Fallen 1: Berlin

Chapter XVI: War, Wrath and Roses

Berlin was getting pissed off because the sully was annoying the s**t out of him. Berlin didn't want to use the soul stone to its maximum because it would alert every guardian in town that he was in a confrontation with a sully. The soul stone exposed what was hidden such as the sully's name as well as provided divine energy that sent the sully back to its world.

However, as he fought the sully, he could not find its name. Even as it was exposed to Berlin's soul stone time and again, the sully was relentless. It made Berlin wonder if Seoul was strong enough to embed a suggestion even into a sully's head? He wouldn't have been surprised if Seoul's abilities extended to that point. When the Power wanted something to be achieved, they were able to bless their soldiers with whatever abilities they wanted.

Berlin punched the sully against its chest and had it fly across the room to the wall that crumbled around it. The sully spat out black blood and its fathomless eyes turned to Berlin. It screeched like a banshee and Berlin's soul stone pulsed with power. He was not in the mood of wasting any more time with that thing. The sully thought it was strong enough to go against an Elite guardian after hearing the rumors that Berlin had fallen. What the sully did not anticipate was the fact that Berlin's guardian had awakened so even without his wings or his divine weapon, Berlin was able to kill it without breaking a sweat.

However, Berlin didn't want to eradicate it. He wanted to send it back to where it came from and could only do so if he knew its name. Without the name, when Berlin killed it, the sully ceased to exist.

"You are only prolonging the invertible, guardian. This world will come to an end and we, sullies would reign victory at the end of the day." The sully spoke as it tried to attack Berlin but he could see that it was already weakened. Berlin knew he couldn't let it escape that morgue because once it was outside, it could jump from one person to the other while feeding on the life essence of humans.

Berlin was sure Seoul decided to do that to keep Berlin and his team occupied while he and War laid out the master plan of the destruction of humankind.

"When this world ends, there will be nothing to keep the sullies from perishing. The end of this world means the end of sullies too." Berlin assured the clueless sully.

"You are lying!" The sully shrilled. "He told us that when the humans are gone and the fallen guardians are dead, the sullies will take this land."

Berlin's shoulder stiffened and he stood up straight before he frowned at the sully. "Who told you this?"

The sully chuckled darkly. "He told us. He told us to kill the fallen guardians and feast on their energies then help him eliminate the humans and take this land for ourselves. He told us so."

That didn't make sense to Berlin because as the order went, none of the guardian platoons on earth were supposed to intervene in any way with each other. That meant they were not supposed to kill each other or stop each other from doing their work. Only guardians had the ability to bring forth a sully through unintentional killing. If Seoul was the one who sent that sully there, why did he make the command to kill Berlin and his team when he knew the penalty for it? Was he that desperate to become the Power's favored soldier?

"Give me a name, sully." Berlin persisted. "Or I will make sure you never see the next daybreak."

"He said so--"

Before the sully could finish what it was saying, Berlin's nails elongated and he slashed them against the sully's neck. Fiery veins appeared around its neck and its screech had Berlin block his ears as blood ran down from all the openings on his head. The sully's head flew across the room with its face permanently etched in a mask of horror. It ignited and jerked and crackled as the fires of judgment consumed it. Its body combusted too as fiery veins raced down its abnormal arms and legs. It was never going to tell Berlin anything because sullies were known to form loyal bonds with those who didn't destroy them but unleashed them to the world. Whoever left that sully in the morgue, wanted Berlin to find it and get the message that he and his team were being hunted. He needed to get that information to the rest as soon as possible.

The sully's body disintegrated and ashes piled up on the floor in front of Berlin. He muttered a chant knowing that he had just obliterated the sully because he could not send it home and raised his hand in the air. The crumbled walls around him began to rebuild themselves and the charred floor cleared. Everything went back to normal as if there was never a fight in the morgue before he took down the void and stepped out into the corridor where Lucian waited for him.

When Lucian saw Berlin emerge, he sprang into action. "You are bleeding from your nose, ears, and mouth. Was it a strong sully?"

