AN/ Here is the end of this fic. Thank you to those who took the time to read and review it in its entirety. I hope to see you at my next spirit fic, which will come out in 2006. I hope you enjoy this final closing. Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukah and a Happy New Year!
It was early morning in Africa. The air when still was cool, but a warm wind was blowing, kicking up sand and dust. I predicted that the day would end up becoming a scorcher.
Serro and I hovered unseen in the air above the graveyard, Alan Quatermain's freshly dug grave below us. He had been buried next to his son, which I thought was a very considerate touch. A small gathering of Alan's British companions who still lived in Africa stood a short distance away from the grave, paying their respects. In the distance, a witchdoctor wearing a buffalo hide was chanting and mumbling in his native language, preforming some ritual near a small fire. Tom Sawyer stood beside Quatermain's grave, his Winchester resting across his shoulders.
Serro and I bowed our heads in respect for the dead. I remembered when Alan had tossed Skinner out of his cabin aboard the Nautilus and I smiled faintly. Quatermain had been a good leader for the League. It was difficult to imagine the team without him.
The remaining members of the League approached the grave site, emerging through the small crowd. Mina was back to wearing her long black dress, red scarf, and veil. Skinner, now fully healed, wore only his trench coat and hat. Nemo had on a uniform similar to his blue one, only this time it was black. Doctor Jekyll was still dressed fairly formally, but due to the temperature he had his jacket draped over one shoulder. The League formed a circle around the Quatermain graves.
"You remember he swore Africa wouldn't let him die?" Skinner said. "I wish the old boy had been right."
I smiled sadly. This was evidence to me that Skinner actually missed Alan. I think at that time he spoke for all the League. They all would miss him.
Tom took the rifle off his shoulders. He placed the butt of the gun on the ground and leaned sadly on it. There was a moment of silence, with only the chirping of insects in the back ground. At last Tom spoke softly, voicing another collective thought of the League. "What's next?"
"I have long hidden away from the world. Now I wish to see it anew as the century turns," Captain Nemo declared. He spread his arms and looked at each member of the League in turn. "You're all welcome to join me."
A faint smile crossed my features. "This seems like the best option for them," I murmured to Serro. He nodded, agreeing with me.
"We've all been hiding in one form or another," Mina said. This was the truth.
There was another small pause. The voice of the witchdoctor drifted across the scene on the wind.
"The Nautilus awaits," Nemo said, keeping the invitation open.
"So who's coming?" Tom asked quietly.
No one declined the offer. Nemo placed his palms together and bowed to Quatermain's grave. The rest of the team followed him as he moved away. The rest of the small crowd also slowly filed away.
"So long, old chap," Skinner said.
"Good bye, Alan," Jekyll added.
Mina paused longer at the foot of the grave, before finally following the men with a "good bye."
Sawyer clicked the safety on the rifle, spun it, then crouched down to lay the gun on top of the grave. "Thanks," he whispered to his fallen mentor. Then he too followed the League.
"We should go," Serro said.
I nodded. "Yeah."
As we turned and began to fly away, I couldn't help but glance over my shoulder at the witchdoctor who had approached the grave. I wondered "what if…?"
Then Serro and I disappeared.
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I stormed into my room in an angry calm. I took a few deep breaths and clenched my fists. My attempts to hide my anger were failing miserably. It had nothing to do with Serro taking me to see Cirque du Soleil. We had a wonderful, magical time. No, my rage was fuelled by another issue entirely.
I had just received news that my first spirit assignment, Kurt Wagner, AKA: Nightcrawler in X2, might not be in the new X-Men sequel. I was quite distressed by this because I had promised Kurt that I would see him again. I had been looking forward to going on another adventure with him, but now I was angry, afraid and unsure of what I should do. I had no control over wether or not he would be in the new film. I could only hope for the best.
I sighed and forced myself to relax. It wasn't the end of the world. They must have a good reason for him leaving. Maybe he wanted to contact his circus family in Germany. That was my hope. That and perhaps it was all just a mistake and Nightcrawler would be in X-Men 3 after all.
Suddenly I heard a voice behind me. "Nikita?"
I turned and smiled faintly. "Hey, Blizza." Blizza, also sometimes known as Anput, Melissa, Kyrie, Robin, Raptora, and Kena, was my sister. I didn't get to see a lot of her because we were both very busy with our assignments.
"Is something wrong?"
"Not really," I replied. Blizza gave me a look. She didn't believe me. She could read me like a book. "Okay, okay. I just heard that Nightcrawler might not be in the next X-Men movie. He was my first assignment, and well, I was really looking forward to seeing him again, you know?"
My sister shrugged. "Not really, but I can guess."
"Oh yeah! Sorry, I forgot," I said realising my mistake. You see, Blizza doesn't often get the chance to see her assignments again. My sister is a spirit of death. Her job is to guide the characters who die.
"That's okay," Blizza said. "Hey, I heard they're introducing a lot of mew characters. Maybe you could guide one of them."
I mulled that idea over. It wasn't a bad one.
"Well, we'll have to see," I said. "It depends on the characters."
"What did you do to your hand?" Blizza asked suddenly. She stepped forward and I held out my scarred hand for her to examine.
"You know the story. Skinner got torched. I had to get the fire off him." Blizza winced.
"It looks painful."
"It was," I said. "Oh, believe me, it was."
"So," my sister took on a more playful tone. "How was your date with Serro?"
"It was not a date!"
Blizza laughed. I blushed.
"Yeah, sure," my sibling said between chuckles. My eyes narrowed.
"And it went fine. We both had a good time."
Blizza grinned. "That's good."
"Oh, shut up." Now we were both grinning. "So, why'd you come here?" I asked.
"Other than to say hello to my favourite sister? I was sent by the Masters Warner. Seems they've got assignments for both of us."
"Oh, okay. Cool." I liked sharing a movie with another spirit, even though working with my sister was a double edged sword. Whenever she's around, you know someone's going to die. Somehow, she didn't let that effect her personality too much. She was generally fun-loving and a joy to be around when she's not working. "Do you know what the movie is?"
"Not yet, but it just came out in 2005."
"Oh goodie. Fresh meat," I said with a grin, rubbing my palms together. Blizza laughed and we exited my room.