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The OCS had been attacked. Again.
As soon as the signal arrived, they were locked up and loaded to strike, riding in the van that ran as fast as the engine could handle. There was no time to waste, after all.
The bastards were targeting an orphanage. An orphanage!
Even after Adriel was defeated, there were still many possessed followers - and non-possessed alike - who were willing to continue spreading his sick and twisted word, seeking revenge for their fallen savior.
But a night attack on an orphanage on Christmas Eve? That was a new low, even for them.
Inside the van, not a word had been said since the departure, but as she looked at each of the girls, it was obvious to Mother Superion that they were all thinking the same thing, silently praying and asking God for the protection of the children.
And the silence that also greeted them when the car doors opened sent an almost clear message about what had happened there. The orphanage had been decorated with Christmas lights and a colorful tree welcomed those who arrived, which, under normal circumstances, should cheer them up, but which, at that moment, made the environment even more horrifying. Swallowing hard, Suzanne placed herself in front of the group, next to Ava, and went inside the orphanage that already had its doors open, trying to avoid the enemies seeing them arrive.
It wasn't long before they heard loud footsteps echoing through the bloodstained corridors where their sisters lay, showing in a disturbing vision the struggle that had taken place not so long ago.
A feeling of deja-vu settled in the pit of Suzanne's belly, having seen this same scene over and over, countless times. But, upon realizing that none of the bodies belonged to a child, she knew she would have to concentrate and follow through with the mission. Her sisters were at peace in God's arms, but she wouldn't let the same happen to the children in that place.
Following the footsteps and the slam of doors being forced open, she saw as she peeked around the corner of the hall that the bastards were searching the rooms for survivors, guns drawn and ready to take the lives of whoever else they could. Her blood boiled, but she only signaled with a curt nod to the girls that it was time to attack.
They had the advantage of surprise, and they used it as they were trained to, taking accurate shots at the three men who were guarding the door of the room that was being searched.
The surprise, however, only lasted for as long as their bodies fell to the ground. Immediately more men wearing black hoods emerged, not only from the room being previously guarded, but from across the hall as well. Some with guns, others with knives and clubs, which stained the ground with more blood as they dripped.
Immediately Ava charged at the man closest to her, spraining his wrist and causing him to shoot the offender who was about to try to stop her, before making him drop the weapon and slam him into the wall, sure to guarantee a broken neck.
Meanwhile, Camila, Beatrice, Yasmine and Suzanne dealt with their own attackers, blood splattering their faces and adrenaline coursing through their veins, as one by one of Adriel's followers fell lifeless to the ground.
When the last one was knocked down by Beatrice, and the hall was filled with eerie silence again, they heard it.
A muffled cry, almost a sob, from one of the last rooms on the premises, just two doors away from where they were standing. Without thinking twice, Camila kicked at the door, barely managing to dodge the attack she immediately received.
The warrior sister continued to attack, seeming blinded by the protective instinct, until Yasmine and Beatrice immobilized her, making her realize, immediately, that they were not a threat, almost falling to the ground with the relief and fatigue she clearly felt. She also had her habit stained with blood and a deep gash on her arm.
Another sob drew their attention, and they were faced with at least twenty children huddled in a corner of the dark room, hugging each other with tears streaming down their scared faces. Everyone's features softened, and Beatrice and Ava stepped over the threshold as Camila tended to the injured sister.
Some children cried louder at the approach, their fear visible in the way they flinched.
Those poor children.
Observing them from afar, Suzanne could see that none of them looked injured, but they were clearly affected in other ways, ways that would take much longer to heal. Her heart broke a little more with the understanding.
"We're not here to hurt you," Ava said softly, the pent-up crying clear in her voice, "it's okay now."
"You are safe." Completed Beatrice, crouching down.
"We have... we have to take them somewhere else." The injured sister muttered, still out of breath.
"And we will," Suzanne assured, "is everyone here?"
"Yes. I brought them here as soon as... it all started." She said, before looking around, her vision seeming to come back into focus. "Anyone else besides me...?"
The question was clear. And upon seeing Camila's rueful shake of her head, she let a few tears fall, before wiping them quickly. She entered the room, followed by the remaining sisters, visibly calming most of the children.
