S E R A P H
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The Vanity Of Life
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I said,
'I will watch my ways,
Lest I sin with my tongue;
I will set a curb on my mouth.'
Dumb and silent before the wicked
I refrained from any speech.
But my sorrow increased
My heart smoldered within me
In my thoughts a fire blazed up
And I broke into speech
Lord, let me know my end
The number of my days
That I may learn how frail I am
You have given my days a very short span
My life is as nothing before you
All mortals are but a breath
Mere phantoms
We go our way
Mere vapor
Our restless pursuits
We heap up stores without knowing for whom
And now, lord
What future do i have?
You were my only hope
From all my sins deliver me
Let me not be the taunt of fools
I was silent and did not open my mouth
Because you were the one who did this
Take your plague away from me
I am ravaged by the touch of your hand
You rebuke our guilt and chasten us
You dissolve all we prize like a cobweb
All mortals are but a breath
Listen to my prayer
Lord
Hear my cry
Do not be deaf to my weeping
I sojourn with you like a passing stranger
A guest, like all my ancestors
Turn your gaze from me
That I may find peace
Before I depart
To be no more
---Psalm Thirty-nine
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The streets were littered with the homeless and the lost.
She didn't like being vulnerable, susceptibility was not something that she had ever been accustomed to.
It was cool. The air was stiff with the ending of autumn and there would be rain.
It was dusk and she had spent the first day searching for answers.
The first place that she had looked towards was a bar---Prosaic.
It seemed that after the Death, all of the preternatural beings had been forced to remain or flee to Earth. But the cities had noticed the sudden increase in population and they had been forced to remain hidden in the dark.
None of the Immortals or Near-Immortals had chosen to leave Earth. The colonies were not natural and they held no tradition or holiness; either that of good or evil. Immortals would not last long if they abandoned the Earth.
She hadn't managed to find out anything new and had stupidly provoked Wrath to appear.
He hadn't been very pleased with her.
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"You are a complete idiot."
"Why are you here? I have no business with you."
"You will achieve nothing through acting the fool. What happened to your finesse?"
"Maybe I've lost patience for my mission." She removed her sword from the body of a demon, wiping the blood on her black shirt. red tended not to show up on black.
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What did Wrath want? And more importantly, how did he find her so quickly? Gabriel's mind-shield should have clouded her well enough to go unnoticed by the Sins at least for a few days.
She would have to be more careful from now on.
Althought Wrath tended to be helpful at times and despite being the most patient of the Sins, he was also the Eldest or the equivalent of Lucifer.
She sunk her hands into the pockets of her black pea-coat.
She wanted to be with Sally right now. She wanted to be somewhere else. Wanted to be someone else.
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Wrath tapped his fingers on the hilt of his own sword, the look on his face displeased. "We were never enemies, Lucrezia. Do not confuse yourself into thinking that is it now any different."
They made a path for her as she made her way outside of the club. Once she stepped outside she faced him. "I'm already doing all I can. I will find him, but it will take time."
"Time is the only thing you do not have! He will die or he will become re-instated into Hell!"
Surprise took over her featues. "That---that is impossible. God is dead. We cannot...I cannot..."
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She turned to the left of the street, hurrying along the broken path to the apartment Quatre had rented out for her.
It was a bit to upperclass for her liking, but he was paying, so she couldn't really complain about the accomodations.
She walked past the welcoming security guard at the doors and wound her way through the small crowds in the lobby to the elevator.
It was empty and for that she gave a small prayer of relief.
She hated being trapped with strangers.
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Wrath tilted his head, prussian eyes unblinking. "The Sins were born at the same moment as your GOD came into existence. Do you think we lack any of his supposed omnipotence? We cannot create permanently, but we can rebuild with our wills."
Her mouth was dry. "But who would do that for him? Does someone love Lucifer enough to reinstate him against his will?"
"'Love?' It is not about love. But your intuition is correct on some points." Heero sighed.
"Then who must I kill?"
-
The penthouse was spacious and because the people who rented it out paid an unnaturally large amount of money for the privilege, it also came with the utmost privacy, which was perfect for the purposes it was needed for.
