It was early morning in a particularly old patch of the city of London. Buildings had been essentially left to fall crumble apart in ruin and the road hadn't been tended to in decades, so cracks, loose stone, and potholes were abundant. Any car that wasn't high up or had tough tires had to drive carefully through this area for that reason, as pedestrians were practically nonexistent. There were so few people that a car was able to park in the middle of the street with no one bothering it.
Abhartach was outside of the car with his coat on, fussing with a chain as he attached it to the back of the vehicle. Standing upright, he put his hands on his hips and smiled at his handiwork, patting the top of the car as he walked back up to the passenger side door. He got in and joined his associates, shutting the door behind him.
"It's chilly out there!" he declared with a shiver.
"I did offer to assist you, my lord." replied Feargus from the driver's seat, looking over at him.
"No need. I want to be a hands-on ruler. I can't let you or your girl have all the fun." Abhartach gestured to the backseat as he spoke of Claire, but the she-wolf couldn't hear him. She was staring straight ahead, unblinking, expressionless, and without any light in her eyes. Observing this, Abhartach frowned. "Is she going to be alright?"
"She has to. If she wants to get anywhere in life, she must. My daughter must be strong if she is to be an example for the other women." Looking back in the backseat, Feargus redirected his attention to Claire.
"I'm proud of you, sweetheart." he said, but she only nodded and looked past him.
"Don't look at your enemy like they're a person." Abhartach stated. "Close your heart to them. You won't feel anything anymore."
After a moment of pause, Claire nodded again. "Yes, sir..." she said somewhat weakly. Satisfied with the fact that she was answering, Feargus turned his attention back to the road and shifted the vehicle into gear. As he took off, a chill ran down Claire's spine.
They drove as briskly as they could with the road conditions they had, hitting a few bumps along they way. They drove until they reached a specific intersection and they paused in the middle of it, looking down the to their right. It was concealed by the shadows of the two rows of closely bundled buildings on both sides, but at the end toward the light was a massive gate with an outpost in front of it. Inside were two gaurds and one of them seemed to notice that the Philosiphers were there.
Reaching over, Abhartach put a hand on Feargus' shoulder and leaned in. "Get ready to take off." he instructed before releasing the other man and stepping back out of the car. Casually, he walked around the side of it, arms swinging, and a pep in his step before reaching the back of the car again and crouching down. He unfastened the chain and let it fall to the ground with a heavy, lifeless thud before he looked over at what it was dragging.
"Well," he said, "You made it home."
Reaching down, he grabbed the dirty, tattered fabric that clung to his victim's frame, stained with blood, mud, and God knows what else. With a smile, Abhartach picked the man up and swung him over his shoulder before he began walking toward the gate. The swaying motion caused the other man to groan.
"Ngh..." was all that the bloody lump could weakly manage to get out, only to be patted on the head with Abhartach's free hand.
"Shh, shh, shh, shh, shh… You're almost there." Abhartach reassured. As he grew closer, the guards could see him a bit more clearly. They weren't happy to see him.
"Hey, you!" one of them shouted. "What is that you've got?!"
Both guards pointed their guns at the intruder. "Set it down right now and put up your hands or we'll shoot!"
"Well, I don't want to mess up another suit, so if you insist..."
Abhartach raised his victim up high over his head using both hands. He stood triumphant as he watched the guards' faces change with horror. Then, with a grunt, he hurled the body toward them, causing it to land harshly on the pavement and roll a ways before finally stopping.
"We'll be in touch."Abhartach declared before running back toward the car.
"Oi! Come back here!" Immediately, he was chased down, but they knew they wouldn't be able to get to him by the time he reached his vehicle and sped off. They were right, but partially, it was because they stopped dead in their tracks as they approached the person that he had threw.
Crouching down, one of them rolled the man over and examined him. He was bound with belts latched around his arms with a tie binding his hands behind him. His clothes were absolutely disgusting, but so was every exposed piece of skin. The man's black hair was matted together with dried blood as it caked itself on his skin and clothes. He was burned and blistered from the sun and his face was so swollen from whatever beating he got that it was difficult for the guards to recognise him at first.
