CHAPTER 1:
DENIAL
100 YEARS LATER...
Death held her escort's hand tightly as she, the King of Terror, her mother, and a dozen royal guards walked through the town in a massive parade. Death felt slightly uneasy as she watched the townsfolk around her point fingers at the young girl while whispering conspicuously to the closest person. She watched as all the joyful conversations and games between the women and children of the town would instantly cease when they saw Death and her family walk by, replacing the energetic and innocent vibe of the small town with a heavy, dead silent and overall unsettling feeling that her presence had created. Death could hear her heart pound. She could feel her knees quiver under the aching pressure. Her escort quickly took notice.
"Psst!" her escort alerted her attention. "You're out in public, Dear. Remember what the King told you about presenting yourself." she spoke with a firm authority.
Death tightened her grip on her escort's hand as she quickly brought her posture back, faced forward with her chin facing upright and her chest pressed out in front of her. Her father had always told her to keep her bearings when walking through any small town, telling her that 'Some people will stare at you, some may even scream at or ridicule you, but you should always remember that those who do are just jealous that they do not have the same luxury as you, and that it is always important that you don't let them get to you. So whenever you are in the presence of peasants, remember to always keep your figure as possible. Always let them know that their insults are not worth your time. That you are, and always will be above their ranks. That you are worth more than they are.'
Death tried desperately to ignore the passing peasants, but the constant whispering and unreadable blank stares that the people gave her whenever she was seen in public was truly a difficult thing to just pretend didn't exist. But she had to try, seeing as today, of all days, was the one time where first impressions meant everything. Her mother, along with a few of the castle's many different cultured maids, had spent all morning trying all sorts of imported dresses and royal attire on her to make sure that she would truly make a good first impression. It took an entire three hours before Death was presentable enough to fit her mother's needs, but even though Death could not exactly see why she needed to appear so elegantly for just this one occasion, she still understood just how important this moment in her life was.
Death had just turned one hundred years old a week ago, and as all Angolans know, once a child reaches that age, they must be placed in one of Planet Angol's several large schools for growing Planet Destroyers as soon as possible, depending on whether or not the child's parents have the income to afford it. There are still several other, slightly lower level schools throughout the planet created to teach Angolan children how to become street sellers or home builders for parents who simply can't afford for their child to become a Planet Destroyer, but for Death, her father went out of his way for an entire week to make sure that his daughter would be placed in the highest level school system possible for teaching Planetary Destruction for someone of her age.
A few days after her birthday, Death was told by her mother about what kind of place she would be going to and about what she would learn during her stay there. She still remembered sitting in front of that same small fire a few nights ago, laying against her mother's shoulder as the two of them looked down at a row of assorted pictures that had been taped down inside a large book.
"Before I married or even met your father, I spent most of my life living and learning at the Angol Flames Educational Institute for Growing Planet Destroyers." Tia said as the two of them studied the pictures that laid in front of them. Death's eyes scanned the page for a short while before her attention was suddenly set on one specific photo.
It was of a young female Angolan standing in front of a large, shell keep looking castle and smiling at the photographer. She wore a vibrantly radiant robe with each different section of her body having its own separate color, along with a long cone-shaped hat that matched the same flare of colors as her robe, which moved upward in a spiral color pattern and leading into a thin golden tassel. The building standing behind her held up a large banner above the front entrance that read in all bold letters "Congratulations, Angolan Graduates And Future Planet Destroyers!".
"Is that you, mommy?" Death asked.
"That's me." he mother replied. "That was taken during graduation. By far the most rewarding part of the entire experience. That's where you and all of your classmates line up outside in front of a giant crowd and give a short inspirational speech before being dubbed an honorary Planet Destroyer and given an award in whatever category you exceeded most in as a Planet Destroyer. I received mine in elegance."
"You look kind of silly in that dress." Death pointed out to her mother, making her let out a quick chuckle.
"Yes, I suppose I did. But when I look back at that moment today, I don't even care about how I looked. It was just such an amazing feeling to even be up there with all of my friends and to be looked up to by so many others who hadn't found their passion yet. And I'm sure you'll feel just as proud when you're finally up there yourself."
"That's going to be me someday!?" Death called out in surprise, looking wide eyed at her mother, who nodded.