Gabriel had knowingly supplied her with all of the weapons that she would need to complete mission including various swords, guns and small cameras and bombs.
She stripped off her jacket and the rest of her clothing, discarding them in favor of a skin-suit. She had to train. If she were to meet Zechs, there could not be any hesitation.
He would not give her a chance to hesitate.
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"You would presume to kill one who cannot be killed?"
"God is DEAD! He was not supposed to have died either, yet it is so! You would DARE to compare yourself to him?"
"It is true that He died, but it is because he could not be reborn---'that which was never born cannot be be reborn'. You know this mantra as well as I."
Realization spread across her face. "Then---"
His smile was sharp. "Yes. This is why we must not allow Lust to convince Lucifer to accept him. If he were to say but yes, Lust would reinstate your brother not as ruler of Hell---" He paused and the seconds of silence passed between the both of them, ushering in horrors unspoken.
-
She wondered briefly about Zechs. What was he doing? Was he doing alright? Was he alone? Was he lonely?
She programmed the excercise drone for Kendo and prepared her sword for it's attack.
Was he with someone? Why did he never tell her? All the time that they were together, all the time that she and he...
Never once did she sense him in those smiles, in the touches, in the kisses---she was so blind.
Maybe she'd wanted to be fooled. Wanted to be kept in the dark.
Maybe Michael lied to himself, kept himself removed from reality. For him. For her?
"---but as a new God."
She wiped her hands on her skin-suit. A faint sheen of sweat covered her forehead from the exertion of the match.
Although the droid was programmed to be a formidable opponent, it was still no match for the sword and battle skills that both Zechs and Lucfier possessed.
He was the being who nearly toppled God. Who nearly destroyed Earth.
What would have Treize thought?
Treize was God, afterall.
What did he really think of his Lightning Baron?
And of Lieutenant Noin? Did he purposely keep hidden from everyone?
She did not know. In ways, did not wish to know of the complete truth.
Her audio-vid alerted her that someone was attempting to contact her.
She let it beep until the cold voice of the computer came on, ushering the caller to leave a message.
The voice that came across the staticy line forced her body into a state of frozen shock.
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She felt her face ashen, her breath caught and lodging in the pit of her stomach. "That is---that is blasphemy...no one would---"
His voice dropped to a masked whisper. "You have said it yourself... 'Who could love him enough'?...you love him enough, Lucrezia."
Her body trembled slightly, horror and rage spilling across her features. "Are you insinuating---"
"I am merely making mention of a fact. Even the Michael that you've tried to bury so deeply knows this: feels this. Michael loves Lucifer---will he let you kill him?"
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"Noin."
Her breath stilled.
Could it be?
She dripped the handle of the sword tightly.
Could it---?
"Noin?"
Zechs?
"Noin?" The voice shifted from a deeply masculine voice to the lilting alto of a woman. "This is Sally. Are you there, Noin?"
She hadn't wanted to cry. She really hadn't. But it was Raphael.
If she loved him, if it was Raphael that she wanted...why did she feel her heart contract at the mistaken identity?
Why couldn't she bring herself to answer the call?
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"I am Michael. And if it comes to that---I will."
He laughed and it was bitter. "You would rather kill yourself than cause pain in those blue eyes. Do not lie. You belong to him. One has only to see the expression upon your face at the mention of his name to know."
Heero sighed. "You do not even know of the plans that work around you. You have clouded over Michael's judgment and he cannot see what is happening." He stepped away from the wall.
"You speak in riddles, Sin. What is it you mean? What is it that you believe I should know?"
Wrath's face was solemn. "if you knew what truths were being witheld from you, you would proceed in a path that would lead to chaos. it is better that you remain in the dark."
"Then why did you---?"
With little ceremony Wrath disappeared from her line of vision.
Did his words truly mean anything?
-
Why did she feel such despair?
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I hate ffnet's policy for line breaks and spacing. I had to adapt the figure out some way to properly separate the sections in italics from the rest of the story so I opted for centering them. Does it still flow well enough? It's the best I could do under the circumstances.
