Weiss Kreuz Fan Fiction ❯ Mortituri te Salutant ❯ The Expression of Sombre Pride, of Ruthless Power, of an Intense and Hopeless Despair ( Chapter 4 )

Disclaimer: Weiß Kreuz and all its associations belong to Takehito Koyasu and Project Weiß.

Mortituri te Salutant

Chapter 4 : The Expression of Sombre Pride, of Ruthless Power, of an Intense and Hopeless Despair

By : Tora-uma

Author Notes :

". . ." - speaking

^. . .^ - inner thoughts

//. . .// - telepathy

Once again, many thanks go out to those who reviewed the last chapter, Tygrrlyli, Ardwynna and Miko no Tears and Aya. Special thanks to wannabeinanime for being my beta reader for this entire story and to everyone who read this. Yes, I know this chapter took a bit longer to get out than the others did, but as this was the final chapter I needed to make sure that it was damn well near perfect. I hope you've all enjoyed this so far, I know I've gotten a much more positive response to this story than I expected. I'll stop by saying thanks to everyone again and letting you get on to the end of the tale.

Aya slowly awoke to the sun shining directly on his eyes. The nurse hadn't closed the curtains fully and the light had somehow found the single crack in the material that had a direct path to his eyelids. He groaned and tried to turn his head away from the light with no success. Eventually he gave up and, thinking he'd slept enough, decided to spend the rest of the afternoon reading. He fully intended to go after the rest of Weiß after dark but there were still several hours before the sun would disappear again.

"What we could see was just the steamer we were on, her outlines blurred as though she had been on the point of dissolving, and a misty strip of water, perhaps two feet broad, around her - and that was all. The rest of the world was nowhere, as far as our eyes and ears were concerned. Just nowhere. Gone, disappeared; swept off without leaving a whisper or a shadow behind."

As he read he picked at the food the nurses brought him throughout the day. The light from outside grew dimmer and he had to eventually switch on the bedside lamp, filling the room with pale, artificial light. He ignored the activity around him as the day aged on, swiftly turning into evening.

"The offing was barred by a black bank of clouds, and the tranquil waterway leading to the uttermost ends of the earth flowed somber under an overcast sky - seemed to lead into the heart of an immense darkness."

"Are you ready?"

Aya looked up from his finished book to see Manx standing in the doorway, carrying his assassin gear in one arm. He nodded and pulled the IV from his arm as he swung his legs to one side of the bed. Manx put his things on the edge of the bed as Aya slowly got to his feet, gradually regaining his balance. There was a short burst of pain in his chest when he first stood but it quickly dissipated as he acclimated his body to the change in position. He bent down to pick up his clothing and quickly changed as Manx obediently turned her back to him. When he finished with the last buckle he turned her.

"The information that Nagi gave you seems to check out with Kritiker. There hasn't been much action at the house but everyone they've seen has been a Schwarz member," she told him as she turned to hand him directions to the house and the keys to his car. "Abyssinian . . ." Aya looked up from the directions he'd been reading. " . . . Good luck," Manx told him softly. Aya nodded and silently stalked out of the hospital room. Manx lowered herself gently on the edge of the bed as she watched him leave. She leaned over to the nightstand and picked up her book, clutching it to herself and hoping that the foreboding feeling she felt in her heart was nothing more than nervousness and pessimism.

~ * ~

"Checkmate."

"Kuso."

"Did he beat you again?"

"Yes, I did."

"Quiet. Bastard."

"Crashers members playing chess isn't the best example of irony. Aren't you tired of demonstrating it?" a voice asked from the corner.

Three short `No's answered the quiet question.

"Another game?" Bishop asked as he reset the chess board.

"Yeah, alright," Rook shrugged.

"Not now, I need you to do something," A dark-haired woman announced from the doorway of the room.

"Hey Queen! What's going on?" Pawn asked.

"Emergency job. All the rules apply, as always."

"What do you need us to do?" Knight asked quietly from his corner.

"I need you to help someone. We have reason to believe that Ran may have bitten off more than he can chew."

