Disclaimer: These characters belong to numerous Japanese publishing entities, such as Sukehiro Tomita, Nao Yazawa, Tenyu, and Shogakukun. You'll notice how none of those are me. Not responsible for epileptic seizures or allergic reactions. May contain eye-and-brain-bleeding levels of radioactive ANGST and/or peanut products. Please sit a reasonable distance from your computer screen.
Warnings: Alt universe, het (Viento/Peach), dark, ANGST, violence, gore, character death (implied, non-graphic), bondage
Broken Wings: Chapter One
Let Us Raise the Curtains
By Crystal Dawn Phoenix
Silvery pink waist-length hair fluttered about her face as she looked down. Past her sandaled feet and the crumbling balustrade, if she looked far enough down, she could see the world of the humans. As badly fallen into disrepair as the Angelic World had become, nothing could compare to the Earth. Part of her wanted to take comfort in that fact; the other part pitied those who lived there now, those that she could do nothing to help.
Long ago, she had also lived in the human world. It was her husband's homeland, and also the birthplace of her only daughter. Three years ago, though, she had been awakened by that horrible battle. She had returned valiantly, only to see that her husband had been slain and to face retreat with her daughter. At least she had saved her, but still...
Poor Shouichirou.
A small tear traveled down her cheek as she continued scanning the overcast path from the human world to the angelic one. It was so close to that time, and they still hadn't chosen.
Of course she had known what today was. They'd been going through this for three years now. This happened every June 21st. It still didn't make it any less painful or humiliating, though. And as always, Celeste couldn't help but worry - what if it was her daughter that was chosen this time?
Celeste brushed the hair from her eyes and turned to go inside, her worn white robes moving a bit in the breeze. Even if it was painful, even if it was wrong, she had to do this. She alone had to be responsible; there was no one else now. Her older sister Aphrodite had been killed in the siege, and Celeste had long ago given up any hope of finding her sister's lost adviser and warrior, Limone.
What would they say, she wondered, if they could see the state of things now? The human world was hell on Earth, and the Angelic World was fast falling in that direction. The remaining angels had managed to eke out their survival in the remnants of their homeland, but even that was slowly being eroded. Daily the remaining native love waves slowly dissipated, as did the flowers and plants that fed them and the borders of their granted 'territory'. Celeste surely ruled as a queen within these boundaries, but what good did that do when the kingdom was in ruins?
With a leaden heart, Celeste laid her hands onto the heavy wooden doors of the balcony. As they separated, a beam of light hit her eyes, almost dazzling her. The effect only lasted a moment, until she had opened the doors wider and stepped into the large hall contained therein.
Usually, the hall which had formerly been Aphrodite's throne room was empty. Today, however, since it was the largest safe place to gather, every remaining angel sat in assembly around the room. This is not to say there was any small number of them; the surviving forces numbered at least two hundred or more. Whereas usually they'd be talking calmly and happily amongst themselves, today's assembly was quite solemn, the only conversations taking place being carried on in hushed tones.
Immediately, as she walked forward, Celeste spotted her daughter and her friends sitting near the front. Naturally, her child was the one in the middle with deep pink, nearly red hair. Of the two that flanked her, one had long auburn hair; the other had blondish-green hair, bobbed short. These three seemed to be carrying on what looked like a normal conversation, albeit a bit more apprehensively than usual. Sitting to the side of the group was a girl that Celeste recognized as one of the friends the trio had made since the fall of the Angelic World three years ago. This girl had deep red hair and a disinterested, serious look.
"Oh, man," the green-haired one, Hinagiku sighed quietly, "I think the thing I miss most is the food. If I got to go back to Earth, even for just a day, I'd stuff myself!" The brunette sitting on the opposite side of the pink-haired girl smiled a little.
"I think I miss the boys more," the brunette, Yuri, responded, "I wish I could see Yanagiba-sempai just one more time. I could confess to him my feelings." Hinagiku broke into a grin in spite of the seriousness of the situation.
"Not if I could get to him first!" she replied, happy at the reminiscence, "But that reminds me what else I miss - sports! Judo and track and soccer!" The one in the middle finally spoke up at this.
"Soccer!" the pink-haired girl, Momoko, responded, not a little excitement in her hushed voice, "That and working on the school newspaper! They went hand-in-hand! I miss them all!"
"Momoko-chama!" a small, excited voice spoke up from its place on Momoko's lap, "I miss the food, too, pii!" The voice belonged to a small, round, yellow thing that resembled nothing more sinister than a fluffy cat. In truth, however, Jama-P had been an Ojama, a small demon, until he met Momoko. She had reformed him not long before the Angelic World fell three years ago.
