edonil Posted August 23, 2011 Report Share Posted August 23, 2011 Phelan sat next to the fire, staring into the light blankly. The squad of soldiers were quiet, and had been the rest of the trip back to Malifaux City. After the events in the dining hall, Phelan had ordered the soldiers to kill the sentries, which had immediately brought about shock and protest. The assassin had nearly started yelling at all of them, frustration and rage building in him, but instead he had drawn his knife and gone through with the grim work himself. His hands had been dripping with blood as he cleaned the blade, and told the squad to pack up and leave. None of them, even Sabine, had been talking to him on the way back. Not that he could blame them. Trapped in his own mind, he had ranted and raged against Lucius, damning the man to any hell he could think of, while confident that he’d join Lucius there in his own time. The assassin stared down at the mask he held in trembling hands, his reflection gleaming dully off it. He snarled, and his mechanical hand began to warp the mask. “Dammit,” he said, standing up and stepping away into the dark. The soldiers looked at him, expressions startled at the first sound from him in days. Phelan sat down on the ground, then threw the mask into the woods, and stared into the unfamiliar night sky. Months in Malifaux, and the stars still were strange to him. Nothing was stable in his life anymore, except death. “Sir?” Phelan turned around, and saw Sabine walking towards him. A slight, wry smile lit his face momentarily, and he shook his head as he turned away from her again. “I’m surprised you’re willing to talk to me, Sergeant.” “Don’t remind me, you’ll ruin it,” she said quietly. He drew in a deep breath, and let it back out. “I owe you an apology, Sabine. I never should have forced you to do that.” She ran her hands through her hair, and sighed. “No, you shouldn’t have. But I forgive you for it.” His eyes widened, then narrowed as he stared at her. “How can you be so quick to forgive? I just gave you orders that made you responsible for the death of dozens of men.” “I’ve killed before,” she replied. “I’ll probably do it again. You asked me once if I trusted you, and I told you I did. This is why. It bothers you. You didn't like it then, you certainly don't like it now." "No," he said after a moment. "If I could have seen another way, I would like to think I'd have taken it. But I can't honestly say that I would. I'm sick of this, Sabine. I'm tired of following Lucius' orders." His hands curled into fists, and he turned away from her. "This world has broken me. Earthside, I was an assassin. But I chose my targets, and I would only kill those who deserved justice. Here? I'm a murderer of men, women and children. I'm a coward so terrified of death that I'm willing to follow the instructions of a monster worse than any I've ever met. And I'm sick of it." "What are you going to do?" she asked. "I'm sure that if I tell you, you'll just try to stop me. You said you trusted me, Sabine. Trust me enough to let me atone for what I've done." She said nothing, then sat down next to him, resting her hand on his shoulder. --------- Phelan stepped into Leveticus' shop, and looked around with curiosity. He had been back in the city for a few days, and finally had found the time to stop by. He nodded and smiled at Alyce when she waved, and continued walking into the shop, looking for the owner. "It's been some time since we've seen you," Leveticus said, sitting behind his desk. "What can I do for you?" Phelan pulled a book out of the satchel he wore and set it gently on the desk. "I have a request for you, if you don't mind. I've been researching the plants here in Malifaux, and managed to discover some remarkable things in terms of medicines. All of it is in this book." The old man picked up the book, and started turning through it. "This is an incredibly valuable book," he said after reading a few pages. "Are you wanting to sell it?" "No. I want to give it away." "What?" The assassin smiled. "I'm probably going to die in a couple days. There's something I have to do, and I'll be very surprised if I survive it. This knowledge is too valuable to be hidden away. I will give you this book, but you must do something for me. Find a young apothecary, someone who wants to help people, and give it to them. Copy all of it, just make sure it benefits the people here." Leveticus said nothing, turning a few more pages, then looked at Phelan. He nodded. "Very well." ----- "Ah, my Executioner," Lucius said as Phelan entered his office. "Well done in that village, assassin. You accomplished your task in a way that I found most interesting. I'll expect to see your notes on that poison, that has the potential to be extremely useful in the future." "Of course," Phelan lied smoothly. He let his eyes wander the office, taking in the one bodyguard. Inwardly, he smiled. One guard wouldn't be enough to stop what he planned to do. He fully expected to die afterwards, but he would be able to kill