Author's Note: May I first state that it was never actually my intention of entitling each chapter with the same beginning consonant, but it just seemed to end up that way, and after three chapters, I can't exactly break habit now, can I? So yes; each following chapter from here on out will be one word, beginning with the letter 'M.' If you'd like to play a game, I welcome any guesses to what any of the following titles will be!
Oh yeah, and I don't own any of the copyrighted Chrno Crusade characters, nor do I own anything associated with Chrno Crusade. Nor do I own the rights to movies mentioned below, but I suppose simply mentioning them in a story doesn't really require a disclaimer notice, huh? Oh well! I said it anyway!
Until the next update!
—Koru
11.09.06: Titled this one too. One more to go.
Chapter Four: Marking
The following evening found Nathan in the kitchen, washing the dishes from that morning's breakfast, which Stephanie had failed to do before she had rushed out the door under the impression that her boss was going to fire her for how late she was. Ewan stepped into the dining room just as he was drying a plate to put it away.
"Hey there, sunshine!" Nathan chuckled. "How late were you up last night?"
Ewan rubbed his eyes at the kitchen lights.
"'Till three am," he answered.
"Oh," Nathan said. "So you we're up when Ellen came home, then?"
Ewan nodded, and then realized what Nathan was doing.
"Do you need any help there?" he asked, coming into the kitchen.
"Not really," Nathan said. "I'm almost done."
Ewan paused at the entrance to the kitchen and there was silence for a little while. Then Nathan turned off the water and turned around.
"Dude," he said. "You're making me nervous. Go sit down, or play with the radio or something."
"Oh!" Ewan jumped up from where he had been leaning against the wall. "Sorry about that."
Nathan just shook his head and chuckled as he turned back to the few dishes he had left. Who is this guy?
Ewan made his way into the living room, and immediately searched the room for something to occupy his mind. Of course, his gaze first fell on the picture of Ellen's parents, but he quickly turned away. He'd had enough of thinking about that for now. Instead, he found a shelf that appeared to be stacked with all kinds of books and music, but some of the music cases were elongated. He didn't recognize them at all.
Squinting, he found each spine to be labeled with a title. He read through them slowly; The Terminal, Moulin Rouge, K-PAX, Fight Club, The Whole Nine Yards, Stigmata….
Ewan frowned at this last one, taking it off the shelf to look at it more closely. On the cover was a woman being crucified. He grimaced at this, not liking how closely associated it was with past memories, and put it back on the shelf.
"You're welcome to watch any of them."
Ewan turned. He hadn't heard Nathan walk over.
Nathan leaned over to see the one he'd just shelved.
"Oh yeah; that one is Ellen's. Don't know why she likes it so much. Considering who she is, I thought it would bother her," he admitted. "But you can't say 'no' to Patricia Arquette, huh?"
He elbowed Ewan, but, getting no response, sobered a bit.
"Have you ever seen that movie?"
"Movie?" Ewan repeated. "It's a film?"
"Uh, yeah," Nathan said. "Why? Haven't you ever seen a DVD before?"
Ewan considered how best to answer this—he really hadn't ever seen a DVD before. Or if he had, he couldn't really remember; he hadn't exactly been very observant over the past…how long had it been…? Twenty years? More than that. Ever since….
"Ewan?"
Ewan came out of memory and looked at Nathan, who was looking at him from an odd angle.
"You okay, man?"
"Yes," Ewan said, giving him a faint smile. "I'm fine. Don't worry about it."
Nathan raised an eyebrow that told Ewan he wasn't satisfied with that answer, but let it drop anyway.
"Whatever you say," he shrugged and went over to the couch. He picked up the TV remote from the coffee table and pointed it at the TV in the corner, then switched it on.
"So, you wanna watch something?"
Ewan looked at Nathan for a moment, then back at the shelf of what Nathan had identified as 'DVDs,' and realized what he was asking.
"Sure," he replied. "Which one would you like?"
"Up to you, man," said Nathan. "Just pick which one sounds good."
"Oh," Ewan said, unsure of this decision. "All right."
So he scanned the shelf once more and pulled one out. Liking what he saw on the cover, he brought it over to Nathan.
"How about this one?"
Nathan took it and looked at it.
"Michael?" he read the title aloud, then laughed. "Sure; why not? I haven't seen this one in ages."
"Seen what in ages?"
Both men turned to the entrance of the hallway to see Ellen standing there, once more in her nurse's outfit, preparing to leave. Ewan had once more to shake the vision of Rosettefrom hishead.
Nathan held the DVD case up for her to see.
"Michael," he repeated. "Remember this movie?"
