Chapter Text
Flashing red lights.
Alarms.
The plane was shaking like a toy in the hand of a giant, overzealous child as it plummeted through the clouds. With effort, Lupin, Jigen, and Fujiko climbed and crawled their way towards the front of the plane, using the baggage compartments as monkey bars and the chairs – what was left of them – as stepping stones to reach the cockpit.
“MENDOZA!” Jigen shouted, banging upon the door which separated the cockpit from the aircraft cabin.
No response.
Jigen and Lupin shared a wordless glance. Then, together, they kicked down the door. The inside of the cockpit was smoking. Mendoza was slumped over the console, blood running from his face. In the turbulence, he had either struck his heard or else something had flown at him and hit him. Jigen grabbed the man’s shoulder and pulled him upright, checking for a pulse.
“Keh. No good,” he said, shaking his head grimly. The man was gone. “Any chance we could still fly this thing?”
The plane was on an inevitable collision course, but with any luck, perhaps they could ease their landing, or at least direct themselves to land upon a gentler surface than terra firma – a body of water, perhaps – that might cause the least amount of damage.
“No use,” Lupin grunted as he fought with the control wheels. “They’re jammed.”
“Give me your belts!” said Fujiko.
“F-Fujiko, dear,” Lupin chuckled awkwardly. “Now really isn’t the time.”
“Just take them off! Both of you!”
Lupin and Jigen exchanged glances, then removed their belts. Fujiko took them, and with a dexterity and strength that belied her dainty appearance, she tied them into a figure-eight around the control wheels. The tension held the controls steadily in place, keeping the ailerons level while increasing pressure on the elevator control.
“That should buy us some time,” she said.
“How much?” asked Lupin.
“A couple minutes at most.”
“Then let’s make the most of them,” said Lupin. He pushed his way out of the cockpit and thrust out his fist. His grappling wristwatch shot across the plane, where it latched onto a baggage overhang at the far end of the cabin. He wrapped his free arm around Fujiko. To Jigen, he said, “Hang on to me!”
“Ah, goddammit,” grumbled Jigen as he wrapped his arms around Lupin’s waist. “I hope you know what you’re doing.”
“Heheheh. That makes two of us.”
Without further ado, Lupin activated the reeling mechanism at max speed. The grappling wire tugged them forward and they went flying across the cabin as though on a zipline. There was one frightening moment as they passed by the gaping hole in the plane where the wind sucked at them, threatening to tug them right out into the clouds. But gritting his teeth, Lupin held steady and reeled them in harder.
Finally, the wind released them and they went flying across the plane. Lupin disengaged the grappling mechanism just as they reached the back of the cabin, and their momentum sent them tumbling into the cargo hold. Scrambling to his feet, Lupin ran to where the Fiat was secured. Quickly, he disengaged the metal clamps which held it in place. Then he climbed into the driver’s seat, calling to his friends.
“Get in!”
“What?” said Fujiko.
“Ah, hell no,” muttered Jigen.
“C’mon! We’re running out of time!”
Fujiko climbed into the front passenger seat and Jigen into the backseat, grumbling something about women not knowing their place.
“Open a path for us, Jigen!” called Lupin.
Jigen pushed his way through the sun roof, still grumbling incoherently as he aimed his gun at the control panel which operated the cargo hold door. With a single shot fired, the bullet struck the panel and the cargo ramp lowered.
“Brace yourselves!” shouted Lupin. “Heeere we goooo!”
Lupin slammed his foot down on the gas and the Fiat took off down the ramp. They were airborne. For a moment, the Fiat seemed to hover in place and everything was deathly silent. Then, the moment they began to plummet, Fujiko screamed and grabbed onto Lupin. Jigen held his hat on his head with one hand and gripped the ‘oh shit’ handle with the other.
“Luuuupiiiiin!” cried Fujiko.
