Question of Faith

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Whoever is leading the Templars, they have strong weapons... Kairi lifted her Knight helmet and put her finger into the hole made by the bullet that ripped through and grazed her head. She reached up and tapped the bandage on her head, God spared me, and for that I am grateful. I'm also able to keep looking for these sinners and bring them to justice before they hurt anyone.

"Kairi,"

The young blonde turned to see Gabriel standing in the doorway. She tossed the helmet alongside the other pieces of armor that occupied her bed and walked up to her friend. She was about to greet him, when she noticed a solemn look on his face.

"What's wrong?"

"We have the Templar's leader in custody,"

"...what?"

"Please, come with me. You must see this for yourself,"

"I wasn't aware the church had this," Kairi murmured as she followed Gabriel through a stone corridor lined with cells, "How long as this place been here?"

"Since the church was first built, I believe," Gabriel explained as he led her down the corridor, "I believe that it used to house criminals before the Marines came here, so it's not so surprising that some prison cells are still around,"

"Why haven't we closed this place off, or sealed up the rooms?"

"I don't know. Perhaps they thought the cells would make good storage. Anyway, we found the leader and put him in one of the cells so we can question him before taking him to the authorities," Gabriel stopped in front of a large door and looked over his shoulder, "Do not hate him, Kairi, he is just a mis-guided soul. Remember the church's teachings,"

Kairi nodded and Gabriel unlocked the door. She stepped through after he pulled the door open and a look of shock crossed her face when she saw Axe kneeling on the floor, chained to the wall.

Axe lifted his head, "Kairi...,"

She slowly shook her head, "A-Axe...you...?"

"I'm not who you I think I am!" Axe said quickly, rising to his feet, "I'm not what they told you I was!"

"You're the Templar leader? You're...you're so young,"

"Says the thirteen year old Holy Knight of Sanctus Island!" Axe shot back.

Gabriel placed a gentle hand on Kairi's shoulder, "I must leave to speak with Father Anderson. Will you be alright here alone?"

Kairi nodded slowly, "Yes...I'll be fine. You can leave, I won't do anything, and I'm sure he can't do anything himself,"

"Oh man, you guys really don't know me, do ya?"

Gabriel shot a glare at him before leaving the cell, closing the door behind him.

The two young people stared at each other. One showing a look of disgust and one showing a serious look.

"I can't believe...," Kairi placed her hand over her mouth, "...I thought we were friends!"

"We were, and we still are!" Axe insisted, "Kairi, you gotta listen to me, I am not the Templar leader, Anderson is!"

Kairi laughed dryly, "The head of the church I try to protect is the head of an order that is trying to kill me? Do you have any idea how absurd that sounds, Axe? Anderson and I are loyal to God, we are comrades! Why in His name would he try and kill me?"

"To get rid of you so he and Gabriel-,"

"Oh, so now Gabriel's involved in this?" Kairi cut him off abruptly, "Who's next, hm? Are the little orphans that live here in on this secret order?!"

Axe shrugged, "I-I dunno, maybe! They brainwash people who don't see their view of God, and they use them as soldiers in their order!"

"I share their view of God, why would they kill me? You still haven't explained that!"

"To get rid of you! Like I said before, to get rid of you!"

"WHY?!"

"Because you're different than the others! You can't be brainwashed like them and they think that if they can't turn you, and if you can't go to their side willingly, then you are a threat and you'll have to be put down like a wild animal!" Axe shouted, "Listen to me, Kairi, they are lying! They plan to kill you!"

The inside of the cell went quiet and once again, the two of them stared at each other.

Kairi shook her head and made her way for the door, "I have been a loyal servant to God, just like Gabriel and Father Anderson. They wouldn't commit such a sin,"

"Kairi-,"

"I've had enough of your lies," Kairi turned and pulled the door open, "I hope God has mercy on you, Axe...I really hope he does,"

The door slammed shut, leaving Axe alone in the dark cell.

"...well, this sucks," Axe plopped down into a cross-legged position and easily broke free of his chains, "Gotta think about how to proceed, otherwise I'm gonna have some messy times ahead of me. C'mon, Axe, what would Rayo do?"

A heavy thunderstorm rolled above the church, creating thunderclaps that echoed around the large church as sheets of rain splattered against the windows. Kairi closed her window in time and wrapped a shawl around her shoulders, "A nasty one tonight,"

She looked to the chest where she kept her armor, then left her room to wander the halls of the church, the shawl wrapped tightly around her body to keep out the cold air coming through the old building.

I still can't believe that Axe would try and kill me! I have done nothing but be kind to him ever since he arrived at the church with the donation box, and he tries to send people to kill me... she sighed, I hope you get the help you need, Axe, I really do.

After walking around a bit, Kairi found herself standing outside the main hall. She slipped into the room to see Father Anderson standing behind a podium, looking out at a large congregation of people who had come out of the storm to gather for the evening mass.

The preacher held up his hands, telling his followers to quiet down.

"God has spoken to me, my children...," he began in a loud voice that seemed to drown out the rain and thunder from outside, "He has told me that there is a danger on this island, and that we must confront it before we are to be safe!"

