• Trinity Blood: The Power to Fight
    By: BDS
    Book 1 of 5
    Pages 29-55
    Rated: PG-13

    Chapter Two: Rescued But Not Saved

    Tres Iqus stepped off of the battle airship, Iron Maiden. His light brown hair swaying from side to side. His walk was slightly stiff, and the stiffness might've been caused by the long flight, or maybe because he just didn't want to remain in his current location for long.
    "Do you see Father Abel?" Kate buzzed in, her voice trembling from worry.
    Tres scanned the local area, and answered, "Negative. But many men, women, and children are dead. Liklihood of Father Nightroad's survival is less than ten percent. Awaiting further orders."
    "FATHER!! This is no time to be doubting Father Abel. You need to keep in mind that Her Eminence has labeled him her second best agent."
    "Forgive me, Sister Kate Scott."
    "Right. Anyway, your orders are to locate and secure, Father Nightroad, and to also make absolute certainty that he remains safe while in your keeping." Kate's voice was stern, but it became slightly softer with the rest of her thoughts, "I can only imagine the punishment that would await you if you did fail. So do your best, Father Tres, and remain safe."
    "Affirmative." Tres began to walk away from the Iron Maiden, and placing both hands into both pockets on either side of his robe, he pulled out two sleek Jericho M-13 handguns. Each gun was engraved with the roman numerals, "HC-IIIX".
    He continued to survey to gruesome scene. And in seeing the many piles of lifeless bodies, both of humans and vampires, did Tres fully realize just what sort of hell the Vatican would soon be surely facing.
    As he neared the enterance of a giant building, a rustling noise could be heard coming from some nearby bushes. Tres decided to point one of his guns in the direction of the bushes, and in a deep voice he commanded, "Come out now! Or I will be forced to terminate you!" He began to load a round of 13mm. bullets, and he was preparing to fire them.
    But just as he was loading the Jericho, Abel, who had been the one behind the bushes, slowly stood up. A new cut was visible on his lower jaw, and his right cheek was swollen with puss. "No, Tres. Please, don't fire!"
    He help up his right hand, to call for a halt. His face was red with his own blood and the blood of the now exterminated vampires. His glasses were broken at the bridge. And when he started to walk towards Tres, there was an obvious limp in his step.
    Tres just stared at Abel, and lowered his hands. "Father Abel Nightroad, you're alive."
    Abel laughed as best as he could, and whispered, "I am? Well," he placed his right hand on his chest and whispered, "Well I am, aren't I? Did Caterina send you out here to get me?"
    "Positive."
    "Well everything's alright now. As you can plainly see, I'm still alive. Thank God for that. And I'm still in one piece. Now I'm sure that Caterina will want to know about everything that has happened here, so if you don't mind Tres, I'd really like to go home." Abel smiled, wincing as he shifted his left arm.
    "Confirmed. Mission objective complete. New mission recieved." Tres stated, his voice remaining monotoned. "Sister Kate?"
    Kate's response came quickly, as she sat anxiously from within her office in the Iron Maiden, "Father Tres, have you found Father Nightroad?"
    "Positive. Await for our arrival, and make ready for immediate departure."
    "Understood, Kate Scott, signing out."
    Abel looked around, puzzled by what just happened, and then looking at Tres he asked, "I don't get it, how are you able to remain in contact with the Vatican and I wasn't?"
    Tres turned to face Abel, and then slowly and carefully he moved his hand to Abel's left ear.
    When Abel saw Tres' hand again he was holding his communicator, which had been destroyed without his knowing, and was now beyond the point of being repaired. And layered on the communicator, as well as soaked deeply into the fibers of Tres' white glove, was a fresh blood stain.
    "Father Abel Nightroad, damage done to your body is far too extensive, we must seek medical attention immediately."
    "Whatever you say Tres." Abel whispered, completely forsaking the blood. "Funny, I didn't....I didn't feel it happen....." He put his hand to his ear and felt a tear in the lobe.
    With his hand still to his ear, he felt an unexpected feeling......
    He suddenly felt extremely sick.....His vision was quickly becoming blurred....His head felt like it was spinning to no end....He was going to be ill.....He was going in and out of conciousness......And then..........

    Cardinal Caterina found herself sitting at her desk, her heart so full of worry and sorrow. The newest and youngest Vatican member sat beside her, sharing her sadness.
    "Your Eminence, I assure you, Father Tres will return any second now and Father Abel will be behind him with that silly grin he always is wearing. Trust me, Father Nightroad, is fine." Esther Blanchett whispered calmly, her eyes the color of a lapis lazuli, which was a priceless deep blue gem. Her voice was very soft when she spoke to the Cardinal, for she truly did know what she was going through.
