Annette was more than surprised when upon regaining consciousness on her sofa, she turned around to find her client standing behind her. Her first thought was to inquire why he had followed her and more importantly, why the need for such secrecy, but then she caught the distraught expression on his face and felt her heart twitch with pity. Faustus had just watched his last line of defense against his creditor crumble and what was worse, now there was no telling what other action that their losing the case would afford the Immortal. She sighed and closed her eyes, muttering in a voice laden with weariness, "I'm sorry Faustus, I thought we had a shot and that you deserved some reprieve-"
"Deserve, I deserve nothing! I don't deserve to live or to have an afterlife. I- I didn't deserve his love either." His tear choked words were filled with so much conviction and fear that the advocate opened her eyes to peer at him critically. "What are you talking about Faust?" He stared at her steadily for several seconds and then broke down with a sob, sliding unto the floor with both hands over his face, shoulders hunched in a portrayal of abject misery. "I didn't deserve his love and yet he gave it freely; he gave his soul in exchange for my life and this is how I replay him! The purest soul to ever walk this green earth- a lawyer in whom there was no reproach!"
Annette stiffened with the use of that familiar term, remembering when he'd once called her that but before she could formulate a response, Faustus had thrown himself at her feet and began crying at the top of her voice, begging her mercy and forgiveness. "What is this," she cried out with surprise, nervously pulling away but he only clung harder and began babbling hysterically. "Your mercy, mercy! You must understand that I feared for my life, feared for my soul but now it's all worthless- worthless! When he came with the offer I was desperate; I was tired of being tormented with every waking moment...he promised me death, he told me that at least I could be with my beloved Dietrich but now, oh what have I done!"
The blonde was now truly afraid, her pallor worsening with every twitch and jerk her crazed client made. "What are you talking about Faustus, the trial is over." He suddenly jerked up to meet her eyes and then slammed his head against the floor with a whimper. "Trial, the trial was a whole sham from the very beginning! We planned it all- he planned it all- because it was the only way. Oh the lawyer in whom there was no reproach, that was all he wanted."
Annette felt a chill radiate down her spine and slowly stopped struggling with Faustus just enough to whisper, "W-what are you talking about?" He looked up with a pained expression and shook his head, "I am doomed, doomed from the very beginning but this- this was about you. The whole trial was all about you."
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Hikari automatically took a deep breath, banishing the solid hardness forming in the base of her stomach as the immortal began pacing. "Okay Luce it's been fun an all, really it has, but let's stop joking here." The raven haired woman turned slightly around with a look of mock confusion and then shook her head. "Oh no Hikari, now you know I'd never joke when someone's soul is on the line. Don't you remember what I told you the first time we met? I said for certain realms and purposes a soul can neither be too pure nor too sullied and for my purposes you were just perfect but I guess being around me tends to do things to people...It's just something about me," she finished with a flick of her hair and the lawyer raised an eyebrow.
"Okay papa bear, what are you trying to tell me now that you should have already?" The other woman shrugged and sat lightly on the arm chair, trailing a finger over her shoulder, "You call yourself a lawyer and you didn't read the fine print! Yes I conscripted you for a period of time to do a little work for me but did I ever once stipulate how dirty it had to be? Oh no, you got on that wagon all on your own, trying to beat Faustus down like you usually do with your opponents. Not that I'm saying anything ill about your skills but honestly Hikari, did you have to stoop so low?"
Her patronizing tone grated against the attorney but she kept her temper in check; she was in Lucy's realm now and the gloves were obviously off. "So what you're telling me now is that I was responsible for keeping my soul snow white?" The immortal seemed to think about the question for a moment and then nodded vigorously, "Yeah something like that. But Hikari I have to say, you got balls going for the jugular like that. Even I usually think about it before striking out against the cardinal rule but you just went ‘screw the system' and trashed them out. I mean, of all the ‘men' to stick it up to, you chose love...Love." There was a strain of incredulity in her laugh that made Hikari frown with speculation.
