Trinity Blood Fan Fiction ❯ Blood Sacrifice ❯ Chapter Eight ( Chapter 8 )

Chapter Eight

 

Jogging through the pouring rain towards Abel's last reported position, León tried several times to hail the priest, only to be continually met with silence. Though he had told Wordsworth that he had thought it had been the weather interfering with their communication devices, he couldn't shake the feeling that something else had happened to cause Abel not to respond. León was edging closer to the Methuselah part of the city, the streets just as deserted as they had been throughout his trek. Stopping on a corner for a moment, the brunette checked his bearings, looking for the building that matched the description that Abel had given him before setting off again.

 

 

Hidden in the shadows across the street, León studied the crumbling former church, the gray stone building dimly lit by a few street lights, their light feeble in the pouring rain. The building was set in a circular plaza, apart from the other dilapidated structures around it. The whole area seemed to exude an air of decay and neglect, something that León found odd, considering that most cities with large Methuselah populations were well kept and cared for.

León could see no lights from inside, or any signs of occupation, the church looking empty and abandoned from his vantage point. Before settling in his present position, he had made a circuit around the building looking for Abel, even trying to hail him once more. There was no sign of the man nor did he receive an answer, not that he had expected to by that point. Squatting in the rain isn't going to accomplish anything, he said to himself before he rose back up to his feet. Reaching into his robes, he pulled out his pistol and began to edge towards the building, keeping to the shadows for as long as he could before darting across the street.

 

 

The darkness receded slowly, loosening its hold on Abel reluctantly. He could still hear the rain outside, running down to gather in puddles on the floor, as it dripped through holes in the fragmented windows. He was also conscious of the presence of another and the rattle of chains as he tried to move. A spike of panic drew him closer to consciousness and he looked around. The room was dim, the priest looking down to find himself bound in heavy chains. He wondered how he had gotten there, and then remembered being drugged. The wound from the tiny dart still stung a bit, reaffirming he hadn't dreamt it.

Although his speed and strength were beyond that of a natural human, Abel still couldn't break the chains on his own, and he couldn't quite summon the concentration he needed to try and activate his nano-machines to escape. Then his thoughts turned to León, and Abel prayed silently that his friend was all right. He didn't have time for much else however, as unconsciousness stole over him once again.

How much time had passed before he woke again, Abel didn't know. But as he came to slowly, he realized that he felt more clear-headed than he had earlier, but not much. The rain hadn't lessened at all, and the man wondered how long he had been out altogether. The chamber was still dimly lit; and for the first time, he was aware enough to make out the huddled forms of several smaller figures nearby. "Hello?" he called out softly, his voice thick in his throat, likely a side-effect of the still dissipating tranquilizers.

The priest was met with the soft sound of crying, the figures edging away, closer to the wall at their backs. "It's all right." Abel said his tone softer now, the priest doing his best to be soothing. "I'm not going to hurt you." He looked down at the chains binding him. "I'm not really in a position to, after all."

After a few moments, one of the figures lifted its head and looked in the direction of the bound man. Abel could discern large liquid blue eyes under a mop of dark hair, the figure reaching up to rub at its eyes with a grubby hand. Abel tried to smile a bit, trying to catch the child's eyes with his. "Here now, no more tears...how did you come to be here, child?" He asked.

"A. . . a man...he brought me here..." the voice that answered the priest was female, and young.

"Did he say why?" Forcing himself to think, and to speak coherently gave Abel something to focus on, and he was grateful for it, not wanting to pass out again.

The girl shook her head. "I didn't want to...but -- but he made me..."

That makes no sense...why bring children here, of all places? "How many of you are there, hiding over there? This old priest can't see so well in this darkness."

"T-Three."

"Are all of you all right?" Abel asked, shifting a little to test his bindings.

The girl nodded in the affirmative.

"Good," Abel said with a tiny nod. "I don't suppose any of you would be able to come over here and untie me, would you?"

It was a long shot at best, but Abel didn't have many other options. Although his head was becoming decidedly clearer, with the children so close by, he didn't dare try to change. There was a rattle of chains as the girl shook her head. She and her companions, who were still huddled together, were all chained to the wall and held by shackles around their ankles. "That's all right," Abel said softly. "With any luck, someone should be looking for me, and there's a very good chance he'll find us soon. Then we can all leave together."

