Beginnings (5 of 5)

Dante didn't so much mind the flying across the room bit, it was the sudden stop when he hit a wall bit he had a problem with. As he hit another and slid into a crumpled heap on the floor, he wondered again if this was actually a good plan.

"...And you thought" Sister Josephine continued to rave "that you, a mere mortal could stop me. Me! Who took the arch-angle Michael himself to capture!"

She stalked across the room, her habit flowing around her like something alive. Hauling Dante up by his lapels, she pulled him within an inch of her face.

"You know, once I finish with you, they'll never find your body. The priest was different - people knew and cared about him. But no one even knows you're here tonight. Do they?"

Again Dante found himself defying gravity, and again he discovered that he really wasn't meant to. Sister Josephine turn and began walking towards him again, brushing past the bell rope.

"So, had enough yet, mortal?"

"Actually" said Dante "yes I have".

He whipped out his second revolver fired a single shot. Sister Josephine paused for a moment at the sight of the gun, and then started to grin when she realised it was aimed almost straight up. Her grin quickly turned to puzzlement at the sound of snapping rope and breaking wood above her. She made the mistake of looking upwards before she realisied what was happening. She tried to dive away, but the falling bell caught her and smashed her beneath it.

Slowly the dust settled and the building's structure quieted down again. Sister Josephine was still alive - her head and one arm were free of the bell - but she wouldn't be for long.

"So you're probably wondering why, if I knew what you were, why I went to such trouble here." Dante explained as he painfully pulled himself up "You see, I wasn't sure what would happen to your body if I killed you. I know your spiritual form isn't getting back into Heaven, and Hell sure as hell - excuse the pun - wouldn't want you. I would have guessed you'd return to your chrylisis to reform, except that's been destroyed or you wouldn't be here."

Finally on his feet again and protecting a couple of broken ribs, Dante walked - staggered - over to the trapped fallen angel. While it weakly tried to drag herself free, Dante continued talking.

"If you leave behind the body you've got now, then it being found full of bullets fired from my legally registered guns would cause me problems. This way, the only 'logical' explanation is an accident."

"But apparently I was worried about nothing." Sister Josephine had finally stopped struggling, and her fingertips had started to turn a dull grey colour. As the colour slowly spread down her arm, Dante Harsher walked out into the dark night.