Chapter Twelve - Epilogue 1: Breaking Point
May 4th 2013
One Day After Kokabiel's Attack
Vanessa was only vaguely aware that it was raining that day. The cold drops pattering against the nylon material of her black umbrella as she stood there in her Sunday best. The water made the ground a muddy mess that caked onto her only pair of nice designer heels, yet she didn't care.
She must have been shivering, the Windchill of the morning had betrayed the time of year, and opted to go from nice, refreshing breeze, to a howling gale that chilled you to the bone.
Although she never experienced it prior, Vanessa was pretty sure this was what people were referring to when they claimed to have an 'out-of-body experience'. Her hearing was muffled, her nerves didn't even register the frigid wind nipping at every bit of exposed skin on her outfit; it was truly like her body forgot how to function in that moment, as her eyesight remained glued on one point ahead of her.
Several paces ahead was a hole deep in the ground, three men with shovels waiting just off to the side, as another man in robes stood at the foot of the empty grave.
A grave that Vanessa still couldn't believe was being dug…
Finally, her gaze broke from the hole, and moved to the left, a dark oak coffin sealed to the world, adorned with beautiful orange and white flowers. To anyone else, the sight would have been pretty…
Now, Vanessa was sure she would never be able to see an orange or white flower ever again.
Why? Why did this happen?! The church promised them so much, a chance to fight the good fight against the very thing that took their parents, a chance to do good for the world, a chance to have a home, a family…
And now one of those family members, perhaps who she considered her last remaining family member, or the closest thing to one was being buried right in front of her. Lead to his death by gilded lies, and by the time they had found out, it had been too late…
It should have been me, was the first thought that went through Vanessa's brain the moment she found out the horrifying news. She had awoken in the Vatican's underground ER a few hours after it happened, and since then, she wasn't able to see what remained of Ethan.
But, due to the fact that it was a closed-casket funeral, Vanessa could guess that it wasn't pretty death by any stretch of the imagination.
It never was one in this line of work…
The only people in the group who had actually seen it happen were Vin, Xenovia, and Jafar. She tried to get the full story, but Vin was still in a coma recovering from overexertion, any time she was asked, Xenovia would grit her teeth and seize up, so unlike her… she was usually the blunt one, who knew that she could learn tact at the worst possible time?
...And that left Jafar; possibly the most concerning one of the group.
Despite waking up with just a minor head injury a few scant hours after the confrontation, he'd refused to speak the entire time. While Jafar was no stranger to remaining silent for long periods of time, this was different.
Usually, Jafar's silence was serene, peaceful…
This one was ominous, violent… like a pot just waiting to boil over at all times.
It was so unlike Jafar, and it unsettled Vanessa more than anything.
Beside Vanessa stood the rest of the team who could make it, all of them dressed up in black suits and dresses, their bodies covered in bandages or held in casts. The cuff of Ezekiel's left sleeve picking up in the wind, Irina's torso covered in bandages… Supposedly, thanks to advancements in their medical technology, everyone would recover in a matter of days. No doubt that was possible because of the synthesized potions made using the former holy maiden, Asia Argento's genetic material as a basis.
How like the church… To use someone until they had nothing left to give, and only after that person was thoroughly ruined would they miraculously find a replacement.
Vanessa stared blankly, her ears refusing to allow her to digest any of what was being said, as Ethan's coffin was lowered into the ground, before the three men with shovels began to bury him.
Now that they used Ethan… Who was going to step up to be the next in line to replace him?
Vanessa's mind couldn't quite shake the feeling that the very replacement had arrived nine months prior…
May 5th 2013
"We call this meeting in order to discuss our plan of action against Kokabiel," Harcreutz announced.
Everyone had met in a large board hall deep within the Supernatural Response Division of the Vatican. Sitting off to the side of the room was the group of exorcists-in-training, sans Vin; and at the middle of the room, was a large walnut round table.
"Lord Micheal," Harcreutz bowed at the blond angel, "I must humbly apologize for the unfortunate circumstances that have plagued your visit."
Micheal held up a hand, "That's not needed, Mr. Harcreutz. The blame for the actions of the enemy are not something you should have to apologize for. Let's focus on the matter at hand, and determine how we should respond."
