A/N: Hello, all! Been kind of a while since I updated, but I've been working on an idea for 'Son of Satan's Demise' (if you haven't, check it out. It's my most popular story)
The next morning, before the sun had a chance to rise, I woke up to see a car at the entrance to the cemetery. I dismissed it. Probably someone visiting their loved one, I figured. After all, it was a graveyard, even though I wished the place had a crypt I could sleep in. I didn't, however, expect the person visiting to be Ron. I hid behind the nearest tree to put on my boots and jacket without him seeing, but he found me just as I was doing the latter.
"Care to tell me what you're doing here?" I asked him carefully, hand inching towards the knife.
"I was actually going to ask you the same thing. There's a soft bed, good food, and kind of cool people a thirty minutes' drive from here. Here, on the other hand, the coolest person here is probably that stone angel." He pointed to the aforementioned statue. "Seriously, come back. Jenna's been asking where her sensei is nonstop, and I'm not sure how much longer Drake and Meiko can put up with it. Not to mention how boring the place is without a threat to us all hanging over our heads."
"Fine. You want to bring me back. Then how did you find me?"
He shrugged and tapped his nose. "Just followed the stench. You didn't seriously sleep here last night, did you?" Ron looked about the place critically.
I set the bag back on the bike. "So what if I did? And you're not going to stop until I agree to go back with you, are ya?"
He shook his head. "Not a chance. Also, Astarte got better over the night, so I'm guessing there's going to be a trial soon. And now that the Vatican knows you exist, the next time you…" he gestured wildly around his head, "They'll know, and lights out for good."
The guy did make a good argument, though. "Alright. I'll go back with you."
When we got back to the dorm, everyone was in a pretty shitty mood. I pulled Megumi aside. "Cassandra! I thought you left!"
"Fear boy over here convinced me to come back. Anyway, what's got your collective panties in a twist?"
She swallowed. "Astarte's having her trial soon. You just missed the exorcist who came to tell us. We only have a few minutes to get ready, but I can see you already have that bit sorted out."
A few minutes later, the older class of exorcists locked the dorm. Samael found me. "I see you couldn't keep away."
"Fuck off, asshole. If you piss me off, I have a flask full of holy water and I ain't afraid to use it."
He clicked his tongue, tsking. "Such ugly language from such a pretty girl. Didn't your mother teach you better?" His smile was ruthless now. Of course he knew about that.
"What's going on?" Hikaru asked, looking from Samael to Amaimon. The two of them glanced at each other before Samael began to explain.
"Astarte was only allowed to return to Assiah under two conditions. One was that she would train others how to control their powers and familiars. The other was that she would maintain control of her own abilities so that another dawn of the purple flames could never occur."
Amaimon wrinkled his nose at me. "You reek of holy ground."
"That tends to happen."
"But, she hasn't broken any of the conditions." Ame said, deep in thought.
"The fact that her flames were unleashed, even briefly is enough to convince the Grigori and the Vatican that she can't maintain control." Samael continued. "Which means they have only one option in their eyes."
They're gonna kill her… I realized.
"She has to be exorcised in order to keep Assiah safe. Effectively...They've sentenced her to death." The more delicate girls gasped while I just shook my head. I knew the blood of innocents stained her soul, but usually the Vatican's exorcisms were really harsh from what I've heard.
Noel cried, "But...that's not fair! It's not her fault." The kid was pretty naïve to believe that life could be fair. If it was, I would have some form of control.
Yukio stepped forward to try to explain it better to them. "The Vatican wants to protect the residents of Assiah. The dawn of the purple flames was a horrific tragedy that we can't have repeated. If Astarte can't maintain control of her flames, then we have to remove the threat in order to protect humanity."
Beside me, Drake said, "I'm still not sure that's the better choice."
"For the Vatican, the ends justify the means. She's a demon; she means nothing to them. We're only different because we're half-human."
Samael pulled out a key and opened the door to the Vatican. I'm not sure what I should've expected, but the place was huge and ornately decorated. I've never seen so many exorcists in one place before, either. Some were familiar, like the kindly old man who took me in for the night after I left Moreau's church, but most strangers. I searched the crowd for Moreau, and I finally caught sight of him, but his eyes were set stoically forward, obviously not seeing me. A purpling mark formed over the eye I could see, and a couple of small scars had formed, as well. Gentle persuasion, my ass. I looked forward to see what had grabbed his attention.
