trippin faustian bawlz mk IV

As Sally stumbled into the church to evade her pursuers she didn't exactly expect the doors to shut with a CLICK just -that- ominous. Neither did she expect it to actually stop them. Then again, the immediate cessation of all outside noises like traffic, yelling, agonized screams, police sirens and the intermittent chatter of machineguns should have clued her in that something wasn't all vertical here.

But then again she was new on the job, who could blame her?

So Sally slowly stepped back from the huge wooden doors she just had slammed shut with her magically enhanced strength timidly, carefully, afraid that something she would do, anything, could shatter the illusion.

Instead, she heard a bit of a cough from behind her. Whirling around she brought her fists up, ready to whip out a punch that could disintegrate flesh and bone at five meters' distance-

And only saw an old man with white hair, a five o'clock shade and a flatcap look back at her over the backrest of a pew, his face formed to a smiling sort of grimace. Sheepishly, she lowered her hands again, then stepped towards him as silently as she could. He sort of did look like a religious man; one had to be to show up at four in the morning at a church in the middle of the inner city.

The church was big and neo-gothic. And dark. And spooky. A few lamps at the altar lit the huge plain cross put up behind it.

She silently sat down next to the man while he slid over a fair bit to give her some breathing room. Slence followed, since that seemed to be a threme in this church.

He was holding a thick, black bible. The book was worn and opened at the very end; he looks like he was reading before she entered. At her curious gaze he shut the book, holding it up for her to see. The painted-on gold cross faded and dull.

"I just wanted to take another look at what this funny old book says, haven't done so in a long, long time. Thought I'd start at the back, this part called The Apocalypse, that way I'd already know how the story ends, y'see?" he smirked at her in a voice somewhere between kindly old grandfather and blender full of gravel.

Her nervous giggle didn't exactly make the situation any more comfortable for either of them.

The old man shifted in his seat a bit and coughed into his fist. He glanced away to the side.

"So, I assume you didn't exactly come here to pray, did you?"

"N-no sir. You could say I am, um, seeking shelter? Y-yes, that fits." Svetlana mumbled while sheepishly scratching her cheek. Well, she WAS sort of sitting in a church while sort of wearing a full suit of sort of cobbled-together combat armor. Worst part was that it was her summoned costume and just dismissing it would raise another batch of questions she wasn't very comfortable with answering right now.

He hummed like a subwoofer and then nodded. "Just as well. This is a place of safety and salvation for a reason." He gave her a sidelong glance and a smirk. "Though I suppose little rascals like you getting into trouble should rather ask their parents for help instead of their local priest."

She had to laugh, a little. If only her problems were still in that size category. Involuntarily, she felt herself relax a bit. At least this place seemed to be safe, for the moment.

"...well?" The old man grumbled towards her. Her head jerked up again and regarded his curious expression.

"Oh come on, you wouldn't have taken the spot next to the old stranger if you wouldn't have something on your heart you wanted to let loose. Go on, I'll listen."

What was this guy thinking of himself, asking questions like that? And why was he right? Well, the reason for the latter was probably that Sally had been caught up in a treadmill of assignment after assignment for over three months now with not a single day off. And that she had seen things, well. The less said the better. And of course, nobody cared enough to give her a few minutes of sit-down and talk-out. So yeah, this was probably a pretty good chance to get a bit of weight off her chest. Maybe later on when nobody was looking she could go AWOL for a day or two and blame it on the fighting this night, call it MIA. Yeah, this sounded like a good plan.

If the incubator didn't mind-probe her to find out if she told the truth. Again.

Eh, she didn't care by this point. She needed a break and she was going to get it. A deep breath and a sigh later, she began talking.

"You're a religious person, aren't you?" was the first thing she said.

"Oh yes. Moreso than anyone else I might say." The old man smiled.

"Well, did you ever have, like, a crisis of faith?" She rested her elbows on her knees, then bent over and rested her head on her hands.

"Certainly, I do believe sooner or later anyone alive and living will have one."