"P-Promise...?" One of the other children had raised their head, this one another girl but with golden blonde hair.

"I promise," Abel said, nodding and then stiffening a little, an uncomfortable prickle going down his spine as a faint ringing started in his ears. Oh God, no... He thought, his stomach sinking. Not now...

 

 

Carlina was feeling very smug indeed, Rey thought, watching his employer as she stared intently at a small, black and white monitor. Her eyes were glued to it in such a way as to suggest a cat watching a particularly tasty-looking mouse. And that kind of predatory look meant only one thing; she was using her device, likely on the strange priest they'd captured, and the Methuselah kids caught down there with him.

The man himself wasn't really all that strange. He didn't look like much, maybe a bit old for his age, with hair gone white far too soon for the seeming youth of his face. And he was certainly more of a bookworm than a fighter, as far as Rey could tell, from his fragile build right down to the spectacles on his face. It made Rey wonder just why the man was so damned important, or why Carlina thought he was such a threat that she'd had him tranquilized, and bound in the heaviest chains Rey could lay hands on.

Sighing, he turned his attention back to the window again. The room he and his employer were sitting in was on the second floor, the window giving a decent view of the stone courtyard outside, the only door in the room leading out onto a balcony that circled the circumference of the upper floor, but still gave a very clear view of the chapel below. He should know, after all. He'd been the one who'd spent the last few days hanging heavy floodlights at the corners of that balcony, and it hadn't escaped him just how easily he might have killed himself if he'd fallen. But he'd said nothing about it, though. He didn't want to chance getting fired.

Or worse.

Carlina had approached him not long after coming to Valentia, having contacted him through one of the many circuitous roads that led to the Hispanian black market. He'd done a lot of work in his time, everything from bouncer to bodyguard to sniper, and had developed something of a reputation for both his size and his sharp shooting abilities. And those were the tasks he'd been hired to do. What he hadn't expected was to become Carlina's personal go-fer. Nor had he expected to be ordered to capture Methuselah children.

The very thought of that made Rey a little ill. He had his doubts about using the girls at all. Methuselah or not, they were children. However, Carlina had been as adamant about him finding Methuselah for this experiment, or whatever the hell it was she was doing, as she had been about tying up the priest with chains. And it beat having to live with yet another church congregation's death on his hands.

He had helped Carlina set up her strange device, hidden in those damned heavy statues, as well as the cameras she'd insisted on adding, to be able to look over her handiwork later. All of this, she went about with a clinical detachment that would have been interesting, if she hadn't been using people as her lab rats. And when she'd started fixating on that priest after he showed up at both the churches, she'd shown Rey a side that was something a bit obsessive, perhaps even crazed.

And so here they were, sitting in a room, him watching for anyone who wasn't supposed to be around, Carlina with her eyes glued to that damned monitor. He had a bad feeling about this all the way around, and it was the kind of gut feeling you started getting after you'd been doing dangerous work long enough. It was the instinct that usually led him to get out while he could. This time, though, he just couldn't do that. He hadn't actually been paid yet. Carlina had promised him his fee only after her final experiment, which he was both guessing and praying would be this one, was completed. And the fee she'd agreed to pay was substantial enough that he didn't want to bail out on it now.

Rey's eyes scanned the courtyard as his mind wandered, but there wasn't much to see, especially in this storm. No plants grew in that stone expanse, the buildings all around them hunched like vagabonds trying to ward off the weather. And no Methuselah children, nor human children, played here anymore. Not since three of their playmates disappeared without a trace after wandering too close to the church. But it was no ghost that stole them away, only a man with a gun using threats on children too young to understand the great power they held. A man who suddenly sat upright in his chair when he caught sight of a bulky, dark figure moving across the courtyard.

He wasn't policia, Rey could tell that right away. Military, maybe, melting from one shadow to the next like a phantom. "Señorita," he said, raising his voice just enough to be heard, and not taking his eyes from the window. "We have company coming. Want me to take care of it before it gets too nosy?"

The silence that stretched between them likely only lasted a few moments, but it felt much longer. "No, Rey, that's quite all right. I rather imagine it's our current guest's little friend."

"Not so little, Señorita. He seems like a rather large man to me."

