Means To and End (Saint)

[Gabriel Seran]

There was to be a subtle tide rising in Gabriel's ever flowing mind, yes a great many things coming to pass and a great many decisions to make. Muddled and conflicted with thoughts of once sworn loyalties, of oaths, of dreams and futures all conflicted as though they were one leaving Gabriel standing in the calm tide pools of the beach, yes this was to be the calm before the storm he saw. Everything was at a hesitant stand still lingering but on the horizon of another turbid fall, a sudden rapture to come perhaps. As the waves broke his dream ended and all of it went away to nothingness.

Just a dream.... Just a dream he'd say, there was nothing of that in his realities. But then there was the sun and he realized all of what was to come and pass, yes this was to be his finest moments. The hour approaching, not this day but a great many suns away threatening forward.

--- 3 Hours later, 12:00 ----

Gabriel approached that skewed tree in the back, leaves falling orange and crumpled from the winter winds as it changed a sudden cool degree. Yes it was the dying of an age whilst they sat upon the brink of a new one. Ever present were the forecomings of a new era dawning just above an ill-fated sunrise.

"I need some advice..." Gabriel would speak allowed hoping the boy was in his usual spot, yes he'd figured that Saint was a man he highly respected, and while they'd only met once Gabriel felt he could trust the boy.

[Deleted]

The papers had all been filed away and permission for early graduation had been granted for the… guru, sure let’s go with that, of 259. Yes, Zachariah was ready to move on from this school and this city. It would be hard to say goodbye as his mother was still buried here however that was really all that was left here. Sure he could change that but he had a good run and it was time to move on from these surroundings and start his life.

It was no surprise that Gabriel was able to find the person he sought. Zachariah was sitting under that same tree as he usually was at this time of day, a book settled in his lap and reading glasses on his face to assist the process. Hearing the familiar voice, the ex-pillar closed the book and removed his reading glasses with a gentle smile.

“… by all means. What is it, Gabriel?”

If one figured that Zachariah was reading his usual book of philosophy or religion, they would be wrong. This time it was a book on pitching, as in baseball, oddly enough. However all that was really pointless when considering the rest of the situation. Zachariah could tell that there was a certain long reaching gravity to this meeting, each man had his pride and for one of Gabriel’s strength to ask for advice often took a true need.

[Gabriel Seran]

Gabriel relied there, a certain dismal hope in the back of his mind yet what lurked even farther still was the understanding that in that hope he'd have to sacrifice so much to meet a certain ends. Peace, yes thats what was on his mind as many men in his situation sought, philosophers, kings, even mis-sought out faiths tried to understand peace in a world of brutal human beings aimed at one another's throat in attempts to one up the other. It was simply human nature to do such, even fighting for "peace" had its compromises, to fight for peace was to fight for supremacy with one hand you strike down your foe to weakness and slavery yet you raise your other to culture and expansion, greatness. But thats not the "Peace" Gabriel had in mind, there was something still pressing that he sought. A peace that no one could rise above.

Pillars attempted to attain this peace, that beating those who stepped out of line to create a police squad, but then they grew corrupt only to benefit their own means. Then Gangs rose to combat these power houses only to breed army mentalities. Fear, implemented by controlled chaos, though what was never understood couldn't be controlled.

Then came the birth of Militia, in Gabriel's eyes it was the first light, leading towards a control of the underclass. But soon that too fell, giving those such as David and Emily the true power, the top corrupting as it gave no say to those beneath. Hence the Black Knights. An army of banded average to weak soldiers, simple students as most would consider, they fought and succeeded in banding everyone against them.

And there was Gabriel's plot....

"I would like to know... Is it selfish of me to be a martyr, to defy all that anyone here has known and change all that?"

[Deleted]

"I would like to know... Is it selfish of me to be a martyr, to defy all that anyone here has known and change all that?"

