A/N: This story is being written by both me and Flame800900. Unless stated otherwise I will be the one writing what Abel says and Flame will write what Cain says. We are both contributing to the extra things such as the detail, or what other characters say. Hope you Enjoy!
Abel looked up he could have sworn he saw a large white bird, but nothing was there. He continued racing across Vatican territory. He would get to Seth and Lilith and make them see that what they had done to Cain was wrong. When he finally went home those three would be a family once more, with or without 02.
Several white feathers fell before Abel's eyes. One was too large to belong to any normal bird. It was too large to belong to any bird at all. It was the feather of a crusnik.
What was his brother thinking? Abel cursed under his breath, and sped up his pace. Cain shouldn't have activated the crusnik, so soon after taking out twenty percent of 01. They didn't know the consequences. Abel looked up at the dark sky, the sun was beginning to peak through the horizon. It would take a while for it to be fully out.
"Nano-machine crusnik 02, release of restriction to eighty-percent, activate," Abel whispered. His wings ripped through his shirt, and his hair formed a crown over his head. Spreading his wings, the wind swept it up and he took flight.
It didn't take Abel long to find Cain. He wasn't too far behind his brother. Cain turned in midair and dove for the ground. He landed, his wings vanishing and hair falling around his head. He took off across the ground, a bag only just visible on his back.
With a powerful down stroke of his wings, Abel shot up even higher then he had been before. Now there was a thin strip of clouds between him and Cain, his brother wouldn't see him unless he looked closely. Despite being mad at his brother Abel couldn't help but smile, so his brother really did care. He followed Cain as he entered the city of Barcelona. Abel silently headed for land, making darn sure that he wouldn't be spotted by Cain, or any of the civilians for that matter. Seeing a black winged angel wouldn't go over well with most people.
Cain was moved through city, ignoring the people as if he couldn't see them. His hand rested on the hilt of sword. Cain suddenly stopped and sniffed the air. To anyone else it would have looked as if he was merely looking around. He took off quickly through the streets.
As Abel passed the point, he picked up Seth and Lilith's scent. His brother suddenly vanished into the crowd. Abel looked around. Cain was no where to be seen. Not even his scent lingered in the air. It was if he had never been here. There wasn't even the scent of Lilith and Seth anymore.
XXX
Cain had known Abel was following him from the second he'd flown over him. Abel, however, stood no chance of finding him now. Abel hadn't spent years vanishing into crowds, making every last trace vanish completely. He watched Abel from a distance before retreating further into the crowd. He tucked the piece of Lilith's and Seth's clothing back into his bag.
It didn't take Cain long, to come across their real scent trail. The two of them were looking for him. It came as no real shock they weren't trying to hide their trail. Cain moved through the crowd, matching his breathing and pace to those around him. The old coat he'd taken from a man for only a few coins disguised his scent.
Cain followed the scent to a hotel. He ditched the coat before he entered. A priest was less likely to be questioned. He raced up the steps. It took him only a matter of minutes to find the room they were.
"Man, I'm tired," Seth's voice leaked through the door to him.
"Seth, when we find Cain you need to apologize to him," Lilith said, "we both do."
"For what?" Seth demanded. "We were only protecting our people. Cain understands that."
"I'm not so certain he does," Lilith put in. "In fact, I don't think we know him as well as we think we do. I don't think we've known since Abel became 02. Something changed back then, Cain changed."
"Cain's always been Cain," Seth protested, "the same old bossy know it all."
Cain took out several items and picked the lock. Their heated conversation made it impossible for them to hear his work. The door clicked. Cain slipped into the first room and ducked behind the wall. The door snapped shut.
"What was that?" Seth asked.
Cain's heart hammered. He moved from his hiding place.
"Cain!" Seth shouted in joy, leaping to her feet. "I didn't think you'd escape!" she raced towards him.
Cain drew his sword. The blade slashed across her chest and face. Seth stumbled back. Blood flowed from the wound as she touched her face.
Lilith moved forward. "Cain, what—"
"There's no way out of this room but the door," Cain stated. He pointed the sword at them. "You sold me to Albion for peace, a peace that failed. A peace that was always going to fail. Do you have any idea what I went through?" the question came out as a laugh. "Do you have any idea the torment they put me through?"
"Cain," Lilith pleaded, moving towards him again, "it was wrong of us. I know that. We shouldn't have done it. Give us a chance to make it up to you. Please, what can we do?"
