Disclaimer: My imaginary friend wants to tell you that I am out of candy… Which I am. However! My imaginary friend was SUPPOSED to tell you that I don't own Repo or the characters depicted within. But yeah, I don't have any candy either.

A/N: So this chapter was absolutely horrible and I'd rewritten it like, a thousand and one times and I still hated it and I considered scrapping the entire thing and just doing something else because I hated it so much. I thought the dialogue was stilted and the conversation with Father Michael was annoyingly awkward- and not awkward like I wanted it to be awkward, just… awkward and stilted and wrong!

And then a friend of mine suggested that I do a little trick to pinpoint what the problem was- and it worked! She totally saved my chapter! So after a couple of hours of furious editing later, I present to you the finished product! Enjoy!

"...We ate pieces of a dead mythological figure?" Shilo asked with a horrified look on her face.

Father Michael chuckled. "No, no, my child. The wafers and red wine represent the flesh and blood of Jesus Christ. The practice is used to help solidify the bond between the congregation and our Lord and Savior."

"He's a representation of an ideological figure." She argued with a confused look on her face. "How can you solidify a bond between a bunch of strangers and a figurehead that doesn't exist?"

The Father simply took a sip from his mug. "Do you have any defining proof that He doesn't exist?" he asked lightly.

She made a face. "You can't prove a negative, Father Michael." She said in a slightly lecturing tone. Then she looked thoughtful for a moment. "Although… I suppose if you consider the theological aspect from a psychological point of view, the 'bond' is a representation of tying the people to a patriarchal figurehead using a physical sample to mimic a familial link." She beamed at the dumbfounded priest, looking pleased that she'd found a logical explanation for a seemingly irrational practice. "It's really a brilliant concept."

The Father winced and a pained expression briefly crossed his face. "I don't think you're considering this from a proper point of view, Ms. Wallace. Religion is about spiritual fulfillment, not about psychological manipulation." he tried to explain.

"Spiritual fulfillment?" Shilo asked with a frown.

He nodded, leaning forward, his eyes sparkled with barely contained passion. "Haven't you ever felt that there was something important missing from your life? Something intangible that you couldn't pinpoint?"

"Um…" she hesitated. "You mean, like my mother?" she asked naively.

Father Michael blinked. "Your… mother?" he asked in confusion.

Shilo nodded, playing with the mug in her hands. "She… she um… died when I was born." She said quietly. She looked up at him, her face open and earnest. "Is that what you meant about something being missed?"

She was confused when instead of answering her question and continuing the theological discussion, the Father set his mug aside on his desk and leaned forward, taking one of Shilo's hands in his own. "My condolences for your loss, my child." He said in his most comforting voice.

"Uh," She stuttered. She was flustered from being touched, and didn't quite understand the sudden change in the Father's demeanor. "I... It's not- It was a long time ago."

She quietly tried to pull her hand out of his grasp. "I don't even remember her, not really." she said in an awkward dismissive tone, trying to end the unsettling subject.

"It must have been terribly hard for your family." The Father said sympathetically as he released Shilo's hand.

"It's been…" She paused as an unexpected lump formed in her throat. "It was… just me and my dad." Her voice was very quiet on the last word, almost whispered.

"You lost your father as well?" Father Michael asked with concern obvious on his features.

Uncomfortable with both the focused scrutiny as well as the topic of discussion, Shilo hunched into her shoulders a bit, twisting her hands. "It happened last year…" she reluctantly supplied.

"I'm sure your friends and family were a source of great comfort during that difficult time." The Father remarked with an odd look of focus on his face as he searched for something in Shilo's face.

Wanting to avoid his gaze, Shilo nervously picked at a loose thread on the arm of the chair she was sitting on. She shifted from one side to the other, not sure what to say or what to do.

"Surely you weren't all alone…?" Father Michael insisted. His forehead creased with lines of worry.

Something in his tone made Shilo realize that she wasn't answering his questions correctly. She felt more and more like she was floundering in a situation that she didn't understand.

"No," she blurted. "I wasn't- I mean- I've had…" With a jolt, Shilo realized that she was on the verge of saying Graverobber's name. She immediately clamped her lips shut.

She suddenly found it difficult to meet the Father's piercing gaze, and every time she started to look at his face, she had to look away. She'd promised herself that she wasn't going to use this visit to pry into Graverobber's past. And she wouldn't. This was about getting her questions about religion answered, she told herself firmly.

"What were you saying about Spirituality?" She finally asked in a deliberate attempt to change the subject.

Dawning comprehension flitted across Father Michael's face. "Shilo…" he said slowly, trying to catch the girl's avoidant eyes. "…Did you meet my brother after your father died?"

Her eyes snapped up when the priest had used her name. She was completely shocked at how well the priest had pinpointed the exact thing that she'd wanted to avoid. Now her eyes were locked with his and there was something about his gaze that compelled Shilo to answer his question.

