Return of the Angels

Van stalked the length of his room with his mind twisting in thoughts. Something had been nagging at him ever since Celine had left for the mission that was handed to her, although she was the one that had mentioned it in the first place. He shouldn't be worrying ever so. She had promised she wouldn't disappear again without informing them, but he couldn't help but worry. She only had come back for a short time and then she had to leave to carry out a mission that involved a terrible rebellious teenager. Raven would always strike fear into people that come to know about his ability in battle, he would never give mercy to his opponents and he would simply end their life without a mere thought.

But why was he worried about Celine? He knew the reason why. It wasn't that she had only just come back and then she had to leave again. No, it wasn't that. Something wrong had screamed at him in his heart when she left the gates of the base. She shouldn't have gone on this mission, his gut instincts had told him this in the meeting but he paid no heed to it. Now he was certain that he should have listened to it. Was it him fearing that Raven would defeat and kill her? Or was it something else that just nagged at him and would not release him from its hold?

There was only one way of knowing what it was that made him so heavily concerned over her, he would have to go after her. He sighed and sat on his bed. He couldn't just go after her now, she was probably there already. He looked out the window to the scenery that lay beyond the gates. The desert was still vast as ever, always endless and full of sand that was constant in its yellow coloured glory. Although the scenery was great and always peaceful, he could not help but feel that he should get a change of scenery soon. His growing agitation must also be the fact the scenery was constant and unyielding. There wasn't a change in the environment but there would always be the change of temperature. There is no telling how the desert can change.

Suddenly his mind returned to Raven. What was he doing? How had he survived their last fight? He closed his eyes off from the thought. There was no use pondering; it would only result in paranoia. But out there he was performing his ill deeds upon innocent people. Right now he must be Celine, but being none the wiser that she's Sapphire, maybe he wouldn't kill her. No, Raven wasn't like that. If there was someone that was confronting him in an effort to rein him in, then he'd most likely kill her so he can stay free. Should he worry about her or not? She might see it that he was thinking she was weak in a sense, and she is much stronger than him.

A knock rapped on the door. He recognized the gentleness of it and noticed that it wasn't a fast rapped knocking but a slow one that was unsure whether to disturb him or not. He stalked over to the door, hesitating before it and then pulled down the handle and opened it to see Fiona standing there with her red eyes wide with concern. Her features had fallen when she saw his face a shambles. She could see that he was beat about something, but it was something that would always be reframed from spoken. It was his own silent battle and she was becoming unsure if it was wise to confront him about it and try to ease away his worries.

"Van…"

He stepped aside and allowed her to walk inside. He closed the door and walked around her to sit back on the bed, his eyes staring straight out the window to the desert. As she watched him, she noticed the fall and rise of his chest and the frown upon his face as he spoke within himself. Her nerves ran through her being, her uncertainty becoming more of a noticeable curse than anything. It took several unnerving minutes for Van to face her with his eyes clearly showing his detachment from reality. His mind was withdrawn and contemplating on a matter he seemed unwilling to discuss, even to her.

"You've come to ask what's wrong with me, haven't you?" he speaks, bringing her back from noticing the sculpture of his body and the way he seemed to tense the more he seemed to be thinking about something worrisome.

"Van, why did you run out of the war room?" she asks no hesitation this time.

Previously Van had been in the midst of an important meeting in the war room. It was connected to Celine's mission to retrieve and rein in Raven. It was due to this that he had escaped the room. The loyalty of each individual towards Celine was outstanding, but people were beginning to doubt her abilities. Everyone besides Van! But their doubts had seeped inside of him and he didn't want the confusion. His upset had broken out through the war room like a tide and unease had easily set in. The reason that Fiona must be here was to confront his feelings, try to ease away what unease had seeped through. But through her stance, Fiona was feeling the same way as him. She was unsure if Celine had the ability to face Raven after the amount of time she has been away for now and still no word has come to their ears of how she was progressing.

"You know as well as I do why I ran out of that room." He replies, turning his gaze away from her.

"Oh, Van…" she speaks sympathetically and sits beside him on the bed. She placed a hand on his arm in a gesture of shared sympathy, but it was not shared. Their individual worry was different and unable to be calculated. The depth of their relationship with Celine might never be able to be said allowed, but they both know it wasn't something on the level of more than friends. Their tie of friendship runs deep with the girl that was not with them, but they know that she has become like family to them.

Before anything else could become spoken, an urgent fast rapped knocking sounded on the door. Fiona stood from the bed and opened it. Their words were exchanged in soft whispers, but Van didn't care at this time around. His concern was directed elsewhere, his mind ravelled up with the thought of his friend having been killed by the teenager he had come to know as his rival. Raven was either doing something terrible to her or it could be the opposite. He knew there was a deep hatred towards Raven that she holds, but he didn't know how far it goes or how deep. There was always something there that he doesn't seem to know, but whereas she respects him of his position, he respects hers and gives her the privacy that she deserves.