"Well, crusniks are nearly immortal, but you know what," he laughed, "we still feel pain when stabbed!" His sword sank deep into Seth's chest, hitting her heart. Whipping around, he slashed it across Lilith's neck. She gasped. Her hands wrapped around her neck. "Oh, does it hurt?" he asked, drinking in their pain as if it were the sweetest treat in the world. "Do have any idea how long I've waited for this?"
"Cain," Seth gasped. "You need us to get Abel back." Her words where soft and breathing harsh. "To get our Abel back."
"I don't give a damn about Abel!" Cain shouted. "It's always been about him with two of you! Since day one you've spoken about how great your dearest older brother Abel was," he spat the words. "And you," he pointed the sword at Lilith, "you only talked about him around me. Oh, I loved my brother until I learned all he would've cared about if our places were switched was you two!"
"Cain," Seth moved back. "Please, listen."
"Listen?" he half laughed, half cried. "Like you listened on Mars. Like you listened when we were children?"
"We did what we thought was best at the time," Lilith choked out. She had a hand on her neck to stop the bleeding, her lung had already reconnected. "We know now it was wrong."
"Cain I'm-"
"Shut up!" Cain shouted at them. He thrust the sword into Seth's shoulder. "I don't want to hear your excuses. You can't take back what happened. The only thing you can do is bleed!" he growled.
"Nano-machine crusnik 04—"
Cain stabbed her. "No activating the crusniks," he snapped. He grinned a wild grin at them.
A knock sounded at the door. "Lilith, Seth?" a tentative voice came through the door. It was Abel. Damn him!
Cain knew they were on the top floor. A energy built in him. Thrusting out his hand, the ceiling was blasted open. Rubble fell around him. The door was thrown open. Before Cain could leap, Abel tackled him. A fist collided with his face. The tender skin of the scar broke open. Blood trickled from a wound seconds before it healed.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Abel snapped, he placed himself between Seth, Lilith and Cain. Abel's eyes began to bleed red from anger. "When I met you, I thought I finally had my brother back. But I see now I was wrong," his voice shook as he said this. He slammed Cain against a wall.
Cain threw Abel away from him and jumped through the hole in the ceiling. He stopped, staring at his hands and the bloodied sword. What was he doing? He was no better than Lilith and Seth if he'd done this. Shouting in anguish, released the sword before he raced off. Nothing mattered anymore: not life, not revenge, nothing.
Abel whipped around to Seth, and ripped a piece of his already shredded cassock. "This is going to hurt," he mumbled. He took hold of Seth's arm and shoulder, a popping sound filled the room. He placed a splint on her arm before bandaging her wounds. It was worse then he thought it would be. He moved to Lilith next but all her wounds were sealed, already.
"That's it," Seth growled. "I'm not giving him anymore chances."
"Seth, this started because of what we did," Lilith protested. "Cain's not in his right mind right now. He's not insane like our Abel is, but he does think everyone is against him. Now he'll view you as against him as well, Abel. Unless he already has started to see it that way."
Seth snorted. "Right mind or not he's now an enemy of the empire for attacking the imperial family and the Vatican won't want him back after breaking the peace. If they try to protect him, I swear there will be war!"
"Seth," Lilith snapped, "think for one second about what you're saying." She stepped towards Seth. "I can understand where Cain is coming from. He endured years of torture and then was alone for centuries. His mind has to be close to a breaking point."
"You're taking his side!" Seth shouted. "He just tried to kill us, torture us."
"And what have we done for him?" Lilith demanded. "You're not treating him like he's your brother, but some stray dog that isn't worth your time. You only tried to get him back into the empire because I suggested it!"
"And now I see you're going to keep taking his side," Seth snapped. "If you're going to side with him then you're now also a traitor to the empire. You're no longer a member of the imperial family or welcome within the borders of the empire!"
"Fine," Lilith snapped. She leapt through the gape in the ceiling. "I'm going to find Cain. He should've calmed down by now."
Abel stared at the two girls, this had to have been the longest family quarrel they ever had. He stood and helped Seth to her feet. Once standing he pushed her back down.
"What was that for?" Seth yelped. This time she got up without his help but he still pushed her down. "Do you want me to make you a traitor as well!" she threatened and glared up at him, still on the ground. Abel pressed his boot into her uninjured shoulder, forcing her to lay flat on her back. He showed no emotion on his face.
"Do you get why I'm doing this to you?" Abel asked, his voice was unnaturally calm. At the moment he saw everything that everyone did was wrong. Cain was wrong for hurting the girls and the girls where wrong for what they did to him in the past.
"Of course not," Seth snapped and moved his foot away, and quickly stood only to find herself on the ground again.