Carlina actually laughed at that. "All the better. If he's going to be so damned persistent, he can be a part of our little experiment."

Rey repressed a shiver; he really hated the way she said that word, tasting it like a fine wine, and it made that little instinct of his hum somewhere in the back of his mind. It didn't get any softer when the woman rose to her feet, and looked over at him. "Come, Rey," she said. "It's almost time, and I plan on witnessing this firsthand."

She started toward the door, then paused and looked back at him. "Oh, and bring that rifle of yours. We might just need it."

Rey lifted the weapon and repressed a sigh as he followed after Carlina, and as he did, he couldn't help but wonder if the money he was so close to being paid was actually going to be worth the trouble.

He was starting to think it wasn't.

 

 

Using the darkness and shadows, León edged his way along the front wall of the dilapidated church, pausing when he reached the doorway. Taking a few moments, he scanned the area around the building once again before slipping into the shadowed doorway. Like Abel before him, the broad-shouldered man found one of the scarred and pitted wooden doors slightly ajar. Bringing his gun up, León silently slipped through the opening and into the darkened interior beyond.

 

 

 

 

Inside, achingly close but as yet unaware of his partner's presence, Abel had fallen into an agonized silence. What had begun as an uncomfortable prickling across his skin was turning into full-blown pain, the ringing in his ears growing steadily louder. When he could beat the pain off successfully, he spoke with the girls he'd been trapped with, trying to reassure them even as his control continued to slip, the priest's eyes sweeping around the room to look for the source of his discomfort.

 

 

 

 

Leon found himself in what appeared to be a small alcove of some kind, the broken glass windows letting in a small bit of light. There was another set of doors before him that he surmised probably led into the main chapel. On silent feet, he padded to the doors, leaning in close to see if he could hear anything on the other side, his pistol up and ready. The dark-haired man could hear nothing however, the wooden doors thick, clearly designed to keep the outside cold from reaching the chapel itself. León adjusted his grip on his pistol before reaching for the handle on the door, slowly pulling it open.

 

The door opening sent a shaft of hazy light into the dark chapel, and it was to that light that Abel's gaze, glowing very softly, was drawn. A scent reached him, and his eyes took in the broad-shouldered silhouette, and a weak, shaky smile touched his lips. He knew that figure almost as well as he knew his own. León. "Thank the Lord..." he whispered, his voice hoarse and gravelly, thin in the otherwise silent room.

León took a moment or two to let his eyes adjust to the darker room as he plastered his back against the wall, his pistol up as he made a sweep of the room. It was dim in the chapel, but not quite pitch black, both the open doorway he was standing in and the broken window also letting in a trace of light from outside. Not to mention a fair bit of the storm. And then, of course, there were Abel's eyes, two thin slits of dull red in the darkness, though he'd shifted away from the three young girls, not wanting to frighten them. No one knew better than Abel did, that there were plenty of rumors about the "monster" the Vatican kept, and that this "monster" was a predator of vampires, and he preferred not to let on just what he was if he could avoid it. His back still to the wall and his gun up, Leon slowly began to edge around the room, the dark-haired man's eyes darting around the interior of the chapel as he moved, his voice a mere whisper. "Abel?"

"...I'm here," Came the soft, hoarse sound of the priest's voice.

"What the hell is going on?"

"Be careful..." Abel's voice was almost ghostly in the empty room. "...I'm afraid this may be a trap..."

"Really, Junior? I never would have guessed." León carefully made his way around the chapel, towards the other man's voice. Though he couldn't really see in the dimness, he got the impression that the room was mostly empty, his and Abel's voices echoing just slightly.

"There are others here with me. Kidnapped children," Abel rasped, and then any other words he might have had were cut off as metal shutters slammed down over the doors and windows, the sound deafening in the room. Several high-powered lights flared on, bathing the room in brilliance that was enough to make Abel wince, even with his eyes closed. León swore as he instinctively brought his hand up to shield his eyes against the sudden glare.

"Welcome to my parlor, Gentlemen." Came a woman's voice, as ghostly as Abel's had been.

León's gun swung in the direction of the voice, the big brunette squinting a bit as his eyes adjusted to the bright light. The woman was keeping behind the lights, making her hard to see. "I think you're going to like my little surprise."