Finally, the redhead dignified them with a glance. "Quieten down," Scarlet intoned strictly, "This isn't the time or place to be getting carried away. You could upset those around us." The other three reddened and seemed to shrink.
"Sorry," Momoko whispered, abashed.
Celeste spared them another sad, affectionate glance as she stepped before the assembled angels. An apprehensive hush fell over the entire hall as their de facto leader stood before them to speak. She, too, was now flanked by an angel on either side. The blonde angel on the right held a staff and a scroll. The brunette on the left, however, held something much more sinister - a gilded gold and ivory box. The box itself did not appear particularly horrible; it was what it held inside that caused every angel in the room such dread. While the sides were jeweled and polished, it was the top that stood out the most. In the top of the box was a hole, cut just large enough for a hand to fit inside.
"You all know why we've gathered here today," Celeste began solemnly, "I trust I no longer need to give any instructions to anyone in this room. Instead, we shall begin immediately the call and finish this as soon as is possible." The entire room seemed to nod as one in silent agreement.
The angel on the right unfurled her scroll and quietly cleared her throat. "Alexi", the caller announced, her voice carrying across the well-lit hall.
Near the back, a tall, white-haired angel stood, his straight hair hanging around his shoulders. Alexi moved between the other angels to reach the main walkway between the two halves of the assembly hall. Purposefully, bravely, he walked forward until he reached the focus of the room's attention - the ivory and gold box. His right hand slowly reached into the hole cut out of the top of the box and then out again. In his hand was a slip of folded paper.
Without unfolding the paper, Alexi made his way back toward the back of the room, to his original seat. Before he was seated again, the caller announced her next name.
"Ariel." "Begonia." "Calla." "Camellia." "Celeste."
As her name was called, Celeste turned to her left and drew a slip of paper as well. It was only fair. A few names later, though, another name familiar to Celeste was called.
"Daisy." The group of four girls started a bit as the green-haired one smiled faintly and rubbed her head.
"I guess it's my turn," she said sheepishly as she stood. Hinagiku walked forward, putting on her bravest face. She, too, drew and then moved back to her seat.
"Dahlia." "Dendrobium." "Diana." "Eros." The name call droned on, the girls almost forgetting to listen until the next name they were intimately familiar with was called.
"Lily." Yuri stood silently and began to walk forward with her chin held high. Even in their terrible state of affairs, she still strove to have as much grace and dignity as possible. Her paper was drawn, then she was also seated again.
Momoko chewed her thumbnail as "Lotus", "Magnolia", "Margarette", "Niciel", and "Orchid" were each called in their turn.
"Peach," the caller finally said, causing Momoko to start a little. Feeling a bit weak in the knees, Momoko rose and began to numbly walk forward. As she reached the box, she gave her mother a pleading, frightened look. Celeste reciprocated with a supportive, if somewhat sad smile. Her courage renewed, Momoko thrust her hand into the box, squeezed her eyes shut, and pulled out a slip of paper. Keeping it tightly shut, she walked back to her place between Hinagiku and Yuri and sat back down.
"Peony." "Primrose." "Ramiel." "Raphael." "Rose." The names droned on and on, forming a broken string of almost unintelligible syllables. The excitement in the room made it hard to listen for anything other than one's own name. "Salvia" was finally called. The redhead rose and moved forward, her face betraying nothing. She performed her accorded task and then reclaimed her seat.
The silent apprehension that filled the room was almost an electrical current by the time the angel Zephyr took the final piece of paper from the box. Celeste looked out upon the sea of faces, all of them nervous and expectant. She set her mouth into a firm line and brought her paper into readable distance.
"Now," she said softly, the quiet determination showing through her voice, "All as one, we will open these slips." At this cue, the room filled with the sound of papers being opened. Almost immediately, a collective sigh of relief went up. Celeste also looked down at her paper; a blank sheet this year again.
In the crowd, Hinagiku exhaled audibly, her nervousness evaporating with her breath. Looking across Momoko to Yuri, the look of relief on the brunette's face told her that she, too, had been given a blank paper. Scarlet simply looked at her paper, shrugged, and placed it face-up on the floor; blank as well.
"Guess we won't be having crêpes again anytime soon, huh, Yuri?" Hinagiku said, wiping a few beads of sweat from her brow.
Yuri smiled faintly, a small, nervous giggle escaping her lips. "No, I guess not," she replied shakily, "Thank goodness."
"Momoko-chama?" Jama-P asked hesitantly, looking up at his mistress. Momoko hadn't said a word since opening her paper, nor had she moved. Jama-P wasn't even sure she'd blinked in the past minute or so. He tugged on the sleeve of her simple white robe, failing utterly to get her attention. After another second or so, Hinagiku and Yuri also noticed that Momoko was unusually still.
