No Good Person

Chapter 13: The Last Act

Ragniel and I walked to the top of the stairs, television screens around it, each showing the death of a Free Angel member. Ragniel held his head down as we approached the glass doors leading into an office.

The doors opened to reveal a man, who I shall assume is Merren, sitting down on a large chiar as he stares at us from behind a desk.

He has black hair and his eyes are a light grey.

"Hello... brothers..."

Brothers...?

Ragniel walked up to the desk as he pulled out his pistol.

Merren laughed at his face.

"Don't you want to know the last act-Ragniel?"
Ragniel slowly put down the pistol.

"Like you would know..."
Merren looked at me.

"Tell me, Aren, what is the last act? How does it end?"
The last act... the one I feel so eager for.

"The Valiant... act 4. 'The Youngest and the middle brother would soon storm the castle together, the youngest to protect his family, and the middle for a cause he fooled himself into believing. After much death, and much carnage, they would find themselves in the throne room. There the three brothers would meet, for one last embrace. They would resolve and face their choices, and how each altered the path in which they had taken. They will surrender to their sins and punishment will be taken, which will have been far overdue. One was valiant, one was ignorant, and one sought revenge. With heavy heart, and with heavy hand, they would use their weapons and each would die by the others hand. The youngest, perhaps would live, though most likely he would die... and that is the story of the valiant. For a man is only valiant when he can no longer lose it..." There is only this one verse in it... but I... I don't remember why."

Ragniel looked at me mortified.

Merren closed his eyes.

"Ah... so that is how it ends. And look, it seems that you guessed right. We are finally here together. For one, last fight."
"But... my grandfather-"
Merren pointed at me.

"Your, 'grandfather' doesn't exist. The last act was never written down, and I know for a fact he never told anyone before he did. Why? Well, I was there. You see... you are the third, the youngest. You just don't realize it yet."
Me?

Heh, eheheheh...

"Stop fucking with me!"
I walked closer towards Ragniel and Merren.

Ragniel opened up his mouth, unable to say a word for a moment.

"Aren... it's true."
I stopped walking.

"No... you are just..."

Merren laughed.

"Ah Ragniel, the sins you have wrought! You brought him back into this conflict... even after I took him out of it."
Ragniel looked at Merren.

"What...?"
Merren sighed.

"It's time, we put the pieces together. Aren, you are our younger brother-you were the one who wrote this play. You see..."
Merren held up the picture Ragniel had shown me before. The two people who were torn out of the picture... they...

Its me... and Shira.

Those children...?!

"They... They were mine? Shira was trying... she-"
Ragniel nodded his head.

"Yes... Shira is your wife and those children are yours."
Merren stood up from his desk as he put the picture down.

"I'm sure you can guess what happened from the play but, how you got here is another story entirely. You see... shortly after you gave up trying to kill me, and Ragniel beat you for it, you managed to make a secret meeting with me. You explained what had happened, and that you wanted to get your wife and children taken out of the conflict. You even gave me the original three transcripts for acts one through three of the play. You told me it explained everything, and that you wanted out of our conflict. I was suspicious of this I must admit, however... I still believed you. That's when, a man who works for Ragniel threw explosives at us. You saved me. You pushed me out of the way, but you faced... severe trauma. You fell into a coma, and your body was horribly damaged. So I had you held up in a hospital to recover. You were in that coma for an entire year, and during that time I met with Ragniel and gave him the three transcripts after reading them. I finally understood my choices... but Ragniel. He thought I killed you. I let him believe it. Then, you woke up. But you didn't remember anything. Anything except your play. So I... gave you new memories. I told you while you slowly woke up over and over again that you were just another worker, your parents needed you to pay off their debt through work and your grandfather wrote the play, but had died in an accident-one which you fell into a coma. Then I put you to work in a place I could watch over you. But..."

Ragniel frowned.

"I took you out of it... I discovered the truth after our latest attack. I was overjoyed to see you alive... but... I thought Merran simply going to use you. So I had you taken by Shira back to the base. While you were in that coma... I read your play, over and over... and I began to... I started to see more clearly. Yet I... You see, Shira stayed with us after you disappeared. She wanted to apologize to you so many times for dragging you into this. She sought revenge, but you intervened and I ended up using your family as an ultimatum. That's how you even ended up in my care... and why Shira still is with us. She stayed after you fell into the coma-we thought Merren killed you. But then we discovered you were alive. She wanted to tell you everything right away, but I didn't allow her using you as an ultimatum-I couldn't allow her to let you remember. I could still use you I thought, I... no... I wanted you're recognition-for you to acknowledge that what I was doing was right, but you didn't. Even without your memories you didn't... so I used you again, foolishly believing maybe you would believe in my cause. I had Shira and everyone else who knew you simply act as if they never met you-as if you were a new member. Shira took it the hardest and she couldn't bear to see you. Then I had you blow up that building and things went to hell... Lorence went rogue and he left you to die. I snapped back to my senses and got you back... not before killing Lorance myself. Shira... she hated me, even more than before. And it hurt her-like it hurt me to see what I had done to you. You tried to kill yourself... I... so I decided to end this charade once and for all. I never wanted any of this... I am sorry brother. Your wife, she never looked at another man. She never thought you had done anything wrong... and she raised your children away from the fighting. I made sure every member left them be..."

I fell onto my knees.

"You..."

Memories slowly started to flood back.

"That's right... Merran... Ragniel... I remember! Both of you-please!"

Merren laughed.

"I suppose I owe you an apology as well, brother. I am sorry... for all that I have done. And so, I will finish your play. Take care-"

Merran pulled a pistol from his back pocket and held it against Ragniel. Ragniel pulled his at the same time, his pistol aimed at Merrens head.

Ragniel grew tears in his eyes.

"Thank you, for telling me the last verse, Aren. Please forgive me."

They each pulled the trigger.