But with a confident smirk, Lupin pressed his thumb to the emergency button on the Fiat’s console, one which certainly was not standard issue for a Fiat 500. A hidden compartment on the Fiat’s roof opened up and a large striped parachute shot out. With a loud, snapping FWUMP, the wind caught the parachute and jerked the Fiat a couple feet into the air. Then, gradually, the car began to swing back and forth like a gentle pendulum as they floated through the clouds.
Their slow descent was the antithesis of Ruby and Goemon's. And as the red morning sun rose to meet them, each person felt their own guilt as well as the acute sense of loss, knowing that neither Ruby nor Goemon would see another sunrise. What right did the three of them have to live when their two friends had perished?
Perhaps it wasn't about right or wrong; fair or unfair. The three thieves were hard-wired to survive. And that's just what they did. But now that the immediate crisis was over, Jigen slumped in his seat and Lupin crossed his arms over the steering wheel and blinked out at the sunrise, his face expressionless as the Fiat floated through the clouds.
Lupin and Jigen had lost much during their long and sordid careers. But out of all the losses that were the most severe...
The loss of Ruby and Goemon hit them the worst.
~~~
"Goemon..."
A distant voice called out to him.
Distant... but familiar.
Soft and ethereal, yet comforting and alluring.
"Goemon..."
"Nnn..." Goemon groaned... "Ts...Tsuki...Tsukinome?"
"Your road doesn't end here, samurai. You have much to learn. Much to see."
Slowly, Goemon shook his head from side to side. "Tsukinome... wait..."
"Go, samurai. Someone needs you. Go to them. Seijitsu ni susumu, Goemon."
...
Birdsong.
A babbling brook.
Goemon opened his eyes and found himself gazing up into a small circle of blue sky framed by leafy branches high above. Beams of sunlight, turned green through a filter of leaves, streamed through the trees. If not for the situation, this place would have been picturesque. Idyllic.
The samurai lay shirtless, his kimono folded and acting as a pillow beneath his head. His sash was damp and lay across his forehead like a cool compress. Zantetsuken lay by his side. There was no sound but the birds, the nearby brook, and the rustle of the breeze through the leaves.
Tsukinome had said someone needed him.
But who?
Goemon’s eyes widened.
RUBY!
Goemon sat up, only to wince in pain. Oh, he was banged up. But fortunately, nothing seemed to be broken. The Stardust must have seen to that.
That’s right.
The Stardust…
Goemon leapt from the plane.
Eyes narrowed and face grim with determination, the samurai thrust himself through the air, like a kimono-clad missile, in hopes of catching the girl. Goemon hadn't truly considered a plan. In fact, he didn't have one. He had no way to save Ruby... nor himself.
The only thought on his mind was simple...
Make sure Ruby didn't die alone.
Either the samurai was particularly aerodynamic or he had tapped into some ancient Eastern chi-focused energy. Whatever the case, he torpedoed his way through the sky to catch up to her and take her into his arms.
Now, they fell together.
Ruby had made so many accusations, and at the end, she believed that they were all against her. But when Goemon sliced through the air and wrapped his strong arms around her, she soon discovered that she was, at the very least, wrong on one count.
Goemon was with her.
And even if he couldn't save her, she could at least take comfort in his arms, knowing that she wasn't alone.
"G-Goemon..." she spoke his name so softly that it was immediately stolen by the wind. But still, Goemon heard it, and he was glad, for he was certain it was to be the last time he ever heard his name slip through the girl’s lips.
“Ruby…” he murmured, pressing his face against her hair.
As darkness took the girl, Goemon held on a little longer. He knew that he, too, would soon be lost to unconsciousness. It was why he closed his eyes so tight. But as he did, there seemed to be a sudden a blue glow illuminating his eyelids, prompting him to open them once more. And that was when he realized something strange and miraculous was occurring. As they passed through the final layer of clouds, their descent was slowing!
But how?
Then, he saw it. That glow; it was coming from Ruby’s pendant! The Stardust! Not only was it glowing, it was floating!