"Hey! Hey! Call somebody down here to take him to HQ! Then call the doctor on medicine street!" the guard next to him barked to the other. "He's still breathing!"
"Who is it?" asked the other while scurrying in the direction of the booth.
"It's… It's Babyface Baldassare!"
As soon as that call went out, the entire city was on lockdown. Every HELLSING operative within that wall flocked to the North gate in order to keep people from seeing from the inside, as well as going outside to redirect traffic and tell any supernatural reentering the city to use a different gate. As soon as people noticed that the agents were uneasy, they began to wonder what was happening. Operatives spoke in hushed whispers and hurried this way and that way, all while blocking off one of the gates. It made the citizens curious to the point where a few of them actually did head that way in order to find out what was happening. Even the local paper showed up to get in on the unusual event, but the agents were extremely careful not to let anyone see what was happening, even going so far as to drape a tarp over the fence.
Help arrived and Baldassare was immediately carted into the ambulance and connected to monitors. Medical technology and technique on how to give first response or even general medical attention to most supernaturals was still for the most part, unknown, so all they could do was stick a needle in him and try to get some blood into his system to replace what he had lost. On his way back to headquarters, he went through three entire bags before starting on a fourth. By then, he had made it to the medical wing and the staff leapt into action to assess the damage. Both the Medical Department and the Research Department worked together very diligently in an effort to save the man's life.
Bones were put back in place and blood was pumped into the vampire at an astonishing rate. They needed to promote regeneration as much as possible and make sure that he didn't bleed out. The generals of Girasol were called and by extension, so was Sister Dorothy. All of which ran down there as soon as they possibly could. Kyung-Soon fled work in order to do so with absolutely no opposition from her employer. Kristopherson called the Phantomhives as soon as he found out, but the duo was already on their way.
They sped through London, breaking all kinds of traffic laws. The lights and siren installed discreetly on the Mercedes lit up and blared, forcing other motorists to move out of their way. Jim drove with a death grip on the wheel as the two demons drove the entire way in absolute silence. They had so much they wanted to say that it all ran together in their heads and in the end, they couldn't say anything at all.
When they arrived, they were greeted by Elizabeth, who started walking alongside them as the typical questions and answers flew out. "How is he?" Ciel questioned.
"Not good. He's been beaten bloody. Broken eyesocket, broken ribs, internal bleeding… the works. Whoever did this was not messing around." Elizabeth replied. "We've taken a few of the members of Girasol in to ask if they knew if he was going anywhere. With any luck, we might have some answers soon."
"Good. Tell us there's anything we need to do."
"Of course. I'm going to go check up on things and see if we've got anything." With that, the woman scurried off down the hallway, leaving the two alone to find the right room.
It didn't take them long, however. "Ciel, look." Alois said, pointing in front of him. He instinctively held on to Ciel's hand for comfort as he laid eyes upon the nun praying outside of Baldassare's room. Even from where they were standing, they could tell that she was in tears.
Sister Dorothy muttered her prayers, but occasionally, a sob would let out and her shoulders would shake from it. She was completely distraught, praying on her knees in the middle of a hallway. She called upon every saint she could think of to save him somehow, begging them for mercy.
Tentatively, the demons approached her, but with each step, Alois' stomach tied itself in knots. He didn't know Baldassare that well. He didn't even really like him that much. Still, he could trust him completely when it came to doing the right thing for Gehenna and that was all that really mattered. Even then… Even then… His throat began to tense up as guilt wracked through him. As he and his husband walked, he pressed himself further into Ciel's side, holding his hand tighter and placing his other hand on the bluenette's bicep as if he needed either steadying or a quick place to hide. He saw Baldassare only yesterday. They shared a meeting. They spoke. Baldassare called him by his name for once. How did he get here so fast?
Biting his lip, Alois stopped short of making it to comfort Sister Dorothy, subsequently stopping his husband with him. "Jim?" Ciel asked in a quiet voice while turning his head. "Why did you stop?"
"I can't..." Alois shook his head. "I can't go over there..."