"I wouldn't bet on it, sister," León said.

A laugh echoed from one of the shadowed corner, and the woman stepped into slightly better sight. Although her face was still obscured, her hand wasn't, and she held a very familiar icon, a heavy metal cross. "Oh, I rather think you will. After all, I'm sure you recognize this, don't you?"

"It's a cross," the dark-haired man said. "You see'em everywhere."

The woman laughed, the sound thoroughly delighted. Abel looked toward the woman, and his eyes widened when he saw the item. "León...the other two churches...those crosses..."

Another laugh echoed from the shadows. "Ah, so glad you've enjoyed my handiwork, Fathers...perhaps you'd like to see it firsthand?"

This particular cross was a bit more ornate than the others had been, and a touch to a "jewel" suddenly had Abel's eyes wide, his hands clenching tightly as the ringing in his ears cut out all other sound. Whatever the cross did had no effect on León, though the brunette man spared a moment for a quick glance in Abel's direction before his brown eyes swung back towards the woman, his gun still up and trained on her. "Whatever you did, undo it."

She laughed. "Oh, I have no intentions of that. I've been curious to see how Father Crusnik ticks..." Her tone became thoughtful and she stepped further into the shadows again. "Tell me, how long do you suppose those chains will hold him?"

León's dark eyes narrowed, his finger tightening on the trigger of his gun. "This is the last time I'm going to tell you...” he growled out.

"You're about to have bigger problems than me." The woman said, then looked to Rey, giving a little gesture. "A non-fatal shot, if you please."

Looking ill at ease, the man looked from his gun to Carlina, then to the priest. She glared at him, and he felt his stomach twist as he stepped up, and a moment later, the crack of a gun echoed, deafening in the enclosed space. The shot was followed by screams, the three young girls chained to the wall near Abel crying out, one of them wailing louder then the others. "Rena!" The dark haired girl that had first spoken to Abel clutched at one of her companions, the golden blonde that had made him promise to free them, as she slid to the floor, the girl sobbing hysterically. The shot had caught her in her thigh.

Abel's eyes flew toward the girls at that, the scent of blood smacking into him like a physical blow. He let out a low sound, straining against his bonds, electricity crackling across his skin as he did. The moment that scent reached him, he suddenly realized why those girls had been taken, their blood unmistakable to the Crusnik's senses.

"What the hell?!?" Leon's eyes went to Abel and the girls. "You crazy bitch!"

"L-León..." Abel's voice was a growl now. "You have to get them out of here..." The blood flowing from the little girl rippled, creeping across the floor slowly in Abel's direction.

"Oh...damn it! No!" The dark-haired man's eyes widened at the sight. Crap...they're vampires...

"So tell me, Father Crusnik, do you like my little toy?" The woman's voice floated conversationally down from the upper floor, before she looked at her underling again. "And now him, if you don't mind."

The gun cracked again, and Abel howled as blood blossomed from his chest. The pain of his wound and the scent of Methuselah blood so achingly close began driving his hunger, the Crusnik starting to struggle even more in his bindings. The children seemed to have some sense that something was wrong with the priest, and the two who were yet uninjured watched him with wide, frightened eyes, closing ranks around their wounded companion. "ABEL!" Leon's voice rang out nearly as loud as the gunshot had. "You crazy...” he growled out, his eyes blazing as he pulled the trigger, firing at the woman.

The shot pinged off a stone wall, and the woman laughed. "Now, now," she said, but her taunting was silenced by the sound of snapping metal, followed quickly thereafter by the rattle of chains.

León's dark head swung towards the sound, another curse leaving his lips as he watched Abel, the priest having snapped through the bonds holding him. The Crusnik rose to his feet slowly, with the fluid motions of a predator, his eyes swinging to the source of the blood that even now trickled across the floor toward him. Crap... the brunette's eyes went from Abel to the woman and then back to the priest. As much as he wanted to blow the woman's head off for what she had done, stopping Abel from making a meal of the Methuselah children seemed more important at the moment. The two of them could always come back for the woman if need be. "Abel!" León called out to the other man.