Astarte was chained to the floor and it obviously took all she could to kneel. Her head was forced in a bowed position, a collar and chain around her neck. Ancient symbols glowed in a circle around her that seemed older than the Earth itself. She glanced back briefly to see them and forced a small, sad smile before the chain around her neck was pulled and she was forced to face forward again. I hated seeing her like this. I wasn't exactly her number one fan, but she was being put on display like an animal, and it was cruel, even for them.
"Demoness Astarte, queen of Gehenna and angel of Satan, do you know why this trial has been set?" She merely nodded, not meeting their eyes. The one who spoke looked at the Paladin, who snapped his fingers. A series of shocks went through her until she lifted her head, glaring at them.
"These sick fucks…" I muttered, just about ready to move to the center of the room and give him a beating.
Amaimon grabbed my shoulder. "I understand you have your father's anger, but intrude on the trial and you'll only make things worse."
"You are charged as a threat to the residents of Assiah. We find you guilty of the charge. Your lack of control with regards to your abilities and your unstable mentality and emotions make you too big of a risk to have here in Assiah. We had planned to exorcise you but our sources suggest that without a ruler, Gehenna will destroy this realm due to a lack of control and authority. So, we will send you back to Gehenna another way." What? Amaimon had said she'd be sentenced to death, not whatever they were talking about.
The Paladin cleared his throat. "You will be locked in a room with a nightmare under our control. It will force you to see the things that scare you the most, breaking you." I know that the Vatican was harsh, but I never thought they'd be this needlessly cruel. Shadows began to move towards her, the same kind that held me back in the nightmare/memory of my father selling his soul.
"Wait!" Noel cried, running forward and urging us to go with her. Everyone stared at us as we stood near Astarte.
"You said she could stay if she trained us right?" Ron called to those on the podium.
"Along with the condition that she kept herself under control as well." The Paladin growled. "She has not kept under control so she broke the condition."
"She never attacked anyone though!" Takao growled. "The Princess kept her flames under just enough control to stop them from attacking someone." Sachi nodded furiously.
"The fact they appeared when it was unnecessary is evidence of a lack of control." The Paladin snapped at them, disgust for us written all over. Astarte stared at us in disbelief.
"She was wound up by someone else which is why they responded." Leon said. "She was put under stress and someone kept hitting her buttons making her react. She only did what anyone would do in a similar situation and respond."
"Besides, she's actually been helping us gain more control." Ame said. "Watch. Um, Astarte, could you summon some of those damned souls for us?" Astarte tilted her head to one side but still summoned the souls. Everyone moved to a soul, but those things were putting my senses into overdrive. Heretic. Murderer. Suicide. Flattery. Traitor.
I moved forward to demonstrate on them as well, but again, Amaimon held me back. "It would be far from wise for you to change here. Your father took many lives, and you may be the one receiving his punishment."
Everyone else, however, was showing amazing control, and as a whole, it looked like a dance, almost. The Paladin, though caught sight of how I wasn't doing anything and pointed it out to everyone. "What about this one then?" He asked, pointing at me. Dammit, I thought as I felt hundreds, almost a thousand, pairs of eyes on me. Whispers filled the room. I could only pick a few out.
Samael stepped forward. "She is the kin of the demon Zarathos." A hush ran over the crowd, and now some of their eyes held fear. "Her other side sees the sins of all and punishes them. Due to this, we cannot let her access that other side until we have a way of securing it so then it can be trained without harming others. But we have made some progress with the pendant. It holds back the demon side and helps the child stay in slightly more control by stopping the demon form from having any access to her mind and heart unless she wills it." The child? I am a legal adult, you know, I almost said.
"You created that pendant yourself Sir Pheles?" The Grigori asked, looking at me distrustfully, not that I blamed him
"Actually, Astarte made it. She took a crystal from one of the coves hidden within the land of the chimeras back in Gehenna and placed some of her own magic into it. Her spell and the demon rune carved into it using the claws of the famed feathered serpent demon Quetzalcoatl or Teufel as he is now known, act in unison to force the other side back and keep it back." Samael said. Everyone stared at the pendant that sat around my neck, which I played with nervously. "Even in the presence of Samael, the demon will not break free," he added.