    Esther was young, around of seventeen years old. Her face was of a pale color, and her complextion went well with her fiery red hair. Her hair had been cut short, and was curled outward around the ends, giving a quite beautiful look for someone of her age.
    She was new to the Ministry of Holy Affairs, and had only been a truly qualified nun for six short months. But in the six months, she had learned a great deal.
    Before being transferred to the Vatican, she had been a novice sister at the Saint Matthais Church in the city of Ishtvan. But the transfer was made after it had been destroyed by the self proclaimed ruler of the city, Count Gyula Qadar.
    Esther had hated Gyula! She hated him for destroying her home, she hated him for killing her foster mother, Bishop Laura Vitez, and she hated him for luring her best friend, Dietrich Von Lohengrin, into revealing his true intentions of evil. She hated everything about him, but when she learned the truth about the reasons for Gyula's actions, she couldn't help but to sympathize with what it was that he was feeling.......
    The feeling of loss........
    He had said that the entire reason for taking control of Ishtvan, was for revenge. Revenge for the loved one that he'd lost to the people of the city. Revenge for his beloved wife. Though soon after destroying Saint Matthais, Gyula himself was destroyed, and by his own weapon of war, the Star of Sorrow.
    He had died with the thought of his wife still in his mind's eye.....he died, thinking that Esther, was his dead wife brought back to life. And Esther knew that Gyula achieved the one thing that had mattered the most to him, he and his wife were finally reunited. And she was happy for him.......
    His downfall, however, had also been her uprising. She learned that she couldn't go through life hating all of those who had either left her, or had just betrayed her. She had learned to be, as her name meant in an ancient Persian language, she had learned to be "star", a light that shines down with hope on all darkness and despair. She had learned to let go of all her distrust.
    And sitting with the Cardinal, she had learned to put all that she knew into action.
    "I know Sister, but it's only that Abel and myself have been close friends for a very long time now. We met even before I established the AX." Caterina smiled, more to herself. She always found comfort in thinking of Abel.
    Esther, seeing the Cardinal's smile asked out of curiosity, "What is it, Your Eminence?"
    "Oh it's nothing. Only that to me, it appears as if Abel never changes. He's always acting like an overgrown five year old. And in a naieve way it can seem slightly cute. But to someone who's never met a man like Abel, they might see his childish ways as a desperate cry for attention, and they would possibly deem him as being, a bumbling idiot. You can't help but to love him and his strange ways, but also at the same exact time, you can't stand to stay in the same room, or the same building for that matter, with him for no more than two minutes." She laughed as old memories flooded her mind.
    Esther smiled, and closed her eyes, "I've only known Father Abel for a very short amount of time, and I honestly enjoy working with him and helping him out on missions. But I...I don't think that I know the same Abel Nightroad that you do. Whenever I see him, he's always so serious, I just wish that--" She ceased speaking when the door to Caterina's office flung open.
    In the doorway, a beautiful, raven haired young woman stood. Her long and shiny hair matched perfectly with her spellbinding violet eyes. She was thin, and her skin was pure.
    "Sister Noelle, have they arrived?!" Caterina prompted, standing up.
    "Yes, Your Eminence. Father Tres and Father Abel have just returned." Noelle Bor, one of the original founding AX agents stated, as she began to cross the room towards Caterina and Esther. She nodded her head in Esther's direction to show her some respect. "Oh, but Your Eminence, Abel has asked me to beg for his forgiveness. For he's getting cleaned up, as well as he's having his wounds dressed."
    Caterina chuckled and whispered, "He is forgiven."

    The cool water that ran down Abel's bare and sore body felt good, as he stood still under the shower head. He stared blankly at his hands and feet, as he saw the water, once pure and clean, turn red from the blood. He watched as the blood was slowly washed away from his hands, but he knew in his heart, that it would never truly be gone. He knew that he would forever be tainted with it's unholy touch, and that his body would forever be marked as a sin.
    He still felt ill, but the feeling that he'd experienced back in Lutetium had been a feeling of a physical illness. It was now what he knew to be, a mental illness. He was now sick from how he'd reacted to the vampires.
    "What's happened to me? What possessed me to kill them? Why did I act so rashly? That final vampire revealed that he'd been conspiring with the Rosen Kreuz Orden! And I killed him! All of them!" He closed his eyes and slid down the tile siding of the shower room. With his shaking fingers, he smoothed out his matted hair. He regretted his earlier actions, and began to desperately wish that he could turn back the hands of time and stop himself from ever acting out of anger. "What's happening to me?"
