Chapter Ten: The Dead and the Dying
Agron gripped sword in hand, tightening his fingers in amazement. Only a day ago he hung crucified on the cross, nails piercing hands as special punishment from Caesar. Had he survived the cross it would have let him without purpose. He did not understand where he was or who surrounded him besides his brothers and those from the ludus but he knew that the man who took him allowed his purpose to continue as well as returned Duro to him and so found himself unconcerned of his unknown surroundings. Seeing his brother soon after he was healed of his injuries had been a strange blessing, happy to find his brother once more at his side but bothered at the idea that he was saved from death by magical ability but Agron attempted to remain fixed in the thoughts that it was a gift unequal to anything he had or would receive in this new life. Agron had also realized that his brother was not the center of his world anymore, Nasir held that position now. He needed Nasir with him.
"Spar with me brother?" Duro called out request from across the training field. Agron looked up from his sword and nodded to his brother. They walked towards each other, meeting in the middle and Agron waited, it had been a long time since he practiced his killing skills on the sands of anything besides the battlefield. As a General of Spartacus' Rebel Army, he had no need to train the new people who joined them before he was taken.
Agron started for Duro, allowing the knowledge of the years past to take on his movements. He sparred with Duro for a while, looking for old weaknesses his brother suffered with before their separation at the fall of the House of Batiatus. He found very few remaining but after a time, Duro fell back on his ass laughing it off as he rolled to his feet once more. Agron had been forced to give full force to his ability but had done so to learn he was still better due to the time on field of battle instead of gladiatorial sands.
"Your skill has strengthened upon the sands," Agron said, pride coloring his words even as Duro lunged once more, having risen from ground without worrying about dirt pressed into his clothing which were much more cumbersome then those he left behind even after they donned armor of rebellion. Agron blocked and suddenly found him on the defensive. Duro had never in the past pushed Agron to defend instead of attack. Then Agron was stumbling backwards, tripped and fell to his back and he looked up with a grin before he rose again, heaving labored breath from his lungs at the work it took to battle this new fighting brother.
"I find myself under constant attack from the Beast of Carthage as well as Doctore, they beat the weaknesses from me."
Agron grinned, "I find myself proud of beloved brother's abilities, pleased that he stands ready for battle at my side."
"I no longer submit or request mercy, they do!" Duro shouted and rushed Agron again. Agron found himself taking hits, bleeding from small wounds inflicted before he fell beneath Duro's blade to the ground. Agron couldn't stop laughing, grateful for the chance to see Duro become a gladiator that would not need Agron to stand as protector. Then he sobered and his laugh died on the still air all around them as he thought of Nasir and the amazing warrior he became and Duro helped him to his feet.
"You fear for your lover?" Duro asked gently.
Agron turned from his brother; "I parted company from the one who my heart beats for so he would not die upon field of battle only to learn that he will go to war with Spartacus regardless of sacrifice. He will go because he believes it is what he must do."
"Your beloved, Nasir, is warrior?"
"One of the greatest I have ever known," Agron returned quickly, words echoed from days before when he said farewell to Nasir.
"Then you cannot be surprised by turn of events, he has lost heart's desire so he will see battle through to conclusion, in your honor."
Agron knew Duro spoke the truth despite the man not knowing Nasir. He would attempt to understand his lover's need to fight. He could do nothing to change Nasir's mind anyway, the Syrian believed Agron to be dead.
"Why do you guys have to injure each other when you spar?" one of the women, Claire, asked them as she walked over and laid a gentle hand on Agron's shoulder. He felt the heat in her palm shift to his body and knit the cuts Duro gave him during contest.
"Without pain there is no reason to keep fighting, to live," Oenomaus stated as he walked over to the group of them. Agron nodded to Oenomaus before he refocused on the strange sensation of healing. She and the other healer had been able to fix his hands but it had been a painful process with bones and the inner workings of his hands. It stood a singular experience, one that Agron prayed he would never have to experience again though he stood in gratitude at the full use of his hands once when no hope stood for him that day when Caesar put him to cross.
When Claire pulled away he nodded to her, "Gratitude."
"Try not to need healing for a little while please," she spoke and walked away.
Agron nodded again then looked to Oenomaus, "What of Nasir?" he asked.