"I- I…" she stuttered helplessly. The words spilled out of her mouth before she could stop them. "Not exactly… I met him before it happened…"

As soon as she'd spoken the words, she'd winced and immediately wished that she could reel the words back into her mouth. She watched the man in front of her with a crawling feeling of dismay in the pit of her stomach.

Father Michael saw Shilo's reaction and immediately leapt to the wrong conclusion; that something about his brother was the reason for the girl's sudden upset. In all his years of being a Father and working with the people in his congregation, he'd seen many terrible things. Now he thought he recognized the look of fear and defeat in the eyes of the young girl that sat across from him.

His heart went out to the poor girl and he shook his head, trying to deny the idea that his brother could have caused such hurt to such an innocent girl. "Oh you poor child…" he sadly murmured to himself.

By sheer coincidence, Shilo caught the barely audible words that the priest had murmured.

"Huh?" she asked; confusion evident in her voice. She didn't understand why there had been such pity to the Father's tone.

"Child," Father Michael said, and Shilo absently noticed that it was the same formal tone he'd used when he'd been giving his sermon earlier that evening. "I understand that my brother has a compelling personality; when he wants to be, he can be very charming. But my brother is…" The Father took a deep breath and his face showed a flash of pain before he continued speaking. "He's… morally corrupt. I worry about your safety in his company."

A look of complete and utter shock filled Shilo's face.

"What?" she asked, completely bewildered at how the conversation gotten so turned around.

Steely eyes met confused eyes as the Father sharply asked, "How long has my brother been taking advantage of you?"

The air was full of a heavy uncomfortable silence. All Shilo could do was gape at the man, her mouth opening and closing in silence. Finally, she managed to croak, "Taking… advantage…?" before her voice suddenly failed her once again. Something tight seemed to be constricting her chest, making it hard for her to breathe. Why would he think that Graverobber…?

She shook her head vigorously, desperately hoping that the man could see the truth in her eyes; Graverobber wasn't dangerous- he wasn't hurting her! Graverobber wouldn't do that! He helped her! He was her friend!

Shilo desperately wished her mouth would work so she could explain to Father Michael exactly how wrong he was about Graverobber…

But Father Michael seemed to miss the silent message in her eyes, because he simply sat forward in his chair with an earnest look on his face as he promised, "Whatever my brother is using you for, I promise that I can help you out of it."

Her heart beat faster as she instinctively pushed herself into the chair, trying to get away from the Father's overwhelming intensity. Why was he saying these things? Why would he accuse Graverobber like that?

"Did he promise to take care of you, Shilo? Is that why you stay with him?" Father Michael persisted, unaware of how uncomfortable he was making Shilo.

There was a sick feeling in Shilo's stomach. Why did this seem so familiar? This feeling of intensity?

She blinked and instead of Father Michael sitting across from her, it was of Rotti Largo, leaning towards her, whispering that he'd make everything better, that he'd set her free… Then the vision morphed and it was her father with hard eyes and a cold voice that told her that she had to stay inside, that he had to keep her safe… The sick feeling crawled up her stomach and into her throat.

No! Never again! A sharp feeling pricked Shilo's chest and stabbed directly through the sick feeling that had been crawling around inside of her. She wasn't that weak girl anymore! She wouldn't let anybody manipulate her around like that ever again!

It was impossible to say who was more surprised, Shilo or Father Michael, when she abruptly leapt to her feet. The previously forgotten mug of hot cocoa fell to the floor with a heavy crack, splashing the floor with chocolately fluid, but Shilo ignored it. That sharp warm feeling in her chest lingered, and it seemed to send a flood of strength throughout her limbs. It even managed to make her vocal cords work again.

"Stop it!" She demanded in a breathless voice. It was so hard to breathe…! But she desperately grasped at that sharp feeling and quickly spoke, needing to try and fix the situation.

"Graverobber isn't like that! He's not…" Shilo shook her head, her head was swimming and her limbs were trembling. That warm feeling of strength was dissipating as quickly as it had come. She gave one last try at trying to clear Graverobber's good name before the strength left her. "He's a good person!" She weakly exclaimed, unable to articulate what she knew about Graverobber.

Father Michael also stood up, and concern flashed across his face.

It was such a familiar expression to Shilo, who'd seen it on Graverobber's face on more than one occasion, and for a moment, she felt guilty for her reaction. She had to forcibly remind herself that this man was not Graverobber; no matter how familiar his face might be. And while she knew she could trust Graverobber, she didn't know Father Michael; not really. She refused to be manipulated again. She refused to endanger someone close to her ever again.

"Shilo? I'm sorry; I didn't mean to upset you." Father Michael said as he reached out towards her.

