Prologue: My Angels
Dark, everything was dark. No matter where she looked, she couldn't find any light. Everything in her life flashed before her eyes and she fought the urge to cry. Wasted. My entire life was wasted. Trunks, oh Trunks I'm so sorry! I should never have done that to you.
Everything had been so perfect; she had been just one more innocent girl playing carelessly with something far more fragile than she could ever have dreamed. And now everything had deteriorated, but unfortunately it wasn't just her relationship with him. The two had broken up, and because of that, They had come. It was even worse than the Age of the Androids that had finally come to an end four years ago. Far worse. And it was all her fault. The tears trickled down her cheeks, slowly at first, than faster and faster until it felt as if her tears could fill the sea. Sorry, oh yes, she was sorry. But that didn't change anything. Nothing ever happened the way it should.
She had just told him, told him that there was someone else in her life, that she didn't think they would work out. She had seen the devastation in his eyes, but she had dismissed it. After all, hundreds of couples broke up every year, and they all got over it. But he was different, and she had known it. And look what had happened because she had ignored it.
She had woken up late in the night. It felt as if something was missing from her soul, as if there was a huge gaping hole where her heart should be. She had been shocked, devastated; she had run all three miles to Capsule Corps, never even stopping to grab a coat as protection from the icy wind. But Capsule Corps wasn't there anymore. Only crumbled ruins. She had stopped, breath coming in long, ragged gasps. She had stared at the crumbled rock, stunned and uncertain what had happened, or what she should do. Was Trunks under there somewhere? Was he still alive, or had he died? She had taken a single, hesitant step forward, afraid to find the truth, but needing to have an answer. But then she had seen Them. They had walked over the ruins, majestic and beautiful. At first she had been utterly terrified, but their awesome beauty lulled her into trusting Them. Stupid. It had felt almost as though They were Angels, come to comfort her tattered soul. But then one of Them had spoken, and she knew her stupidity for what it was. The words still echoed through her memory like the ringing toll of a death bell. "We thank you child. It was you who freed Us, made it safe for Us to come. Your refusal of the Bond caused the cursed Saiya-jin brat to leave. You have cleared the path for Us, and now there is no one in this world who can stop Us."
Even diluted in her memory, the voices inspired bone-chilling fear. They had been so resonant, so beautiful, yet their words had been ones of impending doom.
And then they were gone. Disappeared as if they had never been, leaving her standing alone amidst the ruins of Capsule Corps. She had stood there, shivering in her nightgown, her bare arms crossed tightly in front of her in a vain attempt to ward off the cold. She stood there in the freezing rain until dawn, yet she wasn't aware of a single moment passing. Then there had been a swarm of people attracted to the ruins, and she had been led away. They had tried to question her, but all she could do was shiver, tears rolling silently down her cheeks like bleeding rain. No matter how many blankets were wrapped around her, the warmth couldn't penetrate her eternal chill. It was as if a shard of ice had pierced her heart, and now gripped her entire body in an unyielding winter.
Eventually they had simply given up and left. She didn't care. She had gone back to her home, walking slowly, hugging the blankets close in a futile attempt to get warm. But it was no longer possible. The chill of her body had penetrated to the core of her soul, and everything seemed bitter, miserable, and she almost felt as if she were removed from the world.
Spinning, that was what it felt like. Like the entire world was spinning, faster and faster, but she was standing still.
She had reached her home at long last, and walked through the door. She let herself sink slowly to the floor, hugging the blankets tighter around herself, more for comfort than warmth. She had looked over at the TV that her roommate had switched on before leaving, and stared blankly at the scene of devastation.
The beautiful Creatures, her Angels, were destroying everything. An entire city had already been destroyed, and They were laughing. The sound seemed to ring in her bones. Horrible. She watched, tears slowly streaming down her face as They ripped apart men, women, children. To hear the voices crying out with pain clawed at her heart.
And it was her fault. All of it her fault.
They had told her so. They told her that it was her refusal of a bond of some sort that had caused this mess. That it was her fault that the people out there were dying. Her fault that the city was being destroyed. Her fault that her entire world was being ripped asunder so soon after it had been rebuilt. And it was her fault that there was no one who could stop it.
There was nothing left to live for but terror, and it was all her fault. She wanted to kill herself, but her arms would not obey her. Her body refused to move. She wanted to turn the TV off, hide from the results of her stupidity and selfishness. But her body would not respond. She could not even avert her eyes.
All she could do was watch. And cry. And wait. Oh yes, she knew that They would come to her eventually. They might let her live for a moment longer, a painful, taunting way of saying thank you.
Or They might be merciful, and kill her now.