"Why not?" the bluenette questioned further, but all the menace could do in response was shake his head a bit more.
Alois' lips were pressed into a thin line and he blinked rapidly to keep his eyes from getting so wet. Yet, they remained transfixed straight ahead. That is, until he looked down and shifted on his feet. "I can't..." he reiterated before finally meeting his husband's gaze.
Pausing to ponder this, Ciel didn't question Alois again, even in his face. "Alright." he nodded. "You wait here."
Taking off his scarf, he turned his body to face the menace before very loosely wrapping the article of clothing around his husband's neck. He then guided their joined hands up to the fabric, persuading Alois to hold onto it instead for the time being before giving the other man's bicep a small squeeze. Ciel began to walk away without turning around, mouthing the words "I'll be right back" before finally turning his attention back to Sister Dorothy.
Taking in a deep breath, he finally reached her, but she didn't stop praying right away. He crouched down and stood on one knee before hesitantly placing a hand on her shoulder. "Sister Dorothy..." he began, only for the woman to shake her head.
"He's a good man!" she declared. "He didn't deserve this… It's not… It's not right..."
"I know, Sister..." Ciel replied softly. "I know… If there's anything that we can do to help, please don't hesitate to ask."
Sniffling, the nun asked: "Could you pray with me a while?"
Now that was one thing Ciel didn't know how to help with. He was pretty sure that the woman was aware that he was a demon, and he wasn't sure if the angels even had a God, let alone if praying would do any good. "I'm afraid I really don't know how..."
"It doesn't really matter how or what you say. You just have to feel it."
Blinking, Ciel reluctantly got on both knees before shooting a rather confused look at his equally baffled husband, who could only offer him a shrug. Politely, Ciel at least humoured the woman, folding his hands in his lap while closing his eyes and lowering his head. He didn't say anything, but the sentiment was received. After a while, the man opened his eyes again and raised his head.
"I'm going to go take care of something and then see if we have any more information." he told the nun, rousing himself to his feet. "I'll let you know anything I find you."
"Thank you, Sir Phantomhive." Sister Dorothy said. "Bless you."
With a smile, Ciel walked back over to his husband and made a move to affectionately touch his arm in an effort to comfort him, only to be immediately latched onto. He was a bit surprised, but went along with it rather quickly. Alois was seeking comfort from him, so the bluenette found it impossible to mind.
"Are you alright?" Ciel questioned, reciprocating by holding onto his spouse as well.
"Not really." Alois confessed. "I… I don't… " he stammered before taking a deep breath to calm himself down. "I don't really want to talk about it here."
"Let's find somewhere quiet, then." Keeping an arm around his husband, Ciel walked with Jim out of the medical wing and back out into the main lobby. It was practically vacant at this time of day, as many operatives were asleep at this time. Most incidents happened at night, so only a few soldiers were there. It was mostly regular staff.
They left the lobby, too, and stepped outside. After descending a few steps, Alois decided that there would be alright to speak, prompting the two of them to sit down. They sat on the steps and watched the sun grow higher in the sky as the day dragged on. It's brightness contrasted with the chill of the air, but made Alois' breath more visible as he sighed again.
Twiddling his thumbs, he kept taking deep breaths in order to remain calm. "It's just… I just saw him yesterday, y'know?" he finally said. "He was fine. He even seemed a bit… cheerful, if you can believe that… I dunno… I wasn't friends with him or anything, but… He was kind of like a coworker I guess? It's hard to wrap my head around..."
"It'll be alright." Ciel said, wrapping an arm around the blonde's shoulders, but Alois shook his head.
"I don't have a good feeling about this." he said, shaking his head. "What if it's something I could have prevented? I just talked to him, so… Maybe I could have done something..."
"Jim..." The bluenette stopped himself short, unsure if what he wanted to say was appropriate. Baldassare had not been confirmed dead, so blaming Alois' feelings on his survivor's guilt didn't seem productive, no matter what Ciel thought on the matter. "It's not your fault. No one could have seen this coming. Baldassare will be back to his old, nasty self in time. I'm sure that he'll have a few swear words ready for everyone from the moment he wakes up."
