The river rolled on, moonlight reflected in its shifting waters. Flowerbeds swelled and flattened under the night breezes, as silence gripped the campus. The students slept in their beds, unaware of the party occurring just down the path.
Lights were on in the principal's office, they didn't have to worry about stealth. There was no one to punish them.
General Fred beamed out at her soldiers from the principals' desk. "First of all, congratulations, all of you. Our mission was a success; all of the Fallen Angel's are gone."
There was a huzzah. People cheered, crowding and pushing against each other. In honor of their success, the entire Battlefront had been called up the office. Tech, distraction, and combat division team members all intermingled, mobbing the table of snacks that Emm and Richie had liberated from the cafeteria. Julie, Jess, Kate, and Irie were chatting, enjoying Julie's radical embellishment of her part in The Great Fallen Angel Smack Down.
"So, after Mr. Gorilla got taken out by one of those demons, it was just me, Winnie and Mike. The top honcho's," Julie breathed.
"It was down to the wire. If we didn't find the original Angel, and somehow trick her into using her powers, the entire Battlefront could be obliterated. Naturally, Winnie decided to send me to stave of the tides of Fallen Angels, while she and Mike went to find our target. I was frightened, yes. But I was determined. I knew I had to-"
"Hold, who's a gorilla?" Harry asked, stopping by. "And how does me stopping by and fishing you out of pile of steel beams factor into this?"
Julie desperately tried to salvage the noble fib, all the while enduring her band member's chuckles of mirth. Eventually, she gave up, and dove on Harry, sending them crashing into the bowl of punch.
Winnie watched the proceedings, arms folded. She felt a presence at her side.
"So, apparently our former Student Body President is in the infirmary," Albert muttered between sips of punch. "She's knocked out, in some form of coma. And… our friend Mike is in there with her. Is that correct?"
She nodded tightly. "that's correct. I could barely get anything out of him when I found him. He was barely conscious. All he could tell me was that when Angel used absorb, all of her clones were dissolved. Then, they retreated into her."
"Interesting, "Albert replied. "It is conceivable, given the corruption of the data… that our Angel will never wake up. We can only hope."
Albert took another sip. "But, we must remember to think of all sides. There are 99 violent will inside our former president, all fighting against her single soul. If she does awaken… who will she be?"
Winnie's fists tightened. "I am aware of the risk. I have sent Leonard to do what we should have tried days ago. He will delete all of the applications from the Angel Player program. Richie and TK are guarding the infirmary."
"You know that's only buying time. If our president wakes up as a Fallen Angel, then the being we knew will be dead. God's will will have been done. She will break out, reinstall her applications, and probably replace them with ones more attuned to destruction. She will become unstoppable. There will be no peace." Albert frowned. "And you left Michael in there with her?"
"He wouldn't leave. Hey, listen, Albert." Winnie gestured at their friends, eating, tussling and laughing all around them. "Everyone here has worked and fought to win this one, small moment of peace. I want them not to have to worry, even if for one night."
Winnie's eyes flashed. "I am the leader of the Battlefront. I'll take on the worry for this myself. I'm used to it. I can fix this. Now you go and quit being so antisocial, try to actually get to know some people. I'm going to visit Mike."
Angel's head was sunken into the pillow, her peaceful face giving no clue to the fight that was taking place behind closed eyes. Mike had managed to wipe some of the grime off her face, and she seemed at peace in the cot, as if she was only asleep. Moonlight drifted in, her constant companion. It lit up her motionless form.
Mike had not found time to wash. He felt dirt, pebbles, and exhaustion in his every crevasse. His very veins still ached from the pain he had endured with Emily. It hurt all the more, knowing how much worse it had been for the person before him.
He scooted his chair closer to her cot, letting his head fall into his hands.
"Wow. You're really worked up, aren't you?"
He jerked upright.
Winnie's shadow preceded her, cutting across the bed as she stepped in, hands in pockets. "So, is this just to be polite, or what? I mean, were you some kinda hospital orderly in your normal life? You never did tell me about that, you know."
Mike gave her a wan smile. "Ah, not really. I did spend most of my time in hospitals, one way or another."
"Really?"
"Yep. My sister was sick for most of her life. I spent most of my time with her. She was the only thing that gave my life purpose. And then… after she died… somehow I found the strength to move on. I studied to become a doctor; I wanted to use my life to help others, to touch others…"
He looked down. "Course, I died before that ever happened. That's life for you, huh?"
"Right!" Winnie agreed eagerly, stepping to stand next to him. "Exactly! Wait, I mean, it sucks that that happened to you." She grimaced. Ouch. Smooth, Winnie. "Ugh. I mean… it's just not fair. That our lives would be treated like such jokes. That life could be so ugly, and so cruel."
Mike nodded. "You're right. It's not fair that we're treated like this." His gaze fell down to the figure lying in the cot. Winnie followed his gaze. She swallowed.
"Hey, Mike, what's going on? Why are you here?" Fury blossomed in her cheeks. "You know what this monster means to us, right? She's a tool. Used by Him."
I know it isn't pleasant, it isn't nice to have to think like this, she cursed. But someone has to. And I owe it to everyone, because they've put their trust in me. Everyone in the Battlefront trusts me to be their leader.
Just as… my sisters and brother trusted me to be their big sister.
Mike didn't reply to her, his eyes just poured into hers, filled with weariness.
"Mike, I need to know that you're with us. I need to know that I can depend on you."
He cleared his throat. "Winnie, don't worry.
"I never learned how to get to know people while I was alive. But now, with everyone that I've met…. I want to them to be happy. I don't want them to be hurt." He gestured at Emily. "That means all of you."
With a force of will, Winnie strangled the roar that had been forming in her throat. Turning on her heel, she swept out of the infirmary, leaving TK and Richie spinning. That moron, she hissed to herself. Whenever I talk to him, I always get… confused. I feel unsure, a very undesirable trait in a leader. He makes me think of things I never would otherwise.
And he calls me Winnie. Out of all of them, that Mutton Head calls me Winnie.
In the Infirmary, Mike felt exhaustion crash over him. His talk with Winnie had left him feeling drained.
Emily, you jerk, he thought, gazing at her. When we first met, you said this place had no need for hospitals, because no one ever got sick. So why won't you wake up?
As the minutes passed, his eyelids blinked their last. Sleep took him. He collapsed forward, coming to rest on the bed's resident. His head rose and fell, safe on his friend's warm chest.
"How clever the plans of the Creator," the voices hissed. "Now, his Hands shall gain control, and one of his oldest enemies will be destroyed. Surrender, Emily Robinson, and avoid needless pain.
"I don't believe so," Emily politefully disagreed. "For you see, there is still much that I must do. I am not yet finished."
"Ah, but you are."
Emily felt as if she was being torn apart. She was surrounded by darkness. The only light burned from explosions of red that seared her mind as she thought of them. She could feel hordes of demons assailing her from around, as another horde clamored from within. Every inch of her felt bruised, battered, and broken.
She tried not to let tears come to her eyes; she didn't want them to see her pain. But it was too horrible; she couldn't possibly win, not against so many. She was being eaten alive, abandoned to herself, alone.
But… she wasn't. Impossibly, she felt a presence at her side, and for one moment, she heard the voices screech with fear.
Suddenly, she could see. And while the pain continued, escalating every second, there was a sudden pressure on her chest. And then, her heart began to race.
