*salutes merrily* Heya, ladies and gentlemen! Sita here with the newest chapter of Angelsight! LE SQUEE! Thanks so much for all the feedback, guys! And there WILL be shoutouts at the end of this chapter! *vows* All righty, then! Off we go!
Disclaimers: Hey, guess what?! Sita doesn't own Newsies! *gasp!* I know, I know, it's hard to believe, but it's true!
Warnings:
Angelsight
Chapter II
Blink squinted his already-closed eyes as someone gently slapped his cheeks. He stubbornly kept them closed. After what he'd seen earlier, it was no surprise. Could anyone blame him for wanting to forget the fact that he'd very clearly witnessed a trio of girls with wings?
But his tightly shut eyes couldn't block out their voices.
"Is he okay? Do you think-"
"Hush, Sapphy," another voice gently chided. "Come away from him."
"But Lute-"
"Come on." A quiet stream of irritated grumbling followed.
Blink felt vaguely nauseous when the voices continue to talk quietly. This wasn't right. It wasn't right at all. People didn't have wings. They just didn't.
Not living people, anyway.
Blink desperately tried to push down the rush of terror that swelled up at that thought. Was he in a room with a group of dead people?!
No. No, that was impossible.
But, as far as he knew, people with wings were impossible, too.
An involuntary whimper escaped from his lips. Almost immediately, the room went silent.
"Oh, stop it, the lot of you. He's terrified." The voice was firm but cheerful, and somehow, strangely comforting to Blink. Even more comforting was the cool, soft hand that suddenly came to rest on his forehead. It felt as though waves of tranquillity flowed through that hand and traveled through his entire body. He felt completely at peace for what felt like the first time in his life.
So, he opened his eye.
Hovering over him was the girl in the red tailcoat.
Literally hovering.
Her broad, feathered wings flapped gently every few seconds, keeping her aloft as she gently pressed her hand against Blink's forehead.
Common sense dictated that he should be terrified; Blink realized and acknowledged that. But, for some reason, he couldn't bring himself to be frightened. Although he'd never seen the girl in his life, he knew her. He'd known her all his life.
The girl's smile was simultaneously warm and mischievous.
"So, you've figured it out, have you?" she asked, descending soundlessly to the floor. Blink sighed and sat up.
"Not really."
"Well, of course you haven't figured out all of it." The short-haired girl in the green skirt stood with her arms crossed in a matronly position that perfectly matched her matter-of-fact tone. "If you'd figured out everything, there'd be no use for guardian angels in the first place."
"What?"
"That's what they are, Blink."
Blink turned to glance at Snitch who was sitting calmly on the floor at the feet of the short-haired girl.
"They're... they're really angels?"
"Yeah." He smiled up at the girl about him. "Lute's my guardian angel."
The girl called Lute beamed and ruffled his hair.
"And mine is..."
"Do you even have to ask?" the girl in the tailcoat asked, grinning. She pushed her glasses farther up the bridge of her nose and gave him a small wave. "I'm Mayfly."
Blink nodded. "I know."
"I hate to destroy the introductions, but do you think we could take this outside?"
For the first time, both boys noticed the girl in the corner.
The hood of her weather-beaten, forest-green cloak hid most of her hair as well as most of her face, but her bright blue eyes burned through the shadows like fire. She stepped forward into the small patch of moonlight that slipped through the window, and the boys were immediately drawn to the long sword in the elaborately decorated sheathe at her side. Her flowing, white tunic fell below her waist, and several strips of leather were wrapped around it to serve as a sort of belt. Her trousers, made of an odd, leathery material, disappeared into her darker brown boots, and she wore a necklace with an strange symbol that reminded Snitch of three interlocked flower petals. She pulled off her hood, revealing her long, copper hair, and flashed them a friendly smile.
"I'm Stage," she said, her smiled widening.
"She's our leader!" Mayfly chimed in cheerfully.
"I'm not the leader. I have simply been around here the longest." She grinned playfully at the bespectacled girl and carelessly tossed her long hair behind her shoulder. "Anyway. As I said before, you boys definitely deserve an explanation. However, I think it would be best for us to discuss this outside so as not to wake up your friends."
"The last thin' we need is them wakin' up to see you two talkin' to nobody."
Blink groaned as he noticed the slight blond girl sitting calmly on the edge of Racetrack's bed. "How many of you are there?"
The blond frowned, slightly irritated. "A lot of us. So stop whinin' and get yourself outside before the world thinks you're goin' crazy."