"Really? That's not like him, it must be something important," Pawn mused.

"It is." Queen handed Knight a piece of paper. "That's his location."

"This is all we get? An address?" Bishop asked.

"All you need to do is help and protect him to the best of your ability. I think you're all capable of doing that, aren't you?" she asked. All four nodded. "Good. Get ready then. And hurry." Queen turned on her heel, leaving Crashers to prepare and opened a small cell phone.

"It's done, they're on their way," she told the other end quietly.

"Good. Arigatoh, Queen."

"Manx, is everything alright?" Queen asked.

There was a short pause before Manx spoke again. "We'll see," she said before breaking the connection.

~ * ~

Aya drove quickly through the nearly empty streets, occasionally checking the directions that Manx had given him. He sped past the few cars still left on the roads, ignoring everything but his single-minded goal to reach Schwarz and his teammates. He was worried about the others and angry for not being able to get to him sooner. He ignored the sharp pain that radiated from his chest as he jerked the steering wheel too hard going into a turn. Following the directions unconsciously, he came upon the house before he realized it. There was little around the building itself so he passed it, parking far enough away that his car wouldn't arouse suspicion. He turned off the car and got out, backtracking towards his goal. He walked down the street quietly, passing between shadows and moonlight. As he neared the house he worked his way off the street. He searched the side of the house silently, finally finding a small, unlocked window to slip through. He dropped to the floor of a dark narrow hallway. He hurried through it, reaching a larger, well-lit one. No noise came from either direction. Aya frowned, not sure which direction to go. Eventually he turned right and continued along, a black shadow creeping along the edge of the light.

~ * ~

Yohji collapsed to his hands and knees. He stared at his leather clad hands, covered in blood. He lifted his head from where it had fallen between his shoulders and stared blankly. The body of every person he'd ever killed lay strewn around him, stretching far beyond his range of vision. He glanced back down to the ground, realizing the blood leaking from the bodies was slowly rising to cover his wrists. He stared at the rising pool for a moment, amazed at the amount of blood his hands had been stained with. He pushed himself up from the ground and sat back on his heels and stared dully at the horizon. The bodies had all been covered, lost in a sea of crimson that continued to rise. For a moment Yohji panicked, realizing he had nowhere to go. There was no high ground; everything he could see was flat and red. He glanced down to see the thick, red liquid climbing steadily to his waist. As he watched it rise, he realized he had no desire to save himself. "What's the point?" he whispered to the expanse of red. "Aya's dead, Omi and Ken will be soon and I can't even wake up to do a damn thing to help anyone!" he hissed through his clenched teeth. The sea of blood now reached to his mid-chest.

Yohji threw his head back and screamed at the dark sky. He screamed his anger and frustration at his situation, he screamed his regret at everything that had been done to his friends that he couldn't stop, he screamed his hatred for those doing it, he screamed the pain that every member of Weiß had suffered. He screamed until his voice cracked and finally broke. When his throat refused to make any more noise his head lolled forward and his chin hit his chest as he sobbed violently. His body shook so hard it took him a moment to realize the red was gently lapping at his chin. Lucid tears dripped slowly into the crimson sea of Yohji's creation. "I knew I'd have to pay for my sins eventually," he whispered, "But I never thought they would actually drown me." A bitter smile passed across his face as it was slowly covered in the sanguine fluid. Yohji calmly held his breath until he felt his head become completely submerged. Slowly he opened his mouth and allowed the last remnants of oxygen to escape his lungs. He felt his empty mouth fill with the lifeblood of his victims, felt the rich, coppery liquid rush over his tongue. He steeled himself and breathed deeply. The tangible sin flowed into him, filling him with a strange sense of warmth. Yohji's body jerked roughly, trying to force the invading liquid out. Yohji ignored himself and continued to take in his own guilt. He was accepting his past deeds, finally accepting them as a part of him. As his lungs continued to fill he smiled within his own salvation. The world became nothing more than red.