"Of course, Lord Michael," Harcreutz bowed, before turning to the other two notable figures at the table, "Lint, Griselda, I must thank you for attending these matters on such short notice."
Although Griselda looked like she wanted to speak up, she held her tongue, while Lint, her usual exuberant smile gone from her face, nodded her head.
"Of course, I came back here as soon as I got the news," Lint nodded, "But is it really the best idea to bring the kids along?"
"Unfortunately," Harcreutz answered, "These are the only people who made any form of contact with Kokabiel that night."
Lint balked, "You're joking…"
Grimly, Harcreutz shook his head.
"C'mon! You had to have other exorcists that you could have sent up there to fight alongside them!"
"They are just simple exorcists, they wouldn't have stood a chance against Kokabiel."
"So you let children fend for their own lives."
"I made the choice that would preserve the most lives, Lint."
Lint slammed her fist on the table, a deep thud resounding throughout the room, "And what a whole lot of good that choice did! One kid crippled, another in a coma, and the last one we just buried yesterday!"
"You think I wanted that!?"
"Your lack of assistance certainly makes it seem like it!"
"Those men would have been slaughtered!"
"And congratulations, sir. You traded the life of an innocent child for the lives of a few men who already swore their lives to the cause."
"Are you two finished?" Michael interrupted, "I don't believe that we decided to meet up to throw stones at each other, but instead to find an adequate plan of response."
"Of course, Lord Michael," The two bowed, yet even the act of submission did nothing to quell the tension in the room.
"Harcreutz," Michael said once more, "May you give us the details of the incident?"
The portly man pulled out a remote, which turned on a projector, complete with a photo of the Fallen Angel in question.
"Two nights ago, a Leader-Class Fallen Angel attacked the Vatican as the group of our gifted exorcist-in-training were returning from a mission. In the exorcist's possession was the Excalibur Fragments Nightmare, Transparency, Rapidly, and Destruction. The exorcists engaged with the Fallen, but ended up being unsuccessful in their efforts to drive the perpetrator off. Ultimately, eyewitness reports from the exorcists you see before you led us to determine that the perpetrator was after the Excalibur Fragments themselves, and managed to steal Excalibur Nightmare and Transparency. There's no doubt that they would have stolen Excalibur Rapidly, if not for your timely interference. In the end, there were six injured, one grievous injury, and one casualty.
Griselda bit her lip at the casual dismissal of her student's fates as a mere statistic.
"The perpetrator identified himself as the fallen angel leader known as Kokabiel. Currently, his objective is unknown, but any reason for a fallen desiring the fragments of Excalibur mustn't be good. I only have theories so far…"
Michael glanced over, "Theories?"
"Yes, although there's nothing to prove it definitely, I believe that this is most defiantly a power play by the Fallen Angels," Harcreutz explained, "Gathering the Excalibur's can only mean two things: they want to cripple us, and they want to utilize Excalibur for some nefarious purpose."
"Have you considered a rogue element?"
"Yes, but I just don't think it would have made sense for a small faction of fallen angels to do something so bold…"
"Shelving that conversation for now," Michael directed, "Have you and your men traced the Excalibur's signal?"
"Yes, yes, of course!" Harcreutz smiled, "The unique energy of the Excalibur's are very hard to mask through traditional measures, so using our instruments, we've determined one possible location where he could have fled to: the Town of Kuoh in Japan."
Michael bit his lip, muttering, "Gremory and Sitri's domain… Harcreutz, this situation just became a lot more volatile."
"Yes," Harcreutz solemnly nodded, "An area governed by the siblings of the Devil Kings… We can't just send Dulio into this."
"Of course, that'd practically be an act of war," Lint nodded.
"It'd be seen as a hostile takeover if we sent either you or Griselda either," Harcreutz paused for a moment, "Say, Griselda; what's Xenovia's progress with wielding Durandal?"
Both Griselda and the other Exorcist's gazes shot up.
"No. No, you cannot be serious," Griselda stammered.
"This could be our only option, Griselda," Harecreutz stressed, "We need to get those holy swords back."
