Castlevania: Aria of the Ascending Soul
Written By: Lady Lunar Phoenix
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"How can they be a priest though?" Kazu asked as the tray filled with light snacks was placed on the table. "They have clearly sinned, how can the church not push them out on principle?"
"Well, given what we've been told, the Thrall were turned not out of ill intent. Perhaps in ignorance at best, but it was not forced upon them." Trevor explained as a children's choir began playing on the phone. Making the hunter sit as the first sensation of a sneeze started building...
"Honestly, no manners." Leon chided Trevor before he hopped down from the table and began fussing his way out of his clothes.
Mina was left a little confused by the broken parts of the conversation before she began passing out various plates with sliced fruits resting on them. "How is everything in the church though? Leon spoke of the children, and the city must be so unsettled."
"Simon called, the children are broken, so much so that they weren't scared of Simon or Christopher post sneeze," Trevor reported through Kazu. "Unfortunately they discovered the source of 'food' for Dionysus. They were murdering children and hiding the bodies in a building intended as a guest house. The children's information can't be found, they are dressed as though they come from an orphanage disappearing, so they're trying to find a fraud funded orphanage as a possibility."
"What of the street urchins?" Leon struggled out.
Trevor had just got a slice of sweet Asian pear in his mouth when he heard that question, causing his ears to sink down in shame.
"Ah... the Pope has made inquires, so say your kin. However; the government is unconcerned. Children who live on the street do not contribute to the nation therefore..." Kazu lowered his head in shame seeing Leon sit straight up, his frown deep and his gaze hardening.
"That's horrible, he must feel so alone, that he alone is the only one who truly cares his flock." Mina noted, "they should respect that, these are still people. I mean how old is considered a 'child'?" Mina asked.
"No one knows yet, there were a great deal of bodies. But the question now is, the person is a priest, what good does it do?" Kazu asked getting this baffled look from Leon across the way.
"Punish him?" Leon replied, raising a paw as a human would to express his point.
"I wish that was the case, but the Catholic church is rather notorious for never facing punishment for their crimes. Their philosophy is to forgive, transfer and forget..." Kazu explained causing the esteemed lion to close his eyes slowly and take a deep... calming breath...
"I can see that problem too, people are already angry. The priest might get protection, but what of his brothers and sisters who are in unsafe areas or unprotected? Innocent people will be punished for his crime, and he's hurt a lot of people already. Its not as though he cares if a few more get hurt in the process." Mina noted turning her gaze half expectantly towards Soma.
Only he wasn't moving, even his chest was still for all the world he could have been viewed as dead. Yet fear wasn't the first emotion Mina felt, or even serious concern. Instead she moved over to him and began adjusting him so he could sleep more peacefully. Which was when it hit her that she was doing that exact thing.
"It doesn't even register, he's not breathing and yet I'm not assuming he's dead. What's wrong with me..." his skin was cool to the touch, but hers didn't crawl at that fact. 'Have I lost my humanity... am I numb to this?'
Leon stood up and paced his way easily over to her and settled next to her, his warmth and fur by her side. "Nothing, he is. What he is. You are a kind soul. Accepting him as he is."
"He's right Mina, and he's doing so much better. Now that the ring is gone that evil has left his soul..." Kazu pointed out easily enough, but there was something about the way everyone just stopped and stared at him. Every pair of eyes save Mina's were surprised, with only the sound of the video he had been playing and the discreet gulp of the pear slice that Trevor had ingested.
"You realize he's the 'Lord of Evil' for a reason right?" Trevor asked as his tongue did happy flops over the taste of the pear.
"I mean he's not the root cause of what is going on is he?" Kazu countered, while Leon pressed a thoughtful paw to his jaw.
"The ring... was evil yet bestowed. By a Pope...?" Leon inquired, his brows furrowing and bringing down his mane in the process.
"Yes, and when you point it out that does sound even worse." Kazu agreed while Mina began peeling a red apple.
"Well, then it kind of sits on those who would have access to that ring right?" She asked looking up, "I don't know Catholic rules or regulations, but I know when I perform rites or rituals I only have access to certain items. The full priests have access to the more important items, it should be the same. A ring strong enough to seal away Soma's power would have to be high enough that only a select few of priests should have access to it. After all, a low ranking Thrall can't just walk in and touch it right?"
