Disclaimer: If you've read this far, you'll know that I don't own Trinity Blood.

Chapter 16 – One Crazy Summer

A middle-aged man wearing priestly vestments sat in a small office in Rome. He puffed on a pipe that filled the room with smoke and idly twirled a red pen in his right hand. With said pen he'd occasionally write on a paper from the huge stack in front of him. People who knew this man, William Walter Wordsworth, would tell anyone who asked that this was normal behavior for the priest, an AX agent codenamed 'Professor'. Though they might find the conversation he appeared to be having with himself a bit odd, even as eccentric as he was. "Is that so," William said, "An envoy from the Department of Inquisition, hmmm… How embarrassing. I would like to get out of my orders here, too, but… Yes, it's mostly paperwork, and in between I'm grading university papers. Really, students nowadays…"

Far away from the center of the Vatican's power, in the Vatican embassy of the free city of Carthage, a beautiful blonde woman sat at a mirror, expertly painting her lips. Through the miracle of lost technology restored, she was able to hear her subordinate's every word. "I'd love to run over right now and fix Tres' optical sensors, but…"

"That's fine, Professor," Cardinal Caterina Sforza said. In one dramatic movement she stood, red robes swishing as she placed one hand on her hip and proclaimed, "Father Tres' battle plan is perfect." Back in Rome, Father Wordsworth removed his reading glasses as she continued, "You needn't worry Professor. Continue with your current orders."

"… Really. The young ones of AX are always so rash."

" It is true. It is suitable. Most of AX's orders are rash and illegal, so…" The priest frowned as he heard her answer, and began folding an unlucky student's report into a paper plane. "As are you, Your Grace. What time is it? Your health isn't at its peak, and I know you haven't been resting lately." The Duchess smiled. "You chide me? How many all-nighters have you pulled this week alone?"

" Tonight is the third."

"It will begin to affect your health, also."

"… Truly. I'm at the age where merely sitting down triggers a muscle spasm. But! We find ourselves in a dangerous situation. It would be… problematic if our fellow clergy found out about the messenger. But on top of that, if Father Tres' plan should fail…" he pulled back his arm to launch the completed paper airplane, and threw. It hit the wall a fell with a dented tip. "… After all… It will mean your end as well."

"I know," stated Caterina, unfazed.

"Come to think of it, Your Grace, Abel is with the messenger, isn't he? Which means we still have our wildcard."

"Father Nightroad will not use that power."

"Hmm… is that so? Sister Esther's also with them, isn't she? As is the new agent… you called her Demon, correct?"

"Yes. We must make sure that the knowledge of that power is limited only to members of the AX. Demon shouldn't be a problem… at least in that respect." The Professor noted the last part of his superior's sentence, but instead of commenting on it, he said, "Hmm… I see, Your Grace. If the circumstances warrant it, then… for them… he will probably activate the Crusnik. Regardless of the secondary consequences. I can't relate, but from what I've observed, that's the kind of man he is." Caterina did not answer immediately. She was lost in the past.

A tall man with long silver hair, splattered with blood, and dressed in rags stood before a young girl with short blonde curls. "I must protect humans. So I will save you."

"That's true," said the young woman with long blonde curls. "Abel will protect humans."

Men from the Department of Inquisition surrounded the flipped car, holding their weapons ready to fire. Their Bureau Director approached the vehicle, clad in his impenetrable armor. "So we meet again, heretics! I've finally cornered you, you cunning vampire!" He reached toward Esther with a fanatical gleam in his eyes. It disappeared when he pulled her from the wreckage by the collar of her habit and saw her clearly. "Hmm? This is the girl from the underground harbor. You are the sister the reports describe."

"You… the Department of Inquisition…" Esther murmured, nearly too nervous to speak. However, Brother Petros had been trained to utilize his senses to the fullest and heard her anyway. "That I am. I am Brother Petros. The Director of the Department of Inquisition! Keep that in mind as you answer. Why are you, a human, aiding a filthy vampire?" Esther closed her eyes to the sight of the man's angry face, of his men carrying silver chains to the car. 'All,' she thought, 'is now lost.' Then a new voice broke into their farce of a conversation.

