The Via Crucis Trilogy Chapter 3: Sub Species Aeternitatis, a weiss kreuz fanfic

Author: Mirrordance

e-mail: [email protected]

title: Sub Species Aeternitatis (sequel to Via Crucis)

type: series

spoilers: with references throughout entire series

warnings: angst, language, violence, yaoi

teaser: the time will come to pay for your crimes…

keywords: Ran, Schuldich, Weiß, Kritiker

"Sub Species Aeternitatis"

a WKff by Mirrordance

don't own anybody…

The wind was picking up.

For some reason he was acutely aware of this. The drop in temperature seemed sudden, making his skin crawl. The leaves rebelled against the trees, swaying, swaying. Restless but refusing to let go, as if they were the ones moving of their own accord, instead of being moved by the wind.

Maybe I don't have a right to be here, Ran Fujimiya thought. The lone figure stood on a slight hill, tall and dark in the sunset. His only companions were solid stones jutting up into the sky from their anchored places on the ground, like arms reaching in vain…

Thirty-seven graves from his thirty-seven betrayals. With them were several others, from Ken Hidaka's betrayals. And with them, was a funny little unmarked grave. This little area seemed set apart from the rest of the cemetery that held a lot of Kritiker agents' graves.

Or maybe, because he knew the tales behind the deaths, the only boundaries were the ones created by his mind.

I have no right to be here…

He knew it. The ghosts probably knew it too. So what the hell was he doing here?

"I don't know," he whispered, closing his eyes as he thought of everything that had led him here.

It began with a mission (didn't it always?). Ken got caught. Ran made a deal with the enemy to arrange for his release. It was not only against Kritiker's non-negotiation policy, it also caused the deaths of thirty-seven agents whom Ran had exposed--payment, for his friend's safety.

Upon reflection… maybe things started to go haywire for them when he had made his selfish decision to do as his enemy demanded of him. It was that decision that made him realize exactly how much he loved Ken. It was that love that pushed him to confession. It was that confession that caused inefficiency in their group. It had been that inefficiency that got Ken transferred. It was that transfer that pushed Ken to betrayal. Betrayal…

Maybe it was some weird poetic justice that made that happen, in the end. Ran gave betrayal for his love, his love gave it back at him. What goes around comes around…

There had been a peace that was reached afterward. Ken was… Ken. Always will be, on some level, even if he himself might not know it. But life was life too. Ran was pragmatic, if he was anything. It never could have been the same. So Ken left.

I have nothing.

Just like you, he thought bitterly to the graves. We're the same now. Are you happy?

They didn't seem to be, even with their triumph. The only gravestone that looked sympathetic was the unmarked one.

Ran laid a hand over the cool stone, feeling as if he had found a soul mate. Strange.

The man or woman who was laid here… gave body, name and soul to Kritiker. Nameless, honorable dead.

Ran marveled at the things one would give for whatever it was they desired.

His senses hadn't prickled until he walked into the closed-for-the-evening shop, and it was so dim and quiet it was unrealistic.

The eerie silence was irreverently broken by a voice--Ian's, Ran thought, who suddenly screamed for him to run the hell away, before being muffled again, after a struggle.

He was unarmed. They were fully-armed and totally outnumbered him. From the corners of the room appeared darkly-dressed men with stern expressions, skillfully restraining every member of Weiß and flanking none other than Manx herself.

"What's this?" Ran asked flatly, fearing he knew the answer. Maybe the angry gravestones would be happy now…

"You're under arrest," she said, evenly matching his tone, "for treason"

_______

"You were telling me to run," Ran said to Ian, who was standing on one corner of his cell, leaning against the wall.

"Huh?" the younger man asked, looking up from a deep contemplation of his bruised jaw. He, Yoji, Omi and the Accused were all there, in a heavy silence that even the redhead couldn't stand.

After Manx's announcement, he had come in peace, but wasn't going to be let out of their sight by his ever-cautious teammates.

"You were telling me to run," Ran repeated patiently.

"I thought," said Ian, "when they made the announcement for us not to get involved, that what they were accusing you of couldn't possibly be true"
--

"So is it?" Omi snapped, uncharacteristically tense and angry.

"What do you think?" Ran said evasively.

      "What I think has nothing to do with this," grated Omi, "Ran you have to tell us. We have to know. We deserve to--"
      "You don't know what you deserve"
      --

"Well that's as good as a 'yes,' isn't it?" Omi asked, angry, disappointed. Tears welled up in his eyes, but he bore them defiantly.

