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Chapter Thirteen: Unending Rivalry; Love is a Battlefield!

Ozonne had always protected Flonne ever since they were children. It didn't matter that she was the younger sibling or that she was quickly ostracizing herself from the company of the other angels. That was just the kind of person she was--never backing away from her convictions, never wavering in her decisions, and always remaining ferocious in her loyalty and tenacity. So long as Flonne was safe from harm what did it matter that she had no friends? Ozonne had learned early on that friends could leave you at any time, but sisters stuck around like glue...

...at least, they did if you were Ozonne's sister...

There were times, though, when Flonne would severely test her patience. Ozonne constantly found herself wishing that she would be a bit quieter about her demon-sympathy sentiments; for it was her fervent yet controversial beliefs and her tendency to place her faith in people who didn't deserve it that made Flonne a constant target for the more malicious bigots in Celestia. And what made it worse was that no matter how horrible they were to her, no matter how many times they hit her and made her cry, no matter how many stones they threw and no matter how close they were to striking her--Flonne never retaliated. Not once.

It made Ozonne so angry. Flonne just let other people walk all over her. Well, damn it, if she wasn't going to protect herself, then Ozonne would just have to do it instead. She wouldn't let anyone near her naive older sister. Not since that incident...

Until that day, Ozonne never knew how far wings could bend without breaking from the pressure.

They were still young. Flonne was nine hundred years old and Ozonne had just gotten through celebrating her seventh century. It was an overcast afternoon, leaving a thick fog to wind through the streets of the small town where they lived, and it was the day that Flonne usually went down to their village shrine to sit in the simple garden that she herself had planted there. It had been a lonely spot that people rarely visited--just a run-down park that no one cared about.

Flonne had made that place her sanctuary. All on her own she went out and purchased the plants and got down in the dirt to plant them. It had cost her two years of savings to get everything she needed for that undertaking--and the result was a small, quaint little garden that belonged solely to her.

Yes, it all belonged to Flonne; not because she wasn't willing to share, but because other people, blinded by their hatred for Flonne's demon sympathy, refused to go anywhere near it. The children repeated the cruel things their parents told them about how it was a spot for summoning demons; how it was a little square of hell that the weird girl had planted from the evil and wickedness in her own heart. Ozonne had been present when Flonne first heard those nasty rumors. She didn't even cry. Instead, her face became a pale mask of poorly feigned indifference that didn't fool everyone. It made her want to smack her until the tears came--at least then, they would be genuine.

Ozonne, even at that age, constantly struggled to deal with the mixed feelings she had of her older sister. While she loved Flonne and wanted to protect her, she also hated her for her weakness, for her tendency to overlook slights against her, for her need to believe in others because she was too lonely to remain cautious in solitude.

So when Flonne invited Ozonne to come with her to the shrine, she had stoutly refused out of mingled petulant resentment and contempt for the poor weather. Though as she watched her older sibling walk out the door, she had felt a cold chill run up her spine in foreboding. Before Ozonne could really understand what it was she was feeling, the door had already snapped shut behind her and Flonne was already half-way down the next block.

She shook it off, telling herself it was only the wind that made her feel such a icy fear in her stomach.

But hours had passed with no word from Flonne. Ozonne pretended to be absorbed in her studies--for even then, she was training to become a powerful Celestial mage--but every five minutes, it seemed, her mother would drift anxiously to the window, looking hopefully out into the murky fog for her daughter. It was all the woman could do short of going out and looking for Flonne herself. She had no friends--there was no one to ask about her daughter's location.

So Erl continued to fret, and Ozonne continued to stew in her own silent rising panic. Finally, she tossed her textbook aside, grabbed her staff, and went to the door.

"I'm going out," she said over her shoulder as she grasped the doorknob in her hand.

Annoyingly, she felt her mother's hand on her shoulder, holding her back.

"I don't think that's a good idea. Your sister still isn't back yet, and I..."

Ozonne pretended not to notice how Erl had trailed off fearfully. "I won't be gone long. I'm going to bring Flonne home."

Her mother's brow creased from worry. "You know where she is?"

"Flonne said that she was going to her shrine," the child replied simply. "She can't have gone that far."