"And Naevia?" Crixus demanded as he walked away from his sparring session with Barca and several of Greer's people. Agron found it amusing that Crixus and Barca had been set to fight two each of the others, the training of these people would offer challenge to all of them, much like training the slaves through out the war with the Romans. They all began as slaves and there were many of whom stood proud warriors when Agron was taken, they all were of worth, something he did not believe possible until he watched the fire of freedom and purpose begin to light up Nasir in the beginning.
"Greer will begin viewing Spartacus and the rebel army from the time Agron was taken, to learn when others will be taken."
"I would see them," Agron requested, he did not understand this 'viewing' they spoke of and he would stand idle and unable to do a thing to protect or speak to Nasir, it did not change his desire to see Nasir.
Crixus stepped forward and nodded, "I would as well."
Oenomaus give a single nod and led them towards the building in which Greer and the 'viewing mirror' always stayed, it was a dark gold now, bowed in the center like a large basin or tub and he did not understand what purpose it stood for, only what others had described to him in the past day since he came to this strange place.
Greer found himself looking again at the days before the final battle once more, not knowing what he'd seen before. He watched mirror as Naevia told of Crixus' end on the battlefield when Nasir stepped up to the tent doorway, "What of Agron? Does he share fate with Crixus, or is he yet of this world?"
When Naevia says nothing, her eyes tearing in the face of her young friend's lost expression, he walked away once more swaying as he did so. Greer brought his vision to follow the young man while he wandered across the encampment.
"His heart yearns for me," Agron spoke from the door and Greer nodded, knowing nothing else to say to the man in comfort or explanation. He couldn't apologize as it would do no good. He wouldn't apologize even though Johnny wasn't really speaking to him over this.
"I know not what he will experience after I removed you from the timeline. Do you understand I cannot take him until the end? Do you understand that you cannot touch him, save him from his path?"
Greer turned and watched as Agron gave him a single nod. He also found Oenomaus and Crixus standing just inside the door as well.
"Do you understand as well Crixus? I cannot take her until just before her time to die. Do not interfere otherwise I might not have the strength to retrieve all still left to take."
Crixus gave a single nod as well so Greer turned his focus back to the screen before them all. He wondered how both men would react when Spartacus took the men to war with Crassus, would they be able to understand his position. He snuck another look at Oenomaus then gave a nod to both gladiators. The Doctore gave a quick nod; he would do what he must to protect them all from themselves.
Agron watched as Nasir sparred with another, getting in a hit and shouting at the man who was fighting with him. He could do nothing for this little wild dog that his heart had been lost to now, not until it was time. Then Castus appeared just before Nasir was about to strike his opponent once more in unfounded retribution and despair rather than necessity. It was a sight Agron never wished to witness in his lover, he knew in the death of Duro how cruel and cold he could be and Agron already missed the wild little dog that Nasir had always been with him.
Their words were lost in the face of Nasir's emotions upon his lips and features. Agron had seen that little man smile, and react in anger but in all the time they had found comfort and love within each other's arms, he'd never seen the anguish so clearly written into the skin of his beloved. He watched as he punched Castus, pushing the other man away and Agron realized his mistake, for some unfathomable reason Nasir and Agron shared beating heart and he could never find another but he believed maybe Nasir could. Now as he watched Nasir's anger rise and the pain on his expression became almost unbearable to watch Agron suddenly knew that there would never be another for Nasir, as there would never be another for Agron.
He locked onto the shouted words of his little Syrian, "He is gone because of me! He would not have left with Crixus had he not seen the way my eyes fell upon you!"
Agron's heart seized within chest feeling as though it would stop after all in pain he saw in Nasir as he lashed out to punch Castus once more who easily caught and held him close, "The fault lies only in the times that we live. And the gods that turn away from the suffering of great men."
They stayed that way for a few more seconds and Agron watched the little Syrian slave boy take the place of wild little dog he had come to cherish above all others. He did not understand why he knew but Tiberius had returned to the body of his lover, the cold body slave who did as his Dominus demanded without argument or thoughts towards rebellion. "Nasir," he whispered, reaching out as if he could touch heartsick man through the mirror. Greer caught his hand and pushed it away gently before he could make contact.