"Shit," was all Yoji could say.

"This is one fucking way to make a living," muttered Ian. Ran tolerated the comment; the short time he had been with the group, half of them had already betrayed the cause of Kritiker.

"Shit," Yoji said again, walking towards the exit, motioning for a guard to let him get the hell out. "I need a cigarette"

Yoji was in the middle of lighting his second stick by the time Omi caught up with him.

The two of them glanced at each other in acknowledgment, then stood side by side, looking around.

Omi broke the silence first.

"Can you just imagine it?" he asked bitterly, "Before you know it, I'll turn traitor too"
Yoji snorted, puffed on his cigarette, said nothing. The kid was angry. Justifiably. A brand new disillusion in his short life.

"He must have done it for good reason," Yoji said after awhile.

"Thirty-something deaths, Yoji," Omi growled, "what the hell kind of a reason could it possibly be?"
Yoji glanced at him again, then looked away.

"Times like these…" muttered Ian, continuing the thought in his head. Times like these he felt more misplaced than ever.

He's been with Weiß for roughly a year now, and was still unused to their moods. He had no idea what to do when Yoji left, followed by Omi. There was rightful disgust, in their part, for they expected much of Ran. It was true for Ian too, but the pity outweighed it. Pity? Hardly the word he had ever thought to put beside the redhead's name.

Ran, ever impervious, was looking at him thoughtfully.

"Shouldn't you follow them?"
"Shouldn't I?" Ian countered, "What the hell am I supposed to do, huh? You people should come with a manual"

Ran arched an eyebrow at him. "Thankfully, you wouldn't have to put up with me for any longer"
"What do you mean?" Ian asked, before he could think. Ran found no need to answer, because it was apparent from widened silver eyes that the Weiß rookie knew the punishment as well as he.

For a traitor, especially of this magnitude, the punishment was no less than death.

"Not to complain or anything," gulped Ian, "but why are they…um… taking their time? They were pretty rash about ordering out on Siberian…"

Ran's face cracked in a wince/grin. It looked too weird to be either one, it had to be both.

"The only witness to my crime," said Ran, "is questionable, at best. There will be a deeper investigation into my case"

"Who's the witness?"
--

Manx contemplated the redhead who was sitting across from her, looking proud and vaguely excited.

"So he came peacefully, huh?" asked Schuldich, clearly delighted. "Did you ask him about what I said? Do you believe me now?"
Manx stared at him, took her time in replying. The German had come to her, seeking amnesty. He was, more than anything, a pragmatic person. Alone, now, and very much hunted. Amnesty for some very valuable information. Manx couldn't resist.

She had no idea it would be this kind of information, though…

"I told him what he was accused of," she said at last, "nothing specific. I wanted more from you before we move on to interrogating him"

Schuldich frowned. "We took Siberian and ransomed his life for information, which Fujimiya gave. It cost you your men's lives. End of my story. I've got my amnesty, you've got your traitor. What more could you ask?"
"Why did he do it?" Manx asked him.

"Wait a minute," said Schuldich, "this isn't MY interrogation"

      "I need to know," Manx said, "You can tell me"
      "But it will be more fun hearing this from him"
      "Damn it," she spat, "I'd like to know what I'm getting myself into"

      "It will be more fun hearing it from him," insisted Schuldich. "Ask him. I want to watch--"
      "You know what?" snapped Manx impatiently, "never mind. Get the hell out of here. You're free and you're safe. But we're keeping an eye on you. First sign of even a minor screw-up I'll blow it up in your sneering face. Even if the only thing you'd ever do is theft from a candy store, I guarantee you I'll jump on the chance to arrest you. I'd love to kill you myself, right here, right now. But I hold up my end of a bargain"
      "Manx?" Schuldich said, as he got to his feet and headed towards the door of her office.

"What?"
"I think you're sexy"

"Get the hell out"

Desert.

It's been awhile, thought Schuldich, since he was last here. A lot has changed. It's almost always nighttime now. The oasis was permanently dried up, and shifting sands would soon cover the dead trees entirely. Still, Fujimiya stood there, probably the same place where Schuldich left him more than a year ago.

His Happy Place took a deeper sense of morbidity, with thirty-or-so gravestones here and there. The sands moved but didn't bother them. These wouldn't ever be buried, even by the harshest storms of his mind.