"That's right. I still remember the proud look on my mother's face when she saw me standing up there on that stand giving my speech. And I know that when it's finally you up there, I'll feel just as proud."
That small talk with her mother had been repeating in Death's mind for days, and now it was finally time to see just what kind of place would be holding this important, life changing event a few decades from now.
Finally reaching the edge of the crowded town, she could see just at the top of a nearby steep and fairly large hill stood an enormous, church shaped building with three separate arches lined side by side, the middle one being the largest with a tall bell tower at the top and a massive flag hung above the entrance, depicting a single crescent moon with a red, wooden cross passing through the center.
"Stop!" the King ordered his men once they had reached the front stairs of the building. Death then heard her father whisper to his messenger to knock at the front gates to alert them of the King's arrival. The messenger stepped forward and gave the double hinged doors three short knocks, causing them to slowly creek open a few seconds later. One Angolan quickly peeked their head out of the building to see who it was. After seeing the King and Queen, along with a few of their men, she quickly shut the door behind her and ran off to alert her bosses about the arrival of the royal family.
Death walked with her mother and father through the halls of the dark building, which looked even more massive from the inside. Death grew a little dizzy as she tilted her head straight upwards to get a better look at just how high the ceiling was, which was even taller than her father. That was something that she really wasn't expecting, seeing as her father was in his tall state at the moment to help with the first impressions.
As they continued to walk past the open doors of the hallway, Death could see inside each and every room as the tour of the school continued. There were libraries, study halls, cafeterias, sporting areas, and many more huge rooms that just baffled the young Angolan's mind. Everything seemed so empty and quiet, which she knew would all change by tomorrow when she would meet all of her new classmates.
After eventually reaching the end of what seemed like an endless flight of stairs, the three of them finally reached the head principal's office and were graciously allowed in by their tour guide. Inside the large office stood three comforting looking chairs facing a tall, marble desk, which was covered entirely by assorted papers, two massive computers and a small lamp. The walls of the room were mostly covered by fans, posters and one very tall trophy cabinet. Death pressed her face against the glass to read all of the expertly polished trophies that this one school had apparently won; the oldest one dating all the way back to about four million years ago. Death continued to read the plates of every trophy until the principal finally entered the room.
"My King and Queen! I am Principal Hanna. How are you both doing today?" she asked in excitement as Death's parents both stood up to shake the young women's hands.
"We're fine, thank you. Perhaps we should get down to business." Tia suggested.
"I agree." Hanna replied, sitting down behind her desk before beaming a kind smile at the young child who she saw pressing up against her trophy cabinet. "And is that young Shi I see over there?"
"Please, call her Death!" the King interrupted.
"Dear!" Tia snapped at her husband, who didn't bother to acknowledge her disapproval toward his sudden outburst. "Yes, that is our daughter, Angol Shi. Say hi, Shi." Tia tapped Death's shoulder to get her attention.
"Hello, mam'." Death said to Hanna, who waved politely back.
"I assume we can trust that she'll be happy here, and that you will teach her only the most advance methods for someone her age." the King inquired.
"Of course. Our teachers here are among some of the best renowned Planet Destroyers on Planet Angol. We make sure that all of our students get the best educational experience possible during their stay here. They'll learn the physics behind everything, the guidelines of what to expect during your journeys to other worlds, and all of the rules one must follow to become nothing more than a top of the line Planet Destroyer."
"Yes, yes. That's all well and good, but...what about..." the King leaned in closer as to make sure that Death couldn't hear them speak. "...that other thing we paid you for." he whispered.
"Don't worry." Hanna whispered back. "That's already been taken care of. Our staff is already on it, making sure that we don't run into any legal problems. I assume that you haven't told your daughter anything yet?"
"No, not yet. But I do plan on explaining it to her soon, don't you mind that. Trust me, she won't take it too hard, I'm sure." the King assured her.
"What's going on? What are you both talking about?" Tia asked, breaking apart her attention from Death and back to the issue at hand.
"Nothing, Dear. I'll talk to you about it tonight." the King replied.
"No! You're not going to keep secrets from me! I want to know what's going on!"
"Trust me, my Queen. It's nothing too important. Just a few extra benefits we'll be giving your daughter to improve her learning skills. She is royal blood, after all." Hanna broke in.
