Trinity Blood: Divergent Path
Chapter 46: Front Lines; Striking Hard
Guns flashed, their sound echoing the thunder from the night sky and light giving locations away in a heart beat. Abel raced beside Barrack and Alexander. In his hand was gripped, not a gun, but instead the sword Arthur had given him. The gold and silver of the blade was already coated in a thick layer of human blood.
"Rain's coming," Barrack called over the sound of the howling wind.
"Good, it will buy us a little more time," Abel called back.
Though the sun was still an issue most of the army was covered from head to two. Even their eyes were shielded. Seth had designed the armor before the army had headed out to meet with Myles' and the Inquisition forces on the boards of the Empire's territory. Since that day the empire had pushed deep into human territory. Abel had gotten little sleep and was being kept awake by his rage and desire to keep as many of his people alive through this as he could.
Right then their group was heading back towards the main force from a short mission around the perimeter. They'd managed to completely isolate this group from the main force of the Vatican, though Abel wasn't certain if Myles was among them or not. Right then it didn't matter; he had to stay focused on each battle as it came.
"Alexander, head for your airship, get it air born as soon as we meet up with the main force. We're going to need that support as the sunrises."
"Roger that," Alexander nodded to.
"Barrack, stay close, we're going to head up the frontlines with Athy and Solomon," Abel told the other man.
"You've yet to sleep, majesty. You said you would after this mission."
"We're too close to the end of this battle," Abel retorted. "The soldiers need me with them." His grip tightened on the sword. Lightening arched down the blade as if it could sense Abel's determination. He could feel the tingle of it as the blade tapped into his abilities, the ones that the crusnik nano-machine had given him over lightening.
"If you keep at this pace, you're going to drive yourself to the collapsing point," Barrack growled.
"After this battle," Abel retorted, shot a glare over his shoulder at the man. If Barrack was scowling or glaring in return, Abel couldn't fell. The full head helmet hid the man's features from Abel. The red armor of the yeniçeri was covered in blood. It dripped off his large, wicked sword to the stony ground below.
Abel leapt off the cliff to the next the ledge, not giving Barrack time to retort. Their main force came into sight and Abel raced towards it. Alexander broke off, heading to where the airship was hidden behind several cliffs with a large group guarding it.
"Athy," Abel started over his radio, "we're nearing your position, what's the status of our forces?"
"Good, sir," Athy replied. "Solomon's group is ready to charge from the back to flank them," she informed him.
The mass of people fighting below Abel was immense. As he looked on, he saw one figure break from the group and leap up to where Abel stood. It was Athy as the rankings on her armor showed.
"Do you want to give the order, majesty?" she asked.
He nodded and touched his radio again. "Solomon, now." He ordered. To the two beside him, he said, "This is our chance to push their forces. Let's make it count."
Both straightened and placed their hands over their hearts. "Yes, your Majesty!"
Abel leapt down the cliff and the two of them followed behind him. In the distances he could just make out Solomon leading the charge from behind the enemy forces. The soft roar of engines told Abel that Alexander had his ship air born.
"Push them back now!" Abel called to those around him as the first drops of rain struck the ground.
The roar of a collective battle cry echoed the thunder overhead. Abel raced through his people and slammed into the nearest Vatican soldier. The force of impact sent the soldier to the ground. The soldier didn't get back up. Abel sank his sword into him just to make certain he wouldn't.
Abel's head spawn. The ground swayed a little under him.
An ionized beam sliced through many of the soldiers that made a lung towards Abel. Athy raced up to his side. "Are you all right, Uncle Abel?" Athy asked a little informally.
"Fine," Abel told her with a small smile. "Just a little warn," he added when she tapped him on the shoulder with the Sword of Gae Blog. "Continue with the battle, Athy, I'll be fine."
He turned from her and raced forward once more. Lightening arched down his blade. When he brought the blade up, a massive wave of energy was released from the tip. All laws seemed to cease in that instant as the lightening raced sideways through the Vatican army. Screams filled the air as the lightening reacted with the metal armor.
Blood splattered against the ground as Abel sliced through one of the soldiers who'd escaped the lightening. Overhead bolts of energy rained down on the mass below, striking the center of the Vatican forces.
Abel straightened and looked around. In the distance he could make out Solomon and his forces stopping the sudden, stampeding retreat of the enemy.
"Solomon," Abel said into his radio, "take captives. There's no need for this to be a slaughter." Though a small part of Abel wanted it to be, it was a piece of him that he feared more than anything else.