Castus finally released Nasir only to drag him from sparring area and close to where food was served and Castus forced Agron's beloved to eat but that slave expression of nothing did not shift or wane. As they continued to watch as the day wore on and Spartacus brought Tiberius, son of Crassus, and his men into the camp for the games. Crixus kept steady eyes on Naevia whenever she appeared on the mirror's surface, his eyes shimmering with unshed tears as Agron tried not to do the same as they prepared to step into hallowed arena where Spartacus would honor the dead with the games.
Then in the strangest of experiences, he watched himself being crucified and 'dying' upon the cross, knowing that he'd been saved while held in that position. "Why must we see this?" Crixus demanded as Agron seemed unable to speak as he watched himself draw final breath and be thrown aside as if refuse to be discarded.
"I am deeply sorry, I had no idea I was seeing time before your crucifixion," Greer said but he left the scenes to play out. Agron understood the need to reacquaint the mystical man with the order of events when he changed unfolding time. It was not a subject Agron could ever understand but he did understand that this was price paid to retrieve Nasir and have him back.
Very quickly his perceived death was left behind and Greer refocused attention to the rebel camp where each gladiator and warrior took to the stands in a show of destruction of Roman soldiers. He watched Nasir take life, showing the emotion of the fight but never more than his rage against the death of his heart and the only way he knew to avenge Agron, through the killing of Romans.
But then, Caesar came for Tiberius and Naevia's hand was stalled for the lives of 500 plus men from Crixus' army, Agron not one of them as the guards found his 'body' dead upon cross. When those men and women were being reunited, he was not among them and he watched as Nasir looked through the numbers only to have Spartacus step close to the Syrian warrior.
"Nasir," Spartacus started but the younger man lifted hand to stall their dear friend from speaking words of kindness or any such thing.
"Agron joins with Crixus, so shall I at nearest opportunity after I see as many Romans to the ground before me," Nasir stated before he turned from his commander and walked away, Castus following close behind.
"I would watch him a little longer," Agron whispered to Greer and so they followed Nasir to nearby tent, one that Agron had never shared with him. Castus was standing next to the opening while Nasir moved around the room nervously.
"Nasir, tell me of Agron's final words to you?" Castus requested.
Nasir turned, glaring at the Cilician pirate. "I would have you gone; I have not the heart or body to gift you with. They will always belong with Agron."
Castus shook his head, his arms crossed over his chest in stubborn desire to have what he wished for; "I would have Agron's words before I take leave."
Nasir sighed heavily, head down and body shaking, "He would have me find joy in the rest of my days."
"Yet you deny him final wish by seeking your own end?"
"I would see end so I stand beside the only one to hold my heart," Nasir responded, finally looking to Castus and the pirate found nothing in return. What feelings there might have once been in sighing breaths and smiling lips died with one true heart. Agron knew this was the same thing that Spartacus had told him before about Sura, his fallen wife. That there would only be ever one to grasp hold of Nasir's heart and here was the result of losing that heart.
"There are no words to break further then, only to say that I would fight at your side when we face Crassus' legions."
Nasir nodded but sat down on his bedding, sprawling back and gripping fingers tight into eyes, rubbing at dry eyes while the silent scream that wished to release from mouth never came.
"Little man, funeral begin soon," Lugo spoke much later and Agron watched as Nasir dragged himself from bedding to find in the arena a warrior's death prepared for Crixus. He turned to look at the Gaul, seeing the strange expression, knowing that their most beloved brothers and family believed the head wrapped in cloth was him.
Agron watched as Lugo stood close to Nasir, Castus moving to other side as well. While Spartacus spoke of those who were saved, Nasir's face smoothed into that disturbing mask of nothing then Naevia took the torch, "For Crixus," she shouted and threw the flame to set the blaze burning.
Spartacus, the man who had lost so many brothers and sisters and lovers spoke next, "For Sura. For Varro and Mira!"
Gannicus spoke of his brother, "For Oenomaus."
Other's called names: "For Diotimos! For Rhaskos. For Sanus!"
Lugo standing so close to Nasir, making him jump shouted, "For Donar!"
And Agron was still so focused on Nasir he watched the little man whisper, staring into rising flames, "For Duro and Agron."