Squirming out of Erl's grip, Ozonne pulled open the door and darted outside, scampering down the street as fast as her legs would take her. She ignored her mother's cries, as well as the thunder she began to hear rumbling in the distance. She just kept running, becoming more certain with each step that she was in danger of losing something dear to her. Faster, she thought, faster!

She had turned several corners and nearly bumped into several people, many of whom turned to look back at the angel girl as though she had completely lost her mind. It wasn't until ten minutes later that she managed to reach the outskirts of the little park that the shrine inhabited. It had taken far too long in her opinion.

Ozonne hesitated as she stared at the gaping entrance to the park. She was feeling that cold shiver again, one that told her that she wouldn't like what she was about to see. It tempted her to turn back and pretend like everything would be okay. But her face hardened into a childish scowl.

"I'm not leaving without her," she snapped, startling a couple of birds from the perch on a nearby branch. They flew away, squawking in protest as they disappeared in the fog.

Ozonne lit up the tip of her staff with a simple light spell, using it to illuminate the path in front of her. Then, taking a deep breath, she entered the park. It took her a moment to adjust to the darkness that the shade of the trees provided. The combined humidity and fog made her feel as though she were suffocating, but that didn't stop her from pushing onwards into the very heart of the park.

"Flonne!" she called into the swirling mist. "Flonne! Dammit, Mom says it's time to come home! Flonne!"

There was no answer, though Ozonne thought that she heard an animal yelping faintly in the distance. The sound made every hair in her tomboyish hair-cut stand on end.

"Flonne, if you don't get your butt over here right now, I'm coming over there to kick it!" Ozonne yelled. "I mean it! I'm almost at the...shrine..."

Ozonne had just stepped into the clearing where Flonne's shrine was supposed to have been standing. Instead, all she saw was destruction. Plants had been ripped up by the root and were mercilessly strewn across the grass, while the shrine itself had been smashed into splinters of broken wood. All was calm and quiet, as though every living creature was hiding silently from the predator that had committed this atrocity.

"Flonne..." she murmured, her emerald eyes wide with fear. "Flonne! Where are you!?"

Ozonne tore off down an adjacent path that looked as though it had been traveled on recently. There were footprints heading in that directly, plus a weird streak in the dirt as though something heavy had been dragged through the trees. It made her afraid.

"Onee-san!!!" the girl screamed. "Flonne, please..."

Almost immediately, she heard a wounded cry in the distance.

"Ozonne...! Stay away!"

The warning was cut off with a yelp as the sound of knuckle striking flesh reached her ears. A loud thud indicated that someone had fallen to the ground. That was Ozonne's cue to completely disregard the ominous words and come running in to the rescue. But as she found the source of the scuffle, she froze in her tracks, rooted to the ground from sheer horror alone.

"Flonne...?"

The angel lay crumpled on her side, breathing heavily in the dirt. Surrounding her were a group of older kids--young enough to get swept up in their hatred, but old enough to do serious damage to their enemy. And right now, Flonne was their enemy.

That was all it took to get Ozonne mad. She leapt into the circle, lighting up a lightning spell and firing it at the nearest thug. The thirteen-hundred year old youth screamed in pain and leapt backwards, dropping the bloodied club in his hands. The others turned and glared at her in loathing.

"Shit," one of them grunted. "It's that runt sister of hers."

Despite Ozonne's small size, the others knew enough of her reputation to be wary of her. There wasn't a single kid in the village who wasn't afraid of the girl's spells--or her lack of discrepancy in using them. The punks all looked towards their leader, who Ozonne had just shocked, and yeiled when he beckoned them away.

"Lucky your little sister had the balls to save you, freak!" one of them sneered, kicking her as he passed. Before Ozonne could retaliate, they had run off into the darkness.

She glared at them for a moment before running over to Flonne. Dropping to her knees, she tried to turn her over onto her back so that she could get a closer look at her face, but Flonne let out a scream of pain that made her freeze.

"Flonne," she whispered. "What did they do to you???"

"N-nothing..." Flonne lied, coughing a little. "Just don't p-put me on my b-back, okay?"

Ozonne turned to look at what was causing her sister so much pain and felt bile rising in her throat. Flonne's wings were sitting at a broken angle, completely disjointed and soaked in dirt and blood. They had been mangled.

