What's the point of praying [Open]

[myblueskies]

Characters: Romeo and Open
Setting: Cathedral
Format: Starting in prose but feel free to switch
Summary: Romeo wakes up to a tower that is very different than the one he went to sleep in.
Warnings: Small child having a very grown up crisis. Mentions of Dax's death, plot reveals, etc. Quite a lot of religion/questioning religion/heaven and hell and souls and good and evil stuff.

The cathedral was quiet, but not empty. At the front of the pews there was a small barefoot boy kneeling, head bowed. He wasn't praying though... he was just thinking.

Everyone seemed different today, the adults had that pale, something really bad has happened look about them. Romeo hadn't found any of those he really trusted to ask what had happened, but he had walked past a terminal and it had came on, for the first time in a while. So he had looked at the network...

And learned everything. Seen Zo being attacked... Seen Dax... He was dead. Dead for real... and seen Feferi's post, she was so upset and what she had said...

He knew what souls were, and he guessed that he had sort of known that they could take your soul out of your body. Because that's how he must have been swapped with mister Itachi, and how he had been a rocking horse. Still Romeo, even though he had been made out of wood and all he could do was rock...

But souls were meant to go to heaven. They belonged to God right? If you died your soul went to heaven if you were good. So the bad people were stealing their souls, and making them come here instead. And it wasn't really saving them at all...

The bad people. Romeo couldn't get what he had seen out of his head. He squeezed his eyes tight shut but tears came anyways. He had thought all this time that mister Dax was a bad person, that he was working for Ruana and even though he was nice to them he was still bad because he let bad things happen and didn't try and stop it.

But he had, he had been trying to help them all along, trying to stop mister Jason, that he was trying to stop the monsters, that he was trying to save them from miss Ruana...

And he had died for them. Because he argued with Ruana. That made him a hero. But could a bad person be a hero? And if he was was he a bad person at all? Or a good person who had been doing bad things because it meant he could help them more?

Romeo felt really bad for being so mad at him. For being angry all this time at someone who had actually not been bad at all. And it made him even more worried for Zo... He was just little and Romeo had never believed that he was really bad. The bad people were just his bosses so he had to do what they said. He didn't try and stop his tears, he couldn't work out how to keep his spirits up.

He really hoped that Zo would be alright... He brought his hands up to clasp together in prayer before dropping them again. He hadn't really believed God could hear him for a long time and he guessed he knew why now. The priest in his village had always said that his soul belonged to God even before he died, and God would look after him and when he died as long as he was good he could go and live with God and all his friends who had died. But if the bad people had stolen his soul than it didn't belong to God any more, it belonged to the bad people.

And Romeo really didn't know what to think about that...

Comments

[myblueskies]

Romeo jumped a bit as he changed, he nodded, it made sense that all worlds were different. Romeo rested his chin on his knees and blinked as Zett spoke, tears springing to his eyes again.

It was a nice idea, and Romeo knew that Zett was trying really hard to keep his spirits up. But...

He shook his head, "The bad people got our souls now, that's what Fef said, so none of us can go to heaven..."

[scentofmakai]

"Is that what you're worried about?" Zett shook his head firmly. "Don't be like that. They don't know how to keep all of us here, remember? People disappear and go back to their own worlds all the time. And from there you go to Heaven, because you're a very smart and kind person who really deserves it."

Assuming that his God was in fact a nice God. But Zett didn't think wishing the demon world on him would be taken the right way.

[myblueskies]

Romeo nodded, he was worried, and sad. "But people sometimes come back... And they were just in their worlds for a long time..."

He wiped his eyes on his sleeve and tried to smile, even though it was hard. He was glad someone thought he was a kind person, he tried really really hard to be.

[scentofmakai]

"But sometimes they don't." Not everyone lives that long. Zett decided not to say that part outright.

[myblueskies]

"So do you think the one's that don't... that their souls go to heaven?" Hope shines in his eyes, that means Molly, and little Ienzo, and miss France and all his friends have managed to go to heaven!

[scentofmakai]

"Yeah I think so. You don't have anything to worry about."

Man he is the worst demon.

[myblueskies]

Really, the worst demon ever. He beamed, "So... if we beat the bad people we can steal our souls back and send them to heaven!"

A pause as something occurred to him and he looked sad again...

"Demons can't go to heaven... can they?"

[scentofmakai]

Oops, he figured that one out... "I'm destined for hell no matter what. But it's okay. You've got a lot of other good friends here."

[myblueskies]

No... Tears filled Romeo's eyes. But Zett was so nice, he had been so kind and taught Romeo about physics and had tried to keep his spirits up even though he must be really scared and sad too.

Romeo shook his head, it wasn't fair. Nice people should get to go to heaven even if they were demons!

[scentofmakai]

"Hey, hey, don't cry for me." Zett frowned, and gently reached to wipe away his tears.

"Sometimes bad things happen, and they can happen for no reason that you can see. Like this tower. Nobody did anything to deserve this tower. -But you've got to keep going, right?"

[myblueskies]

The tears just came faster because no one did deserve this place, including Zett and it was so so bad that he had to be here and even if they escaped he couldn't go to heaven after all the bad things that had happened.

It wasn't fair and Romeo didn't see anyway he could make it better.

[scentofmakai]

"What'd I just- c'mere."

Hugs. Hugs make things better. At least, Zett thought they did.

[myblueskies]

Hugs do make things better, but not all things. Romeo clung to Zett trying not to cry because Zett had tried so hard to keep his spirits up and he should try hard too!

[scentofmakai]

"It's gonna turn out okay." Zett sounded sure of what he was saying, and he really was almost sure. "You don't have to cry, Romeo."

[myblueskies]

Romeo wiped his eyes and tried to be brave. "But it's not fair..."

[scentofmakai]

"It's not. But, even if it's not fair, I know you'll be strong, okay?"

He wasn't sure of believing in anything except personal strength, but it didn't have to be his.

[myblueskies]

"And you will be too sir, you're really brave." Because he could still smile and try and make Romeo happy, even though even after all this badness he wouldn't be allowed to go to heaven anyways.

[scentofmakai]

"Thanks. Now, I'm not a 'sir', remember?" Zett flicks Romeo gently on the forehead. "I'm like you."

[myblueskies]

Romeo smiled sheepishly at the head flick. "I forgot."

[scentofmakai]

"Remember it next time," Zett chided, though he wasn't all that upset really. "You're smart so there's no excuses about it."

[myblueskies]

Romeo smiled, a little bit embarrassed at being called smart, because there were so many people smarter than him!

"I will!"

[scentofmakai]

"Good." Zett ruffled his hair before stepping away.

"Feeling any better?"

[myblueskies]

Romeo nodded, rubbing his eyes, "I am, thank you. You're really good at lifting peoples spirits!"

[scentofmakai]

"Only the ones that deserve it," Zett replied with a smile. "Glad to hear it."

[myblueskies]

Romeo smiled at him, "Are you alright too?"