Whispering Twilight
The Summary:
Heaven and Hell near the beginnings of another war that looms on the horizon. Unable to afford the cost such a battle, Heaven seeks the aid of part of its rouge collection, a group of angels that sinned while in the preceding wars, but did not fall by decree of the council matriarch. Know for their deeds of cruelty and un-angelic feats, these "false" angels are employed to gather either known or unknown faction members of the Fallen, or assassinate them if they show allegiance to the forces of Hell.
Character listing:
To-myciel (Toe-mee-see-L): Tomoyo as the Matriarch of Heaven's highest council. Serves both as head of the military and liaison between the Earth and Heaven judicial affairs. She is known to be wise and troublesome at the same time. She respects all who once resided in Heaven and its military.
Syariel (Sigh-are-ee-L): Syaoran the "false" angel. One of those who had committed a crime of sin against Heaven, but not received a banishment sentence to the mortal world beyond. He is sent to Earth to gather the assistance of the fallen angel Sakyriel, Sakura's angelic self, or kill her if she refuses. He may have his own agenda should he liberate his Syncron, the root of an angelic being's soul, from To-myciel.
Sakyriel (Sa-key-ree-L): One of the fallen angels of the hierarchy of which only To-myciel remained standing. After the Core Wars in the Mortal plane with Hell (where forces of Hell tried to steal the Syncrons of Heaven's uncooperative fallen for sake of increasing their own power as well as destroying obstacles), Sakyriel decided to mask her presence by undergoing a mortal bonding ritual that allows her to lay hidden in plain sight, while her 'host' body is recycled through the ages and allows her to blend in without effort. The current host form "Sakura" has no awareness that she even plays host, though that is her main purpose. Aside from that, there is no difference between her and a normal human, though she has no idea of the existence of her other self.
Sakura: Host form of Sakyriel. She has no idea that she has such a vital purpose in the world and the ones beyond. She develops a crush on Syariel's human form Syaoran, after a few times of contact. She doesn't develop any sense of awareness until much later towards the onset of the Twilight War.
Events:
War of Dawn: Hell and Heaven's armies clash in a battle set to determine dominance on human souls. After losing four fifths of territory, the angelic hierarchy (without consent of fellow angel and true follower To-myciel) Sakyriel and other generals used Hell's own dark energies of sin against them, and stained their wings forever black. Though defeating the armies' front lines, and reclaiming their lost lands, for fear of sustained corruption and further betrayal... thus forced the great divide, and half of the Heavens fell.
Core Wars: The battles resumed out of Heaven and in the mortal killing grounds. The resulting conflicts eliminate human advancements and send entire regions into a "dark age" as a small ice age falls over the planet. For sake of the Syncrons, The ranks of the Fallen shattered and split asunder all over again, with some betraying others for favor of new allies, and others continuing it all in Heaven's name. Eventually ends in stalemate.
Day War (Sun and Shadows War): Following several attempts of Fallen to break back into Heaven, the lack of activity on earth has given Hell the upper hand in soul collection. Without Heaven's force as strong as it once was, and without new souls to enter the fold, Heaven's forces attempt to take the Mortal plane back by bringing the war to the hells. Angels not resistant to Hell's fury are tainted, but not in a similar way to the first war. To-myciel decides to collect the "false" angels and return to Heaven. The war has little result, but humans have gained new magical means in which to defend themselves. False witch hunts and other unfortunate events ensue... Eventually things settle once more, and neither side has more say than the other.
Twilight War: The third of the great wars, in which humans as well as the biblical entities will be drawn into. To prevent an unfortunate tip of the balance, and negate the impact on mortals, To-myciel has decided to approach the Fallen and reclaim the "false" angels. By using all those once tainted, Heaven should have more than enough to impair the Hells for good. If not, Night will befall the world.
Intro:
In a human perception, Heaven is a place of peace, at home in the greatness of the sky above. It is home to our souls if lived in righteousness, or those granted passage and cleared of sin. It is a region worth striving for.
Unfortunately... that is human perception, after all.
In the reality, a portion of its confined inner region is all that human thought makes it to be, that is merely the sanctuary of souls... a region of distorted space and time that allows for a seemingly infinite void of all it is hoped to be. A place known on the outside as the "Thoughtful Lie". But this is but a small part of the greater heavens. And this is not in the skies of the Earth.
Instead, it is a plane of existence much like that of the Earth... though there is little to confine its great expanse.
As a whole, Heaven is split among regions of a spherical array of land mass, bits of land floating above or below the other, almost like the existence of a small planet within the expanse of what is known. Beyond of what is known is just additional space. Yet to be defined as a part, it exists near the boundary of what can be explored, limited by the anchor of the soul, also known as a soul's core, the Syncron. Should any a Syncron move outside a given radius, it becomes equal to spiritual death, and the soul would join the greater part of the nether.
