Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"Mary, we're leaving. Now." Beatrice's look and tone left no room for debate.

"We're not letting Adriel and Vincent get away," Mary objected as she evaded a blow from one of the possessed civilians in the square.

"They already got away and there is no way we can fight through this many possessed people. We have to come up with a new plan," Beatrice said as she practically dragged Mary back.

Mary eventually relented and followed Beatrice and Ava out, as Lilith and Camila covered their retreat. They eventually made it out into the street, the possessed thankfully not interested in pursuing them.

"What do we do now?" Ava asked, looking around.

"First order of business is getting out of the city before someone apprehends us, but we can't risk using our own van, so we'll need to appropriate one," Beatrice answered.

After a few tense minutes, the women had located a suitable van. As Camila went to work to open the door, the other four grouped around her to shield her from prying eyes.

"Isn't it a sin to steal a vehicle?" Ava asked quietly.

"Sometimes something that is normally a sin is permissible if it serves a higher purpose," Beatrice answered.

Ava's face lit up. "Oh, like in the Sound of Music, when the nuns steal the car parts to stop the Nazis!"

Lilith looked affronted, but before she could comment on it, Camila had managed to open the door and the group quickly piled into the car.

"Where are we going, other than out of the city?" Mary asked, taking the wheel.

"We need to lay low for a while, at least until we know if we're wanted or not. But we can't use any of the OCS safe houses for obvious reasons," Beatrice answered.

"I uh, may have a place," Camila answered, a little embarrassed. "Just after we got here, I rented a cabin so we'd have a place to go if things went really badly. I made sure it couldn't be traced to me or the OCS. It's pretty isolated, no nearby neighbors, about 200 kilometers north of Rome."

"You don't seem happy about it," Ava observed.

"I felt bad getting it, like I should have more faith in the mission. I still do really."

"Don't; it's always good to have a contingency plan. You did well Camila," Beatrice praised the younger nun.

"And in this case it's a good thing you didn't tell, otherwise Vincent would have known about it." The way Mary bit out his name left little to the imagination as to how she felt about the man. "So, we're heading north?"

"No. Head south first, then we'll swap vehicles after a while. Keeping this one is too risky; we acquired it right outside the Vatican, so if they are looking for us, they may be looking for it. Also, turn your phones off; they can be traced," Beatrice instructed.

"You are awfully good at this. Do they teach getaway techniques at the OCS?" Ava asked with smirk.

"We are taught to be prepared for a lot of things, but this was not exactly on the curriculum. I'm mostly improvising here," Beatrice admitted as everyone settled in for the drive.

Chapter Text

After a long journey where they kept to the secondary roads at Beatrice's insistence, they arrived at the cabin that Camila had gotten them. "It's not very large, there are two bedrooms that sleep two each and the fifth has to use the sofa bed," Camila apologized.

"I'll take the sofa if there are no objections," Mary said as she lowered one of their bags to the floor. "I assume you want the east bedroom Beatrice?"

Beatrice gave her a look that clearly said "This again?"

"Beatrice has a preference for east facing bedrooms?" Ava asked bemused.

"It's kind of a running joke at the OCS," Camila explained. "Or was, I suppose," she corrected, her face turning wistful. "Bea likes to wake up early, so the joke is to give her an east room so she can rise with the sun."

Beatrice sighed. "Either room is fine really."

"East it is then," Mary said with a smirk. "Ava, why don't you room with her? Maybe Beatrice's early rising will rub off on you."

Ava stuck her tongue out. "Maybe my late rising will rub off on her instead."

She followed Beatrice into the bedroom. "Looks like we have to share the bed. Are you okay with that?" she asked, noticing the single queen size bed in the room.

"Of course. It's not the first time I've had to share with a sister while on a mission," Beatrice answered with a little more confidence than she actually felt.

"Technically I'm not a sister," Ava teased as she launched herself onto the bed. "Oh, comfy."

"In all the ways that matter you are, just like Mary. You may not have taken vows, but you are a one of us."

Ava smiled warmly at Beatrice. "Thanks."

After putting their bags away, they rejoined the others in the living room. "So, what happens next?" Camila asked, voicing the question that was on all their minds.

"Well, the good news is that there was no mention on the news about us, so that should give us a little more freedom in moving around without every civilian looking for us," Beatrice said.

"Do you think Duretti will have the police looking for us?" Mary asked.

"Difficult to say. He may want to apprehend us, but if he goes to the civilian authorities he runs the risk of exposing the OCS. I'm hoping he won't go that far, but we should count on him sending the OCS after us," Beatrice answered.

"What's left of it anyway," Mary muttered.

"So now we're not just fighting team Adriel, but team Duretti as well. Great," Ava said, her voice thick with sarcasm.

"Actually, it may be worse than that. In your vision of the past, you saw Adriel being pursued by Tarasks right?" Beatrice asked.

"Yeah, right before he stuck the halo into Areala to hide it from them."

Beatrice nodded. "And just now, Lilith was returned to us after being taken by a Tarask, adamant that the halo not enter Adriel's tomb. So we have to assume that the forces of darkness are not united."

"So in addition to team Duretti and team Adriel there's also team Tarask?" Ava asked.

"It would seem so. And everyone is out to get everyone else," Mary answered grimly.

Camila's eyes widened a little. "How can we hope to deal with that?"

"We will need support. Someone that can provide us with money and equipment. And ideally, divinium," Beatrice answered.

Mary nodded her agreement. "That pretty much narrows it down to two possibilities. Either ARQ-Tech or the OCS, and of those two, I would say that the OCS is out of the question. Even if we weren't essentially fugitives, there's still the fact that Duretti tried to have Ava killed just because it suited his ambition of making pope. We can't very well deal with Adriel if we have to constantly worry about our patron stabbing us in the back."

At Mary's last words, Lilith stood up abruptly and turned her back to the group. "Lilith," Mary started before Lilith interrupted her in a tight voice. "I should leave then, as I was the one doing the actual stabbing."

Mary wasn't sure if Lilith was angry at her words or still beating herself up over what happened. "No. Sure, you messed up. Badly." Lilith stiffened at Mary's words. "But you realized that you were wrong. You apologized and you were forgiven. Duretti? None of that. He did what he did because it suited him. He isn't one bit sorry and he'd do it again."

For a few seconds, there was absolute silence. "I tried to kill someone Mary. I tried to kill the halo bearer, because my ambition got the better of me. I'm as bad as Duretti."

"The fact that you are fretting over it is what makes you better Lilith. You have a conscience, you learned from your mistake." Mary stood up and placed her hand on Lilith's shoulder.

"Did I? I killed Crimson when I was in the Vatican looking for the tomb."

Mary sighed. "Lilith, Crimson had sided against us. She also tried to kill Beatrice and me in Shannon's room. I'm sorry she's dead, but she made her choice."

"This was different Mary." Lilith's voice was shaking. "I have been in fights before, but this time I barely felt anything. It was... it was like I was a robot. Crimson was in my way, so I just slit her throat as casually as I would open a door. There was a flicker of regret and then... nothing."

"You weren't exactly yourself back then. It was almost like you were hypnotized to stop Ava from getting into the tomb," Mary tried to reassure her.

"And if that happens again? What if it's one of you that's in my way next time?" Lilith's shoulders slumped. "I feel like a bomb that could go off at any time."

"Then I'll snap you out of it again. Lilith, you're one of us. We are not abandoning you, especially not over something that was not your fault."

"What if it wasn't an accident Mary? What if it was meant to happen? I've always wondered why I was named Lilith." Lilith let out a bitter laugh. "Not exactly fitting for a prospective halo bearer, but very fitting for the freak of nature that I've become."

Mary gave Lilith a sympathetic look. "I don't have all the answers Lilith, but I refuse to believe that you are evil."

"If it helps, you may not be the only one with demonic enhancements." At Ava's words, four pairs of eyes turned to her. "That metal ring in my back that we're referring to as the halo? The official OCS lore was that it was gifted to Areala by the angel Adriel right?" Beatrice nodded. "Well, we now know that Adriel is no angel and probably stole it. So with that in mind, is there any proof it originally came from up there?" Ava asked, tilting her head up.

"I... don't think so," Beatrice said, going over her memories of OCS texts. "I think the only reference to the origin is Adriel gifting it to Areala."

"So it could just as easily have come from the other side," Ava concluded.

"But you could have it removed if you wanted to. I'm stuck like this," Lilith countered.

"Can I? Best case, I go back to being a paraplegic. Worst case, I go back to being dead." She gave Lilith what she hoped was an encouraging smile. "But I try not to think too much about it, because I can't change it. And in the end, doesn't it matter more what we do with our abilities?"

"What she said," Mary added, impressed at Ava's maturity. "No one here is going to judge you for who or what you are Lilith."

Camila stood up and pulled Lilith into a hug. "We still love you."

Lilith found herself choking up. "Thank you," she managed to get out, uncomfortable at being emotional in public.

"We are here for you Lilith. We'll help you deal with the situation," Beatrice promised.

Lilith nodded. "And I agree with Mary, the OCS is not an option. Duretti would probably have me burned at the stake."

"Seems like it's going to be ARQ-Tech then," Ava concluded.

"There are also risks associated with that option though, mainly with doctor Salvius. She is obsessed with the well-being of her son and she has in the past put those interests above all others, including ours." Beatrice stated.

"But we are no threat to him, are we?" Camila asked.

"No. But we know that Adriel has an interest in doctor Salvius' machine. So if he were to offer her to make it work and take her son and her to a place where they can be together, then she might well take him up on the offer."

Ava nodded. "That sounds like something he'd do. He also tried to manipulate me into giving up the halo."

"True, we'll have to be careful there as well, but I still think it's the better choice," Mary stated.

"I agree. It's far from ideal, but it's the best option available," Beatrice concurred. She looked at Ava, Camila and Lilith, who all nodded in agreement. "ARQ-Tech it is then. We'll contact them in the morning; for now I think we could all do with a good night's sleep."

"Beatrice? What is the problem with Lilith's name?" Ava asked as they were getting ready for bed.

"Lilith is the name of a demonic figure in some mythologies," Beatrice explained, thankful that Ava had not brought the matter up in front of Lilith.

Ava winced in sympathy. "Ouch. That must have been a difficult name for a sister warrior."

"At times, it was. It has always been a delicate point for her and I fear that it will be even more so now that this has happened."

Ava slipped under the covers. "I wish we could do something to help her."

Beatrice mirrored her actions on the other side of the bed. "Right now it's too fresh I think, but maybe in a while you could talk to her. In a way, your experiences are not too dissimilar; you were both taken from and then returned to this world a different person."

"Maybe you're right. Ah, who am I kidding, you are always right," Ava grinned. She hovered her hand over the light switch. "Ready?"

"Yes. Good night Ava."

"Night Bea," Ava answered as the room was plunged into darkness.

A few hours later, Ava was awakened by Beatrice struggling violently beside her. After realizing what it was that had woken her up, Ava cursed and scrambled out of the bed, nearly getting her legs tangled up in the covers. She hit the light switch and squinted as the room was suddenly bathed in bright light. She grabbed the dagger she'd left on her night stand for situations like this and, remembering her training, took on a defensive posture as she surveyed the room. To her surprise, she saw no obvious hostiles in the room, human or otherwise. She quickly made her way over to the other side of the bed where Beatrice was still struggling. Once there, she relaxed slightly as she saw that there was no one present other than Beatrice and herself and that Beatrice was most likely having a nightmare. She put the knife away and sat down on the bed.

"Bea, wake up, you are having a nightmare. Beatrice!" she called, as she gently shook Beatrice's form. Beatrice's eyes snapped open and Ava was surprised by the look of unadulterated fear in them, being used to Beatrice always being calm and composed. A moment later Beatrice had Ava's wrist in a vice-like grip, pulling her hand away from her. "Beatrice, it's all right. It's me, Ava. You're safe, you had a bad dream," Ava continued, trying to calm the other woman down. A few moments later the look of fear was replaced by one of recognition. Beatrice let go of Ava's hand and breathed deeply, trying to steady herself. After a short while she felt well enough to sit next to Ava. "That must have been a pretty bad nightmare," Ava said sympathetically.

"It was."

"Do you want to talk about it? It would help me sometimes to deal with nightmares," Ava offered.

Beatrice took a deep breath. If it had been anyone else, she'd have politely but firmly rejected the offer. But for some reason Ava made her not only feel that she could be open with her, but that she wanted to be. It had been that instinctual trust that made her open up to her at ARQ-Tech, telling her things that she'd only told very few people before, despite only knowing her for a very short time. "I was reliving a memory; something that happened years ago, when I was still living at home. At the time, I had my first girlfriend." Beatrice rushed out the last word, still uncomfortable with the concept. She paused for a moment before continuing. "We'd been seeing each other for a few months. I knew better than to tell my parents about her; they never made a secret of how they felt about people with my... preference in companionship. So I would only invite her over if I knew for certain that my parents would not be home."

Beatrice hung her head and felt Ava's hand on her arm in a show of support. "It's all right, you don't have to tell if you don't want to," Ava said softly, having a hunch where the story was going.

"I think I need to," Beatrice said softly before continuing. "That night, my parents were out attending some diplomatic function. They were supposed to be gone all night, so I thought it was safe to invite her over, but for some reason, they came home a lot earlier. Melissa and I were in my room watching a movie when all of a sudden my father was standing in the door. Nothing untoward was happening; we were lying on the bed watching, fully clothed, on top of the covers." She let out a bitter laugh. "In fact, nothing untoward had ever happened between us because I was too scared, thanks to my upbringing. My father was enraged however and snarled at Melissa to get out of his house. When she was gone he..." Beatrice's voice broke and she felt a tear escape her eye. "He proceeded to give me a trashing while telling me how disappointed he was in me and how my 'perverse predilections' were bringing shame to the family."

Ava gasped and pulled Beatrice into a hug without thinking about it. "Oh Beatrice, I'm so sorry," she said, fighting down her own tears.

After a few moments Beatrice finished her story. "Afterward, he didn't speak to me for two days. On the third day, he told me that he'd arranged for me to attend a boarding school abroad and that I was leaving that weekend."

Ava was seething. "What a motherf..." She started before realizing that despite everything, he was still Beatrice's father. "Sorry."

"It's OK," Beatrice answered, managing a weak smile.

Ava pulled back and brushed a tear from Beatrice's cheek. "I guess we've both had screwed up childhoods."

"We do have that in common. We both survived though."

"Technically, I didn't. But I was fortunate enough to be saved by a band of kick-ass nuns," Ava smiled. She looked at Beatrice with sympathy. "Do you have that nightmare often?"

Beatrice froze. That was exactly the question she had hoped Ava wouldn't ask. If she answered truthfully, there was a good chance Ava would figure out what had triggered the nightmare and she really didn't want to get into that and complicate things between them. It would be simple enough to tell a little white lie and say the she got it from time to time, but she couldn't bring herself to lie to Ava. "At first, I got it quite often, but it eventually came less and less. It has been years since I last had it I think."

"Any idea what triggered the dream now?"

Beatrice looked away. She had a very good idea why she had the dream, but that was something she couldn't bring herself to confess.

"It doesn't have anything to do with me, does it?" Ava made it sound like a joke, but Beatrice could hear the underlying apprehension. Beatrice remained silent, but her silence was answer enough for Ava. "It does," Ava concluded, sounding crushed. "I... I'm sorry, I didn't mean to put you through that," Ava continued as she got up and headed for the door. "I'll ask Camilla or Lilith to trade places with me."

