Return of the Angels
Raven sits at the edge of the tower that overlooks the desert. The merciless sun was beating down quite harshly, but thankfully there was a forgiving breeze that drifted through a reduced the heat. Although Raven cared little on how hot it was, he was surprisingly thankful for the cold breeze that rode through the desert. His black hair bowed in the breeze, allowing the wind to stroke across the back of his neck. His arms leaned on his legs as his hands dangled between them.
One mission, one very important mission, decided his fate. It hung over his head like a sign of death. Whenever he saw Azrael he believed that the man was ready to chop off his head at any minute. He did not doubt the man's words when he said he would have him tortured by Lucifer's hands for all eternity. How much had he pissed off the angel of death? Because he seemed absolutely furious when he met him for the first time! Raven blamed it on his foolish daughter for being kidnapped so easily.
He couldn't get over what he has heard. Celine was Sapphire and he didn't even recognize her when she had saved him! She was different, her hair had no longer been white it had been golden blonde. Her eyes were the exact same, but he still refused to believe it was her back then. He had heard she sacrificed herself to save this planet from destruction, so it was obvious that he thought it wasn't her. He had believed she was dead. Not alive! It wasn't his fault if he didn't recognize her.
"Hey, Raven…" he lifted his head to look up at Van who stood beside him.
He turned his head to look out at the scenery. "What do you want, Van?"
Van sat down beside him with a sigh. "It's difficult right?"
"What are you talking about?" it was obvious that Raven still didn't like him.
Van looks at him and their eyes locked into battle. "That she's still alive after what we heard three years ago."
"I guess our informants were wrong."
"I don't think they were wrong, Raven," Van turned to look out at the scenery.
"Now what are you blabbering?"
"I think she might have died, but was reborn as who she is now."
"I don't even know who she is."
"Azrael didn't tell you her name's Celine?"
"Of course he told me! I didn't know when I first saw her a while ago."
"Are you both playing nice?" Irvine said and knelt down and slapped a hand on their shoulders.
"Why does everyone keep asking that when Raven and I are together?" Van asks looking at Irvine.
"It's because you two are supposed to be rivals and at each other's throats… That's why, Van." He replies.
"Van could never be my rival. He's weak, just like you and your zoid." Raven says smirking.
"Weak…? Why you little…" Van immediately stops Irvine from attacking Raven.
"Easy, Irvine…"
"Let me go Van! I'm going to teach this little brat a lesson!"
"If only Celine could see the three of you now," Moonbay states as she giggles.
Irvine stops dead and falls to the floor as Van lets go of him. "Van you bastard…"
"Moonbay… what are you doing here?" Van asks. Raven was looking at her, wondering exactly the same thing. Irvine gets up from the ground and too seems to be silently asking that question to himself.
"Azrael's called another meeting," she says sadly. "You're not going to like what's gone off."
"What happened?"
"He wouldn't say… But Van…" Van stops from running off ahead. Irvine and Raven were standing, ready to head towards the conference room as well. "He's absolutely fuming, be very cautious around him…" Raven gulped down the nerves in his throat. It appears that he wasn't the only one as Irvine and Van had done the same. They did not like it when Azrael was going into one of his fits. Everyone knew the danger when he does and it was something that they don't want to experience.
XxX
They arrive in the conference room and they were instantly able to feel the anger that was radiating off of Azrael in waves. Azrael didn't turn to look at them as they walked to their seats. Raven sucked in his fear and sat down beside Azrael. Those dark blue eyes looked down at Raven, almost as if he were blaming the boy for what he knew now. Violet eyes felt malevolent ones focus on him intensely and he refused to look up to meet those dangerous eyes. All the humans could see Raven's discomfort, but they all could agree amongst themselves that he was brave to actually sit beside Azrael in his state.
"What's happened?" Kristen speaks up. Somebody had to since Azrael did not look like he was ready to talk although he had called this conference together in the first place. Azrael looked his way, dark eyes blazing wildly with the need of death and destruction.
Azrael scoffed but his hand by his side was itching to be grabbing something or someone around the throat. Kristen looked at his hand, thinking that Azrael meant it for him, but Azrael sat down in his seat, arms crossed. "I've seen my daughter…"
"That's good news!" Kristen declares but it wasn't what he was thinking.
"Would you find it good news to learn that if your daughter has been savagely raped to the point she's no longer in her state of mind?" he says with a glare.