"So you told them," Ran said, arms crossing over his chest.

"My promise," said Schuldich, "had been that Siberian would not know of your treason from me. I think I pulled that one off, don't you? Ah, well. We've all learned our lesson. Crime doesn't pay"

Ran snorted, looked around. How could he be angry? There was just resignation now, and some harsh laughter over life and the shit that surrounds it. Besides, he'll die soon. All this will be behind him. He'd have hell to think about…

"What did you get from it?" asked Ran, referring to Schuldich's revelations to Kritiker on whom their traitor had been.

"Amnesty," said Schuldich, "all my crimes wiped clean. Brand new slate for me. And tons and tons of fun. I'd enjoy watching you go down"

"Kritiker is one hell of a group," continued Schuldich, "vigilantes who have a kind-of bureaucracy. No matter how outside of the law you say you are, there will always be some kind of rule to follow, as long as more than one person is involved. Interesting"

"So how does it feel to be this close to death?" Schuldich asked.

"How does it feel to actually BE dead?" countered Ran, eyes narrowing at the German.

      "I'll live forever"
      "You died a long time ago"
      Schuldich snorted. "Think what you want. I'm the one who won the game"

"You made up the rules," pointed out Ran.

"You believe in heaven?" asked Schuldich.

"I'll come back when you're in a better mood," said the German, as he started to retreat from the deepest part of Ran's mind.

_______

Interrogation.

Ran was far from being daunted by the idea; he won't be hiding anything, after all.

He was moved harshly into another plain room, with a huge one-way mirror dominating a wall, where his observers would be. He wondered if Weiß were there…?

It hardly mattered, he wanted to think. But he wondered… wouldn't they want to know WHY…?

His Interrogator stepped into the room.

The man was slightly shorter than he (no mean feat), with features all at once sharp and fair; a sculpted face, straw-colored hair in a patrician cut, emerald eyes cynical. He was lean and fluid, impeccably dressed in a dark suit. He looked just about as much of a secret agent as Manx did (which means he doesn't). Ran couldn't begin to guess at his age.

Cool eyes settled on Ran, which met his levelly.

"I'm not going to mice words," the man said, "you know how this works. There are people watching you; Manx, Birman, and several others who want to hear what it is you have to say. I don't want to get rough, but if I feel you're holding something back from me, I will do what I have to"

"Then you wouldn't have any problems from me," said Ran.

"Good," he said with a nod, "I'm Leopon, head of Intelligence and Reconnaissance, in charge of your investigation. I've been following your career, Fujimiya. There have been no complaints about you at all, save for one time, and that had been over eagerness in eliminating a target"

Yes. Takatori. He had been VERY zealous about that, to the point of nearly going against Persia and Manx's orders to bide his time.

"That's impressive," Leopon went on, "for a career that spans years. And very few missions which haven't been accomplished immediately after it had been given. You had one hell of a track record. And then, the last surviving member of Schwarz comes to us and says our Golden Boy is a traitor. We want to know how things happened from your point of view. Exactly. For your years of service, we owe you that, at least, to find out from you"

      "There was a mission," Ran said flatly, "Siberian was caught. He was missing for awhile until Schuldich, the mind-reader, contacted me in my head. He proposed a deal. To give him everything I know about Kritiker for a week, in exchange for Siberian's life"
      "You didn't tell anyone else of this?"
      "The mind-reader would have known I had," answered Ran, "he said so, and I believed him"
      "You know that Kritiker does not negotiate on captured agents"
      "Yes"
      "You not only violated that law," said Leopon gruffly, eyes aflame, "you have also knowingly jeopardized the lives of our agents in exchange for just one man"
      "Yes"
      "It's inexcusable"

      "I know"
      "Then why did you do it?"
      "I loved him," Ran said simply.

Emerald eyes widened, just slightly. But it was apparent enough that he was surprised, for it was a face that was used to being nonchalant. That extent of a reaction had been downright eloquent.

"You…"
"Yes," Ran said boldly, expelling air.

      Leopon crossed his arms over his chest, thinking. "You know the penalty for traitors"
      "Yes"
      "Didn't you ever think you would get caught?" snapped Leopon, "Siberian might have been safe, but agents would be dead, and so would you"
      "Of course I thought I could get away," said Ran, "It was a secret transaction. And I evaded arrest for more than a year. It certainly took you long"
      Leopon snorted. "Well, crime doesn't pay, does it?"
      "Neither does crime-fighting"

Leopon made as if to leave, then paused by the door. "Siberian… this was Ken Hidaka?"
"Yes"

"Fellow betrayers," he said disgustedly, "maybe you deserve each other"

He left the room.

