Well. Trowa had just gotten the information bomb of all information bombs.
Not that he cared about the status of Heero's and Relena's relationship, but he'd been operating under the assumption that they were still together. With the possessive way Heero continued to act toward Relena, the assumption felt warranted.
As for the other information bomb… Relena popping her cherry on horseback?
Yeah, no...he definitely didn't need to know that.
His mind was whirring. All with inconsequential noise. He didn't have time to dwell on any of it.
He pulled Relena alongside him, back down the hallway, toward the back doors. There were no obstacles up ahead. They were almost in the clear.
Almost.
Voices drifted toward them, followed by light footfalls. Quickening his steps, Trowa grasped Relena by the elbow and steered her toward the back doors.
"Father Wardwell!" a high-pitched female voice called after them. Reluctantly, Trowa halted his steps. He felt Relena tense in his hold.
Shit.
He turned and gave the young woman approaching them a placating smile. She had dyed turquoise hair, with blond roots seeping through, and looked to be about the same age as him and Relena; probably in her early to mid-twenties. Yet she was dressed like a grandmother, in a long, outdated floral dress that grazed her ankles.
"Father." She smiled fondly up at Trowa – rather, Aiden – and he thought he detected a knowing twinkle in her eye.
Well, this was a sex cult, so…clearly this was one of Aiden's many disciples. Of course, Trowa had chosen to leave that detail out when he was filling Relena in a few minutes ago. No need to alarm her even further.
"Hello, child," Trowa said placidly, feeling like a creep. But this was how he'd heard Aiden speaking in various videos, and he was doing his best impression. He reached up and stroked the woman's cheek, for good measure; she blushed and lowered her eyes.
Trowa could feel Relena's eyes boring into the back of his skull, but he pressed on with his Aiden act. "Now, what may I do for you, love?"
"Well, Father, I was coming to see if you were ready to have me prepare Miss Peacecraft for the offering." The woman blinked her brown doe eyes up at Trowa. "The other ladies are ready to assist." She angled her head and turned her gaze to Relena. "Hello. My name is Lucy. Lucy Halliwell."
"Hello, Lucy." Relena stepped around from behind Trowa, and reached for Lucy's hand. "Pleasure to meet you."
He could only imagine what Relena must be thinking and feeling, but he gave her credit for keeping her composure.
"If you'll come along with me, we need to get you bathed and ready," Lucy said to Relena.
"Bathed?" Relena's eyes darted to Trowa. "Um… Mr., ah, Father Wardwell, sir. Is that entirely necessary?"
Trowa took a step closer to Lucy, cupping her face in his hands. Her eyes swam up at him.
This was going to be way too easy.
"Well, that's just it, child. You see, I've just discovered that Miss Peacecraft is unfit for tonight's ritual."
He was not expecting the reaction his words elicited.
Lucy gasped, her hands flying to her mouth, and jerked back from him. "What do you mean, unfit?!" she shrieked.
Trowa shook his head, forcing his face into a pained expression. "She was just confessing her sins to me, to…cleanse her heart for the ritual. But alas, her sins are too many, and as you know, a non-virgin's blood will displease our lord."
"But that's impossible!" Lucy cried. And there were actual tears streaming down her face. "My father examined her himself, remember! We know she's a virgin."
"What?!" Relena's eyes bulged, and all the color drained from her face. Trowa felt his stomach drop.
What the…
"When?!" Relena was screeching.
"When you were asleep," Lucy said, wiping the tears from her eyes. "She's lying," she added to Trowa. "She dares lie to you, our Father." Her eyes gleamed. "We should punish her."
Relena was shaking all over. Trowa rested a hand on her shoulder, wondering if a creep like Aiden would do the same. Probably. In Trowa's case, he was trying to comfort her, as best he could.
"What," Relena said through gritted teeth, "did your father do to me while I was unconscious?"
"Relax." Lucy rolled her eyes. "He's a doctor. He gave you a vaginal exam, as Father Wardwell instructed him to. Right, Father?"
Trowa gave a careless shrug, hating himself for it. "We wanted to ensure your cooperation."
"Which was handy, without my consent." Relena was seething; Trowa could feel the anger rolling off of her. He placed both of his hands on her shoulders and gave her a squeeze, trying to communicate to her that he was also enraged on her behalf. And he hated, hated, acting this way toward her.
