Until Death Do Us Part -- sequel to Even Angels Have Scars

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Until Death Do Us Part -- sequel to Even Angels Have Scars

Post by Angelique »

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Until Death Do Us Part -- sequel to Even Angels Have Scars

Post by Saint Kurt »

Originally posted by chicory
Hey! There's an extra chapter here that's not posted on fanfiction.net. I know because I've been keeping an eye on this one - it's on my list.

I'm not trying to be rude or anything, I just really, really like this story and wondered if you'd given up on it or just got so busy that you didn't have the time to work on it anymore.
Hello and welcome to Nightscrawlers! I see you've posted in quite a few threads. I hope you're enjoying the place.

I most definitely haven't given up or abandoned this story, but vet school this semester is much more time consuming than last year. I used to bring my notebook with the outline to school, but I began to see that it was futile. My mind is just another place this semester.

I often think about it and wish I could work on it, but have yet to find the time. I'm planning some changes for next semester's non-school schedule that should change this.
Anyway, I was really pleased to find that there was an additional chapter here! I :love Kurt's relationship with his brother and the subtle differences in the universe that you've created compared to the movie's version.
heh. You have discovered my secret. As Nightscrawlers is my "home" on the net (I'm co-administrator here and responsible for the day to day operation of the site - another distraction from writing) I always try and keep the membership of this site at least one chapter ahead of fanfiction.net. It just seemed like a cool thing to do. I got my start writing fanfiction in this forum. If it hadn't been for the encouragement I recieved here, I might not have finished Even Angels Have Scars at all. :)
I found this site before, like sometime last spring, but I found it again when I followed the link on the other site, something like a couple months ago. There's lots of great stories here! I've tried to write a few times but it takes more talent (and patience) than I have - so I have just that much more respect for people who actually can pull it off!
Lots of writers have gotten their start here. I'd say that as far as fanfiction/fanart forums go - this is one of the most encouraging and most synergistic. If you've got even the slightest inkling of a desire to write about Nightcrawler or the Xmen - I'd say go for it and post it here.

I know I, regrettfully, have little time to respond these days. But we have some great writers here (and some excellent artists too) who give excellent feedback.
The only question I had was about the Triumph painting. I don't see the demon figure in the painting (the winged man looks kinda scary - but he has wings and I don't see his counterpart :? I checked the part of Even Angel's Have Scars where Kurt first saw the picture, but I was still confused about what frightened him.

Sorry if this is disjointed or too long, I'll stop now :bamf
It's fine. :)

The demonic figure (as described in Even Angels Have Scars) is the man dressed all in black in the center of the painting with the woman below him. You are a very observant reader because it wasn't until this summer that I discovered that he didn't have a tail. :ooh:

I wrote Chapter 4 of Even Angels Have Scars based on my memory of the painting and as I discovered later, my memory was a little differint than the actual thing. It wasn't a bad thing actually - it enabled me to construct the outline as I did, with Kurt assuming incorrectly that the dark figure was Azazel. I decided to allow it, rather than fix my story, because what 10 years of memory distorted, I figured could have also been distorted by a poorly printed plate in a book.

It was actually very exciting to get a good look at the painting again and analyze it with Azazel and Kurt's relationship in mind to fit in with the story. (Sort of DaVinci Code style - repurposing great art for my own use. :) )

I'm glad you like the story so much that you came here! It's always great to have new members come and participate in discussions about Nightcrawler here. Thanks for dropping in.

-e
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Until Death Do Us Part -- sequel to Even Angels Have Scars

Post by The Drastic Spastic »

Now that I've read all of Even Angels Have Scars and this thread I need to comment. Not because I particularly have anything to say, but because I'd feel really bad if I read all that and didn't even send up a lame "Good story!" post.

So, good story! Especially good was an explanation for the hated movie scars that went beyond religious nutcase who doesn't even know what religion he is supposed to be. (Argh!) I've been working my way through this thing for months, so I don't remember much from the first twenty pages or so. Basically, it's very good. Lots of original characters with genuine personalities. That was cool. I recall really starting to like Wolfgang maybe a dozen pages ago, because he has quite a bit of depth. Hmm. It went on for a long time without degenerating into lovingly sadistic descriptions of escalating torments for no real reason. The fact that it even occurs to me to mention that makes me cringe.

Giving religion a purpose in the story beyond "the character is an established Catholic so I'm going to start every scene with him setting down his rosary" is pretty keen.

I'm liking the second part better, because I like seeing him go for a bit of independance. How old is he supposed to be at this point? Like, 17? I also really like seeing Stephan as not-insane. He has a brother! Wow! Brothers getting along are good.

Attention to detail is good. Research is very good. Everything else I can think of right now amounts to, hey, you looked that stuff up. I love seeing real things in fiction. It makes it feel, well, more real.