Yoji rose from his seat in the observer's area and decked Leopon right on the jaw, the moment the man stepped into the room.

"Balinese!" Manx exclaimed, though made no move to physically restrain him. Yoji's rage seemed beyond control.

The blonde might have been disappointed in what Ran had done, but his loyalties were clear: Ran would not be abused this way. He hadn't deserved the insult. Neither did Ken. Leopon doesn't know them, he doesn't know of how hard it had been for Ran to love in the first place…

"Bastard!" Yoji yelled, about to take another swing on the fallen investigator until he saw Omi's face, an anguished face. His arm lowered. There would be just the two of them now. For him, then.

From the corner of his eye he noticed Ian, on the farthest end of the room, thought Yoji guiltily, forgotten. Again. But just as troubled.

The three of us. Right.

Birman helped Leopon to his feet, and escorted him out of the room for him to 'freshen up,' but it was pretty much fiction. He needed to cool off as much as Yoji did.

"Another scene like that again," Manx said, "I'll kick you out of here, understand?"
"Tell him to watch his mouth," snapped Yoji.

"I'm not going to tell him anything," said Manx, "He's in charge of this because he's the best. He asked for this because he lost two brothers. One of them was Abbyssinian's victims more than a year ago. The other had been Allwißend, murdered by Siberian"

Yoji ran his hands against his face, muttered a curse.

"He has a job to do," said Manx, "mainly to determine the extent of Fujimiya's crimes. After all, the sole witness can manipulate minds, apart from being an enemy. And to find out… who else might be involved"
"Meaning us, right?" snapped Omi, "We're not here to watch Ran. You let us in here to watch OUR reaction"

"Yes," Manx replied shamelessly,

"You pass."

"Just they wait 'til I tell them their little friend is dead"

"You'd do well to watch your goddamn mouth," Birman scolded Leopon. She had trespassed into the then-empty men's room, helping the agent clean up.

"You remind me of my mother," came the tired reply. It was almost a ridiculous sight, Birman armed with her tissue paper, cleaning his face and scolding him.

      "I know those boys," she went on, "they've been through so much more than you. He's guilty and he will have a traitor's death. But with all due respect too"
      "I hate him."
     "I know"
      "I hate them all."
      "I know that too"

The door opened to the sparsely furnished room.

Omi could see Ran Fujimiya sitting on the floor, ignoring the cot on one side. He looked up at Omi.

"I understand," Omi said, when the guard closed the door behind him, "I understand why you did it"
--

"I just wish…" he said shakily, "I just wish that it hadn't been you. That he had called on me, instead. That--"

He cut himself off, and fell to his knees and gave Ran a fierce hug, which made an odd expression cross the redhead's face. Hesitantly, his ivory hands raised up to the younger man's back, returning the embrace.

"It's okay," he said soothingly, "I'm all right"
It was almost funny how true that was.

They all knew it--he's dying soon. But he's all right now.

I'll die a traitor's death. But Ken's safe and away from this shit of a life. And Yoji and Omi… they'll have each other, plus one extra distraction.

Ian paced the observation room restlessly, as Yoji watched him from his seat.

"You're more anxious about this than I am," Yoji said lazily.

"I'm not anxious," Ian lied, catching himself and sitting in front of Yoji, turning a chair.

      Yoji watched him closely. "You know he's going to die"
      "Yes," Ian said through grit teeth, "I'm not stupid, Yoji--"
      "What does all this mean?" Yoji asked him, "You're pacing a room, you're genuinely concerned. But what does all this mean to you? You don't even know us! I just want to know…"
      "I don't have anything else," Ian mumbled.

Yoji nodded, accepting this. He looked away, composing his face even as he made a secret vow, maybe in salute of comrades he had lost…

In what's left of us, Ian, I'll make sure you'll have A LOT.

_______

"So…"

"What?"

Yoji crossed his arms over his chest, tilting his head at Ran in thought before replying to the prod. The two of them were alone in the cell now, just as Yoji wanted it. He waited for Omi to leave for some food, finally taking the hint. For a smart boy, he's kind of dense…

"Your sister," replied Yoji, couldn't really think of a better way to phrase what it was he wanted to ask.

