Disclaimer: I do not own anything copyrighted by Chito Saito and Be-Papas, characters, Ohtori Academy, but I do own the new people that appear. I have seen up to episode 16, then various episodes plus the end of the series. Hopefully it's enough to write a good RGU story.
Notes: Italics mean flashbacks for this story. Stars represent scene changes too, basic stuff when it comes to my works. There are spoilers in this story, seeing as it takes place after the television series. So I'll warn you now so no one complains.
Summary: This story basically takes place very soon after the fall of the first council, Utena's disappearance, and Anthy Himemiya's self created freedom from the role as the Rose Bride. However, she finds that Ohtori Academy won't let her leave just yet. Now Anthy finds the only way to escape to the real world is to make her way through the world she thought she had left behind forever. Now let us return to a world where the chick is still trapped within the egg, where those who desire it, will try and smash it . . .
Anthy Himemiya gazed out onto the vast horizon from the roof of Ohtori Academy, watching ever so familiar crimson painted the eternal sky. Chu-Chu rested on her left shoulder and watched the scenery also, but soon became distracted by the students who left the campus to return to their temporary homes until the dormitory arrangements were assigned.. The school year was near its end within the Academy, and while many things had changed, it was apparent that many things remained the same. This was true not only with the Academy, but with Anthy herself.
She seemed more mature than she had been during the Revolution Duels, her eyes filled with a long lost sparkle that a Rose Bride could not possess. Her hair was no longer kept up, but was allowed to fall freely. Even then, she had decided to cut her hair to a length halfway between her waist and her shoulders. But the greatest difference was her uniform, for it was not the same sailor blouse and green skirt which most remembered her wearing. The outfit was similar to those worn by student council members, only it was the white pants, black shoes, and a jacket that was as red as her old Rose Bride dress. She had chosen to wear it in honor of Utena for the beginning of the 9th grade after the spring break, though she wasn't sure if she was dead or merely roaming the outside world. However, she felt it was a thoughtful tribute to her best and closest friend.
"The power to revolutionize the world . . ." she quietly whispered, her gaze still locked upon the sunset. "It would reveal the miracle Juri had so desired . . .present Miki the shining thing he had longed for to make his piano playing more complete . . .give Saionji-sempai the object of eternity he told me he sought . . .and it reunited Utena with her prince . . .though in the end it seemed she was not pleased with what she discovered."
"And then there was my brother . . ." Anthy clutched the fence tightly and she fell forward while managing to stay on her feet. Her forehead landed against the metal and her eyes closed tightly. "He didn't care about any of those that were involved . . .he didn't care if Touga, Juri, Miki, Ruka, Nanami, Juri . . .the Black Rose Society . . .he didn't care if any of them were hurt or even killed during the duels. He claimed he liked Utena, but in the end he didn't care if she was hurt either! He claimed she was still a child, but in reality she was the most adult of us all! She was the only one who could see through the mask of the Rose Bride to saw that I was a real person!!"
Her fingers curled into her palm as the fence was released, creating a fist to be formed. Anthy released a saddened scream as the fist slammed into the fence, scaring Chu-Chu enough to cause him to fall off her shoulder and onto the ground. A single teardrop escaped her tightened eyelids and rolled down her right cheek before falling to land on the poor little monkey's head. The tear felt odd on his head, and he made it clear to his master.
"Chuuuuuuuu . . ."
The little cry snapped Anthy out of her small rage, and she looked down to see the small animal whimpering and holding his wet head. She frowned and she kneeled down, picking up Chu-Chu. As she stood back up, she gently petted him to make the little money feel better.
"Cheer up Chu-Chu, I'm sorry that outburst made you fall." she said. "I've been under so much stress and put through so much confusion . . .ever since I threw away the life of a Rose Bride . . .the last time I ever saw my brother alive. . ."
"It hasn't been that long, but already everyone has completely forgotten about Utena Tenjou . . ."
Akio Ohtori sat at his desk, typing something that could not be seen by Anthy's eyes, no Chu-Chu's as the small animal sat on the wood's surface. He was completely drawn into his current work, that he ignored Anthy who continued to stand in front of him with her hands clasped together.
"She didn't cause the Revolution after all . . ." he continued to say, still typing away. "She was just a passerby in this world. But with Utena gone, I'll need to start reconstructing the codes of the Rose Signet from scratch, with new duelists. I'm counting on you to help me complete the job, Anthy."
