12. Your Lord and Savior

The group finally makes it to Jesus in Italy, but all is not what it seems...

After Ace’s bipolar outbursts, she had calmed down.  The three were able to hitch a ride to Florence, then to Rome, and finally the Vatican.  At long last the three made it to their destination.  It was as beautiful as the pictures described it.  All around people were walking and enjoying the sights, either as tourists or as employees going about work.   As far as the three could tell it was in the afternoon.  The word “afternoon” somehow made them hungry.  They stopped at a local restaurant, where they learned Ace could only understand Italian spoken, but not read.

“What the hell?  Who wants Anti-pasta?  Why would I want something that takes pasta away after I eat it?” Ace complained.  She slammed her menu down and whispered to the others on the other side of their booth.

“This is what I’m talking about: it’s a conspiracy to get us to pay more!  They give us food, then they give us anti-food so we’d get hungry again.” 

“Honey, you’ve never talked about conspiracies…and Antipasto is appetizer in Italian.” Alex exclaimed, smirking a little.

“Can I please, please stab her now?” Otto asked, holding up a spoon.

After some humorous attempts to order the right meal for everyone, despite not being able to read the menus, Ace pulled a large wad of Euros given to her by Abigail and sat it down on the table before rummaging through her backpack again.

“Okay, we need to think about how we’re going to go about doing this.” She said, pulling the folder out and looking through it in hopes for getting a little more information.

“What’s there to know?  We burst in, demand to see Jesus, he waves his hands and says a few words, and bam!” Otto summarized.  Alex cradled her head in her hand.

“Bam what?  What’s he going to do?  Jesus said he wants to bring God back, but according to the devil that means I die.  You think that’s true?”

“Hades stated he lied to the gods about how to return God, so it’s possible he lied about that too.  There are bigger matters at hand- you’re still sealed.” Alex pointed out. “And I think that’s what’s causing your mood swings.”

“What mood swings?  I’ve been perfect since we got here!” Ace lied.  Poorly.

“You kissed my boyfriend.”

“Just getting out all that sexual tension, am I right?”

Otto smashed his head against the table in frustration. “There is no sexual tension between us!” He whispered furiously, “You’re just insane!”

“You sure?  You seemed to like it.” Ace flirted, winking.  Otto was speechless but managed to point out his girlfriend sitting next to me while attempting to talk again.

“I believe your irrational behavior and lack of common knowledge is caused by fluctuations in your power, so our biggest concern is breaking the seal.  Otherwise you’ll be this way until you die.  If that wasn’t a big enough problem, your power’s limited now.  You’re literally running on reserves.  Eventually you’ll be so weak you can’t fly, or shoot energy blasts, or even translate language instantly.  You’ll be…normal.”

Ace calmed down and became serious. “Okay, so we just ask him to unseal me?  Wait…” She lit up and smiled. “Better idea!  Awaken god!”

Alex nodded in agreement. “Not a bad idea, Ace.”

“I’m stumped.” Otto said with his arms folded.

“Remember what Hades said?  As long as God is dormant he can’t take his rightful place and Hades wins the election.  As long as God is awake he keeps it.  But to be awake doesn’t mean Ace has to die.”

Otto mockingly raised his hand. “Uh, question?  Wouldn’t that mean torture?  I don’t think Jesus is the sadistic type, and at the risk of not seeing her hurt I doubt you could bring yourself to beat Ace up again.”

“Eh, I’m sure JC’s got a couple tricks up his robe.  But I think the sooner we get through this meal and see him, the better.”  Ace finished.  Soon after their meals arrived- two entrees in the case of Alex- and the three enjoyed their time off.  They tried to turn the conversation to a more relaxed one as once in a while they would laugh at what the other said.  To anyone in the restaurant, they seemed to be the best of friends.  To Alex, she grew ever more concerned for her new friend, who at random instances seemed to lose that spark of passion and excitement that made Ace stand out.  She would lose her smile and become quiet before Alex had to force another subject to make her smile once more.  To Otto, all he could think about were tassels.  He didn’t understand why.  It disturbed him a little.