Tia was quiet for a few seconds before calmly leaning back onto her chair. "Alright, whatever. Just make sure she doesn't have a difficult time here. I don't want my daughter being treated any differently than the other children, or she might start to feel left out."
"Don't worry, my Queen. Your daughter will have the time of her life here, I promise you."
1 MONTH LATER...
Her first day of teaching had begun. As she walked into the classroom, she saw all of the variously dressed Angolan children sitting in their seats, chatting with each other and playing with their pens. After examining each of her classmates, Death noticed that one of the empty seats at the front of the class had her name, 'DEATH', written clear on the side.
The young girl immediately felt uneasy. She never really liked being called Death, whether it be by her father or by any of her servants. Her name was Shi; that's what her mother had always called her, and she honestly preferred being called that name over her father constantly calling her by the term Death. She didn't really mind it for the first few years of her life, but after a while, the name Death truly began to sink into her mind. Her name meant despair. It meant pain. It meant suffering. And probably the worst part of it...those are all the exact reasons why her name was chosen. Since her very birth, Death would always be reminded by her father about her duty as both a royal and as an Angolan, and about what she had to do to keep Planet Angol's name fearful and powerful to every other planet in the known universe, just as it had always been. She knew what her name meant and she knew why she was given the name Death, but it still never sat well with her. And now she figured that that's probably how all the other students will remember her because of this desk.
Reluctantly, she sat down at her desk as the bell tower above the school began to ring, alerting the entire building that the hour had passed while also alerting them that class was about to begin. The children in the room began to quiet down as the front door swung open, allowing in a sufficiently well dressed man with three large books under his left arm and a black colored marker in his right hand. He walked up to the front of the room and wrote his name on the blank, white board that covered the entire front wall of the classroom.
"Hello, class. I am your history teacher, Angol Vic. But please, just call me Vic for short." he spoke in a calm and welcoming voice as he uncapped the marker and wrote his name in ancient Angolan tongue against the board. "If any of you are to become Planet Destroyers, you must first learn about why we destroy planets in the first place and about how this entire tradition of universal and cosmic destruction began, turning us into what we are today. Now before we begin, I would like to take role call. Just quickly raise your hand when you hear your name called out."
Slowly but patiently, Vic called out each individual student's name before eventually reaching the final name on his list. "Angol Death?" he called out, Death raising her hand up afterwards with some minor hesitation.
"Ah, yes. The daughter of the King of Terror himself. I must say, I am truly honored to be in the presence of the one and only royal Ms. Angol Death. How may I serve you, my leage?" Vic jokingly bent down on his knees in a bow of service, making the other children giggle at this small hint of silliness.
"Uh...please, call me Shi. That's my real name." Death whispered in a sore tone. Vic raised an eyebrow at her request, but quickly got back up and returned to his serious posture.
"I see. It's just that...your father made it quite clear that we only refer to you as Death, so I apologize if I might have offended you." Vic replied to the child's request, causing Death to roll her eyes a bit as she knew that did sound like something her father would most likely do.
"Anyways, back to the manner at hand." Vic said to the class, grabbing one of the three books from his desk and opening it up to a seemingly random page. "Can anyone tell me something that they already know about Angolan history? Come one, don't be shy."
A young girl in the back of the room by the name of Angol Sheik instantly raised her hand at the teacher's question. After being called on by Vic, she began immediately rambling all in what seemed to be one breath; "Everything! I know all of our previous King and Queen's names, I know all of the major cities and their founders, and I've memorized every important tower, statue and landmark across the..."
"Well, then maybe you would like to come up and teach the class for the next few weeks. I could use some extra days off, anyway." Vic interrupted, stretching his arms out in a yawn and causing the young girl to pout while the other children began laughing, Death included.
"Now then, perhaps we can get started. Now, you all have textbooks under your seats. I would like you all to take them out now and turn to page thirty, where we will begin our study on how Angol civilization began." Each of the students reached under their chairs and pulled out the same large textbook that Vic was carrying. All except Death.
"Mr. Vic." Death called out with her hand in the air. "I don't have a book."
Vic was prepared for this. He had already been told before hand about Death's 'special treatment' that her father had personally paid for. He didn't want to lie to the child, but he also knew how important it was that Death not find out about her small advantage over the other students. He didn't want her to feel like an outcast.
