Jasper Montague & Kaede Atlas
Written by Black & Spectrum
“You came,” Kaede smiled, speaking with a slightly surprise tone. “I’m glad.” his smile widened, a spark of curiosity within the red eyes of his. It didn’t seem as if Jasper would be the talkative type in a situation like this, but Kaede knew that the boy was curious and the only reason he came here was to get answers. “It’ll take a while to explain, but more importantly, I didn’t call you here, they did.” Kaede’s expression took on a much darker undertone now, his gaze lowered and a smirk was present at his lips.
Jasper took in a deep breath and held it, letting himself stand there for as long as he could before he absolutely needed to let it out. He did this casually, so it would go by unnoticed. When he couldn't breathe, he couldn't ask questions. And, oh, did he have so very many questions. His narrowed eyes landed squarely on Kaede--well, a margin to the left--and he just about opened his mouth to give a reply, debating on something between a lecture and a bombardment of questions, when something else came from above.
“Good of you to come Jasper Montague,” almost as if on cue, a voice resonated from above. “Starting today, you will be sent on missions with those you see around you.” the voice sounded male, however it was hard to tell. “You will fight the Angels.” the was a short pause. “Yggdrasil, the world tree, continues to wither because of the missing cores. It is important that those cores are returned to their rightful places, you will be the one responsible.”
The violet-haired boy felt the blood rush out of his face. His hands went cold and he just froze there, eyes staring at the suddenly overwhelming sky. Only, there was no sky. There were only leaves, occasionally falling down from the tree above by the voice booming down at him. He didn't know what to do. This...this had to be a trick. Despite his eyes searching for sound speakers in the pitch darkness, his teeth began to chatter. It didn't feel like sound speakers. Deep down, he knew the voice came from somewhere else. He remained silent.
Out of nowhere a bright light began to shine just in front of Jasper. A device manifesting itself. It was floating in mid air and appeared to be a capsule of some sort with a glowing red sphere in the centre of the glass. Three bands of runes surrounded the item, moving slowly around its body.
“Reach out your hand, Jasper Montague,” the voice continued. “For this is your Animi.”
Jasper shook his head and stared at the items in front of him, his mouth slightly agape with awe. He wanted to ask so many questions, but they all died on his tongue before he could muster the courage to ask them. He forgot, for a moment, all about Kaede and Taku and even the voice. He forgot about the tree and the church and the teachers at the school that were probably wondering why he hadn't returned to class after lunch. "Animi," he repeated, his voice hardly above a whisper.
His hand was shaking slightly, but he lifted it anyway. There was a part of him that told him to run, get out of there now and never look back, never speak to any of these people every again. Just go. But he ignored it. For once, he ignored the logic and simply delved into the curiosity and the fear and just went for it. Jasper took in a shaky breath before reaching out his hand towards the red sphere.
Upon being touched, the capsule shattered like glass and the runes began to swirl around Jasper’s body. Starting up at the arm and working its way up the body until completely circling Jasper whole. There would have been a slight pain, however the runes disappeared quickly, leaving no trace of them being there.
At the reaction, Jasper flinched. His reality finally came crashing back down on him and he took in what exactly was going on. He didn't like it. He didn't like it at all. He wanted to get away from here, but he was too scared to move, too scared to scream, to breathe. He knew he was acting like a total, shaking, mess of a baby, but he didn't care. He didn't want to do this. He didn't even know what was going on and he didn't have the voice to ask. He wanted everything to stop and go away, but he knew wishing for something didn't make it happen.
“It’s okay, it won’t hurt you.” Kaede smiled reassuringly. “The data’s just been written into your body.” within a flash he was at Jasper’s side. “Let’s see if you can activate it.” He stood behind Jasper, reaching out and grabbing onto his right arm. “Relax and focus your consciousness into your right hand. Focus on a weapon which you will use to fight. Focus on that which dwells deep within you, your Animi.”
