Author's notes and warnings: knock knock Hello? Anybody there?

Summary for those of you who did not read AFL-WK-12: They are all together again on the beach. Wasn't that easy? Okay, a bit more: As they were preparing for the upcoming trip to Itu Aba, the Weiss boys found out about the deaths of Hikou and Kouran from some old computer files. Was Ceilen responsible for their deaths?

I really want to thank all of you who read this story… and haven't given up on it. You are the reason I haven't given up either. (cries) Unfortunately, FF(dot)net won't allow me to write messages to my reviewers so a group hug with the following people will have to do: Sirrah-chan, Shadowy Fluffball, Unofficial Schwarz, The Katgrl, Leila, Sakusha, Hcbenitez, Krysana, Ravenstar692003, Shinigami, Ambika-san, Sakata Ri Houjun, DragonLoverRyushi, Whisper Reilman, Kiawna, Aenisses Thai, Mrs. Passionate and LuceScuro. I truly appreciate your support. Please leave an email address in the review so that I can personally thank you.

Special thanks to my beta, Hitari-chan, who braved stormy weather to get this done. (hugs) AND to Xellas, for whom this story is dedicated. (loves)

A Fine Line – FY: Chapter 12 - Of Murder Mysteries and Little Green Men

By Moonraven

(day 7 – at the end of AFL-WK-12)

"It wasn't the Faction who killed them..." Tryffin didn't know what had made him say that. He wished he'd kept his mouth shut; they were all looking at him now.

"How do YOU know this?" Ken asked.

Tryffin shook his head and remained silent. Ceilen's expression when he had found Tryffin reading the girl's journal had been bad enough… he really wasn't looking forward to seeing the one where Ceilen found out he'd been yapping about it.

"Well… if it wasn't the faction, then who killed them?"

Since Tryffin didn't know THAT either, it was quite easy to keep quiet.

"I did."

Shit!

Tryffin shuddered at the chill in his bodyguard's voice. He couldn't bring himself to look at the man; he knew that Ceilen was back behind his icy walls again and Tryffin wasn't sure he could survive another attempt to bring the man out.

After several moments of stunned silence, Ceilen walked slowly forward and dumped the SCBA in front of the group. He looked from one man to another then said, "It has no relevance to what we're doing; I suggest you concentrate on the mission at hand."

The other men remained silent as they studied Ceilen, trying to weigh the situation and the possible repercussion of what was revealed. Ceilen was wrong. To these men, what the rogue agent had done had a huge impact on the trust they had placed on him. Could they trust him to watch their backs now?

Apparently Ken felt the same way… or he was just the only one to speak his mind. "Um… you killed a co-worker AND your girlfriend. HOW is that 'irrelevant'?"

Ceilen studied him for a moment and then said coldly, "How is it relevant? You've killed. One of them was a close friend, I believe. Should I take THAT into consideration as well?"

Tryffin heard several shocked gasps around him. He turned to Ken in surprise. He couldn't believe the brunet would do something like that.

Ken was staring at Ceilen, completely stunned. His face was pale and his hands clenched tight by his sides. "How…?"

Aya moved up next to Ken and gave Ceilen a menacing glare. "Kase tried to kill Ken twice and was responsible for countless deaths. Unless you're saying that Kappa and this girl were the same, don't compare them to anyone we've hunted."

Tryffin thought he saw pain flicker behind Ceilen's one eye but he was too far to see clearly and the man was too quick to cover it up. Ceilen shook his head, his expression still stony.

"You're right; they were innocents but their deaths had nothing to do with that," he pointed to the island they couldn't see but knew was there. "Not directly, anyway and I won't be making that mistake again. Ever." As Ceilen said the last part, his gaze turned to Tryffin and the redhead felt his heart sank to the sand below. He didn't know what Ceilen was talking about but the impending sense of dread was almost overwhelming. He was losing Ceilen before he could even have him and Tryffin had no idea why.

Before anyone else could voice their argument, Shinji gave a sharp cry of pain and staggered to his knees, clutching his chest. Kouji rushed to his side but the young man was oblivious, he cried out again, his eyes brimming with tears.

Tryffin saw the rest of the men dropped to the sand and crawled for cover. He stared around him in horror. Were they under attack? Someone yanked on his wrist and Tryffin found himself lying underneath Ceilen as the man used his body to shield him. Tryffin was too stunned to protest. He shifted his head so he could see Shinji but Kouji was already dragging the young man behind a large rock.

Ceilen suddenly pulled off Tryffin and stood up. "There's no enemy," he said quietly and then went quickly to Shinji's side.

"How do you know?" Tryffin scrambled to his feet and followed close behind.

"I just do."