The people gathered in the hall murmured amongst themselves, but Anderson signaled for them to quiet down again.

"I assure you, my children, we have nothing to fear," he said assuringly, "We have the strength to fight whatever evil comes towards us, and we also have blessings from God Himself. The only thing we have to worry about is being tempted by evil to turn against God and to fight for their cause,"

Kairi leaned against a pillar, Sure does like to give it a theatrical touch. No harm in that, I suppose...keeps people from falling asleep, though.

"Psst, Kairi!"

She turned to see Gabriel walking up to her briskly, looking upset about something.

"Gabriel, what's going-?" she was cut off and dragged outside of the hall, "What are you doing?"

"It's that Axe kid," Gabriel hissed as he pulled her rapier out from behind him, "He's broken loose! I went to get you, but you weren't in your room, so I brought your sword,"

Kairi looked back into the hall, "What if people see-?"

"They won't, Father Anderson's sermon will keep them occupied! You have to find him and bring him back before he can do anymore damage with his Templars!"

"Well, yeah, I know, but how did he break loose?"

Gabriel sighed, "I guess the chains weren't tight enough. He slipped out of them. If you want, you can go look at the cell for yourself. I'm gonna tell Father Anderson what's going on and he'll think of something to do otherwise," he grabbed Kairi's shoulders, "Don't worry about getting your armor, Kairi, just go and find him before it's too late!"

Kairi looked at him for a few moments, the nodded and slipped her sword under her clothes, hiding it in plain view, "I'm on it, Gabriel,"

"Good luck, Kairi,"

"You too. I'll check back with you guys after I check out the cell,"

With that, Kairi took off towards the stairwell that led downstairs. Gabriel smiled and slipped into the hall.

Showtime...

Kairi stood outside the cell, which had the door broken off it's hinges and a large hole in the wall where the chains were once connected. She shook her head as she looked at the damage.

"Just what do you hope to accomplish, Axe?" she murmured, "Why must you go through all this? Is this part of your plan to become a treasure hunter? Are you willing to spill blood to achieve that dream? Why can't it be a blood-less dream...like my own?"

He may want to be the World's Greatest Treasure Hunter, but I want something that's more valuable to the world than treasure. I want to see the end of senseless killing of all people in this world... she picked up the chains with her rapier, That's a far greater treasure than gold and what not.

Realizing there was nothing left to see here, Kairi sighed and headed back to the upper level where the hall was. When she got back inside, she saw that everyone but Gabriel and Father Anderson had left the church. The two members of the church were standing at the podium.

"Where'd everybody go?" she asked, walking up to them.

Anderson smiled, "I sent them home to be safe. Gabriel told me what has happened and I had to stretch the truth a bit before we go looking for him. He's a dangerous man, and if he's still around here, we must be cautious. We do not want innocent people getting hurt,"

"It seems that you're stretching the truth again, preacher man,"

The three of them turned to see Axe standing in the middle of the hall, looking very calm. Gabriel and Kairi went on the defensive while Anderson kept that smile on his face.

"What are you talking about, my son?"

"Shove it, I know what you did," Axe snapped, glaring at him, "I still don't know how you're controlling people like you do, but after I kick your ass-,"

"You take one step towards Father Anderson and I will have no choice but to stop you," Kairi cut him off, raising her rapier, "You've seen me fight, Axe, you won't have an easy time with me!"

"I'd rather not fight you, Kairi," Axe shook his head, "Just that freak of a priest behind you,"

Anderson sighed and shook his head, "Do you see Kairi? Do you see the hate he bears towards the innocent?"

"I don't bear hate towards the innocent, just the assholes who use others," Axe glared at him, "Kairi, he didn't send those people away to be safe, he sent them away to hunt me down in the city. I was hiding up there in the rafters," he pointed at the ceiling, which was hidden by the darkness, "...and while you were downstairs, they kind of went into a trance and left the church like a group of good little soldiers. They're outside now, combing the area for me so Anderson can have me taken care of,"

"Why do you say such lies?!" Kairi demanded, "Ever since you got here, we've done nothing but be kind to you and help you in any way possible, and this is how you repay us? By trying to kill me and frame Father Anderson?!"

"I'm not trying to frame him," Axe reached into his pocket and pulled out the wanted posters from before, "Preacher, if you don't want people to see these, you should burn them," he threw them onto the ground and Kairi glanced at them, "They're pirates, Kairi,"

Kairi looked at the posters, then turned and looked at the two men behind them, "Father...Gabriel...?"

"That is half true," Anderson sighed sadly, "We were pirates, many years ago, Kairi, but we found God and in an attempt to redeem ourselves, we serve Him now. I'm sorry we kept this from you, but we feared that you would be scared and hate us,"

She looked back at Axe, "You think this will work, Axe? You really think that lies and deceit will turn me away from the men who follow the same God as me?"

Dammit, this is harder than I thought... Axe grit his teeth. He was about to say something, when he noticed something else: a dark smudge on Gabriel's hand.

"Tell me something, Kairi," Axe cleared his throat, "Are members of the church allowed to carry weapons? I mean, aside from the Holy Knight at her sword?"

