AN: I've decided not to leave you with too much of a cliffhanger, so it is with a tear in my eye that I present to you the final real cloister. You'll find the epilogue also posted after this. Thank you to everyone who has reviewed or enjoyed this story.
Warning: You might need some tissues if you haven't already grabbed them for the cloister fifteen.
Cloister Sixteen
Isaaru looked up from his position in the middle of the Bevelle court. The space was dark, claustrophobic and designed to be as intimidating to the person on trial as possible.
Right now, it was working. If Isaaru felt anything, then it was intimidated. At the back of his mind was still the never fading hope that Beclem would somehow manage to turn up in Bevelle and help him escape, but that gradually began to disappear with every minute that passed.
Lucil and Elma had both been asked to serve as witnesses, on the basis that they were the two women that had assigned Beclem to his post in Bevelle in the first place. Wedge was also supposed to testify. At that moment however, the only other people in the room besides Isaaru were Dorian and a trio consisting of two high-ranking priests and one shy priestess.
"Where is Lord Baralai?" Isaaru asked as he cast his eyes over the faces that were present.
"On a diplomatic mission to the Machine Faction at Djose," Dorian answered, smiling quite confidently down at Isaaru. Isaaru frowned at this new side of Dorian which had emerged while he had been gone. It looked as though Dorian was power-hungry after all.
"We decided it was not worth waiting until Baralai returned to take care of a matter as small and inconsequential as this," Dorian continued. "I have been placed in charge while the Praetor is gone, so I will be the one to judge your fate. May I warn you before the proceedings begin that we have rather solid evidence of your involvement with Beclem, so there is very little chance that you will be able to get out of this without punishment. However…"
Dorian leaned over the top of the lectern he stood behind then and smiled once more at Isaaru.
"Having the news spread that someone in such an important position as yourself is a criminal can only damage the reputation of New Yevon. I will be as understanding as possible it if transpires that you were merely a victim of the evil trappings of the deviant Beclem. If you wish to be rid of this bad influence then all you need to do is tell us where Beclem is and we might be able to limit your sentence to imprisonment."
Isaaru considered Dorian's words for all of a second, before frowning.
"I do not know where Beclem is right now," Isaaru told the Yevonites.
"Well then," Dorian said. "Perhaps you can give us some suggestion as to…"
"And," Isaaru continued, ignoring Dorian as he kept talking, "even if I did know where he was, I would not tell you."
Dorian was silenced then, and he stared down at Isaaru with unreserved confusion and fury on his face.
"Beclem did not trick me, or lie to me, or whatever it is that you think he might have done," Isaaru said, glancing up at Dorian with defiance in his eyes. "And I will not tell you that he did to get myself out of trouble, because I love him."
The priestess gasped, and the two priests cast furious and shocked glances at him. Dorian frowned at Isaaru.
"I plead guilty to conducting a homosexual relationship with Beclem," Isaaru continued. "I love him; I made love to him, and I will not pretend that the greatest thing that has ever happened to me was no more than trickery and a series of heinous transgressions as you seem to think it is."
"If loving Beclem is a crime for which the punishment is death," Isaaru said, holding his head high despite the series of tears which had begun to run down his cheek. "Then I will die for it."
Dorian looked down his nose at Isaaru and nodded.
"Fine then," he said. "If that is the way this is going to be, then you, Isaaru, are convicted of being involved in acts of sodomy and being part of a deviant and dangerous relationship of an unnatural form. The punishment for this crime is death. We will advise you of the time of your death when it has been scheduled."
"You know Lord Isaaru," Dorian said as he paced in front of Isaaru's cell more than two hours after Isaaru's short trial. "I am quite surprised by your behaviour. I had you figured as a moral individual. More than that, I didn't realise you were the type to throw away such a position as yours for something so trivial."
"This is not trivial," Isaaru whispered.
Isaaru knew he must have looked a far cry from the great leader he had once been. Once he stood on grand balconies, head held high as he looked down on a city. Now, he was huddled up in the corner of a tiny prison cell, his head resting on his knees as he curled up in a ball with his hands around his legs. He wished that Beclem was there with him. He would have given anything to just hold his lover one more time.
Yet, despite his despair and loneliness, and the man that stood in front of his cell, apparently enjoying putting Isaaru through emotional and mental torture, he couldn't help but feel as though his position this time was so much more right than that of a leader. Somehow, this was the purpose he had been looking for his whole life. That gave him hope, and the resolve to ignore the harsh words of the man in front of him.
"I'm actually quite glad you've ended up in this state to tell you the truth," Dorian added with a confident smirk. "After all, with you in prison, and Lord Baralai off on diplomatic duties with the Machine Faction, it leaves me in charge of Bevelle. Thank you Lord Isaaru for this great opportunity."
