Ty towered over her, or she simply didn't mind. Either way, she smiled up at the young man, seemingly oblivious to his apprehensions. Her blue eyes shone with evident excitement, clear enough that Ty could make out his reflection within them. She tilted her head to one side, if just to keep eye contact with Ty, and her smile spread into a grin. "Feel free to bring your books so you can study." Vi chimed pleasantly, adding on a moment later, "I can help you study if you like." She turned slightly in her chair, indicating the three standing behind her with a jerk of her shaking hand.

"This is Steve, Sharona, and Toni." Vi introduced her family. Behind her the three stood in silence. Steve had his arms crossed over his chest, an anxious look on his face as he constantly shifted his weight from one foot to the other. Sharona stood poised to wheel Vienna's chair around when it was deemed they would leave. Toni had his hands stuffed in the pockets of his slacks. He looked a little out of place being so much more nicely dressed than the others, but he wore a content expression. As each was introduced, they offered a smile, though only Sharona and Toni actually greeted the young man and offered their hands. Steve merely nodded, for which Shari gave him a stern look.

"Sorry, he's just anxious to get back on the road." Sharona said with a bashful laugh, embarrassed by her husband's behavior. "As soon as you're ready." Vienna put in; although, she knew they didn't have any time to waste.
 
It was a short, tense goodbye. Ty had always traveled light. He had been the only person to come to college with only a single backpack full of stuff. Therefore, it was mostly only a matter of meandering back over to his dorm with the girl in the wheelchair, the three adults, and Emily. They waited outside while he packed. It took ten minutes, and that even included a generous allowance for Ty simply staring around the room, wondering if it was too late to back out of this whole mess.

They walked back to the parking lot, where the older man walked over to a white van, pulled out a key, and unlocked the car. Ty turned to Emily. Before he could even say anything she was hugging him tight, leaning her head against the firm like of his chest. For a moment he stood stiff, not wanting to hug her back. That would mean it really was goodbye, even if it would only be for a little while. Emily waited patiently, silent tears running from her bright blue eyes. Finally Ty relented and hugged her back.

They stood like that for a couple moments, while the middle aged man with the nice clothes helped the girl into the van. Finally, a short cough from the old man brought the farewell to a halt. Ty scooped up his backpack, and walked back to the car.

"I'll be back in a couple weeks," he promised, a forced grin on his face. "Then you'll have to teach me everything I missed, and you'll get sick of me."

Emily laughed lightly, wiping the tears from her eyes. "I know. See you soon, Ty."

And then the doors were closed, and the white van was spiriting him away from the college.

Emily stood in that parking lot, waving at the retreating car until it rounded a corner and was completely out of sight. Her hand dropped to her side. Finally the tears came unrestrained. Emily had loved Ty like a brother, and maybe a little bit more. She would have done anything for him, including letting him go. After all, somehow, for some reason, Emily had the feeling he wasn't going to be coming back to Chicago any time soon.
 
The tension of the good-bye was not lost on the small group of interlopers from Montana. In fact, they felt it just as much as, if not more than, Ty and Emily. It was they who caused the young woman's tears, who were stealing her friend away from her. They even lied in order to do so. There was no part of this that even remotely felt right; even Vienna felt a little guilty. Unlike the others, she was able to rationalize it so much more simply and easily, saying it was for the greater good. It was only by her ability to do so that the others were able to accept it and move on with the mission.

Vienna got in the van first with Toni's help and settled in for the long ride home while the two college kids lingered nearby. She watched with a solemn, sympathetic face as they finally parted and as Emily waved after them. After only minutes, the school was gone from sight behind them; and minutes after that, Chicago too faded into the distance. It wasn't until they were well on their way that Vi turned her head to glance back at Ty, her gaze partially hidden by her black curls. She offered a faint, ghost of a smile and turned her attention to the passing landscape outside the window.

