Theft of Thine Heart

Chapter Thirty Six

"Rain, please listen to me," he tried calling out to her, holding out his hand, "listen to my voice."

Her eyes flickered from his face to his hand then back as if unsure of what he was asking of her, but at least she hadn't started attacking him. Perhaps she still had some semblance of her sanity left. She appeared for all intents and purposes, to have fused with Crusnik nanomachines 100% resulting in her massive transformation, and despite how incredulous it was for such a thing to have happened Abel knew that he had to treat this carefully. Fusing 100% had been what had driven Cain mad, even he and Seth had never released fully to avoid such a possibility. She appeared to have little control of herself or the nanomachines, did they simply react to her emotions rather than a command? From Isaak's words it sounded like she had been a test subject but the nanomachines must have been dormant inside of her. Had they replicated Cain's nanomachines? No, they would have destroyed her if that was the case, but somehow she had become a Crusnik and it had taken death to awaken it as a self-defence mechanism.

Seeing that he wasn't quite getting through to her he decided to take a risk. Slowly releasing the nanomachines his Crusnik features melted away to reveal his weary face, blue eyes meeting her burning eyes pleadingly. All he wanted was his Rain back. Wincing as all his pain came back to him, he held a hand to his chest but still held out his other to the Crusnik before him. Said woman regarded him curiously.

"Come back to me Rain," he all but whispered pleadingly.

Her eyes widened as his words finally registered in his mind. Slowly, a clawed hand reached out toward his. The black of her skin began to fade away as her wings curled back to her before vanishing in a flurry of feathers just as her eyes turned their usual grey. As she returned to normal she fell forwards, unable to keep standing as her eyes instantly shut. Abel caught her hurriedly, almost falling to the floor in an effort to catch her before she fell. He held her close to his chest, revelling in the warmth of her body as a sign of life. He had his Rain back…but things had suddenly become a lot more complicated.

Having taken her to the best hospital in Londinium under Vincent's direction, Abel sat wearily beside Rain's bed in the lightly decorated room. She looked paler than usual but that could have been due to the white bedding she was surrounded by. The Doctors had mentioned she had lost a lot of blood, and after getting over their initial shock at her being a Methuselah, had hurried to treat her. Other than hooking her up to an IV though, they were baffled as to why she was unconscious after all there was no visible trauma. Abel figured it was not only mentally taxing but taxing to her body having turned Crusnik. As he sat there watching her chest softly rise and fall as if to reassure himself that she still breathed, that the bloody gaping hole Cain had made was no longer there, Abel couldn't help but think back to what Seth had told him before he left the Empire.

His sister had mentioned almost in passing that soon Rain would need him more than either of them knew. At first he had believed it was just support she would need possibly with the Orden, but now the more he thought about it he couldn't help but wonder if Seth had known. Had Seth known that Rain was actually a Crusnik? Somehow it didn't seem a strange thought. Holding his head in his hands, the weary priest let out a long sigh. It still didn't make sense, how was she a Crusnik? Something had been done to her but what and when?

The steady beat of the heart monitor was all that could be heard in the hospital room, almost deafening to the man who had yet to leave. Three days had passed since he had brought her in since she had fallen into a coma. Once again Cain had tried to rid him of the only wonderful light in his life, but this time said light was alive...albeit no one knew when she would wake. Much had happened. Rain had been accused of murder of a supposed innocent man, no doubt the Orden's work, and the only person who could have pleaded her innocence had been kidnapped. Yes, the Pope Alessandro had been kidnapped and if it hadn't have been for Esther being with him, they would have never rescued the pair. And the first thing the terrified boy had done was clear Rain's name, much to the ire of Francesco, but Abel was more than grateful. It seemed the man who had tried to kill both Esther and the Pope days ago, who had met justice by Rain's hand, had been portrayed as an innocent in the eyes of the public.

Sat beside her bed, Abel dozed in his seat. Three days without much sleep did that to people. He barely left the room and if not for a steady supply of food from sympathetic nurses, he would have not eaten either. It felt like it was killing him to see her so close to death's door. The silver haired priest could not lose her. Esther had of course visited every chance she could, allowing him a moments rest but he could never sleep for long, too worried something would happen as he slept. Virgil too had visited along with the girl whose parents had been killed in the Ghetto. It was heart wrenching to see the young girl offering a quiet prayer for her saviour. It was these things that reminded Abel just how alike Terran and Methuselah really were. Another day passed, time flying by for the priest who looked wearier by the hour.

The door opening startled him awake but he was even more surprised to see not only Esther, but Alessandro also. The nervous brunette boy sadly looked at the unconscious woman.
"I-I-Is she s-s-s-still asleep?" he asked innocently.