Isaaru scowled at the man's sarcastically gracious manner.
"I am curious to know," Dorian commented, leaning against the bars of Isaaru's cage in an effort to annoy the ex-Summoner, "why in Sin's name did you do it? Was the sex that good, or was it merely the thrill of doing something highly illegal and the possibility of getting away with it?"
Isaaru scowled and jumped to his feet at that comment.
"I love Beclem," he growled. "Make no mistake about that. And he loves me. That's why. We love one another enough to risk everything."
"Love," Dorian laughed. "You call this hopeless scandal love. If this love of yours is so great, then why isn't dear Beclem sitting in this cell beside you?"
Isaaru sat back down with that comment, trying hard not to let Dorian's cruel words get to him.
"He is going to try and rescue me. You'll see," Isaaru said, trying to keep the conviction in his voice. "He will save me."
"I would like to see him try," Dorian sneered.
Beclem quickly glanced around the Palace, checking to make sure that no-one was in the area. It was clear enough, and he crossed into the next space, holding the strip of fabric over his mouth as he did so.
He sprinted over to the next building, lifting himself up onto the roof and sprinting over it, leaping from roof to roof over the next hundred metres, until he came to a gap that he could not make in one leap.
He peered over the edge of the roof at the ground below, making sure that the street was empty. He couldn't see anyone, and so dropped down, landing on the dusty ground beneath with almost no noise.
He scurried over into the shadows on the other side of the road, but was soon stopped by the cold metal of a rifle pressed against his forehead.
"What do you think you're doing here?" the other person that had been hiding in the shadows asked him. "You don't honestly think you're going to be able to break Isaaru out of prison, do you?"
The gun was lowered from Beclem's forehead, and Beclem turned around to see that the person that had spotted him was none other than Wedge. He frowned as he realised his chances of survival. Wedge did not seem like the sort of person to let him walk free.
"I made it this far," Beclem growled, drawing his own pistol from his waist. "I will not hesitate to kill you if it means making it the whole way."
"I'm not going to stop you," Wedge said, to Beclem's surprise. "Biggs would have wanted me to let you go."
Beclem realised that Wedge's hands began to shake when he mentioned his now departed friend, and a strange look passed over his face for a second.
"He would have wanted me to help you," Wedge insisted. "So… I mean, I can't actually help you break him out, but I'm not going to arrest you, and… They've got Isaaru in a maximum security cell. There's no way you will be able to break him out of there. Any rescue attempt you could possibly make would just end up with you dying along with him."
Beclem sighed and nodded. He took a deep breath and gazed up at the Palace, one loan tear making its way down his cheek.
"Thank you," he told Wedge. "Are you going to be all right?" he asked the guard, who was still shaking slightly.
"I'm not sure," Wedge answered truthfully. "I'm not sure of anything anymore now that he's gone, but…" He put on a brave smile then. "I'll do my best."
Beclem nodded and jumped onto the next roof, smiling at Wedge one he had reached the safety of that height.
"That's all we can do," Beclem told the guard, before he disappeared onto the skyline of Bevelle.
One thousand miles away, in the safety of one of the wings of the Machine Faction's base, Djose Temple, two old friends were meeting for what was supposed to be a rather politically important meeting, but which had, over the past couple of hours, dissolved into a casual and friendly discussion.
"This could make things difficult for us," Gippal commented as he drummed his fingers on the table. "I mean, the Al Bhed are naturally going to support these two, but you never know what could happen. It could lead to another fight between the factions."
Gippal had once been incredibly attractive. Now, with one eye covered with a black patch, and more scars covering body than the usual soldier, most people would say that he had lost some of his charm, but Baralai had always found that the rugged, slightly damaged look suited the blonde Al Bhed.
"I know," Baralai answered, leaning his head on the arm he had rested on the table. "Just imagine what it would be like if it was us though."
"All right," Gippal laughed. "I get the message. You know I'm gonna be on your side about this no matter what you say, anyway?"
"Yes," Baralai answered. "I know. It would be nice to have your official standing on the matter though, and I'm glad I do. I just hope we can buy Beclem and Isaaru enough time."
At that moment, a Yevonite entered the tent, a rather excited look on his face.
"Lord Baralai!" he called. "We just received news that they've convicted that deviant Isaaru. They're going to execute him tomorrow."
"What do you mean they've convicted him?" Baralai demanded of his subordinate.
"Lord Dorian captured Isaaru a couple of days ago in Luca," the Yevonite explained. "They tried him earlier this afternoon, and he pleaded guilty. He'll face the firing squad tomorrow at noon."
Baralai paled at this news. He looked down at the table to see Gippal staring at him, shock clear on his face as well.