"Keep her out of this," Ran said, just as simply, "she shouldn't have to know"
"She'll know something is up when she drops by the shop and doesn't see you there," pointed out Yoji.

      "She's seldom there anymore," said Ran, "she has a life of her own now, just as I want her to"
     "What do we tell her when she asks?"
      "I got reassigned"

"Another lie, Ran?"
--

      "Did they tell you," said Ran, "when they're planning to plug me? I'm certainly kept in the dark about it"
      "They aren't telling us anything," said Yoji, "they're wrapping up your case"
      "It's soon, then"
      --

"Yes, it is"

"Is there um…" Yoji hesitated, "Is there anything you want me to do for you before you…"

"My sister," Ran said, finding no other way to express how he felt, always been laconic.

But Yoji understood. Take care of her.

"Okay"

Leopon stalked over to Manx's office, broken nose and determined stride. He was carrying a thin folder than contained obvious conclusions.

He tossed the file, making it slide across her smooth desk, stopping only when she caught it with a finely manicured finger.

"There," Leopon said, "It's all legal fiction anyway, but that justifies everything. Not as easy as filing Siberian's case, but… there"
Manx didn't open the folder, and instead studied the man who stood before her. Triumphant, and yet… incomplete. It had been Abyssinian and Siberian who had taken from him his brothers. And he, in turn, had been their investigator.

Things have come full circle.

"What else do you want?" Manx asked him.

"His death," Leopon said bluntly.

"That goes without question," said Manx evenly. There had to be a catch here somewhere…

"I want to do it"
--

"Vengeance can only take you so far, Leo…" she said tentatively. Yes. One shouldn't let it consume him…

"Not vengeance," he said vehemently, "justice"
--

"All right"

It had been about two days since he's last been home and since his life had been turned upside down (again--does that mean it was turned back right-side-up?).

Ian looked at the brick building, at Koneko, ever-filled with chatting girls. It seemed like a separate life from Kritiker and yet…

He sighed, and pulled himself away from his pondering enough to notice a pretty girl chatting amicably with the other women from behind the counter, her toes playing absently with her right shoe.

Apart from Weiß, the only other people who manned the shop were Momoe (who had already retired), Manx (just for one time) and Sakura and Aya Fujimiya (both of whom he has never met). When Ran was arrested, Weiß left the shop closed, and yet here was this girl selling their flowers for them.

She seemed right at home here…

Oh, God, not here, not now and not ME!

This was Fujimiya's sibling, no doubt about it. He's heard snatches about her, mostly when Ran wasn't around, apparently because big brother liked pretending she lived in another universe altogether. A pretty world, unlike the underground which he had stalked like a master.

She has never seen Ian and he has never seen her; that's how long it's been since Fujimiya Aya touched the Koneko grounds. But of course, she would go home in the middle of such a crisis. Maybe Yoji or Omi contacted her.

Taking a deep breath, he stepped into the flower shop to the delight of the female populace, and a curious look from Aya-chan, who leaned down toward one of the ladies' ears to ask her who he was. Ian noted that she seemed to be handling herself well, despite the situation.

Ian headed straight for them, with a tentative smile on his face. He opened his right hand out to her.

"I'm Ian," he said.

      "Ian…?"
      "Just Ian," he replied, "you must be Aya"
      "Yes," she said, and he tried not to notice her right foot feeling the floor for her lost shoe. It was endearing, but from this close he noted that she wasn't merely pretty, but downright beautiful. Had Ran's regal features, surely, but gentler. Warmer…

But that's beside the point right now. God, I'm hitting on a dead man's sister…

"I didn't know they had a new guy around," she said.

"You've been away for a long time, I guess," he said.

"I got sent away to school," she told him, "Ran said, to get cultured and all. But mostly, I guess he doesn't like having me around"

"Maybe he just likes having you around somewhere else," he said wryly, taking her by the elbow and ushering her to a back room, closing the door behind them after charming one girl into watching the shop for a few minutes.

Once safe inside, from her point of view, his mood suddenly became noticeably graver.

"How are you?" he asked, "how are you taking all this?"
"…Fine…" she replied guardedly, trying to find out what was going on while pretending she already knew; otherwise, as was always the case, she wouldn't be told. He mistook her wariness for hesitation.