"No?" Vic replied as casually as he could. "That's odd. I ordered a full class worth of them last week. Well, don't worry about it right now. I'll try and get you one as soon as I can. Just try and pay attention for now." he suggested. Death thought anxiously about it for a moment before eventually nodding in agreement.
"Good. Now then, class, let's begin." the teacher turned to the board and began writing a few short questions for the children to answer through reading, making Death feel like she was being given an advantage over her other classmates, as the rest of them had to read and follow along with whatever their teacher was saying while she just had to sit their, listening in and not having to put in any real effort other than paying attention. Usually Death would be glad to get out of doing any sort of hard work, but being her first day of school, she felt like she owed it to her father to work her very hardest and to learn as much as she could.
Death sat their, blankly facing the floor and feeling a bit uncomfortable with not being able to read along with the rest of her class as a small arm reached out from her right side and placed one of the large textbooks on her desk. Death's eyes widened as she turned to the classmate who had handed her the book. It was a young boy, blue eyes with a short, blonde haircut and a minuscule smile across his face.
"Here. You can use mine. I'm a good listener, so...I don't really need it." he said in a rough sounding voice. Death tilted her head a bit to the side at the boy's action for a moment before turning back to her desk and opening the book to the correct page.
"Thank you. But...why?"
"I just saw how upset you looked after you didn't get one, so I thought that you must really like reading." the boy said, his words a bit skewed as a sign of young age. Death smiled back in gratitude before suddenly being caught of guard by Vic suddenly taking Death's book away and placing it rather forcefully back on the boy's desk.
"There's no sharing books in here, Thunder! You keep the book that is assigned to your desk." Vic raised his voice a bit, nervously imagining what would have happen if the principal had walked in and saw Death with a textbook of that size sitting on her desk.
"Sorry, Mr." Thunder spoke in a weaker tone. Vic turned his attention back to the rest of the class and began asking questions. Thunder and Death remained silent for the remainder of the lesson.
An hour pasted before the tower bell once again rung throughout the school walls. Vic placed his book down and took a seat behind his desk. Death and her classmates began walking single file out the door toward their next class. Watching as Thunder walked to the very back of the line while the other children stood in front, chatting with one another, Death thought this would be the perfect time to walk up and properly thank Thunder for his kind action earlier. It wouldn't feel right for Death if she just let the boy get yelled at by the teacher for something he did out of sympathy for her without respectfully showing him her true gratitude.
After receiving a quick tap on the shoulder, Thunder suddenly turned to see Death standing by his side, smiling "Hey, I'm sorry you got yelled at by the teacher for trying to help me. So when it's lunch time, do you wanna sit together?"
Thunder's eyes sprung open as a massive grin appeared on his face. "Sure!" he shouted in surprise.
Looking back at the line of students, they noticed that they were the only ones left in the classroom. Walking out into the hall together, Death waved goodbye as they both turned the opposite direction of each other toward their next class. Walking through the crowded halls, Death could see the same awkward stares by the students that she would usually receive when going outside. They all knew who she was, and they all knew her name. Death never understood why she was such an eyesore to the people around her. Her father had always told her that it was simply because she was a royal and above the average Angolan, but that still didn't explain what made her so interesting to look at. You would think that after one short stare, they would see that she is just like any other child and go about their business. But for the majority of Death's life, all she's ever been is silently stared at until she leaves the scene. It was not only unsettling for her, but it also made her slightly suspicious of the idea that there was something else about her that made her presence so empowering. That there was something that her father wasn't telling her about her appearance. Trying not to think about it, she restrained her negative feeling and hurried to her next class, hoping that her next lesson would at least go better than her first.
The next two classes Death went to were not quite as humiliating or as painfully long as her first, but that still didn't stop her from feeling uneasy about what the other students thought of her as she sat there, completely silent though out the entire duration of each lesson. Even a few of the teachers had walked up to her desk to personally ask why she wasn't speaking up, seeing as she was a royal and how it would make sense that she would want to make a good first impression for the rest of her classmates. After Death simply told them that she didn't like that much attention, the teachers seemed to understand entirely, pretending that she wasn't there for the remainder of the class. The only thing Death could look forward to now was lunch. The bell above the school rung and every Angolan child went chasing toward the cafeteria, each one of them hoping to be first in line to eat. Unlike the other children, Death chose to take her time and patiently walk there, seeing as with all of their attention set on getting to the cafeteria first, she wouldn't have to worry about any of them staring at her as she roamed the halls.
