Disclaimer: I own nothing except my three OCs, whose backgrounds are heavily influenced by Sylvia Engdahl's novel Enchantress from the Stars. Anything you recognize is from the Trinity Blood manga, by Kiyo Kyujyo, or the novels, by Sunao Yoshida.

Chapter 6

One would think that upon waking up in a strange place a person's first words would be something along the lines of "What happened? Where am I?" Not so for Abel Nightroad. His first word upon waking in Matxin's hotel room was a murmured "Lilith?"

"Here I am." Syeria pounced on the chance, and Abel responded by bolting upright and practically screaming, "What!"

"Well, it's actually Lili, but I was such trouble growing up my parents nicknamed me after a demon. Personally, I like it better than my real name." Syeira stated in a matter of fact tone. "That's why when I heard you say 'Lilith' at the café I thought you might be speaking to me. I'm sorry I surprised you so much." Matxin jumped in to the one-sided conversation. "Because we were the cause of your trouble, we brought you back to our hotel to recover. I'm Mat by the way." He held out his hand for the priest to shake. Abel took it weakly. He was overwhelmed by the two strangers. "I don't suppose you have any tea, do you?" Abel asked in a thin voice. Matxin took pity on the priest and answered, "Of course we do. How do you like it?"

"Milk tea with thirteen sugars, please!" Abel brightened considerably at the thought of his (second) favorite beverage. He smiled at Matxin, "Thank you!"

"Anything we can do for you is our pleasure," said Syeira. At the same time she sent to Matxin The nanomachines are in my bag. Put them in his tea. Matxin nodded imperceptibly at her before exiting the room, leaving Syeira and Abel alone.

They sat in uncomfortable silence. Syeira was the one to break it, shyly asking, "What's your name, Father?" She already knew the answer, but for her plan to work Abel needed to have a certain impression of her. He answered as she knew he would, "I'm Abel Nightroad," and this time there was only a brief silence before her next question, "Father, what do you do?"

"I'm just your average traveling priest, here in Rome to report to my superior."

"If you don't mind me saying so Father, I was unaware traveling priests carried guns and silver bullets." Abel was silent. Should he tell this girl about AX? That he was an agent from the department of Foreign Affairs wasn't a secret, but it wasn't common knowledge either. Syeira sensed his indecision. She already knew exactly what he did from her trip through the Vatican personnel files, but thought it might be a good way to guide the conversation. Apparently not. "I'm sorry Father, you don't have to tell me. It was just curiosity on my part." She did her best to appear downhearted. It must have worked, because Abel said, "No, it's alright. I was just thinking how to phrase my words, is all. I work for the Department of Foreign Affairs, which means I do a lot of traveling in dangerous country."

"Methuselah country, you mean." Abel was startled by Syeira's words. Never in Rome and rarely elsewhere had he encountered a Terran who called vampires by their preferred name. The silence returned.

Matxin broke it by returning with a pot of tea, three cups, and, of course, an overflowing bowl of sugar cubes. He looked around the room as if bewildered by the silence, but sent to Syeira How's it going?

I confronted him about the silver bullets, he told me about Foreign Affairs, and I used the word Methuselah. It's your turn now. Out loud, Matxin said, "Is something wrong?" Syeira replied before Abel. "Just me being my usual tactless self. I'll leave, so you and Father Nightroad can enjoy your tea." And she did so.

Matxin sighed and set the tea down on the bedside table. He pulled up a chair so he could sit near Abel, who was still on the bed. "I'm sorry Father for anything Lili said. She's a very earnest person, and often forgets to take the opinions or feelings of others into consideration. Please accept my apology on her behalf."

"Oh no, she didn't say anything to offend me. I was simply surprised. It's not often that a person in Rome uses the word Methuselah."

"Is that the case? Lilith was very upset when she saw that you carried silver bullets. She's an advocate for peace between Terran and Methuselah. That's what we're doing in Rome, you see. Lilith studies the Bible and hoped that she might join the Church and work toward human peace, but she insisted on seeing what the climate was in Rome before she devoted herself."