"Probably… I hope…" the blonde replied. "So many people count on him, y'know? Damaging Baldassare is like damaging a part of Gehenna. Everyone's going to be up in arms over this, and…" Pausing, Alois tried to gather his words before looking at his husband. "Who would want to attack Baldassare like this?"
Ciel blinked in response. "Do you think it's connected to… I mean, it's certainly a possibility, but why Baldassare? What could they gain from that if their goal is the crown?"
The couple's attention was diverted, however, as they heard quick steps approaching from behind them. Turning their heads, they saw Elizabeth coming toward them, files in hand. Somehow, they knew what she was about to say just from the look on her face.
"Baldassare's people knew where he was going before he went missing." she said. "We're mobilising a team out there at this very moment. They're on their way now."
"What are they up against?" the bluenette questioned, only for the woman to look at him right in the eye and ask:
"Who do you think?"
A beat passed and Ciel moved to his feet, soon followed by Alois. "Let's get over there."
"Right." answered the blonde with a nod of his head. He didn't sound particularly confident, but was willing to crush his own turmoil down in order to focus on the necessary task at hand.
"Where are you going?"
"Where's it look like? To provide backup. Text us the location and we'll go in with whatever team you send."
"You'll never make it in time." the woman stated.
"What else are we going to do?" Ciel questioned. "Last time we sent a team after them, half of them died, Nigel Irons got shot in the stomach, and Oliver lost his bloody arm! I don't know about you, but I've had just about enough of this nonsense and am ready to give these second-rate royalists a piece of my mind!"
Just then, the man's cell mobile phone vibrated in his pocket, prompting him to fish it out. When he glanced at the screen, he saw the address and then looked back at Elizabeth. The woman in question only sighed.
"No matter what I say, you're going to go anyway. That's how it's always been. You're so stubborn." she said before gesturing. "Go on, then. If you fail, though, I'm sending you out to that cloning plant."
"Or I could succeed and then you could send me anyway." Ciel replied. "Don't worry, I won't go changing anytime soon. I'll see you later, Lizzie."
With that, he continued walking, but Jim continued to stare at the woman for a while longer. The two of them exchanged a rather curious look in that Elizabeth was a bit perplexed by it. It sincerely looked as though the blonde did not want to go, but Alois finally shrugged and carried on, following after Ciel. It was unusual and concerned the dame. She watched after them as they got in their car and drove off, only to walk back inside once they were gone.
She headed back to the medical wing in order to check up on things. Now the entire family was waiting outside of Baldassare's room, waiting to see him. They were only given the "go ahead" to enter once he regained consciousness, but even then, it wasn't much. Baldassare was conscious, yes, but barely. It wasn't expected that he would stay awake for long. There was signs of regeneration starting, but it was slow and he was by absolutely no means out of the woods just yet.
Kyung-Soon, Sister Dorothy, "Fangless" Shaun, a few councilmembers and the remaining generals of Girasol were all there. All of them wanted a glimpse of him, while some immediately regretted doing so. Baldassare was very weak. He couldn't sit up and his regeneration was so, so, slow. It was a miracle that he was even awake.
"Fuckin' hell..." he murmured. "I don't know if I've ever felt this shitty..."
"Hush, now. Just rest. You need all of your strength." Sister Dorothy said while gently stroking his hair, but Baldassare wasn't having it.
"It's kinda hard to do that when the whole bloody town is in here." he complained. "Gimme a break… Or at least come in a few at a time or somethin'..."
The group sort of looked at each other, exchanging glances as they all wondered what exactly to do. "Jesus, can't do nothin' without me spellin' it out? That's the saddest thing yet..." Baldassare asked before coughing. Once stopped, he swallowed the contents of his mouth before continuing. "Two at a time, alright? Start with Sister and Kyung-Soon. I got business to discuss."
The instructions were met with great reluctance, but slowly, the group began to pour back out into the hallway. Some went faster than others, especially Shaun, who wanted to stay, only to leave once he was shooed off by Baldassare, leaving only the Sister and Kyung-Soon in the room with the head of the organisation.
