A/N: I'm sick. How I got sick in the middle of summer is beyond me. I'm only going to work on this chapter a little, though. (Yeah right) Just to clear this up, the little boxes in between writing can be differences in time or it could change from someone else's point of view. I'm trying to make most of the story through Abel's pov and a little bit of Stella's, but I might have to change it so that it could be from someone else's.
Disclaimer: I do not own Trinity Blood.
"Why the hell didn't you take her to the infirmary!" Sister Kate demanded. She made a sign against evil for her cursing.
"Eh? Well, erm, she said she was alright and Tres said we were to report…"
The Cardinal waved his excuses off. "Can you not see with your own eyes? Anyway, why have you returned so soon? Tres was sketchy on the details."
It was very obvious that Abel did not want to be there. He had wanted to leave with Stella so he did not have to talk to the unhappy Cardinal, and before he could make a good enough excuse, Father Leon had beaten him to it. He had left with Stella and Tres, so that meant Abel was braving Sister Kate's temper alone.
Abel, upon hearing that Kate wanted to hear about the city, became very somber. "The buildings are all awful in their uniformity and troop marched around the streets as much as pigeons do around our own. And they treat citizens like dirt. Did you see Stella? Well, all the cuts on her arms, leg, and face were not caused by the vampire." Sister Kate's eyebrows rose at the mention of Methuselah, but she allowed Abel to continue, as it was obvious that Abel was getting angry. "She was whipped for at least six hours with chain whips and salt water poured on her. And because she wouldn't pass out, the men deemed it right to kill her. She…." Abel paused, not sure if her should continue.
"What happened, Abel?" Sister Kate prodded gently.
"She killed them all with special abilities." Abel burst out. He realized then that he had no idea how she had raised the water and the earth, much less turn it into a weapon.
"What special abilities?"
Abel closed his eyes, recalling the gruesome scene. "First, she chopped her hand into the sky, and a large piece of earth just jutted out from the ground, snapping a man's neck. Then she raised all of the water from the ground and sent it out into the crowd. It passed through civilians and hardened into points when it came to the guards. They were all killed. Then she rounded on the final one, and was raised into the air. By then she didn't seem to have control. The water wrapped around his body and rushed him. Then she was let down from the air. She took one look at the crowd and ran."
"And you pursued?" Kate finished for him.
Abel nodded. He knew that Cardinal Kate wanted to hear the rest, but he wouldn't tell her about what had happened in the alleyway, because he also knew that Stella had not liked being venerable and would not like anyone to relive the moment. "We got on the boat, then the train, then went home. When we got off the train, Stella asked where the Methuselah were, then detected some a half second before I could." Abel brushed aside the slight jealousy at her ability. "I was attacked, and she refused to stay back. Instead, she grabbed one of the vampires and talked to it. I can't remember what she said exactly, but it was to the affect of 'we should not fight against ourselves' and that 'he could get his revenge in other ways'. Then the other vampire hit her and was about to kill her when the vampire she was holding stopped him and they left. Hmmm…." Abel thought for a minute. "She had smiled at him when he looked doubtful, and his doubts seemed to vanish."
"Do you think it could be because she is a vampire?" Cardinal Kate obviously didn't like the idea of a vampire being so close.
"No." Abel said with so much finality that he was sure Cardinal Kate would not disagree. "I was right next to her and not one of the nanomachines told me she was a vampire. She is something altogether different." Now that he said it aloud, Abel felt sure of it. "Besides her powers exhibited when she attacked the guards, a small light was in her hand when she touched the vampire, she could tell vampires were coming before I could, and I'm sure there is something else."
"Right then." Cardinal Kate said. "I have a new mission for you." Abel looked up. He hadn't expected one so soon. "I want you to find out all you can from the girl. Her powers, her past, and that city. Dismissed." Abel got up to leave, but as his fingertips brushed the doorknob, Sister Kate called to him. "Oh, and Abel?"
"Hmmm…?" Abel half-turned his head.
"If memory serves me right, you were never good at filing your reports. I want you to do this, and I want the report on my desk when I get here tomorrow morning. Besides that, because you found her, you Tres, and Leon will have to find a way to keep Stella nearby and, preferably, away from ant Methuselah. You will each take turns to stay with her in the infirmary, even if she is unconscious."
Abel went to the infirmary right after he got the necessary paperwork. He figured that if he had to do it, why not kill two birds with one stone? When he opened the door, he found Tres standing up against a wall, and Father Leon snoring in a chair. Across from them, Stella slept in a bed surrounded by a green rubber curtain.
"Status report: Stella had returned after proper stitching fourteen point twenty two seconds ago. Father Leon fell asleep ten point eight seconds ago."
Abel nodded his head. "Right. Well be staying here until Stella is well enough to walk around, then we must find a way to keep her here at church and away from the Methuselah."
"Acceptable."
Abel walked around Tres and gently shook Leon's shoulder. "Michael, wake up. You can go home, I'll tell you everything in the morning."
Father Leon grunted. "Right." Stretching, he got up and began walking towards the exit.
"Tell your father hello for me." Father Leon waved without turning around.
Abel took his place in the chair, and sighing, got down the to tedious report filing. He signed his name in a few areas first, and then began the actual hard work of converting memory to words. He rolled his eyes. This was going to be a long night.
"This one comes out…" Abel woke up to a light voice.
The paperwork had slid from his lap along with the pen and Tres had left on some errand. But most importantly, Stella was trying to disconnect from the wires that were keeping her alive.
"Hey! Stop that!" Abel said loudly.
Stella looked at him. "No. They are irritating and I've got to get out of here."
"Why?" Abel frowned.
Stella smiled. "Because if I have to watch another stream of drool go down your face I'm gonna go crazy."
Abel self-consciously wiped his mouth. "Stella, those things are keeping you alive."
"They are unnecessary."
A nurse came hurrying out of a small office after hearing the talking. She felt around in the folds of her habit to bring out a needle. Abel heard the gasp stick in Stella's throat and remembered her fear of needles. Before she could move away, the nurse had lunged forward and stuck it into her arm. Stella immediately fell down across the bed. The nurse went about checking her wounds, and gasped.
"Father, will you come here please?" Abel nodded and came forward. "Father, you and your friends brought her in here today, and we truly thought she was going to die. We even had asked flowers and a coffin been made for her funeral." Abel's eyes widened. He knew that Stella had been modest about her wounds, but he never thought that she would truly die from them. "But now, well, look."
Abel leaned over. Stella was still wearing the plain brown shirt she had before; of course it was splattered with red. There were rips on both sides of her shirt in the stomach area. First, he examined the stitches her had done a few days before. He gasped. The wound looked fully healed and the stitches looked unnecessary. She looked at her other side, the one closest to him. Three long gashes that he was sure were much worse when she was bleeding looked a lot less serious.
"How…?" breathed Abel.
"It is beyond my knowledge." Abel looked at the small nun. She was young and looked scared.
"It is all right. Go to sleep." Abel said to her. She nodded and lost no time going back to the office/bedroom.
Abel stared at Stella for a long moment before he went back to his chair. He picked up his pen and paper and added her healing ability to things he found strange about his young charge.
"Father Nightroad?" Stella said so quietly that Abel was not sure she was really awake.
He decided to at least answer even if she was half-unconscious. "Hmm?"
"I hate needles."
A/N: Sorry for the short and uninteresting chapter, but I had to have it in there. I'm happy and probably won't update for a while. Then again, my reviewers, mattress, and imagination have all teamed up so that I am virtually a writing sweatshop.