Her eyes widened at her older brother's intentions. Despite all that had happened to everyone, despite how close she herself came to dying from drawing all of the sword's to her body so he could gain the power, despite all he put the Student Council and the Black Rose Society through, and despite what Utena had to go through . . .all the emotional pain of finding her prince and still feeling incomplete inside, and thus leading to disappearance . . .Akio still wanted to gain the powers so he could cause the Revolution himself.
"You don't know what happened, do you brother?"
She continued to watch Akio type, realizing he cared for nothing anymore. He had always talked about smashing the world's shell, to free the chick so it could be truly born. It suddenly hit her, something important that put the entire scenario into prospective for her. No matter what happened in the end, even if Akio, Utena, and those involved in the Revolution had been able to bring it about, Akio would still be a dead chick. He had already died, for the shell had imprisoned his mind too long.
"Chuuuuu . . ."
Looking down at Chu-Chu, she realized it was time to leave it all behind. She knew that Utena was still alive, but even though both she and Akio were princes, Utena had managed to escape Ohtori Academy, escape to the real world. The former Rose Bride gave a smile, one that was, for the first time in a while, full of life and promise. She removed her glasses, placing them on the desk as Chu-Chu placed his earring and necktie beside them. Akio finally took notice, noticing that his little sister and allowed her hair to fall free behind her.
"What are you doing?" he asked, somewhat confused by her actions.
"It will be all right, brother." Anthy replied, not letting her smile fade away. "Please go on playing the make-believe 'Prince' in this coffin forever. But brother, I must go now."
"Go?" Akio didn't understand what Anthy was trying to imply. He watched as she and Chu-Chu walked toward the door which would lead them out of the observatory, and forever away from the talk of the Revolution. "Go where?"
Stopping in front of the door, Anthy turned around halfway as she raised a hand to rest on the frame. Even from the gap of distance that separated the two, he could see that her eyes were full of life, a life that he did not see when she was the Rose Bride. Her smile remained, and she allowed Chu-Chu to jump up onto her left shoulder.
"That person hasn't vanished, she's merely left this world of yours."
"What are you talking about?"
Akio gasped, he finally was able to grasp at least half of what Anthy was trying to declare. Though subtle, and though he didn't understand what she meant by the person leaving his world, he knew one thing was clear; Anthy was leaving him for good.
"W-wait a minute!" he cried out, rising from his chair and slamming his palms down onto the desk. "Anthy! ANTHY!"
"Farewell, my brother." she replied, stepping through the opened doors which soon closed behind her, taking Anthy away from Akio, forever. And that's how she wanted it.
Anthy found herself walking through the hallways of Ohtori Academy, getting ready to head back to her temporary place of rest. She seemed to walk like Utena, with more of a relaxed stride and carrying her case behind her. She felt she was slowly turning into Utena it seemed, with her new uniform and the start of what she felt would be many lectures from her teacher's about it during the next year. People had constantly asked her if she had been chosen to be on the next Student Council, but she had denied it each time and declared her dislike for such a position. Most didn't understand why, especially since nothing was known about the duels, high atop the mirage platform.
She told a few people after it was all over, but only Wakaba would believe her. It seemed Wakaba was devastated by the loss of her best friend, and she could tell Anthy was saddened too. Utena had made quite an impression it seemed, and then suddenly she was ripped away, removed from their world and thrown into another, one where they had no clue where she was.
She had also told the old Student Council members what had happened within the castle. Miki was in a shocked awe, Juri couldn't believe that Utena had been put through all of what occurred and she had declared a disbelief in Utena's prince actually existing. Saionji acted human for the first time, and made public his sadness for Utena's disappearance. He truly saw her as a worthy opponent for the Rose Bride. Nanami started to cry, which was very a surprising portrayal of emotions for her. But Touga was the most devastated. He couldn't speak a word, he couldn't even move. It was as if, with Utena completely gone, he had died out like a field of roses in the wintertime.
Anthy truly realized then, that the pink haired prince had caused a Revolution, but not the kind Akio had wanted. Utena had changed their lives, made them see things in a new light, with reborn eyes looking out onto a fresh world. Finally, she had released them all. With her own style of Revolution, it seemed they were all free of the duels. They could all live again it seemed . . .yet they still couldn't find the way to escape the egg.
"Anthy!"
