Disclaimer: I do not own +Anima. +Anima is the property of Natsumi Mukai, Tokyopop, and a bunch of other people who were involved in the creation and publishing of the series. The story here is a fan work.


"If only I could fly in the skies like a bird.

If only I could swim freely in the waters like a fish.

Why do humans wish for such things?"

+Anima: The Black Angel and the Silver Princess


Prologue: The Journey Home


In a cell, underneath the city, there lay a boy.

The cell was pitch black and stone cold. It wasn't designed for comfort, but then again, most prisons are not. It was designed to keep its occupant miserable, broken and downtrodden, so that they would realise how terrible their crime was and repent. This was why the boy had been placed in there. The person who had locked him away believed that he needed to be punished for his selfish desires. He had asked if he could go home.

The boy was quite young, less than 14 years of age. He was of average height and a strong build. His light-brown hair was done into a small tail at the back, and his body was covered in bruises. He wasn't alone in the cells. In the one next to his, there were two more people, one with black hair and brown eyes, and another with silver and blue. They were incredibly tired, since water had been thrown on them all night to prevent them from getting sleep.

The doors outside the cells opened as a girl walked into the room, flanked by two bodyguards about the same age as the boy. Her expensive heels tapped lightly on the cold cobblestone floor. She ran a hand through her raven-black hair, a small smirk on her face.

"Good morning, Cooro, Husky. I trust you slept well." Her voice and arrogance acknowledging that she knew that they could not possibly have done so. "Have you reconsidered my offer?"

Husky scowled defiantly at the aloof child. "How the heck do you think dumping water on us all night so that we can't sleep will make us change our minds!?" He gave a short motion of his head towards the two guards who had been doing the task all night.

The smirk vanished from the rich girls face. "How's Sinon?" She looked towards the boy's cell, where the child still lay, unmoving. The girl turned towards the guards standing next to her. "We should tend to his wounds. Mother said that force isn't always everything. Bring him out"

Suddenly, the hands of the black haired boy, Cooro, shot out and grabbed the cell bars. "Magdala! I'll carry him!"

"WHAT!" exclaimed Husky, shocked at his friends outburst.

Cooro looked up at Magdala with innocent puppy-eyes that would make a glacier thaw."I don't like it here. If I work,will you please give me some food?" his voice was trembling, pitiful. Then he turned towards his friend whilst sporting a huge smile "What about you Husky? You want to get out of here too, right?"

Husky tried to figure out what was going through the hyperactive kids mind. Cooro, are you planning on escaping? But then again, maybe you really do just want food... He didn't like what was happening, but there really didn't seem to be much of a choice. "... Sure."

Magdala's bemused expression now twisted into one of triumph. "Very well, you two can carry Sinon back to the room. Then we'll see about finding you some food." She nodded to one of her guards, who took out a set of small iron keys and opened the doors to both the cells. Husky and Cooro then lifted the boy, Sinon, to his feet, placing his arms around his shoulders to support his limp body.

The pair carried Sinon through the labyrinthine passages of the building, the Maggie Coliseum. The warm glow of the lanterns illuminated the yellow stone corridors. At this point of the morning, the Coliseum was closed, and the building was empty. No one met with the group as they stopped next to one of the doors, seemingly the same as the others they'd passed. Magdala moved to open it. "Over here."

Those two words were what Sinon had been waiting for. With a sudden unexpected burst of strength, he tore himself free of Husky and Cooro's grip, and began sprinting down along the corridor.

"Sinon! Get back here!" Magdala turned towards her retinue, her face contorted in fury. "Don't just stand there, catch him! You two as well!"

Husky quickly caught onto what had just happened. "He was just pretending to be hurt! He was planning on this!"

"Yeah, and just look at the pace he's keeping" panted Cooro. "He must be pretty desperate to escape!"

"Of course he is, and we'll do the same when we get a chance too!"

