Trinity Blood Part Two: Shattered Uniformity

Chapter 9: Stumbling...

Section 2: With Scissors

Note: I know, I know... long time, no update. I'm sorry everyone, and I promise that it'll be wrapped up in some sort of grand old conclusion very soon. Until then, enjoy the bonkers over-the-top (and apparently OOC, according to my first all-out flame review ;0 ) characters and melodramatic situations.

(Inside the mansion of Albion)

"It's him... isn't it!" Ion whispered weakly. Abel nodded. They were both backed into the corner, together. Abel was bleeding steadily.

"It's my brother... Cain," Abel answered, grimacing in pain from the impact of the wall. Cain walked across the room, and took his place by Esther's side.

"And I'll have you know, I'm not twelve," Ion hissed.

Abel laughed. "Do you even have facial hair yet?"

Cain whispered something into Esther's ear, and she laughed. Not long after, another man walked into the room. He was a stranger, with an extremely pale grotesque face that looked as if it had gone decades without seeing the sun.

"Yeah... sure... hey! Wait! You don't even have facial hair, you hypocrite!" Ion retorted.

"I don't? Look! Right there, on my chin!"

"That's not facial hair, are you kidding me?"

Cain narrowed his eyes. "Silence! Both of you!" Abel, remembering what was going on, snapped his head back at Cain, matching his gaze.

"We should kill him now," Esther suggested. Ion grinned triumphantly at Abel.

"Who?" Cain asked.

"The boy, he'll get in the way." Ion's smile disappeared.

"Esther..." he called out, sounding hurt.

"This isn't Esther," Esther said with a malicious smile.

"It's Dietrich," Abel explained. "I thought I sensed something wrong with her just a few days ago. Like it was someone else... but I didn't realize that it had gotten this far."

"Dietrich... wait, so Esther is actually a man? That's not right!" Ion shouted.

"Oh, don't tell me you slept with him!"

"No... well only sort of."

"You either did or you didn't."

"I SAID SILENCE!" Cain roared. The two fell silent. Cain nodded back to Esther. "I think I'll kill the boy. He's annoying." He raised his arms and walked forward.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

(The Cardinal's Quarters in the Vatican)

"This is a disaster! I want messengers sent to the New Human Empire immediately!" The servant bowed, and left the room. Caterina buried her head in her arms, trying to think of something that she could do, but it had all happened so fast. Damn you, Astaroshe, what the hell did you do?

Fearing the worst, she glanced out of her window to find that her fears had been realized. Already a large mob was forming outside the gates of the Palace, demanding Astaroshe's head. It wasn't a farce either... the tavern actually had been torn apart, and witnesses swore that Astaroshe had been the one to do it.

But Caterina couldn't believe it. She knew that there was something else going on, but if that mob got any larger, she wouldn't have any choice in the matter.

Then, she heard the door creak behind her. Turning in surprise, she saw Alessandro silhouetting the doorway with a blade in his hand. Eyes narrowed, he took a step forward.

"Alessandro?" Caterina whispered, suddenly frightened. He was pale with bags around his eyes. He had also become much more wiry, a living shadow of his former body. His once-vibrant innocence was missing in action.

He lazily met eyes with her, in them she saw a flash of annoyance. "There's someone coming," he said bluntly.

"Where...?"

He pointed at the ceiling, and took position next to Caterina, holding his blade at the ready. "There was a time..." Caterina began. "That I could never imagine you laying your hands on a knife."

"People change," he answered.

"Yes, I guess they do. Should we move?"

"Too late..."

The window crashed open, as a masked figure came through feet first. Landing gracefully, it turned catlike eyes onto the two of them. Alessandro rushed first, completely silent other than the soft weaving footfalls as he charged. Caterina was awed by how much he had changed from the weak-willed Pope she had once known, but she needed to act quickly. She reached under her desk for her pistol, pushing the many papers aside.

The attacking figure waited until the last moment, and then met the charge. With a flash of cloth, it swept under Alessandro, spilling him to the ground. His momentum carried him into the wall in a roll. As he scrambled up, the figure tore off the black mask that hid it's face. From the lighting, Caterina could see that it was a much older Methuselah than Astaroshe. The intruder kicked Alessandro as he tried to get up, knocking him back to the ground. "If you had some proper training you might have landed that blow," she said sharply.

"What do you want?" Caterina asked, keeping the pistol ready under the desk.

"You can drop the gun, Cardinal. My name is Mirka Fortuna, the Duchess of Moldova here on the empresses' request to deliver a message to you. I apologize on the abruptness of my visit." Caterina met eyes with Alessandro and nodded. Alessandro got up slowly, and backed away. She un-cocked the pistol and let it drop to the ground.

"Go ahead," Caterina said.

"Our forces are gearing up. They're preparing to invade the Vatican."

"Well, can't you,-"

"I'm not finished! Cain has Seth under watch by the Orden. We need Abel now or all that will remain of your Vatican will be a flat sheen of glass. Flat means no buildings... no people... no plants... no vegetation. Nothing." Fortuna warned icily.

"I have agents already trying to contact Abel..."

"I need Astaroshe. I believe you've met."

"She's set to be executed in a week. I couldn't possibly-,"

"A week is too long. Set the execution to tonight, and get a firing squad together. Preferably the men that put her into custody."

"What are you planning?" Caterina asked, bewildered.

"Leave it to me."

