Disclaimer: gundam seed and Cluedo belongs to the people who own them…not me. However I do own this story. Heh.
Note: well this is the end. And I guess no one wants a sequel. Oh well…I doubt I'll have much time to write next year. All I can say is that, I've kept my promise. This is the end of the story. I never expected to have grown so attached to it; neither did I expect the gundam seed characters to lead me to such an unexpected finish. I think I've really learnt a lot. Kudos to all those who have been reading and reviewing, without you, the story would probably have come to a horrid ending (like my furuba one). So here's a big THANK YOU to all of you. I sincerely hope you will like this last chapter. Once again THANK YOU!
Chapter 22 – The End (Part 2)
"The police?" Fllay asked.
"Let's just follow the order." Athrun said, hurriedly, not knowing what would happen if they took too long.
They walked out one by one. Athrun taking the lead, followed by Cagalli, Kira, Lacus, Miriallia, Dearka, Fllay and Sai.
They did as they were told, putting their hands up high over their heads. And it was true, there were police cars surrounding the house, the red and blue lights flashing in the night sky. All around, policemen were crouched behind car doors, guns at the ready.
They spotted Klueze already outside, and being protected by the police. Then they saw who was the commander in chief. It was none other than Azrael! He came towards them and quickly hustled them behind the barricade of police cars.
"Are you guys okay?"
"Ya. We're fine. What's happening?"
"No time to explain. Is anyone missing?"
"We managed to find everyone."
"Wait. Yzak and Alyssa aren't here."
"WHAT?"
"You mean they're still upstairs in the room?"
"Didn't anyone tell them to come with us?"
"Apparently not."
At this point, Nicol tried to run back into the house, but thankfully, a policeman grabbed hold of him and prevented it.
"Okay, so there are still 2 people in the house?"
"Ya, and Aisha and Andrew."
"That's not good."
A voice boomed out from the house.
"I've got the girl. Don't you dare try anything funny. Just take the rest of the kids and leave, and I'll send the girl back to you."
Andrew was seen opening the front door and throwing Yzak out of the house.
"You still haven't told me who the murderer is!" Cagalli nearly shouted at Azrael.
"Isn't it obvious?"
"NO!" the group shouted.
"It's Aisha and Andrew." Yzak said when he came over to the group.
"And they've got Alyssa." He added.
"So what now?" Nicol asked, worried for his sister's life.
"We negotiate."
The police did try. With all their strange strategies and all, but Aisha would not accept anything. All she wanted was for them to leave her alone, and of course that wasn't possible. She promised not to hurt Alyssa, but who would ever trust a criminal?
Seconds turned to minutes, which turned to hours, still no conclusion had been made.
It was midnight. The police sirens had been turned off, most of the flashing lights as well. Some of the group had managed to fall asleep, even the police themselves were nodding off.
The sky was clear, and the stars could be seen in all their glory.
The standstill had been going on for 2-3 hours.
Those that were awake remembered the time spent at this house.
Yzak thought back to the walk on the beach, and of finding Nicol. Why had he been so dense? He should have gotten to know her earlier, but there was still hope. When all this was over he would ask her out. He smiled at the memory of him kissing her. He didn't regret the time he spent with her. That morning run so long ago. He had felt something, and yet he had buried it deep inside his heart, trying desperately not to think about it. How stupid of him, but he knew what he would do now.
Miriallia with Dearka asleep on her lap saw the image to Tolle running away, and all the care Dearka showered on her. She looked wistfully at the house, and prayed a silent prayer that Alyssa would be all right. After all, she had saved her. A stranger, yet so willing to sacrifice herself.
Kira hated this long night. It was like being trapped when he had been captured, and tormented when he had lost Lacus. Why had they picked Alyssa? On so many occasions, she had proved to have the courage and intelligence to solve many of the clues. Her passion for her brother and friends and the determination and perseverance had carried them on. Having been saved by her, he wanted to be able to repay her by saving her. But the question was how?
Nicol wrapped his hands around his legs and rested his head on his knees. It was happening again. Except the second time was even more painful. His sister. What was happening to her? Would she be all right? He looked at the house, squinting in the darkness. It was as if he could see through the walls. He could see his sister's face. Terrified and not knowing her own fate.
Indeed so many things had happened in the past weeks. Things had changed so drastically, and the group of friends had grown up with each experience. Their friendship had deepened, and the respect they held for each other increased. They had learnt much about each other. It was only during the most trying of times that the best of a person could be shown.
An orange light brightened the area, and there was warmth even on this cold night.
At first no one noticed.
"FIRE!" a policeman yelled.
Everyone was awake and jumped into action.
Aisha had seen how desperate the situation had become, and set fire to the house.
Azrael was calling fire engines, but the fire was spreading quickly. The house was wooden, and a wind was blowing.
Screaming was coming from inside the house. It was Alyssa.
Policemen had to hold Yzak and Nicol back.