"Listen, I need you to be really brave right now, okay?" Some nodded, prompting her to follow through with her instructions, "I want everyone to stand up and hold hands, we'll line up, like at recess, and then you'll close your eyes. I'll guide you, but this is serious: don't open them until I say you can. Do you promise me?"
As if they had lost their voices, the children just nodded once again, slowly getting to their feet and holding each other's hands. Ava and Beatrice ended up in the queue as well, clutching small, sweaty, shaking hands, still whispering that everything would be okay.
However, one of them did not get up. Leaning against the wall, near the window, a girl who didn't look more than six years old was still holding her knees close to her chest, her brown eyes watery, but sharp, staring at all the eyes that turned to her.
"Katerina, we have to go." The sister said, holding out her hand, "come here."
"I won't," she shook her head, "where is Sister Abigail?"
"She won't be able to go with us," the answer came shakily, but it left no room for questioning.
"I want to stay!" If she'd been standing up, her foot would have hit the ground already, but instead she just shook her head, her messy dark hair flying around with the movement.
"Katerina –" the sister was about to insist, before Suzanne held up her hand, stopping her.
"You can go, I'll stay with her." And I'll get her out of here, she added in her thoughts, but they all understood anyway.
The girl, without seeming to be intimidated, remained looking at her while the other children were led out.
Leaning on her cane, Mother Superion sat down in front of her with a sigh.
"Why do you want to stay, Katerina?"
"I can't leave."
"And why can't you leave?"
"What happened to the sisters?"
Another sigh escaped her lips, knowing that there was no lying to this girl.
"It wasn't a good thing," with confirmation, the small brown eyes finally allowed themselves to shed a few tears, casting her gaze down, "and I know you're worried." Suzanne grabbed her chin, bringing her attention back to her. "You are very brave to want to stand by them. But this isn't a safe place anymore, and those kids out there need you to keep being brave, because they won't be able to leave until you do too."
"...will you come back for them?" She pouted.
"Yes, I will." It was not necessary to include that she would return for the bodies to be buried.
Katerina seemed to think for a few seconds before holding out her arms, asking to be lifted. Suzanne smiled, picking her up in her arms and getting to her feet.
"Close your eyes, please."
She felt the little girl's face touching her neck, completely covered by her habit, and for the last time she sighed, passing through the halls, being unable to help but hold the girl tighter each time she walked over someone.
She wished to kill everyone responsible for leading the attack, and she would.
But right then she had only one mission: to get Katerina out and make sure all the children arrived at the cathedral safe and sound.
***
Jillian believed in certain miracles. After all, she had witnessed more than one with her own eyes. Inexplicable miracles, miracles of science, miracles that were both at the same time. Some she had created herself.
But christmas miracles?
No, Jillian wouldn't expect such miracles.
And at that moment much less, when the pain of losing her son was still so present. This would be her first Christmas without him.
If Michael was still... with her, she would give him the video game console that had just been released. His room would be decorated. And a big part of the house too.
If, if, if...
But he wasn't there. And without him, there was no point in doing any of that.
So, once again, she isolated herself. This time, she was taking care of the company's affairs more closely, after all, it gave her something to occupy her mind and ensured that the "Adriel situation" did not repeat itself again, but she remained inside the cold mansion, which was way too big for one person.
Suddenly, the intercom buzzed, snapping her out of her thoughts and preventing her from spiraling. She didn't look through the cameras to find out who it was, because she was already expecting her.
She didn't know much about Suzanne's visit, only that the warrior sisters had found yet another sacred object that urgently needed inspection. And even against her will, she felt her heart race rapidly as she walked down the stairs of her mansion.
However, nothing prepared her for what she found when she opened her front door, her eyes automatically focusing on the child in the brunette's arms as her eyebrows rose comically high.
"I'll explain later, Jillian." She was assured by a serious tone of voice, but Suzanne's expression seemed to have some amusement, especially when the little girl raised her hand, waving.
"Hi, Jillian," the tiny brunette smiled as if they had already met, breaking the doctor's surprise and replacing it with sudden tenderness. She missed hearing a little voice talking to her that way.
"Hi, sweetheart," she returned the wave with a smile of her own, before stepping aside, making room for them to enter.
