Trinity Blood: Emperor's Mask
Chapter 4: Journey's Start

Abel stared out across a battle scarred land. Ash danced around him and the scent of fire mingled with decay dominated the air. It was a scent Abel was all too familiar with. This was the scent of war. A scent he'd feared smelling again.

"You failed," a beautiful voice sounded behind Abel. His eyes widened. The voice was more to him than anything else in the world. It was the sound of the first rays of the sun as they peeked over the horizon on a calm winter day.

Slowly he turned. A tall woman with dark sink and eyes the color of gold greeted him. Her long hair fell around her beautiful face and her eyes were locked on him.

"Lilith," Abel breathed, staring at her. He couldn't move. "Lilith, I – I'm sorry, I failed, you're right, I failed." Her dream, the last words he'd ever spoken to her had all been shattered. The dream many in the original colony and empire had, had all but vanished now.

"You should've tried harder," a new voice sounded and a figure appeared through the ash. His black hair and brown eyes made it all too apparent who he was.

"A-Arthur," Abel choked on the name. Arthur Asran stood beside Lilith, standing as he would've in life nearly nine centuries ago. "I will save her," he whispered. "Your descendent won't share your fate!"

Arthur Asran. It was a name and person Abel remembered vividly even to this day. Over nine centuries ago he'd served under Abel in the security force of the Mars colony. During the civil war they'd become good friends. Arthur had been what the Methuselah would've referred to as a Tovarish to Abel. Nothing could've broken their friendship and their trust, nothing but another war.

"My fate? It is the fate of the empire we built. You were our emperor, our leader, and our friend. Yet you abandoned the empire when it needed you the most for a peace that was doomed to fail." Arthur pointed at Abel. "That dream was over the second war broke out on Mars."

"She won't share your fate!" Abel shouted at his friend. "I swear that much, Arthur. She won't."

"How do you know?" yet another voice sounded to Abel's right.

Abel slowly turned. His eyes fell across a tall woman who, at first glance, looked like Asthe. But there was no sign of white in her hair at all.

"You failed all of us." He turned again and his eyes fell over a man who looked no older than twenty-three. His long black hair was tied back and he wore and old fashioned human suit though he was a Methuselah. "Where were you when my children and wife needed your help? Where were you when they were killed?"

"Aran," Abel's voice cracked a little.

"You failed," all of them spoke at once. The words echoed around Abel. "You failed."

A gasp escaped Abel as he straightened. He was shaking but not from the cold of the place, for he was used to it. The dream lingered, chilling him to the very core.

Laughter made him straighten and turn to see Asthe was awake and looking at him with amusement. "I didn't think idiots could get nightmares," she said in a teasing voice.

He took a deep breath and leaned back against the wall. Arthur and his daughter Athina had both appeared in that dream… nightmare as Asthe had just called it. Abel hadn't thought about them since he'd first met Asthe and that had only been a brief memory. The memory of when Athy had asked for him to give all her descendant's nicknames even if they didn't like them.

"Asthe, can I ask you something even if where it comes from doesn't make sense?" he asked, not looking at the child.

"Humph, not sure I'll answer depending on what it is."

"It's a name I came across while in the empire: Arthur Asran, who was he?" Abel knew the answer but he didn't know how Arthur was remembered.

"Where'd you come across that name? Were you snooping around my manor?!" She demanded. She was before him and had taken hold of his collar.

Abel averted his eyes from hers not wanting to put her off at the sight of his eyes unmasked without the thick glasses. "No, I just saw it somewhere, that's all." He lied again. "Forget I asked." He gasped, struggling to breath from the hold she had on his collar.

"Tch."

Abel was slammed back into the wall when Asthe released him.

"Don't ask something like that again around me or any from the empire. It'll get you killed, Torvarish."

Abel rubbed his neck. Partner, trusted friend, Torvarish, all these was what Asthe called him. Yet, she treated him like a ragdoll still, an annoyance at best. For him, to say he trusted her with everything would've been a complete lie and that was what a torvarish was to them. He didn't trust most people. Even when it came down the Caterina, he still hide, still kept secrets. No one knew and no one ever would. In the end the people Abel had trusted in the senses that Asthe used were long dead or his sister.