"I have to go," Baralai told his old friend. "If I catch a ship bound for Bevelle then I might be able to get there before anything happens. I'm sorry that I couldn't stay longer."
Gippal sighed and shook his head.
"It doesn't matter," he told his old friend. "You're welcome to come by and visit any time you want. You know that right?"
"Thank you," Baralai said, smiling warmly at the Al Bhed.
"Good luck getting back there on time Baralai," Gippal added as the Yevonite exited the tent. "You're going to need it."
Isaaru's execution had been scheduled to take place exactly at sunrise. Once, the death penalty in the name of Yevon had merely involved throwing criminals into the depths of the fiend-invested chamber known as Via Purifico. Lady Yuna and her guardians had proved how unreliable this method was; slaughtering many of Via Purifico's most dangerous inhabitants in the process, and now the preferred method of execution was by firing squad.
Isaaru cast an eye over the opening that would, in theory, be the last place he ever drew breath in. All in all, it wasn't too bad a place to die. The ground was covered in a grey stone, which was bathed in a blood red light brought on by the sun's first rays kissing the earth.
His executioners were already gathered in a circle around the centre of the space. The firing squad seemed to consist of almost everyone that was in the upper reaches of Bevelle at that moment that owned a gun. There was Lucil and Elma; the darker of the two women looking very nervous about the situation. Wedge was also there, although he was gazing blankly at the sunrise; his mind clearly not on the execution. The rest of the firing squad consisted mainly of the remnants of Maroda's guard; the few lucky men that had not been sent to Luca.
Dorian; or Lord Dorian as he was being called by most of the Yevonites now that Baralai was away, stood behind Lucil and Elma, smiling confidently at Isaaru as he was led into the area.
"He'll be here," Isaaru growled at Dorian as they passed him. "You won't be smiling so widely then!"
"I feel sorry for you Lord Isaaru," Dorian said as Isaaru was forcefully led to the centre of the circle, making sure to place plenty of emphasis on the ex-Summoner's old title.
"You are still suffering from the tragic delusion that Beclem actually cares about you, and when you die, the last sad thought that passes through your brain will be the realisation that you were wrong, and your trust and emotion were invested in a worthless cause, because Beclem will not turn up to rescue you. The last realisation to pass through your mind will be that Beclem does not care about you enough to even be here when you die."
Isaaru stared defiantly at Dorian for a few more moments, but the man's confident grin did not falter, and Isaaru turned to stare hopefully at the horizon, waiting for his lover to appear.
Isaaru was led to a stone pillar in the centre of the circle, and he was tied onto it firmly so that he could not move his hands or arms. Isaaru sighed and hung his head, waiting for the gunshots to hit his body and end his life.
There was still hope though. It refused to leave him alone, and he couldn't help but keep glancing around him, looking for Beclem to turn up at the last moment.
"Ready!" Dorian commanded. The circle of gunners picked their guns up, a few of them double-checking that their ammunition was ready.
"Aim!" Dorian continued. The line of guns pointed directly at Isaaru. Elma now looked close to tears, and Wedge's hands were shaking as he held the rifle.
Dorian was just about to give the final order to fire, when someone yelled out, several people pointed, and nearly everyone turned around to stare at the back of the Palace.
Isaaru opened his eyes slowly, not willing to completely give into hope, but when he looked onto the Palace roof, he couldn't help but smile.
A figure stood on top of the Palace, silhouetted by the rising sun behind him. Isaaru blinked away the glare from the sun, and could just make out Beclem's cocky smirk from that distance.
Several members of the firing squad gasped in amazement. Wedge smiled at the other man, glad that Beclem was at least going to attempt to save Isaaru, despite his own warning to the man. For a moment, the guard wished that Biggs was alive to see this. Biggs would have loved it.
Dorian merely scowled at the silhouette, annoyed that the ex-Crusader had proved him wrong. Beclem didn't even notice the gesture however. At that moment, he only had eyes for Isaaru.
Beclem smiled warmly at his lover, before jumping up into the air, flipping as he did so that he could take several shots at the firing squad beneath them. They were perfectly aimed, and several people dropped to the ground with wounded legs. Lucil's rifle was shot from her hands, and clattered onto the dusty ground.
Beclem landed no more than a foot away from Isaaru, and shot at the ropes around Isaaru's wrists, before yanking the now broken bonds away from his lover's arms. He grabbed Isaaru's hand in his own, and began running towards the exit.
Beclem fired another couple of shots at the circle of people around them, none of which were returned. The firing squad seemed far too shocked by Beclem's show of bravery and marksmanship to do anything.
Wedge's grip on his gun had lessened, and the weapon fell to the ground as he stared at the couple, amazed that Beclem had made such a daring move to rescue his lover. It was inevitable though; there were too many people on the firing squad. There was no way that Beclem would be able to escape with his lover.