There was no reply over the radio, but the screams were dying down as the Vatican soldiers were rounded up. Abel turned and returned to the top of the cliff. From there he could see the last sweeps of the imperial forces. There were still small skirmishes, but most of the surviving Vatican force has surrendered.
"Another victory," Athy stated as she landed beside Abel and turned to the field below. "At this rate we'll be at the Vatican gates within three months."
"Perhaps," Abel's voice was dull even to his ears. "Much can still happen between now and then."
"Aren't you just cheerful?" Athy snorted and folded her arms across her chest plate. "You could at least smile a little. We won this battle, Uncle Abel, enjoy it!"
Enjoy it? Abel looked at the young woman and sighed. He clasped her shoulder. "We'll see when the body count comes back if I can enjoy it or not, Athy."
"And until then you need sleep," Barrack chose just then to walk up to them. "Solomon and Athy can finish overseeing matters here, majesty. But you're getting rest even if I have to knock you out myself."
Abel turned to the man and waved his hand. "Not necessary, Barrack, I'll go willingly." With that he headed for where the new line of tents was being set up.
Lilith felt almost sick at the sight which greeted her. Many of the captives were severely wounded. Most wouldn't even last the night. And she could already see several from the empire taking the ones too badly injured to a death for the blood in their bodies.
"What have we become?" Lilith whispered. She moved further into the small group of Vatican soldiers. She wanted more than anything to help ease their pain but to do so would go against some of what Abel had ordered. Those who would last night would be taken care of while others were dragged off to end their pain. "What has Abel become?" she stopped and bowed her head.
All throughout this push, she'd held to the hope that Abel would come to his senses and stop the fighting before they got too far into the human territory, but he hadn't. He was starting to enjoy this, or so it was appearing to her. He'd not stopped in the fighting for anything except to tend to the empire's wounded.
She sighed. "This is turning into a slaughter." The battle today proved that much. Before the empire's battle seasoned army alone the Vatican would've stood little chance, but add in the Bacillus nano-machines with Abel's crusnik and they stood none.
For the past few days she'd been trying to think on what to do and how to stop Abel. But he was far from the man she'd once loved, so far from him she felt as if she was looking at someone else whenever she saw him on the field of battle.
"He's not 02," 04 seemed to read Lilith's thoughts. "There wouldn't have been prisoners if he was 02 and 02 wouldn't have stopped with the Vatican. They're not loyal to anything or anyone expect 01."
"Perhaps, but this," Lilith trailed off with that train of thought. "It's not Abel either."
"He has a rather nasty temper, you've even known this much."
"But he'd never have done something like this in the past, 03." Even as Lilith thought this, she knew it wasn't true. If Abel had held the powers 02 that he did now, then, yes, then he would've killed all of the UN higher ups without a second thought. Not for the simple reason he could, but because the UN had hurt all of them over and over again. Abel would've done it to protect Seth.
Now, he had far more at stack than his sister. To Abel his people were his life. If one was harmed he'd react in kind. As she'd seen, if three were killed there was war. It was because he cared and loved that he would destroy the world to protect those who remained. And because he'd trusted and fallen into a trap Myles alone had placed.
She shook her head. The man she'd once loved wasn't gone, he was just trapped in his rage and had started to be consumed by power. Soon perhaps 02 would soon gain control over Abel.
"I doubt it," 04 stated. "From what I've seen 02's just happy over the destruction Abel is causing right now. Perhaps down the line they might try, but for now he's safe enough."
But the Vatican wasn't. In this moment they needed something that would even the odds. Lilith turned and headed towards Abel's tent. She knew what she had to do. Though her heart felt uneasy over it and her stomach churned with nerves.
Lilith stopped outside of Abel's tent. The yeniçeri standing guard by the entrance opened the flap to Lilith. She hesitated before stepping into the tent. The first part of the tent was crowded with the higher-ups in the military and yeniçeri. Abel stood at the table, his hands on it as he looked over the map spread out before him. The others in the room were watching him.
But no one spoke as Lilith crossed the space. "Majesty," Lilith started once she'd stopped before the table, "may I speak with you," – her gaze slid over those in the room – "alone?"
Abel straightened. His eyes locked onto hers for several long moments. At first she thought he was going to deny her request then he nodded. "We'll pick this up later," he told the others in the room. "Solomon, see what you can do with what we have. I'll meet you aboard Alexander's ship in an hour."
"All right." Solomon nodded and rolled up the map to take with him.
The others filed out of the tent until Lilith and Abel stood in the space alone. The light drumming of rain against the canopy was the only sound within the tent itself. Outside she could hear the others moving off still. There was no other sound outside of this.
