Trinity Blood: Emperor's Mask
Chapter 14: Return of the Beast
Soft light flickered to life around Caterina. The lights weren't coming from those the group carried with them. Rather streetlamps now shown down on them.
"That should just about do it," the woman with auburn hair straightened from where she had been at an old computer. She dusted off her hands. "You're lucky I remembered what code Uncle Abel taught me," she huffed as she glared at Azul.
"It's not like I asked you to turn on the light, Asran," Azul muttered. He leaned against a wall, sword clicking against stone. There was something about his demeanor which reminded Caterina of Abel. He turned his attention from Athina, sharp, dark blue eyes locking onto Barack. "Has there been any word from Solomon or Alexander?" he asked in calm tones.
"Solomon's made contact with his majesty," Barack stated with a scowl. "It just had to Solomon's group. Tch. It's always Solomon who finds Abel."
All of them were speaking in the imperial tongue. A language Caterina had studied diligently under Abel for years. She could understand and speak it especially after thirteen years of study. There were aspects of the language Abel said had changed since he had last been in the empire, but he had kept up with it. The empire had been his home long before he had sold his freedom for a peace which had been destroyed.
Caterina settled herself on a rock to wait for Abel's group. Her eyes on the group who had slept for eight centuries to protect the empire they had built.
"You're always upset about it, Barack, but father spent years perfecting avoiding you and his guard," Azul stated.
Father? Caterina looked at Azul. While his stance was akin to Abel's, his will and spirit, they weren't genetically related. There was so much about Abel's past she would never be able to understand. So much hidden from her. No matter how long she had tried to gain his trust, it felt as if it were a task forever out of her reach.
Caterina smiled to herself. Kind Abel, he had never changed the purest part of him, had he? The part of which sought to protect everyone, especially children.
"What do you expect, Fortuna? Barack's always been Uncle Abel's guard."
"And proud of it." Barack shot a glare at Athina. "As any of us should be, Athy." Barack sighed. "Though, I should be grateful it was Solomon who found Abel in the same instance. He has blamed himself for Abel's leaving." Sorrow crept into Barack's voice. "But for any of us to have known all Solomon had from the very beginning," he trailed off.
"I would've stormed the Vatican, not sat back like some coward," Athina growled. Her fangs had appeared with the heat of her emotions.
"It wasn't what father would have wanted."
"To hell with what Uncle Abel wanted!" Athina stepped towards Azul, hand slashing the air with her rage. She stopped suddenly. "Did you hear that?"
Azul straightened, his hand on his sword.
The other methuselah were reacting to some unknown sound.
"Tres?" Caterina looked to her trusted guard.
The machine drew his guns. "Movement detected," he stated.
William lifted his cane in response. Both he and Tres had moved a little closer to Caterina.
The sound of metal slamming into metal followed in the next heartbeat. Just beyond the streetlights, flashes of sparks flew through the air. A figure skidded back, familiar priest robes torn and bloodied.
"Shit!" the man leapt to one side.
Several girls all dressed in the same neat maids' outfits landed where he hand been a heartbeat before. The girls straightened, each carrying weapons far too large for their small frames.
One leapt at the priest, face expressionless as she went. They weren't girls at all.
"What the," breathed Azul, eyes wide in shock.
The girl lifted her blade.
Sparks flew through the air as a silver ring bounced from it. It turned to the hand of the priest. He skidded and dropped low.
The second girl's strike flew over his head. The blade skimming off a few strands of his long, wild hair.
"Leon," Caterina breathed. "Gunslinger, aid Dandelion," Caterina order as she turned towards Tres. There wasn't a moment to waste. If Leon was here, fighting then enemy, then—
Tres stepped forward. "Affirmative. Combat engaged." He opened fire on the girls."
The entrance of Tres into the fray, gave Leon enough time to race back towards them. He moved turned into the light. He had lost several of his rings. His robes, though always opened, and never really neat, were now ragged. Several cuts laced his strong chest, one still oozed fresh blood while the others looked to be days' old.
"Leon!" Caterina stood and took a step towards her injured agent.
"Stay where you are, senorita!" Leon shouted at her. "There are more than just those two."
The yeniçeri had formed a barrier around Mirka Fortuna.
William moved up to Caterina once more. His arm out to stop her from moving any closer to the battle.
"Athy, fall back and protect the Duchess of Milan," Barack ordered. He hefted his large blade moments before two more of the girls appeared followed by auto-jagers.
Azul leapt into action, racing passed Leon to the front of the battle. His blade slashed through several of the auto-jagers. He twisted before kicking another back in a blow which would have killed any human.
Athina moved to William's side. She wore a scowl. "Where the heck did that priest, if he is a priest, even come from?" she growled under her breath.
A few of the dolls broke through the line Barack, Azul, and Tres had made. One raced towards Leon, another towards Caterina, and a third towards Mirka.
The yeniçeri charged the doll as did Athina from Caterina's side.
Leon moved to avoid the attacks of the third.