After the three finished their meals they headed for the center of the Vatican.  Inside there were many priests and clergymen running about, as though a big meeting was to take place.  Guards stopped them before they could get too far in.  Ace tried to present herself as God’s vassal but was met with laughter, which immediately turned to stunned silence as Ace rolled her eyes and levitated off the ground with no difficulty.

The guards rushed the three into the inner area, where a large meeting was taking place.  The pope himself sat at the center of a large crowd of cardinals.  In the center of the floor was a man in robes, with black hair that looked like it hadn’t been managed save for cutting it at neck length in 2000 years.

“There’s my man Jesus!” Ace triumphantly called out as she entered the room, point to the man.  The cardinals all rose in anger that their meeting had been interrupted.  The man in robes turned to face them, keeping his calm, gentle face on Ace.

“What is the meaning of this?!” One of the cardinals cried out.

“What’re they saying Ace?” Alex asked.

“They think Otto’s stupid.” Ace replied.

“They’re probably pissed we burst in on their meeting, and they’re shocked at how incredible I am.” Otto corrected.  Jesus held his hands up to the crowd.

“Please, my children.  Stir not for these three.  I have expected one of them for a long time.  For you see, before you stands the vassal of my Father!” He called out, pointing to Ace.  The entire congress gasped.

“…Hi.” Ace said, waving awkwardly.  The crowd began to murmur at what transpired before Jesus ceased them once more.

“If I may, I wish to speak with the vassal alone.  If that is alright with the counsel.”

Most of the cardinals nodded and slowly vacated the room, along with the Pope.  Once the doors had closed, only Otto, Alex, and Ace remained.

“I appreciate you coming all the way out here, my child.  I understand the trip may have been difficult.”  Jesus said, walking up to her.  She shrugged.

“Eh, it was okay.” 

“If I may ask, why did you bring Ace all the way out here?” Alex inquired.  Jesus held Ace’s hands gently but looked towards Alex.

“Inside her, my father rests, hoping to be reawakened.  My request to Ace was so that I may accomplish this, so that He may live amongst his children.”

“That seems…odd.  Although we were told that with God out of the picture, there’s an election to see who gets to take his place.”

“I am not too familiar with this, but I am aware that my father has not watched over His people since I was born.  Indeed, possibly even longer than that.”

“Yeah, the devil wants God out of the picture so he can take over.” Otto said bluntly.

“I see.  I am not surprised the God of Lies and Deceit would allow my father to remain dormant.”

“Speaking of which, Satan kinda…sealed God in me. Like, he’s not giving me more power anymore.” Ace pointed out.  Jesus slowly let go of Ace’s hands.

“That is not an issue.  I can help awaken him once more.”

“Awesome!  We learned that as long as God’s awake, Hades can’t take over.  So, all you gotta do is wake Him up and I can go home.”

“I am afraid it is not that simple.”

Ace turned back to the other two. “What, like…you wanna hang out for a bit?  I was going to do that anyway, it’s not every day I get to talk with Jesus.”

“Nay, my child, that is not what I meant.  Although I can remove the seal, it would be at the cost of a life, for this seal can only be broken by sacrifice.”

Ace’s heart plummeted into her stomach. “You’re….you mean kill me?”

“I am afraid so, my child.  For you see, my father cannot awaken currently if he is sealed.  He must be transferred to another human so that the cycle could begin again.  As such, your life must be taken so that he can thrive once more.”

Otto burst past Ace and interjected.

“No, I ain’t buying that!  You’re Jesus Christ!  You can save God without having to kill Ace.  She came here thinking that all that nonsense she heard from everyone else about how the only way to get God out of her was to kill her was a lie, and that you’d do something different.”

