Yo! I'm still getting a lack of reviews, for some reason. I wonder what's wrong?

RiviPSP update: I haven't done much of anything since the last update. I'm now at the entrance to Yggdrasil, rather than in Elendia. It might be just my imagination, but Rose's English voice seems to be getting a bit better as I go further into the game. She doesn't sound as bratty as she did at Heaven's Gate. Serene isn't improving as much, though. Oh, and I just made a conjecture today that Ursula's voice actor also reads the narration XD

Well, The White Wings has hit its 27th entry! This chapter doesn't feel as deep as the previous one, and actually, the fight doesn't start until the next chapter. I'm introducing a new OC, though. R&R if you please!

By the way, I don't own Negima! either. The line about someone being the only star in the story of his/her life (Chapter 25 The White Wings) is practically quoted from Ken Akamatsu's manga without permission. For the basic disclaimer, see Chapter 1.

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Ein slowly awoke the next morning to see sunlight just beginning to stream through a window. Still slightly dazed with sleep, he glanced around him at his surroundings and remembered he was in Fia's room. He rolled over onto his side and found himself face to face with Fia, who was still sound asleep and had wrapped her side of the blanket around her so that one leg and one arm were showing. Ein suppressed his surprise and remembered the events of the previous night.

Have my child, huh? She's so different from two years ago. I guess we've all changed a lot. He shook his head and slowly sat up and dangled his feet over his side of the bed. Behind him, Fia moaned softly and moved in her sleep. Ein turned to her and quickly turned away again, seeing that Fia had moved so that her entire upper body was visible. He started to get up, but grabbed his arm from behind. Slowly, Ein turned his head back to find Fia awake and looking at him.

"Ein, are you going somewhere?" Fia asked sleepily. "It's still very early."

Ein tried not to stare at Fia's chest. "Oh, sorry, did I wake you up?" He turned his whole body towards her and took her into his arms. "If you're tired, you should sleep a bit longer."

Fia pouted. "You didn't answer my question." She wrapped her own arms around Ein and gently ran her hands up and down his back and over his wings. Her breasts pressed into Ein's chest, making him blush slightly.

Ein seemed worried, but Fia didn't see and couldn't tell. "Well, you see, Ursula warned me last night about a surprise attack by a small squad of angels that should be getting her this morning." He released her from his arms and stood up. "If you're still tired, you should rest."

Fia looked confused. "Ursula did? In your dreams?" She took the blanket and pulled it close to her as she sat up.

"Well, it's complicated," Ein said after a small pause. "Anyway, the point is, we have to repel the attack."

"I'll go with you!" Fia exclaimed. "I don't want you to fight alone!"

"But you look tired," Ein argued, putting on his underwear, followed by the pajamas he had taken off the previous night. "It would be okay if you were up to the task, but you can get hurt easily if you're drowsy."

"Well, at least take someone with you," Fia urged. "I'll feel safer, at least."

"I was planning to awaken Ledah, actually," Ein reassured her. "Once you're awake, could you tell the others what's going on?" He grabbed Oracion from the corner and headed to the door. "I'll do my best to stall them until you guys are ready." With that, he turned and started out the door.

"I-I love you, Ein!" Fia called after him.

Ein reappeared in the doorway. "I love you too, Fia. But really, do we need to say that?"

Fia giggled, smiling widely. "I guess not. Take care, okay?"

Ein gave her a thumbs-up and a friendly wink, and promptly left. Fia let herself fall back onto the bed and stared at the ceiling for a few minutes before getting up to get dressed.

Before heading to his room, Ein went downstairs to find Rose and Ledah sleeping on the couch together in the same spot. Ledah had Rose in his arms, and his wings were curled around both of them. Ein walked up to them and gently shook Ledah's shoulder, trying not to agitate Rose.

"Ledah!" Ein whispered. "Ledah, wake up!"

Ledah's eyes fluttered open. "Wha… Ein?"

"Be careful, don't wake up Rose," Ein warned. "Are you awake?"

"What does it look like?" Ledah replied. "Is something the matter?"

"It's a long story. Get ready to fight, and I'll tell you the details later."

Ledah nodded and gently eased Rose out of his embrace. He looked around and saw Soala's and Cierra's witch hats sitting on a couch opposite from them. "Hey, Ein, can you grab me one of those?" he asked, pointing at the hats.