~ * ~

Aya slowed when he saw light pouring out from under the door ahead of him. He crept to it and pressed himself against the hallway. No noise seeped through the thick wood of the door. Cautiously, Aya cracked open the door and peered through. To the left of the door frame he made out a long, dark shape but little more. He chanced opening the door a bit more and, this time, saw navy blue assassin gear and tangled, dark blond hair. ^Yohji . . .^ Aya thought desperately. He fought the urge to immediately burst through the door, still aware that there was a strong probability that his teammate was not alone in the room. Another inch of open door confirmed Aya's suspicions. Crawford sat in a chair near Yohji, his dark head bent over the assassin's lighter one, brow creased and drawn together in concentration. Aya stayed where he was and watched for a moment, waiting for Crawford's eyes to open and see him. When they remained closed, Aya pushed the door fully open and slowly entered the room.

He stalked around behind Crawford, not sure if the other was baiting him. Crawford gave no sign that he realized the redhead was behind him. Aya slowly drew his katana and gripped it tightly. He brought his arm back and aimed carefully. Quickly he swung forward, bring the end of the hilt down hard on the American's temple. Crawford fell out of the chair and landed with a heavy thud on the floor. He shook his head, trying to clear it as Aya towered over him. Crawford looked at the shadow covering him and frowned slightly.

"I didn't think you'd be up and about so soon."

"I'm annoying that way."

Crawford smirked. "Indeed. Is there a reason you haven't killed me yet?"

"I wanted you to know where your death was coming from."

"How valiant. You came all this way to save your poor little friends. But I think you should know something."

"And what's that?"

"You're too late. I doubt the other two are still alive and as for Kudou . . . well, I think he's finally realized the gravitation of his guilt."

Aya narrowed his eyes and leveled his katana at Crawford.

"You know you've forgotten an important point of coming here, Fujimiya."

"Really? What?"

Crawford slowly got to his feet and stood eye to eye with Aya. "You may have gotten me, but there are three other Schwarz members in this house. You're in enemy territory. You're nothing but a dead man living on borrowed time."

Aya smirked. "So are you," he stated coldly before driving his blade straight into Crawford's chest. Blood welled up in the wound as Aya savagely twisted the steel as Crawford's full weight bore down on the blade. He ripped the sword from the other man's body, causing it to fall forward as the only thing bracing it up was suddenly taken away.

Aya watched blood seep into the pale carpet and felt a surge of satisfaction rush through him. Taking out his anger on the bloodied mass that now lay before him had made his tumultuous emotions fade slightly. Turning from the body, Aya hurried to the couch where Yohji was stretched out. He bent over the older man, checking for a pulse. It was still there, but it was faint.

"Yohji," Aya shook him slightly, hoping for a response. Nothing happened. Aya felt a sense of dread creep into his stomach. He examined Yohji's head carefully, noting the positions and numbers of bruises. He added the deep contusions together with the shallow vital signs and realized he'd seen these same symptoms once before. Yohji was in a coma, just as Aya-chan had been. Aya sank into the chair Crawford had occupied, not sure what to do. He watched his teammate for a moment. ^Please Yohji, just move. Just wake up.^ Aya watched, stunned when, as soon as he'd finished the thought, Yohji's lips parted slightly. Aya bolted out of his seat and hovered over him.

"Yohji . . ." Aya whispered harshly. Blood began to pool in Yohji's open mouth, spilling over both sides in narrow trickles. Aya watched, horrified, as Yohji choked and drowned in blood. He quickly felt for a pulse again, felt as it slowed even more and eventually faded away. Aya glanced at Yohji's face again and saw the small, bloodstained smile. Aya squeezed his hand quickly.

"Goodbye, Yohji," he whispered before leaving the bloodied room.