Okay, it's late. I have done my duty. I will attempt to comment more than once every couple hundred posts in the future.
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Until Death Do Us Part -- sequel to Even Angels Have Scars

Post by Saint Kurt »

Originally posted by The Drastic Spastic
That was cool. I recall really starting to like Wolfgang maybe a dozen pages ago, because he has quite a bit of depth. Hmm. It went on for a long time without degenerating into lovingly sadistic descriptions of escalating torments for no real reason. The fact that it even occurs to me to mention that makes me cringe.
I wanted Wolfgang to start out like a complete Mary Stu and then slowly turn into this really real character. I think everyone's met someone like him - the guy you love to hate because he's rich, handsome, smart, and funny, but once you get to know him you don't mind so much because he's flawed as hell.
I'm liking the second part better, because I like seeing him go for a bit of independance. How old is he supposed to be at this point? Like, 17? I also really like seeing Stephan as not-insane. He has a brother! Wow! Brothers getting along are good.
He's 17 going on 18. Then the story will skip forward to his early 20s. I'm glad you like Stephani (Stephan) as his non-insane older brother. It's so been done that I wanted them to have a different kind of relationship. It will continue to change over time too.
Attention to detail is good. Research is very good. Everything else I can think of right now amounts to, hey, you looked that stuff up. I love seeing real things in fiction. It makes it feel, well, more real.
Thanks. I'm glad it shows and that my work paid off.
Okay, it's late. I have done my duty. I will attempt to comment more than once every couple hundred posts in the future.
I better get cracking then...

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Breaking...

Post by Saint Kurt »

"Mountain climbing is an adventure, Kurt. Canoeing on the Amazon River is an adventure. This is breaking and entering."


Margali was sitting on the steps of the rectory when Father Hans Dietrich pulled up in his aging Volkswagen. He pulled up on the parking break and got out.

"Kurt's not here," he said to her, "everyone keeps asking me, but I don't know where he is."

"It's alright," Margali said, "I do."

"You do?" He asked as he unlocked the door and motioning her through. She paused in the vestibule while he stopped to put a few books down and cross himself with the water from the small basin by the door.

"Could you let everyone in on your little secret then?" he asked, "including me."

"I can," she said, "but first, I have something more important to talk to you about."

Margali walked into the kitchen and Father Dietrich followed her curiously as she looked around for the kettle. She held it up questioningly. "Could I make you some tea Hans?"

Father Dietrich gave her a harried half smile. "Can't you just tell me where Kurt is?"

Margali shook her head. "I could, but you wouldn't understand why he was there."

"Try me."

"Paris. He's in Paris." Margali said, running water into the kettle.

"Paris!" Father Dietrich exclaimed in surprise. "Why on Earth would he go there?"

Margali lit the stove with a knowing smile. "See. I told you you wouldn't understand. Now, sit down, we'll have some tea and I'll explain everything."


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Bored with their bike tour of the city, Christian had taken his friends to the square where he had spent his days performing before joining Circus Gehlhaar. They spent the early part of the evening watching the various other entertainers who had taken up residence in Christian's absence and when evening faded into night, they abandoned their bikes in a heap to watch the people who came out to enjoy Berlin's legendary nightlife.

Even when the city had been divided in two by a wall, West Berlin had been known as a European hot spot in the club scene. Now with the wall down it had only gotten wilder and more liberal. Perched upon a low dividing wall that separated the square from the street, there was plenty to see. Couples hurried from cabs into restaurants or took advantage of the mild evening to walk arm and arm through the square. Groups of women chattering in German and dressed up for an evening out clipped past wearing high heels and short skirts. It was a people watchers paradise.

Drew, Kyle, and Brett had begun rating the various girls who walked by, discussing the various merits of each before moving on to the next. Christian had done almost the same thing with Kurt and Lars and Petra, the four of them peeking out from the backstage tent and watching the audience filter in. But they had looked for funny characteristics, a silly hat, an over large moustache, or a particularly odd gait, it somehow seemed friendlier, more innocent than what they were doing now. It seemed so carnal and it just felt so wrong.

"Check her out," Brett said, nudging Christian with his elbow. Christian glanced in the direction that Brett was pointing towards the last girl in a small group lining up as they climbed into a taxi. She was a little shorter than her friends with thick legs but she had a wide smile and her hair made a cute little flip as she moved.

"She's cute," Christian said.

"Cute? What are you talking about?" Kyle said, "She's got junk in the trunk. Look at her."

Christian laughed. "She's got what?"

"Junk. In the trunk." Kyle repeated. He looked incredulous at Christian's expression of confusion. "She's got a big butt Chris." He said dryly and laughed. "You're missing out on all the good American insults living here in Europe."

Christian laughed too, getting the joke, but at the same time he had the feeling he probably wouldn't have gotten it even if he hadn't been living in Europe.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As Margali set a mug of tea down in front of him, Father Dietrich couldn't help but feel an odd sense of déjà vu. He watched the swirling leaves settle to the bottom of the still steaming water and waited for Margali to explain what was going on. Instead Margali paused to look at a photograph on the wall, three men all dressed in clerical collars, wearing nearly identical broad smiles.

"I don't remember this picture," Margali said, cupping her hands around the mug of tea she's poured for herself.

"It's new," Father Dietrich said.

"Are they…"

"Myself and my brothers. See, we're brothers AND we're fathers..." Father Dietrich let his voice trail off as though it was a joke he knew had been told too many times. "It was taken last year. The 'three Father Dietrich's'; we celebrate mass together a couple times a year. That's my brother's Church, it's only about 20 miles from this one."

Margali chucked anyway. "That's why Kurt thinks he's in Paris," she said as she sat down.

"I feel like I'm only hearing half of this conversation," Father Dietrich said dryly, scratching his head. "I'm afraid you've lost me."

