A/N: Yay, sequel! For those of you who did not read the first story GO READ IT! YOU WILL NOT UNDERSTAND THIS IF YOU DON'T. For those of you who did read the last story, I still have writer's block but I'm soooo bored. Must… get…. Internet…. Back….

Awww… my last ending made someone sad…. Oh well. quickly writes chapter all better.

Disclaimer: I did not, do not, will not own Trinity Blood.

Thunder hammered on the roof with its remorseless vibrations. Lighting cracked the sky. Abel tossed in his bed. There would be no sleep tonight, not that there had been any other night that month.

Abel decided to get up. He reached for his glasses, but they were not there. He remembered with a wry smile that they were still between the cracks of the cobblestone road outside. It had been and interesting day.

Demetry had arrived, a head full of steam, and had gone right into the Cardinal's office with five guards tailing him. He had ordered to see Abel. Abel had gone to see him, under the condition that they talked out of the church, and before the priest could get a word out, Demetry punched him in the face. Abel's smile faded at what the Titan had said. 'I let my little sister stay with you and you loose her! How could you loose her?!' Demetry was nearly hysterical by that point and it took Tres and Leon to get him off of Abel and calmed down. They explained how his sister had gone missing, but Abel had turned away guiltily by this point.

Abel frowned. This is how it always started. The glasses, Demetry, and finally- yes, there it was. The terrible, unrelenting guilt. Abel knew it wasn't really his fault that Stella had gone, but he was… and then she was… and… There was nothing for it. There were so many things he had done wrong. She was so weak, but he had hesitated, there was so much blood, her own and Onigoma's. No matter how many nights he spent like this, huddled underneath his blankets and guilt, Stella had not come back.

He wondered why she hadn't contacted anyone. No one had seen her except that one woman, the one who had been torn from her children. The children were in the orphanage now, and the woman was dead. Which left him no leads to follow his friend. Had he disappeared like this? Did Esther feel like this? Did it ever go away? Abel sat in bed, praying for the girl he was not sure if she was dead or alive.



"Father Abel Nightroad, Cardinal Kate has ordered me to fetch you and bring you to her office. Objective: fifty percent complete."

Abel stood and followed Tres sleepily from the dining hall to the office. Abel, seeing that the Cardinal had her attention diverted touched the spot his glasses once had rested. He felt absolutely naked without them. After Tres had closed the door behind him, Cardinal Kate turned to Abel.

"Abel, I know that you haven't been sleeping well since Stella left so I've been doing some digging. Last time anyone saw her, Stella was in Albion." She nodded to a piece of paper on the desk.

Abel seized the paper like a lifeline, trying not to get his hopes up.

Beasley Motel Directory

Room One: Lumpet, George.

Room Two: Mann, Eric.

Room Three: Hyde, Annie.

Room Four: Iceheart, Stella.

Abel didn't read any further. Even Stella's unusual cursive writing was a comfort to him. He looked up at the Cardinal with pleading eyes.

The Cardinal seemed to ignore him. "Abel, I'm sorry, but I have a mission for you." A slow smile twitched at her lips. "One of our AX members is nearly forty days absent from work and I need you to retrieve them."

Abel smiled and jumped up. "Thank you, Kate… er… Cardinal Kate!"

Kate held up a hand. "One word of advice, Abel. Before you go running off to find Stella, take Tres and Leon with you. You remember what Demetry said, don't you?"

A small pit of dread found its way to Abel's stomach. "What did he say?"

"After he apologized for breaking you glasses, he said that his sister had a mission in mind and that 'a Titan that doesn't want to be found will not be found'. Be careful, Abel. We don't knew that much about Stella and we don't know what she'll do if she's trapped in a corner."

"I won't trap her in a corner!"

"You know what I mean, Abel. If she feels she is threatened, she might try something, and Titans aren't Methuselah."

"I know, but I don't think-"

"Abel." Kate said sharply. "I don't want to loose either of you because of her. Just be careful and grab Tres and Leon before you leave. Here's your train ticket."

Abel took his ticket and felt a wave of gratitude toward the Cardinal. The ticket gave him a glimmer of hope that he hadn't felt in what seemed a lifetime.



"Awww, this is a pain in the ass, literally." Leon complained.

"Language, Father Leon." Abel said absently.

Leon turned his attention to Abel and became solemn. "Abel, don't get your hopes up too high. We all know that you miss her and all, but none of us know how Stella's mind works. We don't even know if…"

Abel handed him the paper for the Beasly motel. "This is our first stop."

Leon's eyes widened. "All right!" he shouted. "Maybe I can finally start training again!" He punched the air. Then he glared at Tres and Abel. "Of course I probably would have been able to beat her already if you guys would just train me."

"You were trained that one week by Huge." Abel reminded him.

"That old fart? How's he supposed to train me when he looks like he's been through a shredder?"

"Father Hugue was codenamed sword dancer in his youth and was a great fighter. Still is, actually, though he's a little slower." Abel said reasonably.

"Really?" Father Leon asked.

"Affirmative. Father Abel Nightroad, we will be in Albion in two point four seconds." Tres said, not moving his head towards either of the Fathers.

"Good. We'll be going to the Beasly Motel first." Abel nodded and started getting their bags together.

They headed off in the direction of the motel. Abel noticed and smiled as they walked that Methuselah walked the streets freely, there were both Terran and Methuselah children in the schoolhouse yard, and he even saw one or two Methuselah/Terran couples. As they went deeper through the town, down the west side from directions of a officer, Abel's smile shrunk. There was a foreboding feeling from the Terrans that sat on their porches and the children that walked the streets. More officers were here and there were no Methuselah.

They turned a corner and everything that worried Abel about the last street came true. There were signs on doors and spray painted on walls, warnings against Methuselah's. Obscene pictures and words were everywhere and Abel had the feeling that they all stuck out like a sore thumb. Glares followed them through the streets to the motel, which was covered from roof to foundation in graffiti and pictures of dead Methuselah. Abel wondered how a sweet girl like Stella could stay in such a place, especially after all her speeches of not 'lowering herself to their level'. Their, meaning, the Terran's and sometimes Methuselah.

They entered. Abel approached the desk as Tres and Leon tied not to bump over the tacky vase that was far too large for such a confined place. "Excuse me, but could you help me? I believe a woman by the name of Stella Iceheart stayed here a week ago and we are looking for her. She's about this tall," he pointed to a little below his shoulder, "with brown hair and red in the front. She also…"

"I only was hired a few weeks ago." The woman behind the desk said. She attempted to smile charmingly at Abel. "But of course I would help you if I could."

Abel nodded. "May we see the room she stayed in?" Once again, he cursed Demetry for breaking his glasses, which hid his eyes that women found so alluring a little bit.

"Of course."

A/N: Review!