"Those monsters..."

"It's nothing," Flonne protested.

"Shut up!" Ozonne snapped. "I'm sick and tired of hearing your stupid lies! Why do you stick up for them all the time? You're such an idiot!!!"

"Ozonne..."

"I hate you!" she screamed, tears flooding her eyes. "I hate you and your stupid love and peace! I hate how you just lie there, whimpering like a dog, and I hate having to be the one to save you all the time! Why won't you save yourself??? Why???"

Flonne fell silent.

"Answer me!"

"Hurting them won't solve anything," the girl whispered. "Pain only creates more hatred..."

"Yeah? Well, stupidity is a leading cause of death! Idiot!"

Flonne coughed, rubbing her mouth with her fist. Gingerly, she moved into a kneeling position, one palm still pressed to the dirt to support herself. That was when all of the cuts and bruises became obvious, like a grotesque baas relief. Somehow, even in her haggard appearance, Flonne seemed to shine with goodness--it made her beautiful in a sad way. It made Ozonne completely break down.

Burying her face in her hands, the girl felt hot angry tears stinging her palms as she bawled and bawled. Minutes passed as Ozonne wept, and every now and then the girls felt a raindrop grazing them like a stray tear. They could hear the thunder getting louder, and lightning flashed in the rapidly darkening sky.

Without warning, the clouds opened up, finally yeilding to the waves of rain pelting to the ground. Neither sister moved as they became soaked in the helpless abandon that poured from the sky, and the only sound that could be heard above the dinn of the wind and rain was Ozonne's sobbing.

Suddenly, Flonne crawled over to her and put her arms around her. "Ozonne...it's okay..." she said consolingly in her ear. "Don't cry anymore..."

Ozonne considered that murmured assurance to be one of the most cruel lies ever told in the history of the universe. But all the girl could do was put her arms around Flonne's shoulders and cry like the child that she was. Sometimes, she had to keep reminding herself that that was what she was--a child. After everything they had been through together, Ozonne had somehow forgotten that Flonne was her big sister and not the other way around.

"This is your last chance, buddy! Let go of Flonne before I make you wish you never had been born!"

Vlanaar hesitated, glancing at the fallen angel tucked in his arms. But a sudden spell hurtling towards him made him leap backwards, out of harms way. The shining orb smashed into the wall behind them, but fortunately did not rip through the metal. After all, it wasn't Ozonne's intent to kill...not yet, anyway.

"Ozonne, stop!" Flonne pleaded, looking fearfully towards Vlanaar. But Ozonne's staff was still glowing from the spell she had cast, and by the looks of it, she was about to fire off another one. She completely ignored her sister.

"Leave!" Ozonne barked. Vlanaar narrowed his eyes at her.

"How do I know you're not going to hurt her?" he asked in a low voice. "You seem to lack discretion in your spell casting, little girl."

All it took was for Ozonne's staff to glow ominously brighter to make Vlanaar realize that he had just committed the most unpardonable of sins.

"I am not a child!!!" she screamed. "Now get the hell out of here before I show you just how not little I am!!!"

Vlanaar was about to retort when he suddenly noticed the pair of wings sprouting from her back. His grey eyes widened perceptibly, and he even lowered his sword a fraction of a degree. "You're an angel...?"

Ozonne merely glared at him. Vlanaar quickly got the hint.

"Fine! Fine!" he said hastily, holding up his hands. "I'll leave...for now..."

"Vlanaar?" Flonne murmured, looking torn.

"I'll be back," he promised. "I'm as real as your own shadow, Flonne. Remember that."

The girls watched as his shadow crawled over his body, completely immersing him in darkness. Then, his silhouette swirled into an orb and sank into the floor, disappearing from sight. His departure left a tense silence as the two sisters regarded one another.

"Your ears..." said Ozonne, frowning. "And...those wings...that tail...Flonne, what...?"

Her question never had the chance to be asked, for right at that moment, they were interrupted yet again.

"Flonne!"' Laharl boomed from the hallway. "Dammit, can't I leave you alone for one freaking minute...?!"

The fallen angel winced. Had he seen Vlanaar???

