Light From Darkness
Summary: Sometimes, dawn can only come after the long night. Takes place during part 2 of "In Name Only".
Author's note: This is written with permission from Patti and Marg (the authors). The only character I claim to is Millennia. The rest belong to either Bing Crosby Productions or the authors of "In Name Only".
May 14, 1945
Home.
On the day that Wilhelm Klink walked out of an Allied POW camp near the German-French border, that had been not only his first thought, but also his destination. The thought was accompanied by a mixture of pain and uncertainty that bordered on fear, and for good reason.
Almost an entire year before, his entire world began to be turned upside down with the explosions of the Auschkeller Chemical Factory, caused by his younger brother, Wolfgang. It had turned out to be an accident, but it had caused the Gestapo to suspect Wilhelm's entire family. Things got even worse when 3 days later, Wolfgang was spotted near Hammelburg by both the Gestapo and members of Papa Bear's gang. There had been a resulting battle that cost one of the members, Kinchloe, his life. Only later that very same day, Colonel Hogan went to Klink, admitted to being Papa Bear himself, had custody of Wolfgang, and made a deal that the German Kommandant had no choice but to acquiesce to: Keep Papa Bear's activities secret and make it look as though Wilhelm himself had killed Wolfgang for crimes against the Fatherland, in exchange for the brothers' lives and the liberation of his parents.
That deal had also come at a cost more personal than he would tell anyone: Josef and Rikka Klink had , over the phone, disowned him. Months after that, Papa Bear and his cubs were removed safely from Stalag 13, while Klink was shipped off to the POW camp, as a prisoner.
Now, he was no longer either Kommandant nor in the German military. He was nothing more than a civilian.
As he walked onwards on the road, he saw, out of the corner of his eye, a person with long, black hair, and something dark blue. When he turned around to get a better look, though, he saw that no one was there.
Perhaps my time as a prisoner affected my mind more than I thought.
Perhaps now that the war is over and I am free, I can seek redemption in my parents' eyes with the truth, he thought as he patted a coat pocket that contained an envelope, My life certainly can't get any worse than it is.
Leipzig, Germany
Klink Residence
June 1, 1945
Why did I foolishly believe that things wouldn't get any worse? Klink thought as he sat on a sofa, putting his head in his hands before weeping silently.
Not more than moments after he rang the doorbell, his mother had shouted that he was not welcome, slammed the door, and stormed off. Wilhelm had opened it again, feeling a chilly breeze in the air as he did so. He hurried in to try to explain everything when he saw the family friend and local zoo administrator, Georg Usher, in the main room.
That had been when he was told horrible news. His own parents had declared Wilhelm dead, killed in a prison riot. His father, killed by Americans that had invaded the zoo.
He was losing hope fast.
00000
What Klink did not know was when he had opened the door after it being slammed, a small opening had appeared in the main room. Even if the two men talking had not been either drowning in deep grief (Klink) or getting water and coming through the door (Georg), the opening was invisible to the human eye.
On the other side was a very unusual place, indeed. It was mostly dark blue, although at times swirls of black would intrude. A tall woman was watching through the opening as Georg brought water for the other man, then spoke to him for moments.
"M...Millennia?" she heard. In this space, it sounded as nothing more than a light whisper, but she heard it anyway.
She made a shushing motion with her free hand as she continued to watchwhile a grief-stricken and despondent Klink gave his family friend the sealed envelope that was in his pocket and turned to leave, planning to disappear. She nodded in a way that would almost be called sympathetic as the administrator offered the ex-officer a place to work and stay and actually managed to get him to accept the offer.
"Millennia," she heard the whisper again. She closed the opening and turned towards the source of the whisper.
As she did, her back-length midnight black hair moved as though touched by wind and her dark blue evening gown with a modest V-cut shimmered in a way that made one think of stars.
"You saw?" she asked plainly, although her voice had a slight lilt to it.
"Yes," came the reply from a little girl with aqua blue hair and matching eyes. She tucked a lock of hair behind one pointed ear and asked, "Why are you watching that?"
"I have my reasons," the woman answered and raised her right hand,which held a silver and blue metal staff, designed in the shape of the Infinity sign. The staff glowed blue for a moment as another spot in the space opened.
Through this opening, Georg Usher had gone into Rikka Klink's room and delivered the envelope, telling her where it came from. She hesitantly took it and asked to be alone. After he had left, she took one look at the front of the object and, without even opening it, threw it into the fireplace, letting the flames devour it.