Snitch raised an eyebrow and grinned to himself as she mouthed off to Blink. She certainly didn't look threatening. Her body was thin, frail, like the porcelain dolls Snitch saw in the expensive shops. Her wide, blue eyes and straight, shoulder-length blond hair certainly did nothing to heighten her intimidation factor, nor did her frilled white shirt and long, blue skirt. But her voice was confident, slightly sarcastic, and tinged with an odd accent that Snitch couldn't quite place. Despite her childlike appearances, the girl obviously thought she could take care of herself.
"Hush, Sapphy. Let's go."
The blond - Sapphy - pouted in Lute's general direction but hopped to her feet.
Snitch immediately hoisted open the window and cautiously glanced around the room. He nodded and hopped out onto the fire escape. Stage fluttered out after him, followed by Sapphy, then Lute. Blink stayed where he was until Mayfly began poking him in the side of the head. After realizing she wasn't going to stop until he got up, he gritted his teeth, stood up, and clambered out the window.
"So!" Stage began, cheerfully clapping her hands together. She grinned as Snitch eagerly settled himself on the floor of the fire escape. Blink settled for leaning against the wall a safe distance away from the angels. Stage leaned against the railing while Lute chose to position herself as close to Snitch as she possibly could. Sapphy and Mayfly playfully hooked their legs onto the edge of the railing and hung upside down, giggling to themselves. "Where would you like me to begin?"
"I've always found that it's best to begin at the beginning!" Mayfly chimed in. She and Sapphy broke into hysterical giggles.
"What are they laughing at?"
"I have no idea. They always seem to be laughing at something," Lute replied, fighting back a grin.
"Oh, come on, Lute, and you aren't?"
Blink and Snitch exchanged glances.
Stage shrugged helplessly and flashed them a sheepish smile. "We're not exactly the most serious group of girls that ever lived. We like to laugh too much, which is probably why we're not as upset as we should be over the fact that you can see us."
"Even though it is really, really bad," Sapphy offered, swinging herself up into a sitting position. Stage nodded.
"Extremely bad. But it happened, and there's not much that we can do about it. So, the least we can do is explain to you what's going on while we figure out what we can do to stop it. So what would you like to know first?"
"Why are you here?" Snitch asked immediately.
"That's an easy one." Stage leaned forward and took a deep breath before she began. "Humans aren't supposed to see this part of the world. All the so-called 'mystical' creatures are supposed to stay hidden." Stage shrugged. "Sure, humans get occasional glances of what's really happening but not usually."
"So there really is a whole other world out there?" Snitch asked, awe-struck.
"I suppose you could say that, though it's really the same world... just with... well, parts of it edited out for certain people." The other three angels nodded in agreement as Stage spoke.
"But we aren't the only people you can't see," Sapphy added. "There are other people, too. And they ain't nice, like us."
"The werewolves, the vampires, the Berserkers, the Shadow Walkers..." Mayfly casually ticked them off, then swung herself upright to join Sapphy.
Snitch didn't know what half of those things were, but he knew that they couldn't be very pleasant to encounter. He chewed on his lower lip and waited for the angels to continue.
"And some of them would like nothing more than to tear an unsuspecting human to shreds and eat the remains," Lute said, grimly serious.
"How are we supposed to protect ourselves from something we can't see?" Blink asked, thoroughly startled.
All four angels grinned proudly.
"That's where we come in, of course!" Lute replied, her tone slightly haughty. "When you're born, your guardian angel is sort of... born with you. We stay with you your entire lives, defending you against things you can't even understand." She smirked. "Why do you think we're called guardian angels?"
"It makes sense..." Snitch muttered.
"But how... I mean, were you..." Blink stammered.
The angels exchanged glances.
"You're gonna ask the big one, aren't you, Blink?" Mayfly asked quietly. "The whole 'were you ever really alive, or were you just born an angel' question." For the first time, her smiled turned bitter. "We were all alive at one point. Not at the same time, as you can tell." She gestured to her outrageous red coat. "But we were all alive."
"So what happened?"
"We died," Sapphy replied sharply. "We died before we was supposed to."
"How did you die?"
The angels were silent. The tension that surrounded Snitch and Blink was nearly tangible. Blink bit his lip, wishing he'd never asked.
It was, surprisingly enough, Sapphy who spoke up first. "Heart attack," she whispered, refusing to meet either boy's eyes. "I had a heart attack right in the middle of Central Park, and nobody did a damn thin' to help me." She shook her head. "People aren't supposed to die from heart attacks when they're sixteen. It ain't right."