Lucius first. "I have another task for you," the Governor's Secretary said, taking an envelope off his desk. "You did such a good job on dealing with that issue, let's see if you can repeat your performance. I'll have another squad of men for you, the ones who went with you have resigned." He sounded almost annoyed about that fact. Phelan flexed his fingers, and then twitched his wrists, a pair of flat knives dropping into his hands. "I don't think so," he hissed, whipping one knife into the bodyguard's throat. He reversed the grip on his second knife and took a step toward his tormentor. "I'm not going to do anything for you ever again, Lucius," he spat. "You're a fool, assassin," Lucius said calmly. "Especially if you think I don't have any other protection." "They'll only matter if they get here in time," Phelan replied, smiling. He ran towards the Secretary, knife extended towards the man's throat. A pistol roared behind him, and Phelan gasped as pain ripped through his chest. He stumbled a few steps, knife dropping from nerveless fingers. The assassin fell to the ground, his breathing labored as blood began to soak through the front of his shirt right over his heart. He looked up and saw Sabine standing in the doorway, smoke coming out of her pistol. Her eyes were pitiless and hard as he gasped, blood pouring from his mouth. "Why?" he whispered to her. The darkness took him before she answered, and his corpse collapsed on the ground. ------ Epilogue Sabine stood by the unmarked grave with the others. All of them had served with Phelan that trip to the village, the one that marked the end of their Guild careers. While they hated the assassin for what he had done to their brothers, they had all heard the tale of his last attempt to atone from Sabine. It was out of respect for that one brave moment that they had gathered here at night a few days later. The grave was brand new, barely a few hours old, and the shovels still lay nearby. Sabine frowned at the grave, her brow furrowed in thought. One of them, a grizzled veteran named Murphy, asked her, "What's wrong, lass? You seem almost disappointed." "Hm? Oh, it's nothing. I was just expecting...I don't know." She smiled sadly. "Don't mind me, Murphy. Phelan was a good man forced to become a monster. I just wish I could have done something more to help him. I tried to, but it seems that it didn't work." "What didn't work?" She gestured at the grave. "He was a master of herbs, you know. I got a chance right before he died to look over his notes. Didn't recognize most of it, but I found this recipe in there for a poison that would fake death. When I figured out what he was going to do, I tried to make some up quick, and put it on the bullet I shot him with." She shook her head. "Apparently it didn't work." Murphy looked at the grave, pity on his face. "Too bad. Y'know, until he killed all those guardsmen, I didn't think he was that bad a guy. I wish things had gone differently." "Me too," one of the others said. He shrugged. "C'mon gents. It's a long trip to that village, and we still need to get our supplies." Sabine nodded, and began to walk away. As she did, she heard something faint, almost like...knocking? The woman stopped, and looked back at the grave. After a few moments, she heard it again. She rushed back, and pressed her ear to the ground. There it was again! "Hey, Murphy, come give me a hand," she called, grabbing a shovel. The veteran looked at her with confusion, but joined in. They dug as quickly as they could, the knocking noise becoming louder as the dirt was moved. The grave as shallow, and they quickly reached the coffin. Murphy and one of the other soldiers started taking the nails out, and then shoved the lid to the coffin out. "Hellfire and damnation," one of them whispered. "Is he really alive?" Phelan sat up from in the coffin, coughing and grabbing his shoulder where the bullet wound was. "Thanks," he gasped. "Phelan!" Sabine shouted, and grabbed him in a hug. His eyes rolled back in his head at the pain, and he screamed. "Damn, woman, are you trying to kill me again?" he wheezed. She jumped back, concern written on her face. "C'mon lass," Murphy said. "We should get him out of here and to a doctor. We'll bury that coffin back up." "That would be appreciated," the assassin said between coughs. ----- Phelan sat in the house, the pain numbed by a concoction of herbs he wasn't familiar with. An idle part of his mind mused that he should get the recipe before he left. He was lucky, or so the surgeon informed him. The mix of herbs that Sabine had made had actually been done incorrectly, but that was the only reason he was alive. The wound had clotted right after his body went into its coma because of the error. Equally fortuitous, Lucius hadn't felt the need for an autopsy, otherwise he would have woken up from that on a table in the morgue. "How are you doing?" Sabine said, walking into the room. "Not so bad," he replied. "I'll feel better when we're out of the city. Sitting here in the middle of it makes