Faustus got off the hook the first time because Dietrich advocated on his behalf out of love and the stipulations of that contract was why he could sue them now. The only logical way to bring the case to an end was to question the basis for him being ‘alive' in the first place and the only way to do that was to question their...love. Lucy watched the wheels turn in her head and then nodded with a satisfied smile, "Yes mah darling, didn't you ever hear them say, ‘faith hope and love; but the greatest of these... Maiko must be turning in her grave. Seriously when you questioned their love you pretty much questioned the basis for existence, not you mention your own humanity and that doesn't give you up points. Now we both know that whatever doesn't go up has to go somewhere, right?"
The attorney listened, mouth opened slightly in an expression of utter bemusement and then finally she found her wits and her voice. "I helped you Lucy." The immortal got to her feet and held out her hand, "Now lets not get all righteous and damnation here. I offered you a proposal and you thought about it- you did think about it right- before accepting. You always had the option to say no and yes it would have involved a few weeks of endless torment, maybe defamation of character and loss of income and/ or family members, physical injuries and what not but you would have said no and eventually I'd leave you be but that was not the case here. You saw it and you walked into it."
She turned around, effectively ending their conversation for the time being and Hikari closed her eyes. This just sounded so ludicrous that that if she didn't know who she was deal with, the lawyer would think she was the victim of a popular prank TV show. But this was obviously not a joke; somewhere along the lines she'd seriously compromised her soul without even thinking about it. Jeez was Lucy right about her being so close to jaded that she hadn't even seen the line coming? The other woman had begun speaking long before she even noticed and it took her a while to assimilate her remarks.
"...But I guess I can't really wonder why you were so dogged about bringing them down. It must have been you getting even with the whole concept of love inviolate- you've had first had experience that no mortal love ever truly is. I mean just look at that sorry fiasco between your parents; they were both cheating on each other and what a messy divorce! It totally devastated you didn't it? Something like that is enough to scar anyone for life, not to mention make them extra sensitive to PDA's."
Hikari stiffened almost imperceptibly but it was no use; the immortal already had her exactly where she wanted her. She lined closer, eyes wide as if coming to an epiphany. "Wasn't that the main reason you broke up with her? She was always so sweet and gushy, clinging to you at any given moment and let us be honest; it does get annoying after a while. You were too nice to say anything in the beginning because I guess you actually liked her enough- not that you were in love with her or anything, let's not get overboard- but it soon became obvious who was doing the real loving in the relationship and kaput! You got rid of your soul mate."
Her innocent smile was lost on the attorney, who kept her face a blank mask, knowing that even the slightest response gave her tormentor more ammunition. Lucy watched her carry on for a full minute and then chuckled. "I don't think you guys ever laid eyes on each other after that did you? For four years you lived and worked so close and zip, nada...well up until a few weeks ago. I can't imagine what you two must have gone through, lasting out the trial like you did."
Hikari forgot her mantra right then and sharply looked up to the knowing eyes of her erstwhile client. "Yes I knew and come on Eliza; if you could figure out the missing link between Faustus and Webber, what made you think I wouldn't know the one between you and Webster? I did say I had a personal interest in you." Lucy reached out to ruffle her hair but the mortal jerked away, eyes blazing with fire. So all this while she'd just been running a game...now the attorney knew why she hated chess so much. Nevertheless, despite the fact that the Immortal had her pretty spooked, Hikari wasn't her parents' scion for nothing. She'd been picking through the whole conversation for three things ‘means, motive and opportunity' and so far she'd gotten two out of three but what still wasn't clear was the motive.
She sighed exaggeratedly and nodded with a resigned expression, "Okay Lu, you got me fair and square. So what's the residency plan down here?" Her matter of fact tone drew a fond smile to the Immortal's lips. "You see, that's what I like about you. Life throws you dirty old socks and you get a fragrance endorsement for it. There's no denying you're going to rock the house down here but I didn't do it all just for you. It's been a hoot and all but you are just a means to an end; a bridge of some sorts and you know what happens to bridges- no pun intended there."
Her words made the lawyer roll her eyes and reply with dripping sarcasm, "Gee thanks, just when I was beginning to feel all special and warm inside." Lucy shook her head, glancing down at her watch as she murmured, " It's not always about you, sweetness, not that you haven't played an Oscar winning performance but the star of the show is just about to make her appearance in three...two...one."