Suddenly spinning around, Anthy saw Wakaba Shinohara running toward the purple haired student. However, instead of leaping forward and onto her back, the brunette stopped beside her to catch her breath.
"Hi Wakaba. How are you today?" Anthy calmly asked.
"I'm great, though there's too much spring break homework!" Wakaba glared at her case as she held it up, showing Anthy and Chu-Chu that it was packed tightly with a few papers sticking out on both sides. "I'm beginning to wonder if I'm a student or an office executive."
Chu-Chu suddenly began to laugh in his own little way, while Anthy showed a smile. She nodded in agreement as the two continued down the hallway. They walked in silence for a few moments until the exited the building to stand in the courtyard of the academy.
"So I gotta head back to my cousin's place and help make supper. Do you and Chu-Chu want to come over? We can work on the homework and watch some movies."
"No thanks." Shaking her head, Anthy still managed to smile to show that it was nothing against Wakaba. "I'm going to get to bed early tonight. I've got an early start tomorrow, plus I have some forms to fill out."
Wakaba smiled, nodding in response. "Okay then, see you after the break!"
Anthy waved good-bye as Wakaba took her leave, running across the gravel walkways and out of sight down the stairs into the Academy's little town. She watched until she was completely out of sight, then let a sigh escape her as she looked up once again at the sky. Her eyes closed and she frowned, allowing her head to drop and her face to now face the ground.
"Let's get going, Chu-Chu." she said quietly. It was going to be a long spring break . . .
The sounds of gears turning echoed throughout the darkness, and a pair of gates squeaked open to reveal an ever so familiar elevator shaft. A shadowed figure walked toward it, a large, thick, white envelope in hand bearing a blue wax seal. The metal gates of the elevator separated quickly and rose high above the figure's head. They stepped onto the elevator shaft, then ran a slender finger through the seal to open the envelope. It was turned upside down, and a small tape player fell into the open hand. The thumb moved toward the play button and pressed it down, allowing the pre-recorded message to play.
"If the egg's shell does not break, the chick will die without being born." the voice declared, so mysteriously familiar to the figure yet altered greatly somehow.
Suddenly there was a quick tremor, signaling the descent of the elevator. The figure let out a gasp as they stumbled back, the back hitting the never ending wall. The envelope and taper player both dropped to the floor, but miraculously the mechanical device was not harmed in anyway. The message continued, and the shadows figure continued listening with great curiosity.
"You are a chick; the egg is the world. If the world's shell does not break, you will all die without being born. Break the world's shell, for the revolution of the world!"
Suddenly the elevator stopped rather violently, and the figure stumbled forward toward the exit. The gates quickly pulled apart and upward once more, causing the mystery person to stumble out to stop in front of a small flight of stairs which lead to a short walkway. Letting out a gasp of awe, the figure seemingly became memorized.
The scenery was indeed beautiful, but at the same time very haunting to those who may possess a sense of paranoia. The walkway was surrounded by sapphire blue waters that radiated a white shine, reflecting off the walls in a hypnotic pattern. The water formed a large underground lake, surrounding a large platform in the center. The floors were pearl white, with the design of a blue rose gracing the surface. Seven pillars representing the colors of the rainbow stood around the edges of the platform.
The figure stepped off the walkway and the light reflected onto the form to reveal a female with shoulder length red hair and violet eyes. Her clothing it seemed was a pair of black pants with a white jacket, the ends of the sleeves outlined in a gold like color, with black boots on her feet. She looked around the platform as she stood between the yellow and green pillars and looked around, noticing she wasn't alone.
Between the yellow and leaning against the orange pillar was a slightly older boy with dark brown hair and dark blue eyes, wearing black pants too but instead of the yellow jacket, his was a dark blue and wasn't cut in V patterns like the girl's was, only it was a straight line all around. His arms were crossed as he eyed the new comer.
Next, was another girl leaning against the violet pillar for there it was empty between the orange and red, only she was sitting down on the floor. Her hair was long and a light shade of green, kind of like a creamy color while her eyes were a dark brown. Her uniform matched the new girl, only her jacket was a dark green and along with the pants she wore a dark green skirt which stopped halfway between her waist and knees.
Another boy, standing between the violet and indigo pillars, had shoulder length orange hair of a darkened shade with light blue eyes. Not only were his pants black ,but so was his dueling jacket along with belong longer then the others. The only way to tell the two articles of clothing apart were the orange linings on the jacket.