Gradually the sun grew higher and she closed the curtain over the window, eventually leaning her head against it and dozing off. Stops along the way were few. As the others got out and stretched their legs, Vienna stayed in her seat. They drove through the night into the next morning. The sun was already up when they reached the remote house. It sat on an expanse of land with little else around it except for a few trees. The house itself was grand with two-story high windows. As the van pulled up to the house, a dark-haired woman stepped outside and waved to them, her hand over her eyes to shield them from the morning light. She made her way over, throwing her arms around Shari when she stepped out of the vehicle.

"Welcome back." She said to each of them, except for Ty. To him, she held out her hand and grinned. "Welcome to Montana. We're glad to have you with us. I'm Tess, pleased to meet you." She greeted warmly and introduced herself. "Well, you're all in luck. I just finished breakfast. Coffee is fresh." At that, she ushered everyone inside. The bags could be gotten after eating.
 
Ty had never been outside the city limits of Chicago, let alone taken a twenty hour road trip to a completely different states. Had it been with someone he had known, it might have even been enjoyable. Instead the entirety of the trip was passed with Ty staring out the window, avoiding conversation with everyone in the van, who seemed to have no interest in talking to him, and trying to remember what mile marker they had just passed. It was unpleasant, uncomfortable, and the monotony was only barely broken when Ty finally managed to fall asleep, cramming himself up in the back of the van and trying to stretch his legs out under the seat in front of him.

Every five minutes, Ty wondered if he had just made a grievous mistake. He would sit there, desperately trying to recall Emily's exact words as she had slowly worried away his doubt and left him feeling as though there had never been any option but to go along. But the farther he got from Emily the less solid the reasoning became. His dreams were uneasy, filled with nameless, faceless people who wanted him to do ever more impossible things, and threatened to never let him see Emily again if he didn't comply.

It was a relief to finally get out of the van. The gravel crunched under his large, worn tennis shoes as he was finally able to crawl out of the back of the van and stretch himself out. Later that evening, just to reassure himself, he would pull out his phone and plot the route back to Chicago, because right now he was completely uncertain about where he was. What he did know was that the place looked as though it had just stepped out of some western flick. It was all stone and graceful, sweeping pillars, a glorious and beautiful building surrounded by nothing but trees, a small creek, and endless expanses of grassland.

Ty's attention was drawn back to the present when a woman approached him, sticking out her hand in a friendly manner. Ty forgot her name only moments after she said it, but took the proffered hand, enfolding it gently in his own large one. "I'm Tyrell," he replied, trying to sound more at ease than he was. "Nice to meet you too, although you are probably going to have to tell me your name several hundred more times before I finally remember it."

The inside of the house was just as luxurious as the outside suggested. After the main entrance it opened up into a grand, double story living room with massive windows, and a highly polished wood floor covered in several lush carpets. The kitchen was off to the right, though a double arch, where there was indeed breakfast waiting. Despite the assurances of the brown-haired woman, Ty was quite sure that it was not luck that breakfast was just finished, as the heaping piles of bacon, eggs, and chocolate chip pancakes was certainly more than one person could eat, and looked just about right to feed all six.

As soon as Ty sat down the red-haired woman who had come along to pick him up had set a plate, fork, knife, napkin, and glass of orange juice in front of him. Ty was quickly joined by the two men, who also received breakfast utensils, and the girl in the wheelchair. Trying to be polite, Ty desperately tried to recall her name. All he got was a blank.

Less than a minute later the steaming pile of food, along with several cups of coffee, were set out on the table. The red-haired woman reached out and began to serve the girl. The brown-haired woman smiled at Ty.

"Go ahead and dig in," she said with a grin, blue eyes sparkling, before heaping her plate with eggs and a couple slices of bacon.
 
"Awe, well don't worry about that." Tess laughed softly at Ty's words, placing a hand sympathetically on his shoulder. She gave him a gentle push towards the house, walking beside him with the others in tow. The gray stones of the house warmed cordially in the morning sun, the light poured through the windows to light up the living room. To see the house seemed to life the exhaustion from the travelers' faces. Sharona, while she tried always to smile, appeared uplifted. Steve was visibly in a better mood and clearly more relaxed than he had been in Chicago. There wasn't any apparent change in Toni; he seemed just as chipper as ever.