There was a poof and she vanished just as two figures appeared in the room- a sniveling Faust and, with a wrench in her gut, a very confused looking Annette.
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The trio stared at each other for several seconds, each person wondering why the other was present, until at length Hikari broke the silence. "Well hello, nice of you two to drop by seeing as I was getting lonesome and all." Annette stared at her ex girlfriend wordlessly, her initial confusion gradually being over taken by her pent up antipathy over the other woman- feeling that have gathered in strength with every trial encounter they had. Eventually she tore her eyes away and glanced around the room, replying in a frosty voice, "I guess I should be asking what you're doing here but the question seems so unnecessary now, doesn't it? I shouldn't be surprised, seeing as you decided to throw all morality to the wind." Hikari rolled her eyes, refusing to be fazed by the blonde's cold- though not unwarranted- accusation and instead turned the tables back to her. "Okay then what are you here for? I mean we both can't have, what you called it, thrown all morality to the wind."
While she was speaking their hostess suddenly reappeared, now dressed in a hot pink tee shirt over black pajama bottoms and matching pink bedroom slippers. "Oh hello there Webster, pardon my not receiving you as a proper host should but I had to go slip into something more comfortable." The other attorney muttered something irreverent under her breath and Lucy promptly turned around, threatening her with the promise of a torturous stay in her abode if she didn't behave. "Now where were we?" She smiled brightly at the blonde and then cast a glance to the cowering debtor, "Oh yes, we were just getting to the finale of my favorite show since they took ‘Damn Yankees' off Broadway. So Annette, I am sure you're just positively brimming with questions and I won't disappoint you. Do take a seat."
She snapped a finger and another armchair appeared behind the blonde, who hesitated for a moment to glance at her ex before lowering herself unto it. "Thank you m'dear, alright then let's get to it." Lucy found her way back to Hikari's seat and draped herself over the armrest, ignoring the mortal's pointed glare as she did, the lights in the room immediately dimming as a wide screen projector glowed to life ahead of them. "Oh wait does any one feel like a little popcorn?" Hikari couldn't help her disbelieving snort and received a slap on the back of the head for her troubles as a familiar face came into view, eliciting a pained gasp from Faustus and a sharp kick from the immortal.
"Dietrich Webber, part time seafaring academic, part time public advocate and all around know it all. He meddled in my affairs and managed to go Scott free with it...well almost. Our agreement was that he'd give his soul instead of Faustus here and we'd see how it measured up against his lover's iniquities; a balanced scale would ensure the latter's freedom and vice versa. It seemed reasonable enough, so I agreed and invited him over but we never even got to weigh the damn thing! His soul was so disgustingly light that by sheer Osmosis it floated on right out of here and because by default Faustus own soul was taken out of the picture, that wasn't a very nice situation for me. Thank goodness-ha ha- for the wording of the very contract Webber made up because he expressly said ‘A soul for a soul' to counter against the sins of Faustus past and that allowed me to do this-" The picture changed to another man, his features becoming hauntingly familiar to Hikari. "Enter Albretch Webber, older brother to the captain, whose soul didn't quite match up to the scale but it did tilt it up a little bit."
The face changed and it was a woman but it was obvious who she was related to, "Enter Elsa Dagda Dietfried, only child of the esteemed Herr Albretch, I'm afraid she brought it all the way back down. Bad child." The next face was softer and rounder, the facial similarities not as striking as the other three but it was clear they were related also. "And here is Erich, the sweet boy had no chance, and now Franz and Bastian-"
The faces kept skipping on and on and the attorney felt her stomach sink lower with each portrait. She was beginning to understand just what Lucy was getting at. "And here we have Louis Webber, he had an English mother I recall, and was the sole survivor of that fateful trip across the oceans to the English Colony in the Americas. His grandson Denis saw it prudent to change the family name- what with Austria getting all huffy with the Serbians- so we take away a B and replace it with an S."