"Of course you do," Tryffin muttered, shaking his head. Why he bothered to try and understand Ceilen was beyond him. The man was certainly NOT cooperating. Not far away, Tryffin saw Ken, Aya and Youji look around them uncertainly before following Ceilen to the younger assassin.

When they got to Shinji, the young man was curled on his side; his eyes shut tight, his hands still clutched at something over his chest.

Ken pushed Kouji to the side, ignoring the man's grunt of protest. "Shinji! What is it?" Then he pried Shinji's hands away to see the cause of the younger man's pain… and found nothing.

"Hurry… you must do it… now." Shinji's voice caught in his throat as he struggled to get the words out. They all looked at him in confusion.

Tryffin stared, opened-mouth; he couldn't say why but the sight and sound of that plea went straight to his heart… and he felt it breaking in little pieces.

"Do what?" Kouji and Ken asked at the same time.

Shinji didn't seem to have heard them but writhed on the sand in apparent agony. "Tasuki-san! Do it now!"

Something exploded in the back of Tryffin's mind and he staggered to his knees, clutching at his own chest. His heart contracted painfully and his head hurt. Something was happening to him… he didn't know what it was but it felt like his entire being was being ripped apart… his body and mind seemed to be holding back some unknown force and the intensity of it tore at his consciousness, suffocating him.

"Another one?" Somebody said. "What the hell is going on?"

Tryffin felt a hand on his shoulders, straightening him. He didn't want to move, the pain in his heart was more than a physical blow… he suddenly wanted to die.

"Tryffin!"

It was Ceilen's voice that brought him back. His bodyguard shook him gently and called out to him again. Tryffin focused and clung on to that voice… the voice that had brought him back from his nightmares so many times before.

Through tear-filled eyes, Tryffin looked up and clutched at Ceilen's shoulders.

"Why?" His voice shook as he tried to voice his confusion. "I don't understand. He said, 'Tasuki'. How…?"

"Shinji! Snap out of it!" They heard Kouji shout and Tryffin turned to see him slapping Shinji across the face hard. Before anyone could react, the young assassin stopped moving and slowly opened his eyes. He blinked dazedly at Kouji, and brought a hand up to cup his reddened cheek. Then he turned and looked at the stunned faces around him in confusion.

"What happened?" When Shinji's eyes came to rest on Tryffin, the young man took a sharp breath and clutched at his chest again, a glint of recognition flashed across his face briefly before it disappeared and he shook his head uncertainly. "I… What happened?" He asked again.

Tryffin rubbed at his own chest. The pain had already subsided but the memory of that desperate plea refused to go away. There was something… familiar about that awful feeling… about the way Shinji had looked at him. What the hell was going on? And how did the young man know about Tasuki?

He turned to Ceilen once more, his eyes wide with a sudden thought. "Are you doing this?" Then he grimaced in distaste. "But… this isn't a part of that… fantasy of yours… is it?"

Ceilen didn't look at him, his uncomfortable gaze locked onto a spot somewhere behind Tryffin. He did not reply.

"What are you talking about? What fantasy?" Youji asked. "And who the hell is Tasuki?"

By this time, everybody was looking from Shinji to Tryffin with what could only be described as 'a fucking lot of confusion'.

Ceilen glanced at Shinji, his expression matching those of the men around them.

Shinji shook his head. "It's not from him," he whispered. "It's an old nightmare. I had it since I was little."

Youji peered at him from over the rim of his glasses. "But you weren't sleeping."

"Yeah… and fantasy aside, hasn't HE been around a long time?" Ken asked.

Shinji shook his head again. "But I wasn't with Kritiker then… I'd never met Peregrine. Besides, my nightmare had mostly stopped when I'd joined the organization."

"Okay," Youji interjected. "Let me repeat this: you were not sleeping just now."

Ken clutched his head, and then noticing the exasperated look from Aya, he exclaimed, "No, I'm not thinking about my brain being sucked out by aliens! The twists in the plot are actually giving me a headache!" He sighed and turned back to scrutinize Ceilen. "Well…?"

Everyone turned their eyes to Ceilen, who was looking impatient and irritated. "I don't know anything about… what's happening to him." The man appeared calm but Tryffin saw uncertainly flickering across his face. He decided to push the point.

"But how is his old nightmare connected to you? Or to me?" Tryffin rubbed at his chest again, though the pain was only a mere memory now.

Ceilen stared hard at Tryffin and then turned to look unhappily at Shinji. Then he sighed and closed his eye briefly. When he opened it again, he avoided their eyes and stared off into the distance. "There are… things that are not on the CD I gave you."

"Ho, so it finally comes out," Youji snorted.

Ceilen gave him a dark look. "The less you know about it, the better it is for you. This was supposed to be a simple assignment for the infamous White Hunters. Search and Rescue is a trainee level operation. I gave you all the information you needed to extract them. You were supposed to go in, get out and leave me the hell alone!" Ceilen ran hand through his hair, exasperated.