At the end of the day, Abel's life meant nothing to him. To say he trusted someone with it would've been an insult. Granted, that didn't mean he avoided people now did it. It just so happened most people disliked him. At least it was no longer for the reasons like what he was.

Abel stood. He moved a little ways from the group and the light. His eyes adjusted at once to the gloom. In the distance he could just make out the sound of Tres moving towards them. The clunk, clunk, clunk couldn't have belonged to anyone else.

He knelt down and took the sword from his belt. Careful not break the old clothes, Abel bound it in a belt as well to make it hard to unsheathe. The dream last night had reminded him of one of the reasons he didn't use the sword anymore. Other than the fact it would give away he was the former emperor, it was a genetic weapon designed to tap into and enhance the nano-machines in Abel. He could channel the lightening of eighty-percent activation through the blade when in his natural state. The blade was soaked in blood of humans and methuselah alike. In the blood of soldiers, traitors, and innocents, even cleaned as it would've been, the blade was filthy for the sins Abel had committed with it.

"I'll return it to the empire where it belongs," he whispered as he latched the belt. "Seth can decide if it should be melted down for scrap or kept for no other reason than it was the emperor's." He closed his eyes and pressed his head again the hilt. He could feel the warmth coming from the handle as if he'd been holding it all night but he hadn't been. There was a soft tingle in his fingers that came from the blade to his skin.

"Statius report, Father Nightroad," Tres' voice made Abel move back from the blade.

Abel stood and returned the blade to his belt. "The others are still sleeping," Abel informed Tres. "I'll wake Caterina. Were you followed?" Abel kept his voice low as the two of them moved towards the others.

"Negative," Tres stated in even tones.

"Good," Abel nodded before he stopped by Caterina knelt to wake her, only to find her eyes were already open. "Couldn't sleep?" he asked as she straightened.

"No," she admitted. "I see Tres arrived safely." She folded her hands in her lap. "Tres, change into your civilian clothes. Abel, wake the others. We need to move."

Tres didn't even blink before he moved off, but Abel remained kneeling before Caterina.

"Abel?" Caterina rose one of her eyebrows. The resulting look would've made him move if he was still bound by her father's order. He wasn't so he didn't.

Instead Abel placed his hand over both of hers. "If you need to talk, I'm here. You don't need to keep the pain hidden from me, Caterina."

"Go wake the others," she repeated, but her voice was softer and the small smile told him he'd said what she'd needed to hear.

"As you wish, Caterina." Abel gave her hand a gentle squeeze before he stood. He knelt beside William first. "William," – Abel touched the man's shoulder – "it's time."

William opened his eyes at once. "All right." He sat up.

"Can you check on Caterina?" Abel asked in a softer voice.

The younger man looked Abel in the eye. "You're worried about her," it was a statement. He nodded and kept his eyes locked onto Abel's. "I'll see what I can do, my friend. But you know she doesn't show her pain so freely to others."

"I know," Abel whispered back. He bowed his head to the Professor. "Thank you, William." Abel moved to where Esther was fast asleep, curled up on one of their few blankets. "Esther." He touched her shoulder and gave her the smallest shake.

"Wha—" The girl blinked open her eyes before sitting up right. "Did I miss morning prayer?"

Abel smiled at her. "No, nothing like that," he said in a calm, reassuring voice. Abel stood once more and moved over to the bags he'd gathered while they'd waited. He and Tres would be carrying most of the supplies since they could lift the most. There was also the fact Abel didn't want to risk the two Methuselah.

He pulled out the old protective gear from one of the bags. The fabric was just as strong as the coat Abel wore and googles showed no signs of wear. He nodded before he looked over the gloves as well. There were no holes in them which was a good sign considering how long this gear had been down here.

"How are we planning on moving?" Asthe asked.

"Hopefully only when it's dark," Ion grumbled.

