In the teeth of Cydonia, many people had gathered for the day. Strangers, bystanders, the homeless, and even the insane had gathered around the Our Lady of the Abandoned Parish. Mumbling, murmuring, they pressed in around a giant golden ribbon tied across the gate, with Kremidal arriving behind the crowd.
Members of the DCD (Damage Control Department) split the crowd apart just so Kremidal could pass through. Despite that, the crowd cheered, and Kremidal smiled as he waved in response. Misty was walking right behind him, yet the crowd still seemed to keep its focus on Kremidal.
"[Baby Eagle, got any anomalies on your end?]" said Poppy, perched on one of the commie blocks beside the church.
"[Still nothing, Pinky. What's wrong, getting bored?]" said Zephyr, holding a .50 cal sniper as he lay on the concrete of the opposite block.
"[By the way, Baby Eagle, how come you get to hold the .50 cal?]" Poppy asked.
"[You have shit aim. You can't even get a clean shot with a homing bullet. How the hell do you fuck that up?]"
"[Shut up.]"
"[Aight, aight, I'll stop. Besides, you've got crazier powers than me. Plus your knife aim's already preem.]"
"[Just shut the fuck up, Baby Eagle. The big event's about to happen.]"
Misty handed the giant silver scissor to Kremidal, the crowd cheered when he touched the giant scissor. He raised his hand as the cheering quickly fizzled, he announced.
"You know, we couldn't have done this without any of you. Damage Control, Demolition Team, SSIA (Secret Security and Intelligence Association) wherever you are, the homeless that sought shelter in this place and even helped rebuild it, the insane that managed to hold themselves together to lift these walls up, the hands of the church - ever loving and giving. "
Kremidal glances at Misty, pulling her by the hand and hugging her on his side, he announced "how can I forget the woman that helped bankroll this project, Misty Crowe!"
Misty blushed, smiling and waving at the crowd.
Kremidal continued with a softer voice
"Most of all, our founder Lyle, whom has helped us uphold the very value of what this place cherishes the most.
A purpose
A guide
A home
For the abandoned, by the abandoned!" He said with teary eyes
"May this day mark the reopening of Our Lady of the Abandoned Parish!"
The people cheered even louder, Misty was even whooing as she was clapping
Poppy smiles
"[Well that got you sentimental hey Princess Pinky?]"
"[What the- how did you?]" she leers at Zephyr's direction, she spots that He's using the scope to spy on her.
"[Can you aim that to someone else! Besides, you wouldn't get it. If it wasn't for Kremidal, I'd be a kid in a milk carton. Besides, you wouldn't know]"
*Minutes later*
All of the people living in the church funneled down along with their luggage. Some who are even disabled, waddled around the place, assisted by DCD
Kremidal was looking all over them on the choir balcony, Misty nudged him by the arm saying "Hello big man, never seen you a smile that wide before"
Kremidal grabbed her by the shoulders and kissed her on the lips, at first misty acted surprised, but then she gradually closed her eyes, hugging Kremidal as they continued kissing. They stopped as they stuck each other's forehead, their giggling heard all over the church from the balcony.
Kremidal sighed "You've done so much for us, if there's anything that you need so I can return the favour?"
"Actually" Misty pulls out her phone, showing the online post saying
"[Electorial Campaigns have begun
Candidates for mayor
Atty. Joaquin Chevalier - Liberal Party
Emil Saxton - Republican Party
Atty. Misty Crowe - Independent
Candidates for Vice Mayor
Dr. Belle White - Liberal Party
Atty. Asad Abgadi - Republican Party
Stephen Tevez - Cydonian Union
Clarice Phoenix - Children of Noctum]"
Kremidal stared at Clarice's photo. She looked like a perfectly normal young adult, nothing like the kid he'd last seen. A bead of sweat formed at his temple. "This name..."