"Kurt thinks he went to Paris to see his brother, but he really went there to postpone his visit here."

Father Dietrich shook his head. "Why would he do that? I thought Kurt liked coming here." Then the Priest paused, turning to look very seriously at Margali. "He left very strangely this summer. I was worried about him. I still am. Why wouldn't he want to return?"

"Let me see your hand," Margali said.

Still confused, Father Dietrich obliged, holding out his hand for Margali to see. She gently flipped it over and opened his fingers with her own, tracing the lines on his palm with one finger.

"This is your Life Line," she said, tracing her finger along the arc from the base of his wrist around his thumb. "It's the best kind of life line, you know. Long and clearly marked; you will possess good health and vitality; you will live a long time. The wide swooping motion of the line indicates strength, enthusiasm and," Margali said with a wink, "an satisfying love life"

Father Dietrich gave her a patient, but slightly sardonic smile.

"Now let's see what your head line has to tell us," she said, moving to trace the straight line across the center of Father Dietrich's palm. He made a motion to close his hand, but Margali shook her head. "Your head line is deep, long and straight, stretching all the way across your palm. You have a logical and direct way of thinking. It makes sense: straighter the line, the more realistic the thinking, and the deeper the line, the better the memory," Margali continued.

"Margali I don't think…" Father Dietrich began.
"No, just listen," she said, shushing him with the index finger the hand that wasn't holding Father Dietrich's palm open. "We must at last look at your heart line." She grinned knowingly and said, "A slight disregard to the true meaning of love and its responsibilities are indicated by a heart line such as yours that starts between the middle and index finger. You tend to easily give your heart away. A long heart line like yours, running almost all the way across the palm, represents an idealist in love. In love you tend to look for those above you and have a great respect for them. These small lines you see," said Margali as she traced a fringe of tiny lines, "they mean you are happy in love, satisfied with the one you have chosen." Margali motioned with her eyes towards the crucifix on the wall and for one astonished moment Father Dietrich dearly wanted to believe in her abilities. He shook his head as though trying to evade the very idea.

"You see, there's a lot that can learned from lines on your palm." Margali released his hand and took a sip of tea.

For a moment Father Dietrich looked awkward. "Margali," he said after a moment, "I'm a Catholic priest. I don't believe in palm reading."

"Those of us in the trade call it 'Chiromancy'," Margali said.

"Call it what you want," Father Dietrich said.

"You don't believe in the lines or that the lines have meaning?"

"You can't tell a man's destiny by the lines on his hands, only God knows the truth."

Margali frowned. "That's the first time you've closed your mind to something I've had to say. God or not, you can't deny that the lines are there."

"Well, yes, of course they're there, but that doesn't mean that they chart the course of my life. I didn't become a priest because my love line was long."

"That was your heart line," Margali said with a smile. "But the lines were made by you living your life, using your hands, why couldn't they have meaning to one who knew how to read them?"

"I…" Father Dietrich wasn't sure what to say. Was Margali trying to prove to him that the art of palm reading or 'chiromancy' or whatever it was, of all things, was real? Why?

"And why can't they have meaning to those who believe in it?" Margali continued even more emphatically this time.

"I don't know. I don't know what this has to do with Kurt."

"I'm not talking about people, like me, reading the lines. Surely you must have an idea of what I'm talking about. Who else knows us so well that he knows the number of hairs on our heads?"

Father Dietrich was momentarily speechless. He'd had no idea that Margali read the Bible. "God? You mean God can read my palm?" Father Dietrich smiled. "It doesn't quite work that way, Margali," he said with a small laugh.

Margali shrugged. "Why not? Wouldn't who you were, defined by the work you'd spent your life doing; wouldn't it all be there for God to read?"

Father Dietrich shook his head. He still didn't know what any of this had to with the reason Kurt went to visit his brother instead of coming to Hamburg with the rest of the circus. "Well," he began, feeling slightly flustered again, "God doesn't need to. He already knows."

"But you believe in more than just God don't you?"

"What do you mean?"

"Angels and demons and spirits. I saw the Exorcist, Catholics believe that there's more to the supernatural than just God."

Father Dietrich stared at her a long time, feeling a little bit dazed. Finally he collected his thoughts and spoke. "I know, that you coming here, and making me tea has some significance," he said gently, "but I really do think that when I came to your house, and made you tea, I was a lot less confusing and stayed much more to the point than you are now."

Margali laughed. "I'm just trying to explain, that these lines on your palm represent a permanent record of you living your life and that since you believe in angels, I'm suggesting that maybe they are the ones so equipped to read the messages contained within."

Father Dietrich stared at his hand. "A permanent record?"

"Yes."

"Readable by angels."

"That's right."

Father Dietrich nodded, still not sure what she meant, but willing to go along with it; anything to get her to explain herself. He kept his eyes cast downward to his palm, still laid open on the kitchen table. "Okay," he said. "What does this have to do with Kurt?"

"Kurt's permanent record needed to be changed. His lines weren't valid anymore."


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Christian was bored. He did another lap around the square on his bike, but as he passed Brett, Kyle, and Drew he could see they were still on the wall, still girl watching. He'd stuck around for a few minutes of it, but it had quickly become tiresome. Plus, he couldn't keep up with his friends' constant patter of commentary on the various women who passed them. It seemed that no matter how hard he tried, their comments were wittier, edgier, and raunchier whereas Christian's attempts all fell flat. It seemed that despite his lifetime of always having a clever one liner for every situation nothing had prepared him for this.