Ein nodded and picked up one at random. Ledah eased Rose out of his embrace completely and set her down on the couch. He took the hat from Ein and set it gently on Rose's face, careful to avoid blocking the nose and mouth. "That should keep her asleep," Ledah explained. "Okay, go get changed. You're not going to go out looking like that."

Ein grinned sheepishly. "Yeah, yeah, I know." He walked over to the stairs and flew up them, heading to his room.

Just minutes later, Ein came back down from his room in his usual attire, carrying Oracion. He stepped into the kitchen, where he found Ledah munching on a piece of toast. Ledah beckoned to him, and he went over and picked up his own piece of toast, nodding in thanks. CoCo lay on the counter, sound asleep, covered by a tiny blanket. Ein thought for a moment, and then decided that he would carry her up to his room.

Ein finished up the piece of toast and brushed his hands off. Carefully, he picked up CoCo in his arms and took her upstairs. He opened the door to his room quietly and tucked CoCo gently under his blanket, and quickly left. He found Ledah waiting for him with a cup of milk, which he offered to Ein, who accepted gratefully.

Silently, Ein drank the milk at a normal pace and placed the cup in the sink and filled it with water. He gestured to Ledah, who followed him out the door, Lorelei in his hand. Fia came down a few seconds after they left and watched the two leave through a window near the door.

Ein and Ledah walked a short distance before Ein spoke up. "Ledah, last night I talked with Ursula. Do you remember her?"

Ledah nodded. "She was the old guardian of Riviera, right? The one who placed an Accursed in our path when we were about to pass Heaven's gate."

"That's right." Ein paused in thought for a few seconds, and then continued. "She told me about a pre-emptive strike that Orion planned for today. The strike team is a small squad of Grim Angels, and they're due to arrive in Elendia from Heaven's Gate soon."

"I see." Ledah thought for a moment. "What do you think we should do?"

"Well, above all else, we have to stop them," Ein explained. "If we can convince them to join our side, then we'll do that. Otherwise, we're going to have to fight."

"Understood," Ledah said with a sigh. "It's too bad you don't have the rehabilitation ability that Ursula used on you."

"That's true," Ein agreed. "If we could lock away their memories of being angels, it would be much easier to convince them to join us."

They reached the outskirts of Elendia within minutes. "So, Ein, should we head in the general direction of Heaven's Gate?" Ledah glanced around. "I believe it's that way." He pointed to the north and slightly west.

Ein nodded. "That gives us the best chance of meeting them." He paused in thought, and then continued. "Say, Ledah, do you think you can fight two angels on your own?"

Ledah pondered the question. "I think that depends on how powerful the angels are," he replied. "Considering how this strike team is fairly small, like you said, they are probably quite high-level."

"Well, I was thinking of splitting up, but maybe that's not the best idea after all," Ein said. "Let's get airborne. It would be faster to find them that way."

"We might miss them if they're hiding under trees," Ledah pointed out. "Ein, I'll go in the sky, and you stay on the ground and search the trees. That sound okay?"

Ein nodded. "Let's go then." He took off towards the nearest group of trees at a quick speed, Oracion at the ready. Ledah glanced around briefly and took off into the sky, gripping Lorelei with one hand. Seeing no sign of anybody, he watched Ein disappear into a group of trees. Deciding to expand his area of sight, he flew off a short distance.

Ein looked around the small grove of trees he had entered. He came across a small area under the shade of a tree and stopped to inspect a small pile of leaves that seemed to have been scattered recently. Upon closer inspection, he found a few black feathers. He picked up the feathers to examine them, and found that they didn't match Ledah's. The feathers were also not all identical, as if there were more than one being here.

Ein glanced around carefully to make sure there was no one around him. Suddenly, he heard a rustling above him, and seconds later, a winged figure dropped down on him, ready to strike. Ein was just barely able to lift his own blade in time to parry the attack, sending the surprise attacker reeling.

"Congrats on finding the feathers," the figure said from the shadows in a voice that seemed to be a mix of feminine and masculine. "It's just you and me now, though."

Ein looked puzzled. "Aren't there more of you?"