When Kaede spoke, a margin of tension was able to drain from Jasper's body. The other boy's voice wasn't exactly warm, but it was reassuring. It made him realize he wasn't the only one in the room, that he wasn't alone in the darkness. He closed his eyes and let out a shaky breath. "I'm scared," he admitted, frowning at how much smaller his voice was than he wanted it to be. He shook his head, straightening himself and focusing. He needed to focus and get his head away from things that seemed illogical. He was a person of realism. He couldn't handle something like this.
"Don't be," Kaede said in a calmed voice, "You're Animi isn't something scary, it's a manifestation of your will. Something good which will help you fight the Angels." he kept a hold of Jasper's arm, doing his best to calm the boy's nerves. The Animi would not manifest if he didn't want it to.
"Okay," he breathed. It didn't take as much as he thought it would; not to mention, he had no real idea what exactly he was supposed to be 'activating' other than a weapon of some sort. The thought of generating a weapon from thin air just from pure willpower seemed ridiculous...until it actually happened. At the feel of something solid in his hands, his fingers wrapped firmly around the cool surface, Jasper opened his eyes and stared at it in a mixture of shock and fear.
As the weapon manifested itself, Kaede took a few steps back. He gave Jasper room to test his new weapon. The albino had a smile on his face, obviously pleased with the result. Though he never once expected the will of Jasper to be--
"A-a scythe?" he questioned, letting the rhetorical question hang in thin air. He moved his arm sideways, the scythe moving along with it. He let this set in for a few moments before spinning and turning on Kaede with a look of anger returning to his expression. The fear was starting to wash away and he was starting to become confused again. He hated confusion. The anxiety he would normally have with speaking to someone so forcibly washed away with the aggravation. "Tell me everything right now," he demanded. "What is this?" He held the scythe out in front of him for emphasis. "And what was that?" He pointed above them. "Where are we!?" He took in a deep, calming breath. It didn't help. "What the hell is an Animi? Huh? Am I ever going to get any answers out of you people!?"
Even as Jasper shouted questions at him, Kaede remained calm, with the same innocent smile plastered on his face. Suddenly the tree above shivered, letting a huge amount of leaves to float the ground. "Ah, it's happening again..." Kaede lifted his head up, watching as the delicate leaves descended. He quickly noticed the confused look on Jasper's face. "Yggdrasil is whithering away." He raised both hands with open palms, continuing to look up at the tree which loomed over head. "Yggdrasil is the pillar that supports this world, should it die, this world and the others will merge together. Resulting in chaos and the ultimate destruction of humanity. To prevent that from happening, we need the cores to support Yggdrasil." Catching a leaf within his hand, Kaede stared down at it, delicately holding it between two fingers. "Even though you are here now, let's say you had gone home yesterday -- in that case you probably wouldn't be here right now. The choices we make can lead to a various number of futures."
Yggdrasil, Jasper repeated monotonously in his head. Was. Was this guy seriously right now? Kaede, the calm, cool, new kid he met just the day before? He was insane. He was really insane. How had he missed it? But, still, that didn't explain the scythe that came out of his own self. That...he didn't have an explanation for that. The giant territorial bird story was a bit sketchy, too. And this tree and this room--none of that was able to be simply explained away as some sort of psycho's mental illusions, because he was here too. Jasper was pretty sure he wasn't insane. There seemed like there was more even still that Kaede was keeping from him. So much more. Jasper narrowed his eyes in a silent glare, aimed straight at the other boy. Kaede was rambling. Not helping.
Kaede lowered his gaze and smirked faintly, glancing over at Jasper who was surely annoyed. "Oh come on, don't glare at me like that." The leaf within his hand was crumbling now, whithered within the boy's hand. "I'm only saying what could have happened, I'm not trying to rub your face in it by saying 'You got what you deserved'." Kaede laughed slightly, glancing once again up at the tree. "As soon as man realizes that they have the freedom to choose in life, Yggdrasil begins to craft those paths -- the branches you see. Just like a tree, the branches never meet." he glanced sideways at Jasper. "The branches must never meet, to prevent that from happening we must collect the cores. That is why we hunt the Angels."