Ellen came closer to take a look at it.
"Oh, yeah," she said, smiling. "I used to love this movie. I didn't even know we had it. You two were going to watch it, then?"
"Yup."
"Oh, okay."
Ewan shot her a glance at that tone, but her head was bowed, so she didn't see it.
"Ellen?" Nathan asked.
She looked up at that.
"Yes?"
"What's wrong?"
"Oh?" She seemed to suddenly realize what her expression must have been like, and flashed him a smile. "Nothing—nothing's wrong. Don't worry."
Nathan still wasn't satisfied.
"You're sure?"
Ellen nodded.
"I'm sure."
"You're sure you're sure?" he pressed.
Ellen laughed and gave him a playful punch in the arm.
"I can take care of myself," she said. "I don't need a little boy to walk me to work!"
Nathan laughed in response.
"Whatever you say, old lady!"
Ellen turned to go, grabbed her bag from where she had left it on the table, and headed for the hall.
Ewan watched her until she turned into the hallway and disappeared, then looked back at Nathan.
"'Old lady'?" he asked.
"Yeah," Nathan laughed. "Real soon after I joined these guys, I insisted on doing most things a 'man of the house' would do, you know? That included taking care of bills and the like. Ellen didn't like it, and kept on me about it until she finally claimed seniority in the house, and took over. It was great—you should have seen her face when she called me 'young man.'"
Nathan laughed aloud at the thought.
"But you don't seem that different in age," Ewan said.
"We're not, really," Nathan said. "She's only three years older than me, and four years older than Steph."
"How old are you?" Ewan asked.
Nathan cracked a grin.
"I've been able to legally drink since last fall!"
"Hmm," Ewan acknowledged, then turned back to the door Ellen had left through. After some consideration, he got up to follow.
"Hey, Ewan," Nathan called after him. "I thought we were going to watch a movie?"
Euan turned back, his smile as flawless as Ellen's had been earlier.
"Maybe some other time," he suggested. "When we can all watch it together?"
Nathan knew this was an impractical request, seeing as there was always someone out of the house, but he knew Ewan had his own reasons.
"Yeah, sure," he said instead. "I wanted to see what they had on Comedy Central, anyway."
With that, he turned back to the TV and flipped to the desired channel. Ewan turned back to follow Ellen, but found that she had already left.
It will be all right, Ellen told herself as she walked down the sidewalk. The chances of that encounter were really slim. It's never happened before—besides, you're not that far from home, and it's a very populated area. If anything happens you can always—
"AHHH!"
Ellen felt a hand on her shoulder and jumped away, already digging around in her coat pocket for her pepper spray, when she realized who her assailant was.
"Ewan?"
"I'm sorry," he said, still wincing at her shriek. "I didn't mean to scare you."
"Oh, no, I'm sorry," she said, releasing the bottle in her pocket relaxing a bit. "I just thought—"
She didn't want to tell him what she thought.
"What are you doing out here? Did you need something?"
"Something is bothering you," he told her flatly. "What is the real reason you came into the living room to talk to Nathan?"
Ellen balked a little, but kept herself contained. She had hoped that she wasn't being that obvious. Then again, Nathan had always been the easiest to fool.
Looks like all men aren't created equally, she thought grimly.
"Oh, no," she said offhandedly. "Nothing is bothering me—I was just…hoping for some company, I guess."
Her voice sort of petered out at the end, making for a lame excuse.
What's wrong with me? she scolded herself. I can usually come up with a better excuse than that run-of-the-mill junk!
But, looking at Ewan, she seemed to sense that she couldn't lie to him like she had everyone else. It was almost as though he knew her lies because…he told them himself.
"Would you mind my company?"
Ellen was a little surprised by his offer, but not displeased.
"Not at all," she smiled genuinely this time.
Ewan could feel her relief at his offer. And so they walked for a while. But it wasn't too long before Ewan found a way to approach his question.
"I take from Nathan's response that you don't usually ask to be walked to work?"
Ellen looked up and flashed a confident grin.
"I can take care of myself, and he knows it," she said, her face the perfect show of a woman empowered.
Ewan suddenly burst out laughing.
Ellen was so startled by this response that the entire façade dropped immediately.
"What's so funny?" she demanded.
It took a while for Ewan to compose himself, but he made his best effort, seeing the damage he'd done to her pride in this.
"I—I'm sorry," he gasped. "I mean no disrespect, it's just—" he laughed a little again. "It's just that you look so much like…."
He sobered completely before he could tell her who he felt she looked like.
"Ewan?"