They walked up the stairs in almost total silence, if it weren't for the low "wooooow" the girl let out as they passed through the great hall, looking everywhere she could, squirming in the arms of Mother Superion, who exchanged an exasperated but amused look with Jillian.
Clearly the day was going to be busier than expected.
Upon arriving at the laboratory, she quickly realized that there were very dangerous things there for such a small child, so she would have to improvise to divert her curious gaze, and keep her out of the glass door that divided the room. As Suzanne lowered the girl from her arms into a chair near the wall, Jillian grabbed some of her Arqtech pencils and stationery, placing them on the empty table in front of her.
Immediately the girl grabbed them, looking pleased to be able to draw at will, and was momentarily distracted. The blonde hoped she stayed that way for as long as she needed to inspect whatever Suzanne had brought.
She closed the glass doors as soon as the smaller one passed through them, allowing the kid to be in their field of view but their conversation to be muffled.
"And then?" Jillian asked quietly.
"This girl is following me around like a lost puppy." Suzanne sighed, "she wouldn't let me come without her, so I had to bring her."
"That doesn't explain to me how she got to you, Anne."
Anne. No one else called her that, but not once did Suzanne correct her.
"Last night... Adriel's followers attacked again, this time at the orphanage downtown." She swallowed hard, returning her gaze to Jillian's blue eyes, the eyes that seemed to keep her from getting lost in the brutal memories of what she'd seen that night, "the children survived, but only one of the sisters remained."
"Anne... I'm so sorry," she placed a hand on her shoulder, quickly looking away at the child who was still drawing without concern, "did they see anything?"
"The beginning of the attack, I don't know exactly to what extent... but yes, they did."
"Bastards..." Jillian whispered with rage. The destruction that Adriel had already caused not only to her, but to so many others, was not enough, his terror continued to haunt people and cause more and more pain. Her son had sacrificed himself to end it, and still children continued to suffer anyway.
"Hey..." Suzanne placed the hand that wasn't holding the cane on the blonde's arm, snapping her once more out of her trance, "the kids are fine. They're in the cathedral with the girls, safe. Katerina just... trusts me more, that's all."
It's like she can read my mind, the blonde thought, shaking her head to clear her thoughts.
"Katerina...it's a nice name," she smiled again, "but you didn't come all this way just to introduce me to her, did you?"
With a smirk, Mother Superion shook her head, opening the leather bag she carried, pulling out a type of necklace that had a green stone surrounded by golden details, "Ava received this before returning with a rather... mysterious message. It doesn't glow near her, and it doesn't react to the halo either, so we know it's not divinium."
Jillian pulled on her gloves, taking the necklace and letting her thumb briefly caress Suzanne's callused hand, before taking it to her table.
This wasn't new either, the touches that, like the nickname, Suzanne just let happen. And sometimes even reciprocated with her own.
"There's definitely something here." Jillian's voice snapped her out of her memories, and Suzanne found her with her orange glasses on, looking at the necklace curiously.
"Something of what kind?"
"The kind I've never seen." She kept turning the stone between her fingers. “How willing would Ava be to leave the necklace here for the weekend so I could study it?”
“Willing enough,” the brunette nodded briefly, “as long as she has some clarification. She is starting to get restless, and we both know what happens when Ava gets restless.”
“Yes, we do,” the scientist shook her head, the words coming out more bitter than she'd like. Ava hadn't been to blame for what had happened to her son.
“Can I look too?” Katerina's voice sounded through the glass, startling both women. Jillian could have sworn she'd been sitting in the chair less than a second before, but clearly that wasn't the case as the girl was practically glued to the glass, trying to see what was on the table.
Mother Superion raised an eyebrow, but when the taller one nodded her agreement, she understood that there was no imminent danger. Opening the door, she once again held Katerina in her arms, letting her almost lean over Jillian to see the necklace gleaming in the cold light of the lab.
"It's beautiful! Did you get it for her for Christmas, Mother?”
Both of them couldn't help the blush that appeared on their faces before Suzanne shook her head with a smile.
“No, the necklace is Ava's, you met her earlier.”
“Ah, the one that was playing with the boys?”
Jillian's and Suzanne's quick chuckles echoed through the room. Of course that was Ava.
