A/N: This story is about hope. And porings. p I know, I know. You're thinking that this story is really weird, and porings can't really do the things that they do in my story... Hahaha... Uhm... Read and Review please? Constructive criticisms?

Paradise

Hi! I'm Poppy. I'm cute, smart, and lovable. I like shiny things and my favorite food is apples. I am also a poring. I live in a wonderful place!
Humans call it 'Poring Island'. This is a fitting name because this place is full of my kind. Nice, peace-loving Porings, Poporings, and Drops.

I remembered that when I was a young Poring straight out from the egg, my grandpa, a Poporing named Primus, told me stories. They were wonderful stories, stories of our ancestors, stories of how, in days old, our kind ruled the world. Until, of course, man came. Most of his stories were about the Guardian Angeling, a Poring so holy and powerful, that God himself sent
her down to protect our people during hard times.

When he spoke of her, his eyes shone with so much love and adoration and his voice quavered with hope.
When I heard about her, I was skeptical. No one can protect us from humans! They were too powerful, too strong and too greedy. I immediately dismissed this story as a myth.

One day, I woke up abruptly when my brother, Paul, jumped on me, shouting that there were humans outside.
"Poppy," he cried. "Mama, Papa, and Grandpa are still outside!" Though I was quaking with fear, I immediately started to go outside when I heard his words. I had to protect them! I told Paul to stay inside while I fetch them. He nodded silently and hid under some leaves.
I quickly left, shaking with fright. I immediately saw my parents. I shouted out,
"Mother! Father! Hurry, come in where it's safe!" They saw me at the same time; they both nodded and started hopping toward me, faces serious. Before they could reach me, though, a spear plunged through my mother's heart. I saw my father's face then. It was full of loss and sorrow.
He hopped towards where my mother's dead body was, ignorant of the danger.
"No! Father! Come back!" I screamed at him, but he was oblivious to my cries. He stared at her remains then looked up at the sky.
"Why? Lord, why!"

It happened too quickly for any of us to notice. One moment, my father was there, beside my mother's dead body, the next; there was a giant bird's foot. Riding on the bird was a man. My mother's murderer. I heard the human laugh,
"Oh no, don't tell me you stepped on a poring again? This will take a week to clean!" The bird cawed apologetically. I felt anger then. Hot, boiling anger. I wanted revenge! I wanted to kill them, disembowel them then display them to the masses. I started to hop towards them, but was stopped by a sound. A soft, aging voice whispered softly into my ear.
"Don't Poppy. We should just pray to God that your mother and father will get to Poring Paradise." He had told me about Poring Paradise before. The place where no man had ever set foot in; where every Poring was watched over by the Guardian Angeling. I looked at my grandfather and silently nodded.

We slowly started to go home, our hearts filled with grief. I sadly told Paul what had happened to our parents. As expected, he was miserable. He asked me, "Why did they have to die? Why did the human kill them? They didn't do anything to him…" I wiped away his tears, "Because humanity is a bloodthirsty, insatiably greedy species. They would do anything to become wealthier, be it by working or by slaughtering innocent creatures."

Paul never stopped crying that night. Or for that matter, neither did I.

A week passed. Half of our village's population had been killed. So many Porings had been left without brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, and friends. So many of us had died to satisfy the greed of the human. We helped each other to find new homes. Indeed, our village was almost completed.
Until he came. Again.

That day, I remembered that I had been looking for apples when it happened. I had been hopping along, oblivious to danger, thinking that everything would get back to normal soon. I didn't know that humanity's greed was still unquenched. I remember my brother's voice laughing, exclaiming,
"Poppy! Poppy! I found something shiny!" I turned around and was horrified to see the human, this time without his creature, standing behind him.
"Paul behind you!" He laughed again.
"Poppy! Is there another apple? When we get home, can you make that delicious apple p-" He never got to finish his sentence. The man had sliced him open with his sword. That human even had the nerve to look through by brother's dead body for items! While he was looking through my brother's remains, I leaped away as fast as I could, trying to erase the sight of my brother's lifeless body from my mind. I ran quickly to grandpa.
"Grandfather! The human… he- he killed Paul!" I wailed, tears streaming down my face. My grandfather was silent.
"G-Grandpa?" He looked at me, his eyes grave.
"She's calling me." I sighed,
"Who, Grandfather?" He leaped toward the door.
"The Guardian Angeling." I hopped after him,
"What? Grandpa! That's impossible! She's not real! There's no such thing!" He continued hopping.
"No. She's here. I have to go to her." I started crying even harder,
"No! Grandpa! Don't leave me! Please!" I stopped and said quietly, almost to myself, "I don't want to be alone." My grandfather hopped toward me and held me close.
"Don't worry, Poppy. The Guardian Angeling will always be with you." He then leaped away, leaving me alone with my tears.