"Could you please take your hands off her, Brother Petros?"

"Ooh. Father Nightroad. How difficult it must be for you to work while injured. You should be out cold in a hospital somewhere." Esther had opened her eyes when she heard the Father's voice. Now, she whispered, "Father? Injured?" and connected the dots between his strange behavior in the hotel bathroom and his pale and sweaty face. Her eyes widened, and she felt a wave of shame crash over her for her harsh words and thoughts. "You don't mean!" she exclaimed. The tide of guilt increased with Brother Petros' next words. "What? You didn't know, girl? That man's body is already in ruins. At our last unfortunate meeting, I made quite an impression on his internal organs. It's a miracle he can stand without assistance."

"You speak too freely. Kindly shut up and let go of that girl, Brother Petros!"

"For a dying man, that was quite fierce." The blue-haired man released his grip on Esther, who fell to the ground. "Splendid!" he cried, and began to move with unnatural speed. "I have much to ask you!"

Abel fired at the oncoming Inquisitor, thinking, 'At this rate-', only to have his bullets blocked by the man's 'Garb of the Lord'. "Lukewarm," commented Petros from behind his shields. 'At this rate-' the Screamer swung down and destroyed the concrete Abel had been standing on only moments before. 'It's no use. If I give my body over to them now… I…' Abel's train of thought trailed off as his mouth filled with blood. With a horrible hacking cough he expelled it, only to be caught by a blow from the Screamer and thrown semi-conscious into the air. "Weakness!" shouted the victorious Brother Petros. "Repent!" His last blow sent Abel crashing to the ground in a pool of his own blood.

"Father!" Esther screamed in horror. Petros paid her no attention. "Let sinners be consumed from the earth and let the wicked be no more. Bless the Lord, O my soul! 'Hallelujah!' Capture them! We must question them. Restrain the vampire with silver chains and inject him with holy water. Take care while arresting him. Make sure he does not die before the interrogation is over."

"Yes sir!" cried the men of the Bureau. One opened his mouth to ask about the fourth person in the car, but was cut off.

"No, actually. I'm going to have Ion die here." The area exploded in flames. The car went flying. "What?" one Inquisitor managed to say before he and the majority of his companions were annihilated. Petros echoed his sentiment. "What… What happened?" One of his remaining men pointed behind him, to the source of the explosions. "Bureau Director! That! That's…"

Stone crunched under the tracks of the lumbering machine. One of its cannons was smoking. Standing on the left-hand side of the tank was Radu Barvon. "This is a problem, Director of the Inquisition. Vampires must be slain properly."

"That's the Goliath!"

"Impossible! The Goliath was supposed to be at the airport!" The Inquisition men's shock was understandable. Goliath was their latest model tank, the most powerful of all their land weapons. It was controlled by an ancient relic, a computer.

But Esther Blanchett didn't know this. All she knew was that the traitorous nobleman who should have died stood before her, looking perfectly healthy. "Baron… Baron Luxor…"

"Hello… Sister. And good evening. About the other day… you must forgive me." Briefly returned to consciousness by his tovaras's voice, Ion murmured, "Ra… du…?" He was ignored. "You escaped them for three days, good for you! But aren't you all tired of having this useless rich boy hold you back?"

"Hold us back? You!" Esther was incensed, and wanted to shout more despite the little voice in the back of her mind telling her that scolding at an Ifrit controlling a tank was not a good idea. Then Petros found his voice.

"You are that Ifrit! Not once, but twice… My soldiers, how dare you!"

"Oh. I am not your opponent. You can fight this Goliath. Have fun," was Radu's nonchalant response. He tapped the tank with one foot and the right turret swung around towards Petros. "You… You hacked Goliath's computer?"