"Lock the door." he instructed further, prompting Kyung-Soon to do as she was told. Once she returned to his side, he spoke.
"Just in case I don't make it, you need to know where my will is, understand?" Baldassare asked.
"Baldassare, you don't need to do that..." began the sister.
"I'm serious. You need to know. In the bottom drawer of the filing cabinet in my room, there's a safe. It's got a combination lock on it. Three digits. To open it, you just need to know the riddle that the Sphinx asks Oedipus in the story, alright? You can Google it."
"Boss, you're talking crazy again." Kyung-Soon stated while offering a sad smile. "You'll be fine. You've had worse than this, right? Just give yourself a week or so and you'll be back on your feet!"
She looked to her former leader, hoping for some reassurance, but Baldassare had none to offer. Instead, he stared at her with a solemn expression, his chest rising and falling laboriously. He didn't need to say anything to her to make the tears that were threatening to spill out roll down her cheeks.
"Right?" She tried not to sob, but all her efforts were in vain. Sister Dorothy choked on her own breath as she too realised just how serious the man was.
"Kyung-Soon," the man said, his voice still strained. "Hold on to my hand and look at me. Look at me, Kyung-Soon." Doing as she was told, the distraught vampiress took his hand in both of hers, drawing it close and tangling his fingers in hers.
"Don't cry." he instructed softly. "I need you to be the strongest out of everybody. When I'm gone, I need someone to take over Girasol for me and take care of everybody. Understand? You can be sad and you can cry, but when you're standing in front of everybody, you need to hold your head up high and you tell them the business. Can you do that?"
"No!" the woman rapidly shook her head. "Of course I can't! I'm not even in the gang anymore! I can't run the orginisation! I can't be you! No one can! Without you, we're nobodies. We're just random vampires without any purpose or any fucking hope… We need you, Baldassare! We love you! We owe you everything! You need to stop trying to leave!"
"I think you can." Baldassare stated. "You're my right hand. You know everything there is to know about Girasol and everybody in it. You know what we're about. You can do this. I know you can. I would've never said so if I didn't. You're smart, you're tough as nails, and you take no shit. You're the only one who can do it, Kyung-Soon and you know it..."
"Please don't talk like that..." Kyung-Soon sobbed, leaning forward until her forehead was touching the mattress. Her makeup was running and staining the sheets as she desperately begged the man. "Please..."
"There's one change I want you to make to the will, though." the man continued, regardless. "My works in progress and my notes need to go to a girl named 'Samantha Westley.' Tell her I need her to finish them for me. Either tell that fucking lawyer-tiger outside to change it, or just bring it all over there. She'll know what to do with it. As for my other stuff, I don't care who the fuck gets what, as long as the money goes to Girasol, Gehenna, and the church. The exact amount is written down."
His irregular pulse could be heard by both of the two vampiresses. They could hear the faint 'beep' of the heartmonitor, but also the sound of his heart struggling to pump blood through his veins. Yet, he continued on to the best of his ability.
"Sister." he began, prompting the nun's attention.
"Yes?" she asked.
"Make sure Kyung-Soon gets off to an okay start and help make sure everything's sorted, alright?"
The woman's throat felt like it was closing and her eyes stung as a fresh batch of tears fell. "Yes." she replied with absolute certainty.
"Good-" The end of the word was choked out as Baldassare started coughing again. He couldn't catch it with his hand in time, so specks of blood flew out of his mouth and onto his chest and dribbled out of the corner of his mouth. He swallowed again.
"This fucking sucks." he continued, smiling, regardless. His eyes were unfocused and his skin was as white as a pearl. He was absolutely freezing, yet he was sweating profusely, causing his bangs to stick to his forehead. The monotonous tones of the machine grew further apart as his breathing became more ragged. "This really fucking sucks in the worst way..."
While Kyung-Soon continued to sob uncontrollably, Sister Dorothy finally cracked. She still had the courtesy to cover her mouth with her hand and look away, yet she still was beside herself with grief. She didn't want this. Not this. Anything but this. It wasn't fair. None of it was fair!