"Hm? What name?" Misty asked as she pressed her hand on Kremidal's chest
"Clarice Phoenix, Claire's sister… Last time I saw her, she was still worrying about her exam. Seeing her this old already, is baffling"
"Not that, silly. Me! I'm running for mayor. Since I helped you with a big task, it wouldn't be too much trouble to help me with this one, would it?" She smiled.
"Of course. It's just that the Phoenix sisters confuse me a bit. Anyway, wanna look around the church while we still have time?"
*Meanwhile, on the commie blocks*
"[Hey, Pinky, how's Pixie?]"
"[She's doing great. I actually just enrolled her in—]" All of a sudden, Poppy went quiet.
"[Hey, Pinky, enrolled in where?... Pinky?]"
"[We got company.]"
Zephyr scrambled back onto the sniper rifle. Even from afar, he could see a group of armed men in uniform. He hastily looked through the scope. "[Pinky, these guys are cops!]"
"[What? Why? Inspection?]"
"[I dunno! I'll radio Tengu now!]" He changed the channel on his headset. "[Tengu, calling Tengu!]"
Kremidal heard it through his earring and tapped it. "Oi, Baby Eagle, what's the sitch?"
"[Tengu, you've got pigs at six o'clock!]"
All the church inhabitants stepped aside to make way for the cops. Kremidal looked down from the balcony and saw a group of heavily armored police officers armed with rifles. An officer in a blue camouflage jacket looked up at the murals until his eyes drifted to the choir balcony.
"Pontiff Kremidal Swanson, you are hereby under arrest for mass murder. Please cooperate, or we will have to use force."
"Coming~!" Kremidal yelled.
"I need you to get down here NOW!"
Kremidal landed right in front of them from the balcony, as if weightless - standing up with his stature, towering over everyone else. The church inhabitants flinched, and the cops immediately pointed their rifles at him.
"No need to play the bad cops now, since I'm cooperating. So what am I in for?"
The cop in the jacket gulped, then answered in a shaky voice. "I... I am the Commissioner. We have an arrest warrant for mass murder, multiple homicide, and multiple counts of aggravated assault."
Kremidal scoffed and raised his hands. "Just so you know, I will not be speaking to you until me lawyer is present."
The Commissioner turned Kremidal around and cuffed him. Once he was cuffed, the Commissioner kicked him off balance, and Kremidal's chest hit the ground.
The church inhabitants yelped and cried out for him. Misty shouted from the balcony: "KREMIDAL!" The whole church fell into panic, so loud that it carried to the neighboring commie blocks.
"[Tengu, Baby Eagle here! We're hearing a commotion. What's going on in there?!]"
"[Pinky here! I'm going down from position!]"
Kremidal had left his earring mic open. "No, stay in your current position! Don't fire, or they'll hurt the people of the church—" A cop clamped a muzzle over Kremidal's mouth, cutting off his words.
The cops lifted him by the armpits, and another cop punched him in the nose, making him bleed.
The crowd started yelling.
"He gave us a roof, you pigs!"
"Stop kicking him, he's not fighting back!"
"Let him go. Him and Lyle have done nothing to us but good! Unlike you, retards!"
"YEAH! Let him go!"
The other cops, unoccupied, stepped forwards and pointed their guns at the unarmed crowd.
DDT had already surrounded the cops aiming their own rifles at the cops.
Kremidal shook his heads at them with muffled words "No DDT stand down-" he was suddenly punched again by the commissioner
The Commissioner pulled him by the neck and whispered in Kremidal's ear. "Oh, don't worry, we'll take care of your little trust-fund project here. You have no idea how long we've wanted to do this." Then he kicked Kremidal in the stomach, and Kremidal fell onto his back.
The crowd kept heckling the cops, inching closer.
The Commissioner squeezed Kremidal's cheeks. "Take him to max-sec. Let's give him a nice pampering before we throw him in the wringer for interrogation." Then he shoved Kremidal's face back to the ground.
The cops lifted Kremidal and dragged him toward a police van. He barely squirmed on the way, only looking back at the people trying to stop the cops. All he could do was let out muffled screams and shake his head at them. Whenever someone managed to touch a cop, they were hit with steel batons and rifle butts.