She jerked backwards, out of reach. Her heart was pounding and every breath seemed harder and harder to take in. She stumbled as she bumped into the armchair behind her, but she whirled around it, feeling better to place something physical between her and the priest.

Shilo wanted to cry. She wanted so desperately to trust this man that resembled Graverobber so much…

"Shilo?" Father Michael asked.

But there was no way in hell that she would ever do anything that might endanger Graverobber. And this man had already shown that he could definitely be a danger to her friend.

"I- I don't want to talk about Graverobber." she said, trying to keep her voice from becoming too panicked sounding. She swallowed. "I think I want to leave."

Her hands trembled as she grasped the back of the chair in a white knuckled grip. From the corner of her eyes, she saw her puppy, Gabriel, sleeping in front of the fire. Without taking her eyes off of the Father, she leaned down and scooped the puppy up; hugging him tightly to her chest.

"Please." she whispered when the silence seemed to stretch on too long.

A look of hurt flashed across the priest's face. And Shilo had to push away the feeling of guilt once again.

"Of course you can leave." He said softly. He stepped back and gestured to the open door behind him.

She let out a sigh of relief, the air whooshing out of her all at once. She indecisively looked between the doorway and Father Michael.

"I would never hold someone against their will." he said quietly, trying to reassure the spooked girl. "It would be against everything I believe in." The amount of sincerity in the priest's tone is what finally convinced Shilo that she wasn't in danger. But she still wanted to leave. She needed to get away and try and sort out all the conflicting thoughts in her head.

"I…" She swallowed and her shoulders dropped a fraction of an inch. She took a hesitant step towards the door. "I need to go…" she whispered.

Father Michael didn't move, but his sad eyes lingered on Shilo's form. She guiltily flinched because of the eerily familiar gaze, but she didn't let the look keep her from leaving.

She kept an eye on the Father as she slid along the edges of the room trying to avoid him as much as possible. Her hand fumbled along the wall behind her as she moved and when she touched the edge of the doorjamb she breathed a sigh of relief.

"Shilo," Father Michael spoke up before she could leave. He still hadn't moved, except to pivot to watch her progress around the edges of the room.

She whirled around, still feeling nervous and guilty as she stared at the Father.

"I've made you uncomfortable, and you may not believe me, but I'm very sorry, Shilo. I hope you'll come back to the church again. And my door is always open if you wish to speak again." he told her with an earnest expression on his face.

For a moment, Shilo simply stared at the man, feeling torn in two directions and too confused by all the conflicting thoughts whirling around inside her head. But he simply watched her and waited for her to make a decision.

Finally, she gave a shaky nod. And before the Father could do anything else that might confuse her, she spun around and quickly left, disappearing into the dark hallways of the church.

Father Michael stared at the empty doorway before he sighed and crumpled into the chair behind him. He buried his face in his hands as he felt the defeat sweep through him.

He'd failed.

Even worse, he may have chased away that poor girl simply because he'd been so determined to save her. He was well aware of what his brother had become since their sister's death; he would be surprised if there was a single sin that his brother had not committed. Though every night he prayed for forgiveness for his part in chasing his brother from the light, Michael knew that short of a miracle, nothing could save his brother's damned soul. But he wished- oh how he wished! And he prayed.

When he'd first met the girl in front of the church, it was as though there had been a voice that had spoken to him; that had told him that this was a girl he could help.

At first, he hadn't understood why he'd felt drawn to the girl. But as soon as he saw her too-big eyes and her waif-like appearance, he had recognized the lost look behind her eyes. While talking with her, he'd realized exactly how lost she was. There had been something… not quite right with her behavior. It was then that he'd understood his purpose; she was a lost sheep, and he was the shepherd who needed to guide her back into the flock.

And then Gabriel had appeared; and like a metaphorical devil, he'd appeared out of the darkness and snatched the lost girl away.

Michael remembered the surprise and pain from the confrontation. He'd tried so desperately hard to bring his brother back into the light. To show him that forgiveness and repentance wasn't out of his reach… And Gabriel had spurned his offering with such anger and hate in his eyes…

His hands briefly clenched in his hair, the slight pain of his scalp doing nothing to ease the pain in his soul. He'd failed so many times…

With a heavy heart, and an even heavier soul, Father Michael wearily stood up and shuffled out of his office. He pulled his rosary from under his collar as he walked. He knew that he wouldn't be getting much sleep- tonight he would sit and pray for enlightenment on how he could help one Shilo Wallace. The very least he could do was try and limit the damage and corruption spread by his brother.

Shilo walked down the street on shaky legs, still clutching Gabriel to her chest. She felt overwhelmed with the different conflicting feelings and impressions she'd gotten from her excursion.

She thought about the sermon, and she briefly smiled as she remembered the upheaval of emotions she'd experienced. It'd been… amazing. She couldn't think of any other word to express it. There had been passion and conviction and honesty in the words that Father Michael had spoken during the ceremony. With so many people sitting in the room, listening and feeling and experiencing it together… it had almost overwhelmed Shilo. It'd been like the first time she'd heard an opera aria, or the first time she'd caught a moonbeetle. Just… amazing.