    He brought his knees close to his chest and tried to clear his mind. He tried to think of something that would maybe distract is preoccupied mind. He tried to forget that he'd killed the vampires, but the only thought that came to his mind, was one from when he was a child.
    He saw himself sitting in the corner of his tiny room, he had his knees drawn close to him, just as he did then. He realized that he couldn't have been any older than ten or eleven years old, and he also remembered feeling a strong hatred.
    But towards who? Or what?
    "So tell me, just what did you do this time, Abel?"
    It was Cain, Abel's older brother, "That's right, I was still living on the Ark with Cain, Lilith and Seth." Abel thought as more of the memory continued to unfold before his eyes.
    "Ashes to ashes.....And......Dust to dust......I wish all those annoying fools down there would disappear forever! The Earth would be better off without them!"
    A woman with long strawberry blonde hair was the next to speak, "That's a horrible thing to say! Horrible! Abel, those people down there are humans just like us!"
    "Lilith......" Abel continued to think.
    "No they're not like us at all! We're just experimental test subjects! Lab rats! You, me, even Cain and Seth! We're all expendable goods created from the Mars Colonalzation Project! So knowing that's who we are, tell me, just what kind of future do you think we could possibly have?!" Abel watched as he saw himself standing up and throw his arms out in despair. "Tell me!"
    "Abel......" Lilith muttered as she stood before Abel, her heart so full of hope and love for her son. She then opened her mouth to speak, but the blonde haired Cain spoke up first.
    "I don't know, but I'm happy. I'm happy to have been born into this world at all, brother." Cain smiled, as he stood beside Lilith.
    "Cain......"
    "It really doesn't matter where you're from. If your will is strong, you can make the future whatever you want it to be. So tell me, just what kind of future do you want, Abel?"
    "I want.....I want a future, where--"
    He opened his eyes, for he refused to remember anymore. He was almost expecting to see that what he just remembered, had only just happened. He was expecting to see Cain, Lilith, and even his little sister Seth, standing there, before him. But they weren't, and Abel remembered that Lilith was dead, he had no clue as to where Seth was, and that he was glad that he had no way of contacting Cain.
    He had forgotten, that at one time he had hated the entire human race, but now that he lived among them, he knew that they were just like him, and that Lilith had been correct all along.
    Abel had became so immersed in his own thoughts that he almost didn't hear the shower room door open, "Father Abel?"
    The voice belonged to Noelle.
    Abel gasped and nearly slipped onto his back, "Sister Noelle?? What--What is it?" He scrambled to his feet and moved to where he knew that he would only be heard but not seen. He quickly turned the water off, and made his way to the place where he'd laid his towel.
    "Father, what happened out there? When Father Tres returned with you, he said that you looked awful!" Noelle stood back, waiting for Abel to appear.
    Making sure that the towel was tightly secured around his torso, Abel walked out of the shower, his hair hanging damply at his waist, "Dear Sister, nothing happened. The citizens of Lutetium put up a really good fight in their attempt to stop the vampires. But unfortunately a good fight, wasn't good enough. They couldn't save themselves." He paused, grabbing his newly repaired glasses and placed them firmly on his nose. "Noelle, when I arrived there the vampires had already slaughtered them! No one survived! Children! Mothers! Fathers! Brothers and sisters! No one!" Tears began to fall from Abel's eyes, his face screwed up in pain.
    He couldn't take it anymore. He fell to his knees, his whole body shaking, and quietly he placed his hands infront of his now pale face. "Noelle, how do you fell you would have reacted to that scene of carnage?"
    Noelle knelt down so that she was on level with Abel, and slowly she reached her arms out and pulled him closer to her body. Holding him the way that a mother would hold her child. "I don't know, Abel. Why do you ask?"
    He buried his face into her chest, and muttered, "All of the bodies! I had never in my life seen such a heinous crime! All.....All that I desired to do was to teach those damned bastards a lesson! I wanted them to pay for the lives that they took!"
    Noelle gasped, "Please Abel! Please tell me that you didn't--"
    "I.......I did. I committed the ultimate sin! And I'm sorry for it......." He began to sob uncontrollably into Noelle's bosom.
    She smiled and gently kissed the top of his head, and softly she whispered, "Abel, everyone is tempted to do evil at least once in their life. Everyone has at least one weakness. Your weakness, Abel, is that you care so much for those to whom you've sworn to protect" She stopped and removed a strand of hair that had glued itself to his forehead. "And, Abel, the funny thing about that is that your greatest weakness also happens to be your greatest strength. You have a big heart, Abel, and it's so full of love that you needn't worry. God forgives all in due time."