"No...members of the church don't carry weapons of any kind. We are people of the cloth, so we hardly have any need from weapons,"

"Aside from your alter ego, though, right?"

"Yes, but...," she shook her head, looking confused, "I don't understand,"

"If you guys don't carry weapons," Axe pointed to Gabriel, "Why does he have traces of gunfire on his hand?"

Gabriel looked down at his hand and cursed quietly when he saw the dark smudges. He looked up at Kairi, who was still confused, "Uh...,"

"Gabriel...?"

"He was the one who shot your helmet off in an attempt to assassinate you," Axe deduced in a firm voice, "That's gunpowder residue on his hand!"

Gabriel glared at him, "Oh, just how would you know?" he challenged.

"When you live on an island where Marines shot guns alot, you tend to learn some stuff about fire-arms, even if you don't use them," Axe said with a grin slowly crossing his face, "Busted, dude!"

Kairi began to back away from the two men, but kept her distance from Axe as well.

"Kairi, you must understand, it is all for the good of mankind," Anderson said softly, looking unphased, "It is God's will. Some sacrifices must be made,"

"What kind of God asks for people to be murdered in cold blood?!" Axe snapped, "Kairi has been working as the protector of this island, and she is devout to her God, but you want to kill her off in order to make things good for mankind!"

"Some sacrifices-,"

"Blood sacrifices?!"

"I don't expect an outsider to understand-,"

"And because of that, you brainwash everyone who doesn't see your way of thinking!"

"STOP IT! JUST STOP IT!!" Kairi screamed, holding her head, "EVERYONE JUST SHUT UP, PLEASE!!"

Axe looked to the confused girl, "What do you believe, Kairi? Your heart or his words?!"

Thunder boomed outside and a flash of lightning illuminated the darkness in the large church as they waited for her answer. During that time, a loud banging was heard outside the main door, which wasn't too far away.

Anderson smiled, "You may be intelligent boy, but you are not as intelligent as me,"

Axe scowled, "What do you mean?"

"I had a hunch that you'd stick around, so I told my congregation to leave the church for a few minutes and if I didn't make any sign for them to come in, they were to come back,"

"No, you didn't. I was there, watching you the whole time ever since I busted out, you didn't tell them to come back!"

The former pirate chuckled, "There are more ways to communicate than just speech, lad. It doesn't matter if you know how I did it, the important thing is...," he trailed off as the hall's door burst open and a very large number of people marched into the hall, surrounding Axe, "...that they're here,"

Axe looked around. Men, women, children...even what looked like the police and Marine forces from before were armed with various weapons, most of them with a blank look in their eyes.

Okay...not good... he looked back at Kairi, "What do you say, Lumina? What do you believe?!"

Anderson and Gabriel turned to look and watched as Kairi slowly made her way through the crowd, holding her rapier close to her. She passed through the crowd and stopp just a foot away from Axe.

That's it, Kairi. Cut him down! Kill him in God's name, he's unarmed! I have his weapon in my room, he can't defend himself!

"My choice is to stand with God,"

Those words made Anderson break out into a smile and the former pirate began to clap, "Wonderful news, Kairi, I knew you'd see the light. Now, you need to-,"

"Shut up,"

Anderson paused, "...beg your pardon?"

Kairi's shoulders heaved, "I said I would stand with God. I am devout to him and I heed his teachings," she turned around and raised her rapier, a determined look on her face, "As the Holy Knight of Sanctus Island, I vow to the Lord Almighty that I will purify this island of the evil that plagues it. That means you two are enemies, and that this boy," she jerked her head to Axe, "...is my ally,"

Axe grinned, "About damn time," he muttered.

Kairi glanced at him, "Don't curse in church,"

"Do you really think that's important right now?" he hissed, pointing to the large number of armed people around them, "Huh?"

Kairi rolled her eyes and looked at the group as well as the two main enemies that stood in the back, "Well, what do we do now?"

"We play a little game called 'Everyone's a brainwashed psychopath except you and me', and the way to win the game is to stay alive long enough to kick a certain preacher's ass,"

"Any idea how we're gonna get out of this group though? They have us surrounded and I know these people, so I'd rather not hurt them,"

"That may have to happen whether you want it to or not,"

"In that case...," Kairi took a deep breath and took a stance, "Let's do it!"

At that moment, Gabriel began to back away.

Anderson looked at him, "There's no need to run, Gabriel. This will be over shortly,"

"But-,"

"Kairi may be strong, and the boy may be strong as well in order to carry that weapon, but these are innocent people, and most people won't harm a single hair on their heads, even if it is to-,"

He was cut off as Axe let out a battle-cry and began to plow right through the crowd, sending a decent number of brainwashed crazy people flying into the air.

"...that boy is getting on my nerves,"

Kilnorc: YEEHAW! Let the fighting begin!

On the next chapter of Origin...

Kairi: I thought you weren't going to hurt them that much!!

Axe: I don't know my own strength, so sue me!

Gabriel: I'm sorry that it had to be like this, Kairi. Despite our ages, I really liked you.

Kairi: I won't kill you...I can't!

Saints and Sinners

Gabriel: Now, you shall see how I earned my nickname...