That's right! Gabriel Robinson said Stardust had an innate survival instinct and would preserve itself at all costs! Granted, it fell from the sky often enough, why should it fear for its survival now? Unless, of course, the meteor itself offered protection, taking the brunt of the impact; or perhaps it was that the stuff in Ruby's locket, the 'perfected serum' as it were, was less resilient than the raw material and was in greater need of protecting itself from such an impact.
Either way, so long as they held onto it, the pendant would slow their fall! But slow it enough to allow them to survive? It was a gamble. But one that Goemon was willing to take. However, with it hanging around Ruby's neck, it was acting far more like a noose than a parachute. Already, he could hear her starting to choke.
Keeping one arm around Ruby's body, Goemon took the pendant and pulled it off her neck. He gripped it tightly in his hand as their momentum slowed. But with the height from which they were falling and how fast they were going, there was still no way it was going to slow them down enough to land unscathed. That, and Goemon was becoming increasingly aware of the trees rushing up to meet them from below. To protect Ruby further, he rolled himself in the air, placing himself between the girl and the rising landscape.
While there was a chance that they would not die...
This was definitely going to hurt.
Goemon felt the sting of branches against his back, like hundreds of switches flogging him as he fell through the trees with Ruby cradled in his arms. And finally, he hit the ground…
WHAM!
Instant pain washed over him, so intense that it demanded he pass out. But in that moment, just before he did, he felt Ruby’s heartbeat against his own and he smiled a pained smile.
‘We’re alive,’ he thought.
Then, everything went dark.
That was how it happened.
But Ruby!
Where was Ruby?
He soon spied her, not five feet from him, sitting against a tree, her face buried in her knees. On the ground beside her was the Stardust pendant. Slowly, Goemon moved towards her.
"Ruby..." he said softly.
Whatever had happened when he struck the ground and lost consciousness, some greater power within the girl, some remaining strength guided her in his care. Adrenaline, perhaps, aided her in dragging him to the nearest water source. Love and compassion guided her focus to remove his kimono and sash and tend to his comfort. But for however long Goemon was out, it was enough for the adrenaline rush to pass and shell shock to take its hold.
The sound of her name did not rouse Ruby from her position. But as Goemon’s hand came to rest upon her shoulder, Ruby's head shot up from her knees and she drew a sharp, screaming gasp and threw up her arms as though warding off an attack. That reaction of sheer terror and violent fear… He'd never seen her like this. And honestly, he never suspected he would, especially since he’d been certain death was in the cards for them both. But now, here she was – alive, but in such a horribly vulnerable state.
Her face was pale.
Too pale.
Her eyes were sunken and big.
Too big.
'Someone needs you. Go to them.'
Ruby was that someone.
Goemon placed both hands firmly upon her shoulders, holding them tightly. Ruby shook her head, sending her short black and purple hair flying across her eyes as she made an incoherent choking noise in the back of her throat.
"Nnn... Nnn... Nnn!" She thrashed in his arms. For a moment, it almost seemed like something notably 'other' had its vile claws upon her – for when she looked at him, she didn't see him. Her arms came up, flailing, drumming against his chest until...
"Ruby,” he said firmly. “It's alright. I'm here."
Ruby’s thrashing stopped as her gaze met the dark, comforting eyes of Goemon. Her fists rested upon his bare chest and with one last shrieking wail, she crumpled into his lap, her face buried in his hakama as tremors wracked her entire body.
Goemon frowned as he placed his hand upon her head. Slowly, he began to caress her, trailing his fingers through her hair. Ruby shut her eyes and clenched her fists into his hakama as she screamed until she could scream no more. All the while Goemon simply remained, caressing her head and trailing his fingers through her hair.
For a time, Ruby had believed she was fully betrayed by everyone around her. Her heart had been shattered. She'd given up. She was willing, even, to simply accept death. But now, she was discovering something far from that false truth. She wasn't alone. And Goemon made sure she knew that.
With one hand passing gently through her hair, the samurai sought to comfort her the best that he could. Even if her heart had been broken and she'd given up all hope, there was one thing she could take comfort in.
Goemon Ishikawa XIII was here for her.