"B-bureau Director! Watch out!" shouted a man, before being blown to bits by the onslaught of bullets. Those standing near him suffered the same fate. Brother Petros, shielded by his armor, was covered in their blood. "N-no! Get back everyone… Ooh! Bellini! Saseta! Verrot! Kio! Curses! Damn you! My men! Unbelievable…" The Director was literally trembling with rage when he told a smiling Radu, "I won't stand for it! I'll get you back for this… Vampire!" At that hated word Radu lost his smile, and Petros jumped into action. With a massive swing of his Screamer, he attacked the tank, right where Radu was standing.

The remaining soldiers cheered. "Bureau Director! He did it!" Petros did not join in their celebration. Solemnly, he declared, "That flash just now – that was for my soldiers, vampire!" The scant remnants of what was once a mighty fighting force cried with relief and pride.

As the smoke cleared, there was no sign of Radu… on the Goliath. "Humph," came a voice from a nearby gaslight. "You crushed the right turret. Impressive. However, though I don't know how it works here, but in our Empire the winner of any battle is the last man standing on his own feet. You –" Petros' eyes bugged out as he whirled around, fear evident in his voice for the first time. "Damn! He used haste – "

" – you lose," finished Radu dramatically. As if he controlled the tank by thought alone, the massive main cannon swung down in time with his voice to face Petros, who muttered "Curses!"

He had no time to say anything else, for at that moment a great steam of fire spouted from Goliath's main cannon. Even Petros' illustrious armor could not protect him from such an attack. He was sent flying into the air, and landed hard on the street. One miraculously surviving soldier, regardless of his own safety, ran to his superior and tried to help him. He and his comrades were speaking, yelling, in desperate voices. Radu had heard their tone before, in humans desperately trying to face death bravely.

'I'll kill them later,' the Ifrit thought, fingering his cigarette. 'They are only Terran, their deaths will mean nothing. The only death with meaning…' Now his eyes strayed from the Inquisitors, to the priest, to… "Ion…".

The Earl of Memphis could have been sleeping peacefully, were it not for the blood – his own, and the Terrans' – staining his clothes. For a moment Radu wished he possessed a vial of poison, to avoid blackening such perfect features with flame. A miserable expression crossed his face, then it hardened once more. 'No, it must be fire. He is no different from the countless others I've burnt. He can't be.' A fireball formed in Radu's hand and in one elegant motion he hurled it towards his life-long companion.

The deadly projectile never reached its target. Esther knelt on the ground panting and trembling. In an angry tone that was more a statement than question she said, "You're – You are friends, aren't you?"

Radu narrowed his eyes. 'I never knew Terran women could be so difficult. The other had eyes like mine, and this one…' He vanished from the gaslight using haste, leaving behind the words, "You know, you remind me a bit of Ion." Reappearing in front of Esther, he wrapped his right hand around her throat and poised his left to conjure another fireball. The Methuselah noble continued, "The way you look me straight in the eye like that," 'with eyes so full of feeling' "I always hated that." Fire bloomed in his palm. "Die, worm."

Esther stared at the fire that would be her death, then shut her eyes and thought, 'This may be naïve… but I'm thinking I'm sure… I'm sure… "I'm sure he will protect me".'

Radu released the fireball, but before it could connect with its target a stream of crackling blue-white electricity intercepted it. "What?" he whispered, shocked. 'Horizontal lightning?'

Esther opened her eyes, automatically calling out "Father!" as she turned her head. What she saw stunned her.

Great wings, shaped like those of an angel, but black as the devil's heart, sprouted from the back of a creature with a crown of silver hair and blood red eyes.

"Nanomachine Crusnik 02. Loading. Limitation at 80%. Acknowledged."

A grin full of fangs could be seen as a massive pillar of lightning flowed from the creature toward the night sky.

Enthralled and horrified, neither Esther nor Radu noticed the slight movement in the rubble of the car.