Sorry about the long wait for this chapter. Between AP testing and other school obligations, I was having a hard time finding time to sit and edit this chapter. I'm still not completely satisfied with it, and there are parts of it that I really like, and parts that I'm not so fond of. So, if you see me re-post it in the next few days or so, just know that I've been editing it again and I've more than likely made changes to it.
I'd like to thank OtherCat and squishy the jellyfish for reviewing, and OtherCat? Thank you so much for those recommendations. I will be implementing some of them in upcoming chapters.
Just as a warning, because some people can be touchy about this: There is a gay kiss in this chapter, and some talk of homosexuality.
Disclaimer: Chrono Crusade is owned by Daisuke Moriyama.
Chapter 6
It was early October when things changed. It was hardly anything drastic; it's only in retrospect that I even notice the changes at all. But the tone did begin to shift ever so slightly.
I found that Aion spent more and more time with me, and Gabriel started to drift further into the background. Oh, I still spent most of my days with the blond man, but there was something between us that I can't fully describe. A distance that seemed no amount of communication could bridge. We talked about trite things: Things that hadn't mattered in the past and would never matter in the future. At least, that's how I saw it after that evening in the hall. It wasn't like our original conversations had been incredibly deep anyway, but they at least had been genuine.
X X X
"You know," he said one day as we walked the grounds of the estate, "I don't know anything about your past."
"No, you don't," I answered, not wanting to tell him anything. We had been over this before, but it was a topic that kept coming up. He must have thought that he'd eventually get something good out of me. Something more than the not-a-lie bits that I told everyone else to appease them.
"Well, I know that you didn't work for the mafia…"
I laughed and nodded, deciding that it was finally time to give him something else to grab at. "That's true…but I did work for the Magdalene Order for a while."
"You worked for them? Then why the hell did we find you wandering out on the streets?"
"Let's just say that I had a massive falling out with their boss and I can't forgive him for the things he did."
"So, you hate them?" he asked, sounding perfectly serious.
"Hate's a bit strong, because I don't hate the Order so much as I dislike that more of my colleagues didn't question the judgment of our boss after the incident."
"Were you transferred over to the European branch system? I mean, that's the only reason I can think of an American being over here."
I shook my head. "No, I came here for something else." It wasn't a lie. It just wasn't the whole truth.
He smiled that happy, carefree grin he always seemed to have on, and punched my shoulder playfully. He was just like a little kid that had just discovered a new source of knowledge, and I couldn't help but smile along with him.
"There, was it really so hard just to tell me that? Dear God, the way you and Aion go about your pasts you'd think that you both committed murder and were hiding from the law!"
That's more or less true in one of our cases, I thought. Murder isn't good for a business resume, but I guess seventy years of pretending to be dead more or less makes those charges go away.
"To be frank, Gab, you haven't told me anything either," I said as we passed a fountain and made our way back to the mansion.
"There's really nothing to tell. I like women, good food, and having someone else drive me around," he said cheerfully.
"That's about you now, not your past."
"Is there really a difference?"
'The way you go about it indicates that you certainly think so."
He looked like he was about to respond to my comment when the master of the house appeared on the balcony overlooking the gardens. That was usually a good indication that we needed to go in and see what he wanted.
"I swear to God, I think he's got something going on for you," my friend grumbled as we headed towards the house.
"What?"
"You know, I think that he likes you, and his sexuality has always been a topic of conversation among us hired help. I mean, I can count on one hand the number of people he's brought back to the house."
"So why does that bring up topics of his sexuality?" I asked, not understanding where the younger man was going.
"Because he always seemed so bored after he was done with them. They'd leave and he'd walk around with this look of supreme dissatisfaction plastered on his face. You know the look I'm talking about, right?"
I shook my head. I had never witnessed his "look of supreme dissatisfaction" and I was pretty certain that I never wanted to.
"Have you talked to him about it?" I asked after a moment.
Gabriel looked at me with what can only be described as a face of horror. "Of course not! For one: we don't want to get fired. The other reason has to do with what he does. If his boss ever found out about his ambiguous sexuality, there's a good chance he'd be asked to leave the company. Mr. Moretti is a very devote Catholic, and while he doesn't mind people having fun and sleeping around a little, he's huge on this whole 'my employees are straight' thing."
"Well, it is his company."
Gabriel shrugged, and Aion lifted an eyebrow as we walked up the stairs of the balcony.
"What were you two talking about?" he asked.
"Your look of supreme dissatisfaction. I was just making the comment that we hadn't seen it in some time," the human answered.
"Hmm, well I haven't been discontent for sometime, so there's no reason for me to show it, is there? Anyway, you and the rest of the staff have the night off. Remington and I are going out to eat. You don't need to tell Ambrogino to bring the limo around either."
