Heart of Space

by Maria Rocket

***

(author's notes: Sorry if this is confusing, it just materialized in my mind and flew onto the screen suddenly. ^^; It's kinda strange, and I kept bouncing the style all over the place, but well, the theme just appealed to me. Also, I didn't write this with any yaoi themes in mind, but you're perfectly welcome to interprete it as ye wish. ^-^; )

***

In a deep dark wood somewhere in the L1 colonies, there is a small place between tangled trees and black bushes. All is silent. There is only a lone man sitting with his gun, wondering where he should turn his miserable life next. His eyes are drawn to the sky. Why, he asks them, why is he alive? If everything really has a purpose, then what is his own? He is revolted at the knowledge that his own is only to bring horror and pain. Surely, there must be something more.

Surely, he begs silently to the stars he can not see, there must be a way to save his soul. He closes his eyes. But there is nothing he can do to make up for what he's done. One single nameless man may have changed history for the worse, but destroying is far easier than creating. One single nameless man could not change history for the better again. That would take nothing less than a true miracle.

So he sits there.

He is nearly asleep when he notices a strange glow a few feet in front of him. He awakens, but is still with fear. What is this? The soft white glow intensifies. It is so very bright, yet is not at all painful to his eyes. There is a soft rustling sound, which makes him think of silk. Before his bewildered eyes, the light forms into a mass of feathers. Feathers of the purest white light.

Slowly the feathers move, as if by a breeze. As they expand, the man notices something dark within them. He stares in amazement as the feathers fully unfurl from around what appears to be a small sleeping boy. His hair is dark brown and he wears no more than the delicate wings that curve out from his back, moving ever so slowly. He sits crouched on the balls of his feet with his arms around his legs. He seems to glow with his own inner light.

A moment passes, and the man dares not move. "Are...are you here to judge me?" His throat constricts with fear.

The angelic boy's eyes open almost dreamily as he smiles at the man. His eyes are steely blue, speaking of love and peace. Yet as he sits there, the glow is receding into his form, and the light in his eyes fades into loss and confusion.

'I am here.' The boy's heart cries out to the stars far above the walls of the colony. 'Brothers, I have joined you now...' His heart falls into deep despair as he realizes he is alone. The first three had arrived long ago by the measures of this realm, and he had not truly expected to meet them on his arrival. Yet... Where is his Wing Brother? They had journeyed together, but now he is alone.

The man recoils in terror as the little boy throws his head back and gives a high, mournful cry. It reminds him of chimes.

***

At that moment, in the Winner household, somewhere in the L4 colonies, a small boy with bright aquamarine eyes stirs from his bed. A place in his heart long since buried hears a cry from far away. He moves from his bed and throws open the window to stare up into the sky. The wind dances through his platinum blond hair. Often he has been described as an angel, and on that night, the moonlight shimmers the truth onto what appear to be the faintest of golden wings on his back.

"Don't cry," he whispers. "No matter what separates us, we are always of the same soul. You are not truly alone."

Deep in his heart, he hears the quiet whisper he has always known. He smiles and nods. "Yes, my Wing Brother. His pain is great, for they have never been apart before now. Yet this is how it all must be. We will all be reunited one day."

***

"Yes..." A small voice answers from an impossible distance. Somewhere, in a lost field deep in the L3 colonies, a small boy with amber hair and emerald eyes watches the same secret sky. The cry of the new one has briefly awakened his heart as well. "But until then, he must learn, as we did, to be mortal. To be apart." On his back, wings of soft blue light slightly shimmer.

***

On an old stair in the L5 colonies, a boy with black eyes and hair also gazes towards the stars in another sky. His heart stirs with the memory of his true self as he feels the presence of another like himself born into the world.

"You will continue to suffer as long as you walk in this world," he whispers. "Such is our fate. We are here to serve...to deliver. Because of this, the demons shall rip and claw and bite at our very souls and lives to the bitter end. Our new mortality is our weakness. We must survive if we are to succeed in our task. If we are to be reunited again."

On his back, jade wings seemed to flutter briefly.

***

Deep in space, a space shuttle descends in the region of the L2 colonies. Within its cargo hold, all is dark and cold. Then, in the farthest corner a spark of light pops to life. The white glow expands until there is revealed a mass of obsidian feathers. As dark as they are, they glow with their own gentle light.

The black wings open to reveal a long cascading mass of glowing chestnut colored hair. It is a boy, wearing nothing at all. He lifts his small head and stretches it back, his wings following the motion. His deep, violet eyes open with a peaceful expression.

"...Michael?" His voice is soft. He slowly rises to his feet with the grace of an angel. As the light fades from his form, slow dread overcomes him. He is alone.

For the few moments of full self knowledge that he has left in his new mortal form, the angel of death reaches his voice out into the void. "Wing Brother! Have you arrived?" Unlike the others, he and his Wing Brother had arrived later upon the mortal world through their own power. The others had been born into it the mortal way. It had not been an easy birth, but they were both angels of great power. Their presence in such a manner was unheard of. Yet the Earth and all of space would soon face grave dangers unlike any before. It had been deemed grave enough to send forth the most elite of angels. Yet they would not be able to use power of the weight they wielded again for a long time. Having the power to arrive in such a manner, he and his Wing Brother had delayed their coming until the last moment.

Now was the time. Still...

***

"I did not know we would be apart like this." The boy with the soft white wings whispers. "We have always been together. Somehow I just assumed we would descend together to the same place."

***

The dark angel closes his eyes. "Yes...as did I. However, this is how it must be. I only hope I know you when I see you again. Even now my mind is slipping from me... We will only remember these things from behind shadows and starlight from this time on." His inner light slowly disappears within him, and his sharp black wings fade from sight.

***

"I will never forget," the boy sobs as his wings slowly fade away. "We will all survive. When the heart of space finally pulls us together once more, we will shine brighter than any of the stars..." His voice fades as the light disappears within him completely, leaving the boy sitting in the darkness, cold and lost.

***

"Yes..." The boy within the space shuttle's cargo hold stares out into the darkness, wondering who he is and where he is going. His violet eyes dim with a pain he can no longer grasp, yet a glimmer of hope shines there, and he smiles despite himself. He feels that perhaps that if he can not remember, than it may not be worth remembering. No matter. He can create himself.

His eyes flit over towards a stack of luggage. The next day, a set of child's clothing would be reported stolen at an L2 spaceport by an angry woman. No one would notice the small boy stealing off into the streets.

***

Feeling shaken, the lone man in the woods stares at the now seemingly normal little boy. The boy's eyes are now dark and devoid of love. They are hooded and speak of pain. He shivers slightly and seems to withdraw into himself.

Cautiously, the man stands and steps towards him. "You...were you sent to me?"

The boy slowly looks up and stares uncaringly at him. Then his eyes become filled with tears. "Who am I?" He asks quietly.

The man shakes his head. "I don't know." He feels twisted up inside. This was a pure creature sent to him... What could he possibly offer him but death and suffering? What was he to do with him? Surely he was better off anywhere but here.

Those steely eyes are watching him.

Yet, he had asked for this. Maybe it was best if he didn't ask too many questions. Whatever new part he had now been asked to play was clearly not his to see. But maybe...just maybe...he had been given a second chance.

He glances up at the sky and then back down to the boy uncertainly. For that little moment, for the first time in what felt like eternity, he felt like living again. He pulls off his jacket and places it around the brown-haired boy.

"I guess you can stay with me for awhile." He almost smiles as he watches the boy pull at the fabric. "My name's Odin."