Ava already had her hand on the door handle when Beatrice called her back. "Ava, please?" she asked, patting the space beside her that Ava had just vacated. As Ava sat down besides her again Beatrice mentally prepared herself for the conversation ahead. "You didn't do anything wrong, you have nothing to be sorry about."

"But me being here did cause that nightmare?"

"I think so," Beatrice answered.

Ava was racking her brain trying to make sense of it all when it suddenly clicked. How the nightmare apparently came when Beatrice shared a bed with her, but not with one of the other sisters, how Beatrice had held and caressed her face after she made it through the twenty feet of concrete and numerous other little things. "Beatrice? Do you... like me?" Ava asked hesitantly.

Beatrice hung her head in shame and nodded. "Can we please forget this happened?" she asked after she found her voice again.

"Why?" Ava asked gently.

"Because this must be very awkward for you, knowing that I have these feelings for you. Especially since you, you know, like men."

Ava rested her hand on Beatrice's leg in a show of comfort. "I do like men," she confirmed. After a brief pause she continued with a hint of mirth in her voice. "But I never said I didn't like women." As her words sank in, she felt Beatrice grow rigid under her touch. "And I like you Beatrice. In fact, I like you a lot."

"Are you making fun of me?" Beatrice asked, her voice barely above a whisper. A moment later, she felt Ava's fingers cradling her chin and lifting her head so she was facing the other woman.

"I would never toy with your feelings like that Beatrice."

"You really like me?" The disbelieve was evident in Beatrice's voice.

Ava chuckled. "What's there not to like? You're brilliant, you're strong, you're a badass warrior and you're beautiful to boot." She sobered up a bit. "In fact, I should ask you that question. You've said yourself that I am thoughtless and self centered, and I think that's not an unfair assessment."

Beatrice winced a little as she heard back her own words. "That may have been true back then, but it certainly is not now. Think about it, when we arrived in Rome and dressed you in a habit, you were afraid of offending God by wearing it without taking vows. Is that something a thoughtless person would worry about? And in the catacombs, you found it impossible to hold back while we were fighting the other nuns. And instead of running away, you faced your inner pain to allow you to phase through twenty feet of stone before risking your life by helping us get into Adriel's tomb. Does that sound self centered?"

"Must have been your good influence," Ava joked, but Beatrice could tell she was moved.

"You've changed Ava. In fact, you've changed so much in such a short time that I wonder if deep down you ever were thoughtless and self centered to begin with. Maybe that was a shell that you constructed to deal with the toxic environment of the orphanage."

"You think?" Ava asked surprised.

"I don't know, I'm not a psychologist. But the fact is that you did change a lot, and I would say for the better. If I had to describe you know, I'd say that you were loyal and brave, that you have a unique zest for life and that you are, well, cute," Beatrice said, blushing at the last part.

"Cute?" Ava asked, her eyebrows raised.

"I meant it in a good way," Beatrice defended herself, unsure if she'd offended Ava.

"I know. It's just that... I think the last person to call me cute was my mom."

"I'm sorry."

Ava smiled. "Don't be, I like it. I could get used to someone calling me that again." She took a deep breath. "So, now that we've established that we like each other, what happens next?"

Beatrice was amazed at how the walls that she'd spent years constructing around her heart were crumbling in a matter of weeks around Ava. Before she met Ava she had been sure that she'd never allow herself to go down this path again, but now she could not bring herself to turn down the opportunity. "I'd like to explore this... us."

"I'd like that too. But would that work with you being a nun? I thought nuns took a vow of celibacy."

"Chastity," Beatrice a corrected. "And yes, we do. But the OCS is not exactly a traditional order as you may have noticed. As a result, we get more leeway in certain matters."

A wide grin appeared on Ava's face. "Are you saying that the OCS allows extracurricular activities?"

Beatrice winced. "Well, I wouldn't say allowed, it is frowned upon. But it is kind of a 'don't ask, don't tell' thing; as long as you're not flaunting it, it is accepted." Beatrice sighed. "It's ironic really, I used to think of it as improper, and now I find myself desiring it. But the real question is not so much if I'm allowed this as a nun, but if I'm still a nun at all."

"What do you mean?" Ava asked confused.

"Besides a vow of chastity, we also take a vow of obedience, which means we have to follow the orders of Mother Superion and the Church. And unlike the vow of chastity, that one is taken very seriously by the OCS. And these past few days I have broken it in more ways than I could have imagined. Instead of going to Malaysia as ordered, I returned to Cat's Cradle, where I proceeded to engage the sisters sent to replace us in combat. We then went on an unsanctioned mission to, of all places, the Vatican, where we fought with officials of the Church, blew up one of the buildings while the pope was greeting the people for the first time and in doing so released an ancient evil. Any one of those would be grounds for dismissal, and a number of those could probably earn me an excommunication. And given the state of our relationship with Duretti, I think that's not an unlikely outcome."

Ava felt her heart break a little at Beatrice's sad look. "Are you sure that we should be pursuing this then?" she asked, hoping the answer wouldn't be "no".

"Yes," Beatrice answered with determination, followed by an almost fearful "Unless you don't want to?"

Ava's eyes widened. "I absolutely want to. It's just that being a sister warrior is basically your whole life and I don't want you to lose that over me."

Beatrice smiled gently at her. "And you still think you are self centered?"

Ava gave Beatrice a bashful smile in return. "Well, maybe a little. I also don't want you hating me for, you know, leading you into temptation."

"Ava, I promise you that whatever happens I won't hold it against you. If I choose to pursue this, it would hardly be fair to blame you for the consequences. And like I said, after everything I did, this is hardly going to be the straw that breaks the camel's back."

Ava took Beatrice's hands in hers. "In that case, I would love to explore this with you."

Beatrice's face lit up. "Would you be OK with us taking this slow though? I think I may have a few more personal demons to deal with."

Ava let go of one of Beatrice's hands to caress her cheek. "Of course, we can go as slow as you want to. I'll let you set the pace, that way nothing will happen that you don't feel ready for. And I'll be there for you every step of the way."

Beatrice started crying softly on hearing Ava's words. "Hey, what's wrong?" Ava asked as she pulled her into an embrace.

It took a minute before Beatrice had composed herself enough for her to answer. She pulled back and smiled through her tears. "Nothing. It's just that my whole life I have tried to fit in. Tried to be accepted by those around me. Tried to bury my 'perverse predilections'. And now, for the first time, I feel like I can be myself. No pretenses, no expectations to meet. You make me feel like I can be just me."

"No more pretenses Bea, just be your beautiful self," Ava said softly.

"Thank you," Beatrice answered before stifling a yawn. "Sorry."

Ava grinned. "I think my girl needs her beauty sleep."

"I think we both do. Yesterday has been a... hellish day."

Ava's grin widened at the pun. "Oh, we're made for each other," she said as she got up and returned to her own side of the bed. After they both got settled again, she turned off the lights.

"Ava?" Beatrice asked a minute later.

"Yes?"

"Would you mind holding me? To keep the dreams at bay?" Ava could practically hear the embarrassment in her voice.

"Of course not." Ava scooted over until she was spooned up against Beatrice's back and draped her arm over her. "Like this?"

"Yes, thank you."

Without thinking, Ava pressed a kiss on the back of Beatrice's head before quickly pulling back. "Sorry. Was I crossing any boundaries there?"

Beatrice felt her heart swell as she realized how seriously Ava was taking her request to go slow. "No. I liked it in fact."

"Good. Because I liked doing it."

"Goodnight Ava."

"Night Bea."

The rest of the night Beatrice slept better than she had in a long while.

Chapter Text

The next morning, Ava was woken by a loud pounding on their door and Mary yelling "Beatrice? Are you still alive in there?"

Beatrice couldn't resist a slight eye roll. "I'm fine, we'll be out shortly."

"Breakfast is in fifteen minutes. Don't be late, or Lilith will eat all the food." A muffled slap was audible in the bedroom. "Hey!"

Ava rubbed the sleep from her eyes and smiled blissfully at Beatrice. "Good morning dear. I thought you were an early riser?"

Beatrice gave a shy smile in return. "Well, I've been awake for quite a while actually. But I didn't want to disturb you."

"So you've just been lying here? What have you been doing?"

"A lot of thinking. About the mission, Adriel and us as well."

Ava couldn't help but feel a little apprehension. "Are you having second thoughts?"

"No," Beatrice answered resolutely, "I want this Ava, there just is a part of me that I have to convince that I'm allowed."

Ava brushed a lock of hair from Beatrice's face. "I'm here if you need anything." She took a deep breath. "Do you want to tell the others?"

"Yes, but can we hold off on that for a few days while I'm figuring all this out for myself?"

"Of course. So, breakfast?"

"Breakfast," Beatrice confirmed as they got up.

"So, did Ava's late rising actually rub off on you? Camila was getting worried," Mary remarked as they were seated at the breakfast table.

Ava looked over to Camila, who attempted to hide her blush. "She was awake, but she didn't want to wake me up," Ava explained.

Mary arched her brow. "Really? I don't recall her ever showing us such consideration."

"I felt that our halo bearer could use the rest after what happened yesterday," Beatrice answered. "And I made use of the time by planning our next steps," she continued, eager to change the subject.

Mary didn't look very convinced, but didn't pursue the matter as the discussion moved on to the plans for the day.

"Do you think Camila was able to keep the food selection somewhat healthy?" Mary asked as she and Beatrice made their way back to the van with a newly purchased phone. They had agreed to drive into a town some distance from their hideout where Beatrice and Mary had set out to buy a phone while Ava and Camila had gone off to buy groceries.

"I hope they at least managed to strike a balance," Beatrice answered. She smiled as she remembered how Ava's face had lit up at the prospect of getting something else than rations to eat.

"We'll see," Mary said as they rounded the corner and saw Camila and Ava loading bags of groceries into the van. Mary snatched a tub of ice cream from one of the bags. "Was this on the shopping list?"

"Nope, we forgot to put it on there. Fortunately I remembered to get some," Ava answered with a big grin as she claimed her trophy back. "Besides, we also have vegetables and stuff like that."

"Much appreciated," Beatrice remarked dryly.

Ava caught the "told-you-so" look Mary gave Beatrice. "Hey, cut a girl some slack. It's not like we got stuff like this in the orphanage and with Adriel around there's no telling how many chances I'll get to indulge." The mood instantly sombered at Ava's words and Mary felt a little guilty over her teasing. "Sorry, I didn't mean to be a buzzkill," Ava continued, noticing the change in atmosphere.

"It's OK Ava, we all feel it to some degree. It's just that the rest of us got a little more used to living like that," Camila offered.

Ava loaded the last of the grocery bags into the van. "I'm not sure if that's a good thing."

"It's not. But also unavoidable," Beatrice answered. "Shall I make the call to ARQ-Tech?"

The rest of the women nodded as they got in the car. As Mary drove them back towards their hideout, Beatrice face grew more concerned as the call progressed. "There have been some developments," Beatrice stated after ending the call.

"None of them good I assume?" Mary sighed.

"Michael Salvius is missing. Not too long after Lilith left, a portal suddenly opened in the machine and Michael stepped through it."

"Fuck," Mary cursed.

"Language," Beatrice chided. "And it gets more interesting. Apparently Michael knew the portal was going to open beforehand, because 'his angel' told him."

Ava blanched. "Adriel. It must have happened when he reached inside me and tried to rip the halo out. I could see flashes of a portal."

"Which means he now has a hostage, which makes one hell of a bargaining chip," Lilith concluded.

"Especially since he's the only one who can get to the kid," Mary added.

"Actually, it somewhat ties in with what I've been thinking about with regards to how to deal with Adriel," Beatrice mused.

Lilith raised an eyebrow. "Don't tell me you're thinking about negotiating with Adriel."

"Hardly. I have little doubt that he would betray us the moment it suited him. But I'm fairly sure we can't just kill Adriel. Think about it, our predecessors in the OCS went to the trouble of locking Adriel in that tomb, which must have been considerably more work than killing him, so they must have had a reason. I can think of only two possibilities; either killing Adriel would do more harm than good, or they were unable to. Of those two, I would consider the second the most likely. And the fact that he managed to survive those centuries with no food, water and fresh air lends credence to his claim that he can't be killed in this realm."

"So what do we do then?" Camila asked nervously. "Imprison him again?"

"That is one option, but we must assume that Adriel will be prepared for that, so I believe that would be difficult. It would also not be a permanent solution, as there would always be the risk of escape. If possible, I believe the best solution would be to banish him to another realm. Without the halo, it would be very hard for him to come back."

Mary cast a look back at Beatrice from behind the wheel. "If that was possible, wouldn't our predecessors have done that instead of locking him up?"

Beatrice smiled faintly. "We have an asset that no previous generation had. Someone who has already traveled between realms and who can teleport."

All eyes turned on Lilith, who was instantly uncomfortable. "Me? I don't know if I can teleport reliably here on Earth, let alone to another realm. And that's assuming I can take passengers."

"We'd also explore imprisoning him as a backup plan, but I think this is our best bet. Hopefully we'll have some time to prepare ourselves."

Lilith looked doubtful. "I'm not sure I can do this. I don't even know if I can control that part of me."

Beatrice placed a hand on her shoulder. "We have faith in you Lilith. And maybe doctor Salvius can help you figure it out."

"Just think about it Lilith, instead of a liability, you may turn out to be essential to the mission," Camila added.

"I'll try," Lilith promised, despite feeling very uncomfortable.

"That's all anyone can ask. And if it doesn't work, we'll go for plan B," Beatrice finished.

"How is Salvius now?" Mary asked.

"I didn't actually speak to her, but an assistant of hers. Apparently she has all but locked herself in the lab, trying to get the machine working again. Kristian Schaefer apparently thinks that it is all divine will and now spends most of his time praying."

"Shit," Mary cursed. "If he thinks what Adriel is doing is divine will, that could cause a problem."

"Agreed, we'll have to be even more cautious than we thought. In any case, the assistant said she'd tell doctor Salvius that we called and ask her to call us back."

The women spent the rest of the drive to their temporary home in silence as they pondered Beatrice's idea and the new problems at ARQ-Tech.

Chapter Text

Four days later the women found themselves looking at their new home. Jillian Salvius had called them back the same evening and offered to help them on the condition that they would do their best to recover Michael. The nuns had accepted and Jillian had them flown back to Spain on a private jet to keep under the radar as much as possible. She had also, at Beatrice's insistence, ensured that the vehicle that they had appropriated found its way back to its owners without any trace to them. A van had been waiting for them at the airport which Mary had driven to the house that Jillian has given them use of.

"Nice place," Mary said appreciatively as they walked up to the front door.

"Same sleeping arrangements as last time?" Camila suggested.

"Works for me," Lilith agreed.

"For me as well. And as a bonus, I'll have a proper bedroom this time," Mary commented. She looked over to Ava and Beatrice who both nodded, with Ava doing her best to suppress her enthusiastic smile. "That's settled then."

"Oh, another queen size bed!" Ava exclaimed as she and Beatrice arrived in their bedroom a few minutes later. Beatrice smiled at Ava's obvious excitement as she closed the door behind them. "I'm glad we ended up sharing again."

"Me too," Beatrice answered before shifting uncomfortably. "I'm sorry."