~ * ~

Omi's head lolled and fell to his shoulder as Farfarello continued to carve designs into the boy's exposed chest. He frowned, noticing the blonde's lack of interest in what was being done to him. Farfarello turned his attention back to the cut he'd made two days prior that spanned the length of Omi's chest. The blood had coagulated and crusted slightly at the edges of the sliced skin. As he examined his first cut he made another, horizontal one, just above Omi's collarbones that intersected the original one. A third cut was made across the bottom of Omi's ribcage, again perpendicular to the first one. Farfarello peeled back the skin of the Weiß assassin's chest slowly, eliciting a sharp hiss and a low moan from the boy. With a small, sadistic grin, Farfarello reached forward and snapped four ribs away from Omi's sternum in quick succession. Omi screamed, loudly.

"Nice to see you're still paying attention," Farfarello told him. He broke off each of the four ribs he'd separated by applying pressure just where the bone began to bend around Omi's side. With each rib that was broken and removed from his body the young assassin screamed and began to sob anew. When the last piece of bone was ripped out there was a sizable hole in Omi's chest. Farfarello reached in delicately and pulled Omi's heart carefully from behind the boy's sternum so it was framed inside the hole of the now missing ribs. Omi's bright blue eyes were focused and alert, watching every move the Irishman made. The tears on his face slowed and dried and he began to tremble as Farfarello inched his knife toward the heart in his hand. Slowly the steel cut into the first layer of tissue. Omi winced and groaned slightly, never taking his eyes off the man in front of him. Farfarello cut again, deeper this time as Omi cried out sharply. The slices continued to get deeper as layer up on layer of tissue was cut through and gently laid open. Omi's screams became weak and muffled as his heart tired. The organ bled so heavily that Farfarello had a difficult time seeing what he was doing. He continued building up layers of heart tissue on top of each other until Omi's heart resembled an odd and remarkable flower.

"Each beautiful, bloody petal, one on top of the other," Farfarello whispered as he moved the last bit of organ tissue into place and leaned back to view his work. Omi's eyes lost focus and glazed over slightly as his head fell forward, tears spilling onto his lap and chest.

"Don't cry, little angel," Farfarello said as he stroked Omi's flayed open heart, causing the other to shudder slightly. "After all, what's the point of dying if there's no beauty in it?"

~ * ~

Aya padded softly down the hallway, searching for any sign of a direction that he should head in. When Omi's sharp scream reverberated down the hall Aya decided he'd found his sign and went straight towards the noise. It led him to a dim, shadowed hallway close to the center of the house. The screams Aya had followed dissolved into sobbing as he drew near a heavy door. He pressed his ear against it and barely managed to make out a muffled voice. Knowing the risk was great, Aya decided the time for caution was long over with and threw open the heavy metal door. The shock of the scene before him nearly stopped him in his tracks.

Omi was pinned to the right wall of the room, completely covered in his own blood. The moment Aya burst into the room, Farfarello turned the knife he had been using towards the redhead. He lunged at Aya who dodged out of the way, pivoting quickly and swinging his blade behind him, catching Farfarello's shoulder. As the blade connected with the flesh of his opponent the Weiß leader felt something inside his chest rip. The sudden pain of it caused him to stagger forward and he barely managed to throw himself from the knife aimed for his neck. As he struggled to clear the haze of pain in front of his eyes and quell the fire that had suddenly started in his chest, Aya realized that his back was to Farfarello and that he was completely vulnerable. He spun to face the other man as quickly as he could but was immediately thrown on his back as Farfarello plowed into him. Aya felt the knife slip into his side clumsily, tearing a wide hole as it was ripped out. Aya grimaced and rolled to the side violently, ignoring the pain of his wounds and managing to flip Farfarello over. He quickly pinned the Irishman's right hand, keeping the knife still and slit his throat before he could react. Farfarello made a short gurgling noise as blood rushed from him. When his struggles finally stilled Aya lifted himself up, avoiding the frozen gold stare of his still open eye.