Eventually reaching the cafeteria, she saw how almost all of the remaining food left in the salad bar was mostly just scraps, and how all that seemed to remain of the main dishes were a few wrapped sandwiches and one or two room temperature cuts of meat over half a plate's worth of soggy, unappetizing looking streamed vegetables. Death sighed at the sight of what had been left for her. Now she understood why all of the other children wanted to be first so badly. Unsatisfactory, she walked up to the counter and was about to ask for one of the leftover plates of meat and veggies, but before she could even say one word, the chefs automatically recognized her, and pulled out from below the counter and freshly made, steaming plate of meat cuts with lightly seasoned, baked to perfection vegetables laying underneath. Not just that, but the plate also carried what appeared to be a separate pile of everything that the now empty salad bar would have carried with it.
"Only the best for the King's daughter." one of the chefs assured her as they handed her the plate. Death looked down at her food, sighing in both relief and stress at how she had received such a perfectly made meal.
Walking away from the counter to try and find Thunder, Death noticed how very few of the children were silently staring at her as compared to the eyes she would normally get walking through the halls. Most of the ones who had stared at her in the halls were now only interested in eating or talking with their friends. This gave Death a feeling of relief as she could see Thunder a few meters away, waving to her from an empty table in the deepest corner of the room. Death waved back as she sprinted over towards the empty table, only to have her shoulder be pulled back by an unexpected personnel.
"Angol Death. Glad to see that you have your meal in hand." Death immediately recognized who it was the moment she saw him here. It was her father's messenger. The one who had always been by her father's side and seemed to serve him more obediently than any of his royal guards of servants.
"What are you doing here? And I told you to call me Shi." Death asked in a straight forward tone.
"I was told by your father to come here and to let you know where you'll be sitting during your lunch break." he replied, leading her away from Thunder and out of the cafeteria entirely.
"But I wanted to sit by Thunder." she pleaded as she pushed back against the messenger's grip he had around her shoulder.
"Thunder? Who's that?"
"He's this boy I met in class today. He's really nice and he offered to help me when they wouldn't give me a book. So he gave me his and I offered to sit by him at lunch."
The messenger quickly stopped dead in his tracks and turned his head to the side, staring worried eyed towards Death. "He gave you his book?"
"Y-Yes. He...wanted to help me out since I didn't have a book of my own. They said that they were all out, so he tried to give me his."
The messenger ran his hand through his hair while breathing out heavily for a few short seconds. "I see. Well, for right now, we've got a special place where you'll be eating lunch outside. Many of the King's guards are already out there waiting for you. So...you can see this boy...tomorrow." the messenger assured her with a voice that signified he had a slight frog in his throat. Death once again glared down at the floor in disappointment before giving in to what he wanted, finally following him towards the seat that was waiting for her outside the cafeteria and away from the other students.
Eventually, after hours of just sitting there for the majority of her classes, the final bell rung from the top of the school, alerting the children inside that their first day of school was finally over. Most of the children ran outside screaming in a burst of joy, while others, like Death and Thunder, were too busy chatting to each other to notice the overjoyed shouts of the other children.
"Wait, so you don't have ANY brothers or sisters to talk to? You just have a bunch of guards and servants?" Thunder asked as they walked through the open front doors of the school, each of their feet taking simultaneously steps down the stairs.
"Uh-huh. I don't really know that much about other kids."
"Well, I have two brothers and one sister. I'm the second oldest and my sister is the youngest. I have a pretty big family. But hey, even without any brothers or sisters, I'm sure your dad is giant enough for your family to be called big." Thunder joked before he and Death burst out laughing.
"Well, actually, he isn't really that big when he isn't on camera. Before destroying their planet, my dad said that a long time ago, he made a fake deal with an ancient alien race, saying that he would let them live if they taught him their tricks on growing bigger at will. Now he can change his size any time he wants, but he mostly does it only when he's at a meeting or giving an important speech or something. Really, he mostly does it for show." Death explained.
"Wow. But I still hear he's the strongest Angolan to ever live. Is that still true?"