She gave him a glance with narrowed eyes in return. "No, I mean more than just the usual. You ever have that sort of feeling that, you know, the one you've always been told about is so great and will save you when you fall and always fights for you, well, isn't all they're cracked up to be?"

The stink of rotting bodies. A sick bloodstained smile.

"Not just that, but really, that the one you've been thinking grandly of and looking up to is... well, the exact opposite? The one that's going to put you to the blade, throw you into the abyss and laugh all the way?"

Those claws. Her sheer being, a caricature of the Blessed Lady. But too authentic, too real.

"Did you ever have that feeling? Because I am having it right now. I don't exactly think what I am doing with my life is all that... right, or the way to go. Wheter I want it or not."

"Hmm. when I'm honest here, that's not really what I expected a thirteen-year old girl to say. But to answer your question, well, did you consider that maybe, the difference between the Devil and God is from our perspective non-existant?"

"Huh?" Sally straightened up. The man drew his smile a bit wider.

"Well now, consider history and etymology. The words Satan, Devil and Lucifer, in their original languages, carry meanings like the Accuser and the Tempter. Nowadays people often think of the Devil as the bad guy who sends you to hell as soon as he can get your fingers on you. But that's not necessarily the case."

Sally still didn't exactly grasp where he was going with this, but nodded along anyway. The old man leaned towards her a little.

"God has a court, young lady. The one Court. And someone needs to play the persecutor. Heaven wants to accept you, but your deeds in life will be what colors God's judgement. So the Devil takes the role of the tempter, the one trying to lead you astray and towards Hell and he will be the one to call out your sins on your own Judgement Day."

Sally furrowed her brow. This was getting a bit strange for her. "Yeah, uh, I don't really understand how this gets to my point at all."

The old man leaned back and coughed in his hand again. "Excuse an old man for rambling. What I mean is, God gave you the Devil to test you. The one laughing at you and tempting you to do bad things, God put him on the job." He smiles again then. What a damn smiley.

"Someone needs to separate chaff from wheat, you know? And that's where contracts come into play. It's a really easy way to tell the sinners from the saints."

She jerked when he mentioned 'contract'. Did he...?

"Oh, I see you already understand what I mean!" the old man says, grinning. "Yes, contracts! Deals with the devil! Pacts with the underworld, power in exchange for servitude! And do you know what's the worst of it?" he says, his face barely an inch from Sallys'.

"N-no?"

"We make them everyday, that's what!" He falls back onto his spot on the pew. "Every day, the devil plays a bit of power into our hands. Every day he's right there, over your shoulder, whispering to you. When you could share the candy or keep it to yourself, he's there. When you can crush another's science project so yours ends up looking better in the end, he's there. When you hold the gun and- ah, I suppose that metaphor is a bit far-fatched for you, little one. But still. Whenever you get your fingers on a little bit of power, it comes from him, the adversary. And the larger the amount of power, the stronger a person you need to be not to give in to any evil desires."

That... that actually made some sense. When she rolled it around in her head a bit, and bent it somewhat to fit her worldview. Made sense in respect of politicians anyway.

"And that is good! It is the freedom you have been given by God. You have the choice, Heaven or Hell? One must consider, you make this choice every day again and again. That is the beauty in God's plan."

And then he leaned in again.

"So, little lady. It seems like you've already had a few contracts in your time."

Sally starded sweating and swallowed her own spit. "Eeeh, nandemonai desu..."

He laughed the laugh of a mall Santa, then clapped her on tha back hard enough to make her cough.

"It's okay, it's okay. Just keep in mind: the Lord is watching! He doesn't like to see His sheep fall by the wayside and follow a bad path! Do what your heart tells you and I'm certain you'll find the right way through the world. What these old crocks sell in their books here is way too unweildy for someone like you, who no doubt has lots of stange and confusing things happening to her everyday, hoho!"

She laughed, too. Ha ha. Yeah...

Yeah.