"My child, we are merely following our lord's instruction. He knows what is best. Do not let your heart be troubled."
Relena's shoulders slumped, but then she straightened up, as if she were trying to reclaim some dignity.
"Now, Lucy." Trowa turned back to the other woman. "I understand the results of the exam, however…what Miss Peacecraft has told me about her carnal experiences is…rather explicit in nature. Therefore I can only conclude that the good doctor was mistaken."
Lucy gasped. "You don't believe my father?"
Trowa tucked his finger under her chin and smiled. "I believe your father tried his best, but clearly Miss Peacecraft gave only the appearance of virginity. When, in fact, her soul is pitch-black, and she must not be welcomed here. I must trust my own intuition on this, as the lord is guiding me." With that, Trowa released Lucy, and turned back toward the door, turning Relena with him. "Now, tell the others that I will return momentarily…"
"But what about the bomb?"
Trowa and Relena froze.
"What bomb?" she mouthed to him.
Trowa focused on keeping his tone nonchalant as he turned back around to face Lucy. "Now, don't you worry your pretty little head over the bomb. I'll handle everything, my child."
Lucy's eyes glimmered. "But…you've told us, over and over, that if we don't sacrifice Relena Peacecraft, specifically, when the clock strikes midnight during the lunar eclipse…then our lord's will is that we will all perish in the Lake of Fire."
The pieces of Aiden's sick plans all snapped into place in Trowa's mind.
"What bomb?" Relena hissed at him.
"We can't just use another virgin," Lucy sighed, "or the ritual won't work. And even if we could, where would we find one? There isn't enough time."
Relena gaped at her. "You mean you don't have any virgins in your, ah, fold?"
Lucy laughed. "Why, heavens, no. Everyone here is one big happy family. Tonight," she added, her dark eyes gleaming, "you were supposed to join our fold. And then…"
"And then," Trowa added caustically, "we sacrifice you to our god and stave off the apocalypse."
Relena gaped at him. "Interesting," she spat. "And why me, exactly?"
"Why, because you're a Peacecraft," Lucy answered, as if the answer were obvious. Relena arched a brow, and Lucy gaped at her. "You mean you don't know?!"
"Know what?" Relena frowned.
"Father, tell her!" Lucy cried.
Shit. Trowa tried to think of all the crazy conspiracy theories he'd heard about the Peacecrafts over the years. There were plenty, but nothing that had to do with a full moon, lunar eclipse ritual sacrifice, or…
No, wait. Of course.
"Why, the Peacecraft family is a known witch bloodline," Trowa said. Lucy nodded enthusiastically, then elaborated, to Trowa's relief.
"Your great-grandmother, Sabrina, and great-aunt, Katrina, were two powerful witches, their powers amplified by their twin status," Lucy breathed. Relena's eyes widened, but she stood listening intently. "Of course, Sabrina birthed your grandmother, who birthed your father, but due to your family's close connection to the Dark Lord…"
"Satan," Trowa supplied.
"Your father…is the son of Lucifer," Lucy whispered, her voice quivering. She jabbed a finger at Relena. "Making you…the daughter of the Antichrist."
Okay. So of all the conspiracies Trowa had ever heard…this one had to take the cake.
He glanced at Relena, and saw that she was biting her lower lip, like she was trying to keep from laughing. She caught his eye and squared her shoulders.
"Lucy…" she said, composing herself. "I can assure you, my great-grandmother and great-aunt were not witches; and my father was certainly not the Antichrist."
"But, Father…" Lucy grasped Trowa's arm, looking up at him pleadingly. "You received visions from our lord, revealing all of this to be true! Tell her!"
"Yes, that is true," Trowa nodded gravely. "However, the lord in his infinite wisdom has brought new revelations to light, and…"
"Such as?"
Trowa jerked his head up at the sound of more footsteps. A group of four men were approaching, and they were all much bigger than him. He was armed, but sufficiently outnumbered. At least he and Relena were both armed, in case things really went south…
"Father Wardwell was just explaining that Miss Peacecraft is unfit for tonight's ritual," Lucy informed the men, all of whom were wearing suits similar to Aiden's. All four of them looked Relena up and down in a way that made Trowa want to pummel them. He could only imagine what Heero would do to them if he were here instead.
