Dead Souls
Disclaimer: And here is my sequel to Darklight! The title, as probably suspected, was inspired by Nine Inch Nails "Dead Souls". I heard the song and somehow, the inspiration for this fic sprang into my head. Well, like most of my fics, I have a certain...free speech within this one.
"And I knew my vision of the garden of savage beauty had been a true vision. There was meaning in the world, yes, and laws, and inevitability, but they had only to do with the aesthetic and in this Savage Garden, these innocent ones belonged in the vampire's arms. A thousand other things can be said about the world, but only aesthetic principles can be verified, and these things alone remain the same."
-Anne Rice
"Somebody should tell us, right at the start of our lives, that we are dying. Then we might live life to the limit, every minute of every day. Do it! I say. Whatever you want to do, do it now! There are only so many tomorrows."
-Pope Paul VI
By: VampireQueenAkasha
"You have to ask...? Really...? Well, It's...It's because I am your friend..."
-Abel Nightroad
Chapter Five: Unlikely Hero
Earth
Rome, Italy
Nyssa awoke shortly in the morning and moved weakly down the hall. She yawned lowly and took a few steps outside. William was cleaning out some of the toilet stalls outside with a hose. She growled and pushed passed him, slamming the door of one shut.
William stared at the door in surprise. Suddenly, the sound of puking was heard, and Nyssa stepped back outside, with a hangover, groaning.
William smiled and shook his head, hosing down another stall. "That's what happens when you hit the bottle, my friend," he told her, "You go to sleep in Rome, Italy, and then you wake up in Rome, 'Puk - aly'." He laughed at his own stupid joke. "Heh, Puke - aly."
Nyssa looked annoyed and shut the door on William, locking him shut and walking off.
"Hey. What are you do-? No!" William gasped.
The porta potty sent William down the hill in a room, full of excrement. Nyssa simply walked off without a single care. She grumbled something and wiggled a finger in her slightly tipped ear as she made a small circle around the church.
The second she rounded a corner, Abel stood there. "Hi, Nyssa." he greeted.
Nyssa growled angrily, jumping a bit. "Well hell's fucking fire, Abel!" she snapped, "You took fifty years off my life!" She paused for a moment and raised her brows thoughtfully. "At my age, that's dangerous."
Abel smiled. "Sorry, Nyssa," he said, "I was just coming to your room to see how you were feeling," he replied, "You-uh-were heavily intoxicated last night so ... " He shook that off. "Well, church was starting. And Caterina said to changer her mind of avoiding kicking you off, she wants you to come with me to church."
Nyssa frowned, annoyed. "Didn't you people have church yesterday?" she snapped.
Abel smiled and shook his head, giving her a push. "Yeah! We have service every day!"
"Well whoop - de - do!" Nyssa muttered, waving a finger in the air, rolling her eyes.
"Well, we have to get ready." Abel replied.
Nyssa tittered, annoyed. "But do you understand I'm the victim here? Do you understand that I'm the good guy?" she snapped, "I mean. They just kind of threw me in here with you crazy, bible - thumping church folk. I mean. Do you get that? I'm the good guy here." She sighed and saw no hope in changing his mind. "I just hope you don't think I'm gonna wear what I wore when I had to go to Catholic school. No. No siree. No ugly blue and red jumpers for me. And those stupid hard clunky shoes."
Abel smiled. "Aww, come on, Nyssa!" he pressed, "It'll be fun!"
Nyssa scoffed. "How the hell does a church service run under the same channel as 'fun'?" she snapped.
Abel smirked and spoke in a sing-song voice. "We're doing communion!" he sang.
"Oh!" Nyssa said, interested now. She paused and followed him into the church. "Real wine?"
"Yup."
"Sweet."
O
During the service, Nyssa was wiggling around in her seat. She grumbled and stared down, noticing the chair had been taped together.
"Story of my life, always in the cheap seat ... " she muttered to herself.
Francesco began the service. "Welcome this Monday morning. oh. Ye few. But faithful." he said, "Today we will review the aspects of Job." He turned to a board which flashed with a projection of the images of the bible.