Then a sharp voice cut through the warm atmosphere like Amanda's steel wire cut through necks.

"Creeping up on little girls again, old man?" Sally turned around.

Behind her, in the middle of the path between the pews, stood a man. Black shoes, black pants, black heavy-set coat, black hat. Skin chalk white, or whiter. Dark eyes. He did look old by the lines almost cut into his face, but he stood ramrod stiff and the piercing look in his eyes spoke of- well, she wouldn't call him a killer, but something in that general direction. He seemed to be cut right out of the darkness covering the church itself.

"Hah!" said the old man over his shoulder. "You're the one to talk!" He dusted his legs off and stood. Turns out this old man was fairly spry for his age too. "You don't let an hour pass without bothering me, don't you?"

"You've grasped the essence of my existence, dear doctor." The dark man spoke again with a voice like razors. "Though I really must say, this try is a bit.... lets say, unfriendly?"

"Ah, stop it already. I need to go to the ends of the world just to have my peace from you for five minutes and it seems like this place worked out better than the last." The old man said, stepping next to him. "Shall we go then?"

The dark man just raised an eyebrow at him. "Did you lose all sense of etiquette on your quest to get away from me?" He nodded towards Sally. "At least say your little... 'friend' goodbye."

The old man turned around like he had actually forgotten she was there. "Oh! Oh yes, where are my manners. Excuse me for leaving so abruptly but as you can see, this old... aquaintance of mine needs me once again. It is, sadly, not a request I can just deny him as easily as that." He smiled at her. "Even if it's just for old times' sake. I hope I could alleviate at least some of your concerns. Have a nice evening." With that, the old man turned and walked towads the large doors that Sally had taken on the way in here.

Silence reigned for a few seconds, broken only by the tapping of the old man's shoes against the floor. "A nice fellow, isn't he?" said the dark man, who just kept standing there while his 'friend' left. Sally couldn't help but nod.

"Just like Robert." "Robert?" Sally asked, turning to the man. "Yes, Robert. You met him earlier this night, didn't you? You can't tell me you already forgot him."

The great wooden doors fell shut loudly that moment. And Sally remembered a blue shirt with a nametag on it. 'My name is ROBERT', in thick permanent marker.

"If I remember correctly, you walked up to him and asked him some funny thing. Then while he was laughing, you had a little social faux pas and hit him. I'm certain he'd have forgiven you sooner or later but he seemed a bit short of breath, what with most of him being spread over the surrounding cars in the parking lot. Pesky things, those security guards, but-"

And that's where his voice stopped cutting and started piercing.

"-you've got to do what you've got to do, right? Especially when the mission is on the line."

How did he get behind her?

Sally sprung up, brought up her fists and got into a fighting stance. Her face had already shifted from mild apprehension to frightened alert. Who was this? What was his angle?

"Sally Sullivan." The sound of her own name made her fall to the ground like a doll with it's strings cut. A feeling of dread ensnared her heard like ice-cold razor wire and wouldn't let go. The dark man- were those red lights in his eyes, staring at her from under the brim of his hat?

"You had the luck of meeting one of my associates in person so I'll give you a hint that most everyone else needs to figure out all for themselves." And then he was whhispering in her ear. "You still have a chance. Not very much of one, but you do still have it. Try to make it count."

And with that, the pressure bearing down on her from all sides just up and vanished.

Sally looked around. She was alone in the church. She immediately got up and made to leave but a glint on the floor caught her eye. It was the cross on the old bible, left behind on the cold stone slabs of the floor. Acting on an impulse from somewhere deep inside her animal brain she picked it up. 'It might come in handy at some point', she thought. Out of curiosity she let it fall open. There was a business card stuck in the pages, so she grabbed it and took a look at it. In gleaming white text on the coal black card it read:

ERITIS SICUT DEUS, SCIENTES BONUM ET MALUM

She looked past the card, on the page it was stuck in. It was the first page of the Revelation. The Apocalypse.

Sally took to her heels and ran.