"What have you left out of the report?" Aya asked, bringing everyone back on track.

Ceilen sighed heavily. "I'm not the only one that the Faction is looking for," his voice sounded tired but Tryffin thought he heard a hint of relief as well. It was as if he was glad to be able to share this burden. "There are others, I don't know how many more, but I intercepted and neutralized several of the Faction's past attempts."

"Neutralized or eliminated?"

Ceilen gave Aya a sidelong look. "Neutralized. I placed… shields; I guess you can say, around the targets. The Faction won't be able to find them again. Well, unless something happens to me." He shrugged and gave them a humorless smile.

"But," Ken frowned, thinking hard. "How do you know… about them? I mean… how…" He trailed off, staring at Ceilen and Tryffin could see that he was remembering the little green dots on the computer monitor. "Can you tell what they are?"

Ceilen shrugged again. "Most of the time, no. I monitored the Faction's communication so I knew what they were doing. Still, in some cases, I could feel a… strange connection somehow." He shook his head briskly. "It's hard to explain."

"Like the connection with Tryffin or Shinji?" Aya asked.

Ceilen frowned, glancing briefly at Tryffin. "With Tryffin, it's difficult to tell," he paused, looking uncomfortable. "We're connecting… differently so I'm not entirely sure what it is, but Shinji…" He trailed off evasively. Tryffin felt a rush of pleasure at Ceilen's admission. He suddenly felt like dancing.

"So… are you saying that Tryf or Shinji could be one of the people… like you? From another dimension?" Kouji moved closer to the young assassin and put an arm around him.

Ceilen frowned, irritated again at the mention of the other dimension. "Look. The evidence is not conclusive on the Shinzahou. They are still speculations."

"But you have to admit that you can do some nifty shit," Youji commented dryly.

Ceilen gave him a chilling gaze. "So could Schwartz and Esset and a number of people you've come across. Yet they are not linked to this project."

"You said 'things'," Aya interrupted with a warning look at Youji. "What else is there?"

Ceilen thought for a moment then said, "There are ancient texts written on several of the artifacts that were found. Within these past 15 years, the Faction managed to decipher a few passages that mentioned 'Keys' and a 'Guardian'. Apparently, 'Keys' are needed to open the gate but the Guardian is supposed to prevent that."

There was a long silence where everybody was staring at Ceilen. Then Ken cleared his throat with a little squeak and asked, "Which… which one are you?"

"Does it matter?"

"You have to be the Guardian," Youji said as he looked critically at Ceilen.

"Why would you say that?" Kouji asked.

"Don't you think he's fulfilling that role so far?"

"You don't want me to be the Guardian," Ceilen said quietly – too quietly for Tryffin's liking.

"Why not?"

"The Guardian's role is to stop the activation of the gate at all cost. That includes destroying the Keys." Here he looked pointedly at Tryffin and Shinji.

The silence that followed that little revelation was deafening. Tryffin shook his head, unwilling to think that Ceilen would do that. "No… I'm no Key, and you can't be this Guardian. You're saving them - these… Keys - that's what you said, right? The shield thing? To keep them from the Faction? You're… not destroying them. Maybe the real Guardian is sitting by the gate or something."

Ceilen sighed. "You're all assuming that there is a gate at all."

"Er… yeah," Ken snorted. "Better safe than sorry, you know. Besides, what were you doing shielding all those people if you didn't believe it?"

"I didn't say I don't believe it. There is something on Itu Aba – something extraordinary, that much I know. Whether or not it's Atlantis or a dimensional gate is another matter."

Aya frowned. "Gate or no gate, we have to go there, get Manx and Omi, and then find out what the Faction is up to." He turned to Ceilen. "Plans?"

Ceilen looked relieved to be getting back to the mission. He went to a small pile of equipment and pulled out a raggedy looking map. He came back to where they were by the rock and spread the map over a flat part of the boulder.

"We're here." He pointed to a crescent-shaped island. "And here is Itu Aba." He trailed a finger from their location to a much larger island a few inches away on the paper. "We have to approach from the south side. The reefs are thicker in that area. They're counting on that to guard against intruders so the security is lighter here." Ceilen tapped an area on the island. "That's where we're going in."

"And we're going to avoid getting shredded on the reefs… by going in at night?" Ken didn't sound like he believed it would work. Tryffin stared at the maps and the squiggly lines representing the reefs all around Itu Aba. His heart sank; there were A LOT of those lines where they were heading and Tryffin had watched enough National Geographic to know that NOT making it alive to the island was a very real possibility.

