Return of the Angels
She walked the lone hall with her all time companion, Mai. She was trailed by two other organoids, Terror and Shadow. Their metallic footsteps echoed down the hall, but she was grateful for the company, at least she wasn't alone like she used to be. A week, it has been a week since the encounter with her so called father, but it wasn't just that that caused her to be a little sullen. At first she was a little jealous that all of her friends had turned eighteen before her, but now that her birthday was a week from today, she was fretting about it. She didn't want it to happen, but she couldn't stop time, but she could at least try to avoid speaking about it.
"Celine," a female called from behind. She turned around to see Storm racing towards her with Moonbay and Fiona walking behind. She jumped and wrapped her arms around Celine's neck, embracing her into a deep hug. She released her a moment later and looked at her with sparkling blue eyes. "How is my blonde haired angel today?"
"Since when was I your angel?" she said with a playful smirk.
"Ever since I discovered it," she said grinning.
"Morning, Celine," Moonbay greeted as she managed to get to her.
"Good morning, Celine," Fiona said delightfully.
"Morning, girls, how's the weather?" Celine replies.
"Should you have to ask?" Moonbay asks looking like she was ready to jump right into a freezing cold shower. "It's absolutely baking outside. I think it's over a hundred degrees."
"I don't see you frying or melting like an egg yet," Celine says laughing.
"Okay, so it's not over a hundred degrees, so I exaggerated, so what? You know what I meant in the first place." Moonbay huffed and crossed her arms.
"Mind if we join you?" Fiona asks.
"The more company the better," she said smiling.
"I think we've damaged you," Moonbay says as they took up walking together with the organoids trailing behind. "Since when do you ever accept company?"
"Since a week ago with our bonding time out," she replied.
They entered the food hall where all the soldiers were eating their morning breakfast. Celine instantly noticed that their male friends were absent from their table they usually eat at, but she sat down anyway. Moonbay was speaking about something Celine wasn't registering. Something was wrong and Celine's guts were telling her that. Van was usually the first in the food hall, but there was no sign of him. Irvine, Thomas and Karl were normally here before the girls, but just like Van, they weren't here either.
"I think they're in a meeting, Celine." Fiona must have caught her looking around for them.
Moonbay was smiling at her with both her arms laid out on the table. "It's weird to not find Van first in the food hall, right?"
"Arms, Moonbay," Celine warned and the older woman instantly took them off the table. Everyone knew that Celine preferred people to use their manners, and if they didn't any other time, they had to use it at the dinner table. "Yeah, you're right, it's not right without hearing Van's loud mouth speaking around his food and then him stuffing it in his mouth."
"What's this about me?" Van said coming up and taking a seat beside Fiona.
"You being a foul mouth whilst talking with food in your mouth," Celine instantly responded and smirked when his mouth opened in false insult.
"As usual, Celine makes the most honest opinion," Irvine said sitting on Celine's right. "Hey, morning Celine! Nice to see that you care to join us for once."
"Yeah, I know I was such a cold hearted bitch before, don't know where I inherited that from."
"Glad to see that it's changed." She nodded at him with a smile.
"So I actually get to see the renowned solider, Celine." She looked to see Karl accompanying his little brother, Thomas. It was the little brother, Thomas, who spoke.
"Hi, Celine…" Karl said sitting down.
"Hi, Karl," she replied smiling. "Hi little Karl," she said to Thomas.
"It's Thomas, ma'am."
She pointed at Thomas as she addressed the older brother. "You taught him that?"
"The ma'am…?"
"No, the politeness…"
"Do I even look like someone who knows how to be that polite?"
"Yeah, you're right, you hold no such qualifications."
He sighed, "That was my fault that time."
"No denying there," Celine replied with a smirk as Karl went into silence so he couldn't get anymore torture from her.
They talked about nothing as they ate, soon they ended up finished and they were still carried on talking. Celine joined in with the conversations, adding her piece and even laughing at something she found funny. She noticed that the four organoids had gathered together behind her, conversing in their own language and she could hear them like she was hearing any normal conversation. The clock on the wall said it was nearing eleven in the morning, but she did nothing to hurry everyone along. If they were needed, people would come to get them.
And it just so happens that there was something important enough to have called them.
"I'm sorry to interrupt," a young male, looking no older than fourteen, said appearing at their table. He was struggling to catch breath and he looked like he had run all the way from somewhere to here.
"Get on with it boy," Karl stated.
"Something's happened at the front of the gates, Herald and Kristen expect Celine to come as well."
If Celine was being asked to come along, then something was deadly serious. She didn't need to be told twice as she was up and already out of the doors before anyone could say the words 'let's go'. Mai and the other organoids had managed to catch up with her and soon she was able to tell that her friends were behind her. Something was wrong and inside of her she could feel it. She burst through doors, anything to get outside quicker. She ran down the steps, jumping around the corners, and kept racing further and further down until she blasted out of the doors to run towards Herald and Kristen that stood within a distance from the gate.
"What's going on?"