That seemed to bring the Crusnik back to himself, at least briefly, his bloody gaze moving to León. Abel's eyes were alien as they looked at the other man, León having never had that crimson gaze turned on him in quite that fashion before. The broad-shouldered man slowly stepped towards his partner, his gun still up. "C'mon Junior," he said. "Just step away from the kids, okay?"

Abel's eyes flicked from León to the gun in his hand, and the Crusnik turned away, the wound in his chest closing down as he turned back toward the three huddled children again. Whimpers sounded from the huddled forms, the blonde girl sobbing softly as the other two clung to her, their eyes wide with fear as they looked at the ivory-haired man. León aimed his gun up towards the roof and fired a shot in warning. "C'mon, Four-Eyes," he said "Don't make me do something that we're both going to regret later on."

If the Crusnik could even hear him now, there was no sign of it, the priest continuing on his slow trek, a sound akin to a purr rising in his throat as the blood that was creeping across the floor in a thin stream began to move more quickly, as if rushing toward the nano-machines that were aching so badly to be fed.

The girls had cried out at the second gunshot, and the trio huddled even closer as Abel started towards them again. Leon let out a low frustrated growl, the brunette launching himself at the pale-haired man in an attempt to stop him. The growl alerted Abel, even if León's footsteps hadn't, and the priest stopped, swinging around with a backhanded blow, intent on halting the man's attack. The blow caught León in the jaw, Abel's Crusnik strength sending the big man sailing backwards into several pews that had been grouped together out of the way, León's bulk shattering the rotted wood into pieces as he collided with them.

Abel was still a moment, his gaze emotionless as he regarded León, before turning his full attention on the other man. The consistent high-pitched whine in his ears was driving his nano-machines into a frenzy, and he felt the percentage creeping up slowly, his wings bursting from his back as he started toward his fellow AX agent. León was struggling a bit to get up, the dark-haired man having hit his head against one of the pews pretty hard. Somehow he had managed to keep hold of his gun, the weapon still clutched tightly in his hand. As he sat up, he looked to see where Abel was, León swearing when he saw the wings as the man descended on him.

Carlina smiled a bit when she saw that. Aside from her overall fascination with the Crusnik himself, she couldn't help but feel just a little smug that her recent refinements to her device were working, allowing her to target an individual, driving the Crusnik into a blood lust without affecting the children. Abel was ignorant of her observations, having forgotten about her in favor of León, only dimly aware of the thin trickle of blood that kept following him everywhere as he moved, his feeding nearly within his grasp, if not for the interruptions. The pale-haired priest was only a few feet away from him when León regained his feet. At least I got his attention away from them...although what the hell am I supposed to do now?

The wings flexed unconsciously, flaring a little before relaxing again, and Abel lashed out in another back-handed blow. His gaze, glowing brightly with the increase in power, showed no flicker of recognition. The blow sent León sliding across the floor once again, this time to the opposite wall, his large frame hitting with such force that the dry-rotted wood split from the impact.

Carlina tapped her lips, then looked to her underling again. "Another shot," she said. "Between his shoulder blades. Let's up the ante a bit."

The bark of a gun came from somewhere behind him, and the bullet hit Abel square between the shoulder blades, making the Crusnik stumble forward a step, a pained cry falling from his lips. He turned back toward the lights again, toward the source of the gunshot, and the source of a blood smell that wasn't his own. His eyes darted back and forth, trying to seek out the source of the new attack.

What is she, insane? Leon pulled himself up to his feet, a small trickle of blood over his left eye.

Abel brought a hand straight out in front of him, drawing on the blood flowing from his own rapidly closing wound, as well as the blood of the Methuselah girl who'd been injured, his scythe taking shape. When it was prepared for him, his hand closed down on it, his scarlet gaze promising death to someone. Then he began moving again, toward the lights, Carlina...

...And the children.

Leon shoved his gun into the sash around his waist, the dark-haired man slipping two of the chakram from his wrists and into his hands, the silver coated rings glinting a bit in the bright light. Abel's target, at least for the moment, had nothing to do with the terrified children cowering nearby. His eyes met Carlina's for only a brief moment, before he was a blur of motion, launching himself toward the light and the woman hiding in the shadows beyond it, his scythe swinging with deadly accuracy. Rey, seeing death coming in the form of a demon that his gun wouldn't stop, dropped his weapon and ran, screaming. He only made it a few steps before he was cut down, falling to the ground with a bloody thump. Carlina's eyes were wide, and she began scrambling backwards for the door she had come through originally. This was something she hadn't been expecting, a part of the experiment she hadn't planned for.