A small morbid small came to Zachariah’s face as he nodded his head when told of the plot Gabriel had. A truly benevolent person such as him should condemn such an act and say that the martyr to be that they should live and change the world through that. Zachariah would not do such a thing, knowing that sometimes it was easy for people to come to the idea without much thought should direct him to it however Gabriel seemed as though he’d put a great deal of thought into it. If that was in fact the case then it was a noble cause. To deny such a noble cause would be in and of itself… foolish, but to blindly applaud and encourage would be equally so. So what to do then?

“I see…”

It was an idea Zachariah had come to several times but never acted upon, perhaps it was cowardice, but more so the rationalization of its effect. That meant simply that he felt it would not be successful thus being much a waste. However there was a saying here the fit all too well… tell a man the truth and the words will wither and die, show him the truth and it will remain with him till the end of his days. As his teachers had imparted to him, it was at the heart of philosophy along with the ideal that the teacher asks the hard question and the student must come up with the hard answer. With a long control exhalation of his breath Zachariah cleared his mind and began.

“It would depend on the perspective you look from. To those who care for you… yes, it will be seen as a selfish act, to the others… no. However will they take heed of the ideal and message that you martyr yourself for? Or will they merely shrug off your sacrifice and continue about their lives without pause?”

He paused, not finished but merely giving Gabriel a moment to dwell on those answers and questions.

“Will your sacrifice move the people? When the last samurai gave their lives the emperor and people were moved by their act. They saw the pride and ideals that were the basis of their culture, their morality and were moved to protect them. When Jesus died for the people’s sins, those believers were moved but the rest of the world was unaffected, however his followers preached and fought and preached to continue those ideals and now Christianity is one of the world’s largest religions. But is it the same ideal that Jesus died for? If all the people are not moved, will those who are carry on your vision in the correct manner or will they distort it?”

That had been Zachariah’s problem, his sacrifice would never have meant enough to everyone and he felt that his wish for an end to the violence would be distorted by those who were. That their method to change the minds of others would have been the very idea Zachariah fought against.

“There is always uncertainty to the future… we can not really know. So are you willing to risk what you have to save those who may not wish to be saved? Or would your life be better served simply finding happiness for yourself?”

[Gabriel Seran]

Gabriel nodded, while Saint was on the right track Gabriel had something else in mind. Simply put it was not often people would look to him as some shinning beacon of hope lest they were in his ranks so he'd play to the opposite Gabriel would need to become the villain in due time. That was the selfish part, now what he feared was the end, it would require a sacrifice of himself.

"I had something else in mind, though by all means the hatred must end, this violence and destructive means will destroy us all."

Gabriel spoke clearly, "As many others I've spent my life trying to change the system, but nothing seems to work perhaps it's best that I show them how bad it can truly be. Perhaps truth would best destroy the system..."

[Deleted]

Well that was interesting and yet very worrisome. Zachariah dwelled on that little revelation for a long moment. It would be more of a detriment to the relationships that Gabriel had however it might prove far more effective than a positive method. Slowly his gaze shifted toward the school as though trying to gaze into the mind of its collective to see what lay in wait to be unleashed under such an era.

“Or would you merely unleashed the darkest demons of an already violent group and show the worst of them the way to rain down terror?”

True that the system was terrible in its current state however just as it could get much better, it could also get much worse. There was almost a status quo at this moment, those students who claimed to be good fought those who seemed evil and those caught underneath and in middle often were left to run and hide but could find some safety. If the worst of this system was brought to bear, would it collapse or would it be reborn anew with more violence than before? How dark were the hearts of these students? Those who thought highly of Zachariah, called Saint, might think of him as the best among them but his past was as dark as others, perhaps more so…

“Are they just moths who delight in flying into the fires?”

[Gabriel Seran]

Gabriel nodded solemnly somewhat having a bit of distaste for what he had in mind. Something that was cruel and unusual in all means. Nowhere could a person be safe and while the school grounds were under the hierarchy's dominion, all of Long Beach would be under his. Gabriel would not become Captain, but rather Emperor. In due time they'd see the system that was once filled with hate filled with a stem of justice and the people would predictably rise up against him, not as foes but as brothers locked against an evil dictator's regime.