Dark, everything was dark. No matter where she looked, she couldn't find any light. Everything in her life flashed before her eyes and she fought the urge to cry. Wasted. My entire life was wasted. Trunks, oh Trunks I'm so sorry! I should never have done that to you.
Everything had been so perfect; she had been just one more innocent girl playing carelessly with something far more fragile than she could ever have dreamed. And now everything had deteriorated, but unfortunately it wasn't just her relationship with him. The two had broken up, and because of that, They had come. It was even worse than the Age of the Androids that had finally come to an end four years ago. Far worse. And it was all her fault. The tears trickled down her cheeks, slowly at first, than faster and faster until it felt as if her tears could fill the sea. Sorry, oh yes, she was sorry. But that didn't change anything. Nothing ever happened the way it should.
She had just told him, told him that there was someone else in her life, that she didn't think they would work out. She had seen the devastation in his eyes, but she had dismissed it. After all, hundreds of couples broke up every year, and they all got over it. But he was different, and she had known it. And look what had happened because she had ignored it.
She had woken up late in the night. It felt as if something was missing from her soul, as if there was a huge gaping hole where her heart should be. She had been shocked, devastated; she had run all three miles to Capsule Corps, never even stopping to grab a coat as protection from the icy wind. But Capsule Corps wasn't there anymore. Only crumbled ruins. She had stopped, breath coming in long, ragged gasps. She had stared at the crumbled rock, stunned and uncertain what had happened, or what she should do. Was Trunks under there somewhere? Was he still alive, or had he died? She had taken a single, hesitant step forward, afraid to find the truth, but needing to have an answer. But then she had seen Them. They had walked over the ruins, majestic and beautiful. At first she had been utterly terrified, but their awesome beauty lulled her into trusting Them. Stupid. It had felt almost as though They were Angels, come to comfort her tattered soul. But then one of Them had spoken, and she knew her stupidity for what it was. The words still echoed through her memory like the ringing toll of a death bell. "We thank you child. It was you who freed Us, made it safe for Us to come. Your refusal of the Bond caused the cursed Saiya-jin brat to leave. You have cleared the path for Us, and now there is no one in this world who can stop Us."
Even diluted in her memory, the voices inspired bone-chilling fear. They had been so resonant, so beautiful, yet their words had been ones of impending doom.
And then they were gone. Disappeared as if they had never been, leaving her standing alone amidst the ruins of Capsule Corps. She had stood there, shivering in her nightgown, her bare arms crossed tightly in front of her in a vain attempt to ward off the cold. She stood there in the freezing rain until dawn, yet she wasn't aware of a single moment passing. Then there had been a swarm of people attracted to the ruins, and she had been led away. They had tried to question her, but all she could do was shiver, tears rolling silently down her cheeks like bleeding rain. No matter how many blankets were wrapped around her, the warmth couldn't penetrate her eternal chill. It was as if a shard of ice had pierced her heart, and now gripped her entire body in an unyielding winter.
Eventually they had simply given up and left. She didn't care. She had gone back to her home, walking slowly, hugging the blankets close in a futile attempt to get warm. But it was no longer possible. The chill of her body had penetrated to the core of her soul, and everything seemed bitter, miserable, and she almost felt as if she were removed from the world.
Spinning, that was what it felt like. Like the entire world was spinning, faster and faster, but she was standing still.
She had reached her home at long last, and walked through the door. She let herself sink slowly to the floor, hugging the blankets tighter around herself, more for comfort than warmth. She had looked over at the TV that her roommate had switched on before leaving, and stared blankly at the scene of devastation.
The beautiful Creatures, her Angels, were destroying everything. An entire city had already been destroyed, and They were laughing. The sound seemed to ring in her bones. Horrible. She watched, tears slowly streaming down her face as They ripped apart men, women, children. To hear the voices crying out with pain clawed at her heart.
And it was her fault. All of it her fault.
They had told her so. They told her that it was her refusal of a bond of some sort that had caused this mess. That it was her fault that the people out there were dying. Her fault that the city was being destroyed. Her fault that her entire world was being ripped asunder so soon after it had been rebuilt. And it was her fault that there was no one who could stop it.
There was nothing left to live for but terror, and it was all her fault. She wanted to kill herself, but her arms would not obey her. Her body refused to move. She wanted to turn the TV off, hide from the results of her stupidity and selfishness. But her body would not respond. She could not even avert her eyes.
All she could do was watch. And cry. And wait. Oh yes, she knew that They would come to her eventually. They might let her live for a moment longer, a painful, taunting way of saying thank you.
Or They might be merciful, and kill her now.