Kaede finally let the leaf within his hand go. The thing was completely dead now but still fell with grace towards the ground. He span around on his heels and began to walk towards the exit. "We're not going to force you into this." Kaede stopped and glanced over his shoulder. "More like we can't force you. 'If the wielder doesn't have the will, the Animi will not manifest itself.' That's what the commander said anyway, i'm not sure what it meant." Kaede continued walking now, "Regardless of what you choose, that will only be one of your possibilities. Whatever you chose now, be weary of the Angels, we don't know what form the Angels chose to inhabit." Kaede finished as he disappeared up the stairs.
Jasper studied the leaf that dropped to the ground as Kaede left the area. He ignored the presence of Taku behind him and bit down on his bottom lip. What could he do? What should he do? The logical side of his mind scoffed at him and told him he was an idiot for even questioning these things. Of course Angels weren't real. Of course Yggdrasil wasn't dying--it didn't even exist! This tree was just a normal tree, like any other; so what if it died? However, the more imaginative side of his mind told him to explore the world he'd just been opened up to, to think about the scythe. You can't explain that, can you, Mr. Genius? it taunted him. For once in your life, do something that doesn't make sense. Don't think, do.
But he remained silent, his footsteps were the only noise made as they echoed off the walls of darkness and back into the outside world.
Jasper sighed as he stared down at his text book. He couldn't concentrate on anything. The teacher was rambling about something he lost track of half an hour ago and the writings on the board seemed almost foreign to him. He squeezed his eyes shut and opened them again. It hardly worked, which earned another heavy sigh for the wasted efforts. This was so unlike him, and he knew it. He didn't exactly like it.
His eyes trailed off towards Kaede and Taku and narrowed as they passed between the two boys. They were so casual in school. All the girls were staring dreamily at the redheaded boy, while some others even started giving the new kid some flirty looks. Nobody ever gave Jasper those looks. Jasper's frown deepened and he turned away with a huff. If any of those desperate girls knew anything about who those two really were or what they were really like, they'd surely be running in the other direction.
After school, Jasper came down the steps, stumbling a bit before catching his balance and skidding to a halt on the sidewalk as masses of kids rushed out around him. He mumbled some sort of obscenity under his breath as he straightened his shirt out and adjusted the bag over his shoulder. Just as he was about to turn and go home, he caught sight of Taku and Kaede again. He paused for a moment, a fleeting thought shooting through his mind: should he follow them? But the logic won out--look what happened last time he followed them!--and he turned away, heading in the opposite direction and never looking back. He decided from that moment he wanted nothing more to do with them.
About a mile or so from the school, Jasper waited for the light to change so he could cross. He noted how strange it was that he was the only one walking at this time. There were a couple cars here and there, but he probably could of crossed a little bit ago. But he was a model citizen and didn't want to be fined for J-walking. Just as the little white man appeared on the crosswalk sign, he took a step forward to cross, but found himself pulled back by the sleeve of his shirt. It wasn't rough or threateningly, just a light, short tug.
He looked up to see a woman standing there. Jasper wasn't sure what it was about the lady that made him feel suddenly nervous, but he had the urge to run. He didn't, though. That would be ridiculous, he chided himself. He was just being paranoid. This was a perfectly normal woman. "Can I help you?" he asked.
"Actually i'm a little lost." She replied with a smile. "I've been walking around for hours now. No can point me in the right direction." frowning for a fleeting moment, she grabbed a hold of Jasper's shoulders and brought her mouth close to his ear. "I'm looking for the cores and the Shemhazai, do you know where I could find them?"
Jasper's breath hitched in his throat. His violet eyes widened and his entire body suddenly froze in fear in the grip of the woman and her words. They were simple. To anybody else, they would be meaningless. To him, only a day ago, they would of been just as pointless. He would of stared at her blankly and maybe even laughed a little, before giving her directions and going about his day. But not now, not today. He knew exactly what those words meant. It meant he was in danger. He stuttered something unintelligible out before shoving her away, stumbling back a couple inches.