me feel like I have a giant target painted on my head." "I'd call that nonsense, but you're probably right. If Lucius knew you were alive, you'd definitely become a priority on his list of 'People to Kill.'" He laughed quietly. "Such a prestigious place to be, too." He paused for a moment, then said, "Thank you." "For what?" "For this," he replied, waving his arm at the room. "You've given me a chance to do something new. To make up for the lives I took. You didn't have to, but you did anyway. And you've given me a place to go to make a difference and benefit others at that village. Thanks." She blushed faintly. "You're welcome." Her eyes lit up as she remembered part of why she'd come to visit. "By the way, when I told Leveticus what was going on, he sent something for you." She took out a package from behind her back and handed it to him. With a little pain shooting from his shoulder, he was able to get it open, and found a book, a letter...and a pocket watch. His breath caught in his throat as he opened the watch, and tears welled in his eyes when he saw a familiar portrait. He opened the letter and began reading. Mr. Smith, I heard that you were going to a town to become their doctor. I thought that you might appreciate this book passed into my keeping for one just like you. It is an excellent resource, and I highly recommend it. I made a few additions of my own, and hope that it will benefit you greatly. Also, I recently reacquired this pocketwatch. As Alyce was so kind to remind me, a piece of merchandise that went into your possession from our shop malfunctioned and did a fair amount of damage to your health, so please consider this my way of apologizing. I look forward to working with you again. Yours Truly, Leveticus Phelan started laughing, tears falling off his face. He hadn't felt so free in years. Sabine gave him a concerned look, and he smiled, shaking his head. "Everything's fine, Sabine. For the first time in a long time, everything's fine." He wiped the tears off his face, checked the over the watch for a few moments, then closed it. "So, when do we head out on our grand adventure?" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hakoMike Posted August 27, 2011 Report Share Posted August 27, 2011 Well done! I just caught up on the last couple chapters, and they have the very satisfying ring of conclusion and the the start of something new. I enjoyed this. Thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edonil Posted August 27, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 27, 2011 Thanks! I'm glad you've been enjoying them and that you like how it wrapped up. I've been kinda curious about that, honestly, lol. Lots of views, no comments makes me think people hated it. Ah well. I've got a couple of ideas on what to do with Phelan in the future, and I'm looking forward to starting them, but I'm taking a little break to get some serious painting done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteamHammer Posted September 6, 2011 Report Share Posted September 6, 2011 Great ending. I hope you write more stories in the future as I liked your writing style. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Absolution Black Posted September 6, 2011 Report Share Posted September 6, 2011 Thanks! I'm glad you've been enjoying them and that you like how it wrapped up. I've been kinda curious about that, honestly, lol. Lots of views, no comments makes me think people hated it. Ah well. I've got a couple of ideas on what to do with Phelan in the future, and I'm looking forward to starting them, but I'm taking a little break to get some serious painting done. Not necessarily...Most people have probably loved it, but stories very rarely get comments made...I don't know why, but it seems to be the case! A great conclusion to the tale, and I hope to see more in the future.....Seems like Black will have some competition for Assassin with a heart! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edonil Posted September 6, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 6, 2011 Great ending. I hope you write more stories in the future as I liked your writing style. Not necessarily...Most people have probably loved it, but stories very rarely get comments made...I don't know why, but it seems to be the case! A great conclusion to the tale, and I hope to see more in the future.....Seems like Black will have some competition for Assassin with a heart! Thanks guys! I do plan to write more stories, at the moment, I've got a couple ideas for starting, but no idea where to go after the beginning. Probably just going to start writing at some point and see where the muse goes...that was part of how this went, after all. Glad that you think Phelan's giving your character some competition! I was just glad to be able to bring the story to a conclusion in a way that was a little more kind to Phelan than I've been throughout the writing of the whole thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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