So Christian had hopped back on his bike and begun circling the square. Even with the nighttime crowds he found he had enough room to pull plenty of tricks and quickly found himself with an audience. The fact that he was already back performing, not two days after they had just packed up the grueling Les Chanson's tour didn't even seem that strange to him. He was comfortable here. Whereas he'd felt impossibly out of place sitting on the wall with his friends, he felt once again at home performing in front of strangers.

"Where ya been Chris?" Brett asked as Christian finally returned to where his friends were still camped on the wall.

"Performing," he said riding into a tight circle and then pulling the brakes as he released his right foot and stepped onto the rear peg with his left. He pulled up on the front wheel as the bike spun into a tight pirouette. Throwing his weight forward he stopped his spin with his free right foot, released with his left and used the remaining momentum to swing the bike up on to his shoulder as he took a bow. It had been a hard trick in the beginning and he'd gotten his share of bruises learning it, but now, having done it hundreds, maybe even thousands of times, it was second nature to him.

Kyle laughed. "That's so awesome, dude," he said and held out a hand so Christian could climb up and join them.

"Still looking at girls?" Christian asked, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible.

"Yeah," Kyle said lazily, "but wait a minute." He sat up straighter. "Look at that. Can you believe that?" he asked in disbelief and pointed.

The three of them turned their gaze to follow where Kyle was pointing.

"Dude, they're fags," Drew said.

Two men wearing jeans and t-shirts were walking arm in arm through the square. Neither of them was paying attention to what was going on around them; they were looking into each other's eyes as though truly savoring even this simple act of walking together. For some reason that made Drew and Kyle's comments even more bothersome. Brett was laughing too. Christian could feel his face and neck getting hot for some reason.

"What's the big deal?" he asked.

"That's gross dude. Do you like that?" Drew asked. "Do you want some guy to hold your hand Chris?"

All three of them were staring at him now. He tried to get his brain to work, to come up with the joke that would make everyone laugh and make it okay again, but nothing happened.

Brett laughed. "Maybe living in Europe turned you into a fag Chris."

"So what if it did?" He blurted out before he could think. It was the wrong thing to say, but it didn't matter. He wasn't staying. Christian slid off the wall and jumped onto his bike. He was pedaling away before he even knew why.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Stephani looked up and down the street, wishing it were darker. It was late and other than the occasional student hurrying past, he and Kurt were alone. Still, he felt awfully exposed standing there in the middle of the street, preparing to break into the Sorbonne's library. He glanced over at Kurt who was looking appraisingly at the building's roof.

"Are you sure about this?" He asked Kurt for what seemed the hundredth time. He was sure that dressed in black, standing with Kurt in his bulky hooded coat that was all wrong for the weather they looked suspicious as hell.

"Where's your spirit of adventure?" Kurt asked, still looking up at the roof.

"Mountain climbing is an adventure, Kurt. Canoeing on the Amazon River is an adventure. This is breaking and entering."

Kurt gave a short laugh. "You never change," he said.

"Neither do you," Stephani answered.

"Well, are you ready?" Kurt asked.

"Where are we going?"

Kurt pointed to a spot on the roof just above a window with a small ledge. "There," he said. Unable to keep the worried expression off his face, Stephani followed Kurt's hand with his eyes.

"Why can't we just go right inside?" he asked.

"I need to see where I'm going first. I can look in that window and pick a safe place for us. Ready?"

Stephani shrugged. "As I'll ever be I guess," he said, and as Kurt wrapped his arms around him he suddenly felt nervous. He'd seen Kurt teleport only a dozen or so times. "I've never done this before. Do I need to do anything?" he asked.

"Yeah, try not to vomit."
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Until Death Do Us Part -- sequel to Even Angels Have Scars

Post by NachtcGleiskette »

I must have been very very good to deserve this...or very very bad :devil

but damn, I'm so happy you're still continuing this! Wooo! :dance
"If you live your life to please everyone else, you will continue to feel frustrated and powerless. This is because what others want may not be good for you. You are not being mean when you say NO to unreasonable demands or when you express your ideas, feelings, and opinions, even if they differ from those of others.â€
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Until Death Do Us Part -- sequel to Even Angels Have Scars

Post by fourpawsonthefloor »

Well, the bummer is that you won't be reading this for another month and a bit...but bravo yet again! Very poignant and well done.

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Until Death Do Us Part -- sequel to Even Angels Have Scars

Post by chicory »

:monkey I'm so glad you added to this! A very nice temporary going away gift. I liked seeing these characters again and I can't wait to read the rest of the story!
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Until Death Do Us Part -- sequel to Even Angels Have Scars

Post by Saint Kurt »

Ha! Don't be silly. There are always Sundays! And I check in to Nightscrawlers everyday in case something comes up where I'm needed.

Thanks for the feedback guys!

I'm hoping to post another chapter in the next few days...

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Until Death Do Us Part -- sequel to Even Angels Have Scars

Post by Lycan »

I just wanted to take the time and say that i love your story. Thanx Zam it's wonderful.
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Until Death Do Us Part -- sequel to Even Angels Have Scars

Post by Saint Kurt »

Thanks to everyone who read and commented - as usual, I get really excited when I see posts besides mine in the thread.