The strange family went straight for the kitchen as they entered. The house was filled with the insidious smells of eggs, bacon, pancakes, and fresh coffee. kitchen was off to the right, though a double arch, where there was indeed breakfast waiting. Shari wheeled Vienna up to the table before going getting plates and silverware to set it with. Unsure of what Ty wanted to drink, she gave him orange juice. Steve and Toni were drinking their coffee before their food hit their plates.

Almost as if they hadn't gone on a two-day-long trip to Chicago, they all ate and chattered. Toni and Steve started talking about sports and the last game they watched on television; Sharona was asking Vienna if she needed any help cutting her pancakes and Vienna was indignantly telling her that she could do it herself. Tess was the only one who had the presence of mind to address Ty. She smiled and bid him to eat.

"So, Chicago. Have you lived there your whole life?" Vienna put in around a bite of egg, glancing in Ty's direction. The others all perked up and looked at him too. It wasn't their intention to put him on the spot, but they were interested to find out since someone finally had the nerve to ask.

"You're a student at Chicago U?" Tess added on to the inquiry. Of course, this question was one they all knew the answer to, but she wanted Ty to at least feel like they had some genuine interest in him. Perhaps it was easier to pass off coming from her, since she hadn't gone with the others to pick him up.
 
It took Ty a moment to swallow his slightly over-large mouthful of pancake drowned in maple syrup in order to answer the queries that were suddenly being thrown his way. Considering how silent everyone had been on the drive out he couldn't help but feel it was a bit surprising, but he supposed that trips like that were stressful for everyone, even if they weren't the ones being taken away from everything they've ever known.

"Yeah," he finally managed, after swallowing the mouthful and a gulp of orange juice as well to keep the food from getting lodged in the middle of his throat. "I went to elementary school only a couple blocks away from the college campus, so I'm quite sure this is the farthest away I've ever been from home." Calling it home wasn't entirely accurate, but it was the closest word Ty had to describe the city. Then again, a home didn't necessarily have to be a happy place, it just had to be the place you always came back to.

"I'm studying mechanical engineering. If I keep up on my classes, I may get my degree at the end of this year too." This was a mild rebuke, a reminder to these people, whatever their names may be, that they were pulling him away from his studies without warning.

Ty glanced down at his plate, before taking another big bite of pancake. He had the nagging suspicion that breakfast would be over as soon as they finished with their small talk and got to the reason they had really brought him here. Ty wasn't very good at small talk, never had been, and he wanted to make sure he got as much of the meal in his stomach as he could before he was taken away from it.
 
"Well, at least you get to go p-places." Vienna said casually albeit a bit ruefully as she sipped her coffee. She was well aware of the sudden change of expression on Shari's and Steve's faces, a mix of surprise and sympathy and aggravation. Tess and Toni pretended they hadn't heard her. "Just think of it as an adventure, one more th-thing to say you did in your life." The dark-haired girl amended, and the married couple's faces relaxed again into demureness.

"Don't you worry. Our work here shouldn't interfere with your studies." Sharona smiled to Ty. The atmosphere around the table instantly thickened, holding its breath and waiting to see how the lot would explain exactly what that work was. The red-headed woman glanced over to Tess, who in turn glanced at Steve. There was a moment of silence while the trio held a conversation with their eyes, then Tess cleared her throat.

"Has anyone explained to you exactly what we do here, Ty?" Tess asked, her blue eyes earnestly meeting Ty's. She waited a moment for an answer before leaning forward, her elbows propped on the edge of the table, hands clasped just under her chin. "You may or may not understand this - and it's alright if you don't - I'm sure you will in time. We're studying collective human consciousness, passed down through genetics. For a while, all we had to work with was Vienna; but we hope that you may be the missing piece to our puzzle." Tess spoke as carefully as she could, picking and choosing her words so that they might be better understood by the young outsider. Somehow or another she managed to keep her face calm and friendly in her concentration.

"Maybe it'll be better if we sh-show you." Vienna put in with a look to Tess, who nodded thoughtfully.

"Sure, we can show him. Let's finish eating first, though." After breakfast was done and the table cleared, Tess led the way to the center for their research.
 
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