Author's Notes: The setting of this story takes place in two places. The first one, I hope you'll be able to guess, but the second I shall thus reveal: it comes from 'Dark Dreams', an anthology of blood, sex and alternate realities. One of those presented was Anthony Beal's 'Cum Onn, It'z Lovely Whether', which tells the tale of rebels who have banded together to assassinate the Krampus and the Crimson Christ on the eve of his arrival. Yes, I stuck Tezuka and Fuji in there… Sue me.
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"On the second day of Christmas,
My true love gave to me,
Two turtle doves
And a partridge in a pear tree."
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"When Noah was lost at sea with his family and all the animals, he sent out a raven and a dove to see if the water that flooded their home had lessened. Which one do you think came back?" the boy sitting on the mass of clouds asked his companion.
His companion replied with a shrug, and the boy frowned. "No idea? Not even a guess?" his companion shook his head.
Huffing, the boy continued, "The raven never returned. It flew back and forth and all around, since there was nowhere for him to rest. After that, Noah sent out the dove, who returned quite quickly-- there was still nowhere safe enough. Seven days later, Noah sent the dove out once more, and this time, it returned with an olive leaf. Noah knew by then that his home was a safe place again. He waited for seven days more, and then released the dove. This time, it didn't come back. "
There was silence, as his companion nodded at the explanation. The boy peered at him, sky-blue eyes alight with curiosity.
"What do you think happened to the birds?"
Before his companion could answer, a voice called out to him. He gave the boy one last look, the exact meaning of which the boy could not determine, and walked away.
The boy was alone for a while and he spent his time watching the creatures below, those who lived on what his teachers had called Earth, and what 'Abriel had called Sheyol. And then it was his turn to be called, and without anyone to say good bye to, he went.
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It was the eve of the arrival of the Crimson Christ, and the rebels had gathered for a last minute briefing session in under the ruins of the library. In total, there were twelve of them, but after that night numbers would cease to matter.
The man who called himself Babel stood at the table, patiently explaining to an irate Samson why they could not simply 'crack the Krampus' head open'. Babel's assistant, a blonde named Seth, was dangling his silver chain over the roaring fire, letting the tongues lick the pointed cross that hung from it. Rudolph was asleep, but he sneezed every now and then, so most people knew where he was.
A tall brunette who was once called Kunimitsu Tezuka was standing by the doorway, dutifully cradling his favored flame thrower with his working hand. His left hand was being held by the resident genius-cum-psychopath, Ba'al V. Laun, whose honey-colored hair and sky-blue eyes fooled most people into thinking he was anything but.
"I heard an interesting story today, Present." he began, tracing letters and shapes on the other man's mostly useless hand.
Present, as he was now known, made no reply, but Ba'al knew that his continued silence signified that he wanted to hear it. It was not often that he would be indulged like this, so Ba'al decided to forego the story of the boys who tried to kill the Crimson Christ and instead told the tale of the Great Vengeance.
"...and after forty days and forty nights, the storm passed. Noah sent out two birds to go over the earth, in search of a place to live. One was the raven, and the other was the dove. The raven went first, and never returned. The dove went next, and after a while, came back with an olive leaf. Noah waited for seven days before sending him out once again, and this time the dove did not return."
Present raised an eyebrow at him, and Ba'al chuckled, making tsk-tsk noises at the older man. "Let me finish. The raven and the dove never came back to Noah, and when I peeked into Babel's black book, it said that they flew over the world together, alighting only when the Crimson Christ was born."
"And what does this have to do with you and Present?" Rudolph asked suddenly, bleary eyes peering over the blanket tucked around him. Seth's eyes strayed to them as well, and Babel and Samson were also looking. They were all thinking roughly along the same lines: it couldn't have been mere coincidence that, once, during a time no one was to ever speak of, The Ghost of Christmas Present and Ba'al V. Laun held the names of those birds.
To Ba'al's delight, Present opened his mouth to speak, "Night of nights, when the Crimson Christ is reborn, those birds will fly again, and fulfill their destined duties."
"Brought together by the words of the above, sent out to scout the world-- one flew to Sheol, and the other returned, only to be sent out again. After seven days, reunited, forever flying, now hunting the child of Sheol. Still, hunting the child of Sheol. Tonight, hunting the child of Sheol." Ba'al continued for him, the smile on his face as sincere as the Dashers that charged through the streets, and the sacrifices who offered themselves to the Krampus for salvation.
There was silence afterwards, broken only by Rudolph's humming, a song about the twelve curses of the Crimson Christ.
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fin
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Author's Notes: -______-;;; Greetings, all. On the Second day of Christmas, my dearest BoTMF gave to me, a TeFu-- not a concussion, and a set of pairings, four times three. The prompt for this being the second gift of Christmas, the two turtle doves, and the theme 'those who parted, reunited' + 'something absurd' (carry over of the first day of Christmas). Anyway, clearly, I have a LOT of explaining to do...
+ Noah's story = paraphrased from the Bible, no changes as of yet. Told in the chambers of heaven, for lack of a better term.
+ Sheol = In the Hebrew's view of the world before the current era, this is how they refer to the depths of the earth, otherwise known as the home of the dead/the nether world.
++ Sheyol = Earth, itself, at least according to these 'angels'. (created by my headcanon.)
+ 'Abriel = Short for Gabriel. (created by my headcanon.)
+ Crimson Christ = a term taken from Anthony Beal's 'Cum Onn, It'z Lovely Whether', an apocalyptic take on the holidays. Refers to Santa Claus, in layman's terms.
++ Great Vengeance = AKA, the Great Flood.
+ Krampus = 'immortal torturer and executioner for the Crimson Christ', as described by Mr. Beal in the same story as mentioned above.
++ Dashers = think evil reindeers of utter doom. Also from Mr. Beal's story.
+ Babel & Seth = according to Biblical definitions, the tower humans built to reach the heavens, and Adam and Eve's third son after Cain and Abel.
++ Babel & Seth in this fic = I won't spoil it. XD You'll just have to watch out for the third day of Christmas. Not in this field, though. But elsewhere... X marks the spot, y'all (--is shot).
+ Samson & Rudolph = on-the-spot OC's, to be used in other fics of this ilk, probably. Samson, also from the Bible, and Rudolph, the Red-nosed Reindeer in human form. XD (created by my headcanon.)
+ Ba'al V. Laun & the Ghost of Christmas Present = might do a background story for this one, scratch that, I guess I need to-- ^^u. Obviously, Ba'al = Fuji, and Present = Tezuka. (trivia: try saying Fuji's name here quickly. Ignore the apostrophe. Done it yet? Does it sound familiar? XD) Oh, and, the boys in the first division: the boy = Fuji, his companion = Tezuka.
+ "Night of nights..." = written whilst thinking of Christmas carols, specifically 'O Holy Night'.
++ The twelve curses of the Crimson Christ = originally the 12 days of Christmas. XD I tried to come up with a verse, but it was an epic fail.
So, I was obviously on crack when I was writing this. It wasn't even the happy-hippy kind. It was the DEATHTORTUREMINDF*RY kind. +__+ I don't even know what to say to this. Bel, I have no words to defend myself with. I can't even say that the next one won't be as... cracked. Anyways, if you've made it this far without losing a screw, do review. ;) Let's get into the Christmas spirit, ne?