“Alas, this power is beyond my knowledge.  The Weaver of Lies is crafty, and possibly told you what he did to befriend you.  I am afraid this is the only way.”

“Not happening.  Get another god to help.” Otto said.  Alex joined him in front of Ace and nodded.

“No other god knows of such a procedure, it is an ancient technique used only by a select few, my Father included.  If there was another way, I would take it.  Because of this setback, my plan will be-”

“What plan?  You just wanted Ace here to kill her.” Alex interrupted.  Jesus shook his head slowly.

“Nay.  My plan was larger than meeting with Ace.  When I brought my father to Earth I-”

“God was killed.  How could you bring him to Earth?” Ace asked.  All three of their faces grew wide with horror at the realization. “No…no, you couldn’t.”

“I’m afraid so.” Jesus admitted. “I was responsible for my father’s fall.”

The impact of the statement flew Otto into a rage, Alex not far behind.  Ace stood there, shocked.

“You killed God?!  You’re responsible for all the crap we’ve had to put up with?!  You were just doing this to cover your tracks!” Otto yelled.

“I cover nothing.  Because my father had forgotten about His children, I felt He had lost His way.  I tried to tell Him about the plights of Man after living among them, but He ignored me.  At long last I had to do the only responsible thing for my people- I had to bring God to them.” Jesus calmly explained.  His face never changed expression.  He stayed emotionless.

“But by doing so you’ve upset the balance!  Now Hades wants control of His seat.  If He had stayed where He was, the world would be fine.  And if you never killed Him, Ace wouldn’t have to die!” Alex called out.

“The world is in need of my father’s strength.  Humanity has descended into a darkness that I alone cannot save them from.  Their corruption needs the gentle hand of my father, but he turned his gaze away from them thousands of years ago.  I must make him see the error in this decision!”

“Then take your father back without hurting Ace!  Break the seal!  Find Hades and make him break it!”

“There is no cure for such a seal.  Only death brings relief.  And in that regard, what is but one life for the entirety of humanity?”

“But it’s my life!” Ace called out.  The other two stepped to the side to rightfully allow her to walk in and defend herself.

“My child, by giving the ultimate sacrifice, you save all of Mankind.  Is this not what you want?  Dost thou not want salvation for eternity?”

“If it means dying, no!  I don’t care if it’s selfish, I came here thinking you could just pull God out and I’d live normally.  It’d suck being a norm, but at least I’d be alive.  I’m not some amazing hero who’d gladly give up everything for people I’ve never met.  I’m Ace, goddammit!”

“Please take not my Father’s name in vain, my child.”

“I’ll do whatever the hell I want!”

“I beg of you, my child.  Humanity must have their true Lord return to them.  If He does not, they will spiral into complete destruction.  By sacrificing yourself, you save ten billion people.”

“Yeah?  I’m worth ten billion one people.”  Ace said, her arms crossed.  Jesus sighed.

“I see.  I understand making the ultimate sacrifice is a difficult one.  As such, I shall make it for you.”

In a blink of an eye Jesus shot a bolt of lightning through Alex and Otto.  Otto immediately passed out but Alex cried in pain as she fell to the floor.

“What the f**k!” Ace cried. 

“I am deeply hurt that it must come to this, but in order to save humanity, you must die.” Jesus said.  His voice had hardened and become cold.  His face was still emotionless.  His body began to glow, but not in the same way Ace’s did.  A golden bubble appeared around Jesus as he floated off the ground.  Ace shot energy bolts at Jesus but they dissipated on the bubble.

“What the hell, JC!  It’s not like I live a life of sin!  I do my part!  I save people!  I help out!  I can’t do any of that if I’m dead!  All you’re doing is making things worse by stuffing God in another body instead of sticking with me and keeping the world safe!”

“You are but one human.  Your generosity is admirable, but even with my Father’s strength you cannot protect the planet.” Jesus said.  Another bolt of lightning was shot at Ace, who rolled out of the way and into another bolt Jesus shot immediately after the first.