"Stay back! Stay the fuck back!" the cops yelled. But DDT was forced to step in and beat the cops with their own weapons.
The commissioner yelled at his men "knock it off, it ain't worth it! We're only here for their pontiff!"
Once they were out of the church, his ass was dragged along the pavement.
Poppy and Zephyr watched the whole scene. Zephyr kept yelling, "That's Kremidal! [Tengu, do you hear me?! TENGU, SAY SOMETHING!]"
All he could hear in his earpiece was his muffled voice and the crowd heckling the cops.
The van slammed shut. The cops got away with Kremidal.
*Hours later*
A video on social media plays
"[BREAKING NEWS
The Pontiff of the Our Lady of the Abandoned Parish has been arrested for mass murder, multiple homicide cases, multiple aggravated assault, and many more.
Investigators presume that Kremidal is the Boom Radio killer, evidences suggest that the Boom Radio Killer and the Beast of Cydonia are one person, and that person is Kremidal. However a massive protest has sparked in the Cydonia Department of Justice, as people even outside or under the church's roof seem to be protesting. Members of the Cydonian Union and the Liberal Party were seen to partake in this protest.
Citizens have begun spray painting murals of the man, and even wrote spiteful words against law enforcement and especially notable landmarks in Cydonia.
Despite the cases against the Pontiff, locals suggest that he has done nothing in regards to the Boom Radio Massacre]"
They began interviewing the locals, first was a student.
"[Honestly if it weren't for his effort I would have been afraid walking alone in the teeth of Cydonia, especially at night!]"
Then a street vendor
"[Oh no, Señor Kremidal would never do such a thing, because of him - I rarely see hobos digging down in trash cans to this day. Ese, I don't think wouldn't sell hotdogs if there still junkies roaming around the street]"
Then a teacher
"[It's blasphemy! The law shouldn't involve themselves in the business of the church. How dare you, servant of the people! Assault a man of god in broad daylight! The world has truly run to ruin!]"
The news also mentions "[There's also a video surfacing, of the commissioner- yes the commissioner of Cydonia Police Department, inciting police brutality on the inhabitants of OLAP
Do you believe that a man of high holiness would commit such a crime alone, or was the deed done by someone else?
This is Sammy Lee, reporting this breaking news.]"
Poppy and Zephyr were in her apartment, watching the news on her computer monitor. Zephyr leaned back in the chair and sighed. "Maaaaaan, what the fuck are we gonna do? We both know the SSIA can't do shit when the actual government's on his ass."
Poppy shook her head. "Nah, don't sweat it."
Zephyr clenched the armrest. "Fuck you mean, don't—"
Poppy cut him off, pulling him by the collar. "Can you shut the fuck up? You're gonna get me a noise complaint." She pulled his face closer. "Newsflash, buddy: this isn't Kremmy's first rodeo." She let go of his collar.
"What?" Zephyr asked. "You mean he's been arrested before?"
Poppy spread her arms. "Brown boy, what makes you think some people fear him?"
"'Cause he's tall?"
"Argh! No! Ugh, whatever, you wouldn't get it. All I can say is the church wouldn't be standing if a little bit of blood wasn't spilled. Plus I'm pretty sure he's the kingpin in the prison right now"
*Meanwhile at prison*
"Solitary confinement?!" Kremidal shouted. "I thought you were putting me in max-sec!"
The warden opened the cell door. "Yeah, sorry, Pontiff. I like you, but the Mayor's orders say mass murder's got everybody scared." As he was about to close the door, he added, "Oh, and the Commissioner said to feed you only once a day... in your cell."
Kremidal's jaw dropped.
"Also, be ready for your interrogation this afternoon," the warden said.
*Now back at Poppy's apartment*
Suddenly both their phones rang. They checked the screens. It was Charlotte. They pickup
"[Have you heard ze news?]"
"We were there Char- char- char- char-" because that both of their mics were open it echoed in the facetime
Charlotte starts scratching his neck "[Err… how about one of you turn off one of your phones, and use one for ze call no?]"