Originally, since its creation—and up until Dawn—Heaven stretched over an area of land divided into twenty-six territories. It is now only made of eleven.
And with the potential approach of Twilight... even eleven may not ensure its survival.
Chapter 1: Assignment
Heaven, Territorial Region Delta:
Situated against the northern limit of known existence, the area Delta exists apart from standard thought and on the outskirts of Heaven's control. To be more specific, it is put out of most of the denizen's minds, as it is not a place where one would dwell without good reason.
Like that of its name, it was a place of change, a place where those of Heaven, but apart from it, lived. No... That was wrong. It was where they were held.
Those unlike the others... those who had been consumed by sin in the war prior, but who had not fallen as those of the first war. They hadn't been given the choice in the matter. Instead they were confined in what could be more heavily protected than the core of Heaven itself. A large and ominous ancient structure that loomed out of the plains like that of a giant monument, the fortress home of the imprisoned... the home of the "false" angels.
And it was here, on this rainy and dreary day, that the figure who walked alone was heading.
Great steel doors broke open as they swung slowly on the aging hinges that kept them from becoming rooted to the ground. The brief breech allowing water from the outside to flow freely into the forward part of the empty entrance hall, just beyond the threshold that did little to halt the intrusion. What little light that entered from the outside had done little to chase the darkness from the inside, as it clung to the walls of the vast hall like tar on brick.
Still, this did nothing to give pause to the figure that was all but invisible beneath the great layers of malted-cloth travel cloak, stopping only briefly to motion to the wall mounted torches, which alit in an instant. The illumination revealing several well disguised guards that lined the passage. They did not move, merely nodding to the figure as the great doors closed with a loud metallic collision that resounded down the hall as would the sound of a church bell in an empty tower.
Much further down the same hall, behind a set of doors heavier than those of the entrance hall, a figure stirred to the faint vibrations of the air. It was strange, that there should be any to enter at all, as this place had been seemingly abandoned for an unreasonable number of years. As it was, despite the uselessness of the gesture, the one within opened its eyes to the expected darkness that greeted them.
Still, it was patient all the same. There was no reason not to be.
Quiet footfalls continued to sound all the closer as whatever it was that approached them grew closer with every meticulous second passed. A slow procession that persisted until they came to a halt just outside the doors.
A pause.
Suddenly, a large number of metallic gears, locks, and other sounds seemed to come from within the door itself as it unfastened from its centuries of neglect and misuse, fine swirls of rust slipping into the air and made present by taste upon the tongue. The doors gave one last shudder before breaking at last, the small slips of first light of the dim halls likened to that of the brightest of torchlight. A blinding radiance followed that of the light, but not from the hall, but the figure clad in obscurity.
There was a moment's silence as the figure regarded that which was before it, and that its eyes were resting solely upon this new entrant. It was uncertain who would acknowledge whom first.
"To-... my... ci... el..." came the forced words of a being just learning to speak again, the short phrase of identification of the one before it as exhausting of a task as the next.
"Eh..." The clad figure exclaimed in a surprised manner. The voice clearly female and of a superior nature. "That you would recognize me in such a short time, under such an unfortunate choice in disguise... even with the spirit dampeners on me... that is an impressive feat." She reached up and pulled back the hood, revealing her natural beauty. Sleek black hair with precious stone and runes woven into the elegant display of braids and locks that captured her beauty and betrayed her rank, a hint of royalty imbedded in a simple hint of her garments under the rags. There was an air of youthfulness about her, despite a more obvious adult presence. She looked on fondly, as though seeing a lost loved one, or child not seen in years of absence.
"I know you can't be happy to see me, but I have a mission for you if you want it." She stated simply, choosing to get right to the point.
"At... at what cost?" the unknown spoke again. His voice rough and course, filled with an unsuppressed bitterness and rage that the woman did little to deny the existence of.
"None really," she replied with a smile, "but if you succeed in your mission, you can expect to be pardoned on all fronts, and reclaim your rank as a formal soldier of the armies of Heaven. With honors, of course." She brought a hand to her chin and smiled serenely. "What say you, Syariel? Interested?"
She shifted her body and an additional stream of light flooded the chamber, exposing the rough form before her, whose body was neither standing nor kneeling, but held firmly in place with multiple series of chains and iron clasps that all but restricted any form of movement. Large white wings with black and gray stains extended from the figure's bare back, shackles and chains keeping them long since unmoving and useless. A torn rag of a loincloth served as the only clothing, and a steady drip of water leaking through the ceiling the only source of sustenance.
The head, the only thing able to move was drooped forward as to consider his options. His long, unkempt brown hair covered his face. He seemed to focus on the question intently, but she made no further attempt to interrupt.