The woman's eyes widened, just a bit, as she saw the letter be burned until only ashes remained.
"That's mad," the little girl spoke in shock, "Did the man really do such wrong?"
"No," was the reply, "Not in the eyes of truth and those such as myself. It was the only way to keep a certain group from being discovered too soon, and the only way for either brother to survive."
"Can I—can we see what becomes of them?"
"Of course. I will admit to a little curiosity."
As the woman raised the staff again, the color changed from blue to silver, and the scene before the pair shimmered and rippled before changing, as though the sight was only an image within flowing water. As the pair watched, the woman's eyes went wider, she gasped, then her lips uttered words silently.
"No...how awful," she said as she closed the opening again, "That's not..."
"Hm?" the child asked.
"This..." she spoke as she held her head with a hand, her voice pained, "What we've seen...it's wrong. That's just not right!"
"You've seen many, many mortals with situations similar to this before, and you've never reacted like this. What makes this one different?"
A little boy's voice answered, "You're wrong, Tiempa. She has reacted to human injustice before, just not that often. Usually it happens with individuals and if the case is an extreme one. But she's right. That man will live the rest of his life alone, with no family or beloved, considered outcast by his very hometown. Considering everything, that's not fair or right."
The woman nodded and said, "There has to be..."
"Hm?" The girl, Tiempa, asked.
"Within the bounds of my abilities and restrictions...there must be something I can do..." the woman spoke.
00000
Leipzig, Germany
The sun had already set when a rather old man entered his room, located on the zoo grounds. The last of the public had left and most of the employees had gone to their homes and families.
All of them except for me, he thought sadly, Ever since June of 1944, I have had no family...after the war ended...
The man sighed very sadly as he sat in a chair. After he had returned home to Leipzig and the very unfortunate incident in his mother's house, he had planned to quietly disappear. He would have succeeded if it hadn't been for the family friend, Georg Usher, stopping him with the offer of work and a place to stay.
He had planned on it only being for a short time until he could find a place of his own and a job elsewhere. However, that plan went awry when he found that his name, Wilhelm Klink, was no longer in good standing with anyone in his hometown, not even his contacts within the aristocracy. He had been, effectively, blackballed, so Wilhelm decided to remain at the zoo.
Then Mama died ten years afterwards, he thought sadly, and even on her deathbed, she told Georg that she still never forgave me for what happened and cursed me for ever being born. Her will even forbade me from attending the funeral.
That last part had pierced him to the core, and with the pronouncement, his last hope for forgiveness had died.
As he started cooking his dinner, Klink let his mind wander only a little, looking at everything that had happened ever since his mother's death.
Georg died a few years later, he thought, before then the staff at the zoo treated me very coolly. Afterwards, it was more with open contempt. His son didn't like me much at all, but only keeps me on because it was his father's last request. I lost all contact with Hogan, Newkirk and the others, as well...
With the death of Georg, his last friend in the world, as he knew it, had gone, and he had become truly alone.
The thought of that caused an ache in Klink's chest that had become so regular that he barely acknowledged it as pain.
Wolfgang is either dead or he has forgotten all about Mama and Pappa...and about me. All I can think about that is...why? I did everything that Hogan said. I kept quiet about the operation, I went along with the lie that I had killed my own brother for the Fatherland, I even kept quiet as we evacuated Stalag 13 and I was transferred to a POW camp for some time. So why is it that you never contacted our parents or even me...?
His vision blurred for a moment before clearing, only to blur again, causing him to go find a handkerchief and quickly dab at his eyes. As he did so, he didn't feel the slight, extra breeze in the air.
Perhaps looking back is not such a good idea.
After he finished cooking, he sat down at the table and ate quietly.
00000
When, in the image, the elderly man had barely finished eating, the black-haired woman looked from the opening at the two pointy-eared children.
"It's finally time," she said, voice firm with determination, "Chronoi, Tiempa, you remain here."
"Yes," they said in unison, then the little girl added, "Good luck!"
"Thank you," she answered, then raised the staff towards the opening, moving it vertically across the middle, then pushing to the left as though pushing aside a curtain before stepping through.
As her feet touched the floor, she noted that they made no sound. Good, she thought and a second later, spoke.
"Wilhelm...Wilhelm Klink!"
00000
After eating the meager meal, Klink leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes for a moment, feeling a little weary.
I must have worked too hard today, he thought.