    Abel brought his face to look into Noelle's eyes, "Thank you, Sister."
    "You're welcome Abel."
    "Only, now that my heart is eased, won't you please tell me what it is that's on your mind?"
    She blushed brightly, "Abel, I fear only one thing. And I honesly believed that my worst fear occurred today."
    "What fear is that?"
    "That everytime you leave on a mission, I fear that I may never see you again." She paused for a second, taking a deep breath. "And I know that it might seem selfish, but during evening prayers, I always pray for your safe return first. I fear your death, Abel!" Noelle looked down at hers and Abel's knees, tears flooding her vision.
    "Noelle......" Abel placed his hands on her shoulders, "I am truly blessed Sister. It comforts my heart, to know that in you, Noelle, I have a very special friend."
    He went to embrace her closely, but she began to pull away from him, "Noelle, what's the matter?"
    "A SPECIAL FRIEND?! Abel is that all that I am to you?! Because if it is, then I'm obviously not special enough!" She stood up, and turned her back on a confused Abel.
    He frowned as he stood up too, "Noelle, I'm really very sorry, but I can't answer your question."
    "Why?! WHY CAN'T YOU BE STRAIGHTFORWARD WITH ME?!"
    "Because I can't give you what you seek." Abel's electric blue eyes sparkled as he stared into Noelle's diehard face, his lips forming into a friendly smile.
    "I will leave you, Father Nightroad, and I will go and inform Her Eminence that you will soon be joining her." Noelle began to move towards the door, preparing to leave Abel behind her. But she felt something within her heart telling her that she should stay, but she merely whispered as she opened the door, "You know Abel, any answer that you give me is better than no answer at all. I just wish that you could admit that you do have feelings for me!"
    He stared after her, gathering his clothes from the clothes rack. "Noelle, maybe I'll tell you one day.....But for now, I can't admit what you want to hear........"

    "Father Abel, welcome back! I am truly grateful to see you doing so well after being in such hostile conditions." Caterina said as Abel sat down in a chair opposite of hers.
    The tear in his ear lobe had been mended, as well as the gash in his left shoulder. "Well, m'lady, it is a blessing to be back. I honestly didn't think that I'd make it out of there alive."
    "Indeed. You must have an interesting report. And as always, I hope to find it as; Oh how can I word this? Oh yes! I hope that I can find it as enlightening as the other reports that you've produced for me."
    Abel remained silent, unsure of whether Caterina would accept his, or smite him if he told of the truth. His mind was debating on whether his closest friend at the Vatican was ready to experience the closest trip to hell that was possible. "Well, m'lady, when I arrived at the main church in Lutetium, I couldn't believe my own eyes. Both humans and vampires were dead. And I managed to track down three remaining members of the Rosen Kreuz Orden, but I wasn't able to gather any information from them."
    "Well Abel, that's the reason that you brought them back with you, isn't it? Gunslinger will force them to talk. Correct?"
    "Caterina, they........"
    "Yes, Abel?"
    "I'm afraid that they will never speak again."
    Caterina looked at Abel, her stare penetrating his soul, "Why's that Abel?"
    "M'lady, Caterina, I've committed the ultimate sin, I killed them." He closed his eyes, so that he couldn't see the look of disappointment on Caterina's beautiful, young face.
    "WHAT?! Abel how could you?! They were vampires with potentially livesaving information! Not to mention that they were members of the Rosen Kreuz Orden! WHAT POSSESSED YOU TO BELIEVE THAT IT WAS ALRIGHT TO KILL THEM?!"
    He remained silent.....
    "ANSWER ME, ABEL!!"
    It took a moment for him to answer, his courage gone, and when he spoke, his voice quivered. "I'm sorry, Caterina. I really am. Please forgive me, and please forgive my reckless stupidity." He felt warm tears again. "Believe me, you would've acted in the very same manner, you would've forgotten completely about who you were. What I saw in Lutetium, it made me feel like I'd stepped directly into the burning flames of hell. Only the flames were inside of me. Inside of my body."
    Caterina frowned, her cool grey eyes flashing madly, "Abel, what you've done cannot be that easily forgiven. As you've said, you have committed the ultimate sin." She finally looked at him, her face entirely unreadable. "Abel, I'm sorry, but I'm afraid that you must be arrested for your sins."

    To Be Continued in Chapter Three: Reality Revealed In Darkness