Ruri stood by the side of the room, watching Yurika separate from the crystal-like artifact that had encased her for so long

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The snow from the heavens covers the world with a blanket of peaceful bliss, bringing people closer to one another and letting new relationships sprout out beneath the frigid cold of life.

- Hoshino Yukino -

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Disclaimer: I don't own Nadesico and the characters in it.

Note: This is a Nadesico AU fic and because of that the characters will be a bit OOC when you reach the succeeding chapters. Please enjoy this prologue that took me a boring subject this day an hour or two to write. Sorry if the prologue's short but the succeeding chapters won't be this short… I hope…

~ * ~ Prologue: The Void of Truth ~ * ~

By Hoshino Yukino

Ruri stood by the side of the room, watching Yurika separate from the crystal-like artifact that had encased her for so long. She was about to walk towards the crowd that surrounded the newly awakened taicho (captain) of the old Nadesico when a flash of bright blue light behind the artifact had caught her eye. She became curious and wanted to find out, to discover, what that bright light was. She crept closer to the light, realizing that no one else except her had noticed it.

"Baka-baka-minna-baka! (Stupid-stupid-everyone stupid!)" Ruri whispered under her breath, walking ever so slowly towards the light.

Ruri took several more small steps, before she saw it, a gate of some sort was behind the shattered artifact. It let out a ghostly glow and shimmering blue light emanated from it. Her mind and her curiosity wrestled against each other, fighting on whether or not she should enter the gateway and risk her life. Her curiosity overwhelmed her puzzled mind, the one she hid within her silent persona. She slowly stepped forward, clinging to the fringes of the artifact and moving one small step at a time. Soon, she was face to face with the gateway that had spiked her curiosity. She hesitantly pushed her leg into the gateway and noticed a light blue light slowly encompass her whole body. A tingling sensation spread throughout her whole body as the void within the gateway engulfed her into the dark abyss of the unknown. Darkness was all that surrounded her until she found herself in a dark wasteland with red crosses mounted on the blood-soaked soil. The smell of blood radiated throughout the place as the moon shined a reddish glow on the land below. The sky was dark and the wind that blew was cold, icy. Ruri shuddered slightly, not being used to such cold weather in her life. She trudged forward and saw a man swimming in a puddle of his own blood. She strayed away from the sight, not because she was disgusted by it but because it reminded her of the war that she never wanted to fight in. She remembered all too well the day she was sold into Nergal by the people she considered her parents. She pushed away the thought and struggled to move forward, searching for something that she herself could not explain. With every step she took, a brief flash of what had happened to her in the past entered her mind, and drowned her with the memories she wished she had forgotten. Tears began to form beneath her calm, purple eyes and yet not a drop fell on to the ground for there was no reason for them to fall. She continued trudging forward, chiding away all those painful memories and soon found herself in front of a vast sea of blood. In front of her, above the sea, hovered a magnificent, white angel with blue hair reaching to the lower part of her ear lobes. The angel had white wings the embraced her, protecting her from the result of the carnage laid in front of her and had eyes that were closed, as if she was still asleep and her face was so innocent, so pure, like the one of an infant. Ruri stepped closer, admiring the wonderful sight in front of her. She sighed quietly, realizing that the empitness she felt in her heart was still there. The angel slowly unfurled its wings and her eyes began to open ever so slowly. The angel silently flew towards Ruri and landed beside her, encasing her within her majestic wings.

The angel slowly opened her mouth, singing a sorrowful melody before finally asking in an innocuous tone, "What is it that thy wants that thee weep not tears but let thee sorrow leak out through thy heart? Is it not the lost of the sensation of what thee call love? Is it not?"

Ruri stood there speechless, not knowing what to say. She was glued to the spot, immobilized by the words that had just come out of the angel's mouth.

'Do I really wish to be loved? Am I not loved?' thought Ruri, her mind struggling to find the answer in her battered soul.

"Little one, do not fear the truth but fear the nothingness. Fear not the truth that shall lead you to salvation but the void that lurks within every soul…" articulated the angel, releasing Ruri from her encasement.

"New life, I shall bestow on thee. May thee find the truth and not the void once more…" vocalized the seraph, flying away into the dark sky that loomed overhead.

Ruri found herself engulfed by pure white light and saw nothing else but the light that surrounded her…

~ Owari for now ~

Please R & R… Again, flames are accepted but no vulgar words and don't be too harsh…