Thanks for the offer of Swedish translation assistance. Usually I try to stay away from using the actual language - preferring instead to write the whole thing in English and imply that different languages are being spoken.

Still, it's good to know that there's someone out there who speaks Swedish... :)

Finally. A new chapter.

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...And Entering

Post by Saint Kurt »

"I love her. Until death do us part. If she goes then I go with her."



Maria pushed on the door of Brin and James' trailer open and looked inside. Even though it was midday, the shutters were still drawn and the interior was cool and dark. In the dim light she could see that the normally tidy space was strewn with clothes and various other bits of junk, as though they hadn't bothered to pack before leaving for Hamburg. It was a rare sight considering that the tiny living spaces combined with the hectic schedule meant that every member of the circus was fastidiously clean. Even a single missed day of cleaning and organizing could pile up into an insurmountable mess, debris taking over, as though it had a mind of its own.

"Anybody home?" Maria asked. She heard a single sniffle from the back of the trailer.

"Brin?" she called.

"I'm back here," Brin said.

Maria tiptoed her way through the trailer to find Brin sitting on her unmade bed, her arms wrapped around her legs and her tiny heart shaped face atop her knees.

"What are you doing?" Maria asked.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" Brin said miserably, "I'm moping."

"May I ask why?" Maria sat down on the bed, putting a hand on Brin's shoulder.

Brin gave a snort of laughter. "It's this wedding thing. It was a bad idea." She tossed a stray sock that could have been either hers or James' on the floor for emphasis.

It was Maria's turn to laugh.

"What?" Brin asked, looking defiant.

Maria shrugged and gave a small laugh. "Every happily married couple I know, they said the same thing right before their wedding. You and James must be doing something right."

Brin scowled and threw a pillow at her.

"What's that for?"

"You're not helping," Brin said.

"Well, what do you need help with?" Maria asked, a smile still playing at the corners of her mouth.

"Nothing. Everything." Brin said, starting to cry again as she drew her knees in closer. "It just feels like everything's going wrong. I still have to do this Catholic thing with James and Father Dietrich, and…" She wiped tears away with her hands.

"Catholic thing?" Maria interrupted.

"So we can be married in the Church. My family is Methodist. I said I'd become Catholic so I've been, you know, reading about stuff… And James is like, sponsoring me…"

"Oh," Maria nodded knowingly, "You're going to be confirmed. We'll that's not a big deal."

"Yeah, but I don't have anyone to walk me down the aisle now that Kurt's gone and I'm still not Catholic. We don't even know where everyone is going to be sitting. And, I don't even have a dress yet." Brin said, suddenly looking horrified by the prospect of actually getting married.

"Kurt will come back. I don't think he's going to want to miss your wedding." Maria said.

"What if he doesn't?" Brin said in a small voice.

Maria shrugged, sitting down next to Brin and putting an arm around her. "I'm sure there is someone else in this circus who can give you away. We'll work it out. I still think it will be Kurt though."

"And my dress?"

"We'll go shopping. How about tomorrow? We'll go into Hamburg. Amanda can come too. We'll turn Hamburg upside down until we find the perfect dress, the three of us."

"Really?" Brin sniffled, trying to smile.

"Of course. It might even be fun," Maria said with a wry grin.

"Yeah," Brin said, wiping her eyes, her expression starting to brighten. At that same moment the door to the trailer opened.

"Wow. Why's it so dark in here? What's going on?" James asked, picking his way through the mess towards the back.

"Just some girl bonding," said Maria.

"Oh," James stood for a moment looking unsure of what to do, "well, I um, Father Dietrich has some stuff for us to sign, you know, before the wedding. Hey, are you crying?"

James sat down on Brin's other side.

Brin shook her head. "It's not a big deal," she said.

James frowned. He put his index finger under Brin's chin and gently turned her head. "If you're crying, it's a big deal to me," he said.

Brin sniffed, wiping her cheeks. She smiled. "It's not that bad. I'm just stressed, all the stuff we need to do. But, we'll take care of the things with Father Dietrich and then Maria and I will go in to Hamburg and shop for a dress…"

James snapped his fingers, cutting her off. "A dress!" he said.

Maria and Brin both looked confused.

"I was going to keep it a surprise for a little longer," James said, his voice sounding like he could barely contain his excitement. Brin started to look worried.

"Keep what a surprise?" She asked.

"Your dress. It's done. I had it made for you. It's arriving tomorrow!" James said, grinning.

"Oh," Brin covered her mouth with her hand, instantly horrified, looking back and forth from Maria to James. "Who? Who made it?" she asked in a small voice.

"Lysette. She has your measurements and I knew how worried you were. It's one less thing to think about." James explained.

Brin sprang to her feet, her mood switching for miserable to manic in an instant. "Lysette. Lysette!" She looked almost hysterical. "Lysette makes our costumes. She makes Kurt's clothes."

Maria leaned back, looking at James appraisingly, as though seeing him for the first time. "James, this is so positively 'Wolfgang' of you," she said. "I can hardly believe it."

Brin was pacing around the van, kicking various items of clothing out of her way.

"What's the problem?" James asked looking confused. "I knew Brin was worried so I tried to give her one less thing to worry about."

Maria opened her mouth to speak, but Brin beat her to it.