That earned a stunned expression from Trevor, pricking up both his ears and dropping his cheeks down so he looked like a thoughtful canine and not someone begging for begging strips.
"It... would make sense..." Leon began, "did Mathias not wound one as well?"
"Mina's right about the rank thing, but the higher the rank the more perilous this becomes because again the perceptions of the Church. A vampire in the Church? We still have a would be vampire pope in the Church, even if we extract him and hide him. We still have a 'vampire who actively brought harm on others' in the church as a high ranking official." Trevor snagged a slice of apple before he laid down Spinx style. "And the cherry on top is that the Catholic church doesn't really punish its own criminals in the Vatican. So even if the person is found and outed, he's not going to be dealt with by the church. What with the 'we follow the path of forgiveness' theme, even if the rest of the world demands justice."
"The church. Does not punish?" Leon asked, his voice low and a measure of displeasure clear in it. "The church burned women. But what is it they do not punish. Now?"
Kazu found himself anxiously hoping Soma would 'not' wake up to answer that question. Realizing as he sat there that Leon 'had' been making massive headway in learning about the history of the world. He had heard about Leon's outrage at the murder of the children in the Vatican during that night. Inciting the lion into going 'back' to do some 'divine justice' on his own was not something he wanted to happen.
Yet Leon was clearly waiting for an answer, the way he began looking from face to face, studying them with expectation. Only to find no one would look at him, gazes dodged and his irritation began to cause his tail to swish. "There is. An obligation to protect the flock. The church does not do this? The church protects. The corrupt?!"
"Well to be fair, no single church is as big as the Catholic Church so, a lot of the governments can crack down if necessary. But well, its the Catholic Church and its Italy they're... uh..."
Kazu began to flounder, turning his gaze from Leon's unmoved stare to the more comforting gaze of Trevor.
"With all due respect, Leon. This isn't our points in time, and we Belmonts are not known as men of power or recognition. Its not as though we can just tear into the church, pull the priest in question and hold a public or even private execution. The people will want blood, and we can't give them that. We have to hold ourselves to a higher standard. Otherwise they won't stop. The men of this age are highly suppressed, they've lost what gives them pride or confidence. Living off of scraps of praise if they're given a target to hate that they can bodily go after, they won't stop. We're dealing with a vampire, what happens when they find out about Dionysus? Or any of the other monsters of the world? This world has the means now to self eradicate and we can't give the people a reason to press that button."
"Governments are not run by people of virtue, they are run by people with the money to buy their votes. Anyone at any time could trace back and use the fear of these days to sway people to join them," Mina added after Kazu translated Trevor's dog speak for her.
Leon turned his head to study Mathias's slumbering form, greatly displeased at both how Mathias probably could solve this so easily, and that it had to be 'solved' at all. "He recognized the cult activity. He knows..."
"So why not tell anyone?" Trevor asked as he finished his plate of snacks.
"Knowing who causes this changes nothing really," Kazu pointed out. "The issue is that even if you find the person in question, what can you do with them? You've already listed all the reasons why it might not be possible to deal with them at all."
"Well I mean we could just assassinate the person in question and let them be 'gracefully retired' officially by the church." Trevor suggested off the top of his head, though it was an idea he was warming up to. "Actually why not? We know its not His Holiness, why not, with his blessing of course, we just find, and tow the fool to the castle?"
"Murder?" Mina squeaked out mortified, while Leon stiffened in a state of mortification, even as its viable option played out in his mind.
"Execution." Leon corrected, "Cults murdered many. Cult and Church? Crimes are too great."
"And the idea that the vampire was actively trying to turn the Church structure itself into another Castle..." Trevor added. "Should we notify the kin still 'in' the Castle?"
"I wouldn't, it involves talking and Simon wasn't thrilled about the idea that there were spies and we know what they were now. Thralls. No one can hear them, but if some of the Thralls hear us talking to your kin. Remember the phone doesn't like communicating with anyone 'in' the church." Kazu pointed out.
The noise would get attention, and the Belmonts didn't need food. Well they could eat 'now' but taking three dogs and two very big 'bears' and one lion out to a cafe was a no go.
"There is the kin that went to the Castle..." Trevor suggested after a large pause. "Though the Freelance went back to their respective territories, maybe they saw something? Hell Sam fought Michael, he might have seen something."
Leon nodded finally, "yes, contact them. They are kin, too. Should be involved in this."