“Yes, she asked the doctor to take a look at the stone in the necklace, to see what it is made of.”
“And did you find out?” Her little arms circled Jillian's neck, who couldn't keep the goofy smile off her face. Oh, how she missed that.
"Not yet, but I'll find out."
“And how do you do it?”
Turning her chair around, she picked up Katerina and placed her on her lap, taking her glasses off of her face and gently placing them on her, smoothing her hair as Suzanne just watched with a still present smile on her face.
The necklace was placed in her line of sight and the girl immediately gasped, trying to hold the stone, but the accessory gently was moved far enough from her curious hands. Even if it didn't seem like a threat, it would be completely irresponsible to let a child touch something divine. Jillian had learned that lesson the hardest way possible, and she wasn't going to let it happen again.
"What is it?"
"Science." Jillian answered simply.
"Divinity." Suzanne said at the same time, causing the two to stare at each other for a moment with raised eyebrows.
"A bit of both." Jillian compromised.
"Hm..." the girl seemed to think, before resting her head on the scientist's torso, looking up at her with a pout, "I'm hungry."
The comment caught them both off guard, not expecting such a sudden change of subject. The brunette could only put a hand over her face, laughing softly, while Jillian did almost the same.
"Alright, let's see what I have in the kitchen for you, huh?"
At no point did she move to return the girl to Mother Superion's arms. Instead, she got up and rested her weight on her waist, taking the glasses off her little face and motioning for Suzanne to follow them, leaving the necklace behind and locking the room with her biometrics.
She could feel the brunette's eyes following her as she talked to Katerina about the paintings that decorated the walls of her home, and for a moment, she found herself wondering what was going through Suzanne's head.
***
Well, that's weird, Suzanne concluded in her mind.
God knew she had already done everything for her girls, whether they were six, eighteen or thirty-four years old. But being at Jillian Salvius's table with Katerina in her lap while Jillian herself spooned cereal into the girl's mouth wasn't something she saw herself doing fifteen hours ago.
The weirdest part, though? She was taking advantage of the domesticity of the situation. The child's giggles, Jillian's radiant smile that she hadn't seen since Michael returned, before… Adriel was defeated.
The holy war was only getting closer and closer, and she felt the weight of the world on her shoulders. For that very reason, she understood Ava and her desperation for the necklace to be analyzed, given it could be a weapon or a key to end that war before more people were hurt.
People like Katerina, who had nothing to do with the evil in the world.
People like Jillian, Michael and Mary, who sacrificed everything to protect the rest of the world.
She would do whatever she had to do to protect those who were left, even if it costed her own life in the process.
So, she decided that she would let herself take advantage of the chances that God gave her to spend simple moments like these. Where she could almost forget about the approaching storm. Where she could read in the eyes of the woman in front of her everything that neither of them had the courage to say. And, mostly, where she could almost imagine herself with a completely different life.
A wife and daughter.
No wars, no angels and demons causing trouble. Just shared breakfasts, little feet running around the house, and a hug to cuddle up to at the end of Christmas Eve.
What a beautiful dream.
But as in all dreams, at some point you have to wake up.
And the sound of glass shattering upstairs was her personal damn alarm clock. There shouldn't have been anyone else in the house.
Someone had broken in.
In a second she was on her feet, gripping her cane tightly as the sounds of footsteps on broken glass sounded from the second floor. There was no rest for the wicked nor the holy, it seemed.
“Stay here with Katerina. Don't follow me, got it?!"
She didn't even wait for an answer before turning around and running to the stairs, hearing a call from the little one, who screamed “Mother!”, and which she had to ignore.
Focus, Suzanne, focus.
It was happening again. First the halo, then the crown of thorns, and now it was the necklace. How much blood would have to be shed for sacred objects?
The blood that had to be shed, as long as it didn't belong to the innocent, she decided when she saw three armed men breaking down the door to the room where the necklace was. The window at the end of the hall was shattered, pointing to exactly how they managed to get in.
Without thinking twice, she removed the blade from inside her cane, running towards the men and killing the first one from the back, tearing his neck and making him fall to the ground, lifeless. The others turned, opening fire on her, who used the closet wall as cover. When the gunfire ceased and she sensed the two men closing in, she drove the blade into the first one's stomach as he appeared beside her, using his body to push the other to the ground, disorienting him.