And then she'd met that boy- Shamus. If it hadn't been for him, she may have simply bolted before she'd even talked with the Father. She'd been so nervous and worried that she'd been too far out of her depth, and he'd made her feel like she was completely normal. It'd been nice, Shilo realized, to have someone treat her like she was normal. Not as some poor little sick shut in girl, but just a girl doing something new.

Gabriel wiggled in Shilo's arms, and she finally set him down so he could walk on his own.

With a brief frown, she remembered the discussion with Father Michael. The first half of the conversation had been nice. She remembered that she'd felt at ease around the Father, and he'd been very understanding about answering her questions- no matter how odd or uncomprehending she'd been.

In fact, she'd actually been having a good time up to the point where the Father had starting asking her questions; questions about her mom, and her family… and Graverobber.

Shilo bit her lip, worrying it between her teeth as she thought about the upsetting things he'd been saying about Graverobber. Abruptly, she shook her head, forcibly dispelling the upsetting thoughts. Father Michael obviously didn't know Graverobber.

But her stomach give an uncomfortable flip as she remembered the confrontation she'd witnessed between Graverobber and Father Michael. She couldn't remember EVER seeing Graverobber so angry before, and afterwards… She shuddered as she remembered the comatose Graverobber on her bedroom floor. She never wanted to see Graverobber like that again.

Father Michael just didn't know what he was talking about, she decided firmly. He just didn't.

Several hours later, Shilo groaned as she tiredly pushed the blankets off herself. Gabriel was scratching at the closed bedroom door and whining. "Okay, okay…" she mumbled as she shuffled to the door. "Let's go outside to go potty…" she sleepily muttered to the puppy at her feet.

She opened the bedroom door and barely noticed as Gabriel dashed down the hallway, yipping in obvious happiness. She rubbed her eyes as she stumbled down the hallway after her puppy. She appreciated Gabriel's company, don't get her wrong, but sometimes a puppy was really inconvenient…

It wasn't until she was halfway down the stairs that she heard the persistent knocking coming from the front door. "What…?" she asked herself as she stared at her front door in shock. A quick glance at the clock over the foyer showed that it was a little past two in the morning. Who would be knocking at her door so late at night?

Shilo glanced at the door uneasily. Then she noticed Gabriel as he pranced in front of the door, happily yipping and wagging his tail. She quickly crouched on the staircase, as though hiding from whoever might be on the other side of the door. "Gabriel!" she whispered loudly, trying to get the puppy's attention. "Gabriel, come here!"

But the puppy ignored her.

"Sparrow! Open up! It's fucking cold out here!" Graverobber's familiar voice shouted from the other side of the door.

And just like that, the uneasy feeling vanished. With a sigh of relief, Shilo made her way down the stairs and threw open the door.

"Graverobber, what are you-" She started to say. She halted when she realized that there were three people on her porch, instead of the one that she'd been expecting. She took a startled step backwards even as Gabriel lunged forward and happily pawed at Graverobber's legs.

"Sparrow, get the mutt back inside and get out of the way; this guy is heavier than he looks." Graverobber ordered with a grunt. He shifted the arm draped over his shoulders.

"Gabriel, back inside." She automatically told the puppy, snapping her fingers as she stepped back from the doorway. Gabriel happily yipped and pranced back inside.

Graverobber stepped through the doorway a moment later, dragging the unconscious guy in with him. Shilo spent a moment starting at the man's head before she realized that what she'd thought was an odd hood to the man's jacket was actually the man's hair; a neon orange Mohawk jutted from the man's head like a particularly bristly scrub brush. Shilo barely noticed as a pale girl stepped in behind Graverobber and quietly shut the door.

"Um…Graverobber…?" Shilo said hesitantly. She trusted Graverobber, really, she did. But still…

"Yeah, Sparrow?" Graverobber grunted as he lugged the unconscious guy onto a waiting couch.

"What's going on?" She asked in complete bewilderment.

Graverobber gave a half-hearted chuckle, rubbing the back of his neck as he stood up and faced Shilo.

"Surprise?" he asked sheepishly.

A/N: As always, please review to show your appreciation! Nothing inspires me more than some good old fashioned flattery! Also- I'm looking for somebody who'd like to do some light beta-work for this story. It's nothing much, but as seen in my last chapter, sometimes I can get so focused on dialogue that it gets a little stilted with the 'he said, she said' and I don't notice. (I'll be fixing that in the previous chapter soon, by the way.) Anybody who might be interested, throw me a line!

By the way, I'm moving in two weeks- across the country. So I might not have the next post up for a bit. I'll see what I can do, but it's gonna be up in the air. : )