The figure laughed. "Well, we have a job to do. I'm the one assigned to take care of reinforcements. And you're our enemy, so prepare yourself!"

"You have an interesting voice," Ein remarked. "It kind of reminds me of someone I knew a long time ago."

"We can talk later." The figure lashed out again, but Ein pushed the blow aside and swung downwards, causing his foe to dash out of the way. A blade of light emitted from the sword and traveled a couple meters before dissipating, completely missing the target.

Ein quickly followed up with a series of cuts, but every blow was parried. He noticed a small clearing up ahead, and continued to force his opponent towards it. As they came out of the woods, light shined on both their faces, causing both of them to hesitate in surprise.

"Wait a second. Aren't you…?" Ein stared at his opponent in puzzlement.

Long, wavy blond hair cascaded down the angel's back, drifting around the long, black wings. It had on a shirt with a sky blue and white pattern that reminded Ein of clouds in the sky. On its back was a capelike set of billowing black ribbons about a couple inches in width. It wore a blue robe on the lower body that moved in the wind like a dress. In its hand was a blue rapier shaped slightly like a Christmas tree. It glowed slightly with power.

"Oh? It's Ein! Wait, are you really?" The angel lowered its weapon as it walked up to inspect Ein. "You look enough like Ein, but your diviner is different. Not to mention you have… glowing white wings?"

"Yeah, it's me," Ein replied, now sure of his opponent's identity. "It's been a while, Hope." Malice's twin sister… who knew she would be one of the surprise attackers?

"So it is you!" Hope flicked her hair back. "Who would have thought? In Asgard they're all saying that you failed your mission, betrayed Hector, and helped our enemies! And some people even say you died."

"I suppose that has some truth to it, if you define everything properly," Ein murmured. "Our original mission as assigned by Hector was to actuate the Retribution and destroy Riviera. But as you can see, I am very much alive." He chuckled as he said the last line, remembering what had happened at the exit of Heaven's Gate at the beginning of his mission two years ago.

"Hmm…" Hope pieced the facts together. "So you didn't want to destroy Riviera, and instead, you helped the sprites achieve peace?"

Ein nodded. "In the end, it was Hector who was releasing the Accursed and the demons as an excuse to destroy Riviera for his own selfish intentions."

Hope pondered the sudden information. "That's a pretty interesting story. I haven't heard it like that before." She shook her head and smiled. "Well, I believe you, Ein. You were never one to lie before."

Ein blushed slightly. "Um, right. Anyway, we shouldn't dawdle too long. We need to find the rest of your attack squad quickly."

Hope hesitated. "Wait… are you telling me we have to fight them?"

"I have no desire to fight," Ein replied, floating about a foot in the air. "If possible, I'll try to persuade them to stop attacking us."

"And you'll have to defeat them if you can't?"

Ein nodded. "Is there another choice?"

Hope paused for a moment in thought, then sadly shook her head. "Let me go with you."

"Fine by me," Ein replied. "I know I can trust you, anyway. It's sometimes hard to believe that you're twins with that Malice."

Hope chuckled, but the laugh quickly turned into a frown. "By the way, what happened to Malice?" she asked.

Ein's head drooped. "She was killed by Hector," he replied. At this, a shock went through Hope and she dropped to the ground. Ein looked away. "I'm sorry. If I were stronger, I would have—"

"No." Hope raised her head and looked up at him with teary eyes. "It's not your fault, Ein. You see, her name doesn't exist anymore in Asgard. If you mention Malice, nobody knows who you're talking about."

"The way you're putting things makes it seem like Asgard is quite corrupt now," Ein remarked. "But I still take some of the blame for Malice's death. Malice sacrificed herself to restrain someone important to me for Hector to kill. Even though Hector is dead, I can't forgive him for doing something like that."

"Ein…" Hope stood up and gazed at him. "I think I understand now. Ever since I left Asgard, I've had many doubts as to the facts… Now that I see you here, fighting so hard for the sprites, my suspicions against Orion have been confirmed." She stood up tall and wiped away her tears. "Maybe this is fate, Ein… I've decided. I'm going to fight by your side."

As he floated, he watched Hope in amazement. When Ein was young, he and Hope had often played together in Asgard. To him, Hope was almost like a sister. Hope admired Ein and was with him most of the time. The two of them grew up together as childhood friends. Malice was kind to both of them, but she had changed since she had become a Grim Angel. Ein grimaced as he remembered Hector's last words about Malice. She was never a true Grim Angel.