Ellen saw that he was looking pointedly at something across the street, and followed his line of vision until it came to rest on a church whose doors were open, candles within lit. Just inside, Ellen could see the silhouette of a priest sweeping between the pews.
"Ah!" she exclaimed. "I was hoping I'd catch one!"
"What?"
Ellen turned happily back to Ewan.
"I left home early today because I was hoping to catch a church still open—it's been a while since my last confession, you know!"
She turned back to cross the street, but was surprised and a little concerned to feel a firm grip on her arm, stopping her.
"Ewan?" she turned back once again. His face was unreadable. "Ewan, what is it?"
Ewan blinked a couple times, then seemed to come to his senses. He let her go.
"Forgive me," he told her. "Go ahead."
She looked at him strangely, then looked around before crossing the street, Ewan close behind her. The priest seemed happy to receive her.
"I was hoping you'd get your chance, my child," he told her with a smile. "I am glad you found one."
"As am I," Ellen said happily.
Ewan watched as Ellen went through the movements of confession, all the time, his eyes on the priest. Even when Ellen was finished, his gaze had not lifted.
"The hospital is close by, right?" he asked her when she came to him at the door.
"Yes," she answered. "It is."
"Would you mind continuing on without me?"
Ellen's hesitation was enough of an answer for him, but she simply said "No, that's all right. I'll see you tomorrow?"
He caught her again as she turned to go, breaking his gaze for the first time since they'd entered the church.
"I'll be there to walk you home tonight, all right?"
"Oh, that really isn't necessary—" she began.
"I insist," Ewan said firmly.
Ellen's smile returned, spreading gratefully across her face.
"Thank you."
He smiled in return, and she left. He watched until she had turned a corner, then looked back at the priest, who was still standing right where Ellen had left him. Ewan, who had been leaning on the threshold of the door to the church this whole time, now lifted off and walked into the church.
"What do you want?" he asked the priest.
"What ever do you mean, my son?" he asked.
"What are you after?"
"My son, are you accusing me—?"
"Answer the question, demon!" Ewan shouted.
At first, the priest's face was one of shock, but that soon melted away to reveal the face of what appeared to be a woman, but with elongated ears and short horns poking out of her dull black hair.
"You'll know soon enough, Father," she spat, then lifted her arm and threw a small capsule on the floor, releasing a bright flash. When the spots had faded from Ewan's eyes, she was gone, as was the illusion of the church. Ewan found himself standing in an abandoned building, grinding his teeth.
How did she know about my past? he wondered anxiously. There should be no one still alive who knows me by that title. Except….
Ewan shook his head.
But why now? Why after all of these years? What could he possibly want with me?
He looked at the place where the priest—no, the demoness had been standing.
There is only one way to find out.
In the old cathedral not far from where she had left Ewan, the demoness appeared before Charlotte, and knelt into a bow before her.
"Everything goes as you have planned it, Charlotte-sama," she told her. "Everything is in place."
"Very good, Avarice," Charlotte said. "Prepare your comrades; the test shall commence very soon."
"All of them?" Avarice asked cautiously.
"All three," Charlotte confirmed.
Avarice hid her reluctance beneath her choppy hair.
"Yes, Charlotte-sama."
Later that night, Ewan met Ellen at the hospital as promised. He appeared outside just as she was shrugging her coat on. It was Barrie who noticed him first.
"Who is that tall glass of water out there?" she asked Ellen.
Ellen looked up and Ewan waved. Ellen grinned embarrassedly.
"He's the one we picked up over the weekend."
"No," Barrie gasped. "He's homeless? Really?"
Ellen nodded as she stowed her things in a bag.
"Ooh," Barrie said. "He can come and stay at my place if he wants."
Ellen laughed.
"Good night, Barrie," she said.
"You let him know that, okay?" Barrie called after her.
"I'll let him know," Ellen laughed back at her. When she reached Ewan outside, he was still waving at Barrie, albeit a little nervously.
"Why won't she stop waving at me?" he asked Ellen awkwardly out of the corner of his mouth.
Ellen laughed again.
"Never mind her," she said, and began steering him back in the direction of the apartment. "She's just a big tease."
Ewan was pretty sure he knew what this meant, but didn't quite care to elaborate on the thought, and so instead set his mind on their surroundings. After the encounter earlier that night, he wasn't about to take any chances.
Ellen noticed when her companion tensed up, and took his arm in hers comfortingly.
"Everything all right?" she asked when he looked at her.
His brows knitted together for a minute in what seemed to be regret, but then his gaze was directed back out into the night.
"Everything is fine," he said.
"You're sure?"
Ewan nodded.
"You're sure you're sure?" she mimicked Nathan, giving him a playful nudge with her arm.