"We get the night off?" Gabriel asked, his face beaming.
"Yes, but remember, 'govern well thy appetite, lest Sin surprise thee, and her black attendant Death," Aion said as the younger man started to go back into the house.
"That only applies to the Fruit of Knowledge, which was an apple. I don't think that women and clubbing are like apples. I mean, women are much more like pe…"
"It's the sinning part I was going after, Gabriel. I was not making a metaphor about fruit and women," the Sinner said quickly.
Gabriel just continued to smile as he left us alone.
"Why the special occasion?" I asked once I knew for certain no one would bother us.
"They need to go have their fun too. Plus, Gabriel's been moping about lately and allowing him to go out and socialize seems to cheer him up a bit. I do hate to see him upset."
"You take better care of him than he would like to admit I think."
"Well, he is only twenty-four, and he's been at an American university for the past few years. I think that those silly self-centered Americans rubbed off on him. He'll come around eventually and realize that I've taken good care of him for as long as I've known him."
"He's told me that you two have grown apart lately," I said as I leaned back against the stone railing.
Aion rested his arms against the balustrade and looked out over the gardens. "We have, but that's only because I've tried to give him more freedom. He's a man now, and it's no longer my duty to take care for him. Yet, I still do, because I enjoy his company, and I do care for him. Plus he reminds me of…," the demon trailed off before resuming his talking, "Well, it doesn't matter who he reminds me of. We have dinner reservation in an hour and we have to go." He straightened himself out and went into the house, where we were welcomed with yells of, "Mr. Christoph!"
Aion and I watched as maids and man-servants scurried around like headless chickens until the Sinner finally stopped one of them.
"What's Gabriel done this time?" he asked, sounding annoyed.
"Mr. Christoph told us that we have the night off, and now we can't find him to confirm that," the maid said, refusing to make eye contact with the demon, as if she didn't want to be wrong and thus suffer his wrath.
"You do. Now go and have fun for once."
The scurrying resumed as the hired help went off to do what they did when they free time.
"I didn't realize that the others called Gabriel by his last name," I commented as I followed the Sinner back outside and to his car garage.
"They only do when they really want to find something out. Otherwise call him by his first name. Now: which car do you want to take? You know that I'm rather partial to the F50 Ferrari myself, but that's only because they made so few of them."
I had been in Aion's garage a few times, and each time I went in it seemed that he had added a new vehicle to his already impressive collection. While the white Ferrari was not one his new cars, we hadn't taken it out for a drive yet.
"We might as well take the F50. You keep talking about it, and I have yet to fully experience the power of a V12 engine."
He just smirked and indicated that I should get in the automobile.
The trip to Rome never went by so fast.
X X X
We parked some ways from the restaurant once we finally arrived at the capital. Aion said it was just because he liked to walk, and he didn't want anything to happen to his beloved car. The evening was nice, so I had no complaints, though I was trying to figure out why he had gone to such lengths just to have a night alone with me.
I mean, we spent most of our nights together anyway, why give everyone the evening off and than take me to an expensive restaurant…unless what Gabriel said was actually true?
"Tell me, did you and Chrono ever have a relationship?" I asked once we were inside the chic bistro and seated.
"We were brothers-in-arms. If you mean a physical relationship, than certainly no: Chrono was always more of a ladies man," Aion said, though the tone he used for his last comment made me think that he hadn't quite liked that his comrade only had eyes for women.
"What about Rosette and Satella than? Why did you kiss them?"
The Sinner looked at me and raised an eyebrow.
"They were attractive young women. Why wouldn't I want to?"
"Because you rarely do anything without a damn good reason."
Aion stared at me for a long moment before finally responding. "Rosette tasted of pure power after her full transition into Mary. Do you know what pure power tastes like? It's more intoxicating than any drug you could ever hope to use."
"Why that time in Central Park? She told me about it in confession."
"I needed to awaken the holy blood within her. If Chrono had just kissed her sooner then I wouldn't have had to kiss her, and my involvement with the Christophers would have been limited to helping Joshua and allowing Mary to reawaken."
"That doesn't explain what you did to Satella," I said as I watched the baron take a sip from the wine glass before him.
"I was being cruel to her. I will admit to that," he said. He certainly wasn't apologizing for his actions, and it hit me hard. I don't know why it did: I don't recall the devil saying that he was sorry for anything. If anything, he managed to turn to the tables when he did something wrong and make the innocent party feel guilty for actions they never committed.
Ultimately, it was just him being his usual manipulative self.
"Why do you suddenly want to know about my personal life? You've never taken interest in it before," he said as he finished off his wine and poured himself another glass.
"I'm just trying to understand why you did those things in the first place. Wouldn't those events qualify as business?"