León limped towards the chained captives, the big man trying to stay out of the priest's peripheral vision, his concern more for the children then the crazy bitch who had been toying with them. "Was this how you killed him!?" Carlina was shrieking, tripping over her minion's corpse and falling backwards with a dull sound. "Was this how you brought him down?!"

She never did get the answer she was looking for, another sweep of Abel's scythe sending her to her death with a final shriek. The task finished, Abel leaped back down to the lower floor, his attention turning back to his original target again. The Crusnik found his way blocked by León, the broad-shouldered man positioned in front of where the huddled figures had been. While Abel's attention had been on the shrieking woman, León had used the razor-sharp blades of one of his chakram to cut through the chains holding the three girls, the big man twirling one of the silvery rings on his fingers as he looked at the priest.

Abel's eyes narrowed at that, his grip on his scythe tightening; there was no recognition in his eyes, seeing León as nothing more than an obstruction between him and his prey. "Alright, Junior;" León said. "Nobody but you and me now."

Abel only growled softly, his stance widening in a tell-tale sign he was about to put the scythe in his hands to good use. The trickle of blood that had been following him like a loyal puppy was dangerously close to him now, and it would only take that tendril reaching him to let him feed and begin replenishing his rapidly waning strength. Before the priest could make a move however, León let fly with the chakram, the silver-coated ring spinning towards the pale-haired man. As the chakram began spinning toward him, the Crusnik started to dart forward, sweeping in with his scythe as he moved to the side a bit in an attempt to avoid the spinning ring. He hadn't planned on it traveling at him in an arc, however, and it struck him full in the face, the impact making a dull sound, and shattering his glasses. The wound blinded him momentarily, and he staggered back a step, the scythe falling from his hands as they went to cover his injured face.

León immediately slid another chakram from his wrist as soon as he released the first, the dark-haired man creeping towards his injured companion warily. The Crusnik clawed away the broken remains of his glasses, tiny shards of glass tearing temporary furrows in his pale skin, Abel staggering back a second step as he waited for his vision to clear. It only took moments and his gaze went immediately to León again, before darting around, looking for the prey the man had released.

"Sorry, old pal," León said. "But they couldn't stay for dinner."

The Crusnik snarled at that, and lashed out with a back-handed strike aimed at the human, all the while scenting for the prey he'd lost. The blow caught León in the chest, knocking the breath from him as he skidded backwards across the wooden floor, the big man slamming into the wall where the three Methuselah girls had been chained. His broad-shouldered form hit the wall with a dull thud before he slid downward to land in the slick wetness of the injured girls' blood where it had pooled a bit on the floor.

The three former captives where slowly making their way along the wall of the chapel, their eyes flicking back and forth between the two battling men as they moved. One of them let out a small shriek when León's big body hit the wall. The sound drew Abel's attention, the Crusnik making a soft sound as he turned away from León, and toward the three young girls. Grimacing, León slowly pushed himself up onto his knees, the dark-haired man gasping a bit for break. Crap...I think he cracked a couple of my ribs... His dark eyes immediately sought out Abel, León swearing as he caught sight of the trio of Methuselah girls, the pale-haired man moving in their direction. Bracing his hand on the wall, León pulled himself to his feet, the chakram still clutched in his other fist. With a quick flick on the hidden mechanism inside the ring, the hidden razor sharp teeth slid upwards and locked into place.

"Abel!" León called out to the other man, as he spun the chakram on his fingers. The sound of his name caused the Crusnik to slow, looking back over his shoulder as he paused. "Why don't you play with somebody your own size?" the brunette man asked as he staggered away from the wall, his clothes disheveled and blood-stained, the chakram a silvery blur as he spun it on his long fingers.

The Crusnik regarded him in silence for a moment, before giving a dismissive sound, turning back toward the Methuselah girls again. The wounded one had long since seen her wounds closed down by her natural regenerative ability, but her blood was still rich in Abel's senses, driving him onward whether he wished to go or not. León growled in frustration. Abel was beyond reasoning with, all this thoughts and movements being driven by the need to feed. "Sorry about this, Junior..." the dark-haired man let the chakram fly, hurling it towards the priest with all his strength, the serrated blades flashing in the light as it spun towards Abel.