"Let me go! SIS!" Nicol bit the policeman that held him and managed to get away.
But just before he could enter the inferno, a black figure rushed in before him.
Nicol hesitated and a pair of hands grabbed him.
Yzak had come to his senses and had stopped fighting. He held Nicol and shook his head.
"It's pointless. Don't go in and get yourself killed. She wouldn't have wanted that."
Yzak was right; Nicol knew it, but to give up like that? He stared at the burning house. Was it really over?
The screaming hadn't stopped; in fact it was getting louder.
The black figure that had run in dragged Alyssa to the still untouched front porch; behind him was Andrew with Aisha.
It was Klueze. He was about to step off the porch, when a gunshot sounded.
Behind, the house crumbled.
Klueze dropped Alyssa as Aisha took the girl by her hand and held the gun to her head.
"No one moves."
She kicked Klueze off the porch and stood there, surveying her surroundings.
The police were armed and ready to jump into action as soon as Azrael gave the command.
"Call them off Azrael. And for crying out loud, SHUT UP you stupid girl." she yanked at Alyssa's hair.
With no arm around her neck, Alyssa made a break for it. Aisha made a grab for her t-shirt, and tore off a portion. Andrew was quicker and held the girl back.
It all happened so quickly. No one had time to react.
Nicol whimpered at the near escape, and Yzak cursed under his breath.
However, during that one moment, something had changed.
"Arisa-chan?" Aisha suddenly said, her hold on the gun slackened and she stared at Alyssa with realization.
Alyssa looked puzzle, then started screaming, clutching her head in pain.
The police grabbed the opportunity. One of the policemen fired a shot at Aisha.
At the last moment, Alyssa flung herself over Aisha and the bullet hit her instead.
The fire had finally spread to the porch, and all around them, the wooden beams were crumbling.
Aisha was holding Alyssa's hand and crying.
"Sis?" Alyssa said and smiled.
Aisha just sobbed harder.
"It's okay. I just missed you."
She took Aisha's hand and kissed it, with her last breath she said, "I'm sorry I forgot."
With that the porch crumbled on them.
A sad reunion for 2 sisters, who had been separated for so long, yet loved each other so much.
As the fire died down, the dark clouds that had been blown by the wind let down their load.
The ashes smoldered, Nicol and Yzak were covered with black soot. No one was ready to move yet. The sudden turn of events was all too much.
The rain came down in sheets, and everyone's face was wet.
It was only when the fire engine and ambulance arrived that the police huddled the group into cars and brought them into the town. Klueze was sent to the hospital.
The group was put up at an inn, after washing up they crowded into one room and the whole story was told.
Nicol and Yzak told the story that they had found in the cellar. Things started to fall into place. This was confirmed the next day by Azrael, he had questioned Klueze who had known all along who was behind the murders.
A tale of revenge.
Aisha had not been able to accept the fact that her life had been ruined by those people, and had been plotting her revenge for years. Of course, the ones who had killed her mother were no longer alive, but their children were. She had secretly congregated all of them here, back at the house where it had all started. She had not planned for the children to turn up, but used them anyway. The cook's daughter, her younger cousin, and Mrs. B's daughter. They were her targets, and she had succeeded. However, she hadn't expected Klueze to give the police a tip-off. He had loved her since the first time they met, and didn't want her to continue down this path of destruction.
She definitely didn't count on her sister to be at the house as well. It was only when she saw the burnt mark on Alyssa's back that she realized.
She just wanted to get everything back, but little did she realize that she was sacrificing everything she had to do so.
Nicol knew that his sister was adopted. She had gone through a fire when young, and lost her memories. Her only link to her past was the flame like burn mark on her back.
A twist of fate had brought the sisters back together, back to their childhood home and death had come to collect what should have been his years ago.
The story was complete and yet they all felt so empty inside.
They returned home, but even this was painful for Nicol.
He saw the book his sister had been reading before she left. Picking it up, he opened it to where the bookmark was.
The flame consumes all in its path, leaving nothing in its wake, except destruction and despair.
The book slipped from his hands, and he fell to his knees. A single tear fell on the book, and the words went out of focus.
The funeral was small and simple. There were many regrets, but also a lot of fond memories.
Yzak and Nicol remained behind when all the others had left.
The day was clear and the wind whistled through the trees.
The 2 of them stood there, and in those minutes of silence, so much was said.
Yzak looked up at the sky, his face wet.
"It's raining."
Note: honestly speaking, I love to get reviews, cause it shows that the people reading have really reflected on the chapter, and wrote something. It has helped encourage me, and help me improve. So to all my reviewers THANKS! I hope this last chapter has lived up to your expectations. For that last scene…if you have watched FMA, you'll probably be able to picture it better. This is goodbye, but I hope I see you again in the near future. Heh…in the meanwhile you can check out my other stuff! Thanks for everything you've shown and given me.