"Oh, of course. That is why he was chosen as King, after all. My dad can do anything. That's why I want to learn so badly, so that I don't disappoint him. I'm going to rule the whole planet one day, and that might sound like a dream come true, but my dad says that it still is pretty hard. I just want to make him happy."
"Do you think you can do it?" Thunder asked as they both reached the end of the stairs at once.
"I don't know. I hope so." Death spoke with a hint of restrain.
"Well, I think you can." Thunder cut in, placing his hand on her shoulder. "You're nice, you're calm, you're pretty fun to talk to. I think you would make a great leader. I don't think you'll disappoint your dad."
"Thanks, Thunder. But I just don't know for sure yet if I have what it takes." Death replied, gently brushing him off.
"Death!" she heard the messenger call to her as he waved out his arm from a short distance away, a group of royal guards standing behind him.
"Well, I gotta' go. Bye, Thunder!" Death yelled before sprinting towards her father's guards.
"Bye, Shi! See you later!" Thunder yelled back. Death immediately stopped running and paused for a moment before turning back to the boy.
"What did you call me?"
"Shi. Isn't...that your name?" both Death and Thunder went completely silent after that moment, with Death seeming to be in a state of deep shock and Thunder waiting uneasily for an answer.
"Yeah. Yeah, it is." Death's smile returned. "See you tomorrow! Bye!" she yelled one last time before running back towards the guards.
After finally making her way through the crowd of students in front of her, Death reached her escorts and was ready to head home. Before walking back though, the King of Terror's messenger quickly shook Death's arm to get her attention. "Excuse me, Death. That boy you were waving to just now; was that Thunder? The boy who tried to give you his book?"
"Yeah. That's him. And he called me 'Shi'! Can you believe it!? SHI!" Death gleefully answered. Looking down at the smiling child, the messenger let out a slow, stressful sigh before turning to one of the guards and whispering something in his ear that Death couldn't pick up. After the messenger was finished speaking, the guard honorably nodded and quickly took Death by the arm and began escorting her back home while the rest of the guards stayed with the messenger outside the school.
"Wait!" Death yelled. "What's going on? Why did all of you have to come if I only need one of you to walk me home?"
"You don't have to worry about anything, Death. This is simply adult business." the guard replied, his grip still firm around Death's arm.
All throughout the evening, Death couldn't stop thinking about what Thunder had said to her before leaving. How he had called her by her birth name instead of what everyone around her knew her as. This was the first time in her life that someone besides her mother had called her Shi, and she felt overjoyed by this. Just when the name Death was finally starting to get to her, at last, she was able to find someone who actually remembers her as Shi. This was what she wanted from her father her entire life, but he had always refused her plea, always talking about what a great name Death is and how important it is that it be something easy for all races across the universe to remember. A name that could be translated into any language. A name that could not be forgotten by anyone and would carry the same fear and power as the entire Angolan race. But there was no denying it now. She couldn't stay in denial about it any longer. Death hated her name. She never wanted her name. She wanted to be called Shi. Nothing more.
The next day began just the same as the previous day had, with Death waking up early and quickly heading out the door to be escorted by one of the King's guards to school. After reaching said building, Death thanked her escort for the walk and quickly ran inside to see if she could meet up with Thunder before class started. Failing to find him anywhere, she eventually gave up her small search and headed for her first class of the day once again, history.
After walking into the classroom and taking her seat, Death still could not seem to find any sign of Thunder. Class was only one minute short of starting, and Thunder was no where to be seen. Patiently waiting for him to walk in and sit down next to her, she heard that same bell above the building begin ringing once again. Class was starting, and Thunder still failed to be present.
"Good morning again, class." Vic stood up from his seat and did a quick walk around the front of the classroom while speaking to each of the students. "I'm afraid I have some sudden startling news regarding one of our class members. It appears that for some reason beyond my better judgement, that your fellow classmate from yesterday, Thunder, has been suddenly transferred to an entirely different school in an entirely different city over night. Apparently, his entire family was relocated to this new city just like 'that', but I still haven't the slightest idea how or why. I suppose things like this just happen. Now, let's begin."
YES! First chapter...DONE! Sorry about my kind-of-long-but-not-really absence, but...you know how writer's blocks are, am I right?
Anyway, now that this chapter is finished, I should be getting started on Chapter 2 pretty soon. Until then, thanks for reading! :)
Next Chapter -
CHAPTER 2: ANGER