"Civil War." Lute's voice was clear, crisp, and sharp as a knife. "Daddy took me and my sister over to Camille just for fun. You know where Camille is? 'Course you don't. It's in Georgia. It was just the three of us, having fun, glad to be together. There were freedslaves there. Somebody started shooting at 'em." She shrugged. "Guess we were just standing in the wrong place at the wrong time." She stared up at the sky and said no more that night.
Mayfly blinked, sighed, and took off her glasses. "I'd rather not have to look at you while I say this. Not being able to see at all helps." She idly picked at one of her fingernails as she spoke. "American Revolution, you know, the whole fighting for independence and whatnot. I was against it, because my father was against it. And I wanted to make my father happy. Didn't have any brothers, and Father was too old, so I tucked my hair under my hat and enlisted in the British army. I'd never even seen a gun up close before." She laughed mirthlessly and stared down at a rather large hole in her coat that neither Blink nor Snitch had noticed before. "A few weeks into it, I got a very close look at the end of a bayonet."
Simultaneously, all three girls looked at Stage. She shook her head. "I died in battle, fighting for my people. That's all you really need to know."
Snitch and Blink stared, wide-eyed, at the four girls in front of them. Not a half an hour a girl, they'd been laughing and acting like the children they should have been. Now... their eyes seemed tired, filled with horrors that no teenager should have to experience. They suddenly looked much older than sixteen or seventeen.
"I shouldn't have asked," Blink said quietly. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be," Mayfly replied, a hint of a smile ghosting across her lips. "You have the right to know."
"Of course they do!" Blink's jaw dropped and Snitch's eyes sparkled as a fifth angel, the raggedy girl who'd been singing at Pie's bedside, soared over to rest beside Lute. She smiled merrily at them. "Hiya! They call me Smalltalk, I suppose I'm stuck at fifteen for the rest of my life, or afterlife, anyway, whatever you want to call it, and I died in the Black Plague. See, that wasn't so hard, was it, girls? Just spit it out and be done with it. Anyway. That's why I don't exactly look my Sunday best. The Plague does that to you, you know. See how thin I am? That's because-" Smalltalk's hazel eyes widened in surprise as Lute nonchalantly clapped her hand over her mouth.
"You see why we call her Smalltalk?" Stage asked, rolling her eyes and grinning.
"I think so," Snitch replied, grinning broadly. "But I got one more question, if that's okay."
"Ask away!"
"What's gonna happen now that we can see you?"
Stage frowned. "That's a good question..."
"Well, we know that whatever made us see you had to have come from that bottle," Blink offered. Stage raised an eyebrow.
"I knew it! I knew that lady didn't feel right!" Mayfly yelled. She quickly recounted the boys' adventure with the strange woman and her stranger bottles.
Stage frowned. "I've never heard of anything like those bottles. Lute, tomorrow, I want you to take Snitch back to this woman's shop and study her. See if you can figure anything else out."
Lute nodded but said nothing. Her face was grey.
"So what do I do?" Blink asked.
Stage beamed. "Pretend like nothing has changed and pray that no one else finds that bottle."
The angels let out a collective giggle as Blink slapped his forehead.
*~*~*
Pie Eater frowned. He'd been tossing and turning for twenty minutes, but he couldn't seem to fall asleep. Finally, he sat up and sighed.
It's because she's gone.
Pie Eater didn't have a name for the sickly, thin girl with the bright smile and the beautiful voice. All he knew was that she visited his dreams with softly lilting melodies like those his mother used to sing to him.
He, apparently, couldn't sleep without her.
I can't sleep because a girl I made up in my head decided not to come sing to me tonight.
He snorted at the absurdity of it, then glanced around the room. By the position of the moon, he could tell that it wouldn't be light for another few hours. He sighed and idly followed the rays of moonlight that reflected off of...
Reflected off of what?
Frowning, he hopped out of his bed and trudged over to Racetrack's bunk. There, on the floor, was a clear, crystal bottle filled with bright blue liquid. Curiously, he gingerly lifted it from the floor and examined it.
It didn't look like anything Pie Eater had ever seen before. Even the color seemed... odd. It wasn't a blue that could be easily named, like sky blue or midnight blue or powder blue. It was a shade of blue that Pie Eater was certain he'd never seen.
He carefully removed the glass stopper, his inquisitiveness overtaking him. The stuff in the bottle had no smell at all, which further interested the dark-haired boy. He frowned and prodded at the bottle.
Then, with a light shrug, he took a sip.
He hissed through his teeth and nearly dropped the bottle from the pain and surprise that washed over him. He collapsed onto his knees and covered his head until the burning white receded from his eyes and the shrill ringing faded from his ears.
Then, slowly, ever so slowly, he looked up.