He tried to draw his gun again, aiming it at her, but Suzanne was much more agile and kicked it out of his hand, the shot hitting the opposite wall as the man screamed in pain, having his hand broken when she stepped on it, before she also relieved him of suffering with a quick cut on his artery.
When silence returned to the room, she opened the glass door one last time, clutching the necklace tightly and running down the stairs.
"We have to leave, it's not safe here anymore –" and, suddenly, her voice disappeared.
Two other men were in the middle of the dining room, holding Jillian and Katerina, guns pointed directly at their heads.
Of course, that had been an ambush. And Suzanne had fallen for it.
Katerina was crying inconsolably, her eyes wide when she saw the brunette again, and Jillian was struggling dangerously, trying to free herself at any cost.
“Mother, Adriel sends his regards.” The man holding Jillian smiled sadistically.
“Adriel is dead.” She replied, trying to buy time to analyze the situation and how best to attack.
“Ah, but he is an angel!” His voice cracked, not liking to be confronted, "he will come back even stronger to wipe out all of you heretics at once!"
“You came for a reason, didn't you? Or did you come here only to make empty threats?” Suzanne gripped her cane tightly, realizing there were no tactical advantages to the position. One misstep, and one or both of them could lose their lives. Adrenaline almost washed over her body, but she knew better than that.
“That necklace in your hand, we came for it. And now you're going to peacefully leave it on the table, so we can let these two cuties free."
***
Suzanne's expression was unreadable, but Jillian knew she would find a way to save them and keep the necklace. The gun to her head didn't scare her, but the one pointed at Katerina did.
Suzanne had to do something. And she knew she would.
“And how will I know you really are going to let them go once you have the necklace in your possession?”
“Come on, Adriel is fair and so are we. We don't want a confrontation, we just want to take what belongs to us and leave."
And, suddenly, the blonde felt like everything was happening in slow motion, but at the same time passing in a blur.
Suzanne raised her hand slowly, causing the icy barrel of the gun to press harder against Jillian's temple, and then she dropped the necklace on the table, taking a few steps back.
No, no! What is she doing?
“You're smart, Mother,” the man released Jillian abruptly, before moving closer to the necklace, holding it in his hand, as if deciding if now he really had what he wanted, “Don't be stupid now. I will order my colleague here to release the girl, but if you try any tricks, we will not hesitate to kill everyone here.”
Suzanne only nodded once, her jaw locked, and, in a few seconds, Katerina was running into Jillian's arms, the men nowhere to be seen. Nor the necklace.
Even with wobbly legs, instinct and habit guided her arms so that she could pick the girl up without difficulty, her heart pounding in her ears and her breathing uneven as she wiped the tears from her little cheeks, checking that there wasn't even a scratch on her
"It's okay, we're okay now."
Katerina buried her little face in her neck, hugging her as she sobbed. Jillian didn't blame her, after all, she had survived two violent attacks in two days.
As her hand caressed the girl's back and she rocked her, trying to soothe her the best she could, her gaze finally returned to Suzanne, who was still standing in the same spot, watching them with an expression Jillian had never seen before.
"Why?" Jillian asked.
She didn't even need to ask the blonde to clarify what the question was about, “there was no other alternative, it was too risky. They had the upper hand.”
“…and the necklace?”
“We are going to get it back.”
“And if we can’t?”
“We always do. We already got a lot of things back from Adriel and even you, remember?” She smirked, making the tears in her eyes even more visible, betraying her attempt to remain emotionless. “That necklace can easily come back to us, but I could never get any of you back.”
Those words made Jillian's heart flutter, barely missing a beat. The meaning was clear, transparent, more so than Suzanne had ever been in the last few weeks.
And with her heart still pounding in her chest, the doctor quickly closed the distance between them, pulling the other into her embrace. She couldn't even tell who had sighed in relief, maybe both of them, when their bodies fit perfectly around her and Katerina, who was still sobbing softly.
Her eyes filled with her own tears, but she didn't let them fall, nor did Suzanne.