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

(The Royal Palace in Albion)

The door burst open, knocked from its hinges, and a robed figure darted through the crashing wood splinters like a phantom. "Ahh... company!" Esther announced gleefully. Cain raised his hand at the darting figure, tracking it with deadly precision. But Hugue acted first, knocking a desk into Cain's line of fire. When Cain fired, the air was filled with hundreds of loose papers, veiling the room in a screen of paperwork. The air rippled again, with a force that tore up the floor between Hugue and Abel.

"Get out now!" Hugue yelled. Abel nodded, grabbing Ion by the arm, he ran outside, as shockwaves ripped left and right, blowing holes in the walls and filling the air with jagged pieces of wooden debris.

Jumping through the door, Abel slammed against the wall of the hallway, breathing heavily. "What's wrong?" Ion asked.

"Nothing," Abel replied gruffly, pushing himself back up. He left a streak of red behind him as he slid up the wall.

- - - - - - - - - - -

(Temporary housing in Hispania)

"So what are we going to do?" Leon asked suggestively as he emptied the last glass of wine.

Camila smiled shyly. "I know just the thing, Lewis."

"I'm listening..." Leon said, smiling in anticipation.

She leaned close to him, breathing up his neck with deliberate pauses in between, before getting to his ear. "Why don't you lay down on your stomach, and close your eyes," she whispered. Her voice was incredibly soft and vibrant, like someone about to divulge a secret.

Leon wanted to know the secret.

Jumping onto the bed, he closed his eyes, and tensed up, wondering where she'd begin. With his world engulfed in blackness, he heard soft footfalls approach. Next, he felt the bed sag slightly as it adjusted to her weight. Giddiness overpowered him as he felt the bed sag on his other side, knowing that she was straddling him.

Then, he felt the touch of a hand. He squirmed slightly, but then let her continue. Slightly touching him with the tips of her fingers, she sent tingles through his lower legs, and then his thighs. They snaked farther between them, and kept going until... They grabbed something.

Leon laughed. "Oh, so you're into that kind of..."

He was cut off as she twisted the things she was holding. "OUUUCCHHHHHH!" Leon roared, squirming instinctively away, but a foot jammed into his back. Before he could get leverage against her, he felt a cold tickle as a knife was placed against the back of his neck.

He froze.

"So, Leon, why is the Vatican's elite AX infiltrating the Spanish navy?" she questioned bluntly.

"Uhhh... what the heck is AX?" Leon answered. This earned a twist. "Oh shit... stop it... stop it!" he whimpered.

"You are probably the worst agent I've ever seen," she muttered.

"Yeah, I'm pretty bad."

"Don't get off topic!" she shouted. Then there was a squeeze.

"NO MORE, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!" Leon bellowed.

"Same question..." she warned.

"Hey... I got a deal for you. You let go, and I'll let you infiltrate AX!" Leon said, laughing nervously.

"First, tell me what I-,"

"Okay okay okay!" Leon said, "I'll tell you everything. God damn it... why can't a girl just be attracted to me for me. It's not like I'm bad-looking."

"Off topic!"

"SHIITTTT!"

- - - - - - - - - - - -

(The public execution of Astaroshe Asran outside the Vatican.)

Astaroshe tried not to focus on the angry mob. She didn't want to give them the satisfaction of knowing she even cared about them. She kept her head pointed high, proudly gazing into the eyes of the heavens. Heaven was a strange thing to her, but as it seemed that it would be coming sooner than she anticipated, it wouldn't be strange for long.

She remembered Abel, and how he fervently tried to convince her of the teachings of Jesus. They had seemed to tiresome then, but now, she could see their appeal. Of course, such limited mortality did that to people... made them foolish. But she needed something other than her own strength now.

"Rot in hell, bitch!" one man bellowed. A piece of some dead animal, probably a cat, hit Astaroshe in the temple, leaving a gooey red smear across her brow. She closed her eyes. It wasn't the angry ones that she avoided; they hardened her resolve if anything. However, the family of the victims, standing quietly in the background had expressions of blame that tore right through Astaroshe's pride.

The noise was pretty bad. It was way too loud. Loud enough to be impossible to filter out. It was the kind of noise that was so loud that you couldn't hear your own thoughts. The kind of noise that was so continuous that you wondered if your ears had broken, and were perhaps looping some kind of ungodly interference.

The firing squad began to assemble, brandishing polished firearms and haughty smiles. She faced them directly, bored into their eyes. Some looked away, others smiled right back at her. Listen here God, she thought to herself. I don't know if you're there. Are you there? Fine, let's say you're there, but you're too much of an asshole to say something back. That's fine too. I just wanted to say that if you are judging people that go to heaven or hell by whether or not they worship you, that you are an egotistical bastard, and you can have your damned heaven.

The firing squad began to cock their various weapons. Ok ok... can you forgive of that last part? Uhh... and forgive me of the other stuff too? I got this friend who's a priest if that helps my chances...

From the corner of her eye, she saw a brilliant flash come from the crowd, stinging her eyes. What jerk is doing that? She decided not to look down. The flash came again, and this time, she recognized it with the angriest expression she could muster. But when she saw who it was, her expression changed into one of hope. Mirka Fortuna?

She was doing something with her hands. Astaroshe focused, her keen eyesight narrowing in on them, and she realized that they were hand signals. The same message repeated over and over again, "Die".

Wait, that cant be right, Astaroshe thought.

The crowd roared even louder as the weapons were hoisted into firing position.

"Ready!" a man shouted. Astaroshe stared into the muzzle of one of the guns, immersing herself in it's blackness.

"Aim!" She only had a few seconds, a few thoughts. She decided to reflect. Did she have a fulfilling life? Did she have any regrets?

She decided that she had one regret, and that regret was... "Fire!"