"..in? Ein?"

Hope's words shook Ein out of his flashback. "Oh, sorry." Ein was still floating in the air in front of her. "Anyway, we should get going."

Hope nodded. "I was sent down with three others," she explained as she took off of the ground and headed in the general direction of Elendia. "All three of them are stronger than I am, and out of them, I think maybe only one could be convinced to switch sides."

Ein pondered this fact as he followed Hope. "I would like to avoid fighting if possible," he repeated. "Is there any other way?"

Hope shook her head sadly. "I don't think so." She paused for a moment before continuing. "I'll try to pull the one that might switch sides away from the group. You can hold off the other two, right?"

Ein nodded. "It shouldn't be a problem. Oh, hold on, I almost forgot." In midair, he turned around several times and, seeing nobody around, he flew higher. Hope stopped and watched as Ein flew around frantically, as if in search of something.

"Did you forget something?" Hope called.

"Oh, there he is!" Ein flew off in the direction of a small red speck in the distance. Hope followed at a small distance. As they moved closer, Hope could begin to make out some features of the figure.

Once they were close enough to see some of the facial features of the figure in the air, Hope brought her hand to her mouth in surprise. "Is that… Ledah?"

"It sure is," Ein replied with a small laugh. "They say he's dead, don't they?"

Hope nodded silently and watched as Ein called to Ledah. Hope and Ledah knew each other when they were young, so introductions were quick. After all was said and done, Hope led the way towards Elendia.

Ein! Hey, Ein!

Ein shook his head at the voice in his head. "Rose?"

Ledah looked at him quizzically. "What are you mumbling about?"

"Rose and I share a kind of telepathic connection," Ein replied. Can you hear me, Rose?

Yeah! Well, we're in a pinch back here, so hurry up, okay? Rose sounded frantic.

I'm on my way already. We have a new ally, to boot.

Oh, that's good. The others are holding a small squad of Grim Angels back near Elendia's entrance! I think there are 2… no, 3 of them. They can't hold on much longer, so hurry!

We'll be there in a few more minutes. "Hey, you two, it seems like Elendia's already having trouble. We should hurry."

Ledah nodded. "It must be handy to be able to communicate with Rose across such a distance."

Hope glanced back and forth between the two of them. "Rose? Who's Rose?"

"Oh, you don't remember?" Ein remembered that Hope had met Rose long ago back in Asgard. "My familiar. She's been transformed into a sprite, though, because of some magic potion that she drank… I don't really know the details."

"Oh, right, your familiar! I remember now." Hope giggled sheepishly. "I'm sorry. It's just been a long time since then."

"It's okay," Ein reassured her. He looked down to see the forest begin to disperse. "We're getting close. Are you two ready?"

"Yeah," Ledah and Hope said in unison.

"Remember, I'm going to pull one of them away first," Hope reminded them. "If all goes well, we might have someone else on our side."

Ein nodded. "Let's go." The three of them made their descent. As they neared the village, they could hear clanging, voices, and screams of pain. In anxiety, Ein increased his speed, and Ledah and Hope kept up on either side of him.

The three of them came into a grassy clearing and stopped short. Serene and Lina were in the air, with Lina on Serene's back shooting arrows. Serene looked exhausted, but clung to her scythe with determination. Fia lay on the grass, breathing heavily and eyes closed, stains on her clothing and scrapes and bruises on her skin, clutching her glowing rapier. Soala also lay on the grass with her eyes closed. Cierra was holding up her staff, creating a weak shield that covered the three of them on the ground.

In the air were three figures silhouetted by the sun, making them appear dark. All three of them had black wings and held strangely shaped weapons that Ein assumed were diviners. On his cue, all three of them rushed to the scene and stood between the three on the ground and the three in the air.

"Ein!" Serene cried. "Where the heck were you? These guys just came and—"

"I know," Ein interrupted. "You two take a break. You seem to need it." He turned his attention to the three in the sky and shielded his eyes from the bright sun just behind them. "Orion's minions, am I right?" Lina stopped shooting arrows and Serene descended to the ground, collapsing once she landed. Lina quickly got off Serene's back and held her in a reclining position and watched the angels talk.

The figure at the far left snorted. "Dude, 'minions' is such an ugly word." His voice was slightly scratchy. He descended slowly to the ground and landed. The other two followed him.

Ein studied the three of them. The one who spoke first stood in the center. He appeared to be male and had short green hair. A plain black robe covered most of his shirt, which was a crimson red. A black cape split into three flaps billowed in the wind behind him. His wings extended out between the flaps of his cape. He held a long and jagged red item that seemed to be an axe.

The angel on the right from Ein's perspective seemed to be female. Her hair was approximately chest-length and was straight and blond. Two red ribbons were tied into twin bows on either side of her head, but she didn't have pigtails. A long yellow scarf flowed in the wind from her neck. She wore a yellow-orange robe that was partly covered by a dark grey vest. In her hand she held a jagged yellow blade that appeared similar to Einherjar at first sight, but it had a different shape. It gave off a soft yellow light.

The angel on the left appeared to be male. His short hair was a natural black and was spiked all around. He had on a soft green shirt covered by a black cape that billowed in flaps like the center angel. He had on shorts that stopped at the knees. He held a mace-like green object. About halfway up the shaft was a sharp bend and another bend in the opposite direction, creating a zigzag effect. The end appeared to be a torch with several spikes extending a couple inches from it.

"You look somewhat familiar," the angel on the left remarked. "Yet, I can't quite tell. Are you from Asgard?" His voice was quite deep, similar to how Ledah sounded before his emotions were restored.

Ein nodded. "You probably don't know me," he said. "But you might have heard of my name."

"Hey, you!" the green-haired one exclaimed, pointing his weapon at Hope. "Like, what are you doing, siding with them?"

"Well, I…" Hope's voice trailed off.

"She has her reasons," Ein defended her. "I believe her intentions are right."

Hope glanced at Ein. "Thanks," she whispered.

Ein nodded without keeping his gaze off the three in front of him. "So, what do you plan to do?"

"Why are you asking? Do you think we'll tell you?" the green-haired one shot back.

"Is it bad to ask questions?" Ein responded.

"You don't think it's bad to ask questions?" the green-haired one countered.

"Then why are you asking me questions?" Ein demanded.

"Aren't you the one who started that?" the green-haired one shouted hotly.

"Aren't you the one who kept going?" Ein replied coolly.

"Isaac, that's enough," the black-haired angel interrupted. "It seems like talking will get us nowhere." He readied his weapon, and Isaac followed his cue.

"Are you going to say anything?" Ein directed his question at the girl, who had been silently watching the conversation. Her eyes were locked with Hope's, and she didn't reply.

"Are you okay?" Ledah asked Hope. "Um, hey…"

Ein nudged Ledah. "Let them be," he advised. "We should focus on the other two. Try to avoid causing damage, and aim to disarm them, okay?"

Ledah looked at him in puzzlement, but nodded in agreement. The two of them prepared their weapons and faced the two hostile angels.

Their two enemies nodded at each other and then began to charge at Ein and Ledah.

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A/N: Hope. I was thinking about Malice having a twin sister who's mostly opposite to her. I was wondering what kind of name would be opposite of Malice (which describes her attitude in the game quite well) and I initially thought "Kindness," but really, I've never heard of that used as a name before. So Hope it is XD

I'm kinda using Sasuke from Naruto as a model for the black-haired angel and Jake from Advance Wars as a model for the green-haired angel Isaac (the way he talks, not his appearance). The physical model for the female angel (not Hope) is Eve from Yami to Boshi to Hon no Tabibito, while the physical model for Hope is Ririsu (I think that's her name) from the same series. Tabibito is a 1 season series with a confusing plot because it's somewhat based on religion… and to be honest, I haven't watched very much of Naruto (though I understand Sasuke's personality… I think). The personalities of the two girls aren't based on those two characters, though.

Oh, and the idea of disarming the opponent is adapted from a mix of both Gundam Seed (Kira and the Freedom, heh XD) and Star Wars (the Jedi).

On the next chapter of The White Wings…

Chapter 28: New Allies (Release on August 26, 2007)

The battle ensues and some enemies become allies. Can Ein convince the two hostile angels to switch sides?