Much later, he began to review Job quotes. "'For now should I have lain still and been quiet, I should have slept: then had I been at rest, With kings and counselors of the earth, which built desolate places for themselves. Job, 3. 13'." He turned back to those in the pews. "And He ... " He trailed off at the sound of giggling among the populace. Nyssa was making rabbit ears in the projection, giving the impression Francesco had big ears. He looked back and noticed the image. Scowling, he cracked the wooden pointer against the altar warningly and glared at her.
"Ohhh ... " Nyssa hissed, tauntingly.
Francesco went back to the service, clearing his throat. "As I was saying, we ... "
Much later, it was near time for the Communion. A slender nun held a goblet of wine and Nyssa made hissing sounds at her. "Psst! Hey, Wheat Thins!" she whispered, "Toss some of that my way!"
The nun glanced over at Francesco nervously, and then back to Nyssa. "I can't." she whispered back.
"Come on!" Nyssa begged, in a soft voice, "Come on!"
William suddenly appeared next to her, covered in human feces. He was glowering down at her. "You are not a very nice person." he growled, before storming off.
Nyssa called back after him. "Yeah, smell you later, shit sicle."
As Communion was given out, Nyssa snatched the remainder of the wine. Soon, she got drunk enough ... again. She smirked drunkenly and slouched in her chair as the church choir started to sing. She picked her nose and stared down at her finger.
"All hail the power of Jesus' Name! Let angels prostrate fall;" the choir began.
Nyssa giggled drunkenly, one eye twitching. "Hehe, dudes lost their prostrate." she murmured.
Caterina watched her drunken behavior and scowled. "Who's the idiot who told her that we were having Communion, anyway?" she snapped.
Abel smiled guiltily and sided off from her.
Nyssa got up and interrupted the singing. "Come on, you hacks!" she said, slurring, "That's not s - singing!" She cleared her throat. "This is singing!" Odd enough, she started to sing and even though she was intoxicated, her voice still came out rich and beautiful.
"All hail the power of Jesus' Name! Let angels prostrate fall
Bring forth the royal diadem, and crown Him Lord of all.
Bring forth the royal diadem, and crown Him Lord of all.
Let highborn seraphs tune the lyre, and as they tune it, fall
Before His face Who tunes their choir, and crown Him Lord of all.
Before His face Who tunes their choir, and crown Him Lord of all.
Caterina's eyes grew wide in amazement. She could not believe Nyssa's voice. It was...beautiful! She gasped softly and glanced at Francesco. He was just as stunned as she was. He looked over at her and shook his head.
Crown Him, ye morning stars of light, Who fixed this floating ball;
Now hail the strength of Israel's might, and crown Him Lord of all.
Now hail the strength of Israel's might, and crown Him Lord of all.
Crown Him, ye martyrs of your God, who from His altar call;
Extol the Stem of Jesse's Rod, and crown Him Lord of all.
Extol the Stem of Jesse's Rod, and crown Him Lord of all.
Ye seed of Israel's chosen race, ye ransomed from the fall,
Hail Him Who saves you by His grace, and crown Him Lord of all.
Hail Him Who saves you by His grace, and crown Him Lord of all.
Hail Him, ye heirs of David's line, Whom David Lord did call,
The God incarnate, Man divine, and crown Him Lord of all,
The God incarnate, Man divine, and crown Him Lord of all.
Sinners, whose love can ne'er forget the wormwood and the gall,
Go spread your trophies at His feet, and crown Him Lord of all.
Go spread your trophies at His feet, and crown Him Lord of all.
Let every tribe and every tongue before Him prostrate fall
And shout in universal song the crownèd Lord of all.
And shout in universal song the crownèd Lord of all."
When Nyssa finished, she grinned and held up her container of wine. "Thank you Rome!" she hollered, "You've been a wonderful audience!" And then, she passed out onto the floor with a loud thump. Francesco stared down at her and scowled.