***
The brunette looked at herself once more in the bathroom mirror, checking that all the blood had gone down the sink, leaving her face clean once more. The last thing the child who was a corridor away needed was to keep looking at her bloodied face.
She had to confess that, after so many years, it was strange to see her reflection and not stare at the scar that used to cross her face. The scar that served as a painful reminder to never again be reckless, of never again taking a loved one’s life for granted.
She sighed, knowing she had done the right thing. Camila, Ava, Beatrice… any of her girls would have done the same. And she knew Jillian would too. The mission had changed, but they would be able to accomplish it, one way or another, but not at the cost of more lives if they could help it.
With one last sigh, she dried her face and left the mirror behind, closing the door behind her before heading back into the living room, where she had left Jillian and Katerina, who were still sitting on the immaculate white sofa, matching everything else in the house.
“Will I see you again?” Katerina's bottom lip trembled, casting a watery look at the blonde that would have broken even Suzanne's will.
Apparently, they hadn't noticed her presence yet.
“Sure, we'll see each other again, sweetheart,” she smiled and placed a kiss on the little girl's forehead, rocking her back and forth, “but in the meantime, will you promise to take care of him for me? He is very important to me.”
Him?
That's when Mother Superion noticed that the girl was holding a stuffed animal. A blue wolf. Her heart melted when she realized that that was Michael's toy.
Suddenly, even after everything that had happened in the last few hours, Katerina's gaze almost matched Suzanne's famous one, pure determination and protection shining in her small face, which was still kind of red from crying.
“I promise, I will protect him.”
“Thanks,” she touched their noses, making the girl giggle, “now, would you like to play here for a bit?”
Katerina didn't need to be asked twice. In a second, she was off Jillian's lap, placing the wolf on top of the living room table to pretend he was running around.
Jillian then got up and turned around, not the least bit surprised to see Suzanne there.
Of course she noticed my presence.
As she walked over and pulled her aside, ensuring the child wouldn't hear them, Jillian flashed a winsome smile, "you know, she has your eyes."
Suzanne couldn't help the smile that crept across her own lips in return, deciding to go along with the banter, "and your stubbornness, believe me."
The two laughed softly, before staring at each other for a few seconds, the amusement fading from their features in a moment.
“You can’t stay any longer, can you?”
Suzanne could hear the plea implied in the question, and even though she felt her heart contracting, begging her to stay, she shook her head.
“I've already sent a message to OCS, the girls need me there,” her eyes flicked away from blue ones, so she wouldn't even consider to waver when she surely saw the disappointment in them, “I'm sure you'll be safe here, they already got what they wanted, they won't come back.”
“Yes, I figured,” her voice came out softly, uncertainly.
Shaking her head, Suzanne removed her own necklace, placing it over Jillian's head, who didn't try to stop her. She carefully pulled her blonde hair out from under the chain, keeping her hands on her neck as she finished, almost feeling her pulse quicken beneath her fingers.
“You've seen me do this, press the cross three times if you feel you're in danger, and I'll be here as fast as I can.”
This time, her brown eyes stayed locked on the blue pools, to make sure the other woman understood. Instead of a confirmation, however, she saw her face get closer, before their lips touched lightly, in the softest kiss she had ever received in her entire life.
Her hands came up to Jillian's face, kissing her back as her head spun, feeling like a lost piece had suddenly clicked into place. Even after so much denial, when she felt the taller's hands pulling her waist closer, she let herself admit that she wanted this from the beginning. That touch, that affection.
That love.
And before she even had time to process the discovery, the kiss was over, and Jillian was looking at her as if she were reading her mind.
"Win this last war and come back to me, Anne," she whispered, like a secret, clasping their hands together, "and don't come back alone."
Suzanne quickly turned her attention to Katerina, who was still playing with the stuffed wolf, before nodding.
"I promise."
"Ah, there's the same protective eyes she has."
With a chuckle, Suzanne shook her head and closed the short distance quickly, stealing one last kiss.
***
As she waved to Katerina, who was waving back with the hand that wasn't holding her new christmas present, she kept her heart calm as she watched the two of them walk away from her.
Anne always kept her promises, and she would come back.
The two of them would return, and she would no longer be alone.
And that promise, in and of itself, was a Christmas miracle, Jillian concluded.