After a moment, he raised his head, the chains on his body groaning in response to the shift.
"Yeah..." he answered slowly, and with much difficulty through gritted teeth. "I'm all ears."
Syaoran closed his shoe locker loudly, swung his bag around his shoulder and proceeded down the hall.
He looked at his watch. There was no time for a detour, next class was in several minutes, and he had already missed the past three. Whatever... it wasn't like he needed them to live. Even if he failed them all, that didn't matter. His job here wasn't like that. His job wasn't to be a student at all... it was just convenient to be one.
Or so she said.
To-myciel... that bitch. Her words were stuck on him like an insufferable resin. And it was impossible to just rid himself of it, because all in all, that was part of the deal.
Just the words weren't the problem... it was that of all people, she had to be the one to speak them. And it wasn't just that, but it seemed that every time he wished to forget, the past memory would just be that much stronger.
He closed his eyes in another attempt to shake them from his mind. Would it work?
"Interested?"
'Yeah, I'm all ears.'
"That's good, it'll make things that much easier.
"Though you are not aware, Twilight approaches us, and rapidly. The truce with the demons has fallen apart, and forces are beginning to move... not only in Hell, but in the 'Lost Territories' as well. And we are not enough of a force to prevent it. As of now, we are an army without its soldiers."
'So you want me to do what? Assassination, reconnaissance?'
"No Syariel. You will be a recruiter. Not any such, but one to unite the Fallen with their true family. I will be asking this to all of the 'false' angels. But to you I entrust the most vital of tasks: Find and make peace with Sakyriel, former general of the first division of Heaven's army during the war of Dawn. Only she can turn the tide of the war to come—in our favor.
"Know that she probably masquerades as a human girl in Japan's Tokyo. It is there that you will find her among the populace."
'But...'
"Find her... tame her.
"I look forward to only the bests of results."
Syaoran opened his eyes and the memory erased once again. That it would replay incessantly... that accursed angel and her twisted schemes... it pissed him off to no end.
For everyone else, he as the 17 year old Li Syaoran 'transferred' in a little over a week ago into this semi-large Tokyo high school.
As it was, it didn't take long for him to be branded with an already well-defined reputation. A loner who seemed to absorb violence from every source... one who did nothing unless he deemed it worthy, and one whom it was best not to talk with, or risk losing more than what a hospital could replace. Although, reputations are usually earned over a long duration, so it was uncertain as to what was fact and what was an embellishment. Either way, he was avoided when possible.
At least... that was the general case. Even without wasting a glance he knew she was there. An auburn haired girl with an interesting hair style that made her easy to identify apart from the others, who was probably tucked back and hidden within the throng of busy students moving to whichever class they were moving to, wearing whatever that reddened look of confused emotions was upon her face. That she should take such a direct interest so quickly only made it that much obvious.
A scowl crossed his face as he thought of the irony.
Such a laugh! That he had been sent here to hunt her, yet instead, she discovered him first? His eyes narrowed as he grit his teeth, and then slammed his fist against the wall.
Tch... whatever.
If that's how it was to be, that was fine.
With no more wasted thought upon the matter, he turned and disappeared into his classroom. While the girl down the way, tucked back away from the dissipating crowds, held her hand over her heart as she looked at his retreating back with an airy demeanor.
"Class dismissed."
At the teacher's prompt, life immediately returned to the tired students who had little choice but to suffer through the boredom of the afternoon's onslaught of classes as time did little more than crawl on the wall clock. However, before the normal din of chatter could pick up, a quiet fell upon all as Syaoran pushed back his chair, stood, threw his bag about his shoulder, and exited the classroom. It was only until he had made his way well out of sight that any noise returned at all.
Even in the hallway, people seemed to part as he made his way down the passage towards his shoe locker, and ultimately, the exit beyond that. However, as he went to remove his outdoor shoes, a single fold piece of paper from between them fell out, which he caught with little effort between his forefingers. With a flick of his thumb, he opened it and scanned his eyes over the written message within.
Tch...
He went back to his shoes as he crushed the note in his hand.
That girl...
Not more than ten minutes later, he exited the school gates—the auburn haired, green eyed girl from before flanking his side.
Where they were going, she hadn't specified, they just were. Walking together, moving forward, at this point it wasn't the destination that mattered. At least, that was what was apparent on her flushed cheeks.
Syaoran felt her hand accidentally brush against his, and then retract just as quickly as it had occurred, though she seemed to look more reddened than before.
Ha... like he cared. His only concern at the moment was his objective... though it seemed much too easy.
Though all his angelic senses declared it, could he possibly have made a mistake? This girl beside him... despite having sought him out—could she just be a normal girl after all? This Sakura?
"U-um..."