"No," Abel said before Caterina could reply. "It's safer to move during our day in order to remain undetected by the Inquisition."

Asthe shook her head before she glared at Abel. "You've lost all sense if you think the count and I can move when the sun's up!"

Abel held out the gear. "It works, I swear. Nothing is torn or ripped and all of the protective lining is still in it."

The two Methuselah exchanged looks. Ion was the first to take one of the sets Abel was holding out to them. "What is it?" he asked as he looked over the heavy gear. "How old is it?" He's wrinkled his nose at the smell of must that clung to the fabric.

"It's old protective gear your people used to wear during the Human-Methuselah War," Abel explained. "It came around before UV protection gel had been invented."

"If you have these shouldn't you have the gel then too?" Ion asked, holding the gear out at arm's length. "This stuff reeks."

Abel scowled. "The UV gel is illegal, these aren't. Just be glad I've them at all," he spoke in a calm voice that betrayed none of his irritation at Ion's reaction.

"Umm, Father Nightroad, why do you have gear like that in first place?" Esther asked. The girl looked up at him almost expectantly.

"A story for another time, I think," Caterina cut in. She'd been watching the conversation from between William and Tres. "For now, Abel's right, Count, Duchess. It would be easier to slip passed the Inquisition during the day rather than night. With you two with us, they'll only be expecting us to move when it's dark."

"All right," Asthe said with a deep sigh before she took the gear from Abel. "But I'm not putting it on until we're closer to the exit."

"That's agreeable," Caterina said with the slightest of nods. She turned her steel gray eyes on Abel. Their gazes locked and Abel also bowed his head.

He turned to the packs. "Tres." Abel held out the lighter of the two packs to the killing doll.

Tres took it without a word and placed the pack on over his long, leather coat. All the clothes Tres wore had been picked out by Caterina and William. The sunglasses which hung around his neck were included in that as well.

"How are we going to make it out of here?" Esther asked, looking from Caterina to William.

"Abel knows the passages better than anyone I've ever heard of before," William said.

"We'll be heading that way," Abel pointed down one of the passages. "I'll join you in a moment. I just need to check and see if we have everything." He bowed to them before slipping into the tomb once more. For the last time. The thought filled him with dread and made him pause in the wrecked door. He took a deep breath. The scent of must greeted him. It was a scent he'd come to think of as a prison and as a home.

He crossed the space towards the pod. There was nothing they needed from the chest, but there was something from near Lilith's resting place he needed to take with them. So that 01 would never find it. Even if he discovered Lilith's tomb.

Abel stepped up onto the dais. He stood there several moments, eyes locked on her perfect features. Skin of a coppery color was pale and still. Her eyes, still covered in the light hint of makeup were closed, but Abel could still picture the golden color of them as if he'd seen her eyes open only yesterday. Jewelry covered her arms and neck all gold, real gold, not fake or just light layering of it over another metal, but one hundred percent real. All of it was jewelry Abel had given her over the years she'd been alive. Light markings covered her skin in almost the same color.

It took him several moments to swallow back the grief of seeing her always brought. Abel stepped up to the pod and hesitated before he pressed a concealed button. Air hissed from the pod before the lid opened. He turned his gaze from her face to a compartment concealed in the side of the pod.

"I'm sorry, my love, but I can't let him take the rest of 04," he whispered before he took from the compartment a long, thick, clear tube. Black liquid sloshed in it going, filling it to what would've been forty-percent mark if the writing hadn't worn off years ago. He placed the container into a metal case before locking it in.

Abel returned his gaze to Lilith. From his pocket he pulled out a small necklace. At the end of the delicate, silver chain was a metal butterfly, the colors and markings just as clear as it had been over nine centuries ago. Abel placed the necklace on Lilith, before he touched her cold face.

"You're memory is never forgotten even if the dream fades," he whispered in the old imperial tongue. He straightened and sealed her pod. "I swear, I will come back for you. If he's behind it, I won't leave you behind, my empress." With that Abel picked up the case. He looked one last time at her before he turned and left the tomb. His heart screamed at him to not leave her here, but there was no way he could take her with them. And he couldn't abandon the others. Lilith would've had his head for that in the past.