He paled slightly as his mouth fell open. His stared, fixated, at a spot near the ceiling before realization dawned on him. He stared at the bottle.
Immediately, he jumped to his feet and began vigorously shaking the boy in the bunk nearest to him.
"Racetrack! Race, you gotta wake up and see this, this is amazing..."
*~*~*
"Runner."
The short boy turned, his eyes flashing coldly like chips of emerald. "What, Slant?"
The Chinese girl stepped from the shadows, smiling a cold smile that didn't quite reach her large, dark eyes. "There's something I think you might want to know."
"Obviously, or you wouldn't be talking to me right now. Tell me quickly and then find something useful to do." Runner crossed his arms impatiently, an unlit cigarette dangling from his lips.
"There are newsboys that have gained the Sight."
The cigarette dropped to the ground.
"How do you know that?" he asked coldly after a short pause.
Slant snorted. "When two boys sit on a fire escape apparently talking to no one, I think it's pretty obvious that they've got the Sight."
"Unless they were insane."
"Except their angels were talking back." She smirked again, revealing the sharply pointed ends of her abnormally long canine teeth, and threw her long, straight, black hair over her shoulder. "I thought you might want to know that."
Runner glared at her retreating back, then turned back to stare out the large window of the momentarily empty warehouse. He gritted his teeth and hastily ran his fingers through his ear-length blond hair.
Common newsboys that can see us? That can't possibly be true...
But Slant wouldn't lie to him. Especially not about something like that.
Runner snarled and thrust his fist forward through the window. The sound of shattering glass echoed throughout the silent, desolate streets of midnight Manhattan, though, miraculously, not a soul took notice of it.
Oddly enough, when the factory workers entered the building the next morning, not a single one seemed to notice the blood-tinted shards of glass.
End Chapter II
Yeeeeah... erm... I really hate this chapter. ^^;;; But it's kinda necessary. Everything'll be better once things start heating up. *ominous music* Aaaaanywho. On to the shoutouts! WHEE!
Sapphy-love: MY DARLING! *clings!* *grins* The lady in the purple cloak is going to appear periodically throughout the fic. She's actually very, very important, but you won't find out why until the veeeeeery end. *beams* Well, you're in this chapter, but Race will probably get his first glimpse of you... next chapter. *grin* That's when the rest of the angels will come in. *dances merrily* *pets pocket* Thank you SO much for the loverly review, darlin'!
geometrygal: Eep! *rubs head* ^^ Aw, thanks! I'm glad to know that they're not all... flat and icky. THEY LIVE! WOO! Anyway. This chapter isn't exactly the greatest, but what can you do? Yay, necessary exposition chapters. And, due to Lute in the NJL RP, I've developed a love for StupidButCute!Snitch. So he shall appear in this fic as such. XD Thanks for the review, dearie!
Thistle: HERE YA GO! *thrusts chapter forward* For you. ^_^ It's not the greatest, but it's existent, which is a big plus for me. *giggles* *glomps!*
Froginator: Technically, she's not an old lady, but you really couldn't tell that. ^^ More about her later. *sixes*
Flare: *laughs* As you're going to find out, these aren't your stereotypical angels. They aren't all peaceful and sweet and pacifist-y. *grins* They're fun! Oh, more newsies will definitely show up. I think the grand total of the main cast will be... Jack, Race, Blink, Mush, Spot, Snitch, Skittery, and Specs. *nods* That's it. ^^ Glad you liked it, and thanks for reviewing!
J-Sparrow Who is Fourteen Now: *TACKLEGLOMP* I heart you mooooore! I really hope it turns out to be my best. And ROATT SUCKED! It had no plot! ^_^ *glomp* (Pantless!Blink-Muse and UberGoth!Itey-Muse: *are chained to the desk* HEY!) *grins* *lovelovelove*
Tabbers: *falls over* O.o Glad you like it, dearest love of mine. ^^;; *pokes at crap chapter she just wrote* Now available for your reading pleasure/detestation. *clings*
Gryffin Parker: *beams* Blink gets to go through lots of torture in this fic, physical and emotional, which is always fun. *beams again* There's nothing like expressing your undying love for your character by torturing the hell out of him. XD And you have NO idea how much I want that Vial, too. *pouts* I SHOULD MARKET THEM! WOO! Anyway. YAY! Glad you like it! *excited!* Sankyuu muchly for reviewing!
Raven: *is blown backwards* EEEEEP! Yes, yes, they're here! And you're coming in next chapter. ^^ I ADORE YOU! MWAH!