That was when he heard it.
"Wilhelm...Wilhelm Klink!"
The suddenness of the voice startled him, and his eyes snapped open. He stood and looked around him, trying to find the source, when he saw a woman with an ageless face, in a shimmering dark blue evening gown, complete with puffy sleeves and modest neckline, wearing a silver belt with the same pattern as the staff she was carrying.
"You almost look like one of the wives of the Kaisers of old," he said, wondering if he was dreaming.
Or has my mind finally snapped from all that has happened?
"I'll take that as a compliment," she replied, voice melodious with a slight lilt.
"You're far too pretty to be the Grim Reaper," he added, "But if you've come to take my life, all I ask is that you make it quick."
She raised an eyebrow and merely replied, "Thanatos, I am not, though I am here with his knowledge. I am Millennia."
His eyes widened at the sound of her name. Almost instantly, he exclaimed, "Der Zeit-Shultz!"
Both eyebrows went up and she answered with a tone of pleasant surprise, "Yes, that is what Germans call me. I am called other names, including the Governess of Time. I'm surprised that anyone, in this day and age, knows of or remembers me. Surprised and pleased."
He looked at her for a moment before asking, "I read the old mythologies while I was in a POW camp as a prisoner. I wonder, though, what brings Der Zeit-Shultz to my humble abode?"
"I am here for two things, Wilhelm."
"Two? What are they?"
"I have been watching you, ever since you left that POW camp and returned to Leipzig years before."
"So that was you I saw on the road, near there."
"Yes."
He nodded and said to her, "So...even you have come to rid--"
"By the heavens, no," she replied, "I rather believe that what has happened to you is not right...not right at all." Her black eyes were tinged with something that suspiciously looked like regret. She added in a low, sad voice, "Humans...they rarely ever learn, do they? I am truly sorry for what has happened to you."
"Der Zeit--"
"Please, call me Millennia."
He nodded and said, "Of course. Millennia, while I am relieved that someone believes my side of things, for once--"
"You want to know what that has to do with my business here?"
"Simply put, yes."
She nodded and answered, "Fair enough. First, your brother, Wolfgang, still lives, but across the ocean. That is where he found himself after that war, and that is where he has gained a family of his own."
He nodded and closed pained eyes again for a moment. "So," he whispered in a tone that was also filled with pain, "He did abandon our parents...and me."
Millennia found it hard to reply to that statement, much less nod in confirmation to it.
While Wolfgang thought it was the best thing he could do for his parents, what Wilhelm says is the truth. That's what he did, and without hesitation.
"I am sorry," she said quietly.
He nodded again and whispered quietly, "Danke."
She took a deep breath and continued, "The next part of the first task is this: I have a message for you. Josef and Rikka, once they died, found out the truth for themselves."
"Don't tell me they've been condemned to Hölle...!"
Millennia shook her head. "No, they are not. Though it may be some time before they go to Heaven. The message they have asked me to relay is that they forgive you for what has happened."
That made his eyes snap open as he turned to look at the woman. Tears welled in his eyes as the message sank into him.
"I...they forgive me...?"
"Yes," she answered.
He nodded to himself and closed his eyes as he turned away from her. For a couple of moments, his shoulders shook while Millennia remained still and quiet.
Now, his soul will have at least some peace, she thought.
" Der Zeit-Shultz...vielen Dank..." he managed to say in a low tone, then dabbed at his eyes again before turning to her.
She nodded once and replied in his language, "Sie sind sehr willkommen, Wilhelm Klink." Her tone then changed to her regular one as she asked, "Now, shall we be off?"
"Off...? Off to where...?"
She smiled a small smile as she answered, "To the heavens, of course. That is my second task here."
"Millennia, are you sure? I-I've done so much in my life--"
She cut off his statement with a quick nod and answered, "Your parents are not the only ones who forgive you. So does the highest one there is."
That answer took another moment to sink in. During that time, she narrowed the gap between them and gently took his hand in hers, giving it a gentle squeeze.
Klink walked towards her, looking a bit confused.
"Look behind you."
He did so and after a moment, he nodded, understanding.
On the floor, the body of an old man lay crumpled and still, his eyes closed.
She chuckled and said, "Come now, Wilhelm Klink. The time of punishment is over. The time of healing and forgiveness has begun."
"Yes...let's go."
She raised her staff, which now took on a white glow that surrounded the two of them, and within seconds, Millennia and Klink were gone.