A/N: I'm going with the fact that I died. BTW, I made a few references to various books, since I happened to have them on me.
Gaining custody to Mark's body wasn't hard. All Gray needed was FBI credentials....which he had, as a Interpol officer authorized by the government to arrest.
"It's hard to believe. All these battles, all the wars, and you fall here, of all places." He stared at Mark's open mouth, never again to speak a word.
According to one of the staff in charge of executing Mark, this was the conversation he had before his death:
Staff: Damn, what the hell did you do to get executed at this age? I mean....I know, but why?
Mark: Hmm. I guess you can call it my destiny.
Staff: It's destiny to murder over 300 people, cause over a million dollars in damage to various buildings, and several cases of grand theft auto and robbery?
Mark: Now that you put it that way, I really don't know. *laughs* But what else could I do?
Staff: I see. Now, can I ask another question?
Mark: Sure, shoot.
Staff: You denied the right to a trial, you even agreed to push the date of your execution up. Why?
Mark: Because my death will mean the final nail in the coffin.
Staff: ....OK.
"Final nail in the coffin," Gray repeated. What could that mean? Did he try to kill himself to deal a blow to the syndicate? But what good does that do?
But just then, he remembered a day a couple years ago. While Mark, then 7, was staying in his apartment because he had nowhere else to go.
That rainy, stormy day, he pulled out a chess board and invited Mark to play. It seemed someone already taught Mark how to play, because he simply walked over and started with moving the king pawn two spaces.
The game was fierce. Traps triggered everywhere, one piece triggered at least six others. But the game wasn't what caught his mind, it was the second to last move Mark played.
See, he played his queen straight into the open, right into the path of his rook. Gray, not knowing then what was going on, decided to take the queen, only to lose the very next turn.
The move, he later learned, was coined the queen's sacrifice. Making your opponent loosen your defenses with the queen, allowing the player to finish off his opponent.
Did he really try to pull off that same move in life? Gray's mind was swimming in a sea of thoughts.
But wait, Mark also requested a permanent marker before his death, then requested the staff to leave for a few seconds. Could he have written a dying message, even though it was likely impossible?
Of course...the most obvious place, since Mark was likely confined, was on his own body. He placed Mark down, then examined his body. Gray was shocked by the results.
Somehow, defying the fact that he was confined by unbreakable bonds, he managed to write on his own body under his robe.
On his chest was written: Blue, black, red, green, and yellow will spell the location of the final battle.
On his right leg was written: Their leader not only has clay of feet, he has feet of clay.
On his right arm was written: The hero lies shrouded by the apple trees, dormant and waiting for battle.
On his left leg was written: A large group spoils the hunt. A small group is best.
On his left arm was written: Sometimes two IS greater then one.
Gray hastily scrawled the words down, as if they would disappear any moment. Once he was done, he quickly re-wrapped Mark up in the blue robe, then ran out the door.
The words on my body mean:
