Alice

It was almost dark when we got back to Murucho's. I had no clue what Shun was looking for in the sky earlier, but he didn't seem to want to stay around whatever it was. Dan and the others were sitting around in a sitting area, and talking about something that apparently happened while Shun and I were gone. Dan saw his friend and smiled. "Have fun on your date, buddy?" Shun kept his composure and stalked off into another room. Dan raised and eyebrow and asked me, "What's his damage?"

I didn't really know. Ever since I had made him bring up the topic of the Clan Wars, he had seemed a little sore. Or maybe it was something that Kiba guy had told him. I wasn't really sure. I told Dan, "He's just a little tired. You know how he gets when he's like that." It was a good cover up. Shun always had a temper when he was tired. Dan bought my lie and went back to talking with Murucho. Runo walked over to me. "Alice, can I talk with you in the hall?" I blinked my eyes. I wasn't expecting her to pull me away from the others. I nodded my head. There wasn't much point in trying to argue with Runo.

"What did you want to tell me, Runo?" She was looking around corners and checking rooms. I knew what she was looking for too. Runo was making sure Shun wasn't anywhere near to hear our conversation. In other words, this was about him. "Alice, you know you're my friend and that I care about you." Yep. It was about Shun. I placed my hand on her shoulder and gave her a reassuring smile. "Runo, I already know where this is going." She sighed and took my hand from her shoulder.

"If you know where this is going then you know I just want you to be careful around him. I know that I can't keep you from seeing or talking to him, but I can try and make sure you're safe. Will you at least promise me that?" I nodded and Runo gave me one last look before she walked back to where the others were still seating. "Well, I see where Runo stands in this."

I jumped and turned around to see Shun leaning against the wall. I placed my hand over my racing heart and sighed. "She's just concerned about me. She doesn't know that you wouldn't do anything to harm me." He told me in return, "You're lucky to have friends that care about you like that." I smiled. I was lucky. Shun smiled and walked off back in the direction of his room.

Shun

Night was falling, and that gave me the opportunity to stretch my wings and get some air. I was standing up on the roof of Murucho's mansion, and stared up at the barrier. I sighed. There was nothing up there for me or anyone else down here. "What brings you out on this fine night?" I smiled and turned around. Standing there with her arms crossed and hip sticking out, was Lucy.

"The same thing that brought you out here." She laughed. Her long gray hair had gotten longer last time I had seen it, and she had put in a long purple streak in one of her bangs. Her eyes matched the shade of her gray hair perfectly. She asked me, "You talk to Kiba today?" Nothing stayed a secret long amongst the Fallens. Especially within a Clan. "Yeah, but I didn't have a chance to ask him everything." Kiba, was an information port for us Fallens down here. He was on neither side of the Clans, nor that of the Holy angels. He was his own boss. And even though that was a great risk to take, there wasn't anything that anyone could do to him. He was lucky though. Very seldom were Messenger angels born.

But when they were, they had the power to choose what they wanted to do. Many stayed up in the Holy Lands to live the high life, but Kiba wanted to stay down here on Earth. He said that it was more interesting down here with the Fallens, especially with the Clan Wars going on. Many of us Fallens, envied Kiba for having the choice of where to go and the immunity to being punished. "Well, I'm going to the woods to train. You're more than welcome to come with me, Shun." I turned down Lucy's offer and watched as her wings unfolded and she took off into the night. Lucy. She was one of the few allies I had.

I remembered when she told me how she Fell. She did one of the most minor crimes in the Realm of Angels. Lucy had left the Realm without permission from our Higher Powers. In the Realm, little things could make you Fall, and the chances of being Forgiven were very rare. I almost wanted to chase after Lucy. It had been a while since I had seen her. I'd find her another day.

I unfolded my wings and let the lite breeze flow through the feathers. I stood on the edge of the roof, and stared down at the ground. It didn't matter if somebody was outside and looked up at where I was standing. We camouflage ourselves with the night so we can fly without being noticed.

I was over the city now, and saw many of my fellow Clan mates. They were making rounds just like I was. No other Fallens from our enemy Clan were out from what I could tell. There wouldn't be any blood spilt tonight.

Alice

I had stayed up late that night. I had followed Shun after he walked off towards his room. He had gone up to the roof instead. I was peering out of the door and saw he was looking out over the city, when another Fallen landed behind him. I thought for a moment that she was going to fight him, but easily figured out they were on the same side. They both were talking about that Kiba guy.

What was so special about him? It seemed like everyone knew about him. I was standing up on the roof, not far from where Shun took off from. There was a light breeze flowing thought the air. It was a really nice night. At that moment, I wished that I had a set of wings of my own and could fly around in the cool night air. I saw something flying my way, and I thought for a moment it was Shun.

I realized it was that Lucy girl when her body tumbled onto the roof and slid right in front of my feet. Her skin was cut up, and blood poured from the wounds. She weakly tried to pushed herself up with her hands, but it seemed her broken, blood-soaked wings were weighing her down. She looked up at me. "You….You can see me…..That means….You're a Bondage…."