"What for?" Ava asked confused.

"Not yet telling the others about us. We got lucky; we could have just as easily ended up in separate rooms."

"But we didn't. And we could always have asked to share, made up some reason," Ava said.

"I don't want to make excuses to be around you, or to sneak around. I'm telling them tomorrow," Beatrice said, setting herself a deadline.

"I'll be there with you. If you want me to of course," Ava said. Despite her confident tone, she couldn't shake a slight feeling of unease.

"I'd like that," Beatrice answered.

By the time Ava turned in for the night, the feeling of unease had grown. Sleep eluded her and she kept tossing and turning until she gave up after an hour and got out of bed to avoid waking Beatrice. She made her way to the kitchen and poured herself a glass of milk, hoping it would help her sleep. Ava was lost so deep in thought that she did not hear Mary enter the kitchen.

"Penny for your thoughts," Mary's voice cut through Ava's musings.

Startled, Ava nearly dropped her glass. "Jesus Mary, you scared me half to death."

Mary smirked. "Bad conscience?"

"Nah, there's just some evil supernatural being that is out to kill me."

"Fair. So, trouble sleeping?" Mary asked as she grabbed a loaf of bread and started rummaging through the fridge.

"Yeah, lots of things on my mind. Adriel and other stuff."

"Would that other stuff be Beatrice?"

Ava tried to keep her voice neutral. "What about Beatrice? Also, are you making a sandwich at one in the morning?"

"Yeah, I get hungry when I can't sleep. And don't change the subject; it's pretty obvious the two of you have feelings for each other."

Ava decided not to deny Mary's observation, but not to confirm it either. "What makes you say that?"

"Really? Well, for starters there was letting you sleep in the first night after we got out of Rome. Beatrice never extended that courtesy to any of us. Now that could be explained by going easy on the new girl, but there's also the hand holding in the van, the tete-a-tetes when you thought no one was looking, the ..."

"All right, all right, I get it," Ava interrupted, blushing furiously. "Does everyone know?" she continued, her voice laced with trepidation.

Mary raised an eyebrow. "Is that why you can't sleep? Because you're afraid people know about you and Beatrice?"

Ava sighed. "I have a lot of experience with nuns and in that experience, they tend not to be the most open-minded when it comes to same-sex relationships. A same-sex relationship involving a nun is probably ten times worse."

"You realize that the nuns at the OCS are not like the nuns at the orphanage right? Didn't Beatrice tell you that the OCS was a bit more relaxed with things like that?"

"The OCS might tolerate it, but it doesn't mean all the members will." Ava looked at Mary, who was taken a little aback at the vulnerability she saw. "I know we didn't exactly get off on the right foot, but you're kind of becoming my family. I'd hate to get voted off the island."

"Ava, relax. We all know and no one is going to kick you or Beatrice out. Why do you think Camila suggested the same sleeping arrangements?"

Ava's mouth fell open as she realized that it was no coincidence she ended up sharing with Beatrice again. "So you're all OK with it?"

Mary smiled. "Yeah. Camila's so ridiculously excited about it that you'd think she was the one in love. Lilith is more like 'I don't get the secrecy. If they like each other they should just come out and say it.'. As for me, I'm happy that Beatrice is allowing herself to love again." She hesitated for a moment. "Did Beatrice tell you about the problems she had in the past because she likes girls?"

Ava nodded. "A little, she told me about her parents fucked up reaction. I'm not sure if there's more. I hope not."

"In any case, that left some pretty bad scars on her soul. That she's letting herself love you means that those scars are finally starting to heal, but it will take time for them to heal completely. You have to be gentle and patient with her, or you may end up hurting her again."

"I know, I already told her we'll take it as slow as she wants. The last thing I want to do is to hurt her further."

"As long as you don't force anything, you won't," Mary assured her.

"Thanks," Ava said as she got up. "Not just for this, but for everything. Helping me get my shit together in Ronda and all that."

"Even for kicking you off the cliff?"

Ava grimaced. "Except for that part."

"Get some sleep. And don't do anything naughty," Mary called with a smirk as Ava headed for the door. She turned around and stuck her tongue at Mary before vanishing into the hallway.

The next morning, Ava was awakened by a kiss from Beatrice. "Hey," she greeted as her eyes fluttered open. "I could get used to waking up like this."

"That could be arranged," Beatrice answered as Ava yawned. "Rough night?"

"I couldn't catch sleep at first. Turns out I wasn't the only one; I ran into Mary in the kitchen when I went to get something to drink. I had an interesting conversation with her actually."

"Should I be jealous?" Beatrice asked with a twinkle in her eyes as she got out of bed.

"Never, but it was about us actually." Ava paused for a moment. "They know Beatrice."

Beatrice froze. "Know what?" she asked, despite already knowing the answer. She suddenly felt an irrational impulse to flee, to get away from her sisters, yet remained rooted at the spot.

"Us being together. Apparently we were not very discreet."

"And they are OK with it?" Despite her earlier assurances to Ava, she couldn't help but feel trepidation.

"Yes. Apparently, it was no accident that we ended up roommates again." Beatrice let out a breath she didn't realize she had been holding. A moment later Ava appeared next to her and rested her hand on her shoulder. "That's one less thing to worry about right? Granted, not the biggest of our problems, but still."

"Yes. We um, should get dressed. Breakfast is in fifteen minutes," Beatrice answered, still trying to regain her bearing.

When they were about to head out to the kitchen fifteen minutes later, Ava held out her hand and wriggled her fingers in silent invitation. Beatrice, realizing what Ava was doing, firmly pushed down her uneasiness and took Ava's hand, who promptly intertwined their fingers. Despite her uneasiness, Beatrice couldn't help but relish in how good it felt to hold Ava's hand. Holding hands, they headed for the kitchen.

As Mary saw them enter the kitchen, her face broke into a huge smile. "Aw look, it's our two lovebirds!"

Camila, who had been searching one of the cupboards and had not seen them enter snapped around and was about to scold Mary for her insensitivity when she noticed Ava and Beatrice standing with linked hands. She let out a small squeal of joy, bounced over to them and pulled first Beatrice and then Ava into a quick hug. "Aw, are you two finally official?"

"We've been official for a while actually. But I guess we're no longer keeping it low profile," Ava answered.

"Girl, if that was your idea of low profile, you are not going on any covert missions anytime soon," Mary teased.

At that moment Lilith walked into the kitchen, curious to see what the ruckus was about. "Oh, they finally stopped their pretense?" she asked, causing Beatrice to blush a little.

"Did you really think we would mind?" Camila asked.

"Most nuns at the orphanage where I grew up would not tolerate this," Ava defended herself.

"But Bea, you knew that the OCS didn't really mind, didn't you?"

"I did. But like Ava, I grew up in an environment that had... strong objections against same-sex relationships." Ava balled her free hand into a fist as anger built up inside her again over the 'strong objections' Beatrice had had to deal with. Beatrice, sensing her building anger, gave Ava's hand a comforting squeeze. "It conditioned me to expect disapproval from those around me."

Camila pulled Beatrice into a hug again. "We love you as you are Bea. I'm going to repeat that every day until you believe it."

"If there's room in this group for a half-demon, there's definitely room for a loving nun," Lilith added.

Camila quickly gave Lilith a hug as well. "We love you too Lilith."

Beatrice looked around the group of women and felt tears prick her eyes. For the first time in as long as she could remember, she felt like she didn't need to pretend or prove her worth. The simple act of acceptance from her friends almost made her knees go weak and she wondered if this was anything like what Sister Melanie had felt.

"Are you OK?" Ava asked, noticing the change in demeanor.

"Not yet," Beatrice answered truthfully. "But in time I may be, thanks to all of you."

"We're here for you Bea," Ava assured her.

Beatrice took a deep breath to steady herself. "All right, let's have breakfast. We don't want to be late for our meeting with doctor Salvius."

"Well done girl," Mary said as she passed Ava on the way to the table.

Chapter Text

Later that morning, the five women found themselves in a meeting room at ARQ-Tech waiting for Salvius. When she arrived a few minutes late, she looked markedly different from the composed woman she'd been the last time they were at the company. Her clothing was disheveled and the dark circles under her eyes spoke of a lack of sleep. Despite that, she still had fire in her eyes.

"Welcome. Sorry I'm late, I lost track of the time," she said as she sat down and motioned for them to do the same. "I received a phone call from your Mother Superion two days ago. She has been trying to reach you but was unable to, so she eventually reached out to me to ask if you were here. She'd like to join this meeting, if that is OK with you."

"Of course," Beatrice answered. "She's here?"

"No, she's in Rome." Salvius tapped away on a tablet in front of her for a few moments before the big screen behind her sprang to life with the image of Mother Superion.

"Girls. It is good to see you alive and well," she greeted them. "I have been trying to reach you."

"We went into hiding; it seemed like a prudent course of action after what happened at the Vatican," Beatrice explained.

Mother Superion nodded. "A wise precaution. Based on that, I assume that you are not aware of the recent developments here?"

"No. We only know what has been in the news."

"In that case it's my unpleasant duty to inform you that we have all been excommunicated by His Holiness because of our actions." Camila gasped and Ava instinctively rested her hand on her shoulder in a show of support.

Beatrice meanwhile remained outwardly stoic. "That is regrettable, but not unexpected."

"Indeed. May I assume from the fact that you are at ARQ-Tech that you have a plan to deal with the current situation?"

"We do, but we have yet to determine the feasibility."

"Very well. Please do not share the particulars with me; I have no reason to believe that I am being monitored, but that is not a risk we should take."

"Will you be joining us here? I'm sure Doctor Salvius would have no objection to that," Beatrice asked as she looked over to Salvius.

"No objections of course," the latter stated.

"Thank you, but I believe I can be of more use to you here. I may no longer be welcome in the Vatican, but I still know people who are. There are always people unhappy with a change in leadership, so I may be able to coax some information out of them about the goings on inside."

"Do you believe we have to worry about Duretti as well as Adriel?"

"I can not say for certain. From what I have heard, Duretti has had little interest in the OCS since ascending to the papacy. However, given his actions in the past I would urge caution. Do not let your guard down."

"Thank you. We won't."

"I am afraid that is all I have for you at the moment. Proceed with whatever plan you are working on; I will be in touch when I have more information. And know that I have every confidence in you; if there is any group of people I would trust to handle this situation, it is you. And that includes you Ava."

"Thank you," Ava answered.

"Good luck," Mother Superion concluded before she ended the call.

"Well, unlike your Mother Superion, I very much would like to hear your plan, especially the part about rescuing my son," Salvius said.

"It's not a complete plan yet, but we are hoping that Lilith's ability to teleport will also allow her to move between realms. As there is a serious possibility that Adriel is effectively immortal, we hope to trap him in a realm where he can do no harm. We are fairly certain that without the halo, he won't be able to return. We are hoping to rescue your son in the same fashion."

"So we would not need the machine at all for that? Because I still haven't been able to get it working again after it swallowed my son. And I have no idea what made it work then."

"That was Adriel, using the halo," Ava supplied.

"He has the halo?" Salvius asked as her eyes widened.

"No. But he was able to touch it briefly when we tried to rip it out of me and kill me."

Suddenly the color drained from Salvius' face as a realization dawned on her. "If Adriel opened that portal, does that mean my son is in hell?"

"We don't know," Beatrice admitted.

"But this Adriel figure is a demon?"

"We are not quite sure what he is. If he is, he would be the first one that we know of that is capable of existing in this realm permanently. What we do know is that he is not from this realm. There are also indications that he may have enemies among at least one group of demons."

"And do you have any idea why he took my son?"

"He may have taken him as a hostage to get your cooperation, but that is speculation at this point. We do know that he is interested in the machine for some reason."

Mary decided to cut in. "Don't make a deal with him. You will regret that."

"Is that a threat?"

"A warning," Mary replied. "He will double cross you and screw you over. Once he has what he wants, both you and your son will most likely end up dead. And if not, you'd have us to deal with."

"Mary," Beatrice warned.

"My primary concern is getting my son back. I think I stand a better chance at that making a deal with you than with the demonic whatever he is that abducted him in the first place," Salvius replied hotly.

"Then we have an understanding," Mary answered.

Salvius nodded. "Very well. My resources are at your disposal; in return, I would like to be kept up to date on your progress."

"Thank you," Beatrice answered. "For now, we just need a place and equipment to train and a stipend for our cost of living. We may require additional resources when the plans become more concrete."

"I can have a room ready for you by tomorrow. I will also provide you with access to a bank account that you can use for your expenses." Salvius reached in her pocket and retrieved a stack of cards. "These are key cards that will let you get in and out of the building at any time," she said, handing them to Beatrice. "It saves you the effort of stealing them from my guards or attacking them," she continued with a small smile.

"Thank you doctor Salvius," Beatrice answered.

"Now, unless there is anything else, I need to get back to my work."

"Of course," Beatrice said as the women all stood. "Thank you again for your help."

"Are you OK?" Ava asked after they had returned home and she had followed Beatrice into their bedroom. Beatrice had barely spoken during the drive back and Ava was getting worried.

"It's becoming a habit of you to ask," Beatrice said with a faint smile, which put Ava slightly at ease. "Like I said, the excommunication wasn't unexpected, but it is still a blow. The Church has always been an important part of my life, even before I dedicated my life to it when I graduated from school. And despite its many failings, being cast out is still painful."

"I don't suppose there's anything I can do to help you?"

"Ava, you already help me more than you realize just by being there for me. As for this, I'll get over it. In practice, there is not going to be much change; it's not like we were going to church anyway. And my relationship with God is not affected; I can and will still serve Him."

"It's just so fucking unfair you know? First your parents kick you out for being you and now Duretti kicks you out for trying to do good."

"Language," Beatrice gently chastised. "And to be fair, we did attack the OCS and the Church, so this was always a likely outcome. When I went against my orders, returned to Cat's Cradle and fought with our replacements there, I knew I had crossed the Rubicon and that there was likely no way back."

"Crossed the Rubicon?" Ava asked confused.

"It's an expression that means passing the point of no return. It comes from Caesar who broke Roman law when he led his army from Gaul across the Rubicon into Italy proper. In doing so, he effectively declared war on Rome."

"How did that end?"

"Caesar won and became dictator for life."

Ava broke into a huge grin. "So maybe this will end with you becoming pope."

"Unfortunately Caesar got assassinated within the year, so it was not a long reign."

"That would suck," Ava said, deflating a little. "OK, forget about the papacy."

"Let's stick to the original plan of defeating Adriel. I think that's our only chance of getting back in the good graces of the Church."

Ava's face scrunched up in distaste. "You mean suck up to Duretti?"

"If needed. He is still the pope, despite his rather dubious morality."

"You'd think a pope would be above that kind of thing, more like a saint."

"Ideally yes. But the papacy has often been sought and obtained by those being driven by a craving for power rather than more spiritual concerns. In the past, some popes have committed rather unholy acts, far more distasteful than what Duretti has been up to."

"Do I even want to know?"

"Well, there was a pope who exhumed one of his predecessors and put the corpse on trial."

"Ew, so definitely not all saints."

Beatrice smiled. "Unfortunately not, but lets worry about it later. The first order of business is Adriel; if we can't deal with him, then Duretti and our status in the Church is the least of our problems."

"Nope. First order of business is getting food; it's our turn to go to the store," Ava said, grinning in anticipation.