"The problem," Brin said, "the problem, is that one of the most important parts of getting married is picking out the dress. It's practically a rite of passage! And you've taken that away from me."

James opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out.

"And not to mention that my biggest nightmare now is that I'm going to get married in a patchwork hippie skirt with a mismatched striped vest!" Brin slumped down to her knees on the floor, "this could ruin everything."

James looked hurt. "I was trying to help," he said defensively.

"How could this possibly help?" Brin asked, crying harder now than she had been before "how could you be this stupid!"

"Now that's unfair," James was starting to raise his voice as well.

"Unfair! God only knows what she'll come up with," she cried, beating the floor with a clenched fist.

"Stop!" Maria shouted, jumping up to stand between them with her hands out like a referee. Brin stopped wailing on the floor and stared at her. James was caught with one finger in the air, his mouth open in mid-admonishment. He sat down on the edge of the bed. "This isn't the end of the world," Maria said.

"But…" Brin started to protest.

Maria held out a stern finger and silenced her. "No, listen. James was trying to help. And we don't know what the dress will look like yet. Surely Lysette knows the difference between a wedding dress and "Kurt couture". Why don't you wait to see it and then, if you don't like it, we still have time to go dress shopping."

Maria was met with silence.

"It's just a dress," she said.

"I was trying to make things easier," James said as though he still didn't understand Brin's reaction.

Brin nodded. "Okay," she conceded.

James got up and handed her a handkerchief to blow her nose with before wrapping her up in a hug. "Thanks," he said to Maria.

Maria waved airily. "No problem, calming the 'high strung and artistic' is my specialty. I'll let you two work out the details,"she said as she walked towards the door.

It was all in a day's work.



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


The new fast electromagnetic trains hardly even rocked on their tracks as they sped across the European countryside. It was hard to remember one was even on a train and not simply sitting in a room filled with people. Still pretending to be asleep under his blanket with his head against the train's window, Kurt slid the thick folder of magazine articles out of his bag with one foot and attempted to clandestinely drag it up to his lap with his tail. Papers spilled out all over the floor.

"What are you doing?" Stephani hissed. "You're supposed to be sleeping. You should have just asked me to get it for you." He began gathering pages up, handing them to Kurt who carefully sorted them back into the proper order.

It had been fun sneaking around the library with Stephani in the dark. They had teleported in with little difficulty, Stephani hadn't even been bothered by it that much, and aside from a single roving security guard, had had free reign of the place. Since he could see in the dark without the aid of a flashlight, Kurt had gone into the stacks retrieving and replacing periodicals while Stephani had copied pages from them. An hour or two later, Kurt had a thick folder filled with articles about mutant encounters in both Europe and in the United States.

"There are a lot of stories about laws in America," Kurt said.

Stephani leaned over and looked at the page in Kurt's hand. "Yeah, it seems like they want to enact a lot of laws to control their movement over there, create a registration system for mutants, things like that.

"The U.S. definitely is taking a more active role, both politically and publicly," Stephani said. "I copied a bunch of articles about public demonstrations and protests for you."

Kurt leafed through the papers. "For or against?" he asked.

"Both," Stephani said. "Here's one." He handed Kurt a photocopy of a newspaper clipping that had fallen on the floor. "This one is for…" He looked at the headline, "these are people picketing for equal rights for mutants in Washington D.C."

Kurt took it and read it. "They don't want the registration act to be passed. They say it treats mutants like criminals when they've done nothing wrong," he said. He looked over at Stephani, forgetting the ruse that he was supposed to be asleep. "Why would the United States want to register mutants in the first place?"

"A lot of people are frightened of people who are different than they are," Stephani said sadly. "History tells the same story over and over."

Stephani glanced through a few of the photocopies in his hands and then traded with Kurt. "Here's something funny," he said, "look at the picture." He gestured to the grainy black and white newspaper photo on top, "that looks like Wolfgang, but with long hair."

Kurt laughed and took a closer look. It did look a lot like Wolfgang with long hair. Several of the people in the background held up signs that emblazoned with the slogans "End Mutant Enrollment at NYU" and "NYU Mutants Out!" Kurt furrowed his brow in thought. NYU. That was New York University. Wasn't that were Wolfgang had gone to college in America?

Up at the front of the crowd was a handsome young man with his thick dark hair pulled back in a loose ponytail. The man in the sign looked angry, his mouth caught open mid-shout, but the features were familiar. The dark eyes were the same, as were the chiseled cheekbones and long straight nose. The more Kurt looked at the picture, the more unmistakably Wolfgang it became. And yet, the expression of anger on his face and the sign he carried made him wonder how it could possibly be Wolfgang at all. The sign said "Mutants = Murderers".

Kurt didn't want to read the caption under the photo, but he couldn't help himself and for a moment it was like his heart stopped. "Washington Square: New York University students, led by Wolfgang Wagner, protest mutant enrollment after the incident at the school last week." The words hit him like a blow to the chest and he felt his blood run cold. He is emotions seemed to sort through anger, to fear, to sadness, to shock as though they were a deck of cards. Was this really Wolfgang? His Wolfgang?

Kurt looked back at the photo as though seeing it for the first time. He hadn't seen the bullhorn in Wolfgang's hand or the determined look on his face the first time. He hadn't seen the hatred that was there. Until now. And there was no mistaking who it was. He'd seen that same expression on Wolfgang's face just a few days earlier, when Wolfgang had backed him up against the wall.

