| The Second Angel Part 2 By Keiko The flames were consuming everything in sight. She stood there and watched. "Help! Oh help us! Save us!" "Someone! Please! Don't let us die! Don't let our lives end like this!" "It burns! The fire! It hurts! Help!" The cries of despair were overwhelming. She reached out a hand... ...And grasped nothing. I opened my eyes to see my right hand stretched out above my face. The memory of whatever dream I'd been having was already fading, leaving behind a dull sense of anxiety. The quiet of my room was disturbed only by the heavy sound of my breathing. Sitting up, I looked around the room that I've slept in for as long as I can remember. The walls were painted a light blue in this room, and covered with drawings and paintings that I'd recovered on past ventures into the ruins. A tapestry opposite of me hid the entrance into an adjoining room, where there was something of an office and library. It was painted a soothing color of green, though I hardly ever used it. There were better and more relaxing places to be in the Shell than my rooms. I glanced at the clock on the wall as I left my rooms. Just in time for breakfast, I noted. It was a short trip to the cafe, and I was glad not to have run into anyone. The dream had left me irritated beyond words and I didn't want to have to deal with half-hearted apologies later. As I stepped inside the cafe, Nana waved to me from where she was seated by the side entrance. Always prepared to escape, I thought to myself. Nana was the oldest woman in the Shell, but having been a Watcher in her younger years, there were a few habits ingrained in her. I selected a few choice pears from the pile of fruits at the counter. There was an unusually large pile. Almost everything else was gone from the counter. When questioned, the workers shrugged and said that everyone who'd gotten up before me had taken almost everything except the fruits. "Endo wanted you to join him in his lab when you woke up," Nana said when I joined her. I rolled my eyes as I slid into the seat next to her. "What now? Has he found another way to demolish the Shell with summonings of weird and uncontrollable creatures?" I asked. The Shell was still recovering from the last such accident that my cousin had helped to cause. "Sarcasm duly noted." The old woman commented, laughter in her voice. "What're you so mad about first thing in the morning?" "Stupid dream I can't remember..." I muttered, stealing a glance to gauge her reaction. I still wasn't sure how many people in the Shell knew about my post- and pre-monition dreams. Nana didn't even blink. "Don't look so wary. Having a dream once in a while is normal. Just because you had a dream doesn't mean something bad's gonna happen." Hmm. Markus must have told her about my dreams. Ignoring her comment, I asked, "What did Endo say?" Nana made no outward sign that she'd noticed my deliberate change of subject, but surely she must have noticed. After all, she used to be a Watcher. "This one's different. Endo says he found some valuable information in his last dig through the Library. Besides, Markus has personally requested your presence." "Just like every other time. Sure, of course this one's different." I retorted. "I understand your reluctance, dear," Nana patted my arm comfortingly, "but just remember this, every failure brings us one step closer to success." I grumbled something in annoyance and bit into my pear. And immediately spat the horrid thing back out. Sputtering and gagging, I stared at the innocent-looking fruit in horror. "Oh, did I forget to mention that due to the last accident, every tree in the orchard has been producing healthy-looking but foul-tasting fruits?" Nana asked, eyes wide in mockery. I glared at her and gritted out from between my teeth, "Yes, I do believe you forget to mention that." Shuddering, I rinsed my mouth to get rid of the disgusting flavor the pear left. No wonder the workers behind the breakfast counter had looked almost relieved when I piled pears after apples after cherries after oranges onto my plate. At any rate, Endo was going to pay horribly for what he did... Endo took one look at my murderous visage and hightailed it out of his own lab. Markus caught me by the shoulder as I made to go after him. I turned the full force of my fury onto him. Of course, whereas a normal human would have immediately wilted, my anger did nothing to him. He merely folded his arms across his chest and waited for me to calm down. "Somebody's looking ill-humored this morning," he said after a moment. "Did you have another dream?" That effectively extinguished my anger. I'd forgotten about the dream because of breakfast. Not only that, I hadn't even taken time to recall the dream when I woke up. Plopping down into a chair, I did the only thing I could under these circumstances. I sulked. Markus sighed. "Leaving that aside, I think you should probably know that Endo's made some discoveries after the last incident." I growled at the mention of Endo. Markus ignored me. "He found some books in our own library that had bits of the prophecy. We have almost the entire thing now." That certainly got my attention. Completion of the prophecy meant the summoning of the warriors meant the prevention of the rise of Serumas meant the... I made an attempt at snatching at my wandering thoughts before they could get me too excited. Markus saw anyway. Waving a hand, he said, "Don't go thinking too far now. I said we have almost the complete prophecy. We still need a few crucial verses. We have an idea of where they might be found. Endo, if you're done hiding behind the door, please come show Sato what we've learned so far." I glared at Endo as he emerged reluctantly from his hiding place. Usually I was very fond of my same-aged cousin, but even my tolerance wears thin after months of experiments gone wrong. "They didn't go wrong!" Endo protested, almost pouting. "Idiot! Who said you could go and read my thoughts?!" I exploded at this invasion of privacy, glaring daggers at him. "Keep your powers to yourself!" Memory of the morning's breakfast was still disgustingly fresh in my mind. "Oh dear. Sato, your hair's beginning to singe..." With a flick of his finger, Markus doused my head with water pulled out of midair. Keiko's Rants: And we are introduced to the main character of the story. Don't mind her, she's just bitchy now cos her breakfast's ruined. Her nice side will show up later. Part 1 Part 3 Back Main K & K |