"If she is unfit, then the ritual must not proceed," one of the men, who had to be double Trowa's size, turned to him.
"We must go ahead and activate the bomb," said another. "Why keep our lord waiting?"
"What bomb?" Relena interjected. All eyes swung to her.
"The bomb that our lord instructed Father Wardwell to obtain," one of the men answered. "When we detonate it, we will be enacting his will."
Another one of the men stepped forward, leering at Relena. "Your blood was supposed to save us from the Lake of Fire, but apparently your soul is too black to spare us from our lord's wrath."
He reached for her blouse and dragged her forward. Relena tried to squirm away from him. Trowa laid a hand on the man's shoulder, wanting to drop him like he'd dropped Aiden.
"Not now, son. Violence is never the answer."
Ironic, coming from a guy that was planning a ritual sacrifice and mass murder. But the other man listened to him, releasing Relena, although he still had a murderous look in his eye.
"The lord will decide Miss Peacecraft's fate," Trowa said. "For now, I must…go to our lord in prayer, and ask him to direct our next steps."
The others murmured to themselves, looking defeated, but nodded at Trowa. "Go to the sanctuary, children." He waved a hand at them. "Await my direction."
The small group dispersed, leaving Trowa and Relena alone once again.
"This is terrible," she murmured once the others were out of earshot. "Now what are we going to do?"
"Proceed with our plan," said Trowa. "I'm getting you out of here right now, while the coast is clear." He pushed Relena gently toward the door.
"But what about the bomb? Do you think they really have one?"
"I'll find out when I get back," he said, "after I get you to safety." He gave her another gentle shove in the back. "Now, go. Get your ass out the door."
"Is it just me, or are you a little hyper-focused on my ass?" she quipped.
"Relena, we don't have time for this." Trowa jerked the door open and shut it tightly behind them, dragging Relena out into the frigid night.
She continued to fight him as they descended the short flight of stairs. "So, what then? You're just going to come back here, all by yourself, to look for a bomb? And do what?"
"Disable it," Trowa gritted out, dragging Relena by the arm, down the stairs and into the dark parking lot. Which, to his chagrin, had started to fill up with cars. Witnesses.
"All by yourself," she prodded.
"I'm a demolition expert, so yes."
"But Trowa–"
"I'll radio for backup shortly," he hissed, pulling her toward the trees. "Now, we have to hurry or–"
"Father Wardwell!"
A chorus of voices was calling out to him. Trowa waved a hand without turning around. "Welcome, my children. I will be with you all momentarily…"
"This plan is falling apart," Relena whispered. "You can't just run off with me now."
"Then fight me off and run away," Trowa hissed.
"That won't work either," Relena said. "Aiden had a gun. What if other people do, too? We're outnumbered. And these people are crazy. If they have a bomb, someone could detonate it at any time…"
She was right. Trowa was at a loss.
He had to think of a new plan, fast. He was a goddamned Gundam pilot and Preventer. How could he have let everything go to hell so quickly?
"Our best bet," Relena hissed, "is for you to keep being Aiden. That way you can make sure no one will do anything to me. And at some point, you'll find the bomb and do what you need to do." She fixed him with an icy glare, which ensnared him under the bright light of the full moon. "After you call for backup. Understood?"
Well, shit. Who was in charge of this mission, now?
"All right." Trowa agreed. Because the rest of his "flock" was closing in, and they were out of time. Before turning back around to greet them as Aiden, he pressed his lips to Relena's ear. "Same as before… stick close to me. I'm not letting any of these sickos touch you."
Relena turned and batted her eyes up at him. "Yes, Father Wardwell," she said in a high, childlike voice. As if she'd been brainwashed...and was under his command.
Well. Apparently, she also possessed some acting skills. That could only work to their advantage.
Because with their only plan unraveling minute by minute… it seemed they were both going to have to give the performance of their lives.
A/N: The plot thickens! I hope you enjoyed this latest installment. Thank you to everyone who has been following and reviewing, and giving kudos over on AO3! So how do you think Trowa and Relena are gonna get out of this mess? I'd love to know your thoughts and predictions, so please share!
Hugs!
- RFP