Within seconds, the shape of the Overlord filled the doorway, glowering at them both.

"All right," he said slowly. "What's going on here? And who the hell are you?!?" he demanded, pointing rudely at Ozonne.

Ozonne planted her hands on her hips, obtinately refusing to be intimidated by Laharl's tone of voice. "That's none of your business! Anyway, I think you should tell me who you are before you go around making stupid demands like that!"

"You want to know who I am? I'll teach you to be so arrogant! Soon, you'll learn to fear the name of the Overlord!!!"

It took a few seconds for that to register.

"The Overlord?" said Ozonne blankly. "You? There's no way in hell you could be the Overlord..."

"Oh, yeah? Why not?"

"Because Flonne here was sent to kill King Krichevskoy! And believe me, you're not him!"

Laharl smirked darkly. "Well, you're right about one thing. I'm not Krichevskoy; I'm his son, Laharl. But I assure you that I am the Overlord, and anyone who dares to challenge my authority will feel my unwavering wrath!!!!"

"Ozonne," said Flonne quietly. "What are you doing here? And...how did you get here?"

The angel girl looked a little annoyed. "Why do you sound so suspicious, anyway? Mom and Dad are worried sick about you. You've wasted enough time with this mission of yours; it's time to come home!"

Laharl was extremely agitated at being ignored so easily. And the claims this girl was making were completely ridiculous. If she really intended to take Flonne--his Flonne--away from him, she had another thing coming! He would teach her to take something that clearly belonged to him.

He stepped forward, separating Ozonne from Flonne.

"And who the hell do you think you are, trying to steal one of my own vassals from right under my nose? You clearly have a death wish in mind..."

"W-wait, Laharl!" Flonne cried, holding up her hands. "Don't attack! She's my little sister, Ozonne!!!"

"I don't care who the hell she is!" Laharl replied petulantly. "She's not taking you away, got it? You're mine!"

The statement and its implications caused the fallen angel to turn a bright red. "Laharl!"

"Wait a minute!" Ozonne snapped. "Flonne, is this runt serious??? You went and became his vassal?!? No wonder you look like a demon! It's because you are a demon now, aren't you???"

"She may be a demon," said the demon king off-handedly, "but she's still a complete Love Freak! It's really annoying."

"Actually," Flonne amended, "I'm a fallen angel now. This was my punishment for helping Laharl win his throne and for becoming his vassal...and for hurting other angels to do it." The fallen angel looked at her curiously. "I thought you knew...I mean, I thought that Lamington-sama would have told you..."

"He didn't tell us a damn thing!" Ozonne snapped. "We didn't hear anything about you, so we thought that you were still trying to assassinate the Overlord! You could have been dead for all we knew!"

The fallen angel shivered, feeling the creeping cold returning without any fore-warning. She hugged her arms to her chest and tried to hide the discomfort.

"I can't understand why he would do that," Flonne murmured distractedly, rubbing her shoulders to bring some warmth into them. "Lamington-sama...why would he let you worry like that???"

Laharl shot her a withering look. "And that surprises you? That Seraph keeps everyone in the dark..."

"That's for sure," Ozonne muttered.

The angel and the demon looked up at each other, a little surprised that they were in agreement over something. And that's when Ozonne realized that Laharl wasn't like the other boys she had met back in Celestia. Besides the obvious fact that he was a demon, he wasn't cringing from fear at the very sight of her. His stance was bold and arrogant--which annoyed her to some extent--but it also proved that he was no coward. That interested her.

"Hmmph...!" Laharl turned away from her, looking towards Flonne again. "Well, what are you doing, just sitting there? Get up already!"

Ozonne was stung by his indifference. Dammit, she had never had a boy blatantly ignore her before. Sure, a lot of them were scared shitless to be in the same room with her, but they had never just brushed her off before. It was so unnerving and she didn't like it one bit. This Laharl person acted as though she didn't matter!

Well she would show him.

"Don't you boss her around!" Ozonne snapped. "Flonne, what are your legs broken or something? Get up!"

Laharl glared at her. Reaching down, he grabbed Flonne by the arm and pulled her to her feet. "I can boss her around all I want! She's my vassal!"