"Tonight there's high tide," Ceilen's voice was calm and sure. "Even then, vessels, no matter how small won't clear the corals. That's why we're swimming." His bodyguard turned back to one of his packs on the sand and pulled out an aerosol can. "We have to seal any open wounds you have," he paused and looked pointedly at Youji's shoulder where the blond sported a square-shaped bandage. "A tiny drop of blood in the water tonight and we won't make it to the island."

"Sh… sharks?" Ken squeaked, moving a few steps closer to Aya. "I don't like sharks."

Aya sighed and shook his head but Ken ignored him and inched even closer to the redhead.

Ceilen stared at the brunet. "They won't bother us if we're not advertising." He tossed the can to Youji. "It's a sealant, very effective even in salt water. Make sure you help each other cover all open wounds."

"Is there another can?" Tryffin asked. "You cut yourself pretty badly the other night, I want to make sure…" Tryffin trailed off as he suddenly realized that there were no wounds on Ceilen at all… Most of the time Ceilen had worn long sleeve shirts… but today he'd taken it off… and Tryffin was too freaked out by his phobia and everything else that had happened to notice. Now, it was as if his bodyguard had never cut himself to ribbons just a couple of days ago.

"What…" He took a surprised step back. "How did you do that?"

Ceilen was quiet for a long moment then said, "I heal fast."

Tryffin shook his head, still not believing what he was seeing. He stepped closer to Ceilen and reached a tentative hand to touch the other man's chest. He traced the invisible lines he knew were there a couple of days ago, his hands trembling. "Nobody heals this fast."

Ceilen took a hold of his wrist, moving Tryffin's hand away from his skin. "I do." Then his bodyguard turned away and went to a black bag a few feet away. He began pulling fins and goggles out of the bag, along with some other things Tryffin had never seen before.

"I know you said not to ask but, where do you get all this stuff?"

Youji had come up to stand next to Tryffin, watching Ceilen with interest. "Do you have an underwater supply store on this island or something?"

Ceilen did not look up but continued to pull things out… impossible number of things that really shouldn't have fitted in that bag.

"Sort of," the rogue agent said evasively.

"You got a missile launcher in there too?" Youji asked, too amused in Tryffin's opinion.

Ceilen looked up, his one eye glinted strangely in the dimming sunlight. "If we need it."

Surprisingly, Youji smiled. And then he turned to his teammates. "Okay, that's it. Aya, I want him to come home with us. Or at the very least, I want that bag."

And more surprisingly, Ceilen smiled back, shaking his head as he went back to work. Tryffin wanted to take that smile and put in a box. It was beautiful.

When everyone was done sealing up any potential cuts that could cause them problem, they began putting on their gear while munching mechanically on nutrition bars – their dinner on the go.

Tryffin found himself in a strange daze. He could see and hear things that were around him but he couldn't seem to… notice them. It was like watching TV but not really paying attention to it. He should be nervous as hell but he wasn't… he was… almost numb. Was this shock? Was his mind shutting down because of his phobia? And why wasn't he more scared?

Tryffin wasn't sure when he finished donning his own gear… he wasn't even sure when he started… but when Ceilen tapped his cheeks a few times, he came out of his stupor and found that he had somehow put on the fins, strapped a knife to his thigh and some kind of tool belt around his waist. The last article reminded him of Batman for some reason.

He blinked at Ceilen, confused and more than a little scared. What the hell happened?

"It's alright." Ceilen's voice was calm and it should have the same effect on Tryffin but it didn't.

Tryffin looked around near panicked. It was almost as if he had lost several minutes of his life. Everyone else was all geared up and ready to go. He took a frightened step back, his eyes darting from person to person to finally rest on Ceilen.

"How can it be all right? I think I just… freaked out again. Are… are you doing this?" He took another step back. "You have to stop. If I… if it starts when I'm in the water…" Tryffin trailed off, trembling uncontrollably.

Ceilen took a hold of Tryffin's arms and pulled the younger man against him. "Shhh… it's alright. Nothing is going to happen. Trust me." Ceilen's voice was soft and soothing, his breath warm against Tryffin's cheek and ear. Tryffin relaxed and rested his head on Ceilen's shoulder, his arms going around his bodyguard's waist.

"I'm scared," he mumbled into Ceilen's neck.

Ceilen held him close, one hand stroking the back of his head. "I know, but I won't let anything happen to you. I promised."

Tryffin lifted his head slightly to look into Ceilen's eye. . "I know… but just in case…" He leaned over and kissed the other man softly on the lips. "I love you."

Tryffin had never made that declaration to anyone before, so he had no idea if the shocked expression on his bodyguard's face was the usual response.

He VERY seriously hoped not.

TBC…

Note: I'm sorry if the story seems to be moving very slowly. I would like nothing more than to get them going and take care of the bad guys but looking at their characters, the work they do and the subject matter involved, I feel that rushing ahead would not be realistic. Please let me know your opinion on this?