Ewan looked back down at that and smiled.
"I'm quite sure, young lady," he chuckled.
"Very well then, old man," Ellen giggled. "Have it your way."
Ewan's grin held an ironic twist in it at the thought of the title 'old man.'
You have no idea, he thought with a sigh.
Suddenly, all thoughts of joviality were wiped from his mind as a shiver ran down his spine. He whipped around to come face to face with three people—two men and a woman—standing calmly behind them. But there was something wrong with these people; Ewan could sense it. They were not human.
"Nice to see you again, Father," the woman—who Ewan now recognized as the demon he had met in the false church. "I didn't expect to be seeing you again so soon."
"Who are you?" Ewan demanded. "What do you want with me?"
"Our mistress wants something that you have," the demoness' thin male companion said.
"So, if you'd be so kind," the female continued. "Just stay where you are so that we can collect what we came for!"
With this, all three surged forward, intent on attacking Ewan.
"Hold on," Ewan told Ellen as he grabbed her around the waist and leapt into the air.
"Wait—!" Ellen cried. "What—!"
Suddenly, the wind was rushed from Ellen's lungs as Ewan lifted them both ten feet into the air, narrowly avoiding the demon's attack. Ellen shrieked when the air returned to her lungs, wrapped her arms tightly around Ewan's neck and tightly shut her eyes, preparing for what she knew would be a neck-breaking descent, but none came. When she opened them again, they were still in the air, but seemed to be suspended. Ellen felt the wind buffet around her, but it didn't feel like the wind; no, it seemed to be coming from…Ewan?
Ellen looked up above Ewan's head and was shocked to see a large pair of wings growing out of his back. Her wide-eyed gaze turned to his face, which was still intent on the demons below them.
"Ewan?" she asked breathlessly. "What—what are—?"
"No time to explain," he responded quickly, grimacing as the demons hissed up at him and revealed wings of their own. "Hang on."
"But—AHHH!"
Ewan gave one mighty flap of his wings and they went shooting off into the night sky. Ellen could do little but cling to him and pray that he didn't drop her. It didn't help at all that she was terrified of heights. She buried her face in his chest to avoid looking at the inverted ground below, unable to scream for the wind that gusted around her, stealing the air from her lungs.
Confident that he had a firm grip on her, and that she had a good grip on his neck, Ewan flew as fast as he was able to escape their pursuers.
Why is this happening? he wondered frantically. What exactly are they after?
He shook his head. There is no time for that! I have to get Ellen someplace safe so that I can fight them on even ground.
A hot spike of pain shot through his right wing, sending him plummeting for a moment, before he caught himself once more and lifted away. He winced from the effort and gritted his teeth.
I know I'm not supposed to be using my powers, he conceded. But I must if I am to save this innocent!
With that thought in mind, he swerved in mid-air and flew back towards the building where Ellen's apartment was.
"Ellen!" he called to her.
She looked up hesitantly, but couldn't respond verbally—she was shaking too hard.
"I need to put you down, but if I stop, they'll catch both of us! Do you understand?"
The fear in Ellen's eyes only increased at his implication, and looked out towards where they were heading. She could see her home in the distance. She looked back at Ewan.
I don't know who you are, or where you came from, she thought resolutely. But you haven't given me any reason not to trust you.
Ewan saw the determination grow in her face, but her head still shook on frayed nerves as she nodded to him.
"All right then," he said. "Get ready!"
Ellen could feel his grip loosen on her waist, and she responded by gently unlinking her fingers from behind his neck. They were nearly on top of the building. Ewan threw out his wings and slowed them dramatically.
"NOW!"
He and Ellen let go of each other at the same time, and Ellen twisted around to put her feet out in front of her, landing on the gravel roof and tumbling over.
Ewan watched briefly as she rose shakily to her feet.
Brave girl, he thought admiringly, but didn't have much time to focus on her, for that loss in speed had cost him. He felt a couple ribs snap as the largest of the three demons plowed headlong into his side.
"AAUGH!"
"No!" Ellen cried out.
Ewan heard her and shouted, "Get out of here!"
Ellen thought about arguing, but knew it would be pointless—her presence would only serve as a distraction. She ran for the roof door and jumped inside, speeding down the stairs and emerging at the fourth floor hallway, where she promptly dug her keys out of her pocket and began fumbling with them to unlock the door. Her shaking fingers wouldn't cooperate.
"Come on!" she sobbed, tears beginning to blur her vision. "Come on! Come on!"
The door suddenly opened, and Nathan was standing there in the doorway.
"Ellen? What's wrong?" He asked as soon as he saw her face.