The blow hit Abel hard, the blades cutting deep into him, spilling fresh blood. Abel staggered a step, wavered, and then went down to his knees, the chakram half-protruding from his back. He was far beyond his own endurance, and some dim part of him knew the Crusnik should have deactivated by now, but the ringing in his ears grew ever worse, his skin crackling with visible electricity, energy that surged and dimmed in waves. He coughed once, bringing blood to his lips, a thin stream of it trickling from one corner of his mouth, and yet still he felt the push to rise, to seek prey, to take the feeding that had been denied him. Trembling, he tried to struggle to his feet.

León didn't give the priest the chance, the brunette hurtling himself towards the ivory-haired man, every breath like a fire in his broad chest. The sound of the man's footsteps had caused Abel to turn somewhat, and it was that half-turn that left the priest on his side as León barreled into him, sending them both skidding across the floor. With a growl, he struck the other man again, sending him hurtling toward a nearby statue, the only intact one in the chapel.

The dark-haired man hit the ceramic object with a grunt, the statue shattering into pieces as León and it hit the floor. Abel was lying still nearby, energy crackling a vibrant purple as it surged anew, and the Crusnik dragged himself to his knees. Wincing, one hand wrapped around his midsection, León struggled to his knees as well, the broken pieces of the statue scattered around him. One piece glittered amidst the broken pieces of ceramic and plaster, a familiar wafer-thin chip. Abel paid it no heed, having brought himself back to his knees, and was more involved with his struggle to get to his feet. León squinted at the object, a small trickle of blood trailing from his left brow. Reaching out, the dark-haired man's fingers scrabbled towards the chip, closing over it.

"Well, well..." León looked down at the electronic piece in his palm. "Looks like I found the off button." Closing his fist over the device, he squeezed it with every ounce of strength he had until it snapped in two.

Abel never heard that hateful piece of machinery snap, but he felt the effects almost immediately as the ringing in his ears cut off abruptly. No longer driven to madness by both the device and his blood hunger, he slumped a little, the eyes that flicked to the Methuselah girls dulled. He'd been holding onto his Crusnik form so long, and with no real feeding, that he knew he wouldn't be able to maintain it much longer, and he groaned as pain swept into his awareness along with that revelation.

The broken pieces of the transmission chip dropped from León's fingers as he unclenched his fist, the dark-haired man squinting at his companion with one eye. Electricity crackled around the Crusnik, but it wasn't as aggressive as it had been before, blood still flowing heavily from the wound caused by the chakram protruding from Abel's back. In spite of all of this, he wasn't moving. The small pool of blood where the Methuselah girl had been bound rippled, but didn't move, and there was the slightest pull at the Methuselah blood on León's clothing, but it was barely a breath, a last-ditch effort to get the blood the Crusnik so desperately needed.

León wasn't doing much better, the big man aching from head to toe from being tossed around like a rag doll, his chest aching with every breath he took. Despite his injuries, however, he started towards Abel, half-crawling towards the pale-haired priest. Like Abel, León knew that the blue-eyed man wouldn't be able to hold onto the Crusnik form for much longer which meant that he wouldn't be able to heal his wounds. He had to get the chakram out of Abel's back while there was still time for the nano-machines to heal the damage it had inflicted.

Abel heard León's approach as much as he scented it, and he turned his head slowly, regarding the other man for a moment, before his eyes widened. León's face was a mask of pain as he reached Abel. "You're gonna owe me for this one..." he gasped out as he slid his arm around the priest, his fingers wrapping around the protruding chakram, the blades cutting into his soft flesh. "Sorry, Tovaresh..." The words fell softly from his lips as he wrenched the glittering weapon from Abel's back.

Abel howled in pain, the removal of the chakram far more painful than receiving the wound had been. He slumped over onto his side, his vision unfocused some as he turned a fading scarlet gaze to León. "Forgive me" He whispered.

Huddled together in one of the corners of the chapel, the three young Methuselah girls watched as the brunette man who had freed them slumped forward, his big body sliding down and over that of the strange pale-haired man, neither of them moving.