O
Nyssa was taken to Francesco's office. The AX agency had gathered by his office door to listen in on what was going on.
"Interrupting the service? Drunken on the altar? What were you thinking?" he thundered.
Nyssa smiled and shrugged. "I was thinking more like Vegas. You know," she told him, "Get some butts in the seats."
Francesco scowled at her from behind his desk. "And what next? Popcorn? Curtain calls?" he spat, "This is not a theater or a casino, Alastair! This is not your home town where you can parade about like a maniac whenever you please!"
Nyssa chuckled sarcastically. "Yeah. But that's the problem. See," she said, "People like going to theaters and they like going to casinos. But they don't like coming to church. Why? Because it's a drag." She shrugged. " But we could change all that. See, we could. We could pack this joint."
Francesco spun around and looked stunned. "Through blasphemy? You have corrupted the entire church!" he raged.
Alessandro pushed his way through the crowd of Ax agents at his brother's office door. "Excuse me. Excuse me." he said, quietly. "Oh. Excuse me." He paused and could hear Nyssa talking behind the door.
"How can you say that?" Nyssa said, stunned, "L ... I've worked my butt off with these people. Oh. I've given up my free time to help out in the church."
Francesco scowled, shaking his head. "Out of the question! As of tomorrow, you will hereby be removed from Rome!" A knock and he spoke through gritted teeth. "Come in!"
Alessandro walked into the room with a smile. "Brother, I just wanted to congratulate you. I haven't enjoyed mass this much in years."
Francesco stared at him in disbelief and knelt down. "Holiness?" he said, stunned.
Alessandro grinned. "What a marvelous program. Innovative. Inspiring." he replied. "You're to be commended. I can't wait till next Sunday when the choir performs again." He glanced out of the window. "Did you see the people walk right in from the street?" He looked at Nyssa and clasped her hands in his. "That music. That heavenly music." He looked up at his brother. "Brother Francesco, it called to them."
Francesco stared at him, weary and pained. "It ... It did?"
Alessandro grinned and nodded. "I must tell the Archbishop. I'll send him a personal letter describing your efforts, your bold," He smiled approvingly at Nyssa. "new fight to keep this little agency alive!"
Nyssa looked amazed by the praise she received. Abel walked into the office and smiled. "You're incredible." he told her, softly.
Suddenly, the sounds of screaming echoed in the air and they all looked up in surprise.
"What the hell?" Nyssa cried.
Vaclav rushed into the room, panting. "You guys! We have a hostage situation in the East Pier office building!"
O
Nyssa, Abel, and the rest of the Agents were deployed toward a smoking, tall building.
"Not fog ... it's smoke ... my God!" Abel cried.
They quickly climbed out of Nyssa's jeep and rushed toward the building. On the rooftops, men with guns aimed them down at the police surrounding the building.
"We have to get them out of there!" Abel cried.
Nyssa looked at a police officer. "What's the situation?" she asked.
"We have at least the entire upper floor held hostage. Several men and women. We can't enter the building without harming the civilians." the officer replied.
Nyssa smiled and looked at the others, a grin forming across her lips. She glanced over at a small jet parked on a transport vessel and got an idea. "Alright, you guys get their attention. I got me a nasty idea!" Before they could ask what she meant, she took off for the jet and started it up. And with that, she disappeared into the sky.
Within the building, several Methuselah had blotted out the windows and held the office workers at gunpoint. "Alright, you guys be quiet and no one gets hurt." a Methuselah growled.
Outside, Abel and the others attempted to break the doors down, but they had been welded shut. It would take a while to crack them open.
"We gotta get these damn doors open!" Leon growled, angrily.
Suddenly, the men on the rooftops looked up with horror as the sun seemed to dim. Something blacked out the sun itself. They squinted upward and then, their eyes grew wide with horror. Fear suddenly clenched their chests.
You built me up with your wishing hell
I didn't have to sell you
You threw your money in the pissing well
You do just what they tell you
Repent, that's what I'm talking about
I shed the skin to feed the fake
"Oh GOD!" they wailed.