Kristen eyes widened in shock, as did everyone else's. Their eyes looked at Azrael in complete sympathy, only Michael didn't. He had already seen the video that her kidnappers had sent and he was disgusted. To think that was his niece he had seen in such a horrific state. The other angels were not pleased; they were more infuriated than anything else. Their kidnapped leader has been seen through the eyes of her father, their current leader, and he was peeved beyond unreasonable doubt.
Raped was one of the things that everyone had not been expecting. How had she been raped? And how did he know that she had been?
"I'm not going to show you the video if it makes you certain how I know she was raped," he said with narrowed eyes. "I don't wish to see something so disturbing that involves my daughter again."
That didn't exactly answer anyone's question, but they refused to say anything more on the topic. Michael evaluated the humans with speculating eyes. He had once hoped for something more from them. They lie to each other, they cause destruction amongst each other, they fight and they murder their own species with their very own hands. What does Celine in these humans? Sure she had grown up amongst them, but does that really explain why she has a powerful love and adoration of them?
"There's something on your minds," Michael breaks the silence and everyone turns to look at him. All the humans looked confused, and so did the rest of the angels, but not Azrael, he knew what Michael was on about. Instead the angel of death looked at the humans with the same pondering question in his eyes as in Michael's mind. Kristen went to say something but Michael held up a hand and stopped him. "You don't need to make an excuse to avoid it, because I'm not the only one who's noticed." He nodded his head at Azrael and the others turned to look at him, noticing that his attention was on them.
"But there's nothing on our minds," Kirsten says, trying to bypass what they waiting to hear.
"Humans are so predictable, aren't they?" Azrael says, so calm that it scared everyone, including Michael. "They always lie to give themselves an excuse, but with angels it doesn't work. Although only Michael and I have noticed…" he looked at the others and they looked away in shame. "It's impossible to fool us."
"I noticed!" Apollyon said waving his hand in the air like a child. Azrael looked at his older brother with a slight frown. "Yes, I know, a serious situation and I'm being a kid. Would you look at yourself in the mirror sometime? You're too grumpy to be an old man, although you've lived thousands and thousands of years, but that's not the point…"
"In case you haven't noticed, brother, I'm a walking skeleton and there's no change in my appearance no matter how much time goes by." The humans looked at Azrael in shock, fear, disgust and confusion. He looks at the humans whose faces show that they did not believe he's a skeleton. He uncrossed his arms and slipped one of his sleeves down to show his bony hand. The humans looked at it in complete and utter fear. He moved his fingers, clenched and unclenched them, and kept turning it over. "For living over thousands of years, my bones are still as white as Michael's wings."
"You scrub every day do you, brother?" Apollyon grins.
"Well I am not letting myself rot that's for sure."
"Aw, is it because you'd stink and you'd repel your souls?" he says showing bright white teeth.
Azrael pushes him off his chair and watches as he nearly lands on his face. Stifling his laughter, Azrael turns back to the others all serious. Apollyon sat back at the table and pushed his brother on the arm. It didn't do good as he barely moved from the push. They exchanged a look, brotherly warmth of some sort, but Azrael soon smirked at his brother. Apollyon felt it and grinned, showing his pearly white teeth. They focused on the rest of the gathering, who were still curious as to what else they know about Celine.
"Despite Celine's little incident which will not be held over her head," he said with a warning look to everyone. "She appears to be in capable hands. But that won't stop me from trying to locate her to get her back." He looks over to the humans. "Fiona, how far till I get some input about that device…thingy?"
"It's taking longer than normal; Azrael, but we should have some information very soon." She replies.
He nods and then looks at Raven, who nearly flinches from the sudden attention shifting to him. "What about you Raven? What are you doing that's making yourself useful to help Celine?"
"You're asking my help because I know the layout of the lands because I'm a rebel. I'm not of use until there is a close approximation of where she's being kept." He replies; disbelieving Azrael who thinks that he should be doing that would be helpful. How can he help when there is nothing to go on?
"Keep your head on, Raven; you're still useful until I no longer need you." Azrael says petting his head with his skeletal hand. Raven cringes at the feel of his bony hand on his head. It felt even weirder when he moved his hand across his head instead of just keeping it in one position. "I'm sure the rest of you know what you need to be doing," he said dismissively. "But you stay here, Raven. We're going to be looking on the maps together whilst we're waiting for those results of the communication device."
Raven gulps as the others already begin to pile out of the doors.