Ozonne glared right back. Grabbing Flonne by the other arm, she said, "She's my sister!"

Flonne blinked bemusedly, suddenly and inexplicably finding herself the living, breathing rope in a tenacious tug-of-war. Laharl tried to jerk her out of Ozonne's grasp, but the angel held on like an angry pit-bull.

"Let go!" he growled.

"Make me!"

Laharl bared his teeth. "You've got a hell of a lot of nerve! Just who do you think you are barging in here! I'm sure as hell that you weren't invited!"

Ozonne felt her blood-pressure rising. "Listen, jerkface, I'm going to tell you what I told that other asswhole a few minutes ago! She's my sister, and I'm not leaving without her! So get your hands off of her before I make you wish you had never been born!"

His grip on Flonne's arm slackened--but not for the reasons she thought.

"Who?" he demanded quietly. "What asswhole?"

Ozonne waved her free hand distractedly. "I don't know...Flonne, what was his name again? Vlanaar or something like that?"

"Vlanaar..." he said in a deadly soft voice.

Laharl felt Flonne stiffen. His crimson eyes looked directly in her own two frightened ones, and the familiar white hot jealousy crawled in his veins. There was nothing but disdain in his face as he relinquished hold on her arm completely, pushing her roughly at Ozonne.

"You want her? Take her."

Flonne gave him a confused look. "Laharl...?"

The Overlord turned his back on her. "It's not like she means anything to me. She's just a vassal; a lying, cheating whore of a vassal."

Each word stabbed her directly in her heart, bringing so much pain that she almost wished for oblivion. Sweet, sweet nothingness...oh, God, how she welcomed the thought. What hurt the most wasn't the cruelty in his voice--it was the clarity and the truth behind his words. Flonne felt the sin burning inside of her, the way ice burned when it lay directly against her skin. The numbness swept over her like a blanket, enveloping her in a chilly embrace. That was why she never felt the tears in her own eyes.

Her expression only served to provoke Ozonne.

"Oh, so one minute you're about to rip my arm off to keep her, and now you're throwing her away like some piece of trash?" the angel snarled. "You really are a jerk! Come on, Flonne! We're leaving!"

But the fallen angel didn't move an inch. She didn't hear a single word she had said.

"Flonne?"

The fallen angel's face was hidden by her bangs.

"You're making a mistake," she said softly. "Whatever you think, I didn't...I didn't invite him here. He came on his own."

"Oh, really?" he said angrily. "What exactly was he doing here, then?"

Flonne's face flushed guiltily. "He was trying to warn me. He...he didn't want us to go to Celestia."

"I'm glad I kicked him out, then," said Ozonne. "You have no business with these demons, you know."

"They're my friends," she protested. "You'd see it if you knew them, Ozonne."

The angel girl got right up into her face, her expression flooded with resentment and ire. She shook her head slowly, her emerald eyes narrowing into slits.

"You never change, do you? You'd stick up for anyone no matter what they do or say to hurt you...when are you going to learn that people can't be trusted? How many times am I going to have to come save the skin on your ass until you're willing to fight back? Stop being so weak!"

"Can't...be trusted...I...no, you're wrong!"

"You know, as much as I hate to agree with someone who's so thick-headed and stubborn, you're moronic sister has a point," Laharl said loftily. "You're too gullible. I suppose that's why you keep seeing that jerk behind my back...!"

Flonne looked at him. "I'm not--"

"Save it. I don't want to hear your excuses..." he muttered. He stared contemplatively at the floor, trying to figure something out in his mind. Flonne waited anxiously for him to speak again.

After a moment's silence, Laharl met her gaze.

"Either way, I'm not stopping until I figure out what the hell is going on. We're going to Celestia."

A smile broke out on Flonne's face like the rising sun. "Laharl..." Tentatively, she reached out to grasp his hand, but he shied away--he avoided her touch as though she were contaminated. That was all it took for the cloudy expression to return to her face. "Laharl..." she said again, only this time her voice ached with sadness.

"Don't touch me," he spat. "I mean it when I say I want nothing to do with you."

Laharl ignored the pained look on her face as he turned to Ozonne. Against all odds, he forced his face into an expression of calm and indifference.