The blazing pain inside of his body turned to a slightly duller ache as Aya slid to Omi on his knees and began removing the knives from the boy's hands, trying his best to look over his teammate's injuries in the process. The younger assassin's knees were damaged beyond repair, there was no way he'd be able to walk on his own and Aya doubted he'd be able to carry the blond out with as weak as his body was. Omi had lost so much blood that the moment the redhead pulled the knife out of his right hand his arm fell; he was just too weak to hold it up. Aya tried to avoid looking at Omi's mutilated chest and heart, he wasn't sure if he'd be able to tear his eyes away again. As he worked the knife out of Omi's left hand he noticed the missing finger, growling in his own head about the pointless maiming that the boy had had to suffer through. The moment his hands were free Omi collapsed forward, unable to hold his own body weight up. Aya caught him and held him carefully, trying to avoid putting pressure on the other's wounds.

"Aya-kun . . ." Omi whispered harshly.

"Omi, hush, it'll be alright," Aya told him as he tangled one gloved hand in his teammate's blond hair and held Omi's head against his shoulder. Omi laughed harshly. "Aya-kun, I'm supposed to be the optimist. I know I'll be dead soon, I'm just so glad you're still alive . . ." Omi began to cry softly. Aya scowled at the top of the blond head. He knew there was no way he would be able to get Omi out of the house and to a doctor in time. Omi was right, he wouldn't survive. ^Gomen, Manx,^ Aya thought to himself.

"Omi . . . tell me what you need me to do."

"Promise me you'll find the others."

Aya inhaled sharply as he thought of Yohji. But, he reasoned, there was no point in lying to the boy now. "Yohji . . . Yohji's already dead. But I promise I'll find Ken for you."

Omi sniffed, trying to stop his tears. "Arigatoh. Aya-kun?"

"What is it?"

"Please don't let me go." Omi's voice was getting weaker, Aya could barely hear him.

"I won't Omi, don't worry." Aya nestled his face in Omi's hair, holding the boy to his chest firmly. Omi sagged against the other man as his breathing slowed. Even after his heart stopped Aya refused to let him go. When he felt he was strong enough to finally leave the boy he pulled back carefully, gently laying Omi on the floor of the room. Aya stood and excess blood from Omi's wounds poured off his leather jacket in a small waterfall. Blood dripped from every inch of him as he bent to pick up his katana. He avoided looking at Omi, knowing he wouldn't be able to leave if he did. Omi's blood sprayed from the jacket in every direction as Aya turned on his heel and stalked out of the room, hunting for someone else's blood to bathe in.

~ * ~

Ken tasted blood in his mouth as he bit through his bottom lip. He gnawed on the abused piece of skin, trying to draw his attention away from the pain being inflicted upon him elsewhere. The warm liquid gently lapped in his mouth, dribbling out the sides with each thrust Ken endured. Schuldig watched the brunette, not pausing in his stride. When he finally decided he'd been ignored long enough he balled one hand into a fist and brought it down hard on the Weiß assassin's cracked ribcage. Ken cried out as he felt his bones snap under the sudden impact of the blow and hissed when he felt the burning pain that he'd come to identify with shattered ribs. Enjoying the cry of pain, Schuldig laid both palms on Ken's chest and pushed down hard. He continued the constant, excruciating pressure, moving his hands to cover every injury the brunette had sustained. Stitched wounds were either reopened or suddenly inflamed by the abrupt pressure. The continuous reflexive noises that came from Ken pushed Schuldig over the edge. The redhead arched his back violently and spasmed, spilling himself completely in the younger man.

One final groan came from Ken's throat as Schuldig pulled himself out and slid off the bed. The German watched a broken and bloody Ken writhe on the bed as he dressed. When he'd finished smoothing the last of the wrinkles out of his clothing, Schuldig sat carefully on the bed. Blue-green eyes slowly opened and focused at the sudden feeling of a cool hand brushing the matted brown hair from his damp forehead. Ken was too tired to even flinch when Schuldig bent down and crushed his lips under his own. He felt the other man's tongue run slowly over his bottom lip, forcing its way into his mouth. Schuldig rolled his tongue around the younger assassin's now open mouth. He gently flicked Ken's tongue with his own and, after a moment, lifted his head away, leaving a thin strand of saliva to connect the two of them. Ken stared straight into Schuldig's blue eyes in surprise.