"Eh.." she panted. "Ewan! It's…Ewan!"
"What? What happened to Ewan?"
Ellen was spared an explanation as the sound of shattering glass and splintering wood came from the kitchen, followed by what sounded like a struggle.
"Ewan?" Ellen called out, running down the hall.
"Wait, Ellen!" Nathan called out after her, right on her heels up until she abruptly stopped at the entrance to the dining room. When Nathan came around to see what she was looking at, he froze in shock.
A great hole had been blown through the kitchen wall in order to admit two winged men, on of whom wore tight clothing over his long, thin frame, and who sported horns over his pointed ears; the other of which was…
"Ewan?" Nathan gasped.
"What the hell!"
Nathan whirled to see Stephanie emerge from their room. She stood as stock still as Nathan had become at the sight. It was then that Nathan's instincts kicked in. He grabbed Ellen's arm in an attempt to pull her away from the scene.
"Come on!" he yelled at her, but she wouldn't be moved.
"No!" she cried. "We have to help him—!"
"There's nothing we can do!" Nathan argued, still pulling at her. "Look at them!"
Ellen stopped struggling long enough to take another look. The two winged men seemed to be in a lock down, pressing against each other's hands with all of their strength. Ellen blinked rapidly, trying to clear the haze that was gathering before her eyes, but it wouldn't go away. She soon realized that the haze was the aura that surrounded these two men—it was so powerful that it warped the air around them. Then, Ellen began to sense the individual power of each; it was almost as though the auras had begun to change color, but it was more of an instinctual change than a visual one. It was then that she could see—Ewan's aura was getting weaker. He was losing.
"Let go!" Ellen cried desperately, ripping her arm away from Nathan and running towards Ewan.
"Ellen, no!"
"Stay away!" Ewan tried to yell at her, but all of his energy was going into his battle with this demon; his voice was barely above a whisper.
Ellen suddenly felt a new aura that caused her to turn her head. It was so strong that she felt her eyes water and began sneezing violently. She didn't see the white-haired demon leap from the roof of the building across the street, through the hole and wind up in midair to deliver a ground-shattering blow to the floor with his palm, blowing everyone back. Nathan shielded Stephanie at the last moment, and they both went flying back into their room, while Ellen, Ewan and the demon he had been fighting were all strewn about the room. Ellen felt her head crack against the wall and everything went black.
Aion looked quickly between Yen and Ewan, then over to Ellen. He darted over and grabbed the girl, stepping over the mark he had made in the wooden floor as he made his way quickly back to the hole in the wall.
"We go," he hissed at the demon, who seemed reluctant to leave the battle he had been winning, but obeyed anyway, flying out of the room ahead of him.
Ewan lifted himself from the ground just as Aion looked back at him and smirked.
"No! Ellen!" Ignoring the pain that shot through every inch of his body, Ewan leapt to his feet and launched himself at the demon and the girl. Aion was just about to make his escape when something did it for him. A great surge of energy that seemed at first to pull him back to where he had left the mark held him back for a fraction of a second before blowing him forward and out of the building. He plummeted toward the ground, only to catch himself on the building across the street and drop safely to the ground.
"Clumsy hornless bastard," Yen growled out at him.
Aion decided to make him pay for that later. For now, he had what he had come for—it was time to leave.
Back in the half-destroyed apartment, Ewan rose up groggily from the floor.
What was that? he wondered, holding his aching head.
"Ellen?"
Ewan looked up to see Nathan and Stephanie stumble out of the room they had been thrown into just seconds before.
"Ellen?" Stephanie called again, then spotted Ewan on the floor. "Where is she? Where is Ellen?"
Ewan groaned at the pain in his head, amplified by her anxious tone.
"Gone," he said. "They took her."
"'They'?" Nathan bellowed. "'They'? Who the fuck is 'they'!"
"Demons."
Stephanie sat very abruptly.
"What?" Nathan asked shakily.
"Demons," Ewan repeated. "Demons took her."
Nathan was then also overcome with the strong need to sit. He crumpled to his knees beside the shallow crater Aion had created in the floor. His head slumped onto his chest in exhaustion at what had happened in the last few minutes, when something amidst the rubble caught his eye.
"Hey, what's this?"
Ewan got up and limped over at the note of curiosity that was in Nathan's voice. Stephanie also crawled over to peer over Nathan's shoulder at the hole in the floor.
What met their eyes was a small symbol that strongly resembled a crucifix, but which had two horizontal lines crossing the vertical line, instead of just one.
Instinctually, Nathan reached out to see if it was just a burn mark, or if it had gone through the wood. Ewan barely had the time to call out a warning before they all fell into darkness.