Beatrice shook her head but smiled fondly. "All right. But I'll be watching you to make sure we're getting more than just junk food," she warned.

At the same time Camila, who had been looking for Lilith, finally found her quarry in the yard, staring out into the street. "Penny for your thoughts."

Lilith looked back briefly before focusing her gaze on the road again. "I'm not sure they are worth that much."

"Of course they are." She moved to stand next to Lilith. "Being excommunicated really hurts, doesn't it?"

"That's actually not what I was thinking about," Lilith answered.

Camila's face fell. "Oh."

Lilith, seeing the stricken look on the younger nuns face, realized that Camila had started the conversation as much for her own benefit as for hers. "I'm sorry. It's just that I've already felt that I don't deserve to be a part of the Church anymore since my... change. Getting banned merely felt like a confirmation of that fact."

"I understand. For me, the Church has always been the one constant in my life, the thing I could fall back on. No matter how messed up things were elsewhere, I still had that foundation. And now that is gone and I feel... untethered somehow."

"You still have your sisters here," Lilith attempted to reassure her. "I know it's not the same, but it's something."

"You know the same applies to you right?"

Lilith stared ahead. "So everyone keeps telling me."

"Maybe you should believe it then." Camila briefly paused before continuing. "So, what was on your mind then?"

"Can we keep this between us?" Lilith asked, without turning her head.

"Of course."

"My role in the mission troubles me. Using my demonic powers feels wrong; it feels like I'm committing a sin every time I tap into them. I'm also scared that I'm losing a bit of myself every time I do and that I'll eventually lose whatever humanity is left in me."

"Do you want to ask Beatrice to change the plan?"

"No, this is our best chance and I'll do what needs to be done. We all accepted that there could be sacrifices when we joined."

"We could ask doctor Salvius to keep an eye on you? If your condition does worsen, then we can maybe find a way around it."

"I don't know. I'm not exactly thrilled at the idea of having her study me. And she may use what she finds for her own purposes like she did with Ava."

"It's up to you," Camila answered.

"I'll think about it." They stood together in silence for a while before Lilith spoke again. "I'm finding myself understanding Ava a little better."

"Oh?" Camila asked intrigued.

"We all had drilled into us how the halo was the order's greatest asset, how it was a divine gift from an angel, how it was to be treated with deference and how only the most devoted and skilled sisters were eligible to become its bearer." Lilith took a deep breath before continuing. "And then after Shannon died it ended up in this random civilian who wasn't even Catholic. I couldn't understand the decision to let her keep it, it felt wrong and made me angry. I'll admit that the fact that I had been next in line played no small part in that but I think that I would have been able to accept it if it had gone to another member of the order."

"You didn't feel like she was worthy."

"Exactly. And then to make matters worse instead of being grateful she had this flippant attitude and then ran off. It felt like an insult to the order and everything we stood for."

"And now?" Camila asked gently.

"Now I have been to the other side myself and come back with abilities I didn't ask for and that frankly scare me."

"Like Ava."

Lilith nodded. "And I would be lying if I said that part of me didn't feel the impulse to run now."

"Are you planning to?"

"No. Like I said, I'll do what needs to be done. But the thing is, I chose this life; Ava didn't. I've had training; Ava hadn't back then. She was a kid that had been stuck in bed for years that just got the use of her limbs back. It's no wonder she ran off instead of sticking around with a bunch of women she didn't know that expected her to join and quite possibly die for a cause she had never heard of. And despite all that, she came back voluntarily and joined us." Lilith sighed. "I feel like a complete idiot for not realizing all of this back then."

"Ava is a good person," Camila agreed. "She has quite a few things in common with Areala too. Both were orphaned, both started out as non-believers and both were brought back by the halo. I wonder if that means anything."

"You're right. Hopefully that is a good sign." Lilith pushed away from the fence. "Well, enough loitering around. Do you feel up to some sparring?"

"Yeah. It'll help take our minds off the mess we are in for a while," Camila answered as she took up a defensive stance.

"Beatrice? Can I ask you something? And it's totally fine if you don't want to talk about it," Ava asked as Beatrice drove them to the store.

"Go ahead," Beatrice answered a little wary.

"Did they hurt you at that boarding school as well?"

"Not physically." Beatrice answered. "But they were aware why I was sent there, so for the first semester I was there I was assigned extra chores as punishment for my misdeeds. The staff also watched me like a hawk to make sure I didn't engage in such behavior over there. They took no chances; if I interacted with one of the other students in a way they considered suspicious, I would get detention or be confined to my room for a number of days. And the bar for suspicious behavior was very low for me; I quickly learned that the only way to avoid sanctions was to keep my interactions with the other students to an absolute minimum. So I kept to myself, refrained from forming friendships and only had contact with other pupils when it was required for academic purposes."

"Jesus," Ava breathed, appalled.

"Language," Beatrice chided. "And although I did my best to be a model student, there was always an undertone of disapproval when the staff interacted with me. I studied hard, got good grades, took extra courses to show that I had value despite my flaws, but in the end it didn't help. I suppose that the fact that I was a deviant eclipsed my academic accomplishments. They probably primarily saw me as a wolf threatening their flock."

"Beatrice? Can you please stop referring to yourself as a deviant? You know you are not," Ava said softly, her voice barely audible over the engine.

"I'm sorry. It's just..." Beatrice's voice trailed off.

"Easier to label yourself like that instead of a more neutral term?" Ava finished for her.

Beatrice nodded and felt pride at Ava's perceptiveness. "Being gay was never acceptable when I grew up. Eventually you start to internalize that, at which point labeling yourself as gay becomes an admission of failure and guilt. Using a term like 'deviant' is easier; it's a subtle self-flagellation, an acknowledgment that you know it is not right."

"Precisely why you should stop." Beatrice looked over and was surprised to find Ava's eyes watery. "Beatrice, you are a brilliant, beautiful woman. Coming from such a fucked up situation it's a miracle that you grew into this wonderful person you are now. There is absolutely nothing wrong with you and everyone who matters but you sees that. Please stop selling yourself short."

"I'll try." Beatrice promised. "But it will take time to unlearn two decades of conditioning."

"We'll start now. Repeat after me: I am Beatrice and I am gay. What I am is beautiful." Beatrice shook her head, but went along with it.

After they had arrived at the store and left the car, Ava held out her hand. "No more hiding," Ava explained with a smile at Beatrice's raised eyebrows. After a few moments of hesitation, she took Ava's hand and felt a strange mixture of anxiety and giddiness, as if she was a child doing something naughty.

"Like it?" Ava asked.

"Actually, yes. This way, I know for sure that you won't run off and fill the cart with junk food," Beatrice answered with a smirk.

"I think I'll let go once we're inside. We wouldn't want to overdo it the first time," Ava teased back.

Beatrice shook her head, but inwardly revelled in a sense of freedom she had not felt in a long time. "Thank you."

"You are more than welcome."

Chapter Text

The next few weeks were relatively uneventful, with the women training every day at ARQ-Tech and Mother Superion checking in on them on a regular basis. There was little news to report from the Vatican; compared to his predecessors, Duretti interacted very little with the other officials of the Vatican, making the amount of information Mother Superion was able to extract so limited that she was considering leaving Rome. Lilith was becoming more and more proficient at teleporting and slowly getting over her reluctance to tap into her new powers, but she was still unable to teleport into other realms, leading Beatrice to begin working on alternate plans in private that did not require Lilith to do so. Beatrice was also slowly becoming more comfortable showing her affection for Ava in public, something that filled Ava with pride. The relative peace was about to be disturbed however as the former OCS sisters were getting ready to leave for ARQ-Tech one morning.

"Ava! Hurry up, the rest of us are waiting," Mary shouted as she pounded on the bedroom door.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming. Hold your horses," Ava answered from inside.

"If you don't come out now, I'm taking Lilith to the grocery store next time instead of you," Mary threatened. A few seconds later, Ava phased through the door. Mary raised an eyebrow. "Opening doors too much effort now?"

"You said I had to hurry," Ava smirked as she walked past Mary. "Coming?"

"I'm so glad you saved those two seconds after keeping us waiting for five minutes," Mary answered sarcastically as she followed Ava down.

Ava bounced past Lilith and Camila and joined Beatrice at the door. "Shall we?"

Beatrice contemplated chastising Ava for her tardiness but eventually shook her head and decided to let it slip. She opened the door and walked out, only to come to an abrupt stop a few meters down the path, causing Ava to nearly walk into her. Curious to see what had caused her girlfriend freeze in her tracks, she moved to stand next to her and saw a middle-aged couple walk up the path. They did not look threatening to Ava, but Beatrice's reaction left her wary.

"Hello Beatrice," the man greeted her.

"Father. Mother," Beatrice acknowledged.

The identification of the couple as Beatrice's parents led to Ava balling her hands into fists, a gesture not missed by the keen-eyed man Beatrice had identified as her father.

"We were in town and wanted to visit you, but we have been unable to reach you for weeks," Beatrice's father continued, the reproach in his voice clear. "As a result, we had to go to your convent unannounced. However, once we got there, we were told you no longer resided there. It rather made us look like fools." He fixed Beatrice with a glare, causing his daughter to lower her head. Ava meanwhile felt an anger building as she saw the effect the older man was having on Beatrice. "It is fortunate that we managed to obtain your Mother Superion's contact information during a previous visit. She was kind enough to give us this address."

"My apologies father. Circumstances forced an unexpected relocation here."

"I see. And those circumstances also precluded apprising your family of your new residence?"

"They did not," Beatrice admitted.

"So you chose not to. And may I ask what this new residence of yours is? A brothel, perchance?"

Ava was by now seething, but managed to remain quiet as Beatrice answered her father. "No!" she answered aghast, "We are all OCS sisters father. Our mission remains unchanged; circumstances just forced us to operate independently for the time being."

"Ah. Pray expatiate on these circumstances you keep alluding to; I am most interested to hear your justification for what I believe your former convent referred to as 'rebelling against the Church'."

Ava's restraint was rapidly cracking. "Fucking unbelievable," she muttered under her breath.

"What was that young lady?" Beatrice's father asked, as he turned his attention to Ava.

"I said that this is unbelievable. You're acting like a cop interrogating a criminal, instead of a father greeting his daughter."

"Young lady, do you have any idea who you are talking to? Who do you think you are to make comments on my interaction with my daughter like that?"

Ava's restraint finally snapped completely. "Yes, I do know who you are. You are the person that treated Beatrice like shit because of her 'preference in companionship' and fucked up her life. As for who I am, I am the person who holds her when she wakes up in the middle of the night because she had a nightmare about the way you treated her. I am the person whose heart breaks every time I see her in pain because of it. I am the person whose blood boils when I realize she has been suffering like that for years. I am also the fucking warrior nun and I am telling you that it ends right here, right now. If you as much as think about raising a hand against her ever again, I am going to bring the forces of heaven down on you."

For a few moments there was absolute silence after Ava's diatribe before Mary broke it. "Uh Ava, you can come down now."

Ava turned around in confusion and was about to ask what Mary went when she realized she was levitating about half a meter from the ground. She turned back and managed to land fairly gracefully, glaring at Beatrice's father.

Beatrice noticed the throbbing vein in her father's face which she'd learned was a sure precursor of an angry outburst. Before he could speak however, Beatrice's mother rested her hand on his and stepped forward. "Allow me Archibald," she said, speaking for the first time since arriving. "Does your friend speak the truth Beatrice?" she asked, addressing her daughter.

"Yes mother," Beatrice admitted.

Her mother nodded. "Then I fear we owe you an apology."

Beatrice was sure she misheard. When she looked up however, she saw the look of utter disbelief on her father's face. "Eleanor, you can not be serious."

"I am quite serious Archibald. And I fear it is long overdue."

Beatrice's father could barely restrain himself. "Eleanor, I am not going to apologize for trying to raise my daughter as a proper lady. And even if I were, this would most certainly not be the time and place."

"Will you look at her Archibald? She already is a daughter you can be proud of. But I agree that this is not the time and place." She turned to Beatrice. "I am afraid we can not stay long Beatrice, your father and I have an appointment shortly. But would you join us for dinner tomorrow? And please feel free to bring your friend."

Now it was Beatrice's father turn to be aghast. "Eleanor, we are most certainly not going..."

Before we could finish, his wife interrupted him. "Yes Archibald, we most certainly are. I do not wish to lose our daughter and I fear we are on the brink of doing so." She turned to Beatrice again. "Are you available tomorrow?"

"Yes mother," Beatrice answered, still trying to catch up.

"Splendid. We'll send the car to pick you up at 6:30. And I fear we must be going now or we will be late for our appointment," she said apologetically.

"Of course. Goodbye mother, father."

"My dear, have you taken complete leave of your senses?" Beatrice's father could just be heard asking his wife as they moved out of earshot.

As the pair retreated, Ava's anger subsided, allowing her to think more clearly again. "Oh shit," she said as she realized she had effectively outed her relationship with Beatrice to her parents. She turned around. "Uh, can I maybe have a few moments alone with Beatrice?" she asked the other women.

"Sure. We'll wait by the car," Mary answered as she walked off, followed by Lilith. Camila gave Ava an encouraging smile before joining them.

"Beatrice? I'm so sorry," Ava said after the other women had left. "You trusted me and I betrayed that trust. I had no right to throw our relationship in their face like that. Or to talk to them like that at all."

"It's OK Ava," Beatrice tried to reassure her girlfriend, having finally recovered a little.

"No it's not. I had no right, and now your dad may hate you even more."

"Ava, I'm glad that you did." Beatrice caressed Ava's cheek. "I don't want to pretend anymore. I can't pretend anymore. I am gay and being with another woman is part of that. If my parents can't accept that, then it will be their loss. I'm done hiding."

"Atta girl," Ava said, proudly, followed a little more hesitantly by "Are you sure you're not mad at me?"

"No. If anything, I'm mad at myself for turning back into a frightened girl instead of standing up for myself when my father confronted me."

"At least your mom seemed a little more reasonable."

"To my surprise, yes. She never objected before."

"Maybe she can talk some sense into your dad."

"Perhaps," Beatrice answered, unconvinced. "Well, we should go to the car and get going. We were already late before this impromptu drama."

The pair walked over to the van where the others were waiting. "Are you OK?" Camila asked.

"We're good," Beatrice answered with a smile.

"You did a fine job standing up for your girl back there Ava. I'm impressed," Mary complimented her.

"In hindsight, it was reckless. I could easily have made things worse. But speaking of impressive, did they have a car with a driver?"

"They sure did. You didn't tell off just anyone there Ava. That was Archibald Harrington, 7th Earl of Bridgewater." Mary said with a smirk.

"9th," Beatrice corrected, flushed a deep crimson.

Ava's eyes widened. "Is that like royalty?"

Mary was tremendously enjoying Beatrice's discomfort. "Nope, but it is aristocracy."

"So does Beatrice have a title as well?"

"No, but as daughter of an earl, you should address her as 'Lady'."

"My apologies, Lady Beatrice. I had no idea," Ava said, attempting a curtsy that was so poorly executed it would sooner be taken as mockery than a show of deference.

By now, both Mary and Camila were laughing and even Lilith's lips were curled up in a smile.

"I never cared for it really. I always preferred 'sister', as that is a form of address that I earned," Beatrice said shyly.

"My apologies again, Lady sister Beatrice," Ava said with a wide grin, unable to stop teasing.