He shook his head. "Business is when you deal with other people for financial gain. My hunting down the Apostles and destroying Mother was not business. That was duty. I see nothing wrong in mixing duty and pleasure on occasion. Now, let's find something else to talk about, alright? This is not the topic of conversation I envisioned us having."
We didn't really talk the rest of the meal, other than to say that the food was excellent and the wine superb. There was nothing but silence as we left and walked back to his Ferrari.
I'm pretty sure that that wasn't the topic of conversation he envisioned us having either.
X X X
We arrived back at the estate with too much on our minds and not enough to say to each other. All right: so Aion believed that duty was a branch far separated from business. I could understand that to an extent, but than again, my duty of protecting the Apostles had always been influenced by my business of hunting demons and working with the Order. There was no separating the two…even if I had wanted to on a few occasions.
I had barely taken five steps into the house when I felt Aion's hand on my shoulder.
"Why did you ask me those things?" he asked, his voice surprisingly soft.
"Just trying to figure some things out."
"About me or about the past?"
"Both, because there are a lot of things that I don't understand about you, and I'm certain that if I knew your past motives better, I would comprehend you now."
He took off his white trench coat and carefully placed it on the nearby coat rack before looking at me.
"I went after the Apostles before to rid the world of a corrupted system and to create a new ending for the Apocalypse," he said calmly, though there were unspoken words hanging in the air.
"What aren't you saying, Aion? There's something you're leaving out," I demanded, not liking the faked stillness.
"I want to find them once more so that I can finish the job I started. Humans can no longer live like lemmings. They need a leader, and if I can find the Apostles again and harbor their power, I can show the humans this. I can finish combining Earth and Heaven together. I can create the new ending to the Apocalypse!"
The look on his face indicated that he was perfectly sincere, and I couldn't believe that I had heard such words come from his mouth. I thought that he had finished with that.
"You're going after the Apostles again?" I asked in a voice that was barely above a whisper. "Why? You have your power, you have your life back..."
"It's not about that, Remington," Aion answered as his eyes locked with mine. "It's about showing God that he is no longer the one that people need to worship. We need to tell these people that their God is an omnipotent jackass that doesn't give a damn about what they think. You know the stories: you were there for half of them! You know that all He has ever cared about is Himself and how many people he can get to pay their silly little tithes and bow before Him. If we can get the Apostles then we can get these people off of their knees!"
"'We'," I said softly. "You said 'we'."
The devil walked towards me and nodded. "If you're by my side, Remington, nothing can stop us. You can find the Apostles, and I can use my influence to set everything in motion. We can change history if you're willing to work with me."
I shook my head and stupidly backed myself into the wall. "It's going to be 1929 all over again."
The next thing I knew Aion had pressed me against the wall: his face mere inches from mine.
"It's not going to be 1929 all over again. If you're with me, then we'll be able to control the affects much better. You'll be the face of reason. I'll be the voice. We can do this, Remington. All I need from you is your cooperation and your ability to seek out those touched by God. Think about it! People will love us for helping them to…see the light so to speak. We'll be saving these people from themselves!"
"But that's exactly what you promised the last time. I seem to recall that not turning out so well for you."
"That's because Chrono and Rosette didn't see things my way. If they had though…well, things would be so different from how they are today. The War would have never happened, I wouldn't have had to make a contract to return, and you wouldn't have had to live like a dog out on the streets. Together we can do this," he said before he did something that completely surprised me: he kissed me.
I didn't react to it. I was too stunned to do so. He pulled away after a moment, but my eyes were locked open.
"Just think about it, Ewan. Think about the change we can bring to this damned world."
He left, and I quickly returned to my room. Just like that first night where I made my decision to stay, now I had to figure out if I had truly changed enough to even consider helping Aion with his obsessive desire to free mankind from what he saw as a cage of religion.
I thought about the angel and demon sculpture that so fascinated me. Would I be one of the angels and fight against the demons like God ordained, or would I join the ranks of the demons and struggle for my freedom and the freedom of my brethren?
"Do I think like Milton's Satan or Jesus at the Temptation? Do I even have a choice?"
I'm not certain that I really ever had an option: not from the moment I decided to stay, to my current conflict. After all, my mind was made up within the hour, and as I went to bed, I knew what my path would be in the morning.
The quote in this chapter is from Paradise Lost. It will probably be the last one you see for a while, and I'll switch over to Biblical ones.
The next chapter will end this part of the story. I should be able to get it up fairly quickly, but judging by how quickly I got this one up, it might take longer than I expect it to.
Also, since school is more or less finished for me, I am willing to start betaing things (I'm currently doing work on one). While I will be gone part of the summer, I will be home for the most part.