"Oh, why'd you push me away?" the woman cooed, walking once again towards Jasper. "And even after I came all of the way out here to show you my gratitude." White marks began to fade onto the woman's body now. Her eyes dilating until they were nothing more than blank white orbs; no iris or pupil. "You and the other Shemhazai put me through hell yesterday." the skin on the left side of her chest broke open, a red gem surfacing. It was protected only by strands of skin pulled over the rounded surface. Finally the faint outline of wings appeared on the woman's back. "I only came to repay the favour."
Oh, god, not again. Jasper thought as he took another step back, stopping as his back hit the metal pole of the cross walk sign. "I-I," he gulped. "I d-don't know wh-what you're talking about." He looked around frantically for someone--anyone--but nobody was there. His luck could only last so long. Yesterday he'd been lucky. Today, not so much. He refocused on the angel in front of him. She would kill him and there was nothing he could do about it. He shut his eyes tightly and waited for her to finish it.
The Angel kept advancing until she was just a few steps away from Jasper. "You know exactly what I am talking about Shemhazai. Now where are the cores you stole from my family?!" The Angel was shouting now but there was no one else to hear them. Suddenly she glanced over her shoulder, leaping into the air at the last second. A red spear whizzed past the place where she just was and landed just above Jasper's hand, the forked end either side of the metal pole. Kaede cursed under his breath and tilted his head to stare up at the Angel who was now laughing.
Jasper opened his eyes to see what was going on--and regretted it. Just as soon as he opened his eyes to see what it was that was taking the Angel so long to finish him off, a spear of some sort nearly impaled him. He sucked in a sharp gasp of air, holding it in and watching the scene unfold in front of him with wide eyes. He wanted to look away, but, just like the day before, he found it increasingly harder to do so. It wasn't just frightening beyond belief; it was intriguing. Something new to learn about. Something deadly.
"There you are Shemhazai, you came to help your friend." The Angel called down, floating gently on the unfelt breeze. Kaede growled a little under his breath before walking over to where his spear was. He glanced towards Jasper but focused back on the Angel in the air. "You have no need for those cores so why not hand them over? Including the one your friend found." Kaede stood still with his eyes focused on the Angel above, not even bothering to glance back at Jasper. He held the red lance firmly within his right hand, the tips of the forked end touching the ground.
"If you're not going to fight, run away." Kaede instructed Japser, never once taking his eyes of the floating creature. "Forcas!" The Angel's gaze shifted from Jasper to focus entirely on Kaede. "You'll be going back to where you belong whether you like it or not!" The Angel merely laughed as Kaede lunged into the air, stabbing the thing with his spear. At the last second the Angel disappeared from sight and Kaede landed on the ground with a light tap. He growled under his breath, but managed to sense where the invisible Angel was.
Run away..? Jasper thought in a surreal sort of mind. His thoughts passed by hazily, as if there were a deep fog covering the words that he didn't want to make the effort to make out. Nothing came in clearly. He shook his head and still the fog did not clear away, so instead, he remained where he was. He felt frozen in place, although his hands were shaking uncontrollably. The Angel appeared too close for safety nearby, but he did nothing to stop her.
"Jasper!" he called out, racing forward and quickly deploying a bright orange hexagonal field. The Angel let out a loud shriek, appearing whilst attempting to break through the shield. "I thought I told you to go home." Kaede hissed out just as the shield shattered. The Angel lunged forward with a blade in both hands, straight for Kaede. Suddenly it stopped as the red lance pierced straight through her body and out through the other side. Kaede forced the creature to the floor and limiting her movements with the lance. With a sickening, flesh tearing sound, the spear was pulled out, revealing a gaping wound which just oozed bloody. The lance disappeared from Kaede's hands and he stared down at the creature bleeding below him. The wound had pierced several major organs and would instantly kill a human.