"First Cain has a family," Abel offered Seth his hand. She took it with suspicion in her eye. "Then his brother becomes evil," he pushed her down. "He fights his brother," Seth stood up without his help, their was some understanding in her eye, of what he was doing, but at the same time anger, that he was treating her this way. "The rest of the people who he thought was his family, betray him and sold him to Albion for a peace that would never come," Abel forced Seth down with his foot, as though she were nothing more then a servant or slave. "Finally he escapes but he's by himself with no home or family. Then he comes across the Vatican and manages to make a home there and friends," Abel helped Seth up. "Now how do you think he would feel if you took that away from him? He might have just attacked you, however considering what he's been through that was nothing. If he truly wanted to kill you he would have, but he didn't. So it's your choice, will you take his hand, and try to understand him, or will you turn your back on him, again, and destroy everything that he's just managed to get?" Abel jumped into the hole in the roof, and looked back at Seth, before racing off. He would give her some time to think about that.
Abel raced through the city. Soon he picked up Lilith's scent and followed it to the border. It was strange, that particular border wasn't the one near Rome, in fact it was the opposite one. Why was Cain going that way? Abel skidded to a stop when he saw Lilith, she seemed to have lost track of Cain.
"Did you find him?" Abel asked.
Lilith nodded her head. Sorrow was coming off of her in great waves. "I lost him around here, though. There are two different directions that he went in. He's probably just trying to trick us," Lilith shook her head. "Listen Abel, I'm sorry for dragging you into this. You finally get to see him again, as your brother and not 01, and now because of what Seth and I did, he might not see you as a friend but enemy. Allow me to say sorry for Seth as well," Lilith bowed her head. "She has never seen the death of someone in a good light. You becoming evil was a shock to her, and to deal with her sorrow, she-"
Abel put a finger on Lilith's lip to stop her rambling. "Don't worry, I forgive you and Seth. But you should save that speech for Cain," he gave her a kind smile. She blinked up at him as though she couldn't believe he just smiled. Abel couldn't blame her, as a kid he rarely smiled. "You follow that trail and I'll follow this one," he pointed in the direction that the scent went. "If you don't find him then turn around and follow the one I am. We need to find Cain, before he does anything else he might regret."
Lilith pushed something into his hand. "It's a radio so we can stay in contact. If one of us finds Cain we'll tell the other and approach him together," she said.
"Okay," Abel nodded and entered haste. He went one way while Lilith went the other.
XXX
Cain staggered. He couldn't go back to the Vatican. Caterina would never except him after he'd wrecked the treaty. Then there was the fact Abel would be there. His brother only wanted Lilith. What was he to Abel? What was he to anyone? A traitor? A loner? A freak? A monster?
Cain could hear someone behind him. Two people in fact. Their scent told him it was Lilith and Abel. Come to kill him no doubt. He deserved it now. Right? He had to die, right? He'd betrayed the colony, he'd betrayed the empire, and now he'd betrayed the Vatican. Or had he? It felt as if he had not his brother, not his sister, no one but him.
Lilith was the first person to approach him. Abel was a little ways off, watching them. Cain flinched as Lilith's warm hand rested on his shoulder. This was it, he was going to be killed. He wanted to die. Nothing mattered anymore.
"Lets go home," Lilith shook Cain gently. What? Did he hear that right. "Caterina will be worried about you if you don't come back, I'm sure everyone will be," Lilith's voice was soft and caring. She sighed, "What you did, is understandable, especially after what you went through."
Cain shook his head. He was a monster, no better than what Lilith and Seth had done to him. Why was she being so nice to him?
"Stop being an idiot," it was Abel. He sounded just like he had when he was a kid. "Lilith you forgive him right?" Cain could see Lilith nod her head from the corner of his vision. "And are you sorry for what you did to him, all those centuries ago?" she nodded her head again. "See? She forgives you now get off your butt and lets go back home." There was that word again, why did it always send a feeling of hope through him. "I've already talked to Seth, even if she won't forgive you fully I'm sure she'll be more understanding of you." Abel took his hand and pulled it, forcing Cain to look at him. "Sulking is no good for you, and I should know!" Abel smiled, he was acting like a goof again.
"I can't go," Cain pulled his hand from Abel. The sun's last rays vanished from sky. He backed away from them. His wings grew on his back. His lance appeared. A bolt of energy was sent into the sky, blinding them. Cain shot after the bolt and vanished from sight.
Please review, it would really help flame and I when we are writing on our next chapter!
Notice: This story is written by Flame8009000 and Bluewings900.