"They'll find you and they'll take you away Kurt. They'll lock you up and they'll experiment on you and it won't matter why you did what you did, just that you did it." The words still rang in Kurt's ears. Is this what Wolfgang had meant?

Kurt shook his head and looked up. "Stephani?"

"Mmm." Stephani mumbled from behind another stack of papers.

"Look at this." Kurt said. He felt like he was dreaming. He'd trusted Wolfgang. Wolfgang was his friend. He held the page back for Stephani to see.

"I saw that one," Stephani said.

"It really is Wolfgang," Kurt said.

"Are you sure?"

Kurt pointed to the photo caption and watched as Stephani's expression turned from curiosity to shock.

"What do we do?" Kurt asked. He watched the shock on Stephani's face dissolve back into the calm schooled exterior that he presented to the world; the poor gypsy kid turned academic.

"We'll go back just like we planned," Stephani said, "And then we'll talk to Wolfgang."


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


James expected to have the church to himself as he climbed the narrow stairs to the choir loft. He was surprised to find the place already occupied.

"Planning on a recital?" James asked.

"I'm hiding," Wolfgang said. "You?"

"Recital."

"So you're hiding from Brin then?" Wolfgang said.

"She didn't like my idea to have her wedding gown made for her. It was supposed to be a surprise. She hated the idea," James said, forlornly sitting down on the organ bench.

Wolfgang covered his mouth to hide his laughter. "You expected different?"

James shrugged. "I thought she'd be happy."

Wolfgang shook his head. "Never buy clothes for a woman. First rule."

"First rule of what?"

"Of being male. That's the first rule." Wolfgang said.

James furrowed his brow. "What's the second rule?" He asked.

"If she asks you 'Do I look fat in this?' say anything but yes."

James laughed. "How many rules are there? Do you have like a book or something?"

Wolfgang shrugged and shook his head laughing too. "I can't believe you bought Brin's wedding dress," he said, still chuckling, "that's so cute it's kind of sick."

James fixed Wolfgang with a sardonic glare. "Thanks," he said. James reached over and turned the key to start the organ's air compressor. He listened to it filling the bellows and then placed his hands on the keys. He played the opening bars to Les Chansons.

"Oh, please, anything but that," Wolfgang said.

James laughed and switched to Bach. "So, from whom are you hiding?" He asked, still playing.

"Funny you should ask that," Wolfgang said, "because the third rule is don't get involved with fiery Italian women who are smarter than you are. They all want to get married."

"Well, you did propose," said James.

"I know."

"And it has been several years now."

"That's true."

"So, you think maybe it's time?" James transitioned neatly from Bach to Wagner's wedding march, not an easy feat since they were in different key signatures.

"Perhaps, but there are… Stipulations." Wolfgang said.

"Stipulations?"

"You see I promised her that when we got married, I'd leave the circus."

"So I recall."

Wolfgang shook his head. "I'm just not ready to do that yet. Les Chansons was good, but… But I made so many mistakes. I think we could do it better, not just the show, but also the tour, everything. I already have ideas."

James nodded. "Yeah, I've been thinking about new music," he said.

"So, I'm not ready. We're not ready. But…" Wolfgang suddenly looked worried.

"But what?" James asked, taking his hands off the keys and turning around.

"But what if she gets tired of waiting? What if she leaves?"

James furrowed his brow. "Well, what do you want?"

There was a long pause during which Wolfgang sat clenching and unclenching his hands, listening to James noodling on the organ. Finally he straightened and ran brushed his hair back out of his eyes.

"I love her," Wolfgang said. "Until death do us part. If she goes then I go with her."

James nodded. "Then why hide from her?"

Wolfgang was silent for a moment, staring at the floor. "I keep thinking of Nina," he said after a long pause. "It's the same promise I made to Nina."
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Until Death Do Us Part -- sequel to Even Angels Have Scars

Post by fourpawsonthefloor »

OOOOh....yipee!! I love what you did with it. My favorite part is still when Kurt tries to sneak the papers out. Its quite a punch in the gut when you read that part about wolfgang though.

You left all cliffhangery again...which I love and hate at the same time because I have to wait! So write, darn it em, write!!

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Post by NachtcGleiskette »

OOO EM! This is GREAT! I'm very very curious as to whats up with Wolfgang, both with the anti-mutant rally and this Nina....so frikken GOOD!
"If you live your life to please everyone else, you will continue to feel frustrated and powerless. This is because what others want may not be good for you. You are not being mean when you say NO to unreasonable demands or when you express your ideas, feelings, and opinions, even if they differ from those of others.â€
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Until Death Do Us Part -- sequel to Even Angels Have Scars

Post by Saint Kurt »

Nina is not new actually. She is mentioned throughout Even Angels have Scars.

You could re-read it and go on an easter egg hunt for the various references to Nina or you could cheat by going to these chapters to read about Nina:

Chapter 10: Wolfgang Wagner

Chapter 27: Angels and Visitations

Because I'm sneaky that way.

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Until Death Do Us Part -- sequel to Even Angels Have Scars

Post by chicory »

:bunny:bunny:bunny You added to it! :D

So, Wolfgang has an identical twin brother who occasionally impersonates him? Well, maybe not, but I wouldn't be surprised if your Kurt preferred to believe that. I think I vaguely remembered there being a mutant friend from Wolfgang's past - but now I can't wait to find out what happened to her!