Ava's remark had Mary laughing even louder. "If the Lady sister and her champion have no objections, then I would like to get going. We are already late."

"None whatsoever," Beatrice said as she got into the van, eager to put an end to discussion.

"So, do you have any dinner wear Ava?" Camila asked as Mary was driving them towards ARQ-Tech.

"Dinner wear?" Ava asked.

"If Beatrice's parents are aristocrats, it's probably going to be at least somewhat formal."

"I don't exactly have a very extensive wardrobe."

"You should take her shopping then Bea," Camila said enthusiastically.

"That might actually be a good idea. What do you say Ava? Shall we get you something nice tomorrow?" Beatrice asked, expecting Ava's face to light up as it usually did at the prospect of going shopping.

Ava's face didn't light up however; instead it fell. "I uh...," she started before seemingly changing her mind. "OK," she continued, decidedly unenthusiastic.

"Are you sure?" Beatrice asked with a mixture of surprise and concern at Ava's reaction.

"Yeah, it's fine," Ava answered, but her glum tone indicated otherwise. Before Beatrice could ask further however, Mary pulled into the ARQ-Tech parking lot.

When they were driving home later that day, Ava was still unusually quiet. After arriving at their home, Beatrice followed Ava into their bedroom and closed the door behind her. "Ava, please talk to me. What is wrong?"

Ava stared out the window. "I'm fine," she answered, not turning around.

"No, you're not. You were fine until I suggested getting you new clothes. Did I offend you? If so, I am truly sorry."

"You didn't."

"Then what is it? I thought it would be a treat for you, you always love going shopping."

Ava remained quiet for a moment. "I'd rather not talk about it."

"Ava, please. You are always there for me when I'm struggling with something. Please let me return the favour for once," Beatrice said pleadingly. She stepped closer to Ava and rested her hand on her shoulder. She could see Ava chew her lip in the reflection in the window.

"I don't have much money, OK?" Ava suddenly blurted out before her shoulders sagged. "I have a little that my mom left me and I suppose I could use that, but..."

"Ava, stop," Beatrice interrupted her. "The clothes were always going to be a gift; it was never my intention to make you pay for them."

"That's very generous Bea, but I don't want to leech off you."

"It's hardly leeching if I'm offering and besides, it's normal to share in a relationship. I want to share with you."

Ava gave Beatrice a sad smile. "It's not really sharing if it's a one way street."

Beatrice looked at Ava incredulously. "A one way street? Ava, sharing is about so much more than money and physical things. You being there for me when I have a nightmare, you accepting me and helping me accept myself, you standing up to my parents for me, all those things are worth so much more to me than a pile of money handed down the generations of my family. I think that if anyone has been on the receiving side in our relationship, it has been me."

"You mean that?"

"Of course I do."

"And you really don't mind?"

"On the contrary. I would very much like to do this for you."

Ava turned around. "All right then."

"Thank you." Beatrice grabbed Ava's hands before continuing. "And Ava, will you promise me one thing?"

"What is it?"

"Please, not matter the circumstances, don't ever feel compelled to spend you mom's money on me and especially not on something as meaningless as clothes. That money is special and you should treasure it."

Ava smiled. "I'll try."

Chapter Text

"Do you have any idea where we are going to eat?" Ava asked the next day as they waited for the car to arrive.

"Probably in the hotel where they are staying. Which if I know my parents will be one of the better ones in town," Beatrice answered.

"Fancy. Are you nervous?"

"A little," Beatrice admitted.

"Me too."

"You?" Beatrice asked incredulously.

"Well yes, despite everything, I'm still meeting the parents of my girl for the first time. Well, technically second time, but yesterday was kind of brief and I probably didn't make the best impression. And I'm hoping they'll be a little bit more accepting of you than yesterday." Ava paused for a moment. "I'm rambling, aren't I?"

"A little," Beatrice admitted with a fond smile as the car pulled up. "Well, here goes nothing."

Ten minutes later, the car dropped them off at a luxurious hotel. As they walked into the lobby, they were met by a smiling Eleanor. Her husband stood besides her, looking a little uncomfortable. "Beatrice dear, I'm glad you and your friend could join us. Ava, wasn't it?" Eleanor greeted them.

"Uh, yes ma'am. Ava Silva," she answered, surprised the other woman had remembered.

"May I call you Ava?" she asked, to which Ava nodded. "Thank you. Am I correct in assuming you are Beatrice's girlfriend?"

Ava glanced at Beatrice's father, who seemed to stiffen a little more. "Yes ma'am," she stated with a hint of defiance in her voice.

Eleanor nodded. "Given you reaction yesterday, I would have been very surprised had that not been the case." She looked over at Beatrice. "Your father and I had a very long and very overdue talk yesterday. In summary, I managed to convince him that this is who you are and that he'd have to accept that if he didn't want to lose you." Beatrice's eyes went wide with disbelief. "It did take some convincing," Eleanor admitted.

Her father took a step forward. "I do not wish to lose you Beatrice," he said, visibly uncomfortable. He quickly glanced at Ava before continuing. "I would like to speak to you in private after dinner about this."

Beatrice nodded wordlessly, trying to process the unexpected turn of events. Ava was not thrilled by the prospect of Beatrice being alone with her father, but decided not to object for now as Beatrice's mother guided them to the restaurant. Dinner turned out to be a relatively pleasant affair, despite an undertone of tension that Ava felt from time to time. Beatrice and her mother were doing most of the talking, with Ava mainly listening and learning some new things about her girlfriend.

After they had finished their dinner, the quartet rose from the table. "Beatrice?" her father asked as he gestured for her to come with him.

"Are you sure Beatrice?" Ava couldn't help but asking.

"I'll be fine, don't worry," Beatrice tried to reassure Ava. Beatrice's father looked like he wanted to say something, but remained quiet.

"Come dear. Let us retire to the lobby; I would like to get to know the woman who won my daughter's heart better," Beatrice's mother said to Ava as Beatrice walked off with her father.

As Ava passed near the front desk, she overheard two of the employees manning it talking to each other. "Was that Lord Harrington?" the first asked.

"Yeah. And that definitely wasn't his wife going up with him," the second answered, giving the first a meaningful look.

"Probably a hooker. Those aristocrats act all high and mighty, but under that veneer they are as crude the rest of us."

At hearing the word "hooker", Ava veered off from Eleanor's side and made a beeline for the front desk, anger building inside of her. "Beatrice is not a whore!" she all but shouted indignantly as she came face to face with the two men.

"I'm sorry ma'am?" the first asked confused, not understanding who Ava was talking about.

"That woman you were just talking about. Her name is Beatrice and she is his daughter, you idiot!" Ava seethed.

"Is there a problem here?" a middle-aged gentlemen asked as he approached them, attracted by Ava's loud voice.

Before Ava had a chance to answer Eleanor, who had by now joined her, stepped in. "These men were speculating that the young woman who was accompanying my husband to his room was a prostitute. Miss Silva here took exception to that, as the woman in question is our daughter as well as Miss Silva's lady friend," she stated calmly.

The two men looked anything but calm as the new arrival turned his attention to them. "Is this true?"

"Yes sir," they chorused guiltily, looking down.

"Go to my office and wait for me there. I will join you there shortly to handle this matter." The two men quickly disappeared through a door in the back as the manager turned his attention back to the women in front of him. "Lady Harrington, miss Silva, please accept my sincerest apologies for the unacceptable behaviour of my staff. I will make sure this does not happen again." Eleanor nodded in acknowledgement. "Lady Harrington, you and your husband will of course not be charged for this night as compensation for this incident." He turned towards Ava. "Are you a guest here as well miss Silva?"

"No, Beatrice and I were just visiting her parents."

The manager reached under the desk and retrieved a card that he handed Ava. "This card is good for one free night for two persons at our hotel. I hope you and your partner will stay with us someday so we'll have the chance to show you proper hospitality."

"Thank you," Ava answered, accepting the card.

"You are more than welcome. Is there anything else I can help you with?" Both Ava and Eleanor shook their heads. "Then if you will excuse me, I will go have a conversation with the gentlemen about how to behave in front of our guests," he stated grimly.

"You seem to make a habit out of standing up for my daughter," Eleanor remarked as she and Ava made their way towards one of the sofas in the lobby.

"Beatrice is usually very capable of defending herself," Ava answered as they sat down.

"I have no doubt. Now, please tell me a little about yourself Ava. I'd like to get to know the woman who won my daughter's heart."

Ava thought for a moment, not sure how much she could and should share with an outsider. "The story of how I met Beatrice might be a bit hard to believe. I probably wouldn't have believed it myself if I hadn't been there," Ava eventually answered.

"My dear, I may not be privy to the details of what my daughter does, but I do know that it involves combatting entities that I didn't know existed and frankly would have preferred to remain ignorant of. And even if I had not known about that, watching you levitate with my own eyes yesterday would have lent credence to any otherwise unbelievable tale."

"Ah yes," Ava said, feeling silly for having forgotten about that. She took a deep breath. "Well, I was born nineteen years ago. My father was never in the picture, so I was raised by my mom. My life was fairly uneventful until I was in a car crash at age seven that killed my mom and left me quadriplegic."

Eleanor gave her a look of sympathy. "I'm sorry."

"I spent the next twelve years in an Catholic orphanage near here. It wasn't exactly a happy time; some of the nuns were OK, but one in particular had it out for me. She pretty much hated me and the feeling was mutual. Then, when I was about to age out, she decided to murder me."

Eleanor's eyes widened. "I'm glad she failed."

"Well, this is where the hard to believe part of the tale starts," Ava said, rubbing her neck. "She didn't; she gave me an overdose of pain meds and I died that night. My body was taken to the morgue and to add insult to injury, she had my cause of death recorded as suicide. Right after, your daughters team came bursting in because their leader Shannon was critically injured. She was the halo bearer, meaning that she had an ancient artifact implanted that gave her certain abilities." Ava paused for a moment and looked around to see if anyone was listening in.

"Yes, I remember Beatrice mentioning it. I must admit that at first I thought my daughter had joined some cult and had taken leave of her senses," Eleanor said with a rueful smile. "You said 'was'. Shannon did not survive?"

"I'm afraid not. Did you know her?"

"Not really, I only met her briefly once when we were visiting Beatrice. But pray continue."

"So unfortunately they couldn't save Shannon and they had to take the halo out. But before they could implant it into the next in line, the fight reached them and they had to hide the halo temporarily. The best place for that happened to be the other dead body lying around."

Eleanor nodded. "Yours."

"Yeah. But they didn't count on the halo bringing me back. It also gave me back the use of my limbs, even though I am technically still paralysed. If I draw too much from the halo, I go back to being paralysed until it has had time to recharge."

"Remarkable. So that is how you joined my daughter's order."

"Eventually yes. But I have to admit that I ran away at first. I was overwhelmed and frankly not ready to commit myself to something like that having just gotten back from the dead."

"That is quite understandable. It was already a lot to take in for me as an outsider. So what became of the nun that killed you?"

"When I realized what happened, I went back to the orphanage to confront her, because I was afraid she'd do the same to my former roommate. Turns out I was right; I got there just as she was about to do it. I stepped in and we got into a scuffle in which she ended up dead. I wasn't out to kill her, but I can't say I was heartbroken over it."

"That's quite a story indeed."

There were a few moments of silence before Ava spoke again. "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"You are not what I expected. You are not as..." Ava's voice trailed off as she tried to find the right word.

"Horrible as you thought?" Eleanor continued for her.

"Not the word I wanted to use, but frankly, yeah."

Eleanor's face took on a sad look. "I'm afraid I used to be." She took a deep breath, and Ava thought she could see a tear starting to form in one of her eyes. "I don't regret many things in my life, but the way we raised our daughter is one of them and by far the biggest."

"How did it happen then?" Ava asked, not accusatory, but genuinely curious.

"We thought we were doing what was best for Beatrice. You have to understand that my husband and I both were raised with a rather traditional set of values." A ghost of a smile flitted over her regretful face. "You'd probably think of most of them as old fashioned, but in general I think they are good values. However, I failed to realize in time that some of them really are archaic and have no place in the twenty-first century."

"Like being against same-sex relationships?"

"Yes. It was always frowned upon in both our families. Probably partly because those with a title were expected to have issue to keep the title extant and partly because that's the way it has always been."

"Issue?" Ava asked confused.

"Children. If someone with a title has none, the title can go extinct. But in this case that is not even a factor as Beatrice is not heir to my husband's title."

"What made you change your mind?"

"At first, my husband and I thought it was a phase, or an act of rebellion, which is the reason we sent her to boarding school. That in itself is not uncommon by the way; both my husband and I attended a boarding school and from a younger age than Beatrice. Our relationship with Beatrice was strained at that point, but I expected that that would pass as Beatrice settled in at her new school."

This time Ava couldn't help but sound accusatory. "It might have helped to not tell the school about her so called 'problem'. They treated her like shit because of that and wouldn't even let her form normal friendships with the other kids."

Eleanor looked stricken. "I did not know about that," she said softly. She wiped away the tears that had now slipped down her cheeks and attempted to compose herself. "As I said, I expected that our relationship would improve, but as the months passed without improvement I started to doubt my belief that it was a phase. I also began to ask myself if it would really be so bad for Beatrice to have a relationship with a woman. Eventually, I realized that it would not matter to me who Beatrice was with, as long as she was happy."

"Did you ever tell her?" Ava wanted to know.

"To my shame, I did not. By the time I came to the realization, Beatrice wasn't really talking with us and I lacked the courage to bring it up. When Beatrice announced that she would pursue a monastic life after graduation, I knew for sure that it had not been a phase and that becoming a nun was her way of dealing with the situation, but I again lacked the courage to bring it up." Eleanor paused for a moment. "When I later learned that her order was a paramilitary organization, I had many sleepless nights. I knew that if I had had the courage to speak, Beatrice probably would not be out there risking her life. When she was younger, I envisioned her becoming a scientist working to better the world rather than a soldier."

"I see," Ava said, feeling both sympathy for Eleanor and reproach that she hadn't spoken up sooner.

"I am actually grateful for your outburst yesterday Ava. It may have been crass, but it forced me to finally talk to my daughter." Eleanor wrung her hands. "I just hope it's not too late and that we can still salvage our relationship."

Ava was quiet for a few moments. "I can't speak for Beatrice, but I think that if you are willing to accept her as she is she would like having you in her life again."

Eleanor gave Ava a grateful look for the hope she'd offered. "That would lift a great burden of me."

The pair then moved to lighter subjects until Beatrice and her father rejoined them a while later. "Are you OK?" Ava asked, noticing the tired look on Beatrice's face.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she answered, smiling at Ava. "I had a good talk with my father. Long story short, we are going to try to mend our relationship. A lot has has happened and it will probably take a while to normalize things between us, but we are going to try. He has apologized for what happened and promised to accept my choices from now on, so that's a positive start."

"You have no idea how happy it makes me to hear you say that dear," Eleanor said tearfully as she pulled Beatrice into a hug, which the latter returned. "I am so sorry for everything that happened."

"It will be all right," Beatrice promised. After breaking the hug, she turned to Ava. "So how did you and my mother get along? No arguments I hope?"

"Not with your mother," Ava answered with a grin.

"Do I want to know what happened?" Beatrice asked warily.

"Two members of the hotel staff saw you accompany your father to our room and felt it necessary to speculate about your profession," Eleanor answered with a mischievous smile.

