Sigil | Ghost The Band

Problema Monumentale

Omega walked silently beside her as they neared the church. He wanted to watch the sunset, and Calliope obliged without a second thought. She hadn't seen a sunset in quite some time, and this one would've been breathtaking had she not been focused on him. Seeing him in such a state of vulnerability wasn't an easy feat for her, especially when there was nothing she could do.

They stepped into the threshold, and only once she was shielded from the wind did she realise how cold she was.

Calliope shuddered, placing the books on a table in the foyer before continuing toward the kitchens. "Come, I suppose you guys are all out of leftovers."

Omega nodded, following behind. He leaned against the counter once they got there, still not speaking. Cal sighed to herself as she prepared. She didn't flinch as the cellar door opened, peeking over her shoulder to see who it was. Sodo and Special entered, a combination she hadn't seen before.

"Oh, thank Satan," Sodo grumbled, collapsing into a chair. Special hopped onto the counter beside Omega, staring intensely at him.

"You still moping, bud?" Special inquired; an obnoxious statement. Omega scowled, the action tugging at the newly formed scar as he shrugged off Special's hand. Sodo found the interaction amusing, continuing to taunt Omega.

"Seriously, Meg, the guy was a bag of dicks, you don't have to feel bad."

"It's the principle of it," Omega hissed, narrowing his eyes at the two of them.

"Since when are you on such a moral high horse? It's not a big deal, he's chilling with Beelzebub now," Special shrugged.

"C'mon, you two," Cal chimed in, eying them both with disapproval. "Let it go."

"Yes, ma'am," Special saluted, hopping off the counter to peer over her shoulder. "You do know you have a grass-stain on your ass, right?"

"Maybe that's because I was outside, Special."

"In a nightgown?" Sodo asked, looking fairly unimpressed.

"Why is everyone so bothered by this? It's not the most outlandish thing I've done."

"True, true," Special relented.

She continued in silence, Sodo and Special bickering back and forth in the background. She finished soon enough, leaving as she told them to call Earth to come to eat.

Calliope trekked up the stairs, her mind wandering aimlessly. The whole interaction left a bitter taste in her mouth, and it seemed as though Omega's mood affected everyone else's. Especially hers.

She chalked it up to some ghoul magic she didn't understand, spotting Terzo making his way over to her.

"Where have you been?" Terzo asked, quietly. She couldn't deduce how he was feeling from his tone, it was too... monotonous.

"Researching mostly," She responded, observing him with confusion.

Terzo nodded absently, "Come, we have some things to discuss."

That was never good.

Calliope hesitantly followed after him. Anxiety grated her nerves as she tailed behind, observing the details on his robes as she did. They came to a halt in front of his office and Terzo shut the door once they were inside.

"You better tell me quickly, the suspense is killing me."

"Fine, I will be blunt. We're leaving. The ghouls and I, that is. Imperator organised a tour for the new album and I am obliged to go-"

"But you just got back from touring. I don't understand..."

"She knows what we've been doing, she kept the conversation vague but there's no doubt in my mind that she knows," He sighed, covering his face with his hands, sounding utterly helpless. Basically reflecting how she felt. "I should've fucking known, she rarely asks me to her godforsaken office."

Stunned, Calliope sat down on the sofa. What the hell was she going to do now?

"How long will you be gone?"

"Just a couple of weeks," He sighed into his hands before inhaling deeply. He intertwined his fingers, his knee bouncing anxiously. "I'll check in every day, I promise."

"How?" She frowned, copying his position. She tried to think of any possible scenario where she made it out of this alive...

"I have a friend, at our Sister Location."

"How come I've never heard of them before?"

"No one knows he's there. He keeps a low profile but he's quite easy to reach."

Calliope wanted to ask more about this friend of his, but she couldn't focus on anything but the looming threat. She'd be alone, and everyone she trusted would be gone. What the fuck was she going to do if they tried something? It wasn't as if anyone was going to pay her pleas any mind, they certainly didn't last time.

"Alright, maybe I'm just being dramatic, you know," She sighed, running a hand through her tangled curls.

"No, it's safe to worry. Look at what they did to you. I still can't process it."

"That's true... I get into my own head sometimes. And I know for a fact that you do, too. I saw how you were staring off this morning, and I know that look means you're overthinking."

Terzo scoffed out a laugh, nodding. "I'm sure everything will be fine, he'll look out for you. He knows what you're going through better than anyone else."

Calliope nodded, biting the inside of her cheek.

"Now, onto the more important question; why is your nightgown grass-stained?"

***

She listened to the sound of the shower as she changed out of her nightgown and into one of the many shirts Alyssa gave her. Maybe I should find her and clarify... no, it's none of her business... right?

Calliope shook her head, climbing into the bed and pulling an old book closer. The shower shut off and Terzo emerged a few moments later, towel around his waist as he dried his hair with another.

"Feeling better?" She asked, quirking a brow at him.

"Sì," He sighed, disappearing into his closet. "You know, this might be the first time I'm not thrilled about going on tour."

"Well, there's a lot going on right now. My nonsense, this entire thing with Alpha..."

"Omega told you." It wasn't a question, but she nodded her head in the affirmative nonetheless.

"He's grieving."

"I know, it's my fault. I should've just killed the fucker myself, he's not going to recover from this anytime soon."

"Why did you suddenly... feel the need to get rid of him?"

Terzo pursed his lips, leaning against the doorway to his closet. "There's a small, Catholic community down the hill. Have you seen it?"

"No?" She waited for him to continue, confused out of her mind.

"Well, it's there. The priest showed up on our doorstep a few times, asking about missing nuns. Whether we've seen them. At first, I just thought this was a typical case of nuns having second thoughts about their oaths. But, that was not the case.

Their bodies started showing up in the woods, Air was the one who told me about it. I thought this was Alpha adapting. It happens when they're summoned. All of the ghouls went through it, but they never killed anyone.

Nonetheless, Alpha didn't stop, and it was becoming a monumental problem. The priest suspected us, and I'm fairly certain that he's the one who spread the rumours about the mortuary.

Alpha had to go, I'm afraid."

Terzo ended his monologue, disappearing into the bathroom once more. Calliope stared after him in horror. She had no idea that it was that dark. "Jesus..."

Terzo chuckled at her response, nodding in agreement as he collapsed onto the bed, wrapping an arm around her waist. "But it's done now, Ifrit took his place, and Omega will be fine."

"Yeah..." She agreed half-heartedly, still mortified.