Man, looking back at those chapters from EAHS, it's like you had this scene planned out all along! That's really impressive - all the little details like Wolfgame enjoying the moment painting Kurt and Stephani in the tree and not wanting James to ruin it by mentioning this woman from his past.

Anyway - I really enjoy this story - keep up the good work! :)
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Until Death Do Us Part -- sequel to Even Angels Have Scars

Post by The Drastic Spastic »

Ooooh, the plot thickens. Wolfgang is my favourite OC in this, so anything with him is yay. Even if he's got a gross icky past. Especially if he does.

It's been so long since I read any of this. I'd completely forgotten who James was.
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Until Death Do Us Part -- sequel to Even Angels Have Scars

Post by Rowena »

YAY!! You updated!!!! And what an intriguing update! This Wolfgang development was unexpected. As always, you leave me desperately curious to find out what happens next!!
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Until Death Do Us Part -- sequel to Even Angels Have Scars

Post by Saint Kurt »

Originally posted by chicory
Man, looking back at those chapters from EAHS, it's like you had this scene planned out all along! That's really impressive - all the little details like Wolfgame enjoying the moment painting Kurt and Stephani in the tree and not wanting James to ruin it by mentioning this woman from his past.
BEHOLD! The power of the outline!

:LOL

I think I scanned pages and emailed them to Rowena once so she could see what I was talking about, but basically I have a notebook that is nothing but an outline and notes for this story. It's not an outline like this either:

I. Things
A. Things under the things
B. More things under the things
1. blah blah blah
2. blah blah blah blah

It's more like a crazy network of boxes and arrows with little notes about the characters reactions etc. next to them. There's an "arc outline" which is the large outline for the whole thing which has been reworked serveral times and then there are detail outlines which deal with particular events (like storyboards) for individual chapters. I write/draw them quickly when I'm thinking about them and they are a great antidote to writer's block. (I basically don't get writer's block. I get "lack of time".) The real beauty is that it has allowed me to keep a story alive over years. I could not have kept all these details in my head.

When I'm writing I refer to the outline, but I don't cling to it. It's just a collection of ideas; I still let the story flow organically. It is like a roadmap rather than set of directions - you can see the quickest path from A to B, but you don't necessarily have to take it because there are other ways to get there.

I could gush about the outline forever. If you've never used an outline to write, I highly recommend it. Thanks for all your comments guys, I really appreciate them. It's always great to know people are reading and enjoying what I'm writing. (Though most of the credit has to go to the outline ;) )

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Until Death Do Us Part -- sequel to Even Angels Have Scars

Post by fourpawsonthefloor »

Oh yes - I resisted the outline. (I am oddly stubborn at times). I didn't want the structure, or the work (which is admittedly minor) of it. Then I used it once...and that's all it took. Now I am a firm outline believer too! Saint Kurt has converted me!

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[Edited on 30/4/06 by fourpawsonthefloor]
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Post by Saint Kurt »

See. The Outline never lets you down.

:naughty

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Post by NachtcGleiskette »

I need to get on the outline bandwagon. THIS is why I never finish large fics....
"If you live your life to please everyone else, you will continue to feel frustrated and powerless. This is because what others want may not be good for you. You are not being mean when you say NO to unreasonable demands or when you express your ideas, feelings, and opinions, even if they differ from those of others.â€
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Until Death Do Us Part -- sequel to Even Angels Have Scars

Post by Chlorine »

This is a good story...
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Until Death Do Us Part -- sequel to Even Angels Have Scars

Post by Dämon »

:worship I know you're busy with vey school, but I am SO looking forward to a new chapter...very soon....hopefully...*hint*:hang so until then, I'll just hang...and write...and wait with bated breath! :holdbreath lol! This writing is so good, I actually thought you had worked for Marvel or something at one point! The way you've portrayed the characters never ceases to astound me!
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Until Death Do Us Part -- sequel to Even Angels Have Scars

Post by Saint Kurt »

Thanks.

Ironically, I recently started writing in this series again.

For an explanation (if you really want one) as to why I took such a long break, there are a few reasons and most of them are peculiar to me and my way of working.

One is that I was just busy with vet school. For those who have never been in a professional program of study before, vet school isn't like college where you take classes and have time to do other things, it's pretty much a full time job.

Another reason is a little more weird. When I write I need a soundtrack. Though the music I'm listening to is never mentioned, most of my writing is "motivated" by what I'm listening to at the time and I will often listen to a specific piece or group of pieces exclusively while writing a certain section. One of the problems with "Until Death Do Us Part" is that it never had a proper soundtrack of its own. Recently though, I came across a some songs that really fit the mood of the story perfectly and they sort of "called me back" to it.

Having a soundtrack again has helped me break though something that I was seriously blocked on - Wolfgang's story - a part of the whole that is seriously vital to tying the story back to the beginning (Since if you recall, this story ultimately takes place in the world of the movies and Wolfgang is the 'lynchpin' to that connection).

And finally, I was seriously stuck with certain ecclesiastical issues, namely how Kurt avoids excommunication.

So I've been working on those things and when I get enough written, I will post some more stuff.

:)
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