Lugo heard, pressing gentle hand against one shoulder while Castus shouted out, "For Agron, Gladiator from East of the Rhine!"
Friends and family called out others' names in respect as the flames rose into the sky, turning funeral pyre into beacon for those all around, "For Acer. Fortis. For Barca! Nemetes! Liscus! Mannus! Plenus! Tychos! Vitus! Sophus!"
Then they started chanting Crixus name over and over again; Agron couldn't bear the cold eyes on his Syrian lover even as he whispered, "Agron, Agron, Agron." It was as if Nasir didn't exist in the same world anymore.
His voice carried and the Germans' and Castus started speaking his name as well. But then Nasir stopped speaking; he pushed from comforting heavy arms of Lugo before turning and walking away from crowd as Spartacus spoke, "Split heavens with the sound of his name! Let it carry to Crassus and Pompey as distant thunder promising storm of blood! All those who are able will make final stand against Rome. And this I promise you; we will live free or join our brothers in death!"
Agron looked to Crixus, "They would seek their end on field as we would have it."
Crixus eyes were shimmering once more, "I would seek continued life for one so beloved."
"As would I but we can do nothing until they join us once more."
"In life after death," Crixus said before he walked away.
Agron turned his gaze back to Greer, "I would see Nasir a little longer?"
"Of course," the other man said and the funeral faded to see Nasir back in his tent as Spartacus walked in through opening.
"Nasir, I would see you over the mountains, with the others."
"Apologies Spartacus, but I would fight at your side once more."
"Agron would have you live; I know this to be true."
"And I would rejoin him on the banks of the afterlife."
Spartacus watched as Nasir slipped spear and sword close by, "You have become strong warrior in the time since you sought to end my life."
"Much has changed in the intervening time," Nasir returned.
"I would have you take Agron's sorely missed position. Stand as right hand to me and partner to Naevia on field of battle, and help me to loose all the Roman blood we can in the coming days."
Nasir nodded, pausing to stare at Spartacus, the blank mask still present despite emotional subject. "What would you have of me?"
"I would have you stand at my side while we prepare strategy to turn Pompey from us. Come and see yourself to proper command."
Nasir nodded and walked out of the tent, following close behind his commander. Agron found himself tearing at the thought that Spartacus trusted his lover enough to ask his help in the planning and strategy of war. Despite Nasir's original place in the world of body slave, he'd always been intelligent and would bring Spartacus much knowledge and informed words.
"I would step out for but a moment, please inform when they set forth to battle."
Greer nodded and Agron stepped from the small building, using rough siding to slide down and slump in the dirt and yet no flurries of dust rose around him, this place was ever still where even a gust of breeze was an impossible feat. He hoped soon they would leave this place, for one where day and night occurred on a cycle once more.
"Agron?" something or someone spoke into his mind. Agron looked up to see the boy, with hair the color of wheat fields and deep brown eyes, so much like Nasir's that Agron troubled mind could not keep looking into that similar gaze. He'd heard about this one from Oenomaus, close to Greer but incapable of speech, which is why he was speaking straight into Agron's mind.
"I stand the man," Agron responded.
"Why do you flee from visions of the one you love who still stands among the living?"
"I fear to watch him when he is once more Syrian slave boy and not the wild little dog who took heart from chest."
"Then you would not love the slave boy?" Johnny questioned.
Agron rose quickly, gripping young man's throat in quick and angry response, "He held heart from first sight, my eyes only shrouded of knowledge."
"Then see him in this form, the slave boy and know your wild little dog still lay beneath the surface only to be found once more when he finds himself within your arms," Johnny stated clearly to Agron even as his eyes shone as the golden gaze held Agron's in challenge. This little man, about the same body and shape of Nasir was so much like Agron's Syrian dog that Agron found his breath hitching in the mirrored gaze of his beloved. Greer's little man was correct, Agron found himself forever changed in the moments of meeting Nasir, seeing his momentary fire when he still stood as body slave. His grip slackened and Johnny slipped away from grasping fingers. Agron turned back to Greer and his strange mirror, finding Spartacus and others preparing for war.
It was time to see Nasir and the others take final stand against the Romans and wish them safe travel into the afterlife or this life, whichever it shall be.