"You're not sending her against a leader-class alone."
"I never said she'd be alone," Harcreutz turned to face the exorcists, "We could possibly send in any of the able-bodied exorcists here as well."
"Do you realize how bad an idea that is?!" Lint butt in, fuming, "These kids just fought against that thing; one of their own just died during that encounter, and you want to send them back in against him!"
"Damn it, Lint!" Harcreutz yelled, "Do you think I really want to send children into battle; I'm not Valper! But the simple fact of the matter is that we have no other people who can possibly do this."
"Do you really think this is anything short of sending a group of kids to their deaths?" Lint demanded, "From reading the reports, they probably couldn't land a scratch on them."
"Actually, they did," Michael interjected, "The new boy… Vin, was it? That power he displayed was… extraordinary. It actually managed to draw blood on Kokabiel."
"Really? I thought it was just a defensive Gear," Lint asked.
"It changed forms during the battle," All eyes turned to a heavily bandaged Xenovia, "Something changed, I can speak from experience with that. His Sacred Gear was never that powerful before."
"There," Harcreutz huffed, "That right there may just be the thing we need. The second that the boy wakes up, we need to perform the ritual, grant him Rapidly, and get him prepared for the mission."
"No…"
"I beg your pardon?"
Griselda's eyes finally locked with Harcreutz's, a new intensity burning within them.
"I already lost one child, I'm not about to lose more to a suicide mission."
"It's your call, Lord Michael," Harcreutz announced.
"..." Michael looked deep in thought.
"Lord Michael! Please reconsider!" Griselda begged, her eyes prickling with tears, "You can't just send these people off to their deaths like that! Please!"
Michael looked over at Griselda with a defeated and remorseful expression on his face.
"...I'm sorry Griselda… It's the only way."
Vanessa couldn't believe it, even several hours later…
This was the church's true colors, she was right, she was always right. They were going to use them all until they died, because they didn't care, as long as they got their results.
Even if their results were just a fucking body count.
She couldn't stay here, she couldn't… These last few days had pulled their veil of lies away for her, and now she could see the church for what it truly was…
Good people turned puppets to fight a little chess match for higher powers. A pointless clash, where the only species with anything to lose is humanity itself. Without the Devils, the church could actually send someone proper to stop this conflict. Without the Angels, the church wouldn't have to bend over backwards, and send children on a damn martyr. Without the Fallen…
… She couldn't bring herself to complete that thought.
Hoisting her overstuffed bag onto her shoulders, complete with only the bare essentials, her wallet, phone, a few scant belongings, and some clothes, she made her way towards the door. Exiting, she made her way up the elevator, and into the main chapel. It was well past eleven at night, and Vanessa hated how the cathedral still looked so much like it did a few days prior.
But she had to move quickly, if she was going to pull this off, she would need to get out of there, and take out as much money from her bank card with the church before it got terminated. Then, with as much money as she could grab, she could begin a new life, separated from all of this… She could make the world right again. A right world, where not only would Ethan have still been with her, but their parent's would've been too.
Vanessa was about ten feet to the door, when the sounds of footsteps made her freeze, and for the first time in days, she'd heard a voice she'd grown to miss so incredibly much.
"Vanessa."
Turning around, the girl was faced with Jafar, his voice rough and raw from disuse, and his expression conveying a level of emotional exhaustion that she'd never seen on him before. All anger had burnt out of him, and now, all that was left was the defeated and grief-filled shell of a man who lost his purpose for fighting.
"Are you leaving?" Jafar asked, "Usually, we wouldn't pack bags that big for a small walk around the courtyard."
Oh well, no use in denying it… "I can't stay here anymore, Jafar. Not in good faith, anyway."
Vanessa turned and gazed at one of the stained glass murals, showing a bright sky teeming with angels descending onto the humans below. To her, the sight grew revolting.
"They made us fight battles for them, they led Ethan to his death…" Vanessa sniffed, "I need to leave, I know that Ethan wouldn't want me to stay here."
The entire time, Jafar watched her impassively, before finally sighing.
"Alright, I'll come with you."
What? "What?"