Aura: Why, tankies! *feels special* I'm glad you like it. Thanks for the faboo review-age!
Stage (x2): Yes, indeed, you did answer my CC, as you can tell by this chapter. ^^ Quoting Empire Records is completely acceptable. *nodnod* Yup. AND I LOVE STAGE EVEN MORE! *glomp!*
Omni: *squeal* *glomp* You love it? Really?! EEEEP! *excited!* This fic did get a CC, and I e-mailed you about it, but you didn't answer, and that made me sad, but I still have a spot for you, if you want it! XD Just e-mail me, and I'll send you the info. *love*
Strawberri Shake: *giggles* Well, here's your answer! They're angels. ^^ I LOVE fantasy stories. I don't know why. I guess I'm just a sucker for magical-type things. And wings. I really like wings. *nods* *grins* SQUEE! I GET A MUSIE SONG! *excited!* Thankyouthankyouthankyooooou! *glomp*
Rachelilylooloo: *giggles wildly and glomps* Technically, he's Lute's Snitch (StupidButCute!Snitch from the RP). I just stole him from her. And she didn't review, so she's not getting him back. XD Ashleighlalamoo? *laughs hysterically* I love it! And I heart you, too. *counter-sixing*
Rumor-darling: That's perfectly fine, darling love of mine! Hey, that rhymes! WOO! Yeah. Anyway. Sunsets rock. They rock so hard it's not even funny. And I never get a chance to watch them because I'm usually in rehearsal. *sad* I'm such a sucker for fantasy books and mystical creatures and stuff. It's my Genre of the Year. ^-^ Anywho, I glad you liked it! I LOVE YOU! *glomplovehug*
Eire: Aw, thanks so much! I'm uber-glad you liked it, and tankies muchly for the review! *beams*
Shadelicious: *sixes like crazy* *grins* *ish happy you liked it* The Shade is the love of my life. *more sixing 'cause you're just that cool*
Gothic Author: *hugs back* *beams* *giggles wildly* Almost right. Lute, me 'n' Tab. Keza sent in Ruin, who I can't wait to write! Insanity is WONDERFUL! YAAAAY! *tackleglomps* *snuzzles* *loves*
Janelove: EEEEEHEEHEE! Glad you liked it, loveykins. We actually had a discussion about what Snitch should throw. It was between a rock, a cell phone, a vibrator, or Mark Cohen. I went with the rock. ^^ I tried to make it move fast, kinda like I did with this chapter, since they're boring and no one really cares about them. XD And I've actually developed a taste for third person. *shudders* What is WRONG with me?! *glomps back* LOVE YOU EVEN THOUGH YOU DON'T WRITE!
B-darlingschmoozle: I was going to force Snitch into a therapy session, but I needed him for this fic. *shrug* After I'm done with it, off he goes. *nods defiantly* Believe me, this isn't the worst that Blinky-love will have to go through. *cackles* It was actually interesting? Whoa... I take that as such a compliment, especially from you, who writes like a goddess. If goddesses wrote fics. ... *shrug* Anywho. LOVE!
Krispykins: *grins* Glad you liked it. But I like this blouse! *defends her stripes and polka dots*
Layne-doll: LAAAAAAAYNE! *glomps!* I love getting reviews from you! I get all happy and squeaky after I read them. *giggles* *blush* *pops inflating ego with pin* I'm gonna try and write this as much as I can, 'cause I really like it. XD LOVELOVELOVE! *glomps again*
LaurelCrowned1: Believe me, I'd like nothing more than to find one of those Vials... real life is so boring. *pouts* Do As Infinity is awesome. XD Thanks so much for reviewing! ^_^
Eva: Thanks! Glad you like it! Ack, sorry I never e-mailed you! .O I'm extremely absent-minded, and I have a very short attention span. ^-^;; I keep forgetting what I- *walks away* (XD)
Kexxxa: DARLINGLOVE! *schmoozles* See, you get a word made up just for you. ^_^ I'd totally forgotten about the Aladdin/Abu thing until I re-read this. *dies laughing* THAT WAS SO FUNNY! AND SO TRUE! *tacklesixes Keza* *holds funeral for plot bunnies* Anywho. Much love for reviewing! And just because I luffle you! ^^
Aaaand that's all for this chapter. Next chapter: more boys get ahold of the Vial of Truth, we learn something interesting about Spot, and Lute and Snitch try to figure out what the hell is up with the lady in the purple cloak. *cheesy announcer voice* All this - and more - in the next chapter of Angelsight!
Pantless!Blink-Muse and UberGoth!Itey-Muse: *hold up signs reading, "Will Work For Reviews"*