After all my tears had run dry, I hopped around, looking for grandpa. As I walked through a forest, I heard sounds. Sounds of slashing and fighting. I hopped forward, no longer afraid of death. Indeed, I almost wanted my life to end right then and there. I went around a bend and saw them. The man and a group of Poporings.

I hopped forward, determined see what was happening. As I jumped forward, I landed in something goopy and wet. I immediately hopped back. As I stared at what I had jumped on, I almost barfed. It was Grandpa! He was lying on the ground, slashed in half. His body parts were scattered in different directions.

I cried, again. I had thought that there were no more tears left, but I was wrong.

I cried for grandpa.

I cried for mama and papa.

I cried for Paul.

I also cried for myself.
Now, I was truly alone.

I hopped toward the carnage, toward the man who had killed my whole family. I stopped when I saw her. She was… beautiful! I saw her appear from the sky, drifting towards the battlefield. I saw her perfectly snow-white wings and saw the golden halo around her head. The man did something, then. He had been severely wounded, yet he didn't mind his wounds.

"Magnum Break!" He screamed, and suddenly a fire seemed to erupt from his body. I closed my eyes against the glare. When I opened them, all the Poporings were dead.

Now, it was truly a one-on-one battle.

The Angeling hit the man repeatedly, and the man repeated the gesture. They continued for what seemed like hours, hero against hero; hope against despair. She got hit repeatedly, though she didn't even seem to flinch. The man, however, had many wounds; some were bleeding profusely, while some had already begun to dry. He drank something red from a bottle, which hung from his belt. I heard him mutter,
"Damn. Out of Reds…" The Angeling continued to ram itself into the man, once in a while, she would beat its wings. Moment after moment, they battled. The Angeling's graceful movements were in stark contrast with the man's bulky, slow, and violent motions.

For one moment, I thought that the battle was decided. The man had lifted his sword, focusing all his energy on it, then he quickly brought it down on the Angeling's head. Feathers ruffled and the halo wavered, she looked weak. The man laughed and slashed at it. It moved elegantly away. It backed a few steps. The man started cursing.

"Running away, are you? Not so invincible now, eh?" He started laughing cruelly as he charged towards her.

The Angeling did something very peculiar, then. She started to sing. Her peaceful song surrounded me and my heart felt uplifted of all sorrow. While she sang, she beat her feathered wings. Suddenly, a pink light enveloped her body and when it disappeared, she looked renewed of strength. She could fight again.

She moved toward the human, triumphant and ready to continue fighting. The man's face was ashen and dirty; he was already weary and tired. I did not believe he could last another few minutes. Yet, he clenched his teeth in determination and started again. Eventually, though, the man stumbled.

And in that little stumble, in that one foible of man, the Angeling hit him hard and fast, killing him. I could hardly believe it! This man, this tyrant of my people; this greedy, hateful man, was defeated! No one would ever have to die in his hands ever again. No one would ever have to feel the loss of a loved one because of him. And with that one hit, this man wearily breathed his last breath, under the victorious strike of the Angeling.

I stared, amazed as the Angeling made a delighted sound after she defeated him. She turned to me, looked me straight in the eye, and smiled. In my mind, I could hear her voice telling me things. Marvelous things.

She told me, in a voice as soft as silk, to never give up.

She told me that there were many other Porings who had given up hope.

She told me to spread the word about her coming, to spread the joy, love, and hope of her arrival.

She also said to continue looking for Paradise. Because she will be there, waiting with a welcoming smile. And with that, she spread her beautiful wings and disappeared in a flurry of white feathers and pink light.

Someday I wish I could get there. To the place where no man lives. The place where the guardian angeling will stand over us and protect us forever.