7 The End
The spirit in the body is like wine in a glass; when it spills, it seeps into the air and earth and light…
– Anne Michaels ('Fugitive Pieces')
(Kal-El)
"Sometimes there is no legitimate reason why people end up being victims of a crime. By legitimate I mean a worthwhile reason that morally justifies what they were subjected to. With Chloe… there was nothing to rationalize her death – her murder – or the havoc that the Loss has wreaked. You see, you can't place all the blame on Lex – not for the bad business deals and his cold-heartedness. If you look beyond what you see now, you'll realize just how broken he is – how much pain he feels when wakes up every day to find that his wife is gone.
"… Yes, it's true; I am evading the subject at hand. I haven't quite come to terms with it – much like you, Lois. I mean, how can you really believe that someone you know – who is around the same age as you – has actually passed away? The truth is, you can't until everything regarding that person and their passing actually clicks… and even though I saw what I did, it didn't make sense. I don't know what it was in that instance, but… Perhaps I should actually explain what happened after Chloe was kidnapped."
Purple eyes flashed amber in fury; fury that was directed to his enemy – and to himself. Stupidity, disbelief… how could he not have seen this coming? As he rode through the streets, he felt desperation run through him. Himura Kenshin, the best and richest assassin on the entire planet, could not protect the one person that mattered most to him. His hands gripped the clutches almost desperately and he gunned the two-wheeled vehicle down the road towards the warehouse. Oh, he always knew where Shishio was – just as Shishio knew where he in turn was. It was just a matter of time before the bandaged man struck.
Kenshin never anticipated for him to do something as personal as this – take away the one you love; strike him where he is most vulnerable – the thing was, it wasn't Shishio's style. And yet there he was, Kaoru-less and angry and vengeful.
He hadn't bothered waiting for Aoshi this time… not when time was not on his side. The message upon the wall said it all:
The demon shall tear your angel into pieces… 0706
The numbers swirled around his mind. It was 6:50 in the morning…
Lana Lang stood in a shaft of dim light. For so long she had been the innocent little girl in the pink princess outfit on the cover of Times – for so long she had believed the world was filled with enormous joy waiting to be unleashed by her.
It took her long enough to realize that there was more than small-town crushes and melodramas. There was the rawness of life beyond the borders that she had for so long considered home. That was why she left. Many thought it was because she was running away… well, perhaps that was part of the reason – Clark had made pulled her to him and then pushed her away afterwards; it was a little game of tug-of-war – only the whole town knew about it; whispered to each other as they watched her walk by every morning, afternoon and evening – their little, pink fairy princess; a pitiful, beautiful creature.
No, she didn't leave because of the sad little looks, the endless lies and the cycle of breaking and mending her heart; she didn't leave Smallville for that…
Only after she was finally in Paris – thousands of miles away from her 'home' – did she realize just what she had left behind… and that this new place she had set foot upon was immune to fairy princesses – young or not… and then there was the heir to the world of opportunities. For so long she had believed that she had grown on him; gotten under his skin and resided there. There were so many indications of this – the recital of her favourite poem, the self-defence lessons he provided… the longer she stayed away, the more she wanted him.
And she was used to getting what she wanted.
So she came back – back to where her problems were – where a farm-boy and his loving foster family resided – where his not-so-best friend and her new prospective lover (she hoped) was. It was her mistake to make – and she made it.
His rejection cut through her – cleaved her world in two only to wrench it into smaller pieces until all that was left were the scattered foundations of her entire life. The humiliation of it all – how she had confronted him within his home only to be pushed away from him just after the initial touch of their lips in disgust – remained branded in her mind; playing over and over; touch, tension, push, then fall. Chloe's sudden appearance – Lex… Lana… I – I'm sorry, the butler just told me to come in – made what she experienced all the more intense – vivid; all the colours, the sneer upon Lex's face, then the sudden blur as tears began to fall from her eyes. Perhaps it was the fact that instead of true remorse, there was mild interest and amusement on the blonde's face that made her start hating the girl.
She looked down at the unconscious body at her feet – face down, the blonde tresses fanned out; her hand itching to grab a handful and yank at once; see if the flesh would rip off along with the strands of dirty gold. Something welled inside her and her vision grew red before it faded with the slow breath she took. She saw the world primarily in red or black.