Zephyr ends his call while Poppy continued hers
"[Listen carefully, right now we have more than 50 contracts pending for approval. None of them are even dropping in seven figures.]"
"Then what are we waiting for?" Poppy said "We're the people for the job, we can finish 25 in a day"
"[I don't zink you realize who zese targets are. All of zese, and I mean all are high value targets, wrapped all over in muscle. In which the both of you clearly lack.
So I zink it's best wait for Kre-]"
"We can take it" Poppy cuts him off "We're the hands of the church, we get shit done. So we're taking the papers, but we get to choose which targets"
"[Very well mon ami, come to my clinic if you're ready - please, pray for Kremidal]"
"We will" both said in unison
Zephyr slowly looks at Poppy before saying "Twenty five? Twenty-fucking-five?"
She shrugged "Hey if you can't handle it, you can always pussy out. Or are you gonna be a dick and show them you're hard"
He giggled as he stammered "W- w- w- w- what?!"
"You know what I mean! Cock shame, or pussy facing the world?"
Zephyr was holding his laugh, until one of them snickered, and they burst out laughing
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHA"
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHA"
*Meanwhile at Claire's new school*
"Good morning, class. Today we have a new student. Miss, kindly come to the front of the class."
Claire stood and walked to the front, every eye in the room locked on her.
"Please tell them your name, age, where you live, and your talent."
Claire cleared her throat and stood up straight. "My name is Claire Phoenix. I'm 14 years old, and I live in the commie blocks of this city."
The class giggled lightly.
"Do you know the actual address?" the teacher asked.
Claire scratched her head. "I dunno, I just recently moved in, so..."
"Oh, it's alright. What's your talent?"
"Err..." She scratched her head again. "Erm... does Muay Thai count?"
The whole class burst out laughing. One student shouted, "Do a demonstration! C'mon!"
The teacher put her hands out. "Alright, alright, class, settle down. Ms. Phoenix, please take a seat."
Once she took a seat, she looked around her, catching a few glances from students. Then she spots a student from the corner of the room, wearing a hoodie, and a thin face mask. She squints at the student, as the hooded kid looks back at her; through the students hood she saw their skin was pale - then snaps their back to the teacher.
RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNGGGGG
It was lunchtime. Students all got out of their classrooms, Claire got up and followed the kid in a hood.
Claire kept following, but the students started crowding against her. The kid in a hood looked back, with a face clearer; prescription glasses lightly shaded, facemask on their mouth, and a little bit of hair poking out of their forehead.
"Hey kid, you with the red hood!"
The kid looked away, while Claire struggled to press on she bumped into one of the students walking past. "Hey watch where you're going to run!"
"I'm sorry damn!" she looked at the direction the kid went, the kid was gone
"Claire? Pix is that you?" there she heard a familiar voice.
"June?" Claire said as she looked up, it was June reaching her hand out to her. "J what the heck? Why'd you enroll here?"
"Hey, it had zero tuition, I couldn't say no. Plus I wanna work as a doctor in the future - by the way you headin' out to lunch?"
Claire looked at the direction the kid went "Shit, I just lost him. I'm followin' a student; shaded glasses, face mask, and wearing a red hood. Have you seen em'?"
"I think I know the kid, follow me!" June nodded.
June grabbed hold of Claire's wrist, pulling her along through the crowd. Because of June being taller, she's having an easier time weaving past the crowd, while Claire can't even see above their shoulders. They pass through dozens of classes with the students waking against them in an opposite direction. Near the end of the hall way, they both spot the bathroom sign.
There were for two genders, and one for handicapped.
Both girls side-eyed each other – Claire said "Look man, one of us has gotta check the boys bathroom"
June "Dude, no"
"J, it's literally my first day here. They're gonna think I'm a pervert
June rolled her eyes, "Ugh fineeee…"
Claire checked the girl's and June checked the boys.