The next boy, seemed to be as old as the girl and wore the same uniform as the first boy. The only difference was his was a deep blood red crimson color and he had boots stopping up to his knees for the pants were tucked into them. His hair was blond while his eyes were green. He stood between the indigo and blue pillars, arms crossed.
The final stranger was another boy standing between the blue and green pillars. He seemed to stand out the most with his waist length white hair tied into a ponytail and crimson eyes. His dueling jacket was a deep violet, with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows.
"Welcome all of you." the voice echoed. "To the new Duelist's Arena . . ."
The six duelists looked toward the center of the ring where a small spotlight appeared and shone downward. It revealed a slender female wearing a pure white dress, with a golden crown in her long wavy black hair, which went down to her knees and light violet eyes. Her expression was blank as she stood in the center with her arm out in front, both hands clasped together. Surrounding the bottom of her dress were six roses, bearing the colors of yellow, blue, green, orange, red, and white. She held a purple one in her hands, inhaling the scent quietly.
"You six . . . Shiori Takatsuki . . .Tatsuya Kazami . . .Midori Ezura . . .Yamato Airou . . .Izumo Zakari . . .and Riki Hirokazu."
"Yeah, what about us bitch?" Midori suddenly shouted.
"Or bastard . . ." Riki added.
"Whatever . . ." The green haired female glared, cracking her knuckles as loud as she could. "Stay out of other people's buisness!"
"You idiots, can't you see the voice is coming from a tape player?" Yamato smirked with confidence, raising his hand to point toward the unknown female.
Sure enough, the arena became silent once more as the six young adults looked toward the female once again, who it seemed was wearing another tape recorder around her neck, attacked to a brown cord. She continued to maintain an expressionless face as her gaze seemed directed in no particular place.
"All of you have been chosen to not only form this year's student council . . ." the voice continued. "But you will be participating in the Rose Duels. Standing before you all is the Rose Bride, named Varari Nobara. Within her body rests an ancient power called Taune, which will in turn grant one of you six with the power to bring Revolution, to crack the shell of this world, to allow everything to change for the better."
"And what does that have to do with us?" Izumo demanded. He was curious, wondering why there was a red rose pointing at him.
"I suppose you're asking why you're all involved, what makes you special from the rest of the students of Ohtori Academy."
The voice paused for a moment, when suddenly the reflections of light upon the walls changed. Everyone gasped except for Varari, as they suddenly saw a beautiful white castle's reflection on both the walls and upon the water's surface. Everyone was in awe once again, and gazed at the new scenery as the voice recording continued.
"Within those castle walls lies the ability to revolutionize. When the time is right, whichever of you duelists is the champion, will be granted the ability to enter the castle where you will bring forth your revolution. As proof of the championship, the one who is shall be the one who is engaged to the Rose Bride before you. Only the engaged may enter the castle."
"So how do you get engaged to this . . .Rose Bride?" Tatsuya requested.
"Normally to become engaged to the Rose Bride, you would have to defeat the champion when you receive a letter indicating who will duel and on what date. For the purpose of starting out however, I have decided that Shiori, next year's Student Council President, will be the first to be engaged. Throughout the spring break I will send letters to all of you when it is time for you to duel, and also for any changes in the course of the duel's. Now then . . .walk toward the center of the arena where the Rose Bride awaits, and take up your selected roses you will wear in your duels. Hold them high and cry out the verse played for you as you descended!"
The dueling arena suddenly became illuminated, with columns of water shooting upward as if it somehow morphed into a giant fountain. The six duelists all began walking toward the center of the arena slowly, each speaking in sync as the single chanting of the verse began.
"If the egg's shell does not break, the chick will die without being born. We are a chick; the egg is this world. If the world's shell does not break, we will all die without being born. Break the world's shell."
Stopping at the center of the duelist arena, the six found themselves completely surrounding Varari, as if they were encasing her within a small cage. They kneeled down, picking up their individual roses and rising to their feet. A moment of silence swept across them all before their arms shot up, to hold their roses above their heads with a new sense of pride and determination. Their voices echoed loudly in unison as Varari threw her head back and gazed to the ceiling, her eyes widened as a sphere of white light emerged from her chest.
FOR THE REVOLUTION OF THE WORLD!"
Then everything went dark . . .
Please review this, or else I'll have to send my super deformed Senkyoudens to annoy you to death with their cuteness. Heeeheeeheee!!