"You're mine until you die, Koneko." Schuldig whispered, dragging his thumb over Ken's cheek and under his right eye before bending down once more and kissing the tip of the other man's nose. The German fixed his jacket and checked the gun in his shoulder holster before heading to the door. As he stepped into the hallway, he noticed that the mental links that connected him to both Crawford and Farfarello were broken. He didn't have time to wonder about the situation before the shadows attacked him.

~ * ~

Aya strode around a corner and immediately slowed and drew his sword as he saw a door ahead of him open. The moment he saw orange hair he flew from the shadows and attacked. Schuldig turned at the sudden movement, narrowly dodging the blade aimed at his heart. As Aya's momentum carried him past his target Schuldig drew the gun Crawford had given him. Seeing the glint of the cold metal from the corner of his eye Aya dropped to one knee instinctively, ignoring the sudden blast of pain coming from his chest and side. He ignored the shot that went over his head and thrust his katana back, barely missing Schuldig's knee. Aya heard a shout of warning and threw his weight forward and to the right, rolling out of the way of yet another bullet. He jumped to his feet and charged at Schuldig, slowed too much by his injuries to dodge another bullet. He felt the small piece of lead enter just under his left collarbone, tearing its own path through flesh and muscle before exiting with a small splatter of blood. Aya ignored the new flash of pain and continued on his path, to Schuldig's surprise, successfully piercing the other's stomach. The gun dropped as Schuldig clung to Aya's leather jacket.

"I know you were behind this entire plan, Mastermind," Aya whispered harshly. "I wish I had time to make you suffer and to hurt you the way you did the others. The sins of their deaths will weigh heavily on your soul." Aya wrapped his left arm around Schuldig's body to hold him up. "Accept my sincerest apologies that your death must be so quick," Aya twisted the blade inside Schuldig's body and threw his weight against it, cutting through the German's left side from the inside. Blood sprayed violently across the white wall of the hallway as Schuldig collapsed on the floor with a small gurgling noise. Aya ignored him, peering into the room he'd seen the Schwarz member come out of. All Aya saw was a lean, tanned body and a mess of chocolate-brown hair before he was at Ken's side.

"Ken, please, tell me you can here me. Ken!" Aya nearly shouted, grabbing Ken's shoulders. Ken opened his eyes a bit and smiled weakly at the redhead above him.

"I thought I'd shouted so you would get out of the way of the bullet, not run into another one," Ken chuckled half-heartedly. Aya could see the pain clearly reflected in his now dim eyes. He wondered how badly the other man was hurt, the few surface wounds that he could see shouldn't have been giving the assassin so much trouble.

"Ken, are you alright?"

"Um, I'm not exactly sure. It hurts when I breathe. Aya, could you undo my hands?" Ken asked quietly. Aya nodded and placed the tip of his katana delicately through one of the chain links on the handcuffs. He twisted sharply, splitting the link and separating the cuffs. Ken let his sore arms fall to his side, hissing sharply at the needle pricks of pain that shot through them from being restrained in the same, uncomfortable position for so long. Aya brushed Ken's hair back behind his ear and frowned when he hit something hard. He began to part the hair carefully.

"Aya, don't," Ken whispered as he strained with the effort of placing his hand over Aya's. Aya removed the other man's hand and brushed the last of the hair away from the ear, revealing the long, slender finger resting against Ken's head.

"This . . ." Aya slowly trailed off as he remembered the single finger missing from Omi's left hand.

"He . . . he told me it was Omi's . . ." Ken let a sob escape his throat as Aya removed the finger. He placed it on the bed so Ken could no longer feel it and bent down to gently cradle his teammate's head against his chest, letting him cry against him. As he held the brunette head with one arm he carefully felt out the damage that had been done to Ken's body. He hissed sharply as he felt the two broken ribs that were impaled in the younger assassin's left lung. As if on cue, Ken's sobs turned into a coughing fit. Blood sprayed from his mouth and dribbled down his chin. Aya carefully wiped it away with one gloved hand. Ken grabbed his hand and Aya realized how weak the other man's grip had become.