"Right, Momoko?" Hinagiku asked expectantly, nudging her friend with her elbow. "No human food for us! Right?" Momoko finally looked over at her friend, her eyes lost and afraid. "No way," Hinagiku whispered, looking at Momoko's hand.
She was holding a white slip of paper, freshly unfolded, with a red 'X' in the center.
Celeste scanned the crowd, looking for the recipient of the marked paper. The angels she saw, however, were chatting quietly and respectfully. They were all relieved, although there was still a thin haze of tension in the air as the crowd waited to see who had been picked. Finally, reluctantly, she found Momoko and the others.
She watched, her heart sinking, as Yuri and Hinagiku spoke with each other across Momoko, both of them clearly in distress. Momoko herself stared at her mother, her eyes pleading for salvation. Celeste could feel her heart tightening painfully within her chest.
Scarlet remained quiet, staring meaningfully at Momoko's hand. Her dark violet eyes flashed up to meet Celeste's for a second before she lashed out and grabbed Momoko's hand. Before any of the other girls could do anything other than exclaim their surprise, Scarlet had stood, holding the red-marked paper above her head.
"I drew the mark," Scarlet said, projecting her voice across the room. The other angels immediately fell silent. Celeste looked sadly at her. What she was doing was painfully obvious, but her face was set and determined. Stepping forward, she began walking towards the defiant angel and her three friends.
"Scarlet, don't..." Momoko pleaded quietly as she and the other two stood with her. Scarlet threw a cutting glance towards her.
"Quiet, fool," Scarlet hissed before locking her eyes on Celeste's approaching form again.
Celeste stepped before Scarlet, covering the younger woman's hand with her own and bringing it down to chest-level. She removed the red-marked paper from Scarlet's hand, looking at it ruefully.
"Oh, Salvia," Celeste said, shaking her head slowly, "Please don't lie to me." Scarlet's face faltered; she looked stricken. She turned to look at the floor, shame painting her face.
"But... you can't," Salvia said quietly, "You can't send Momoko. She's... She's your daughter!" She turned once again to Celeste, her voice gaining in strength as she finished her sentence. Her eyes flashed with quiet rage.
"I agree with Scarlet," Yuri said, stepping forward and in front of Momoko, "This is wrong, Celeste-sama. I would gladly go in Momoko's stead." Hinagiku nodded firmly.
"Any of us would go in her place," Hinagiku said, "Send one of us instead." Celeste looked from one to the other, tears welling in the corners of her eyes.
"Momoko?" she asked, causing her daughter to look up at her again, "Can you chose one of your friends to take your place? Would you send one of these three to Earth for your own sake?" Momoko shut her eyes, tears finally streaming down her face, and shook her head.
"I don't want that," she said, wiping uselessly at the tears, "I don't want anyone to get hurt for my sake." She squeezed Jama-P a little tighter to her chest.
"Momoko-chama," Jama-P whispered, wiping at the tears that had gathered in the corners of his own eyes.
"What are you saying!" Yuri said, her voice growing frantic as she grabbed Momoko's shoulder.
"D-Don't be stupid, Momoko!" Hinagiku exclaimed, "We'd be glad to go for you!" Momoko shook her head fiercely, her hand wiping at the wetness on her face.
Finally, Celeste stepped forward, wrapping her arms around her daughter and drawing her into a tight embrace. She smoothed Momoko's hair down as she buried her face in her mother's shoulder and cried.
"This is why we draw the way we do," Celeste said softly, "It's painful, but it's fair. I couldn't ask one of you to go in Momoko's place. I couldn't ask anyone in this room to go in her place. Everyone who is eligible must draw, and anyone who draws could go. I can't grant favors like that, not even for my daughter. This must be fair."
"It's... it's too awful," Yuri said softly before throwing her arms around Momoko's back. Hinagiku also leaned in to embrace her friend as Scarlet laid a solemn hand on Momoko's shoulder.
"How can you be so cold?" Hinagiku whispered, pained, as she also started to cry.
Celeste closed her eyes. She could only hope that one day these girls could understand. Leaders sometimes had to make sacrifices for the good of everyone concerned. Even if she hadn't been the one left leading the remaining Angels, she would still have had to lose her daughter today. It wasn't that she didn't want to keep Momoko with her; it was that she knew that if no one was sent today, the consequences would be far worse for all involved. Still, none of those rationalizations were going to make the pain go away.
"She'll make it," Celeste said firmly, "I have faith that Momoko will come back."