"You heard me. I'm not letting you run off on your own… and…"
"...And I don't want to lose you too…"
Vanessa was taken aback, but eventually recovered, sending Jafar a sad smile.
"Fine… C'mon, we have a lot of ground to cover tonight."
"Yeah," Jafar jogged after her, as the two now-stray exorcists faded into the all-encompassing night…
I'm alive, ALIVE I TELL YOU!
So yeah, I decided ultimately that this little chapter worked perfectly, and the next one would work equally as well as separate little endings to the arc. I loved how this chapter ended up turning out, since it's my first time writing for Vanessa's POV, and it's an important chapter from an emotional side of things.
Let me make it clear that I am not writing these two out of the series here. They will come back, and they'll come back in a crazy way…
Y'know, I think that Vanessa's mindset now is scarily close to a group of people in DxD… Hmmmm….
Nope! Can't put my finger on it!
Anyway, there's not too much to discuss here, so let's forego chapter notes, and head straight into the...
REVIEW ROUNDUP!
SupremeBurger123 Says:
"This chapter hurt! Holy crap my heart has been broken and my emotions are rampant.
Great chapter, great build up, and screw you for causing my heart to ache.
Seriously, amazing m8."
I'm glad that I was able to make you care enough for my OC's to get hit in the feels when I slaughter one in front of your eyes. It's flattering, honestly.
I hope that you enjoy this more bite-sized chapter! Rock On!
The Black Kraven Says:
"Didn't know anything about Bheithir so no chance of me guessing right. The battle with Koka ended with a lot less casualties than I thought. I expected the whole non canon ocs to be slaughtered. But still poor Ethan. So I'm guessing he awakened his SG like Issei did and not his BB right?"
Yes, the battle with Kokabiel ended with realistically, a very light amount of lasting damage, but the truth is, I couldn't really do too much more, as I have plan for all the other OC's going forward in the story; so I settled on making Ethan's death as brutal and unheroic as possible, really to just try and gut-punch everyone. Yeah, he's not getting a hero's death; deaths in battles are usually one of two things, slow and painful, or instantaneous and ultimately uneventful.
And yes, Vin had a very Issei-like awakening of his Sacred Gear. Balance Breaker won't come until much later (Think around Loki-ish).
Anyway, I hope that you enjoy this chapter as well, since it's not as Vin or Xenovia focused like the others!
redx1221 Says:
"Dude I got to say this is a very interesting story i like the aspect that you've thrown into it so far and your not afraid to kill off certain characters but how far do you plan to stray from canon because if Vin goes to kohna (I forgot how to spell the town where issei lives) then will he become a devil like xenova did in canon proper or just make it sober viewpoints reverse and stay with the exorcists and the church"
Hey, first of all, it's great to hear from a new person, I always love hearing new viewpoints. I'm also super glad you're enjoying my work. I really do try and put my heart and soul into each of these chapters, and getting these little positive comments just makes it all the effort worth it in the end.
The straying from canon will sort of end with the next chapter, which will lead us right up to the group heading on a plane for Kuoh to chase Kokabiel. In fic, the event's of things such as the Raynare and Riser Arcs took place maybe 2-3 months before this chapter takes place, so right now, we're kind of in the earliest events of DxD S2/Vol.3.
Vin's not going to become a devil, but he also isn't going to go back to the church. There's already plenty of hints as to what might happen to him in this first arc.
I hope you like the new chapter, and remember, don't be a stranger, I'd love to hear from you again sometime!
Crestowl Says:
"Great, if a bit short, chapter, with a great premise. I always wondered how Kokabiel got the 3 Excaliburs in canon, especially with the importance placed on them by the church. Did he just waltz into three separate high security church vaults? Did he send subordinates to collect them? Did he corner the wielders? I feel this chapter is a great explanation for how he gets the Excaliburs, and a nice little deviation from canon. Next act will be Vin's meeting of the canon cast, mark my words, and there will be symbolic/narrative parallels drawn between Vin and Issei, just you wait. As for the Sacred Gear's identity, I must say, I'm no expert or even all that interested in Scottish mythology, so this came as a surprise. For a quick, minor guess as to the gear, I'm predicting that, given its connection to crystals/the earth, the legend about a pit, and the form the gear takes, the gear's power will be reliant on Vin staying on the ground. This is gonna be interesting, considering how many characters and races in DxD have wings. It seems I was right about the canon fodder, but Ethan's death was still kind of a surprise, good job on that front. Again, great job on the chapter, and I look forward towards Act 2, which, considering the ****ing phenomenal upload speed this story has, won't be long. What a god."
