A/N: Just for those not familiar with Cyborg 009: Ivan = 001, Jet = 002, Francoise = 003, and Albert = 004. Also, if you're not totally familiar with the CLAMP 'verse, Autozam is a world in the Magic Knight Rayearth manga that Eagle, Lantis, and Geo (a version of them) live in. It's a dying, mechanical world.

Part 11:

Mey-rin and Bard had come to a stand still with the Black Ghost goons. The masked leader and his goons were in the covered bed of the truck with the prisoners. Bard flick aside his cigarette and said, "All we have to do is hold them down until we can find a weakness and get that scientist for Finny."

"That storm will help us keep them bogged down," Mey-rin pointed out.

Bard and Mey-rin crouched behind some bushes. Bard didn't miss Mey-rin shivering, but he noticed she didn't complain at all. She was focused on her work, which was why he admired her and Finny. Both were actually very good "soldiers" and did their work as expected.

"If they break cover, we'll take the truck over and hold the ground," Bard ordered.

Mey-rin nodded and watched over the truck like a hawk. Meanwhile, Bard worried over Finny; he hoped the kid was being looked after. He was able to put that aside, because he was sure Snake was with Finny. He had to give the footman credit; he was, if anything, devoted to Finny.

Van Bogart was able to drive off the creature enough to escape. Narrowly. He couldn't believe he wasn't able to overcome this creature. He just kept coming and coming no matter what clockworks he sent. Finally, Van Bogart decided to retreat and beg forgiveness from Scar later. Several hours of this was too much time to waste, when he could be helping get the clockwork cyborgs under Black Ghost control once again.

He'd get to the rally point and meet up with the others soon, Helen and Venus trailed behind. This was not going to be easy in the slightest. He knew the creature would follow, and he was hoping for back-up from other Black Ghost members, besides just the pride of completing his mission.

On the way towards the rally point, just on the edge of the Parisian boarder, he saw the transport truck had a flat tire and was stranded on the side of the road. He was baffled as to why Scar's men were cowering in the bed of the truck, but then he spotted that redheaded wench and that brutish American, the Earl of Phantomhive's people. They were covering the truck with rifles in spite of the snow picking up.

He gritted his teeth, took cover, and readied his gun. He aimed for the redheaded wench and fired. The brutish American somehow knew the bullet was coming for her and actually dove on top of her. The blond chef had saved her life, but Van Bogart knew he had wounded her, at least. Good! Finally, something was going right.

Then he heard the rustle of fabric. He dodged to his right. The upwardly arching scythe barely missed him. He swirled and snarled at the long-haired, green-eyed creature, "Leave me alone! What the hell are you anyway?!"

The creature cocked his head to the side and said, "You would know me as a grim reaper. I take the souls from the living and then store them in a nice, big library. At least I used to... until I retired... because of her... Katerina." The right side of this grim reaper's face started twitching and there was a stifled giggle. "Katerina told me not to leave you alone. She wanted me to hound you to death, and I'll do what I promised her.

"She wanted you dead, because you were the one who signed the death warrant on her child when it was discovered that he'd never would develop psychic gifts like what was anticipated," the grim reaper said, his long, gray hair swirling around in the wind and snow. "She asked one thing of me: to kill you if you came after Nikolay. You raised your hand to him, therefor you die."

"Who gives a fuck about that kid?! He's an experiment and a freak! Nothing more!"

Van Bogart got a chill running up and down his spine when the grim reaper chuckled and smirked at him. It was a very patronizing attitude the long-haired grim reaper wore. The grim reaper pushed his glasses high on the bridge of his nose. Van Bogart wondered if he was imaging those eyes were actually glowing green. The grim reaper spoke. "He was everything to her, and she was everything to me. Now, he means everything to me, because she's gone. He is all I have left of her. I hate to break it to you... no, not really... but Nikolay is my son."

"The hell?! The Black Ghost said...!" Van Bogart started off and then took a step back from the strange creature. The grim reaper's eyes went from patronizing back to hellbent.

He slung his scythe over his right shoulder and chuckled. "Oh... you didn't know? I had... intimate relations... with her two days before those scientist tried to inseminate her with your foul seed. She never said a word, because she was afraid of her sister. She wanted a chance for OUR child to live. She lied and subjected our son to experiments, because she knew of no other way to save him from being aborted.

"It's true when I say Katerina and I didn't conceive him out of affection. I came to reap her because she was on my books. It was going to be a suicide. She told me her story, because she saw me coming for her, and I stopped to listen to her on one lonely, rainy afternoon. She told me how the Black Ghost was planning to impregnate her in two day and use her baby. After she told me her story, she foresaw that she'd end up bearing her true love's child. She wanted to live, then, for the child's sake.

"She knew Nikolay was going to definitely be mine. She was a precog, so she knew I'd shepherd her to England. She knew I'd spend all the nights of her pregnancy with her. She knew I was going to fall in love with her over all those nights, regardless of the child. Nikolay did help me become more protective over her and willing to take on her schizophrenia when the time came. That's why I bookmarked her life for almost six years, in spite of the trouble I would have been due."