She turned around to look at a dumbfounded Annette and raised an eyebrow, "I don't need to go on do I? I mean you do get the picture now, right?" The lights turned back on and Lucy got to her feet, walking a few steps to the middle of the room. "And so here we are Annette Webster, last scion of the Webber clan of Old and one more soul about to be brought to face the old scale. You see although your great, great to the third or fourth power, grand father's soul might have gotten away, there was still the question of what to do with Faustus iniquities and that isn't going away on it's own. Lucky for you, some of your ancestors have lifted it a little but I'm afraid it's going to take a lot more for my debt to be paid in full. Ah the advocate in whom there is no reproach; you are meek- I'll admit- and you have inherited something. Only it's not the earth."
Annette felt her whole body begin freezing with the gravity of this revelation and slowly opened her mouth to whisper. "You mean all this while-" The Immortal nodded brightly and took a step closer, "Mmm-hmmm, yes it has and now you know. Your folks did a good job of keeping you pious and good...unlike some people who shall remain nameless." Hikari scowled but refused to take the bait, training her eyes fully on the blonde as her mind earnestly began working through the information. Something hit and her frown deepened. "Wait this isn't right. You said Webber was without reproach and that's basically why he floated on out of here, well why is she still here then?" Now the blonde hadn't even thought of that and her eyes flicked up to meet her ex's, surprise visibly etched in them. How Hikari could manage to keep a cool head with all this was beyond her but then there were many things about the other woman she never truly did understand. Lucy nodded and then slowly shook her head, "Actually she has you to thank for that. Don't tell me you've forgotten how badly you two ended things, well let's just say you're not the only one with baggage. Just sitting next to you is enough to bring some painful memories and angry thoughts rushing back."
Hikari felt an unexpected surge of guilt and quickly looked away but the Immortal wasn't done just yet. "Yeah don't you remember? It was on her birthday of all days and you couldn't even do it in person; you sent her an E-mail for crying out loud! How cold can a person get? What was it again, oh yeah she was nowhere as ambitious as you were back then and though it caused you a few uncomfortable minutes, you didn't think too much about bad mouthing her during your final semester just to clinch the top spot but look who ended up with the corner office and expense account?" Hikari bit her lip but kept her eyes trained firmly on the ground. She knew Lucy was just pouring salt on an old wound with the purpose of making Annette dwell more and more on the past....enough to actually cause serious damage. There was only one thing left to do.
She rolled her eyes and slouched back down in the chair, "Yeah whatever Luce, I still have an unbeaten record of victories. So are we getting to the balancing act today? We still haven't talked about my residency plan you know." Annette stared at her ex with shock, unable to believe how casually the latter was taking all this. All these years she'd been fooling herself into thinking the other woman had noble reasons for breaking her heart and that she at least felt sorry for everything. It was that silly notion that kept her looking for the best in the attorney, refusing to write her off even after she'd taken the deal, even after her tactics in the courtroom and right up until now...but it was obvious that she was the only one who hadn't let go of their past.
Lucy chuckled and shook her head, murmuring as she walked closer to the other two, "Why aren't you an eager beaver? You're right though, let's get on with it." While she spoke, a larger than life sized pair of brass scales suddenly appeared in the room, one side filled with a hard glittering mass while the other seemed to be held up by invisible forces. The scales were uneven, the black mass clearly tipping low, despite the generations of remission that had been made. Lucy clapped her hand and gestured toward the blonde. "Well then, all you have to do is get up on that and we'll see. Oh I should mention now that seeing as you're the very last of the bunch, whatever happens here is the deciding factor for poor Faustus here- you lose and he loses as well." Annette swallowed and walked up to the scales, raised one leg and stepped up on the hard surface. She opened her eyes and took a deep breath but her gaze fell on Hikari and something knotted in her stomach.
In that moment she realized that not only had she been unable to let go of her ex's betrayal, she also had not gotten over her feelings for the other woman. This realization came like a sucker punch to the gut and not without another pang of hurt, followed by anger and something sharper. She didn't need to guess which way the scales were tipping. Hikari watched the scales lift and waver, the hot tight ball in her throat rising with each delicate movement but she knew, with a sinking feeling in her heart, just how much damage she'd done. Not only had she gotten rid of her soul mate but she'd lost her own soul over a battle already lost, and now the blonde was in jeopardy of losing hers as well. No she couldn't let this happen' she'd given up too much already in her altruistic bargain to watch it all go down the drain.