"Aya, did you find him? What did they do to him?" he demanded softly. Aya hesitated, unwilling to give Ken the details. Ken narrowed his eyes. "What did they do to him?" he demanded again.

"Ken . . . Omi's dead." Aya lowered his head, unable to meet the pained expression in Ken's watery eyes.

"Yohji?" he asked quietly.

"He's dead too. Ken, I have to get you out of here, you need a doctor," Aya changed the subject as he turned to untie the rope still holding down Ken's legs.

"Aya, I'm not that stupid, we both know I'm not going to last until we get to a doctor." Ken coughed again, producing more blood. "I've got too many injuries to live through this one," he smiled gently.

"Damn it Ken, that's enough! I'm not watching you die too . . ." Ken reached down and clasped Aya's hand. "S'alright, maybe it'll stop hurting when I'm dead. We all knew this was a risk when we signed on with Weiß," he whispered and closed his eyes. Aya cradled Ken's head in one hand as he listened to his teammate's breathing become more ragged. "Aya . . . thanks for coming after us . . ." Ken whispered and smiled as his chest rose and fell for the last time.

Aya stared at the serene face for awhile, brushing away the tears he felt forming in the corners of his eyes. Eventually he forced himself to stand and drug himself into the hallway. He was wounded and tired, his mind floating in a haze of blood and pain.

"Aya."

Aya lifted his head at the sound of his name, seeing Nagi standing in the hallway to his left. "It's over, you're free like you wanted. Everyone's dead."

"Not quite," Nagi replied as he lifted a hand and threw Aya against the wall with a burst of power. Aya growled, fighting against the invisible force holding him in place.

"What the hell do you want?" he demanded as Nagi walked up to him.

"Nothing much," came the reply as Nagi shifted his hand and pushed Aya through the wall and into the next hallway. The redhead went flying through the door at the end of the corridor into a large, empty room. "You're right, I did want to be free of Schwarz," Nagi explained, "But it's more than that. I wanted Schwarz gone completely, utterly obliterated. And in order to do that, Weiß had to be destroyed too. As long as white exists, black will oppose it. Everything has to be destroyed or there will be no balance." Nagi's voice slowly rose in pitch and volume and his upper lip curled into an almost smile as he held Aya against the hard wall of the empty room.

"But Schwarz isn't destroyed yet, you're still here," Aya growled, "And you'll always be Schwarz."

"Very true. But see, I have no qualms about death. Once you're dead, I will be too. That's the only way I'll be free."

"Then why didn't you just kill yourself to begin with and save everyone the pain of this entire situation!" Aya screamed as he struggled against the bonds holding him in place.

"Schwarz would have lived on and nothing would have been accomplished. You see, I learned something from Crawford. No one was going to help me get out of this, I had to do it myself. And I knew you would come running when you heard your friends were in danger. You did exactly what I wanted you to do." Nagi applied more force and Aya's body dug itself deeper into the wall. The redhead could feel his wounds open and begin to bleed inside his body. "You have no idea what it's like to be trapped, living with three psychopaths," Nagi continued. "If they didn't die, I would have and they would have continued doing whatever they wanted without a single moral qualm to stand in their way. It was a matter of survival. I had to sacrifice them to save others in the future."

"Is that what you've been telling yourself so you'd feel better?" Aya shot at the boy.

"Urusai!" Nagi hissed and pushed with his mind again. "Just a little more pressure and your spine will snap like a matchstick. Then no one will be left to come after me."

"Except us."

Nagi's telepathic grip faltered and Aya fell to the ground. Nagi turned to see four bodies silhouetted in the doorway. He growled and sent a blast of power at them. The shadows scattered before it reached them, disappearing in the dark room. Aya felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up to see who it belonged to, his eyes struggling to focus.

"Hey Ran, long time no see."

"P . . . Pawn?" Aya stood at Pawn's insistence and the two slipped into the shadows. Nagi crouched near the middle of the room, waiting for an attack. Aya watched as Bishop and Knight darted from opposite corners of the room, drawing Nagi's power blasts toward themselves.