"My profession?" Beatrice answered confused.

"They thought you were a hooker," Ava answered, feeling the irritation rise again at the memory. "I set the record straight."

Beatrice couldn't help but look around. "No levitation or destroyed desks?"

"No, I kept it low key. Relatively."

The familiar vein on the face of Beatrice's father was throbbing again. "I believe I am going to have a conversation with the management."

"Archibald, there is no need. The manager overheard Ava, stepped in and took care of the matter. He also credited us a night as compensation."

"And gave us a free night as well," Ava told Beatrice, handing her the card.

"I see. Well, thank you for protecting my daughter's reputation miss Silva," Archibald said, slightly uncomfortable.

"Ava has made something of a habit of defending our daughter," Eleanor remarked with twinkle in her eyes. "This was the second time in as many days." She turned to Ava. "You know, when Beatrice was younger, my husband would tell me that when Beatrice brought a gentleman home, he'd have a private conversation with him where he would impress upon him how he expected him to protect and take care of Beatrice. I do believe there is no need for such a talk with you."

Archibald cleared his throat. "No, miss Silva has proven herself quite ferocious when it comes to defending our daughter. Even against her own parents."

"Beatrice is very capable of defending herself," Ava answered. "But I will still do everything I can to protect her. I would sacrifice my life if it meant saving hers." Ava had added the last part without thinking, but knew without a shadow of doubt that if the situation arose, she'd make good on her word. Absentmindedly, she wondered when she'd gone from 'flight, not fight' Ava to protective Ava. She looked over to Beatrice's father and was surprised to see a look of respect on his face and a nod acknowledging her words.

"Ava, as sister warrior it's my job to protect you, not the other way around," Beatrice said, but felt deeply touched at the same time.

"Too late, I claimed the role first," Ava answered with a grin. "But I'll make you deal. We'll protect each other, OK?"

Beatrice couldn't suppress a smile. "Deal."

The rest of the evening unfolded without incidents and a few hours later Ava and Beatrice were taking their leave of Beatrice's parents. Archibald held out his hand and Ava took it, albeit a little warily. "It will take me some time to become fully comfortable with all this. But for what it is worth, based on what I have seen so far, I believe my daughter has chosen well," he said.

"Thank you," Ava answered, a little surprised.

"We did not get off on the right foot because of my past handling of Beatrice. It is my hope that our future relationship will be more cordial."

"It's not my place to hold a grudge. If you can accept Beatrice as she is now and Beatrice is willing to move on, then so am I."

Archibald nodded. "Goodbye miss Silva. Take care of my daughter."

Ava turned to Eleanor, who shook her hand warmly. "Goodbye Ava. Thank you for getting us talking again with Beatrice; we are in your debt."

"You are welcome. Goodbye Mrs Harrington."

"It's Eleanor Ava. You are part of the family now." Ava took a step back and waited for Beatrice to say her goodbyes before walking back to the car with her.

"That went unexpectedly well," Beatrice said.

"I'm glad you managed to patch things up with your parents," Ava answered as they got into the car.

"I'm glad you are OK with that. Truth be told, I half expected you to try to talk me out of it."

Ava was silent for a moment. "What your father did to you was truly fucked up and should never have happened. But I know what it's like to have no family and frankly, it sucks. So I'm glad you still have yours."

"You know you are part of the OCS family right? And now part of mine as well."

"I know." Ava smirked. "I'm not sure how your father feels about your mother inducting me into the Harrington family though."

"It wouldn't surprise me if he grew to like you in time. I'm pretty sure you impressed him with the way you stood up for me; I think you gained his respect with that."

"That could be interesting. So, what is it like to be part of the Harrington family?"

Beatrice's lips curled up in a smile. "Well, you will of course be expected to attend the annual Christmas gala."

"The what?" Ava asked horrified.

"Oh, and of course the..."

"Stop, before I start to regret this," Ava interrupted her, but Beatrice could tell she was not serious.

"I'm just teasing you Ava. I promise, it's not so bad."

"I'm glad. But in the end, it doesn't really matter.

"Oh?"

"You are worth any hardships being part of your family may subject me to," Ava answered, resting her head on Beatrice's shoulder.

"I... thank you," Beatrice said, choking up a little. She put an arm around Ava and the pair spent the rest of the drive home in companionable silence.

Chapter Text

Over the next few weeks life returned more or less to normal. Beatrice and her parents were now calling on a regular basis and the rift between them was slowly mending. With no trace of Adriel and Duretti having seemingly forgotten about them, the sisters, especially Mary and Lilith, were starting to get restless. An incident during training was about to shake things up however. Mary and Lilith were training Ava in what Ava had dubbed "halo blasting"; using the halo to produce a shock wave like she'd done to stop Crimson from shooting Beatrice, but in a controlled way that did not leave her incapacitated.

"Right, this punching bag is the target. Now remember, controlled. Don't knock yourself out in the process," Mary instructed. Ava took a breath and called on the halo. A moment later, the punching back reeled back as it was hit by the blast. "Not bad."

"And still standing," Ava added proudly.

"Yes, but you dropped your defensive posture. That leaves you open to attack from another opponent," Lilith commented. She moved to stand behind Ava as Mary steadied the bag. "May I?" Lilith asked. At Ava's nod, she nudged Ava's feet into the correct positions and then reached around to hold Ava's arms. "Right, I'm going to hold you like this. See if you can do it again keeping this stance."

Ava channeled the power from the halo again, but the outcome was vastly different. The bag flew back as if hit by a truck, with the blast giving it enough momentum to hit the ceiling. The excess energy was sufficient to rip the bag from its ceiling mount and to send it crashing into the ground a second later with a resounding thud. "Holy shit," Ava commented, wide eyed.

Beatrice and Camilla, who had been sparring a few meters away, came running. "What happened?" Beatrice asked as she took in the carnage.

"We were training Ava in controlled halo blasting. Clearly, the control part is still lacking," Mary explained.

"Uh, this was me being in control. I did exactly what I did last time," Ava objected.

Mary gave her an incredulous look. "You call this control? Ava, if that punching back had been me, I'd be slumped against the back wall right now. Dead, with every bone in my body broken. This was even more powerful than what you did in Shannon's room."

"But I am still standing and feeling fine. Back then, I ended up paralyzed while the halo recharged."

"It's good that you managed to do it without draining the halo, but Mary is right. You also need to be able to control the effect, otherwise it would be too dangerous," Beatrice said.

"Fair. But how does this work exactly? Like Mary said, this was way more powerful than that time back at Cat's Cradle. But then, I ended up draining the halo. Now I'm fine."

"Could it be that the halo is growing more powerful?" Camila suggested.

"I don't think there's anything in the OCS texts about that. Halo bearers can become more controlled and skilled, like when Ava learned to make it through twenty feet of stone. But I don't think the halo itself has ever grown more powerful."

"Then again, Adriel is on the loose now. There's no telling what effect that has," Lilith spoke.

"Want me to try again? See if it was a fluke?"

Beatrice looked at the fallen bag. "That might actually be a good idea. But not in here though, we don't want to break more of the gym."

"An Ava-proof place might be a tall order," Mary smirked, to which Ava stuck her tongue out.

"I may know a place," Beatrice said with a smile.

"It's pretty solid, I'll give you that," Mary said as she patted the concrete blocks that Ava had used to train her phasing. "If she manages to send these flying, we may have some explaining to do though."

"What is that?" Ava asked, indicating the device Beatrice was hanging on the blocks.

"I borrowed a force gauge from the labs. It should allow me to see how much force you are putting out," Beatrice answered as she picked up the tablet. "All right, just do what you did in the gym."

"Here we go," Ava said as she tried again. "How was that?"

"Pretty solid, enough to knock most people over. But not enough to do the damage you did in the gym."

Ava tried a few more times, but the result was roughly the same each time. "Are you doing the same as earlier?" Beatrice asked as Ava took a break to let the halo recharge.

"Yeah. I'm even holding my pose as Lilith told me."

An idea struck Mary. "Actually, there is a difference. When you had your outburst, Lilith was holding you."

Ava looked sceptical. "You think that makes a difference?"

Mary shrugged. "I'm not sure, but it wouldn't hurt to try. So far, we've not been able to reproduce it."

"Right," Ava said as she got up and looked over at Lilith. "Want to supercharge me?"

Beatrice raised an eyebrow as Lilith and Ava took the same positions they had held earlier. "Why exactly was Lilith holding you?"

"To make sure she kept her guard up while she did her thing," Mary answered. Her lips curled up in a smirk. "Don't worry, she wasn't trying to steal your girl."

Beatrice blushed but smiled. She marveled for a moment at the fact that a few short months earlier a joke like that would have embarrassed her. Things had changed a lot since Ava had come into their lives. "Ready when you are."

This time when Ava did her thing, it was a success. The force gauge made a sound suggesting it was not designed for the kind of abuse it was receiving and Ava would later say she thought the concrete blocks shifted a little. "How was that?"

"Off the scale, literally. And I think you broke the gauge."

"No matter, we have our answer now," Mary said.

"Yeah, seems like you are my big soft power bank," Ava grinned at Lilith.

"I'm not soft," Lilith said indignantly.

"Well, I guess this means we got lucky when you accidentally teleported into Ava and Beatrice's bedroom a while back when you were still getting the hang of teleporting. Who knows what kind of energy you could have amplified if you'd ended up on top of Ava," Mary said, wagging her eyebrows.

Beatrice flushed a deep crimson at the suggestion. "Yes well, back to the subject at hand, this could be the break we were hoping for," Beatrice said, eager to steer the discussion in a different direction.

"What do you mean?" Ava asked.

"Earlier, doctor Salvius tried to use you to power the portal machine, right?"

Ava's face darkened. "Yeah, while claiming she was testing me. Didn't work though."

"Because you didn't have enough power. But apparently you can use Lilith to greatly enhance it."

"I could open the portal. We could go get Michael," Ava realized.

"If we are lucky, yes. And if that works, we won't need Lilith to be able to teleport Adriel to another realm. We can use the portal for that as well."

"Hell yeah. We're finally getting somewhere," Mary said elated.

"See? I told you you were essential," Camila said as she rested her hand on Lilith's shoulder. Lilith looked over and managed a smile.

"We have to be ready though. Adriel may be able to sense the portal and it may prompt him to attack," Beatrice cautioned.

Mary sighed. "I say let him come. I'm not eager to tangle with him, but idling like we've been doing for the past weeks isn't great either. We're now basically waiting for him to make a move on his terms. If we have to deal with him, I'd prefer to do it before he's ready with whatever he's undoubtedly cooking up."

"I think Mary is right," Lilith agreed. "We're as ready as we're going to be. Even Ava has the basics of fighting down."

"High praise," Ava remarked with a grin. "But I agree."

Beatrice looked at Camila, who nodded. "Right, let's talk to Mother Superion and doctor Salvius then."

"So what did you want to talk to us about?" Salvius asked after the face of Mother Superion had appeared on the screen in the meeting room.

"We may have a way to power the machine and open a portal," Beatrice answered. The news had Salvius nearly jumping out of her chair. Mother Superion merely quirked her brow. "If we can, it could both be a means to rescue Michael and give us a place to banish Adriel to."

"How?" was all Salvius managed to stammer, her mind reeling.

"Previously you tried to have Ava open the portal, correct?"

"Yes, but she didn't have enough power." She sat up a little straighter. "You think she has more power now?"

"Earlier today we found out by accident that Ava can draw on Lilith's power, greatly enhancing her abilities. It may be enough to open the portal."

Salvius stood up, finding it impossible to stay seated. "When can we try?"

Mother Superion held up her hand in an effort to slow her down. "How do we know the portal will lead to the plane where Adriel sent Michael?"

"We don't," Beatrice answered truthfully. "We also don't know if he is alive and if so, what condition he is in." She looked over at Salvius, not wanting to crush her hopes, but also wanting to be realistic. "Neither do we know if it will be a suitable place to hold Adriel, if we manage to capture him. We also have to consider the possibility that opening the portal may spur Adriel into action."

"Those are a lot of unknowns and risks," Mother Superion answered.

"They are. But we believe this is the best course of action. If Michael is still alive, he deserves our help. And if we have to confront Adriel, we may be better off doing so on our terms instead of when he is ready."

Mother Superion thought for a moment. "I agree. How do you propose to proceed?"

"If I may?" Salvius asked. Beatrice nodded. "I have a drone designed to go through the portal. We can use that as a scout to make sure the place where the portal ends up is safe to enter. If it is, I'll go through to find Michael."

"No, you're not. Not alone at least," Mary interjected.

"He is my son, so I am going and that is not open for debate. And if this Adriel does come for you, you can't risk being away."

"We have no idea what's on the other side, so going through without support is madness. And you are no use to anyone dead." Mary argued.

"I'll go with her," Superion interjected. All eyes turned to her. "Salvius is right, you should not split up. And Mary is right that Salvius should not go alone, so I am the logical choice. Lilith can teleport me over to ARQ-Tech when you are ready to go."

"What about your contacts in Rome?" Beatrice asked.

"Now that I have established contact, I can stay in touch remotely. And truth be told, they have not yielded anything of use yet, so I believe my usefulness here is coming to an end anyway."

"I will arrange for a place for you to stay," Salvius offered.

"This is the way we'll do it then," Superion decided. "I'll get my affairs in order here while you prepare over there."

Two hours later the five OCS girls were in full combat gear in the portal room, Beatrice having pointed out that the portal would most likely work both ways and could therefore also bring unwelcome visitors. Salvius had also brought security personnel of her own, some of whom were looking at the nuns warily, having previously encountered them as adversaries.

"Right, I've programmed it to fly through and up, record what's on the other side, take measurements and come back. Just a short hop of less than a minute. Do you think you can keep open the portal that long?" Salvius asked.

"One way to find out," Ava answered.

"Well, the drone is expendable, so it's not a big problem if it does not come back." Salvius fidgeted, clearly nervous. "Ready when you are. Are you sure I don't need to hook you up?"

"I'll try without being electrocuted first, thank you. Lilith?" Lilith stepped up to Ava and laid her hands on her shoulders. Mary and Camila both aimed their weapons at the portal, while Beatrice rested her hand on her knives.

"Here goes nothing," Ava muttered as she closed her eyes and touched the console of the machine. Moments later, a portal started forming and Salvius tapped her tablet, ordering the drone on its way.

"You are doing great Ava," Beatrice said encouragingly without taking her eyes of the portal. "How are you feeling?"

"Not too bad. I can feel the energy, but I think it's mostly coming from Lilith."

"It's like holding a somewhat heavy box. I should be able to keep this up for a few minutes, but not much longer," Lilith added.

"The drone should be back in thirty seconds," Salvius called out.

Exactly 30 seconds later the drone re-emerged after which Ava closed the portal. "Good job," Mary complimented the pair as she relaxed her stance.

Salvius was busily tapping her tablet, downloading the data from the drone. "No evidence of time dilation, laws of physics look reasonably similar to our own, breathable atmosphere, no harmful radiation. So far, so good," she muttered to herself.

"What's time dilation?" Ava asked Beatrice.

"No time dilation means that time on the other side passes at the same rate as here," Beatrice explained.

Ava's eyes widened as she realized how strange the place on the other side of the portal might be. "Wow."

"Is that the visual?" Mary asked, looking over Salvius' shoulder at her tablet.