“I can do more than if He was stuck in another body, waiting another twenty years to come out!  At least give me a chance to do something good!”  Ace yelled.  She leaped into the air and crashed into the bubble, delivering pounding after pounding, but to no effect.  Alex had made it back to her feet, where she sent a shockwave of rock spires straight at the bubble.  They crumbled upon touching it.  Ace jumped back to Alex.

“Plan?” Ace said to Alex before dodging another lightning bolt.

“I don’t know.  I didn’t think this would happen.  I can’t break his barrier, either.” Alex responded.  She threw a boulder at Jesus, but it crumbled upon touching it. “And we’re wrecking this building!”

“Sorry, Alex, but this is the one time I couldn’t care less about the building.” Ace said solemnly.  Alex nodded.  Ace rushed at Jesus once more while Alex distracted him with a hail of stone spikes.  The bounced off the barrier, but at least Jesus turned his attention to Alex.

“If it is alright with the both of you, I would like to settle this matter between Ace and I only.” Jesus said calmly while Ace smashed against the barrier.  Jesus formed a claymore out of light and electricity and threw the massive sword like a dagger into Alex’s chest, at which point it turned into a massive light cross that crucified Alex and dropped her to the ground, seemingly lifeless.

“Jesus Christ!” Ace exclaimed looking at what he did.

“Yes?” Jesus responded, as cold as ever.

“What did you do?  Did you just crucify her?  You f*****g killed my best friend!”  Ace roared, smashing even harder against the barrier.  Jesus didn’t flinch.

“I sealed her power.  It is not as strong as the one on you, but for the time being will keep the vassal of the Earth Mother down.”  In Jesus’ hand formed a hammer made of light, which he used to bash Ace in the head and send her to the ground.

“You, on the other hand, are running on reserve energy.  All I need to do is wait until you cannot fight back.  At which point I shall save humanity.”

“Not…not happening.” Ace groaned through her teeth.  The last hit was especially tough on her, and she had a hard time getting up from the ground.  Before she could even stand Jesus swooped in and smashed Ace across the cheek, sending her into the wall.  He sent another bolt of lightning through her before finishing with a smaller sword of light into her chest- it didn’t turn into a cross like the others, but it was still painful enough to make Ace cry out in pain.

Otto, having regained consciousness, looked around at what was going on.  He saw Ace and Jesus fighting, but panicked when he saw Alex on the ground, motionless.  He rushed over to her to find she had been paralyzed.

“Alex!  What happened!” He demanded.

“My…power.  He…Jesus, he…sealed it somehow.  I…can’t move…” Alex forced.  She was breathing heavily, as though an elephant was crushing her.  She tried to move her body but it was pointless- without her strength she was immobile.  Otto pushed her on her side and looked her over before holding her close.

“It’ll be okay, babe.  We’ll get you back to normal.” He whispered, crying a little.  The two watched on as Jesus decimated Ace blow after blow.  Ace couldn’t stand. She couldn’t fight back, or put up a guard.  If God was to reawaken, He was extremely late.

“You have weakened.  As such, I shall complete the process.” Jesus said coldly.  His hand turned blue with fire before he grabbed Ace by the skull.  The flames exploded across her face and around her body.  She screamed in pain as she desperately tried to tear Jesus’ hand off her head, but it was no use.  With a loud crunch, Ace ceased moving, blooding slowly dripping down where Jesus grabbed her, her skulled caved in.

Otto and Alex screamed as Ace fell to the ground, dead.

Author's Note

This is what I was talking about before when I said highly religious people will not like this story. Not only is God inside a girl, but Jesus is "evil". I mean, his intentions are good, but....well, you get it. Oh well, the story ended. Jesus won, Ace is dead, and Otto and Alex will die too soon enough. I hope you pfffffffhahahahahahahaha oh man, I couldn't even finish that sentence without laughing XD

As if I'd end the story there. Yeah right.