He's back!
So on the topic of Kokabiel, I completely agree, and had a similar thought process to you when considering the question of how Kokabiel stole the Excaliburs, and the conclusion I ended up reaching one day was, 'Hey, why don't I make up the way he did it?' The rest of the idea for that chapter grew from there.
If by the next act, you mean the next arc, then most definitely, yes. But if you mean the next chapter… Well sorry to say that Vin won't be meeting the Gremory Peerage for a little while longer, they have a meeting with Sitri first, if you remember…
I'll give you a hint, the first member of the peerage Vin meets is Kiba, all while on a totally normal walk through the rainy evening streets…
I like your analysis of Vin's Crystal Weaver! I'll say now that yes, Vin's Gear does tend to make him more grounded in battle compared to other characters, but the gimmick with Crystal Weaver is that it can grow crystals on any solid matter. So Vin isn't… entirely screwed if he's in the air. Also, he'll get some abilities and tools that he can use if he wants when airborne, but I can't let you know what that is yet…
I hope to get to the second arc, which I'm dubbing 'The Holy Suicide Mission' by the next few weeks. November is just a very busy month for University students. Still, I upload when I can, and when I want… which usually means whenever a good idea sticks in my head, because then I get motivated enough with the power of reviews to chug through my day writing a chapter.
It's great to see you again, and I hope you enjoyed this mini-epilogue, which, for an epilogue, is going to carry pretty significant story relevance throughout the future events of this fic. Mainly because it sets up for the inclusion of Vanessa and Jafar in a new way.
Rock on!
horaizu Says:
"A question for you, will Vin's balance breaker be a scale mail armor type?"
Short answer, yes. Long answer; by definition, perhaps, but it's not exactly the same thing. It's more of an extension of Vin's abilities that makes basically a parallel to Scale Mail.
I hope that you enjoyed this chapter! Rock on!
King0FP0wers Says:
"Did you just let Kokabiel kill a likable character...?! I'm more impressed than angry. Usually, the Cadre ends up more and more as a punching bag ala Vali to demonstrate how badass certain OC's are. Most authors do everything to keep the MC and his close comrades alive. This... is refreshing, in a fucked up way."
Like I said before, it's always great to see new reviewers around here, so welcome!
Yes, yes I did just let Kokabiel kill a likable character. It really worked out great; I got to give a good reason for Vin awakening to his true Sacred Gear, and like you mention, I got to set Kokabiel up as the actual threat he is.
I have a lot of reservations about Kokabiel being just… degraded on this site. The man's been wiped with more feet than a doormat, and that's a low blow for him. By having Vin be sort of weak for an OC, and the story being colored by his perspective, I can really pump some of the agency and intimidating scope back into these villains, instead of making them as basic and boring as the goon squad from chapter seven. Just wait, Vin's gonna shit himself when he faces Loki, I bet.
I'm glad that my fucked up story is refreshing, again, that's sort of the goal here. Vin, for all intents and purposes, is the everyman's OC in this story. At the end of the day, he's still just a regular guy, who doesn't have a grand destiny tied to his dragon, and has just sort of been taken from his old life, been given a superpower, dropped into a new world where everything is different from what he's known his entire life leading up to this point, and now he's being told to go fight monsters and beings of legend. His perspective is that everything is fucked up, and without the happier and more jollily perverse perspective of Issei, the story is a lot darker from the outset as a result.
Anyway, I hope that you enjoyed this little chapter, especially since it's focused on the ramifications of Ethan's upsetting, fucked-up death. Rock on, and I hope to respond to comments by you in the future!
zKORN Says: (About Chapters 9 and 10 Respectively)
"Here's me again!