Lucy shook her head and tut-tutted lightly as the black mass rose but didn't quite balance. "So I guess no one is perfect after all. Too bad though, I was really rooting for you back there." Annette shakily got off the scales but the Immortal held her back. "Ah now there's that little thing about my payment." She extended her left hand, and a cattle prod-like contraption appeared in it. "This is my Remmy, Millennium edition. It get through anything, even titanium mesh reinforced Kevlar." She aimed it at a cowering Annette and fired but neither of them was prepared for Hikari's actions- nor even the attorney herself.
She swallowed and glanced down at the object protruding from her stomach region before glaring at the Immortal with accusation. "Ouch! But I couldn't just let that happen." Lucy rolled her eyes and gave a smile of mock commiseration. "I could have warned you about that; remember I said it gets through titanium? Well just think what it'd do to a soul like yours. Besides, what part of the whole thing we've been doing for all this while didn't you understand? You couldn't perform a selfless act to save your own soul, talk less of another."
Hikari choked and coughed out something light and silvery- was that what a soul looked like? She shuddered and jerked with pain as the cattle prod hooks began retracting, pulling her inch by painful inch toward the Immortal. "You left out one thing though, another reason why it was so easy for me to break us up. It's simple really, because I was bad; ambitious and completely unafraid to do whatever it took and I knew it, knew it as well as I knew she was pure goodness. So I guess it's a soul for a soul once again; my soul for hers. Oh how I've come to hate that cliché." Lucy sighed and shook her head. "Silly human Eliza, and here I was ready to set up a whole law firm down here for you. With you in charge, I'd have a field day in any court but you just had to do this. Remember that residency plan you kept harping on about? Well now, think Hell's kitchen-"
"No! I won't let you do this," Annette grabbed her ex's arm and began yanking back, heedless of the fact that it only caused her more pain. "This is my burden and there's no way in hell-" Hikari gurgled and chuckled, still able to find laughter in her predicament. "Who are you to talk? I'm not doing this because I want to look like some hero in your eyes- honestly I don't even know why I jumped in the first place- so you can stop being so noble and-" Lucy rolled her eyes and stepped back, folding her arms in a sardonic gesture of sympathy, "Yes, yes, now we have the tear filled goodbyes, passionate kisses and promises not to forget each other, yada, yada. Hate to break it to you but someone already got an Oscar for that-" She froze mid speech because something was happening to Hikari. The attorney was literally glowing brighter and rising, dissolving into stardust from the bottom up.
The immortal stiffened and growled with anger, walking closer to drag her back down. "I will not be cheated for a second time- you come back here!" But it was no use and the cattle prod fell to the ground with a soft thump. Lucy turned her livid gaze to Annette but she too was slowly rising from the ground. Hikari couldn't help one more chuckle as she raised a dissolving hand to her former client, "I guess I can after all."
Soon they both rose higher and higher toward the vortex above, a seething Immortal glaring up after them as the hardened lump on the scale suddenly bumped into the air and Faustus gave a cry of rapture. They were sucked into the vortex but instead of returning to their own bodies, the pair found themselves suspended in some sort of limbo. There was barely anything left of her former form, what with the rate she was dissolving, but Hikari found herself trying to slow the process. There was something she needed to say first.
"I guess this is it then, Lucy's Remmy did get to me after all." Her voice was light and laced with the usual touch of wry humor and Annette couldn't help the chuckle that escaped her lips even as realization sank into her. "So I take it that I won't be seeing you on the flip side." The brunette shook her head. "I guess not b-but I just want you to know that you-us...well I never forgo-" There was nothing left of her any more; the star dust pooled and suddenly shot up into the surrounding darkness-
Annette jerked up from the bed with a gasp, feeding her oxygen starved body with life giving air. She wiped the tears streaming down her face and whispered into the darkness, "And I never stopped loving."
The End