"One last thing..." Baldassare said, trying to cut through the sound. "This is really important… Listen carefully, for I shall say this only once..." He failed to lighten the mood at all.
"The bastard who did this is plannin' something big." he continued. "He did this because he wanted me to give him Gehenna, but I refused, so he did this so I couldn't snitch… I'm snitching anyway… Fuck 'im..."
Sister Dorothy stopped only for a moment due to the shock of what he was saying and looked at him, wide-eyed. His expression was completely serious, however.
"Tell Phantomhive." he said. "Tell Girasol to get ready in case something happens. This is what they can do to me. I don't wanna imagine what they can do to Gehenna. Tell Phantomhive and tell Girasol. Tell everybody. When they come, make sure they know who told you and tell them that I said that they can fuck off!"
Closing his eyes tightly, he tried to manage himself a bit better and not get too excited. "Fuck, it's cold..." he noted, his speech slightly slurred. "Or is it hot? It's hard to tell..."
"Baldassare..." Sister Dorothy pleaded.
"If you're gonna say a prayer or somethin', you should probably do it… Fuck… You should probably bring everybody back in here… quick..."
In an instant, the nun bolted for the door and worked with a degree of frantic desperation as she unlocked it and swung it open. Her face was a mess. Her eyes were wide, her eyes were red, and her distress was not hidden. "Everyone please! Come quick! Now!"
The expressions of everyone in that hallway suddenly dropped as their faces paled. A stampede of people shoved their way into that hospital room while the nun returned to her place at the Girasol vampire's side. Immediately, she put her hands together and prayed.
"I commend you, my dear brother, to almighty God, and entrust you to your Creator. May you return to Him who formed you from the dust of the earth. May holy Mary, the angels, and all the saints come to meet you as you go forth from this life. May Christ who was crucified for you bring you freedom and peace..."
Tears poured down her face and the faces of every person in that room once they realised what was happening. Sister's voice struggled to carry as it cracked and creaked, sometimes disappearing altogether. There were points where she needed to pause as she needed to regain her speech. Never did she think she would have to do this. Her friend- her brother in advocating for the wellfare of all supernaturals, Baldassare, needed ushering into the next phase of life and she was the only one who could do it.
"May Christ who died for you admit you into his garden of paradise. May Christ, the true Shepard, Acknowledge you as one of his flock. May He forgive all your sins, And set you amoung those He has chose. May you see your Redeemer face to face, And enjoy the vision of God for ever… Amen."
"Amen." murmured the crowd, not a dry eye among them. Somehow, the gesture caused a smile to form on Baldassare's face and what could be barely be called a "chuckle" to bubble from his throat.
"Shit..." he said quietly, his eyes glazed over as he took another breath. "I fucking love you guys..."
He was still. He was still for a long time. Everyone looked at him so intensely that they could barely register what sound the machine was making. Yet they could figure out what it meant. While they had started out crying, this is what broke them down into a sob. They covered mouths and lowered their heads. Kyung-Soon, who still held his hand, was in a fit of hysterics as she couldn't feel a thing. The rhythm was gone. All that was there was Baldassare laying motionless with his eyes still open and a smile still on his face.
In the end, he was quite happy, as he never expected things to go this way. He was surrounded by people who loved and respected him. Tears were shed for him. They didn't want him to leave them. It was more than he ever imagined. It was more than he ever thought he deserved. Yet, he would not fully know the impact that he would have. Girasol Frescobaldi, also known as "Babyface" or most commonly and lovingly, "Baldassare": the first person to document a fleshed out history of supernaturals, the guardian angel of Gehenna in it's earliest days, and a man who is arguably one of the most important figures in supernatural history, despite the fact that there were be no legends that humans will tell about him. He will be missed.
A/N: I don't think I've ever felt so horrible about a chapter before... I can feel it in my stomach, somehow... Ugh... This hurts... This hurts really bad... I paced around before uploading this because I just didn't want to... I hate myself for these ideas... This fic sucks
Until the next chapter, my duckies...