"You have to be strong for him," said Ian, "he's holding up well but he can use all the support anyone can give, even if he may not show it"
"Where is he now?" Aya asked, deciding it was a safe question.

"In a Kritiker cell," Ian said, "Yoji and Omi are with him, as you may have guessed, so he's not alone. It's getting tighter in there, as people are nearing his sentencing. I had to get some air"

      "I… see"
      "I'm not going to mice words," Ian said quickly, "it doesn't look good, Aya. He doesn't even bother to put up a defense. God… what a mess"
      She narrowed her eyes to slits, pinning him down efficiently. She bided her time. By now, surely, he'd have gone too deep, talked too much, revealed more than Ran would have possibly wanted, for him to turn back now and retract whatever he had mentioned.

"Would you mind overly much if I asked you what the hell you're talking about?" she asked.

"What?" he asked back, the implications of what he had said just beginning to dawn on him.

"I didn't come here because of some crisis," she said, "I came back because I haven't been here in awhile and I wanted to surprise him. So, here I am. Now what's going on?"

"Oh, shit"

"What are you doing here?" were the first words that fell from Ran's mouth, upon seeing the face of her sister peering at him from the door. She looked like a dream, something far and more than just a little bit impossible. She looked terrified and determined to be strong, all at once.

She stepped into his territory--only Ran could make a cage into a territory, she thought endearingly-- and waited for the door to be closed behind her before speaking.

"None of them would tell me what you did to deserve this," she said tightly.

"What are you doing here?" Ran demanded, rising to his feet from his place on the floor, looming over her in an attempt to daunt her into answering. "Who told you--"
"I'm here because I have a right to be!" she exclaimed, "And YOU should have been the one who told me you were in trouble!"

He stared down at her fiery eyes, all at once proud and irritated. She grew up, while he wasn't watching, didn't she…

Aya-chan, you don't need me anymore…

The idea made him all at once sad and jubilant. God, she confused him.

He encased her in a hug, and she contradicted the strength of her voice by sobbing against his shoulder.

      "You're a jerk," she complained, "you know I won't ask anything more when you do this"
      He smiled into her hair. "Of course I know"
     "Ran…"
      "I love you"

"Now I know you're REALLY in trouble"

He chuckled, blinking back the tears in his eyes. "I want you to be the best that you could possibly be, Aya. In everything. Be everything you want, do everything you want. Move forward. You don't have to look back. Just don't forget me either"
"Ran--"

"What's happening?" she asked shakily.

"Nothing I didn't do to myself"

"Tell me…" she begged.

He pulled away from her and locked his laser gaze on hers.

"There's more for you than this life, Aya," he told her vehemently, leading her to the door. "You don't ever have to look back…"

"Ran, I love you!" she exclaimed.

"She wants to go out now!" Ran told the guard outside, who hesitated, but interceded and ushered the young woman out of the room.

Ian watched miserably as Aya Fujimiya was led away from the cell, and started to be escorted out of the building. She didn't mouth a complaint. For the most part, she looked tired, confused and worried.

She doesn't know…

She was escorted past Ian, but paused momentarily to regard him thoughtfully, before moving on.

Maybe she did…

He stopped in front of Ran's cell, thinking.

Should he step in there, admit his mistake and risk the rage of the dead man? Or wait for him to cool off (and face his rage LATER)? Or wait until he dies and they never see each other ever again…?
I must be masochistic…

He signaled for a guard to open the door. Once unlocked, he paused by the frame and looked at the broken man within.

Ran had stood proud in front of accusations and an interrogation. It took a tiny woman to send him to his knees, in anguished sobs.

I never thought anyone could break you…

"I'm sorry," Ian said, voice shaking as he stepped into the room, "It was stupid. I never meant--"

He paused, for Ran raised his pallid face and met his gaze. The violet eyes weren't anguished at all, and he wasn't broken.

As a matter of fact, he looked… complete.

You people are so strange…

With narrowed eyes, the man named Leopon looked at the cell where the man he had hated kneeled in front of the younger Ian.

The two men held each other's gaze; an intense violet and an awed silver pair, meeting and clashing and… accepting.

He had seen how it had been for Fujimiya and his sister. It was… a strange sensation to see past his enemy. He had family too. He had… love too. Different, yes, but so much more the same than anything…

How could I kill you, when you are so much like me?

Execution.

Ran has been too resigned for too long to mind it too much.