Abel nodded slightly, his thumb unconsciously stroking the back of Rain's hand. Alessandro eyed up the tender sight, wringing his hands together as if wanting to say something but could not, instead Esther spoke up.

"His Holiness wants to pray for Rain, Father."

Abel blinked, why was he asking for his permission? "of course you can...I'm sure Rain would like that."

Smiling nervously, Alessandro moved a little closer before closing his eyes, somehow managing to recite a prayer without a single stutter until the end, "p-please guide M-M-Miss Rain back to us...A-Amen."

Once again silence descended on the room but for the machines registering what life remained in the unconscious Methuselah. Abel bowed his head slightly, squeezing her hand a little tighter. He almost leapt a mile as his hand was squeezed back lightly.

"…Abel?"

Starting, he looked up quickly to see Rain staring at him with half-lidded eyes. She looked as weary as he felt but she didn't move, clearly her body still too tired to properly function. Sitting forwards he held her hand tighter for a moment with a small smile. Behind him Esther and Alessandro excused themselves hurriedly, allowing them their privacy. Esther left one last lingering look at the pair before she closed the door.

"You're finally awake, you had me worried there! Do you…remember anything?" he gently pressed, searching her pale grey eyes with his own.

Rain frowned as she closed her eyes for a moment, "I remember…the Ghetto was attacked…by the Orden," before her eyes snapped open quickly with a hint of panic, "Cain was there!"

She tried to push herself up, her arms shaking with the effort until Abel gently pushed her back, sitting on the bed now to stop her from moving.

"Woah, you're still too weak to be getting up like that," he chided softly but was surprised by the shining tears in her eyes.

"I'm sorry Abel, I'm so…sorry. I-I didn't tell you….when I and Esther were lost in Londinium we ran into him…I was so scared I-I didn't know what to do…and I didn't want to tell you…I recognised him from my time in the Orden, he's too dangerous…and I didn't want you going after him."

His grip on her hand tightened slightly at the mention of what she had hidden but he pushed it aside, "It's okay Rain, I understand why you did it."

Shaking her head lightly, she looked even more broken as she looked up at him with shining eyes.

"And then he cut down those poor Methuselah…and the girl," suddenly she frowned as more of her memories came back to her.

For a moment her heart stilled as her eyes suddenly met his once more, "I…I died…and there was a door…it was so dark and hot, I can't…" she trailed off as flashes flew across her vision, "Oh…"

Rain remembered everything. Her transformation, Cain's crooning, the way she tore down the shadow creatures and tried to attack Cain to the moment she stared Abel down. In that moment she had felt the urge to attack still but she had forced herself to stop, that small voice in her mind telling her that she shouldn't hurt that man. She wasn't human and now she was barely a Methuselah, no she was something else now and it shook her to the core. Seeing her realisation, Abel gently cupped her cheek with one of his hands to turn her attention back to him.

"You are no monster," he told her without hesitation, his blue eyes almost boring into hers to leave no space for argument, "you are still Rain O'Neil. We will figure this out, together."

Tears slid down her cheeks as she raised a hand to grasp his, holding it tight as if it was her lifeline.

"I don't even know what I am anymore.."

It took a while for her to recover herself, but as soon as her normal personality began to shine through she ordered him to go get some rest. She could see how tired he was, barely keeping himself awake, and reasoned with him that she wasn't going anywhere. Abel still hadn't looked particularly happy about it but shuffled his way out of the room, claiming he would sleep in one of the guest rooms down the hallway so he wouldn't be far. It also gave her a few hours to get her own thoughts in order as she stewed over everything that had happened. To her it made a lot of sense but she had yet to explain it to Abel who had, grateful, held off asking her questions. Even as a child she was aware of the testing Cain and Isaak had done on her, although she knew she had been born like any other child, there had been something different about her that they had tested for and kept tabs on. Something that came from her mother. Had they somehow given her mother the Crusnik nanomachines which had then passed onto her? Although she wasn't sure as to why, she had a sneaking suspicion that left a bitter taste in her mouth. Cain's body was degrading, clearly never having healed properly from the time Abel and Seth had jettisoned him to Earth all those years ago. It sounded like they had been looking for a way to cure his failing body and Rain couldn't help but wonder if she was the 'cure'. A perfect Crusnik, he had called her, she remembered that much. Perhaps it was like an organ transplant when certain criteria needed to match so that the body wouldn't refuse the organ. So they had made her a perfect Crusnik just for Cain. The thought made her feel sick. Looking at her hand that had once been a claw, she flexed her fingers and almost imagined the claw returning. Although it scared her somewhat, there was an underlying excitement that made Rain bristle with vigour. With this she had something that she could use against her monster.