Astarte turned to us, despite the chains that were holding her back. "Why are you doing this? After everything that's happened?" She asked them quietly.
"Because you're our teacher, the only one who is willing to teach us control, princess." Takao said. We nodded in agreement.
"But...what about what happened yesterday?" She asked, confused by the entire situation.
"Yeah, you lied to us, but everyone lies at some point. Sometimes, we lie to protect those we care about." Ron said. Speak for yourself on that one. I still didn't trust her, with how many she's killed. Her soul's been stained with the blood of the innocent.
"May we speak with the Outcast?" The Grigori suddenly said, startling everyone. Gasps emerged from those gathered. Whatever fear they held for me, or rather, my other side, they held for the 'Outcast' at least tenfold.
She nodded and closed her eyes, muttering in a strange language. Her left wing changed from its usual demonic form to an angel wing with purple and black feathers. A purple blindfold appeared over her left eye. A second demon tail appeared but was white with a purple tuft. She opened her right eye and revealed that the whites of that eye were replaced with black.
"Well, I don't know if I should be impressed that you sought my opinion with this matter or suspicious as to why you sought to contact me." I don't know why, but the raspy-voiced being possessing Astarte seemed… wrong. She was far too old to be in her body.The Outcast said before glancing at the class who looked at her in shock. Oh yes, most of you do not know about me nor the others. Well, I'm sure the young one will tell you when she regains control.
"Young one?" Meiko murmured. Amaimon quickly responded to her unanswered question.
"The Outcast refers to Astarte as the "young one" because of how old the Outcast actually is." Amaimon explained. The I glanced at Drake before the Outcast explained.
"You see, little ones, I am the creator of the universe and the three realms as well as their residents. If not for me, none of you would exist today. But the humans' so called "God" realized that as long as I was in control, nothing could take my place. In the end, he forced the realms to rise up against me and cast me out of the realms without a form. I was stuck there for many millennia until the young one was born. She enabled me to exist within the realms." The Outcast turned to the Grigori who glanced at one another.
"Outcast, do you believe the demoness Astarte is in control of her flames?" They asked her.
"Whilst not in full control, she is far better control than one would expect for one of her age. She is gaining the last few pieces of control with my help. I am giving her the power to set up her barriers and limitations. So, to answer simply, yes." The Outcast said. The Grigori glanced at one another before making a decision.
"Will you ensure she remains in control of her flames if we let her go?" They asked, ignoring the cries of outrage from those gathered around them.
"I will." The Outcast replied with a nod.
"Then you may return to your slumber and we will release her." The Outcast nodded again before Astarte returned to her usual form and the chains released. "Demoness Astarte, you will be given one final chance. Break it again and you will be exorcised. Understand?" Astarte nodded rapidly. The Grigori disbanded the meeting and sent her away. As soon as she was out of the room, she tackled both Samael and Amaimon, her body shaking as they held her.
My own body was shaking. With all those damned souls, I was close to changing. So close. I could literally feel my skin heating up with their presence.
I felt a hand on my shoulder and white noise. Blessed, blessed silence. I exhaled shakily. Drake, I thought in relief. "You okay?"
No. "Yeah, Mom. I'm fine. Seriously, what was with them all staring? Didn't their parents teach them any manners?" I smiled slightly, trying to lighten up.
Astarte stood and turned to the class. "I, once again, have you lot to thank. If not for you, I would not be standing here right now. So... Arigato gozaimasu." She said, bowing to us.
Drake took this opportune moment to be… Drake. "So...do we get another day off?"
Astarte grinned, and for a split second, I thought we'd actually get the day off, until she pulled out her sword and decided to be… Astarte and chopped the arm that wasn't reassuringly holding my hand off. "No! We are now training for as long as we can each day! You will be trained to your full potential with your powers." She summoned Baphomet who appeared in a slightly smaller form to fit in the building and began to herd them out. "Let's go! Your training starts again tomorrow! Come on! Hayaku! Hayaku!"
"She's gonna make me start Changing, isn't she?" I half-asked to myself.
Beside me, Drake shrugged. "Who knows? It's Astarte. You know how she gets."
And appearing between us, Jenna hugged us both from behind. "Whatever happens, it's gonna be interesting, though!" she then enveloped me in a bear hug that deprived me off all my breath.
"Jenna? Air?" I managed before she let go, kind of sheepish.
A/N: That's it for this time! Please review!