"I think you know what to do, Ran," Pawn winked as he and Rook followed the pattern. The four Crashers members continued to toy with Nagi, occasionally being thrown around by a telekinetic blast they hadn't quite managed to dodge. Aya watched as he steadied himself and drew his katana, waiting for an opening. He watched the slight pause that divided Nagi's attacks, realizing that it might be long enough for Aya to slip between and end everything. Pawn taunted Nagi, barely darting out of the way of a particularly large blast as Knight called out.
"Now Ran!"

Aya propelled himself forward as soon as he heard Knight's voice, covering the short distance between himself and Nagi in no time. Before Nagi realized what was happening Aya swung his sword, cold steel biting through the thin flesh of the boy's neck. With one clean slice Aya separated Nagi's head from his body and felt warm blood spray across his face. Aya heard the familiar thud of a body hitting the ground as he lowered his sword. Knight, Pawn, Rook and Bishop all emerged from the shadows and stood by Aya. Rook whistled appreciatively.

"You've learned a bit since you've been gone, huh?"

Pawn smiled. "Sorry we couldn't help more Ran but we're still under the same old rules. No killing and all that."

Aya nodded in understanding. "Why are you here?"

"Queen sent us," Knight told him. "She thought you might need some help."

Aya nodded slightly. "The others?" Knight asked.

"Dead," came Aya's one word answer. The group stood in silence as Aya's head reeled. It was over, there was nothing left to do. He dropped his sword and fell to his knees as Pawn and Bishop bent down to him worriedly.

"Ran, hang on, we'll get you out of here," Pawn put a hand under Aya's elbow. Aya shook his head and removed the boy's hand.

"Not this time Pawn. I'm tired and I'm ready to stop. This is the end." Aya leaned back on his heels, wavering slightly.

"Aya, come on, we're not going to let you die," Knight bent down behind him to try and pick him up.
"Dieing is easy. It's everything else that's hard," Aya whispered. "Please, take care of everyone's bodies. Tell Manx I'm sorry . . . that I couldn't save them . . ." Aya collapsed backwards into Knight.

"Ran!" Pawn cried out as the rest of Crashers edged toward their former teammate. Knight held Aya until his amethyst eyes finally closed. The Crashers team sat in silence until Knight spoke up.

"Get the rest of Weiß. We can at least honor Ran's last wish." Three nods answered him as the three Crashers left. Knight carefully picked up Aya's slender body and carried him from the dark empty room.

~ * ~

"That's cute, Bishop," Pawn grinned as the older man pulled away from the grave marker, leaving the little chess rook on top of the stone.

"Well, I miss just sitting quietly with him, reading. It was a nice change, he was always so silent and introspective. Not like this guy," Bishop elbowed Rook in the side.

"Gee, thanks. Hey, why were their ashes buried here?" Rook wondered aloud.

"This is where Abyssinian was first recruited into Kritiker and there was no reason to separate Weiß, even in death."

Crashers turned to the redheaded woman standing with Queen behind them.

"Go wait outside, I'll be with you in a moment," Queen told them. They nodded and filed out one by one. Knight paused. "Are you Manx?" he asked the redhead. She nodded. "He said to tell you he was sorry he couldn't save them. I'm sorry too; we didn't get there in time to do much of anything."

Manx turned to him and nodded slightly. "Thank you for telling me."

"Go with the others, Knight, I'll be right out." Queen ordered once more. Without another sound, Knight turned and exited the small temple, closing the door softly behind him. "Will you be alright, Manx?" the dark-haired woman asked quietly.

"I'll be fine. Go to your team Queen, all of us still have work to do." Manx waited until she hear the sound of the courtyard door being closed once more before pulling four flowers from her briefcase. One flower was placed in front of each marker stone and a short prayer said as each was gently laid on the ground. She paused in front of Aya's grave last and gently touched the stone. "Thank you for trying, Abyssinian." Manx's lips curved up in a small smile before leaving the four stones behind. The latch on the door clicked as she left, allowing silence to finally settle over the spirits of Weiß.