As Claire got in, the checked the stalls if they were occupied, only a few were. She proceeded to look at the mirror, inching her face closer as she stretches parts of her face with her hand, she thought to herself 'hmm… looks my skin's getting fairer. Prolly because I haven't been going out lately"
She noticed in the mirror, a girl from one of the stalls was done – it wasn't the one.
So Claire started washing her face, hears someone get out from one of the stalls; nope still not the one.
After rinsing her face, another kid got out and…
Still wasn't whom she was looking for.
Since nobody was in the bathroom left. Claire decided to head out.
The handicap bathroom was in between both genders, so as Claire opened the door, she immediately met eyes with the student she's looking for
"YOU!"
The hooded student booked it.
Hopping to sprint Claire yells "June! I found 'em!" she printed just the moment June got out of the boy's bathroom "Hey pixie wait!" she looks back at the boys bathroom "bye boys~" before tailing Claire.
During the sprint, the hooded student slipped past students whom were walking. June and Claire soon followed, the hooded student looked back at them, right before running even faster. So much so that both girls started to struggle to match the pace.
"Dammit, we're losin' 'em!" Claire yelled. Both of them see the student steer left, Claire shouted "Down stairs!" She shimmies her shoes, screeching with every touch on the vinyl floor. Right as stopping at the stairs, she spots the running down each step. Claire vaulted ahead of them about halfway through the staircase.
"Wait, stop! I just wanna talk!"
The student quickly jumped over her, completely skipping the steps.
June snickered "you know, you would've caught them if you were a little taller" as she ran down the stairs.
"Can it J!" said Claire
They continue to chase the student, June shouted "They're heading to the cafeteria!" she pointed.
The kind skidded aside to the cafeteria door, the girls were too far behind, so as soon as they caught up to the kid - they were too late. Students were already scrambling about, barely walking in line, crossing every block of tables in the luncheon.
"You see 'em?" Claire squinted her eyes.
"There they are!" June pointed all the way to the other end of the cafeteria, heading within the lunch-ladies' kitchen
"How the hell are they movin' so fast?" Claire asked
"Only one way to find out" June said as the both of them rushed to the lunch-ladies' kitchen.
As they headed inside, the lunch-ladies were too busy serving food to notice the three of them. June spots the kid heading inside the freezer, struggling to close it down, but it was only inches away from closing.
"Claire, right there!" she pointed
So she bolted, but when she got closer - she noticed she was not gonna make it. So she formed a small ice door stopper. The kid struggled, kept slamming the door shut as hard as they could, meanwhile Claire formed a permafrost strip all the way to the freezer. She slid on the strip, then dove head first right into the sliver of the doorway to the freezer, pushing back the kid as they were still grabbing the freezer's door handle, making it close shut.
It shut so loud that it was enough for the lunch-ladies to notice, but it was only June that was outside the freezer.
"Hey, what are you doing here young lady?"
"I… I was just looking for the bathroom!" June said nervously
"Go back outside the cafeteria, and to the far left"
June nodded with the thumbs up "Gotcha!" as she got out, she pulled out her phone and texted Claire
"[Yo pix, brb. Some1 mite sus us out]"
*Back to the freezer*
Both of them rolled inside the freezer, the kid rolled all the way to the wall, slamming their back against the snow fluffed ice.
While Claire only rolled right behind the freezer door
Both of their mouths formed clouds as they breathed. The kid curled up on the edge of the room grabbing their head, while Claire shook her head, she grabbed her shoulder as she got up first
The kid groaned "What do you want from me?!" he had a voice of a boy
"Tell me… tell me who gave you Noctum?" Claire asked panting
"What are you talking about?" The kid panted through his face mask
Claire suddenly pinned the kid against the wall using her elbow to clock onto his neck. Choking the kid, Claire rips out his face mask and glasses, confirming Claire's suspicion; the boy looked pale, eyes not having a trace of red veins, and his body felt cold like a corpse.
"There's no use lying! Tell me where'd you get the Noctum, and who injected you?
Was it Clarice? Tell me!" Claire kept blaring her voice against the kid's face.