In This Life

(5) Corinthians 16:14

Let all that you do be done in love.

Ava couldn't believe the amount of sister warriors that had joined the OCS. Before when they were fighting Adriel, there was only a handful and now it was like an army. Camila had given her a quick run down on the things she'd missed like the new pope, Jillian joining up with the OCS permanently, tracking down the last of the FBC and all the other little details. However, once she asked about Beatrice again it seemed she didn't exactly know what to say. Apparently, Beatrice left the OCS after a couple weeks had gone by and the reason she gave everyone was that she needed time for herself.

Camila said that she'd been out around the world and doing little missions on her own. Beatrice rarely checked in so Camila had to call her every now and again to make sure she was okay but even over the phone, she knew that Beatrice was different. It pained Ava to know just how much her leaving affected her, she knew it'd be hard but for Beatrice to leave the OCS, it was something she never even thought she'd do. "Did she get my letter?" Ava asked as Camila and herself got outside of Father Vincent's office. Ava was glad that Vincent had gotten another shot at redemption, Adriel had brainwashed a lot of people and she saw now that Vincent couldn't be the one to blame. He was a victim just like everyone else.

"Father Vincent returned yesterday from delivering it. So yes, she got it." Even though she was glad Beatrice had received it and weight settled upon her. Her feelings for the girl were in the open and she still didn't know if Beatrice felt the same entirely. As Camila opened the door and walked inside Vincent was stood by the window, on the phone with somebody. "I'll let them know. See you soon." When he turned around finally his shock was evident but he smiled through it. "Good to see you again, Ava." Was all he said before gesturing them to sit down. "I'm sure you have a lot of questions but I'm sure you can understand why we'd have them too." Ava knew it wouldn't take long before they started asking about the other side. About where she was, what it was like and any information about the holy war that was coming. "I'm sorry. I can't tell you much, Reya sort of forbid me from it. It's a long story but it's all I got." Camila seemed slightly annoyed by Ava's response but the warrior nuns hands were tied.

"Why don't we start with what you can tell us then?" Vincent offered as he sat back in his chair. Ava let out a breath of air before giving a quick run down of everything she was allowed to say. "I was in a desert at first. It just didn't end, I was bleeding out and I didn't know what to do. Then, Reya found me and she healed me. She took me to her kingdom and there is where she told me about who she and Adriel actually are." Ava tried to think of a way to say the next part because when Reya had said it to her she hadn't exactly understood it.

"They're powerful beings. Some are pure evil who spend their days in essentially hell while the rest lived in Reya's kingdom. They aren't angels, as much as they don't mind being called that, their just very old assholes with insane powers and they can't stop bickering, Adriel was a fanatic who was trying to 'save' our planet from the holy war but had he succeeded there'd be no humanity left." Ava looked over to Vincent who seemed troubled by what he was hearing. It was more than just an overwhelming confusion it was more like he felt betrayed. "What is this holy war?" Camila asked which drew Ava's attention from Vincent. "The short version? Because these assholes can't stop fighting with each other, every hundred thousand years they stage a war on Earth. Like a massive hunger games, last man standing rules Reya's kingdom. The fight quite literally wrecks the world." Vincent stood from his chair and instead of the betrayed look he had from moments ago, Ava saw a newfound conviction.

"How do we stop it?" He asked.

"That's just it. The fight has to happen otherwise these assholes are gonna cause mayhem. The holy war keeps them tame. There's things we can do to minimise damage but there's a catch to this war."

"A catch?"

"The people involved don't fight themselves. They call upon champions in their place. Reya, who is undefeated created the halo as a weapon to be used in the holy war. So, basically I'm Reya's champion." The room fell silent and in the midst of that silence a phone rang. Camila reached into her pocket and answered the phone. It was Mother Superion, she was on her way back from the Vatican with news that couldn't be talked about over the phone. When Camila announced Ava's return the room fell silent again as she handed the phone over to the warrior nun.

"Hey...it's been a while."

"Are you hurt?"

"No I'm fine. All healed up."

"No side effects from being over there, nothing like Lilith?"

"Apart from my connection to the halo being stronger than ever? I'm okay really."

"We'll be back early hours of the morning, I expect a full run down of everything."

"Bit of a problem there. I'm not staying long I've gotta find Beatrice."

"I'll send Camila her last known location for you. Ava?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm glad you're alive."

"So am I. I missed you too, Mother."

"Stay safe my child." Ava's heart warmed hearing Mother Superion's voice. The two had gotten off to a bad start, Ava thought it was because Superion was just an angry old woman but as they spent more time together she saw it was because she cared more than anything. To Mother Superion all the sister warriors were her family and she'd do anything to protect them. Ava didn't remember much about her mother only that Superion reminded her a lot of her.

◥✥◤

Beatrice had only two names left on her list. She'd spent majority of her stay in the UK running around after diplomats, barely having time to actually slow down and relax which she was partly grateful for. Currently, she was about a ten minutes walk from Trafalgar Square and the last time she was here was when he life was about to take a turn. Before she was sent away to catholic boarding school, she had a friend who was more than a friend. They had grown up together and at the time she was Beatrice's only friend.

Then one day, they kissed in Trafalgar Square. It was a spur of the moment decision for Beatrice and it was that decision that ruined her. The girl had freaked out and told her parents, who then told her parents and before she knew it she was on a plane to Switzerland.

So whilst she wanted to kickback and reminisce about the memories she had; the pleasant ones at least, the bad outweighed the good by a ten fold.

Nikolai Corva was next on her list. Beatrice was watching him shop for suits from across the street, waiting for her window of opportunity to see the wraith demon. She had a surprisingly difficult time finding him but luckily she managed to track him down thanks to Camila and her hacking skills. Their call had ended with Camila saying to Beatrice she was going down to check for updates on the Ark from Jillian and about a minute or so after, her phone died. Meaning she only had his last known position and no phone until she went back to her hotel.

Nikolai seemed to be pleased with his purchases and exited the shop after a few more minutes with Beatrice watching intently. However, just before she could pull out the glasses to get the read on him the hairs on the back of her neck stood up. Instantly, she spun and grabbed the hand of whoever went to touch her and when she saw the persons face she froze on the spot. Forgetting the mission, forgetting everything around her.

"Beatrice?"

"Father."