"It is."

"Not exactly the Garden of Eden," Mary commented as she looked at the barren rocky landscape that seemed to stretch on endlessly.

"Good, I'd hate to drop Adriel in paradise," Lilith commented.

"Keep in mind that Michael may be down there as well. That doesn't look very hospitable," Beatrice warned before the others could get too enthusiastic. She thought she saw Salvius lip quiver before she composed herself.

"Right, I'll charge the drone and program it for a longer reconnaissance flight. That'll take me about an hour." She turned to Lilith and Ava. "Do you think you can open a portal then to let it through and another one twenty minutes later to let it come back?"

Ava looked at Lilith who gave her a nod. "Yeah, I think so. But how do we know when the drone is ready to come back?"

"The drone will wait until the portal is open and then come through again, so it will take care of that."

Ninety minutes later the women, now joined by Mother Superion who had been picked up by Lilith, were looking at the footage of the second flight together. "It looks like all three portals opened in the same location. That's a good thing, I'd hate to get trapped there," Salvius remarked.

"What's that?" Mother Superion asked, pointing to something on the rocky surface near the edge of the frame.

"Hold on, I'll zoom in," Salvius said.

"It looks like an arrow scratched into the ground," Camila observed.

"And there, that looks like an M and an S," Mary pointed out. "Michaels initials."

"That's my boy," Salvius said proudly.

"What's in that direction?"

"A rock face from the looks of it. Maybe he headed there for shelter," Salvius theorized.

Superion nodded. "Makes sense. And it looks like to be our best lead."

"Then that's where we'll look for him first. I'll grab my gear and then we'll go," Salvius said as she got up and left.

"You don't look very excited. This is a good thing right, that we have a lead on the kid?" Ava asked Beatrice, noticing the look on her face.

"It's a good thing," Beatrice agreed.

"Then what? Did you see something that Salvius missed?"

"It's not so much something that I saw; it's more things that I didn't see." At Ava's confused look, Beatrice continued. "I have not seen any water or vegetation. Now it is possible there is water at the rock face where Michael went, but if there isn't this could end up as a recovery mission instead of a rescue."

Ava's eyes widened as the implication sank in. "Oh shit."

A few minutes later Salvius rejoined them, having exchanged her business suit for something more appropriate for the expedition and carrying a large backpack. "I'm ready. Are you?"

"I am," Mother Superion confirmed as she got up.

Salvius turned to Ava and Lilith. "You remember the schedule?"

Lilith nodded. "Open a portal once every two hours during the day for the next three days."

"Good luck," Beatrice said as the portal opened and Salvius and Mother Superion stepped up to the machine.

"Thank you," Mother Superion answered before both women stepped through and Ava closed the portal.

About two hours later, Salvius and Superion had made it to the rock face, encountering two more arrows carved into the ground on the way. "Let's hope we'll find him here," Salvius said, her eyes scanning the rock, looking for any caves or further clues.

"Doctor, I hope we'll find him alive, but are you prepared for the possibility that he may not be? This area is not very hospitable."

A look of anguish shot across Salvius' face. "Truthfully, no. I have to keep up hope. I don't know what I'll do if... you know."

"I appreciate your honesty. But I must also be honest; the lack of water and food here is concerning me deeply."

Superion's words brought the scientist in Salvius to the surface. "Now that you mention it, are you thirsty? Have you drunk any water since we got here?"

"No, I can't say I have."

"Me neither. And I'm not feeling any fatigue either, despite walking for two hours." She looked around. "Maybe things work differently here. The drone's data did suggest that this place was similar to Earth, but not identical."

"It's possible," Superion said, but she sounded unconvinced. "Given the circumstances I don't think it is wise to split up. We will search together."

"Thank you," Salvius said as the women set off again.

Superion and Salvius didn't return that afternoon and the OCS girls went home, hoping the expedition would return the next day. After dinner, Beatrice found herself with Ava in their bedroom. "Ava? Can I ask you something?" Beatrice asked.

"Sure," Ava said as she rummaged through their closet, looking for an elusive article of clothing.

"Does it bother you that we have not been... intimate yet?"

Ava stopped and turned around in surprise. "What? No, of course not. Why do you ask?"

"Well, when Mary made that joke about Lilith teleporting into our bedroom it occurred to me that she probably expects us to be like that."

"And then your big brain started worrying that I might have similar expectations?" Ava asked as she walked over and put her arm around Beatrice.

"Well, yes," Beatrice admitted.

"Bea, I meant what I said that first night about taking things slowly. There's no rush and there are no expectations. All that matters is what works for us." She gave Beatrice a reassuring smile. "And if and when you are ready to take that step, I'll be there to take it with you. And I don't care if that is in a week, in a month, in a year or even never at all."

"Really? Why not?" Beatrice asked, her voice shaking a little.

"Because being intimate, as you so wonderfully put it, would just be icing on an already amazing cake." Ava caressed Beatrice's face and her voice became filled with emotion. "Bea, you have no idea how precious what we have together is to me. Back at the orphanage, I was convinced that I'd never find someone. I mean, a quadriplegic orphan doesn't exactly have great chances on the relationship market. Anyone I'd get involved with would end up more of a caregiver than a partner. I would daydream from time to time what it'd be like to find someone, but Bea, what we have is so much better than anything I ever dreamt off. I wouldn't give it up for anything in the world."

Beatrice felt a pair of tears slide down her cheek. "Ava, I meant what I said as well, back when you first made your way through the twenty feet of concrete. I will never leave you, able bodied or quadriplegic. I'm yours as long as you'll have me."

Ava smiled, but was touched. "Careful what you're offering Bea, that may be a very long time."

"I would consider myself very lucky if that is the case."

"In this life and the next?" Ava asked, adapting the OCS rallying cry.

"God willing, yes." Beatrice pulled Ava into a hug and said a quick prayer for Ava's wish to be granted. The women ended up holding each other for a long time.

Chapter Text

The next morning, the OCS sisters returned to ARQ-Tech to continue opening the portal. At the third attempt, Mary spotted movement. "Something is coming through," she said, her hand going to her weapon. Moments later, she relaxed her posture as doctor Salvius, Michael and Mother Superion came through in quick succession.

"You found him!" Camila exclaimed excitedly.

"We did," doctor Salvius said. "Thank you, all of you. You gave me back my son."

Mary nodded. "I assume our deal still stands?"

"I now owe you a debt I can never repay. Whatever you need that I can provide, you'll have."

"Thank you."

"Come Michael, let's get you checked out," Salvius said as she ushered her son from the room.

"What was it like on the other side?" Ava asked.

"Disconcerting. It may superficially look like an Earth rocky desert, but it is different. For example, we found no traces of life there. No plants, no animals, nothing. There wasn't even any water."

Beatrice's eyebrows rose up a little. "Then how did Michael survive that long?"

"That place works differently than our world, it's almost a limbo of sorts. Over there, you experience no hunger, no thirst, no tiredness. Doctor Salvius theorizes that we didn't age either during our time there."

"So it's kind of eternal life," Ava said.

"'Life' would be a very generous term for an existence in that place," Mother Superion answered as her phone dinged. "Excuse me," she said diverting her attention to it.

"Not that I'm complaining, but this does feel anti-climatic and too easy," Lilith said.

"Yeah, I know what you mean," Mary concurred.

"Is everything OK?" Beatrice asked Mother Superion, noticing the look on her face.

"I have received word from one of my sources in the Vatican. Apparently the pope canceled all his appointments for today and has ordered that he not be disturbed."

"Is that bad?" Ava asked.

"It's the people he is meeting with that have me concerned. We know one of them."

Mary got a sinking feeling. "Who is it?"

"Father Vincent," Mother Superion said as she held up her phone, showing a picture.

"May I see that?" Beatrice asked as Mary's expression turned to rage. Mother Superion handed her the phone and Beatrice studied the picture. "We know that other person he is meeting with too," she announced after a moment.

"Who is it?" Mother Superion asked.

Beatrice looked around. "Adriel."

"Fuck." Ava cursed.

"Why would the pope meet with Adriel?" Camila asked.

"They are clearly up to something and it has to do with us. Adriel having an unscheduled meeting with the pope the day after we open a portal and go after Michael? That can not be a coincidence," Lilith opined.

"Agreed," Mother Superion stated.

"I say we move now. This is the first lead we have on the whereabouts of Adriel and that traitor," Mary said. "We may not get another chance."

"I concur," Lilith offered.

The other girls nodded their agreement as well. "All right. Get ready and meet back here in fifteen minutes," Mother Superion decided. "Mary, a moment of your time please."

Mary stayed behind as the other girls moved out. "I know what you are going to say."

"I understand your feelings Mary, but I can not allow them to endanger the mission. The objective is to capture Adriel; all else is secondary. Can I trust you to stick to that?"

Mary nodded stiffly. "Yes."

"Very well then." As Mary started to move off, Mother Superion called after her. "Mary? Getting revenge won't bring her back, nor will it make the pain go away."

Mary cast a look back, but didn't answer as she continued out of the room.

Fifteen minutes later the girls had reassembled, a mixture of determination and apprehension on their faces. "Ready?" Mother Superion asked.

All the girls nodded. "I'll teleport us to the necropolis, we'll have the best chance to appear unseen there. Then we'll work our way up," Lilith said.

"Very well. Good luck and be careful."

The five girls linked hands and a moment later they disappeared from ARQ-Tech.

"I don't think I'll ever get used to this," Ava said after they materialized under the Vatican.

Lilith held up her hand and looked as if she was listening intently.

"Do you hear anything?" Beatrice asked.

"No, but I feel something." Lilith's voice trailed off for a moment. "I think I can sense Adriel. I may be able to teleport us right into the room with him."

"That would save us having to make our way there through the building," Camila said, a hint of relief in her voice.

"Better hurry then. If you can sense him, chances are he can sense you," Mary warned.

The girls linked their hands again and Lilith initiated another teleport. This time, they appeared in Duretti's office, where Duretti and Adriel were in a heated discussion, with Vincent standing off to the side.

Mary immediately aimed one of her weapons at Vincent and the other at Adriel and Duretti. "Give me an excuse and you are history," she bit out, looking at Vincent.

"Well, you are persistent, I'll give you that. Foolish, but persistent," Adriel said as he took a step forward. "You were no match for me last time when I was weak from being locked up for centuries. Now that I'm my old self again?" His expression hardened. "I'll swat you like flies."

"We'll see," Beatrice countered, keeping a calm exterior.

"Yes, we will." Adriel waved his arm almost nonchalantly and Mary and Camila found themselves holding nothing, their weapons having vanished. Beatrice instinctively reached for her knives and found them gone too. "Sorry about your toys. It's not that they were a threat, but getting shot is annoying even if it does no real harm."

"My lord," Duretti began, but Adriel held up his hand to silence him.

Mary looked at him with a mixture of disbelieve and contempt. "You are grovelling to him?"

"Holy Father, he is a demon!" Camila hissed.

"You see, not everyone subscribes to your narrow minded definitions of good and evil," Adriel said. "We've come to an understanding."

"You've made a deal with the devil. Literally," Mary said, her voice laced with disgust. "What did he offer you?"

"The Church used to be a cornerstone of society. People followed its teachings and emperors bowed to it. But now, fewer and fewer people are paying it heed." Duretti was getting more and more agitated. "But with Adriel, I can return the Church to its proper place in society. It will be an authority again."

"The Church? Or you?" Ava sneered.

"I am the Church miss Silva."

"You realize that he is just using you right? And that you are a goner as soon as you are no longer useful?" Mary asked.

"Duretti here is smart and recognizes the winning side when he sees it," Adriel interjected. "Now, I am going to give you one chance. Kneel, or join your precious Shannon."

"You motherf..." Mary started as she charged Adriel, but before she reached him, another wave from Adriel's arm sent her flying back into a wall. She slid to the floor, dazed.

"Predictable." He turned to the girls that were still standing. "What about you?"

"Absolutely not," Camila said.

Ava watched in horror as Camila closed her eyes and Adriel started to raise his hand, when everything appeared to slow down. A moment later she felt a presence and suddenly knew what to do. She heard herself call out "Power bank!" to Lilith.

To her credit, Lilith didn't hesitate and quickly moved over and grabbed hold of Ava. Adriel stopped his movement and looked over to the disturbance, which gave Ava the chance to stretch out her own arms towards Adriel. The bemused look on his face quickly gave way to surprise as two beams of energy sprang into being between him and Ava's hands.

"Areala," Adriel hissed.

"She says hello," Ava said with a sweet smile. Adriel attempted to struggle, but was clearly weakening. He eventually sank down to his knees before losing consciousness.

"What was that?" Beatrice asked, still trying to process what had happened.

"I drained his energy and funneled it into Lilith," Ava explained. She turned around to look at the other girl. "Are you OK?"

"A little bit tingly but otherwise fine," Lilith answered.

"Is he dead?" Mary asked as she limped over to the group.

"No, just unconscious," Ava answered. "And it won't take him long to regain consciousness, so we should get him through the portal ASAP."

"Do you feel up to teleporting?" Beatrice asked Lilith.

"Yeah. If anything, I'm more energized than ever," Lilith answered with a rare smile.

"I'll stay behind and keep an eye on Duretti and Vincent," Mary stated.

"No. You, Ava and Lilith will get Adriel through the portal. Camila and I will keep an eye on the other prisoners," Beatrice decided.

For a moment, Mary looked like she was about to protest but eventually agreed with a curt nod. She took Lilith's hand and the three girls were whisked away together with Adriel.

Mother Superion looked up in surprise as they reappeared. "Back already?"

"Yeah, Ava and Lilith managed to render Adriel unconscious. Damn impressive stuff," Mary commented.

"We need to get him trough the portal before he wakes up," Lilith said as Adriel stirred.

"Mary and I will take care of that if you and Ava open the portal," Mother Superion instructed.

Ava and Lilith did as requested while Superion and Mary picked up Adriel. "Do you think Adriel will be trapped there?" Ava asked.

"I hope so. I have no desire to deal with him again."

"Same here."

They looked at the portal anxiously until Mary and Superion reappeared. When they were back, Ava wasted no time closing the portal behind them.

"Hopefully that is the last we've seen of Adriel," Mary commented.

"Are Camila and Beatrice all right?" Mother Superion asked.

"Yeah, they are in Rome keeping an eye on Vincent and Duretti. Duretti had allied himself with Adriel; apparently Adriel promised him to restore the Church to its previous power."

Mother Superion's face darkened. "I knew he was ambitious, but I didn't think he'd stoop that low."

Mary walked up to one of the guards and after some arguing, got him to give her his weapon. "We should be getting back if Lilith feels up to it," she said, looking over to Lilith, who nodded. "Do you want to join us?" she asked, turning to Mother Superion.

"Yes, I believe that would be a good idea."

The group linked hands and disappeared before reappearing in Duretti's private office.

"What happened here?" Mary asked, noticing Camila standing over Vincent's unconscious form.

"We didn't do anything. He collapsed not long after you left," Camila answered.

"Is he alive?"

"Yeah."

"Shame."

"Mary..." Ava started before Mary cut her off.

"What? He killed Shannon Ava. Am I supposed to be happy that he's still alive?"

"No, it's not that. It's something that I noticed when I linked up with Lilith and drained Adriel." She took a deep breath. "I could only see it after linking. There was this red misty tendril between Adriel and Vincent. It looked a bit like those demons that possess people, but this was like a... rope between them."