More pressed the attack on the front guard. There were too many of them. The dolls were taking more to take down than the auto-jagers. Still, it didn't seem to matter how many they took down. More rose up in place of the fallen.
Where was Abel?
Caterina took a step back. Her gaze locked on the enemy. She wouldn't let her agents see any fear or worry from her. She would stand strong even if she couldn't do a thing to help fight this battle.
An auto-jager moved through Athina's defense.
William engaged, stopping the dead methuselah feet from Caterina. His thin sword lashed out at the unholy creature.
A dark shape flew in from above. It was another doll.
"Caterina!"
A bullet flashed. The doll collapsed on the ground.
"Abel!" Caterina turned.
Sure enough Abel appeared, racing towards her and the battle as almost a white blur. He fired on the field of battle. The auto-jager William was engaged with fell.
Abel skidded to a stop before Caterina. Expended shells clattered to the ground. "Are you all right, Caterina?" Abel asked.
"I'm fine," Caterina replied. Her heart filled with relief. She took a deep breath.
Abel nodded and turned his attention back to the battle. He slipped his gun back into its holster. It was a sign he was completely out of bullets.
"William, stay close to Caterina. I'm going to pull Leon back to this position."
"Understood, Crusnik." William nodded to Abel as he moved back to his previous protective position before Caterina.
More people appeared from the same passage Abel had. The first two raced forward with haste. One stopped by Caterina's position while the other ran straight for the front lines, sword flashing in the artificial light.
Next, the Duchess of Kiev and Odessa appeared with the Count of Memphis at her side. The count carried Esther in his arms.
x – X – x
The sound of the others arriving was the que Abel needed. He darted frowned, faster than even a methuselah could move. His fingers hooked onto the back of Leon's collar in the same instance he leapt to kick the doll away from the annoying man.
Abel landed. His muscles bunched. He raced back behind the line Solomon had created through a few quick shots from his ring. "We need to retreat to the point Baybars and his daughter are holding!" Abel stated, still holding Leon's collar. "Solomon."
Solomon nodded. "Barack, create a distraction!" he shouted the order. "The rest of you, fall back to our position."
A heartbeat later, three figures leapt back. They landed paces from Abel and the other former members of the AX.
Abel didn't pause to take in who the fifth member was. He moved to Caterina's side and aided her in the retreat. All the while, he dragged a shouting Leon behind him. The man spat at Abel, struggling against his hold.
The methuselah were the first to retreat into the passage. Abel tossed Leon after them and moved to defend the last of the group. Solomon stopped at his side.
"Go, Majesty." Solomon looked at Abel.
Abel didn't move from Solomon's side. "Do it now."
The odd army was advancing on their position. He and Solomon stepped back into the tunnel together.
Solomon's ring gave of a familiar red glow. The beam lanced into the ceiling. Each shot creating large craters above. A rumble filled the air.
As one, he and Solomon leapt away from the collapsing ceiling. Abel drew his gun and fired his last few bullets on those few which crawled from the rising dust. He landed.
The ground still shook under Abel as he straightened, hoisting his gun in case more came through. Nothing stirred through the dust.
"Leon, what are you doing here?" Caterina's clear voice made Abel turn his attention from the rubble to where Caterina stood over Leon.
The man looked half dead. It was more than the wounds lacing his body. He looked drawn and worn as if he had been running for his life for days now. "He needs water," Abel said as he strode over to Leon. He pulled out the canteen he had on him and knelt down. "Then you should answer the question, Dandelion."
Leon snagged the canteen and down it in several famished galps. He lowered the now empty canteen. "Anything stronger than water, Four-eyes?" he asked with a crooked smile.
"No," Abel stated.
William moved up and passed Abel some bandages. Together, he and the professor worked to get Leon's wounds cleaned and bound.
"What happened?" Caterina repeated.
"Well, it's like this, senorita," Leon started, "I was in my little prison cell, when Francesco came in and stated you'd turned traitor. That you had killed his Holiness. 'Course, I knew it was a big lie. You would never kill your little brother. I told him that and he called me a traitor to the Vatican. Said I would make a good show to how good those killing dolls were at hunting down killing people.
"They dropped me near Istavan and I ran into a cave. Somehow the cave turned into this weird maze of tunnels. Eventually, I ended up running head long into you lot. Glad I did." He gave Caterina one of his wolfish grins. "Never thought it would happen though. Must be my lucky day."
"So you led the dolls to us?" Asthe growled.
"I believe Leon would have encountered the auto-jagers which were already hunting us," Abel pointed out. "They would have ended up stirring him straight into the group." Still, these passages had been built as a maze. A very deadly maze. Abel knew Leon had extraordinary luck and skill, but to avoid all trapped passages from Istavan to here? It was just amazing.
"Yeah, that's what happened." Leon frowned and narrowed his eyes at Abel. "Somethings off about you today, Four-eyes."
Abel looked at Leon, both eyebrows raised. "Caterina ordered I drop an order her father gave me, Leon."
"He's always been far more depressing and serious than the person you knew," Caterina explained. She then frowned. "Were there any others who refused to side with Francesco?"