Berlin shook his head as he accepted the handkerchief that Lucian handed him before he wiped his face. "It wasn't a strong sully but it was sent to us as a warning."

"Warning? Against what?" Lucian followed Berlin out.

The two of them passed the people around the coroner's office who went on about their daily work, not aware that their lives were just saved by Berlin. The unfortunate part was that they were going to miss one body in their morgue. Berlin could only imagine the reports they were going to have to write on how they lost Justin Keys' body.

"Our impending death," Berlin assured Lucian as the elevator pinged and the doors slid open.

"Death? What--how--whose death?" Lucian stuttered and Berlin flinched from the headache that was caused by the sully's screams.

Berlin sighed because he felt tired all of a sudden and said, "Someone sent that sully our way so that it can tell us that there is a hunter out there searching for the fallen guardians. Someone wants to eliminate us."

"But that can't be Seoul, can it? What would he gain by eliminating you?" Lucian asked pensively.

"He would gain my position as the Elite guardian team leader," Berlin said.

"But he already has the position plus if he was sent here after you failed miserably in the destruction of humankind, that means he has already won," Lucian explained.

"How do you win when the person you are competing against is alive, Lucian? Seoul has an ego the size of this planet. The only way he will truly accept that he has won is if all those who are against him mysteriously die." Berlin was sure that Seoul was behind it even if he wasn't involved directly. When Lucian gulped down hard, Berlin smirked and handed him the soul stone. "Take this home with you. I didn't use it so you don't need to cleanse it."

"You mean you destroyed the sully entirely?" Lucian's eyes widened and a light sheen of sweat appeared on his forehead. "What happened to being the good guy and sending those little pests home, Berlin?"

"It wouldn't tell me its name and I was tired. I still am and if you don't shut up, I'll send you to your maker as well." Fiery veins emerged on Berlin's skin and Lucian took a step back.

"Is it me or did the fire within you get a little too hot? Not to mention there is something about you that has changed."

The elevator pinged open and Berlin pushed himself from the steel walls of the lift and walked out saying. "My guardian has been awoken so you need to be very careful around me."

"What!" Lucian exclaimed following Berlin behind. "When? How? Why is it that I am the last person to know these things?"

