"I need to be put out of my misery..."

Phantom Brigade: Genei Ryodan Spider # 5: Feitan
By The Lady Rai Hiiragizawa

Summary: An alternate universe. Kurapica spares Feitan from death, leaving him the single sole survivor of the Genei Ryodan Spider Group. Beaten but not broken, he leaves York New City to look for his lost identity...

(A/N: Regarding Feitan's number, I am taking a wild guess. I merely followed the order of how they appear in the OVA Opening Theme as Kurapica runs by. I am most likely wrong. And as for the "sole survivor" title, this is an alternative universe, and in it, Kurapica has killed the other 12 members of the Phantom Brigade, with the inclusion of both Kuroro and Hisoka, leaving Feitan the last living member.)

Phantom Brigade: Genei Ryodan Spider # 5: Feitan
By The Lady Rai Hiiragizawa
CHAPTER ONE: Salvation

"CHAIN JAIL!"

The chain user aims his chains towards me and I am forced to move. I dodge to the left, his chains barely missing my face, so close that I feel the air rush by my nose. I turn to the boy but I am too slow, his chains are upon me in a moment. They pull me closer to the boy, and I struggle uselessly against the cold metal. No use. I look at the boys eyes.

At his /red eyes/.

I freeze, I cannot move. The boy's eyes loom into my vision, they are all I can see.

So red, so red, so red, so red, so red, so red, so red, so red, so red...

"Like blood?"

My head jerks back in surprise at the words the boy throws to my face.

"Like the blood of the Kurata Clan you spilled so long ago?"

I do not answer. He was killing us, one by one, because of something we did four years ago. I would have lauged at the absurdity of the situation if I were not so wary of the chains he has wraped around my heart.

"Then laugh. Laugh so I may be free of the promise I let go so long ago..."

He whispers into my ear, and I feel him pulling my coat collar low, exposing the lower half of my face, something no-one has done and lived to tell. The boy looks at my face... And he drops me.

I felt a slight pain in my chest, like my heart has just stopped, but I ignore it and focus on the boy in front of me. He was staring at me.

"Omae wa..."

He murmers in disbelief. I feel his chains loosen their grip on me drastically, and I am tempted to attack. But his red eyes hold me still.

"Omae wa..."

He begins to laugh. I am fearing he may have gone insaine. I close my eyes and prepaire myself to suffer the same death my comrades, to join them in their graves... And /her/...

...But, the blow never comes. I warily open one golden-hued eye and look up at the boy, only to find him walking away. I am about to stand when he speaks, causing me to be frozen once again.

"I will not /take/ you today, Spider. You are free to go."

I blink in confusion. Free to go? This made no sense. He has killed every single one of us, yet now he lets me go? I do not understand. I open my mouth to speak, but the chain user interupts me.

"The chain that binds your heart has gone. I wouldn't be able to take you now even if I changed my mind. So just go while you can."

I close my mouth and remain silent. The tone in his voice left no room for questions, arguments, or the like. I should clearly be thankful he has let me live. But inside... The boy turns to face me once again. I unconsciously back away slightly. The boy looks at me... And I swear I could have seen the faintest shadow of a smile on his girlish lips. He turns away once again, and this time walks away. I blink and my muddled brain proceses what just happened...

Or at least it tried to.

Three days. I have been travelling for three days now, I have left York New City as it holds too many and too much memories of my comrades... And of /her/. My heart still stings at the slightest thought of her, and three days and four nights ago I nearly experienced what /she/ herself had to go through. Only, she was not as fortunate as myself...

Damn it was hot.

I wipe at my forhead with the sleeve of my coat, beads of sweat threatening to roll down into my eyes. My bangs are quite wet, and they have stucked to my forhead, dripping slightly. Inside my coat my lithe body feels just as hot, and I fear I may get a stroke. I nearly laugh out loud at the thought, as I imagined people would say:

"Feitan? You mean the sole survivor of the Phantom Brigade? Ah yes, the chain user spared him from death but he ended up dying of heat stroke the next day!"

I knew it was nothing to laugh about, it being a serious matter, but I could not help but chuckle. That is, until my mind proceced the words "sole survivor", "chain user", and "Genei Ryodan"... I remembered /her, her very image still planted firmly in my memory, and I struggle to choke back a sob, failing to catch myself as I fell to my knees, the blazing sun beating down on my back. Either the heat was worse than I thought or my broken heart and disillusioned mind were playing tricks on me, for at that moment as I raised my head...

I saw /her/.

She was standing there, her smile as charming as ever, her petite, attractive figure as beautiful as ever, her smell as sweet as ever, and her eyes... They were as warm and loving as I remembered them. /My/ love...

Desperation winning over reasoning I struggle to my feet, reaching out as I feared she would disapppear, leaving me alone once again. I barely manage to run towards her, and she smiles at me, cheering me on, holding her arms wide open, beckoning me, inviting me to partake in it's comfort like I have done so many nights before...

Her arms... How many times in the past, those arms had held be close, comforted me and protected me, comforted me from my nightmares, protected me from myself... I would give the world for one more night in those arms...

I reach out for her, my bittered tears threatening to spill out, and I collapse into her arms' sweet soft embrace.

Then it all went black.

Tsuzuku...

A/N: WAII!! Cliffhanger! Who is that mysterious girl?! Is it Machi or Shizuku?! (I don't know myself, I'm doing the "Spider" vs. "Web" cointoss thing right now...) Pakunoda maybe?! (Fat chance of that happening...) Why did Kurapica "spare" Feitan?! And why am I not the least bit upset that my bishounen Shalnark is dead?! To find these out and more, stay tuned for chapter two! Coming to a near you!

PS: "Phantom Brigade" is the english version of "Genei Ryodan"; while "Spider" is just their second name... Something like that. I think that is what member are called. Not sure though...