Leon shrugged and winced at the movement. "I wouldn't know that, senorita. They weren't really a chatty bunch. Most I got out of them was that his Holiness is actually still alive, just imprisoned. Not sure where though. The guard were just laughing about how it was trick those who weren't loyal to Francesco the AX was the cause of the kid's death."
Caterina's eyes widened. "Alec's alive?" she breathed the question.
This was – Abel felt his own shock stir in him. So, Francesco had plotted it to the point where he had known if it ever came out he had killed Alessandro, he could lose what support he had through the lie. Thus, keeping the boy alive, locked away was the only option the man really had. This was bad.
"Any idea where they're keeping his Holiness?" William asked as he tied off the last of Leon's bandages.
"It wasn't with me in my prison," Leon stated. "You think they'd let something like that slip before me, Professor? It was stroke of luck they even let slip his Holiness still lived before me." Leon scowled.
"Still, it means we might be able to do something about it," William said. "Though, just the knowledge doesn't get us the ability to turn the masses back to our side. The AX has never been the most popular of groups among the Vatican." His gaze slid to Abel. "Not meaning anything by it, my friend."
"No offense was taken, William," Abel stated. "But, we do need to learn where Pope Alessandro is being held. If we can free him," he trailed off and looked at Caterina.
The girl had settled herself on a rock. She looked pale and ill.
"Caterina?" Abel felt a flicker of concern in him.
"I can't take it anymore!" another voice exclaimed in the imperial tongue.
Pain lanced through Abel as a methuselah slammed into him and swept him into a strong embrace. Abel gasped. "A-Athy?"
The girl he had known since the day she was born, clung to him all the tighter. Her face buried into his chest. Tears slid down her face. It was as if she was ten once more, scared and frightened from an attack by the rebels. Yet, the tears weren't just ones of fear, they were ones of sorrow and joy as well.
"Athy." Abel placed his hand on her head. His heart twisted in pain. He had caused her this pain.
"Why?" she whispered through her tears. "Why did you make us think you were dead, Uncel Abel?"
The question tore into Abel. His voice logged in his throat. When he had made the choice to sell his freedom for peace, he had never once thought on the effect this would have on those he had left behind in the empire. Well, not the effect of his "death" would have on them. All he had wanted for them, for all of his dearest friends, was a chance at the happiness which had been denied them. A chance to have a normal life, with a families and love. Had he been mistaken in wanting this for them?
Abel looked from Athy to Solomon. A man who had always been good at hiding his real feelings from the world. To the point many of his subordinates had referred to Solomon as the "Machine Admiral." Yet, he had made his own feelings clear the other day when he had torn "Only One" from Ion's grasp, shouting at the boy.
His gaze fell back on the girl. "Athy," Abel tried to speak passed the lump forming in his throat. How could he ever justify his motives?
Athy looked up into Abel's face. Her brown eyes rimmed red from her tears. She shook her head. "Don't explain, Uncle Abel. Just know, if I had known as long as Solomon had, I would have torn apart the Vatican to return you home."
"Which is precisely the reason you weren't told until we woke, Athy," Alexander said from where he stood close to Solomon and Barack. "You would have been the one to convince Barack here," – he jabbed his thumb at Barack – "it was a brilliant idea to storm the Vatican. Hell!" he exclaimed. "It would have been you who convinced all of us it was a brilliant idea."
"It would have been," Athy defended.
"It would have started another war," a familiar voice pointed out. A voice Abel had thought he would never hear again.
His eyes widened. It couldn't be.
Athy broke from Abel, whirling on the figure who stood behind her. "No one asked you, Fortuna!" she snarled.
It could not be. Abel couldn't look away from the man before him. He stood at an average height, his dark hair neat despite all the fighting and would have had a bluish tint to it if the light had been closer to him. His familiar, sharp, dark blue eyes were locked on Abel. The clothes he wore were the old style of an imperial nobleman. A sword hung from his belt in the same style Alexander and Ion used.
"Azul?" Abel breathed as he took a shaky step towards – toward his eldest son.
Fear tinged his heart the vision of his son was just a hallucination. In the same moment, unspeakable joy pulled at him this was real. It couldn't be. It had to be. Abel couldn't stand the thought his eyes were deceiving him.
Abel reached Azul and lifted his hand. He paused, fearing to touch his son's face, fearing this was all an illusion.
Warmth touched Abel's hand as Azul pressed his hand against Abel's. Azul guided Abel's hand to the side of his face. Abel brushed his thumb under his son's eye. He was real. He was here. Abel drew Azul into an embrace. Hot tears burned his eyes as he held to one of his precious boys.
Azul returned the embrace.
"Azul, my son," Abel choked on the words. One of his little boys had returned to him alive.
(Author's Note: I am crying at the end here and am not ashamed to admit it.
Also, yes, I had been planning for Alec to still be alive. I, one, adore Alessandro to little pieces. And, two, it makes a nice plot twist. This story is actually rooted in some of the ideas I had for Future Seen. Just without the time travel thrown into the mix.)