Meanwhile, Sinon was maintaining his pace, tearing through the maze of the Coliseum. He turned a corner, towards what he knew would be the entrance, a gateway to freedom. He'd thought about a great many things for this plan. How to get out of his cell, the complicated layout of the Coliseum. But as he turned, he knew he'd forgotten one, crucial aspect.

The gates at the coliseum entrance were thick oak and reinforced with heavy black iron bars. And they were horribly, horribly shut.

He heard Magdala's voice behind him "Sinon, you have nowhere to hide! The coliseum hasn't even opened yet!"

He kept on running anyway. The main way out of the Coliseum was closed, but if he ran on there was still a chance of escape, whereas giving up would mean certain capture. Eventually, Sinon found himself in a wide circular amphitheatre, the floor of which was covered with sand and dust. At the other side was a second door, and around the ring were small, barred gates. It was the Maggie Coliseum, where every day people fought in order to gain the 1000 gillah victory prize. It had once been Sinons dream to be one of those people, or so he'd thought. Seeing that his pursuers had appeared to fall behind, he let his pace drop. He was exhausted, panting and breathing heavily in an attempt to provide his body the oxygen it was crying out for. He quickly scanned the stands for people.

On the closest side of the ring stood Magdala, Cooro and Husky. Magdala was smiling the terrible smile of someone who knows that they've won, and that the rest of the game is a mere formality. "How convenient"

Cooro turned his head towards her. "Huh?"

"It's playtime for my dear Tom and Elga." She lifted a finger, and one of the gates around the amphitheatre opened. Out padded two grown mountain lions, their tawny fur catching the morning sun in a way that some would call majestic. For Sinon, it was anything but. As the two beasts moved towards him, he was frozen to the spot with terror.

The closest lion lashed out towards him, claws unsheathed. Sinon looked at his leg and saw a pair of red lines where the claws had gouged into him. The two cats continued to batter him with their paws like this. They were not trying to harm him grievously, which would have killed the child. Instead they were playing, like a housecat plays with a toy mouse. However, a toy feels no pain, as Sinon did.

"Magdala stop! This is too dangerous!" Cooro turned to look at the young matriarch, his concern for Sinon evident.

Magdala merely looked on unmoved. "Don't worry. Tom and Elga won't hurt him too much. They're very obedient." As some of the young guards entered the Coliseum, Magdra raised her voice so Sinon could hear her. "Sinon! Stop trying to run away. I'll forgive you if you do."

Despite the pain and exhaustion he felt, Sinon said nothing. The defiance in his eyes was enough of an answer. Magdalas features became cold, and she merely nodded her head slightly, signalling Tom and Elga to start again. This time there was more force behind the blows, knocking the wind out of his lungs.

The display of cold cruelty was too much for Cooro to watch unfeelingly. "Sinon!" he called, hoping that the boy could struggle to his feet.

"This is what you get for trying to run from my Coliseum" Magdala coldly whispered. "Why would you even want to leave...?"

A shadow passed overhead, causing Cooro to look up in suprise. It was a flock of geese, with wings of a grey brown, flying in a V towards the north. Sinon saw them as well, his tired mind no longer thinking of the people around him. All he felt was the pain and suffering. As he watched the geese fly, he wished that he could escape here, like they could.

He extended his arms out towards the birds, towards the sky. To a pious man, it would have looked as though he was praying to God.

If only I could soar in the skies like those birds...

His prayer was answered.

Before the eyes of all of the onlookers in the stadium, dark red markings appeared on Sinons hands : an inwards spiral, like a base cleft, surrounded by 4 lines that corresponded to his fingers. Then, feathers sprouted forth from the boy's hands and arms, transforming them into a pair of powerful grey wings. With a couple of powerful wing-beats, Sinon was clear of the Coliseum, flying like a bird in his new +anima form. His defiance had been rewarded.