Berlin chuckled lightly as they made their way to the waiting car.

~~~~~~~~

"Sage." Berlin's thick and velvety voice came through as Sage entered the office that next morning. She barely made it past the front desk and already the receptionists started whispering behind her back. Sage kept her head down and allowed her hair locks to fall around her face to hide her from the public but with the way Berlin called out to her, hiding was not an option.

She jerked her head up when she heard her name being mentioned. Her eyes widened when she saw how good Berlin looked that morning but the thing that surprised her was the fact that he looked angry. She swallowed hard wondering what she did wrong but her anxiety was short-lived when she saw Lucian appear behind Berlin.

Relief washed over her when she realized that Lucian was going to join her and Berlin for the meeting with the new client that morning. A nervous smile appeared on her face as she approached them.

"Good morning, Berlin. Good morning Lucian." She said cheerfully but Berlin's eyes narrowed shrewdly at her.

"Is it?" He asked her.

"Uh--is it what?" What did she miss? What happened?

Berlin lifted his hand and looked down at his watch as he placed his other hand in his pocket. "Is it a good morning, Sage?"

Sage's face ashened as she turned to Lucian in puzzlement? Lucian shrugged lightly because he was as clueless as she was. "Uh--I guess? Wait, it isn't for you, Berlin? Are you still sick?" Her hands itched to touch his forehead but she felt as if all the activities on the ground floor froze in time and everyone held their breaths while they watched the interplay between Berlin and his P.A.

"Mhhh..." Berlin hummed grimly as he passed around Sage and walked towards the car that was waiting for them.

Sage was speechless. She had no idea what happened between the time she left for home yesterday and that morning but whatever it was, it scratched Berlin the wrong way.

"I had seen him like this before," Lucian uttered seriously and shook his head apologetically. "It didn't end up well."

Sage swallowed hard. "Did I do something wrong? What happened when I left yesterday?"

Lucian rubbed the center of his head and answered. "A lot happened yesterday but it had nothing to do with you so don't worry about it."

"I hope you are not just saying that to make me feel better. I think you remember what I went through under Robert--" Lucian stopped so suddenly that Sage had to push away from him before she smacked hard against his body.

"Please don't mention Berlin and Robert in the same sentence. They are two very different people. For one, Berlin would never physically harm anyone...who didn't deserve it." Lucian assured Sage but that only propelled her anxiety to resurface.

"What nonsense are you feeding her, Lucian?" Berlin appeared before Sage with a frown on his face. He looked down at her for a second then turned to Lucian and his expression turned grim. "Remember the naughty list, Lucian?"

"Oh boy." Lucian ran his hand against his brow and moved away from Berlin and Sage muttering inaudible words under his breath.

Berlin smirked like a kid and placed his hand on Sage's lower back before ushering her towards the car. Sage had to do a little jump away from Berlin and pretended like she still had something to discuss with Lucian.

Once in the car, Sage was disappointed when Lucian sat in front with the driver while she had to share the back seat with Berlin's invasive nature. Though the space between them was enough to give her a measure of relief, the fact that the entire smelled like him made Sage turn to the window. Now that concentrated on his scent, it was like dark spices that reined her in and coaxed her like black magic. Sage told herself that she was going to fight any attraction she had towards Berlin but she unconsciously found herself thinking about him and how much he paid attention to her. Though it overwhelmed her, she could see herself getting drunk with it like Elise.

"Are you wearing a new perfume, Sage?" Berlin suddenly asked and Sage turned to him before tucking a hair nervously behind her ear.

"Uhm--no. Why? Do I smell different?" She sniffed her hair and her blouse. She still used the same shampoo she had been using ever since she was in university and she hardly changed her perfume.

"You smell of roses." Berlin leaned towards her and sniffed lightly. "It's quite strong..."

Sage felt her mouth turn into cotton.

Roses!

She felt her face turn red when she recalled the dream she had about Winston Archer--no, War. Her hand instinctively touched the area where he had bitten her and her skin tingled.

That morning when she woke up, she accidentally crushed the red rose that she had found at the foot of her bed. She pushed the thought of War being in her apartment because she knew something like that could not happen. She chastised herself for buying roses and somehow blocking them from her thoughts. She didn't want to think about anything else outside the sphere of her sanity because she didn't want to shatter her mind with her ridiculous thoughts!

"War." Sage suddenly blurted and clamped her hand over her mouth.

What was she thinking? Berlin would think she was a nutcase if he learned that she concocted some wet dream where Winston Archer kissed her to oblivion. He warned her about him and made sure she left that dinner early because of him. How would he take it if he discovered what she thought about the man?

"What did you say?" Berlin asked but the sudden stillness that went over him made Sage shift a little to the right and further away from him.

Berlin's reaction caught Lucian's attention.

"Uh--nothing. I am just blabbering." Sage waved her hand to dismiss it but Berlin caught it and she noticed how warm he suddenly was. "Are you still sick, Berlin? Your hand is too warm." Without thinking, Sage wanted to touch his forehead with her free hand but he clasped it as well and turned his smoldering eyes down at the petite woman in front of him.

Sage could have sworn Berlin's eyes twirled in a mystical way and she found herself not being able to tear her gaze away from him.

"Say what you said earlier, Sage." He commanded her.

Sage nervously licked her lips and tried to move back but Berlin tightened his grip on her. It was not to the point of pain but Sage had no way of escaping it. She didn't have any other choice but she didn't understand why it was important to him. "I mentioned War."

"What about War, Sage?" Berlin coaxed her to open up to him and Sage felt a push that urged her to tell him the truth. It felt as if she were in a haze and shook her head lightly.

"I--uh--I had this dream about that guy I met at the professor's party last time. His name was Winston Archer but in my dream, he introduced himself as War. He smelled of roses." Sage said truthfully as heat tingled on her cheeks and in her wrists where Berlin still held her.

"Did he do anything to you in your dream? Did he kiss you or say something out of the ordinary?" Sage could see that Berlin was trying to leash his anger but the jerking tendons on his cheeks didn't lie.

He was pissed!

His temperature continued raising and Sage wondered how he could still be sane with that kind of body temperature.

"Answer me, Sage. What did War do in your dream?" He repeated.

She shook away the memories that she had of her embarrassing dream. "It doesn't matter. It was just a silly dream." She tried to laugh it away but Berlin was unyielding. She rolled her eyes and said. "He kissed me and bit me on my shoulder. He told me that he had my scent just like Maxiel and Artemon and that he was a hound who would find me anywhere. He wanted his treat for being a good boy and he..." Sage touched her shoulder again and she chuckled softly. "And then I woke up."

"What did he do to your shoulder?" Berlin asked.

"Nothing!" Sage exclaimed as she exposed her shoulder to Berlin. "It was just a stupid dream. I don't know why him of all people but it was a crazy dream that I wish not to think about."

