It Begins

[priesttotheend]

 The church will not heed his warnings. The evidence is clear enough for even Ivan to guess that a new war will soon arrive, but no, the monsignors will keep their eyes shut to the truth.

Very well. He shall take it upon himself to stem this flood.

And perhaps rescue an old friend.

He has plans with Hanna to meet in City Seven, gathering what few priests still remain, to track down Gab- Black Hat and stop his minions. With the blessing of the Church or no, he pulls his bike from storage one last time and heads out into the desert.

Comments

[bringerofthetide]

"Why are you here then?"

A very small part of him, the same part that thought Ivan might actually accept that first offer off joining their side, is hoping maybe the answer is that Ivan is there for him. The less demented side of him knows that's not it.

[priesttotheend]

Well, he is there for him in some small, roundabout way. If he rids the world of vampires, perhaps their hold over Gabriel will be destroyed as well. Isn't that what they always wanted? To be done with vampires and priests and to settle down and just be them?

"To finish our duty."

[bringerofthetide]

"And what is our duty? If it's to destroy evil, I say we finish it only if we destroy the Church and it's lies. You know I'm right."

[priesttotheend]

His knee-jerk reaction is, of course, to want to deny that Gabriel's right, but deep down he knows that the Church is just as guilty as the evil they're supposed to destroy.

However, it is not the most pressing evil.

"Do you know where the Queen is?"

[bringerofthetide]

"You want me to come with you and kill my own queen?!"

Deep down, he surprises himself when he realizes that he's not as offended by that thought as he should be, or pretends to be. What bothers him is that he instantly feels this is some trick. He doesn't trust him.

[priesttotheend]

"The Church isn't the only evil to be destroyed."

[bringerofthetide]

"and then what? We destroy our homes and when it all dies in flames, you turn on me and kill me too?"

[priesttotheend]

"I have no wish to see you dead." ...Mostly. Every time he sees those teeth, it makes his skin crawl, but he still doesn't want him dead.