Caterina was the first to notice Abel's return. Her eyes flickered the case he now held. "Is that?" she started but let the question hand.

"Ah," Abel confirmed. He didn't need to say more. Out of everyone here only two people knew about the nano-machines or virus that had been locked away in Lilith's tomb. That was Caterina and Abel.

Abel slipped the case into the last pack before he placed the pack on his shoulders. The weight was barely noticeable. There was no need to speak as he passed the others. One by one they fell in behind him. William and Esther both held lights. The young nun walked close to Abel while William was close to Caterina in the center of the group.

xxx

A day had passed since leaving the catacombs. Caterina sat near one of the tents her eyes locked on Abel was he stocked the fire under the small soup he'd made. Only moments ago he'd finished getting the rabbits into the soup. It was the first meal he'd had to catch food for. She knew all too well that he'd been out looking for the rabbits long before any of them had woken.

Ion exited the tent he shared with William and Abel, not that Abel ever slept in it. The young count already wore most of the protective gear, but the gloves and goggles were off with the hood down.

"Where'd the food come from?" he asked as he sat down near the fire. It was a small, smokeless fire Abel had gotten going. He'd no doubt asked Tres to patrol and make certain the fire wasn't spotted since they were still near Rome.

Abel didn't reply only took a leaf off of one of the plants he'd gathered and placed it into his mouth. A moment later he nodded and ripped the rest up. It fell into the soup.

"What was that?" Ion asked. The younger man's voice bordered on a slight distain for Abel, so small Caterina only picked it up because she was used to listening for it.

"A spice to help with the flavor," Abel stated in tones that held none of the happiness or hyper glee he'd spent years perfecting in it. This was only the second time he'd spoken since they'd left Lilith's tombs. Caterina could just hear more pain in his voice than she had when they'd left it. Perhaps leaving Lilith behind was taking its toll on Abel.

As she watched, he fingered his rosary as he tended to do when his mind was on another matter. A matter related to Lilith or a pain he kept buried in him. Abel was also avoiding eye contact with Ion as he spoke with the younger man.

"Really? How can you tell it's not poisonous?"

"If you don't want to risk it, count, don't eat it," Abel said as he stirred the soup.

"You're acting really weird, Tovarish." Astharoshe had stepped out of the tent just in time to hear Abel's retort to Ion. Esther was a step behind the duchess.

Abel grunted but didn't otherwise reply. His attention was locked the meal and nothing else.

"Then what am I going to eat?" Ion demanded as his eyes narrowed.

A scowl twitched at the corner of Abel's lips. It was gone in the next moment. "All we have is this," was all Abel said in way of reply.

Ion sighed. "Fine." The count turned his eyes on Esther and grinned. "Hi, Esther!" he spoke in a cheery voice, none of the discontent he'd used with Abel now in his voice at all.

"Good morning, your Excellency," Esther said with the slightest bow of her head. Esther walked over and sat down by Ion. The two of them were soon chatting together.

Astharoshe took a seat near Caterina. It was pre-dawn by the time Abel passed out the food. He took his own bowl and retreated away from the others, sitting so that his back was to them and eyes locked in the direction they'd come.

Caterina turned her gaze from his and out towards the empire. This was going to be a long journey and the group was already not getting along. All because she'd ordered Abel to drop the act, but how could she not order it? Right now it was important for Abel to be himself, free to give advice, and to act than it was for them to have the goof he pretended to be.

There was no telling how the others would react to him. In the months to come she only hoped none of them would come to fear him or treat him as a monster. He might be called one by the Vatican, but he was anything but one.

(Author's Note: Update on what's going on: all updates will be slow because I am working on a webcomic that will hopefully launch this summer. The update order for these will be: Divergent Path, Emperor's Mask, Wizard's Treachery. Enjoy the update :) Also note: I am still deciding if in this altrealty they've been to Albion yet or not and if Cain got a new body because of it thus making it so that Abel managed to catch Vanessa before she reached the machine…)