She coughed when she tried to get more air. I bent down next to her and asked, "What happened? Who did this to you?" She mustn't of heard what I had asked her cause she told me, "Tell Shun…That Tristan is coming this way….." She finally got to her feet, and wobbled back and forth when she did. Lucy began to stumble towards the edge of the roof. "Wait! You're hurt! You shouldn't fly!" She was about to jump when she fell to her knees. I rushed to Lucy's side and propped her against an AC unit. "So…..You're Shun's Bondage huh?….I'm sure he hasn't told you how he Fell." She knew how he Fell?"

Lucy smiled through her heaving breaths. "You have…..Every right to know how he Fell….You wanna?" Shun had told me it was personal territory when I had asked him, but I did want to know. What had Shun done that put him where he was today? I nodded my head. Lucy laughed. "Shun never did anything…His parents did…They helped stage a rebellion against the Higher Powers…..And they ran to Earth when the rebellion failed…..But the Hunters found them easily and killed them….But since Shun never did anything with the rebellion, his punishment was to Fall…..So far, he's been the youngest to Fall as an innocent."

Blood started to pour from her mouth. "I have to go….And tell the rest of my Clan about Tristan…..Don't mention what I just told you about Shun…..But do remember to tell him about Tristan." She wobbled to her feet and stumbled her way back to the edge of the roof. I yelled out for her to not jump, but she did. Lucy almost hit the ground, but took flight the last second. It was sad watching her try and stay in flight. Soon, she vanished into the night sky. I looked up into the sky.

Shun never mentioned something about a rebellion. Maybe it was just so long ago that he didn't think of it as any importance. I felt truly sorry for Shun. I understood the punishing of his parents, even though it was harsh, but making Shun Fall even though he played no part in the rebellion was just wrong. Shun was young and couldn't of done anything or known what was going on.

I thought back to Lucy. Had she died yet? Or was she still going on to complete her goal? This time when I saw something coming my way, I knew it was Shun. I reminded myself to not allow him to know that I was aware of what happened to his parents and how he Fell.

He landed on the roof and immediately saw the blood on the roof. "What went on up here?" He folded his wings away and I told him, "Lucy came back by here and was in pretty rough shape. She wanted me to tell you that Tristan was coming this way."

Shun

"That bastard!" My anger directed my fist right into the metal of an AC unit. The metal bent from the force. He hurt Lucy. That was her blood on the roof, and it made me sick t look at it. She was probably off somewhere dying right now, but I knew what she had done. After she told Alice, she flew off to tell the others in the Clan about Tristan. Alice slowly walked up to me and asked, "Shun, who was she talking about?" I didn't want his name to come out of my mouth, but it did.

"Tristan, is the one who started the Clan Wars, and is the leader of the Clan we're warring against. He's the cause of all of this." Last time anyone had seen him, he took a troop off towards a nearby town to recruit more in his Clan. By force of course. He had only taken about two or three Fallens with him, and Lucy should have been able to taken care of them.

That only meant he had succeeded in his recruiting. Now he was heading right for us, and an all out war was going to begin. The Clan Wars had been nothing more than a kill here and there, but now it was going to be massive bloodshed. It wouldn't stop till every Clan member from one Clan, was dead. We had to stop this before it began. But how? We were outnumbered even greater now.

I growled. I couldn't figure this out on my own. I needed to try and round up the rest of the Clan as soon as possible. I didn't want to leave Alice here with Tristan and his additions heading this way. I took her hand in mine. "Come on. It's not safe here for you."

Tristan and I had always feuded before and during the Clan Wars, and if he saw that Alice was bonded with me, he wouldn't hesitate to kill her. "Shun, where are you going to go? And what about the others?" I unfolded my wings and held Alice tightly next to me.

"Don't worry about where we're going. Trust me, the others are a lot safer than you when Tristan comes this way. Now hold on." I leaped from the roof again, and Alice screamed. I could feel her body was tense, and after a few minutes in the air she started to calm down. It was harder for me to fly with carrying her extra weight, but I managed. I looked down and saw Lucy's body laying in the street, and several of my Clan mates were around her.

I sat Alice down on the ground before my own feet touched it. When they did, I rushed over to Lucy's body. Mason, a white haired Fallen with ice blue eyes, told me, "She collapsed shortly after telling us about Tristan. I honestly don't think she's going to last much longer."

I saw her chest was still moving. All over her, were deep and fatal wounds. They weren't like anything most angels could inflict. Tristan had found a new method to killing, and it was much worse than anything our wings could do. He couldn't of had any weapons since once they touch the hands of a Fallen they no longer have the effect of killing. Whatever he had found, he had made sure Lucy was alive long enough to give us a preview.

well, i cant think of nothing other than i'm hungry. read, review, and other things. ~Copperpelt~