"If this is about what happened the day the war started," Abel began, "I wanted to apologize for the way I spoke to you." He sat down on the table and folded his arms across his chest. "I don't want to leave things the way they are between us, Lilith. No matter our differences, we still have too much history between us."
"That's not why I'm here," Lilith stopped him for going on with whatever he was trying to say. She didn't want to hear any of it anymore. "This is starting to turn into a slaughter, Abel. Where is it going to stop? When all of them are dead?" she managed to keep her voice even.
"I don't want it to come to that," Abel told her. "Hopefully it will never come to that."
"Then what? You'll make all humans serve the empire! Just wipe out the Vatican and be done with it."
He kept his eyes locked on hers. "I don't want that either."
"Then what? What do you want?!" she shouted at him unable to hold back her frustrations with Abel and this stupid war.
"I want my people to be safe," his voice shook a little. "I know you're not happy, Lilith, but the Vatican did start this. I'm only protecting my people."
"No," she took a step back, shaking her head. "The Vatican didn't start this, you did."
"How is this my fault?!" Abel leapt to his feet. "I didn't ask for them to kill Tabitha and Kayson in cold blood or shoot Arthur who was defenseless as a prisoner as it was! Tell me how it's my fault?!"
"You fired first when there was still time to negotiate. You let your temper dictate how to act and ended up starting the war! You shouldn't have even been at that meeting in the first place!"
Abel stared at her. There was a long moment of silence before he asked, "Would you rather I've died there then?"
Lilith was about to say 'no' when she swallowed the response. If he had died there then there would've been war, yes, but not like this. With Abel at the head of the empire, with his mind leading them, no normal strategist or even other enhanced humans could match him.
"You do, don't you?" his voice wavered a little and he turned his back on her. "But it's not for the reason the others died, is it?"
"No," she confessed.
"What do you see?" he turned back to her, eyes sad. "When you look at me now?"
Lilith looked at him and it was all too easy to see him covered in blood, crusnik active as he slaughtered the soldiers the night the war had started. She looked away. "A monster," she whispered the reply. "I don't see an emperor, or a man trying to protect his people. I see you standing in a mass of bodies, covered in blood. I see a monster."
The sound of metal hitting the table made Lilith look back at Abel. He'd backed up into the table. His eyes were wide and glistened with unshed tears. "Is that really how you see me?"
She nodded, feeling sick that she'd admitted it.
"I don't enjoy killing, Lilith!" he moved towards her and she stepped back away from him. He winced as if her reaction was a physical blow.
"Don't you though? I see you out there on the field. You kill when there is no reason to!"
"Lilith," he whispered, his expression was one that twisted her heart. He looked as if she was ripping out his heart. But did he still have one? She didn't know anymore and that was what scared her the most.
"I'm leaving," she said as she straightened and her eyes locked back on his. "I'm going to join the Vatican and stop you before you destroy this world, Abel."
"Lilith, please," Abel pleaded as he took her hand in his. "I'm not a monster, I'm not." He looked almost like he was begging with her to change her mind.
She jerked her hand out of his. "Then prove it. Stop the war and open a dialog with the Vatican! Stop the bloodshed and return to the dream of peace."
"I," – he stepped away from her, looking at the ground – "I can't," he told her. "There is too much blood between our nations now."
"There never is!" she snapped. "But if this continues the only way to stop it will be through your death. I don't want that and I know your people don't either. So stop it now before it becomes a war against all humans on this planet!"
"I can't!" he shouted at her. He grasped her shoulders. "Please, Lilith, you have to understand and you have to stay. I don't want Seth to lose you as well and I sure as hell can't fight you."
"It's either that or you stop this war. Stop being a monster and return to the man I once loved."
He flinched again. "Lilith." Before she could react or really understand what was happening, he pressed his lips into hers. For a second she was shocked and caught up in the fact he was kissing her to react. Then it stuck her. She lashed out. The smell of blood filled the room.
Abel stumbled back, his hand over his check. Several long, deep gashes ran along his face. Her nails must have hardened when she'd stuck him.
"I'm sorry," she whispered, staring at the blood on her nails. She couldn't believe she'd just done that. Without another word, Lilith turned on her heel and raced from the tent.
Right then it felt as if everything was falling apart. All that the colony had worked for, all that she'd loved and cared about. First Cain had changed and now Abel. When had their family started to break apart? When had hall of it changed?
(Author's Note: Yeah, no on the update for Wizard's Treachery, I don't have a clue where I'm going with it right now and think I need to think on it a little longer before continuing on with it… So here's an update fore Divergent Path instead.)