"Just as in all of history..."

Gabriel mused to himself with a little chuckle, yes, he'd do horrible things for the sake of good. It was selfish to consider himself as such but in the end thats what he had in mind. To be blasphemed just as before, and this time rise to a scale no one could match. He'd become something more and then lose it all for the sake of others... A martyr.

[Deleted]

“If you choose to partake on this journey, I warn only one thing…”

Zachariah spoke as though Gabriel had already made up his mind, which seemed quite likely at the moment. There was a soft sigh as his gaze finally turned back from the school below to the man before him.

“… I will not be able to help, even to reconcile the things you do to those you care for, as much as I might wish to. My days here a running short.”

A quite cryptic way to put it but it was true. Zachariah was going to be leaving public high school 259 in a short time. Did it mean that Gabriel would be on his own? Wasn’t that the plan…

[Gabriel Seran]

Gabriel had to nod subtly, he could understand a parting of ways in most cases. To the point he wished he was here in earlier years, perhaps then he would have been able to know Saint prior, he could have known them all for so long but no he was the new generation caught in between those old and new. In the grand scheme of things what was known of his power and ideologies would be lost, those following behind him would grow far swifter than he, they'd make a bigger impact upon this new world of the likes he could never accomplish, however great and powerful he was, he meant nothing.

A depressing thought seeped in, power meant nothing, it was rather the legacy we leave behind, Saint could make him realize that much would the old generation know him for what he truly was after he was long gone? Would they know Gabriel? Chances are, after their spans here were over they would pass much like the fading memories.

"I understand..."

Though those were selfish thoughts, Gabriel remembered everything in his lifespan, and those who made an impact on him no matter how short their times would always be remembered. Saint was among them, though however brief the man left his mark and therein would be written in the history of Gabriel Seran.

"But I won't be moved, this is what i was made for.."

[Deleted]

Zachariah nodded slightly as he started to rise from his seated position. To think of legacy’s… did he really have one? Sure, his apparent piety was noticeable but what had he really accomplished? Truly his only claim was to be one of the first pillars and perhaps the longest standing pillar but that was about it. Perhaps his impact had been in the manner he hoped for, that with each meeting and each discussion he had made small positive effects on people’s lives. It was a hope.

Upon reaching his feet, Zachariah smiled lightly while looking into Gabriel’s eyes to make sure his point was received, a hand gently placed on the man’s shoulder.

“I think we make our own purposes… our own fates.”

It was a simple point that he was using as a lead into his next. True enough though it was his belief that they could control their lives. Without it, life seemed more hopeless if it was lived without control. Nonetheless Zachariah started to walk by before pausing to say the major point while standing side by side.

“We don’t have to change the world, Gabriel… sometimes I think it is just enough to make sure the world is no worse for having us in it.”

[Gabriel Seran]

Gabriel nodded, surely he understood a person who lived to those ends. Gabriel however was very different, the sort of man you'd never want to deal with when it came to push and shove. In his world there was always something to be bettered nothing was ever perfect till death took him and while there was still a breath left in his body he'd see fit that this world found peace. Gabriel was a man to change the world.

"I see.... But sometimes it takes a bit of darkness for us to realize where the light is..."

Gabriel turned to smirk at the fellow. Gabriel was just the person to do that, no one could realize just how far he was truly willing to go, he feared nothing not even his end to see this end. And at some point he'd break down and crumble but not before the day he saw his own legacy, not of the man but his actions.

"I think it's best I take my leave..friend." Gabriel made a subtle bow before turning to disappear.

[Deleted]

Zachariah nodded lightly as Gabriel turned to leave, with the knowledge that there was really nothing more left to say. There was nothing that could come from him that would change the mind of the other man. This simple knowledge brought memories of a familiar conversation with a certain German. To say that the two were peas of the same pod might be a bit much, however it wasn’t too far off either. Needless to say that this previous and similar conversation had not ended on the best of terms so learning from that mistake Zachariah simply nodded his goodbye.