Fiona came back and this time she wasn't sympathetic, well not as much. Instead she was urgent, just like how her low mumbled whispers had been.

"Van, we're needed in the war room, it's important."

"Did they say why?" he asks.

"No, but I was told that before that information can be passed on to us, we would need to be present in the room."

Looking up at her, he nodded and stood from the bed. Now was not the time to be mopping around trying to decipher whether Raven was a match for her or not. If he was going to help her in any way he can, he would need to do his part and cooperate along with the rest of the team that wish her well. Closing his door he walked through the halls with Fiona at his side. His features had become hard and solid, returning back to the leader that the underlings have known him to have become. He entered the war room and everyone met his gaze. They had put what had happened earlier to a side, right now this was important.

"Celine's contacted us in a most peculiar way." Karl informs him. Van nodded and sat down in his seat. He nodded again for the man to continue. "She's informed us that she has Raven in sight, but has not gone to the extents of tying him up and bringing him. She says she's delayed and apparently it is something that involves her mission."

"Is that all she has reported?" Van asks to clarify all the information.

"There is one other thing that she has said." His eyes were firmly locked with Van's as he dished the next piece of information. "She does not want anyone to go to her in assistance."

Van thought for a moment and seemed to have come to a realization. "Then we don't help her!" He tells them as he closes his eyes and relaxes in his chair.

"Are you out of your mind?" Herald nearly shouted in outrage.

Van looked over to him and saw the anger in his eyes. He knew about this man when Celine had seen him for the first time since her return. He was part of her family when she was in the imperial army. Of course he could see that love that this man had for her; he expected that this man would have an outburst. To him it was like they were going to abandon her because they would not offer her some assistance. But surely, Herald should know that Celine would not want any assistance, especially when she has asked for none. Karl looked over at the man; something was in his eyes, something similar to realization and also sadness.

"I know you feel that we are abandoning her but we're not. She doesn't want any assistance from us and if we really care about her, we would do as she says." Van says to him to try and calm the man's temper.

"And if we don't send any assistance then we don't care about her either way." He spat out in hatred. He did not hate the boy for his words; he just hated the situation that he was put under. Celine had surely put them on the spot, especially since they might be called failures for not doing anything to help a fellow comrade.

"Although it is regrettable, we cannot do anything to help her if she does not wish our help." Kristen puts in but Herald just glares at him and then turns away from him as if he hadn't heard him.

They still did not get along together and Kristen's words mean little to Herald than any others.

"What do you say to the situation, May and Ray?" Van asks the pair of them.

The two of them sat side by side. Since they have been together with Celine for so long they would know the girl most of all. Their expressions were worn like masks of stone, unreadable and unchanging. As if those expressions were chiselled forever there. They both looked at each other with the same expression and then looked back to the rest and shrugged their shoulders together. It wasn't a very helpful gesture at all and Herald was looking at them as if they too were crazy. But he knew that they were the closer comrades to Celine than any other. So if he were to get advice on the girl he has been reunited with now, he would have to ask the pair of them.

"Celine wants no help, so don't give her any." May replies; leaning back in her chair.

"It's that simple." Ray states, doing the exact same as his companion.

"I respect the fact that the pair of you have fought by her side for many years, but don't you worry about her at all?" Herald asks, trying to get them to say that they should provide some help.

"You don't understand Celine as well as you seem to think." May states angrily with the fact that he tries to get some help for the girl!

"She's a supreme warrior, far beyond that of original warriors. The battle she fights is out of our hands even if we did want to intervene to help her. She warns us away so we don't get ourselves killed. That is why she expects no help." Ray translates May's rage. "In these same circumstances, before we met the lot of you, Celine had expected her companions to back off and allow her to deal with the fight herself. It is a battle that only she can do."

"Storm is with her, as well as the organoids, she's got all she needs for help anyways." May says as she came out of her anger.

Herald, knowing that he has been defeated, lowers his head and takes up his seat again. May having closely looked upon the man was able to sympathize with him. But she knew a bit more than the others. There was a love for the girl that was stronger than anything else. He was not in love with her, but he loved the girl for something else. There was a respect, a certain look in his eye that speaks as if he knew his place when beside Celine. She could just tell that there was a link between the two that got her wondering. What was their relationship and why does it appear to be hidden from the rest of them?

"Our actions have been decided. We do not provide help to Celine; she will have to handle this mission by her own hands. I'll give the report to Celine to inform her of our decision. I'm sure she must be expecting these to be our actions." Karl informs the others. He looks to Herald and gets an idea. "Herald, would you like to tell her instead?"

Herald looks at him surprised. "But I'm not…"

"I'm sure Kristen will agree with me, right Kristen?"

"Of course, I respect Karl's idea to allow you to write the report and get it delivered to her." Kristen agrees.

With a shine of gratefulness in his eyes, Herald nods his head accepting the task with open determination.

"This meeting is adjourned." Karl declares and everyone is instantly scraping back their chairs and exiting the room.