"Why did she not take her vows at your local church and work from there? Why travel all this way? That is I assume you must have come far as the style of your clothing is unfamiliar to me." Matxin nodded at the priest's words and sipped his tea in what he hoped was a contemplative manner. Syeira was the actress of the group, not him or Zera. They were picked for their natural ease with strangers and charisma. He set down his tea and leaned forward. "Can I ask you to keep a secret Father? Will you swear it in the name of God?" Abel, intrigued by this question, replied affirmatively. Matxin smiled and told the priest, "Lilith and I are from the New Human Empire." Abel nearly choked on his tea. "Lilith loves to travel, but seeing the racism outside of the Empire hurts her. As the Vatican is the center of this problem, she hoped to become a nun and change people's minds. However, the idea of carrying silver bullets is extremely repellent to her."

"I understand now." Matxin was unsure if Abel was referring to what he'd said about the silver bullets or something else. His distant tone made Matxin think it was the latter, and he sent out a gentle telepathic probe. An image of an elegant woman with his own coloring as well as that of a black haired, green eyed girl came into his mind. Abel was thinking how ironic and strangely fitting it was that the Lilith of this generation came from Seth's Empire. Inside, Matxin smiled. He sent to Syeira He thinks of you as the Lillith of this generation. I suspect he'll try to recruit you, if only to keep you close. He felt a faint sense of approval in her reply, I'll come back then. From Syeira, that was as good as a Congratulations, you've done well.

She entered the room a few moments later, and Matxin greeted her out loud, "Ah, Lilith. Come have some tea with us." Abel, so lost in thought he hadn't noticed her entrance looked up at Matxin's words and added his own. "Yes, do come in. I think we have quite a bit to talk about."

"Shall we start over? Hello Father, it's a pleasure to meet you. My name is Lilith and this is my friend Mat."

"The pleasure is all mine. My name is Father Abel Nightroad of the Vatican's Papal State Affairs Special Operations Section, also known as AX. Mat told me you were thinking of becoming a nun. I believe you would do well in AX."

"Surely Father Mat has also told you why it would be impossible for me to become a nun, never mind a member of a special section?"

"He's told me that the two of you are from the Empire, and that you object to the violence between vampires- excuse me, Methuselah, and Terrans. But I don't see why that means you can't join." Abel had a smile on his face, and Syeira wore a look of consternation. Matxin had to admire her acting skills. Inside, he bet she was laughing at how completely the priest had fallen for their plan. There was no laughter in her voice when she asked Abel, "Father Nightroad, please explain."

"You come from the Empire, so you have plenty of travel experience. You're also bilingual, which is always useful. Objecting to violence isn't a bad trait. In fact, I would say it's a good one. We of the AX must always try to find a peaceful solution to conflicts-bloodshed and destruction is the job of the Inquisition. Having lived in the Empire, you'll be able to relate to both races with ease, and you won't be biased. So where's the problem?" Syeira chewed her lip thoughtfully. "What would I have to do? I mean, isn't there some kind of training?"

"Yes, there is an intensive training program. You'd spend months studying armed and unarmed combat, languages, politics, and Lost Technology as well the studies of a normal nun. The only day you'd have off would be Sunday, and you would be required to attend mass." Abel seemed reluctant to say this, as if he didn't want to scare 'Lilith' away. Syeira noticed, and said, "That's quite a lot." Abel was quick to reassure her. "Yes, but don't worry. You won't be alone. There's a girl named Esther also trying to become an AX agent. She's been training for a month now and she's only seventeen. Besides," he smiled softly, "I have faith in you."

"Alright, Father, tell me where to sign up." Abel was dumbstruck. "Really? You'll do it?"

"Of course she will," Matxin interjected. "In all the time I've known her Lilith has never been able to back down from a challenge, and you've just given her the biggest one of her life." Syeira mock-glared and Abe smiled before asking, "How do you two know each other?" Syeira answered, for the first time with real emotion in her voice. "We're in-laws," she said sadly. "I'm his older brother's widow." Abel looked shocked. He took a moment to compose himself before murmuring condolences. "Don't be sorry Father Nightroad, you had nothing to do with it," both Syeira and Matxin said at the same time. Syeria continued, but Matxin had stopped paying attention. He was wondering if this assignment might yet bring happiness to Syeira, as it had for Zera and himself.