"Yes, of course..." Kazu slowly said before giving this awkward smile. "I'll text the request to my sister. I... don't have any of their numbers..."
"Phone has all numbers?" Leon replied confused as everyone turned to look at him before Trevor slowly began giving a canine grin.
"Well yes, but that doesn't mean we have access to 'every' number." Trevor pointed out before he began giving a slightly better explanation of how phones worked. While outside's evening became true night.
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"So how its been in Texas?" Alex asked, as he and his sister sat Facetiming Sam, the background one of a typical European kitchen.
"Everything is big in Texas!" Sam replied. "People using that attack to cause nothing but hate crimes. Its just being used for hate mongering. Hate the Mexicans, hate the Left, hate Women, hate the Catholics. Its just another day of pure hate here, some states are raging we've had protests in the streets and way too many riots. Others are tilting fast towards it due to the lack of quality information. Though honestly I don't see how more information would appease the masses." He reclined on his couch with his laptop on the right of him, and several stacks of medical reports on what those angels had done to him on the left.
"Its not great here either, the churches are suffering and in turn the Dark Children who were hiding among them." Alexis agreed as she rested her head on her twins' shoulder. "But at least they go for the larger churches, the smaller ones with more personable priests have been spared the greater acts of aggression."
"Have you got any information on that supposed 'Hunter Club'?" Alex asked as the tea pot began whistling. His sister went to make them a drink while he waited only Sam didn't look like he had much to offer.
"Max is looking into it sure, its looking kind of good honestly, because everyone is more fixated on the cults. Those that could be rescued are... 'Interesting' to say the least." Sam replied with a twist of the lips that was neither a frown or a smile. "I can't wrap my head around how people can be so stupid. Believing that they're going to move into a 'magical castle that will take care of them forever and always'."
"What?" Alexis could be heard sputtering that out in disbelief as she stood there in their kitchen, pot in one hand tray before her with one cup pleasantly full of fresh brewed tea. "Did they go mad? When I was approached it was 'we're going to take over a magical castle and make it our sanctuary!"
"Well with the government cataloging everyone's abilities, Max and I figured wait a bit and our fire friend will show up and we can start tracing from there." Sam recounted, his memory playing back those reports and the current list of people. There were shape shifters, healers, the whole list and he could see how the government would see to using those people as well.
A regular Suicide Squad.
"Then there's Reba, Francine is dead but Reba is still there and we haven't received word on what to do about her from our higher ups." Sam added with a sigh, "kinda don't want to ask given she seems to be in the same boat as 'clueless and desperate to get out'. Her name is on the reports and its not pleasant. Her parents are in 'another' cult if you can believe that, she escaped to this one and likely her parents will want her back in 'their' cult."
The twins exchanged looks before Alex sighed. "Alexis sister? Can we join a cult? They sound absolutely marvelous and in fact all the current rage."
"Why certainly brother dearest! I'm simply dying to try one of those posh cults, there's this family I'd love to join. You get a free lobotomy!"
Sam groaned as he pulled the phone away at the twins way of 'having fun' or whatever it was that they considered it.
"Well Soma is free from the ring right? So what happens now regarding him? They're technically 'his' department, he should be able to get them to spill more of the beans than they are." Sam asked pulling the pair's attention back onto him.
Alex finished his sip, his expression thoughtful, while his twin answered.
"He's not going to be well enough for a while. I was with our Lord when the ring was removed, and Soma was more inclined to sleep than get up and 'do' anything. His arm didn't instantly heal either, his arm and hand were still blacken like he got it burned badly." She recounted, "as far as I know he's resumed school as well and he likely too exhausted to ask or enforce anything."
"Leaving the matter with his son, so do we hope that our Lord would be willing to step in and allow these interrogations? He doesn't seem thrilled when required to do anything that steps away from his duties dealing with subduing his father." Alex added as he gave his sister the phone so he could rest his hand.
"He... has emotions? Did I miss something? Was there a meeting to discuss the idea of your Lord having a personality?" Sam asked, because snotty Brit deserved uneducated hillbilly ignorance.
"We're not right," Alex sighed.
"But that's ok." Alexis joined in.
"We also need to figure out how deep the corruption lies in the Vatican as a structure. Some houses have been known to become haunted after being exposed to the Arts after all..." Alex noted thoughtfully.