"I'd like for you to explain that, Celine." Kristen replied, turning towards her. He wasn't blaming her for anything, he was asking for her evaluation.
"Jeez, Celine, do you go over thirty miles an hour or something?" Irvine stated as he came over, all out of breath. The others stopped short behind him, rested their hands on their knees and tried to regain their breathing. Celine felt fine from the run. She looked at them once and then out towards the gates. Something on the other side was blasting on the door, demanding attention.
"It's not in my jurisdiction," she replies as she evaluated it like she was asked.
"Well, I can say different. We've captured images of who's on the other side and I can say it's definitely in your jurisdiction."
"There are no demons on the other side," she argued.
"Something quite the opposite," Kristen said and turned towards the gates. "I tried to ask them what they wanted, but they said that they wanted to talk to you and only you."
Celine sighed. "Open the gates."
Kristen nodded, turned and shouted out the order.
"Celine, what are you doing?" Irvine turned her around by the arm. "Are you crazy?"
"They want to talk to me, so be it," she said with a glint of danger in her eyes. "If they're the opposite of the demons then I can only guess they're angels."
"What would angels be doing here?"
"Erm, perhaps to get rid of the demons…? To fight in the war against them…?"
"There are no demons on this planet. You got rid of the only one."
"There's more than one demon, Irvine. There are thousands of them and right now, in space, there are demons heading towards this planet. They want revenge for their fallen comrade and they won't stop at nothing after they've obtained it. If they like the planet, they'll do anything they want to get it."
The metal gates screeched open behind them and she turned her head to look, but Irvine brought her attention away from it. The others watched as Irvine tried to reason with her against something she knew more than him in. He was insistent that nothing good would come out of this, that there was no more demons despite what she was telling him. She couldn't believe that he was risking to think that the fight with the demons were over.
"Irvine, I don't have time to argue with you." She said and turned her back to him.
She watched as the gates opened fully and the beings on the other side walked through the gates. She immediately noticed Raven amongst the group. He was the smallest, besides some of the girls that walked through with the tall males. Two people led them through the doors. One was cloaked in black and she narrowed her eyes immediately at the sight of him appearing here. The other was a male shorter than him with golden blonde hair like hers, but his eyes, she saw as he neared, were a bright blue whereas hers were really dark. They stopped in front of the group she was with, but their eyes only looked on hers as they acknowledged her and only her.
"What are you doing here?" she addressed the one in his dark cloak.
"What does it look like to you?" he said with a hint of a smile beneath.
"I already told you a week ago, Azrael." Her saying his name and not 'father' pierced through his heart like a knife.
"Can your personal argument wait for another time?" the golden blonde haired male said impatiently.
Azrael laughed. "Oh silly me, do you feel left out Michael?"
"Hardly," Michael coolly replied. He turned towards Celine. "I am, Michael, the leader of the angels that has come to help you in this battle against the oncoming demons."
"Why is that so hard to believe?" she replied as she crossed her arms.
Someone, a deep masculine voice, laughed from somewhere on Azrael's side of the group. "Now I know why you said she inherited her attitude from me and Gabriel. I don't regret it, brother, if only I could have taught her more than just having the same attitude." He stepped forward and stood at Azrael's side.
"I don't want her to be badly influenced by the likes of you, brother," Azrael snarled.
"Hey, I might have to disappear soon, so don't ruin my fun." The tall dark haired male said.
"Apollyon, enough," Michael said to him.
"Are you demanding me, kid?" Apollyon said to him with a narrowed look.
"I told you my big brother has a very low tolerable order acceptance, Michael." Azrael said trying to hide his laugh.
"Could you get to the point on why you're here?" Kristen demanded from them and all of the angels, beside Celine, gave him a narrowed dirty look.
"Will you look at that? A human is trying to demand us angels, their saviours from their destruction." Apollyon said disgustedly as he sneered at Kristen. "Why do we have to save them?"
"You're not saving them, Apollyon, we are." Azrael told him.
"If you've got a problem with the humans, then you've got a problem with me." Celine spoke up as she stepped up to confront every single angel before her.
"Easy there, who said we had any problem with you?" Apollyon told her with a raised eyebrow at her viciousness. He looked at Azrael. "She did not get that from me."
"It couldn't have been from Gabriel, since he is a lot more orderly with his attitude than you are, and he's quite bad as it is." Azrael told him.
"I got it from none of you," but they acted as if she hadn't spoken.
"What about you, Azrael? You've a bad temper yourself." Michael commented.
"That's when I'm angry, she is not even angry yet."
Celine was beyond angry. She was surprised she was able to hold it in herself. But she knew that boiling rage that was lurking within. She didn't care if Azrael claimed he was her father, she was not going to believe it. Michael had the same colour of her as herself whereas the others do not. She was unsure of Azrael since he wore a cloak that concealed the whole of him. Apollyon, Gabriel and Azrael had the same eyes as her, but she was still not going to say she was related to Azrael or any of them if they happened to be related in any way.