"No..." The Angel whispered weakly under her breath. "I... don't want to... go... back there..." Her pain filled eyes glanced up at Kaede who was staring down at her with a dark expression. Holding his head up high and staring down at her from the bottom of his eyes.
The sounds made by the weapon piercing through flesh, bone, and organs alike were enough to make Jasper feel sick to his stomach. Again, he wanted so badly to look away, but by some sick, cruel sense, he just couldn't bring himself to do it. If anything, he leaned in more to get a better look at the fallen creature. His stiff, scared expression softened without his realizing. He didn't know where 'back there' was, but he suddenly wanted her back. Jasper remained silent as he watched the creature die away. He didn't want her to die... He wanted to mourn for her, but he just stood there, eyes glazed over with tears he would never bring himself to shed. He'd never seen someone die before.
"I wonder if you'll die if I leave you here like this." Kaede said in a dark tone to match his expression. "Just like a human."He paused as he bent down and reached for her core. "...If only I could grant you that much." His tone was soft now and full of pity. "I'm sorry." The Angel stared up at Kaede as he grabbed onto the core. The air was filled with a wet twisting noise and with a few turns the core came loose, leaving a bleeding hole where it used to be. The life instantly drained from the Angel's eyes and the human's body decayed within seconds. Kaede wrapped his hand around the core and stared down at the rotting corpse of the Angel's human host. He didn't speak for quite a while, until he finally turned around to face Jasper.
Jasper let out an involuntary gasp when Kaede tore the core from the Angel's heart. He winced, his own face twisted into a look of pain and regret. He wanted to...to... Well, he didn't know what he wanted to do. He wanted to help, but he wanted to run. He wanted to do something. He just couldn't decide what. Kaede looking at him like that made him silent.
"Do you understand the danger you are in now?" Kaede growled at him. "You could have been killed by that Angel! Why did you not fight it?!" Kaede stopped himself from shouting further, taking in a deep breath to calm himself. "Be more careful, okay?" he sighed, turning around and facing out into the streets. It was dark now, the streets were empty and only illuminated by the various street-lights. "Let's go home."
Kaede turned away, but Jasper did not make a move to follow him. Instead, his eyes were narrowed toward the ground and his hands were squeezed into fists. His nails dug deep enough into his palms to nearly make them bleed, but he wasn't bothered by the pain. He felt numb. "I..." he started, his voice more even than he was expecting it to be. He paused to choose his words more carefully. "She looked like a human..." he whispered, the tears glazing over his eyes threatening to spill; he refused to cry here. Not in front of Kaede. "I couldn't just fight her. I couldn't do that. I couldn't..." He took in a shaky breath to get the water out of his eyes.
Kaede turned to stare at Jasper once again. The boy seemed like he was about to cry any minute. Though Kaede had no clue why. The creature they killed was an Angel, nothing more. Jasper’s protesting words made Kaede sigh, though he understood Jasper’s reason behind them.
Jasper looked up at Kaede, his gaze piercing, but desperate, searching for something. Reassurance, maybe. "I won't have to kill a human, will I?" he asked, his tone almost pathetic. "Please, Kaede, I won't kill a human." Despite his feelings a few minutes ago, he could no longer bring himself to look at the woman's bleeding body. He took a heavy step towards the other boy, lost between wanting to punch him and squeeze the life out of him. He did neither. "But I don't want to die," he added after a moment, his eyes looking at the ground.
“That thing was not human.” Kaede said simply. “It had already killed the human’s body it inhabited. That woman you saw was nothing more than a walking corpse.” He hoped Jasper would understand. Angels must kill to inhabit bodies. “We were simply setting her body free.”
Whatever internal issues he'd been having almost seemed to resolve themselves as Jasper finally looked up, his expression more firmly set this time as he met Kaede's eyes. "I understand," he said, his voice even and sure of himself. "I-I'll do whatever needs to be done to stop that," he motioned towards the body without actually looking at it, "from happening again." He almost--almost--gave Kaede a smile, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. Not yet. He walked up past the other boy. "Alright, let's go home.."