I hope our beloved author is well, after all without him we would not have more chapters of this wonderful fic xDD
Before my review of this chapter, let me briefly apologize for not having reviewed the previous chapter. For some reason FanFiction did not allow access to the chapters in any fic that you are trying to enter, but let me tell you that I loved the previous chapter. Above all, that mischievous attitude of Irina that is rarely seen in other works and even in the original work does not come to light, and the first appearance of characters that I have already deciphered in my mind but I am waiting for their next appearance (OUR FAVORITE CROW IT MAKES ITS FIRST APPEARANCE and a revelation was made that I don't know if I missed in previous chapters about Vin's Sacred Gear) and Xenovia's happiness in the end managed to reach my heart, I felt a lot of empathy about it. All this gives personality to the story, and above all .. to YOUR story. Congratulations!
Now, about this chapter ...
I really like the coherence you are giving to the story, Vin's development of wanting to overcome his previous failure even though in the end it is not really his fault, Vin's moral debate about killing living beings (Which is surprising in the play original as characters such as Asia and Issei got used so quickly to being in situations where tens to hundreds of people die without having a blow to their psyche, let us remember that despite everything they were humans who led relatively quiet lives and this applies more than anything to Issei) and the ending with the mystery you leave behind and Vin's confusion over Howitzer's unexpected reaction to death.
I don't have much more to add and this is already getting longer, so it only remains to say: Thank you very much for the chapters and your perseverance author, I am glad that you are doing well and that you continue to be motivated so that you can continue to bring us new adventures of Vin and company. Have a nice day!"
That's… That's a long comment. But I want to say thank you so much for all the support. Seriously, thank you. It means so much to me.
I love the way I've found to write Irina. I like to think I've found a happy medium where she can remain a bit 'ditzy' or bubbly and innocent, but she has some sass, and a little bit of a warrior's bite to her. It makes her one of my favorite characters to write in this story so far, at least in terms of banter. I still think the golden example of me being able to use Irina's character traits in a new way is the fantastic response she gives in the beginning of chapter nine, when Vin tells her off-handedly to go to hell.
That might have been my favorite line to write in the series so far.
I love Azazel, by the way. He ranks in my top three favorite DxD characters, right up there with Xenovia and Vali. All hail the crow dad. I wanted to put him in, as a bit of foreshadowing for the next arc… we might be seeing some more of him there.
I also really enjoyed how the final scene of chapter nine with Xenovia turned out. I wanted to illustrate the walls that she puts up both in her mind and in public that bury that more innocent, longing side of her that's brought out after she becomes a devil. It'll hopefully make the transition less jarring, as I'm trying to show that Xenovia's walls are slowly being broken down over time.
Vin's fear of making the hard decision to land a killing strike against the enemy is both a strength of his character, and also a weakness. It helps keep a lot of his innocence as a person, but I have and will continue to show in this story that that level of indecisiveness is something that Vin has to learn to let go of for the greater good, and if that means that he's going to get punished for moments of hesitation, then so be it. I already have a point in mind for when he'll mostly get over it, but that's not for a while. Point I'm trying to make is that he has to, however reluctantly, let go of his ethics in order to do what needs to be done. It's an ongoing source of emotional conflict that I think makes Vin more and more of a nuanced character.
Once again, thanks so much for leaving a review, I'm super glad you've come back, and I look forward to hearing about how you liked this chapter, and the previous one, since those two are pretty dark. Rock on!
Alright, that does it for the review roundup! I hope that you all enjoyed this smaller chapter, and if you liked what you've read, be sure to leave a follow or a favorite!
If you have a question, comment, or critique that you want me to hear, leave a review! I try to get around to responding to as many as I can, but even so, I make sure to at least read every single one I get. And they're majorly appreciated!
Finally, I have an Instagram page for this fic, where I post memes, story updates, behind-the-scenes info, and even some sneak peeks all related to this story! You can find it by looking up dxd_alternate_official in Instagram's search bar.
Thanks everyone for all the support, it's been insane, especially passing 200 followers on this fic, that's a dream come true right there. The next and final epilogue will be coming out hopefully soon, it all hinges on how school stuff pans out. Thanks a bunch guys, and I'll see you next time.
Rock on!