"So you were the one who caused her to rebel!" Van Bogart sneered. "That's impossible that you impregnated her! No one could come and go off of Ghost Island without our organization knowing!" Van Bogart was in a rage after his shock washed away.

The grim reaper waved his left hand dismissively at Van Bogart's anger. Then he brushed back his shaggy, gray bangs and said, "Death has no boundaries. You should know that as a hunter." Again, the grim reaper snickered uncontrollably and then set a hard, serious gaze on Van Bogart. "So you see, Nikolay isn't your son, but mine. He was conceived before his mother and I had any affection for one another. That much is true. We both gambled. She never wanted to bear a child for the purposes of world domination; she wanted to bear a child out of love.

"I knew he was mine from the day he was conceived because his name appeared on my reaper's book. That, and she foresaw what is happening right now. On the rare occasion my kind does sire a child, we're given the choice of taking their cinematic record or bringing them into the agency. That's how I know he is mine and not yours. He's marked as a potential grim reaper."

"What? But the Black Ghost assured me! I was to start a master race with my seed!" Van Bogart roared. "That whore tricked me!"

"Trust me about what I just said." The grim reaper cackled and lofted his scythe. Then he said, "She and I ended up having much joy in cheating you and the Black Ghost, and we enjoyed destroying your folly of creating a so-called master race."

"What the hell? No one cheats the Black Ghost, and no one cheats me!" Van Bogart shouted, feeling a shock wave run through his body. He accepted what was told him, and then shook it off with ground teeth. "No matter! That bastard freak of yours is coming back to the Black Ghost!"

"I'm Nikolay's father, and I'll protect my child to the death." Then the grim reaper burst out in maniacal laughter again. "After all, death is my business. Isn't it ironic how you want to snuff him out, but I want him to live?"

"But... he should have been... he should have been... MY SON! His purpose was to start a whole new race!"

Van Bogart's eyes narrowed as a loud noise in the air came closer. He needed to keep the grim reaper in focus, but his attention was drawn to the sky. A dirigible was landing in spite of the snow storm. His instincts told him he need to hurry. Once that dirigible landed, things would change a great deal. He needed the upper hand.

He aimed his guns at the grim reaper and blasted away, ordering his clockwork girls to do the same. Now he was in a fury. His pride was damaged by this creature! He would destroy this grim reaper no matter what!

Snake held Finny closer. Sebastian had arranged a private cabin for just the two teens and had managed a change of clothes for both Snake and Finny. Snake had decided to cuddle Finny for a while before the dirigible landed. The bed in the cabin was small, but no smaller than what Snake was used to.

He gasped as Finny stirred and opened his eyes. Finally! "Finny! Speak to me! Tell me you're feeling fine!"

When Finny gave him a blank look, Snake repeated the same thing in German, hoping the younger boy would understand.

Finny slowly smiled, weakly, and said in English, "I'm fine, I'm here."

Snake tightly clutched him to his chest and said, "I'm so happy you're back. I didn't know how I was going to chase down your soul, but I swear I would have found a way."

Finny gasped and put his fingertips up to Snake's bandaged forehead. Finnian's expression grew very dark. Snake's body was still bruised and aching, but he schooled that, fearing Finny was catching on.

"I hurt you, didn't I?" Finny asked, tears brimming in his eyes. Finny started to raise his hand to stroke Snake's bruised cheek, but then he balled up his fist. Snake reflexively flinched. It dawned on Snake, just a hair too late, Finny was balling up his hand into a fist so he would NOT touch Snake. Finny was actually trying to restrain himself because he was afraid he had hurt Snake. The flinch caused by an awkward gesture had just confirmed what had happened in that flop house.

Finny's tears flowed and his chest was struggling to drawing in air. "But I never wanted to hurt you! I'll never be with you again! I hurt another boy I liked... it was... horrible! I hate myself for harming him! He was the last one like me and I... I should have tried to save him, but I didn't know how, and I... We didn't even know anything about the outside." Finny's face grew pale as Snake's amber eyes grew wide.

After several long moment, Snake timidly asked, "Were you in love with another before me?"

Finny's face grew confused, he then shook his head, and admitted, "I don't know, but I'll never know because I was forced to kill him. I killed him with nothing but my hands. He let me. He told me to do it. I was too afraid of what would happen if he survived the next level, anyway."

"The next level?"

"Yes, we were in the S-level. The one experiment that survived each level was..." Finny's eyes grew empty and he turned his face to the pillow, "...was dissected alive. It was so they would know about what they did to us. I didn't want him to suffer any more so I... decided to be... to live a little longer so he'd be spared that much." Finny's breathing became panicked, labored. It terrified Snake a great deal.

Snake was normally the jealous type, but this transcended any petty emotion attempting to flare in his heart. It was all quenched by his need to comfort Finny. He held Finny tightly and rocked him slightly. The gardener started to cry and let his grief out in nerve-wracking wailing.