~~~~~~~~~~

"Lucian, call the client and schedule the meeting for another day. Shel, take us back home." Berlin instructed as he looked down at Sage's shoulder. Though she could not see anything, Berlin saw the energy pattern of War's mark on her. Marking her meant that he was able to find her wherever she went. It also meant he laid his claim on her. War's scent was nauseating as it wafted from the mark on Sage's shoulder.

Sage thought it was a dream but it was something that had actually happened to her. Berlin should have noticed that Sage was no longer safe because of him and his platoon. The fact that she was working for him as his P.A. already gave her a target on her back.

Berlin reached forward and replaced her blouse back on her shoulder before he thought of Ottawa. She was able to break such claims in the past. Berlin hoped that she did not lose that ability of hers. Ottawa's abilities allowed her to break any form of bond against anyone. That included contracts between humans and sullies, there was no cell or prison that could hold her and no mind shackle that could affect her. In short, Ottawa could not be held against her will nor manipulated by anyone.

Berlin trembled with the amount of violence that was saturated in his body. The guardian in him roared for blood. Berlin could almost already smell it permeating the air. War was playing a very dangerous game and Berlin knew that the Power was going to punish him if he went after the cocksucker but at that moment he couldn't think straight. It was all because of the woman who sat beside him. Though she had the will to survive, she kept on jumping from one situation to another and it was not fair for her.

Every time Berlin thought of someone taking advantage of Sage, he felt the fires of judgment run in his veins and prepare him for a confrontation. She was a small and vulnerable woman that needed his protection. He wanted to protect her with everything he had. Firstly, he needed to get that disgusting mark from her body, and secondly, he needed to move her to a place where he could keep an eye on her to make sure War didn't try anything. Thirdly, he wanted to kill War with his bare hands.

"--rlin...erlin..." from a distance, he heard someone say something to him but it wasn't clear.

"Berlin!" The voice rang around him and when he turned to its source, Sage looked up at him. "I said I am okay."

The scent of roses wafted from her again and Berlin felt his canines ache. He clasped his hand over his mouth and turned away from Sage as the guardian unfurled and stretched himself to every corner of Berlin's body. He wanted to counter the mark War left on Sage's shoulder with his own. Berlin couldn't afford to scare Sage away. As it was, she feared him though she tried to put up a brave face.

"Berlin?" She called him and touched his shoulder lightly. "Are you okay?"

"Can you step on it, Shel?" Berlin heard Lucian instruct the driver and was grateful that the boy was attuned to the danger Berlin posed at that moment.

Berlin threaded his fingers with Sage's and held her hand in place before he closed his eyes and took a deep breath to keep himself calm. His canines pushed themselves down and he was all but ready to mark Sage but that aspect overwhelmed him and scared the s**t out of him.

What the f**k was happening to him? What was the Power up to, filling him with all that wrath that he wanted to unleash onto War and perhaps cause the eradication of that city?

To Berlin's surprise, Sage didn't pull her hand away. Instead, she curled her fingers against his and held onto him. Berlin gritted his teeth as finally, his canines slide out of their hiding place and he turned intently towards Sage with his guardian taking root fully in his body.

"Ah, fuck..." Lucian exclaimed in trepidation.