"You're an angel, right?" he said bluntly. "I'll strike a bargain with you. If you open the gate into Celestia, I'll give you and your...sister...a ride. And then you can never darken my doorstep again."

Ozonne felt nothing but loathing for the Overlord--and yet, the fire in his gaze was so...intriguing. Against her will, she found herself actually interested in him; which is why she had no reservations in accepting his offer.

"Gladly," she snapped. "No thanks to you, jackass."

Laharl chose to ignore that.

"Whatever. Now if you excuse me, I have to go find Etna and figure out why we haven't crashed yet."

He eyed the two sisters with dislike before turning on his heel, sweeping out of the room. The last either of them saw of him that day was the end of his cape snapping around the corner, all too eager to be rid of them both.

From the shadows, Delyffe listened to the scene with a smirk on her face. Her electric blue eyes sparkled with excitement, the same way they did whenever an interesting test subject came up. It was all too perfect for words.

"So..." she said quietly to herself. "Vlanaar came and stuck his nose in...well, Master won't like that, will he?"

She left her hiding place, now absolutely certain that no one was present. Sensing no one, she went smugly down to her own room, down towards the very bowels of the ship. She didn't bother turning on the light switch--after all, what need did a blind person have for light? She practically lived and breathed darkness. It was her sanctuary.

Delyffe extended her hand towards the pitch black surrounding her. Soon, it glowed a bright, eerie blue. She closed her eyes, focusing as the light condensed, carving the shape of a blue spiral pattern--the same that had been carved on Vlanaar's chest--into the back of her hand.

When Delyffe opened her eyes again, they were glowing blue.

"Master..." she called softly. "I have news for you..."

The darkness swirled around her, and though she didn't see it, she sensed that the area around her had been altered. It supercharged her senses; made her feel as though lightning flowed through her veins like blood. A crazed smile--her most welcome smile--lit up her face.

"Speak," came a disembodied command. It came from the core of the abyss.

"It seems that we were double-crossed," she half-sang, relishing in this feeling she had whenever he was near. "He tried to take the Miracle with him--tried to stop her from going to Celestia."

"Indeed? Well, this is no surprise. I suspected it of Vlanaar...so enamored with his Yuri that he loses sight of common sense."

"He may still be hiding, Master," Delyffe added. "I never felt his presence leave this ship. Should I seek him out?"

"No. If the Overlord realizes your connection with him, it could be dangerous to our plans. Do nothing until I command it."

"Your wish is my command," she purred. "But I'll personally make him pay for betraying us...one day."

"ONLY when I command it...!" the voice repeated, only this time there was a hidden threat in its tone. "Remember, Delyffe. A traitor is one who breaks his or her word with the Azure Spires. And you gave me your word that I had your undying loyalty. Any insubordinance on your part will be considered as nothing short of betrayal."

"Woe be to anyone who utters the name of the Blue Saint in vain," Delyffe replied without skipping a beat. It rolled off the tongue so perfectly that it was almost like some sort of motto of hers. "And woe be to anyone who crosses knives with the Azure Spires."

"So be it. Now go. The Overlord will suspect if you are away for too long."

"Yes, Master."

The ominous presence of the disembodied voice ebbed away, leaving Delyffe in the dark. The light pouring from her eyes and her markings had also dimmed to nothingness. But she was happy. Deep within her heart, she felt as though she had moved up in her master's graces, and nothing--not even the disappointment of not being able to seek out the traitor--could spoil that for her.

Nothing.

"I think I'll go check up on the Miracle Girl," she said to herself. "Flonne's been so frail lately...Master will be very displeased if she dies."

With that thought in mind, Delyffe left the room. Woe indeed for anyone who crossed her path for the rest of the day.

A/N: Ta-dah! Plot twist for you! Just what is Delyffe's connections to Vlanaar? And who is this mysterious being she's summoning in the darkness of her bedroom? And how will Laharl and crew adjust to having Ozonne on board?

The first and most important question I'm going to answer is why didn't the ship crash like it was supposed to? Don't worry, I didn't forget about that. I'm planning on having the crew take a little, unexpected detour before going to Celestia. One that may or may not take them into the paths of the ominous Azure Spires. I haven't decided yet.

Anyway, I hope you liked. Please review.