(Vengeful, angry, selfish, insane…)
She glanced at the doorway, and saw a subordinate of Shishio-sama signal her. A smile graced her lips. Destroy the heir to the world by destroying his foundations as he had with me. Lana hunkered down and pulled the body upwards, facing away from her before she unsheathed her katana.
Remy sat, struggling and bound on the ground. He wasn't feeling her – he couldn't see her aura. She was on the ground in front of him and still there was nothing emanating from her body that was recognizable. He struggled even more, ignoring the harsh burn at his ankles and wrists as the ropes rubbed painfully upon his baby-soft skin.
Inside him were violent waves – waves that overtook all the joy and calm, leaving him distraught and fearful. Sister… mother… his Chloe… Lexie's Chloe… the child whimpered and struggled some more. He knew what was coming but he refused – something in his mind screamed that it wasn't real; it was all a hoax. But the black determination of their captor made him doubt – doubt the mind's voice that said she wasn't going to…
Something in the captor's demeanour changed. Blue eyes widened and the sound of rushing water filled his ears. He watched helplessly as the brunette lifted the body from the floor – so close; too far away to stop her – and unsheathe the sharp weapon from its place upon her waist. Their backs were to the young child, but the blade was shining in the artificial light – shining like something beautiful. If Remy didn't know better, that's what he would have thought. But the blade was ugly to him – painfully ugly. I didn't want to watch, but his eyes – wide and blue and filled with denial – stayed rooted on the pair. Just beyond his line of vision was the door where the pattering of feet could be heard.
The katana was posed for the kill. And just as Lex and Clark reached the doors, Lana gave a full-fledged smile and drove her weapon through the blonde's heart.
The air was filled with the screams of those were given their loss.
The tip glinted silver and red. Eyes wide and unseeing stared up at the ceiling. Someone smiled. Another's anguished cry rang out. It was the coming of mourning when the reign of blood began…
7:07… His chest heaved from excursion – not only the physical but emotional. She was propped up against the wall, her beautiful blue eyes open and slightly shaded by her soft black bangs. The sword was still protruding from her chest and a large X was carved on to the porcelain skin of her cheek.
Kenshin staggered towards Kaoru's body – falling short of getting to her. His eyes – so purple – were filled with an unspeakable anguish. He knelt before her body with the weight of silence upon his shoulders.
Gone…
Too late…
In the other room, Lex was thinking the same thing.
Grey eyes watched as the blood slid down the blade paused at the tip and then let go. The drop of blood seemed to be suspended in the air – then slowly fall towards the ground – lured by gravity to touch the dirty ground. And when it hit the sound was magnified – resonating like hollow bamboo against solid rock… or shattering glass.
It instigated something inside him – this rage that was beyond rationality. With an animalistic howl he brought up his hand – with a gun in his grasp – and pulled the trigger. It was a mindless moment. Clark forgot to move. Lana was too slow to get out of the way. Remy sat frozen, eyes filled with disbelief and tears, just a few feet away watching his Lexie.
The bullet lodged itself between the brunette's eyes. Lana fell back with a loud thud and her blonde captive dropped forward. Lex saw Remy at that moment. Their eyes locked together and they forgot to breath.
Solace, they thought in unison.
Lex ran towards his son only to stop halfway. Remy knew what he was thinking… he shook his head at his father. It's not true… But the bald Luthor wasn't convinced. The rigidity of his shoulders told the young boy of the man's resolve. With his back still turned to Clark, he said, "Quickly take Remy to Shinomori. Tell him to take my son – his nephew – to Japan. He is – is not safe with me here in Metropolis."
With an apathetic look upon his face, Lex regarded the blue-eyed raven-haired boy before slowly turning away. He shut out the muffled screams – desperately telling him not to leave him – and walked away... willing himself to forget everything…
The smiles, the laughter, the pouts, the games, the mischievous looks, the cakes books happy moments never ever ever forget I love you so much sunflower times by the pool making love never leave me…
Forget.
Remy didn't see or hear from his Lexie for over six months… there was only the bare cherry tree to keep him constant company – and remind him of the dead blonde, his father killing her murderer, and the bald man walking away from him.
FIN
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mwhahaha just kidding! ;)
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to be continued