In the stands below, Cooro and Husky, both +anima themselves, were soon joined by their friends, Senri and Nana. Together the four of them would journey to far away lands, embark on wild adventures, and build up a bond of friendship that could not be severed. But this is not their story.

This is Sinon's story.

This is the tale of how he journeyed home.


I want to go home

The only thought in Sinons mind right now was how badly he wanted to join his family. He was glad to be free of Magdala and her Coliseum, and the feeling of the wind on his face was incredible, but the desire was to great for him to fight.

Turning his gaze downwards, searching the red tiled rooftops of Maggie Vil. It was only a short while before he found the house he was searching for. Exhausted, Sinon plummeted down, beating his wings before he hit the earth so that he could land safely on the cobbled road.

Sinon panted for a few moments, kneeling down on the hard stone surface. Concentrating, he withdrew his wings, leaving only the strange new mark on his hands. He dragged his weary body to the door, and then knocked.

It was only a few moments before the door was answered. He heard footsteps walking quickly towards it, along with a woman's voice, muttering about why anyone would want to wake someone up at this time of the morning. The handle of the door squeaked as it was turned from the inside, and a chestnut haired woman appeared."Hello, good morni-" she started, before she recognised who was standing in front of her.

Sinon smiled uncertainly. "Hi Mum."

"Si-Sinon? But, I thought you were at the Coliseum?"

"I...decided it wasn't really for me." It was then that Sinon's stomach let out a short growl. "Um, can I come in please?" He held his hand out, and his mother's eyes widened in shock "I was put in a cell all night so-"

Sinon's mother slapped her sons hand away in horror. Sinon was shocked at the sudden look of fear in her eyes, until he figured out where she was looking at. The +anima marking on his hand. She turned inside and slammed the door shut on her child.

"You're not Sinon!" she screamed from inside "Sinon doesn't have that mark! Sinon is a human! You're just a beast!"

"Mum..." whispered Sinon, mind numbed by the unprovoked torrent of hate and abuse.

"Don't you dare call me that! You're not my son! Get away from me!"

There was the sound of feet echoing on stairs, and the voice of a man. Sinon couldn't make out all of the conversation taking place, but he did hear certain phrases. Monster...Put down...Crossbow...

Sinon didn't wait to see what would happen when the door next opened. He let his wings return to him and flew away as fast as he could.


It was late when Sinon finally stopped flying. He'd headed north, as far as he could,until he'd become so tired he couldn't fly any more.

It was ironic really. The very same mark and wings that had allowed him to escape the Coliseum in the first place had been the reason he'd been forced to leave the place he used to call home.

Why would you even want to leave?

That was something Sinon couldn't answer any more. His reason for leaving had vanished, hadn't it. He felt his eyes begin to water. What had he done to deserve this, to lose his entire life in a single day? In a way, it was Magdala's fault. If she had allowed Sinon to leave, he would never have tried to escape, would never have become a +anima, and he wouldn't have been tossed away. All because one person was scared of her toys leaving her.

Sinons grief was disturbed by an unexpected bird-like call. Looking towards the tree the sound had come from, he noticed a small blackbird peering down at him from the branches. As he stared, he began to listen to the other sounds of the forest. A squirrel shimmied its way up a tree with agile movements. An owl carried back food for it's hungry young. He remembered something he'd read once, about how some groups of people believed that God had 2 aspects, the human world and the natural one. Sinon thought he was fairly religious, although not close minded about it.

He looked at his grey wings. He knew how to survive in the woods, at least a little. He'd spent some time camping in them when he was younger, so maybe he could stay alive. He'd been given these wings when he was afraid for his life, so maybe someone was looking after him. He'd seen how the black haired kid, Cooro, had grown wings in the Coliseum yesterday, so maybe he wasn't alone in the world.

Maybe, just maybe, he had a chance.

It was too late to worry about anything more. Sinon put his back against a tree, cocooned himself in his wings, and soon fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.