Soon, Beclem's gun clicked uselessly as he ran out of bullets. Those guards and Yevonites that had lost their weapons picked them back up and aimed them at the two men once more, but not one of them could find the will to fire their weapons.
The Yevonites advanced towards Beclem and Isaaru, forcing them to move back towards the stone pillar in the centre of the circle, and still not one single shot had been fired.
Beclem and Isaaru's hands slowly reached out for one another, and they smiled at one another as their fingers joined with each other.
"That did not go as well as I think you might have planned it," Isaaru said, trying to sound at least a little disappointed, despite the fact that he now couldn't stop smiling. "It does not look like we will be able to escape from this."
"I know," Beclem said, looking Isaaru in the eyes and squeezing his hand gently. "But at least you're not going to die alone."
Isaaru felt tears building up in the back of his eyes at Beclem's statement, and he reached out with both his arms, pulling Beclem into a tight embrace which the other man returned enthusiastically, neither of them caring about the firing squad that was now watching them with shock.
Several of the firing squad smiled at this action, all thoughts of killing the two men now completely forgotten, Elma and Wedge amongst them. A strange warmth spread throughout Wedge as he watched. Never in his life had he seen anything which made him feel so complete. There was something so perfect and inspiring about Beclem and Isaaru's simple act which made it one hundred times more rebellious and potentially dangerous than their survival would have been.
"What's wrong with you people!" Dorian screamed. "Fire! Fire!"
He was completely ignored.
Baralai ran through the streets of Bevelle, panting as he did. He had been fortunate to have caught a lift on a rather fast ship headed for Bevelle and was getting closer to the Palace now, but he wondered if he would be in time. The sun had already started spreading its light over the city.
A few shots sounded, echoing over the city. Baralai stopped in his tracks for a moment, but the sounds of scuffling continued, signalling that Isaaru had not yet been killed. He breathed a sigh of relief, and continued to run towards the back of the Palace, where he knew Isaaru was now facing his fate.
"I said fire!" Dorian screamed.
Everyone in the circle had their weapons pointed at Beclem and Isaaru, apart from Wedge and Elma, but no-one could find the will needed to pull the trigger and disturb the scene in front of them.
Beclem and Isaaru slowly pulled back from one another, but only by enough to look in one another's eyes. One solitary tear made its way down Beclem's cheek, before Isaaru pulled his lover close in a passionate kiss.
Beclem had heard the myth that your life flashed before your eyes before you died, and found this to be at least partially true right now. All he could think of was the events of the past six months; the first time he had ever seen Isaaru; the time Isaaru had been kind enough to offer him one dance; their first kiss. Every moment he had spent with the ex-Summoner flashed in the darkness of his mind as he clung to Isaaru.
"You idiots!" Dorian yelled at the circle of gunmen as he swiftly leaned over and grabbed Elma's gun from her hands.
"Shoot!" he commanded, firing one bullet directly at the two lovers. This seemed to snap the other members of the firing squad out of the shock Beclem and Isaaru's actions had plunged them into.
No-one heard Baralai's scream of protest above the roar of gunfire.
A swarm of bullets flew at Beclem and Isaaru, piercing their bodies in a hundred places. They fell to the ground together, the force of the bullets breaking their kiss. They lay together on the stone floor, one of Isaaru's arms flung in a half embrace over Beclem's side.
The bullets eventually stopped, and Isaaru and Beclem were left in the centre of the clearing, surrounded by a small pool of their own blood, mingling so that no-one would be able to tell where one person's life began and the other ended.
Wedge stared in shock at the two bodies in front of him, a scowl beginning to form on his face. His heart had skipped a beat when Isaaru and Beclem had brought their lips together, but now he wasn't sure if he could feel it beating at all. He was the only person in the circle that hadn't fired a single shot at the two men and knew he wouldn't have been able to even if his own life was on the line, and now these people had disturbed something so precious, so pure…
How could they destroy something so beautiful?
Wedge's hand tightened around the barrel of his gun, and he finally brought it up to aim at the person that had been responsible for Beclem and Isaaru's death.
Dorian barely had time to scream as three of Wedge's bullets slammed into his chest in quick succession.
The clearing was soon plunged into chaos. Baralai tried to get everyone into some sort of order, but between Wedge's screams, the people who were either trying to subdue or arrest the guard, and those that were still too stunned or shocked by Beclem and Isaaru's death to do anything, it would be a long while before these people felt anything near normal again.
When everything had eventually settled down, before anyone left the area, they couldn't help but cast a wistful glance back at the two bodies left in the centre of the cold stone floor.
In death, Beclem and Isaaru smiled warmly at one another.