Snake's own heart drifted into sorrow. He did miss his circus companions, but they had to be his past, and Finnian needed to be his future. Snake knew he needed to let Finny grieve right now, so that he could be Finny's future, freed of any fetters of the past. He did not want some ghost in Finny's past to come between them.

Besides, the horror he had just heard about the dissection made him sick to his stomach. And he though Lord Kelvin was bad! He started wondering why there were so many monsters in the world, as he buried his face in Finny's soft, strawberry-blond hair. At least there was this soft comfort.

Finny's breathing evened out and he murmured, "I'm so sorry I hurt you."

"I told you at Trancy House, I never wanted you to apologize for doing something you can't help. I'd never hold you responsible for what just happened to me at that flop house. I want you to know it wasn't your fault what happened when you were being harmed by those scientists. You need to forgive yourself for killing that other boy," Snake said. Then, he wanted to kick himself when Finny looked at him with imploring eyes.

"What did I do to you? Please tell me."

"No, I shouldn't tell you because you don't need to know. It would only trouble your mind," Snake insisted.

Finny's expression grew very grave. There was something different in Finny now than when they were at Trancy House. Something was not as fragile as it once was, and Snake wondered why. Or, maybe Finny hadn't been as fragile as he thought all along. Maybe he'd, once again, misjudged his mate. After all, for him to survive what he had so far, and remain in a sane state, was amazing. He planned on asking Finny about what happened when he was out of his body, but that had to come later.

Snake took a deep breath and was about to be honest with what had happened at the flop house. Snake was about to re-embrace Finny and confess the whole ugly thing, but there was a knock at the cabin door as the dirigible felt as if it was sinking towards the earth.

Snake answered the door after smoothing out his borrowed clothing. It was Sebastian letting them know it was time and to be ready to fight, if necessary. When Sebastian left, Snake was surprised to find Finny at his elbow with a warm smile. "Don't worry. We'll be safe. I'll make sure of it, no matter what. You're my most special person," Finny said. Something about that declaration chilled Snake.

Rather than confront Finny further, he got bundled up. Snake put on his Celes ushanka and gloves, and they left the the airship once docked. Sebastian and the two grim reapers were in the lead.

"How will we know where to go, Bessy? Paris is a huge city," Grell said, looking out over the city's softly glowing lights as the snow started coming down hard.

"I know where they are. Mister Watanuki told me when I was at his shop," Finny shyly offered to Madam Red's former servant. Finny was still groggy and leaning against Snake's arm.

"Oh? And what did you bargain off this time?" Grell asked, giving Finny a sour look over the rims of his glasses. He was afraid if he so much as touched a hair on the cute kid's head, Watanuki would send some of the creatures he had made friends with after him.

"Nothing. He told me that someone else paid the price for me so I could know," Finny replied.

Grell turned to Sebastian and asked, "Are we really going to trust the Dimensional Wizard?"

"Of course," Sebastian answered sedately. "You know it's impossible for the Dimensional Wizard to cheat someone out of a wish. If a person paid to give Finny some knowledge, then I have no doubt he got the correct information from Watanuki." Sebastian turned to Finny and asked, "Where do we go?"

"He said north, that way," Finny said, pointing down a cobble stone street.

Sebastian and the grim reapers jogged down the way Finny indicated as the snow started coming down harder.

Finny looked up at Snake and was pleased to see Snake seemed to be doing better in this weather than he normally would. "Are you okay, Snake?"

"It was that other boy, the one you were forced to kill, wasn't it?"

Finny felt a shock run through him. He had hoped to keep that to himself. "Yes," he admitted. "It has to do with S-013's wish. Apparently, he made a wish with Mister Watanuki's teacher. S-013 made it possible for me to escape and live; it was his wish. It wasn't clear why these directions were a part of the wish."

Snake nodded and said, "Let's catch up."

Finny followed Snake in worry. The boy had a grim determination on his face. He was afraid Snake would be in danger from the Dutchman, and Snake was still without his reptilian friends. His speech pattern still wasn't like what Finny was used to, and it unnerved Finny a great deal.

"Mey-rin!" Bard shouted. He only turned his attention to her when he was sure Van Bogart couldn't close in on them while he was dealing with the Undertaker. He kept the corner of his eye on the truck and his rifle, if need be.

She struggled to sit up. He ordered, "Lay down and don't lose blood."

"I'm fine, Bardroy. Look," she insisted. Indeed, She had only the barest of nicks on her left shoulder. Bard let out a huge sigh and helped her sit up. "You saved me."

Bard shook his head as he helped her up. "Later. We still have to get to that truck, if you can."

"But them?" she asked pointing over to where the Undertaker and Van Bogart, with his two clockwork robots, were going at it.

"Let them beat the snot out of each other. Let's take care of Finny!"

She nodded and started to follow Bard in an effort to take the truck. That's when they heard, "Stop! Wait! I have to do this!"

They looked over to see Finny racing towards them with Sebastien, Grell, and some other man with glasses in tow. They also didn't miss the miracle of Snake keeping up with Finny for some bizarre reason.

To be continued.