The Methuselah heard them on their radio and frowned. "What is it?" one of them snapped, "What's going on?"
The sun seemed to be devoured by a black, spreading pestilence. It blacked it out entirely. And in the very center of the sun, Nyssa's jet was dropping toward the building. Her eyes flashed a dark red and she grinned wickedly. The jet itself suddenly bent itself to her power and turned a dark black. A set of shadowy, screaming arms ripped out from the wings. It melted away into a living shadowy bomb of death and eyes.
Repent, that's what I'm talking about
Whose mistake am I anyway?
Cut the head off
Grows back hard
I am the hydra
Now you'll see your star
Prick your finger it is done
The moon has now eclipsed the sun
The angel has spread its wings
The time has come for bitter things
"AHHH!" the men wailed. "SHE'S GOING TO RAM US!"
Abel's eyes grew wide in shock.
Nyssa grinned and the jet dropped down onto the building top. It exploded into a ball of flame, smashing out windows and raining glass down upon those below. The building somehow stood among the chaos and all that remained above was the flaming remains of the jet.
Several of the men staggered to their feet, weapons at the ready. They gazed up at the flames with horror.
The time has come it is quite clear
Our antichrist
Is almost here ...
It is done
Nyssa's dark, cloaked shadow rose up from the flames, her eyes glowing red within the darkness. The men watched her with horror and disbelief. Nyssa's hand fell free from her tattered coat and her hand flexed, claws stretching out inhumanly.
"Devil!" one of the men screamed, opening fire with his shotgun.
Nyssa's body lurched like a rag doll in high wind as blast after blast shattered flesh and bone, leaving gaping holes in her body. The others joined in, unleashing a stone rain of shellfire at Nyssa's body. Flesh and bone tore and explosions sounded everywhere.
Abel cried out in horror. "NYSSA!"
The men snickered, truly believing they had her. "Dumb bitch." one hissed, giggling nervously.
Then, their eyes grew wide in horror, jaws dropping. Within the flame, black mass began to gather. Swirling, screaming eyes appeared within the mass. With several swirling sound, the tattered body of Nyssa began to regenerate.
The men could do nothing but stare with horror. "What ... what the hell are you?" another screamed.
Nyssa smirked and dove for the man who had made the 'dumb bitch' statement with a fierce roar. She seized him tightly in one hand and many more shadowy imp arms stretched out from her back, grasping numerous parts of his body. He stared up at her, jaw gaped.
"Who's the dumb bitch now?" Nyssa hissed, wickedly.
The man trembled and whimpered in anguish. Suddenly his face scrunched in agony as the multiple limbs started to tear him apart from many different directions. Nyssa's grin widened and the arms tore him apart; head, legs, and arms.
The screams of the dying man tore his other comrades from their horrified stupor and they loaded their guns. Nyssa grinned back at them and dove into the air as they opened fire. They stopped firing when they realized Nyssa was no longer there.
"Where'd that crazy bitch go?" another cried.
Suddenly, above them, a winged shadow came diving down. The second it did, one of the men was seized by his throat. Nyssa had grabbed him by his throat with the use of her teeth. Blood splattered all over her face and coat. Snickering, she released the man and he plummeted from high above, screaming the entire time. Nyssa looked down, at the remaining man and grinned, diving down for him. He screamed, shooting his gun at her.
But it did nothing. Nyssa went diving down for him. Her claws stretched out and she slashed his entire frame cleanly in half. The gore was enough to draw the horror from those below. Nyssa rushed into the steps and the sounds of gunfire followed shortly after. Then, screams of agony and small bits of blood splatters on the windows.
"Soooo ... uh ... " Leon began, shocked, "I guess ... she's a hero ... huh?"
Abel nodded his head. He was a little uneasy about her methods, but at least she had rescued the hostages.
O
Note-And here is "Antichrist Superstar" by the one and only Marilyn Manson. The Hymn Nyssa sings is called "All Hail the Power of Jesus' Name".