He glanced at her without turning his head, just to see her recoil as soon as the sound was out of her mouth. She was red again. So annoying.
"E-eh... uh..."
"What is it?" Syaoran asked without emotion. If this was her act, it was already past annoying.
"I-I... thank you!" She blurted out quickly, shutting her eyes as though to avoid his gaze.
"For?"
"E-eh... that is..." she wound the end of one of her longer locks of hair around her finger nervously, as she searched for the right words. "T-that is... for agreeing... to this."
"This?"
"T-to um... seeing me?"
"And why wouldn't I?" Syaoran asked slightly irritated.
"I-it's not that you w-wouldn't... just that everyone feels intimidated by you and such... and that I just thought perhaps maybe you would... rather not see me? I don't know?"
"I don't think I follow."
Sakura stopped walking and glanced at her feet. "Ah... you wouldn't, would you?" She turned away and got even quieter. "O-of course you wouldn't know... so silly..." she turned back to face him "it's just that everyone else does. That I—well—I'm not like the others. That my body isn't strong like the others... that I'm anemic and I tend to suffer from blackouts and memory loss from time to time... and I thought that perhaps it was unfair to drag you out further without letting you know about me!"
He looked at her without expression.
"It's just that you are strong... and you stand out. Completely like my opposite." She looked up with a tearful expression. "That's why I—!!"
"Okay... I understand." Syaoran said bluntly, cutting her off. "I don't mind one way or another."
"Really?" Sakura said taken aback. "Thank you!"
Tch... Thought Syaoran as he wished for a bit of silence. Whatever.
Without another prompt, they continued walking onward, Sakura feeling a bit better with less guilt at his side.
Though she really didn't care where they walked to, she began to note that the surroundings were less the peaceful suburban atmosphere, and more and more central city. Not only that, but they were moving into the greater areas of Tokyo, where one would more likely be expecting to find Yakuza and other gang related atmospheres than a would-be-happy 'couple'. Since it was still daylight, it shouldn't matter... but all the same...
Sakura stopped. "Syaoran, maybe we should... should..." she put her hand to her head as she began to feel faint. "Ah..."
He stopped as her legs began to falter and she pitched forward, her free hand reaching out before her, as though to find stability in anything still standing.
As with the paper before her, Syaoran caught her easily and supported her fall gently, letting her body cushion against his own. So this is what she meant about weakness? Perhaps he really did have the wrong girl after all. All the same, he couldn't just leave her alone either.
However, he hadn't supported her for long when her hand suddenly had a weight behind it, her gentle fingers squeezing his arm ever so lightly as consciousness seemed to flow back into her body.
He looked into her face as she opened her eyes, but said nothing. There seemed to be a slight pause as she realized what she was seeing, and where she was, before she withdrew in an embarrassed fashion.
"Ah...!" she exclaimed as she turned slightly red. "So embarrassing!" She put her hands to her face as though to cover the expression, as her eyes confirmed where she was. A bit of a smile played through the gaps of her fingers.
"Are you ok now?" Syaoran asked for the hell of it. He'd rather her problem solve itself than rely on his involvement.
"Eh... of course!" she exclaimed with energy. "Just a touch of anemia! I'm better now!"
"If you say so."
Sakura flashed a smile. "I do."
"About what you were saying before you fainted?"
"Ah..." She held out her hand to him, but he merely looked at it with a passive expression. She shrugged as she let it fall away. "About that, let's go this way."
She nodded in the direction of a less crowded area, in a slightly more run down section, but followed her lead without question.
It didn't take her long until she had led them to a dead end, down a slightly dim-set alley.
"Oops... a wrong turn." She stated in a happy voice. She started to move back towards the exit, when she paused just in front of him. "Or was it?"
Syaoran also stopped. Something was off. Something was amiss. Just when did she lose her nervousness? The her as she was now seemed too full of confidence to be right. When was it?
"Well?" asked Sakura ahead of him, a smile creeping across her face as she closed her eyes.
It was... after she collapsed... then it... It couldn't be.
"What do you think?" Sakura asked as she opened her eyes... her now airy silver-blue eyes.
"Mr. Angel?"
Syaoran's look of passive surprised was erased by all view as his entire world disappeared as the alley was swallowed by an ever expanding white oblivion.
To be continued...
A/N (1/15/08): All right everyone, this is my experimental attempt at a fast paced story. Originally this was going to be drawn out with detail and other characters in the mix, but now I've given my story notes (more like a historical reference than notes) into the mix instead, so you know what I know about the background and the intent. Hopefully I'll get this over and done with before it gets too old... but I never know what obstacles may come up.
Since this is different from a traditional style, a lot of you will probably be wary of positive feedback, but there are always exceptions. Let me know if you're one of them!