"Ava, are you saying that Vincent was possessing Adriel?" Beatrice asked.

"Maybe? We know Vincent was already doing his bidding before he got out. This may have been why."

Lilith looked pensive. "It could be that that is the reason he collapsed when we were gone. When we got Adriel through the portal, the connection probably snapped." She linked with Ava again. "Do you see anything around him now?"

"No, he looks clean."

"So Shannon... could have been Adriel instead of Vincent?" Camila asked.

"Am I supposed to just forgive him?" Mary asked heatedly.

Mother Superion held up her hand. "We'll deal with that later. We first have another matter to take care of." She turned to Ava. "Did you also see such a connection between Adriel and Duretti?"

"No. Just him and Vincent."

"So your actions were your own," Superion said calmly to Duretti.

Duretti looked around the group of women. "What I did was for the good of the Church."

"No. What you did was for the good of you," Superion countered.

"Regardless, you are finished. Your papacy is over," Mary added.

"I know you didn't take vows young lady, but surely you know that a pope can not be removed."

"I know; the papacy ends through abdication or death," Mary said, raising her gun. "So, which will it be?"

Duretti looked at the gun in her hand. "You wouldn't."

"Wanna bet your life on it?"

"Do you really think anyone will hold me to an abdication forced at gunpoint?"

"When the college of cardinals learns of your actions, they will gladly hold you to it," Superion said.

"And who do you think they'll believe? The pope or excommunicated rabble who attacked the Church?"

"The rabble," Mary said with a smirk as she pointed to her chest. "Body cams, courtesy of ARQ-Tech. We have it all on video."

"Like Mary said, your papacy is over. You can either abdicate now, keep this sordid affair within the walls of the Church and have your reputation remain intact, or be stubborn, have the videos go public, be forced to abdicate anyway and have your reputation destroyed. Your choice."

Duretti glared at her, but after a few moments he retreated to his desk and started writing. A few minutes later, he showed her the signed document. "Happy?"

Superion glared at him with barely restrained fury. "Happy? One of my girls is dead, her murder orchestrated by the men you allied yourself with. Another was very nearly killed at your own behest. So no, I am not happy. You're lucky I'm letting you get away with all of it. Now get out of here and submit that before I change my mind."

After giving her a glare of his own, Duretti left and slammed the door behind him.

"Is it over?" Camila asked.

"I hope so," Superion answered.

"This has been one crazy day. This morning the kid was still missing and now we have him back and gotten rid of Adriel and Duretti. Not bad for a day's work," Ava commented.

"Speaking of crazy, how did you know you could drain Adriel's power like that?" Mary asked.

"Yeah, that was pretty crazy. When he was going to kill Camila, I felt this presence in my mind and then I just knew what I had to do. I'm pretty sure it was Areala."

Beatrice's eyes widened. "So that is what Adriel meant. He must have sensed her too."

"I owe you an apology Ava. I initially believed you not to be worthy, but you have more than proven yourself," Mother Superion said.

Ava was taken aback by the compliment. "Thanks, but it wasn't just me. I couldn't have done it without the others, especially Lilith."

Beatrice gave her a proud smile. "We should get back to ARQ-Tech, in case Duretti gets any ideas," she suggested.

"Agreed," Mother Superion answered before they linked hands for the final time and left the Vatican.

Chapter Text

A few weeks later

"Did you finish your research?" Ava asked as Beatrice sat down next to her.

"I did."

"How many?"

Beatrice took a deep breath. "From what I could find, at least seventeen, not including you. Quite possibly more."

"Fuck," Ava cursed as she got up and walked to the window. "How the hell could this happen Bea? How could that... that woman butcher so many kids without anyone noticing? Wasn't there anyone that said "Gee, there sure are a lot of kids kicking the bucket at St. Michael's"?"

"I don't know Ava," Beatrice said softly.

"People probably didn't care. We were just orphans, a burden on society. Not that big of a deal if a few are snuffed out," Ava said bitterly.

Beatrice joined Ava at the window and rested a hand at her shoulder. "Not all people think like that Ava. A lot do care. And if you are OK with me sharing my findings with the police, we can make people listen and make sure it doesn't happen again."

"At least we'll expose Frances for the devil she was. They probably think of her as a saint who dedicated her life to poor orphans." Ava looked at Beatrice. "You are sure they aren't going to come after me or the OCS? I did kill her."

"I'm sure. The OCS has a contact in the police who helps us if our work attracts law enforcement attention. And besides, legally you are still dead, so it's not likely they'll come after you."

"Yeah, we might have to fix that sometime. All right, go ahead. Send it off," Ava decided.

"Thank you, I'll make sure they get it in the morning. But now we have to get ready; I don't want to be late."

Ava's glum face lightened and a smile broke through. "Yeah, it wouldn't do to be late for our meeting with the new big cheese."

Beatrice looked scandalized. "Ava, we're talking about the pope here."

"Relax, I won't call him that in person."

Beatrice shook her head. "You better not. It'd be nice to get off on the right foot for a change."

A little later the five girls and Mother Superion found themselves back in the Vatican, once again courtesy of Lilith's teleportation. "It's nice to be invited guests for a change, rather than having to sneak our way in," Camila said as they waited for their host.

"Well, at least until Ava's big mouth gets us kicked out," Mary teased.

Ava stuck out her tongue and Beatrice sighed. "Mary, behave," she admonished.

Before Mary could answer, the door opened. Moments later, the new pope entered, followed by several aides. The man gave Ava a distinct grandfatherly impression as he greeted them. "Welcome. It's an honor to finally meet you," he said as he shook their hands.

"The honor is ours Holy Father," Beatrice answered as she bowed her head.

"Given what you have done for the church and indeed the world, I disagree. We owe you a debt that I fear we can never repay. There are however two things that I hope will show our appreciation. First of all, I have declared my predecessors decision to excommunicate you void ab initio." He smiled at Ava's look of confusion. "From the look on your face, I assume you are unfamiliar with the term miss Silva?"

"Uh yes, I'm afraid so," Ava answered.

"It is a legal term. It means that rather than just ending your excommunication, I have declared it as null from the beginning. So in the eyes of the Church, it will be as if you were never excommunicated. I consider that only fair, because you were under the genuine belief that you were acting in the interest of the Church."

"Thank you Holy Father," Camila said, teary eyed.

"You are most welcome sister Camila. As for the second thing that I hope will show our appreciation, I have decided to bestow the Supreme Order of Christ on all of you." Beatrice's mouth fell open at the announcement. "It is very rarely awarded, but I feel that if anyone deserves it, it is you six." He motioned for one of his aides to come over. "I wish I could do this in a public ceremony, but you will understand the need for discretion," he continued as he placed the collars that signified their membership of the order around their necks. "Now that the formalities are dealt with, please, have a seat."

The six women and their host made themselves comfortable in the sitting area. "Your Holiness, does this mean we can return to the OCS?" Camila asked.

The pope gave her a warm smile. "Certainly. In fact, it is my hope that you will do so. But I will of course understand if you choose not to return." He looked around the group before his gaze settled on Lilith. "It see doubt in your eyes sister Lilith. You do not wish to go back?"

"I'm not sure I have a place in the OCS anymore. Or the Church."

"Because of your transformation at the hands of the beast?"

Lilith took in a sharp breath. "Yes. But also because of the things that happened before that. I allowed Duretti to play on my pride and I nearly committed a mortal sin as a result."

"Please don't leave on my account Lilith," Ava interjected. "Sorry," she continued after receiving a look from Beatrice and Mother Superion.

The pope nodded. "That was a grave mistake, one that you fortunately did not see to completion." He got up, walked over and kneeled beside Lilith. "Do you regret your actions?"

"Very much," she answered quietly.

"And you subsequently nearly died protecting her, correct?"

"I suppose I did."

"Then I believe that, combined with your subsequent effort defeating Adriel, constitutes sufficient penance. I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." He gave her a smile. "Not exactly by the book, but from what I understand that is true of many aspects of the OCS."

Lilith wiped away some tears that had slid down her face. "But I am still an abomination."

"You most certainly are not. Your biology doesn't matter sister Lilith; what matters is this," he said, placing his hand over her heart. "If you are willing to walk with Him, then you are welcome in His church." By then, Lilith was quietly crying and he pulled her into an embrace. "Your sisters accept you Lilith. I accept you and I am convinced He does as well." The embrace lasted a few moments before he pulled back.

"Thank you," Lilith said, giving him a weak smile of gratitude.

"You are welcome," he said as he got up and returned to his seat. "There is also the matter of your Father Vincent," he continued, causing Mary to stiffen. "Unfortunately, Adriel's control of him left deep marks on his soul. He is currently recovering in a monastery near Rome where they have experience assisting people who have been possessed. I've spoken to him a few days ago and he asked me to convey to you his deep regrets over his actions. Even though he was not in control of them, he still feels profoundly guilty." By now, Mary's fingers were digging into the arm rests of her chair and Camila rested her hand on Mary's arm in a show of support. "He has also asked me to relieve him of his posting to the OCS, both because his recovery is expected to be a lengthy one and because he believes it will be easier for you to work with someone without his history. I have granted his request."

"Have you selected a replacement?" Mother Superion asked.

"Actually, Vincent suggested someone that he believes would be well suited to the task, given that he is already familiar with the work of the OCS and because you already know him. However, I have decided to consult with you before making an appointment." The girls exchanged curious glances as the pope motioned for one his aides to open a door.

"Father Orozco," Ava said surprised as she saw who it was.

"It seems our paths cross again," he answered as he entered and made his way over to the OCS women.

"You are to be our new priest?" Beatrice asked.

"I am, if you'll have me. I would be honored to serve the OCS after what you have done for my town. And I believe it would also be beneficial to the people of Ronda to make a fresh start with a priest without my unfortunate history."

Beatrice looked around the group and was met with smiles and nods. "We accept."

"Wonderful," the pope said. "I'll make the necessary arrangements."

"Your Holiness, what will happen with Duretti?" Beatrice asked.

"Officially, he has retired to a convent in the Apennines for spiritual reasons. Unofficially, he has been confined there."

"He's a prisoner?" Mary asked.

"That's what it amounts to," the pope confirmed. "You see, that video evidence you presented to the College of Cardinals of Adriel's actions and Duretti's involvement in them made quite an impression. Nearly everyone was convinced that we could not let Duretti run around freely after what had happened. We eventually struck a deal with him that he'd be confined to the convent to spare everyone the embarrassment of a public trial."

"Serves him right," Mary said grimly.

The group then switched to lighter topics and talked for almost an hour before the pope got up, followed by the rest of the of the group. "I'm afraid that I am going to have to take my leave of you, I have another appointment shortly." He gave them a rueful smile. "My calendar has become a lot fuller since becoming the bishop of Rome." He shook each of their hands. "As I said, the Church is in your debt. If there is anything I can help you with, please let me know."

"Actually, there might be something," Ava said. Beatrice looked over and hoped that whatever Ava was about to ask for was not too outlandish.

"Yes?" the pope asked as he turned to Ava, who appeared uncharacteristically uncertain.

"Mary's mom is in prison. She killed her husband in self defense, but they still gave her a life sentence. Is there maybe something you can do for her?"

"Ava, you can't..." Mary started, but the pope held up his hand.

"I can't promise I'll be able to help her, but I promise that I will look into the matter."

"Thank you Your Holiness," Ava answered, surprising Beatrice with the use of the honorific.

After they left the room, Mary pulled Ava into a hug. "Thank you," she said, her voice thick with emotion.

"You helped me, I'm just returning the favor."

As they continued down the hallway, Beatrice grabbed Ava's hand. "Don't you dare to ever think of yourself as thoughtless or self centered again."

"If you promise never to think of yourself as a deviant again."

"Deal."

Chapter Text

One year later

The girls had moved back into Cat's Cradle a little over a week after their audience with the pope. The impending move had caused Beatrice a number of sleepless nights; while she was happy that she was returning to the place that had been her home for the past few years, she'd been convinced that the move would be the end of sharing a room and bed with Ava. During those sleepless nights, she would sometimes study Ava's sleeping form to commit the image to memory. She'd been amazed at how quickly she'd progressed from reluctantly sharing a bed with Ava to craving her presence. The feared separation had never happened however; when the day of the move came, Beatrice had been stunned to find that her belongings had been moved into Ava's room and that that room now featured a queen bed. When Mother Superion had appeared in the door and given her a nod an barely perceptible smile, she'd nearly broken down in tears.

"Are you even paying attention?" Ava asked, pulling Beatrice from her trip down memory lane. The two girls were sitting on their bed, watching a news report on Ava's tablet.

"Yes. I was just thinking about how lucky I am to have you," Beatrice answered, snuggling a little closer to Ava and returning her attention to the screen.

"According to the police, they have found evidence of at least twenty-three murders committed by sister Frances at the orphanage." At Ava's sharp intake of breath, Beatrice rested her hand on Ava's leg in a show of support. "The spokesperson for St. Michael's has stated that the orphanage is deeply shocked by and appalled at the actions of the late sister Frances. She also indicated that the wing of the orphanage that had been named after Frances following her death last year will get a new name honoring the victims as soon as possible."

"You did it," Ava said as the news report ended.

"I only got the ball rolling, the police deserve most of the credit. And you of course, for figuring out what happened to you."

Before Ava could answer, there was a knock on their door. "Come in," Ava called out.

The door opened and Mary poked her head inside. "Are you decent?" she asked with a smirk.

"Very funny," Ava answered as she and Beatrice got up and the door opened more fully. Mary stepped in, followed by a middle-aged woman. "I'd like you to meet someone. This is my mother. Mom, these are Ava and Beatrice. Ava is the one who got you out."

"Your mom is free? That is amazing," Ava answered as she walked over and shook the older woman's hand, followed by Beatrice. Over the past year, Mary had been very reticent about what was happening with regard to her mother, only willing to say that the pope had made good on his word and that the Church was helping.

"Yeah. The Church paid for a lawyer to have another look at her case. Turns out there was evidence that my mom had acted in self defense after all, but the prosecutor conveniently ignored it. Probably eager to secure a conviction. Anyway, they reopened the case and this time it was ruled self defense."

"What about your mom's original lawyer?" Beatrice asked.

Mary scoffed. "That was a public defender who never brought it up either. Probably didn't care enough to have a proper look at the case. Bastard."

"Language." Beatrice and Mary's mother admonished in chorus. The two women looked at each other and smiled.

"What? If he had done his job, you wouldn't have rotted in prison all these years. And I wouldn't have been in foster hell." A tear slipped down her cheek.

Her mother rested a hand on Mary's shoulder. "We can't change the past Mary. But we can try to make the best of the future we now have thanks to the Church and your friend."

"Clearly I'm not as forgiving as you are. But yeah, we owe Ava big time for this."

Ava made a dismissive gesture. "You were there for me when I needed someone. I'm glad I could do something back."

After chatting for a while, Mary and her mom left to meet the other sisters. "You're a good person Ava," Beatrice said as the door closed behind them.

"Only thanks to you and the other sisters. You took in a broken girl, gave her people that genuinely cared for her and showed her that the world is worth caring about."

"That's all you Ava. You just needed a little help to come out of the shell that growing up in the orphanage put around you."

"Maybe. In any case, I love you Bea."

"And I love you Ava. In this life and the next."