He saw it in the grim faces of his escorts, who pulled him to his feet silently and efficiently and amazingly gentle. Eyed him with pity and anger all at once, as they led him to an underground, empty room. Men had been killed here routinely, he noted. He could smell it in the air, even as there was not a splatter of blood anywhere.

The men pushed him to his knees, facing the wall. They tied his wrists together on his back, and offered him a blindfold, which he declined with a shake of his head. He wanted to see, in his last moments.

His heart thudded in his chest, and he marveled at how much his body could betray him. He felt no fear and yet here it was, pressing against his flesh as if it were trying to get out.

Smart clicks from behind him signaled the arrival of Manx, who had paused about a foot away from him. Leopon, who had apparently arrived with her, tapped his shoulder to get his attention.

Ran craned his neck to look at the man.

"We shall give you the privilege of an honorable death," he said tightly. No apologies there, and no regret. Just justice.

Leopon stepped aside, and Ran found Yoji carrying his katana, with a tearful Omi on one side and Ian on the other.

"No," Ran said, looking at Leopon, then Manx, "I'm not going to take this away from you"

Leopon glanced at Manx in a signal, then stepped back as the redheaded woman stepped forward, drawing out her gun.

"Do it," Ran said, looking at the wall before him and closing his eyes, just waiting now.

"Funny," Manx said quietly and for his ears alone, as she leveled the gun to his forehead. "Ken… he said almost the exact same thing"

Ran's eyes popped open.

Desert.

But it didn't look the way it always did. Not as dark, not as cold. Not as bright either, nor as hot. It felt like a comfortable summer, with a quiet wind and a gentle light, like the eve of a setting sun, the brink of an ending day.

The sands were receding as the oasis came back to life. Before his eyes his old world crumbled to form a new existence of exuberance and color.

The waters rose and cleared, the trees and flowers bloomed. The gravestones remained though were covered in curling vines and roses.

Ken stood amidst it all, looking at Ran patiently as the redhead stepped forward, all at once hoping and telling himself it couldn't possibly be real.

"Ken…" he said shakily, reaching out his hand to the apparition, "You're not supposed to…"

"It was my time," said the soccer player cheerfully, "It's so much better here, Ran"

"Good for you," said the redhead, "But I'm going to hell"

"So was I"
"Then we go together"

"Then it isn't hell anymore, is it?" Ken asked brightly, reaching for Ran's hands across an eternity…

A clap of thunder.

The shot had been fired.

The body fell forward, long empty.

Leopon watched it all with vacant eyes.

Fujimiya was dead.

But the arm of justice is long, and would reach even those who fled it best.

The wind was picking up.

Yoji stood in front of two graves, amidst thirty-something others, set apart. Or maybe the boundaries were only in his mind…

God, it hurt so much.

He, Omi and…Ian too, would go on. They all would because that's how they're made. But damn it, life was short and if it had to be peppered with shit like this all the time, maybe it wasn't really worth it. Maybe.

In the light of an eternity, none of this really mattered. None of it would last…

And yet here he stood. Scarred but alive. Amidst immortal gravestones standing proudly atop secret heroes. Everything would eventually come to this. Death. And for those who are lucky enough, remembrance too.

The light of an eternity burned bright with the flaring of human hearts and human emotions.
"It's stupid that everything had to end this way," Yoji said in half-hearted bitterness, laying a hand on Ran's grave, and looking at Ken's newly engraved one.

"What the hell do we do now?" he asked in a strained, tired voice that Manx never heard whenever the blonde playboy was in the company of his two younger charges, Ian and Omi.

"That German," said Manx, evading the question, "he was found dead early this week"

"I know"

"It hadn't been you?"

"What?" asked Yoji wryly, "You'll kill what's left of us too? Tell you what, Manx. I wish it had been me"

"It was my job," Manx said.

"I know, I know, I'm sorry" he said, "I understand"
--

"Sometimes," she chuckled sadly, "Even I don't"

There seemed nothing else left to say.

THE END

March 7, 2001

1. Leopon is a half-breed cat. I wanted the character to be both cliché-militaristic and vigilante too. Btw, if you haven't figured it out, it was he who killed Schuldich.

2. Sorry I didn't quite know how to end it.

3. The title means 'in the light of eternity'

4. When I first wrote "Via Crucis" and it ended with Schuldich's escape, I hadn't realized I could resurrect him in this last piece at the time. I guess how the story goes is also surprising to me sometimes J