"Ah, ah…AH-CHOO!!"
May sniffled and wiped her nose. "Mom, I'm home!" She called as she walked through the door.
Her mom was on the couch, but she stood up to greet her. "What did the leader say?" She asked.
May shut the door. "He…he said he was sorry for sending us there. He sounded worried."
"He said he was sorry?!" May's mom shook her head. "When I was a kid, the Leader would have bitten my head off for something like that—not apologize. You must've caught him on a good day."
She nodded, but May knew something deeper was going on than that. "U-um, I'm gonna go take a shower. Is that okay?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah sure. Go for it." She was wondering if the Leader was getting softer or something.
May left to her room to get some clean clothes and a towel, then went into the bathroom. After undressing, she turned on the water and stepped into the shower. She needed some time to relax. The bathroom started to steam as she allowed herself to breathe and clear her mind.
15 minutes passed. "Okay," she said to herself, "now it's time to wash my wings." She unfolded her wings and got the soap ready, but gaped as she turned to her side. "What the—"
One of her snow white wings was now black.
"How did this—?!" She had no explanation. She tried everything to fix it—hot water, cold water, soap, shampoo, scrubbing, lathering, soaking—but nothing worked. She panicked and turned off the shower, quickly drying herself and getting dressed before running into her room.
Behind her closed door, she examined the wing more closely. "This is horrible! Wh-why is it black? What happened? Wh-what if my other wing gets like that, too??" Her wings had been white her whole life and, from what she knew, never just changed colors.
"Should I tell mom?"
No! No May, don't tell your mom.
"But I don't know what to do!" She said.
Ask about Zadie.
"…Z-Zadie? Who's Za—?"
Just ask about her. If you do, you'll find your answer.
May thought about it.
You have nothing to lose, the voice coaxed. Go for it.
It was right. She didn't have anything to lose. May got up and went to go find her mom, who was in the kitchen. She was at the sink peeling vegetables, her back facing May.
"Um, M-mom?" She asked.
"What is it, hun?" She continued to peel the vegetables.
"Um…who's Zadie?"
"Zadie? As in the daughter of the god?"
She assumed that had to be it. "Uh, yeah. That Zadie."
Her mom stopped peeling and rested her hands on the sink. "Oh boy," she said, turning around to face May, "it's been a long time since I've heard that name." She dug deep into her memory. "So, if I recall, Zadie was, supposedly, a daughter of one of the gods.
"She was no ordinary angel, either, as the story goes—she was a born fighter. She absolutely loved to fight. She was so good," her mom said, "that she could even beat male angels—any male angels—at 16 years old.
"She was feared by all the demons at that time, and for good reason. No demon would fight her if they could help it—anytime they did, they'd end up dead.
"Her skill was so impressive, she became a High Class Angel Guard of the Gods. Some people even think she was the angel who finally ended the Demon Raids."
May was in awe. She had never heard any of this before.
"Of course, only a few people actually believe this story, but…where was I? Oh, yes.
"Despite everything, she wasn't happy. She loved to spar, but no one would spar with her. She was too good. No one would even hang out with her because they were all scared of her. She had no one she could call a friend. For her, it really was lonely at the top.
"The worst part was that she was beautiful, inside and out. But all people saw when they looked at her was the demon-killing machine that could twist any angel in sight into a knot.
"One day, though, she caught rumors of a demon making a name for himself in the Underworld. People said he might even be stronger than Zadie. Of course, this caught her attention. It angered her, but she wanted to see if this demon really lived up to his reputation. And whether he did or not, she promised the people that she would only return with his head.
"So, she scoured the Underworld looking for this demon. But, after weeks and weeks of no luck, she turned to the human world. There, she found this demon among the people.
"He would act and talk like a human, doing the things that humans do and liking the things that humans like. As a matter of fact, when she found him, it was in an arcade, playing video games like the dozens of other humans there. This infuriated her. Now, what did they say again…?
"Oh, right. When she saw him, she grabbed him and pulled him out of the arcade, to his surprise. They reached a clearing when she asked him, "Are you the demon people keep talking about?"
"Wait, people talk about me?" He said. She answered, "People keep saying that you might just be stronger than me, and I'm here to prove that wrong." According to the story, the demon smirked. "You're Zadie, aren't you?" She wasn't flattered. "Yes. What's your name, demon?"
""Zack," he answered. "Okay, Zack," she said, "Are you ready to die??" And just like that, it started.
"They fought for days. Then, those days turned into weeks, and those weeks turned into months, and those months turned into 4 years.
"They would take breaks, of course, but always came back. They loved every second of the fight. Never in either of their lives had anyone been able to keep up with them. They fought perfectly, like they were made to fight each other. Neither of them ever won—sometimes she would get the upper hand, and sometimes he would, but neither of them ever gave up, or collapsed, or anything.
"It made her feel alive. It was sometime in the 4th year of them fighting that she realized she no longer wanted to kill Zack—fighting him was enough. And even that elicited new emotions…
"She had fallen in love with him. His wit, his endurance, his attitude…she loved everything about him. At this same time, she noticed that one of her wings started to turn black.
"One day, when they were about to resume their normal fighting, they met in the field. "You ready to get your ass kicked?" Zack smiled. She didn't clench her fists this time, though. Instead, she sat on a nearby rock. "Zack," she said, "I give up."
"He gaped. "Um, excuse me? What did you do to the real Zadie?" He joked. "You know, the one who'd whoop my ass clean off in half a second if I made a remark like that?" He didn't believe her.
"I don't wanna fight you anymore, Zack," she said. His heart dropped. "You're serious…" He said. "Well, why not?! Things were fine!"
"She avoided his eyes. Then stood up, and walked towards him. "Before, I wanted to fight you to prove that I was the best. I kept fighting you because you were the only man that could keep up with me. You were also the only one that never left. And now…" Their eyes locked. "Now I want something different."
"...What do you want?" He asked. She took his hand. "You." He couldn't believe it. "I'm in love with you, Zack. You and me just make sense—we were made for each other."
"But he tried to pull away. "Zadie, I…are you serious?" She nodded, to which he sighed. "It…it could never work between us. You're an angel; I'm a demon. Remember?" But she wasn't fazed.
"I'm the High Class Angel Guardian of the Gods," she said. "I can make it work." They both laughed. The demon sighed again, though. "Zadie, are you sure we can make this work?" He wanted her as much as she wanted him, but, as a demon, knew the consequences of them being caught.
"As long as I have you," she said, "we can make anything work."
"So," May's mom continued. "They dated in secret for a while. Until the day she came home smiling, telling her parents that she was going to marry a demon. Of course, her parents didn't approve of it. So she ran away from home, planning on eloping with Zack and living in secret. She would have to give up her title, but she was prepared for that.
"Her father, the god, would send angels to kill Zack. But every time, the angels would come back. They'd be brutally hurt, but always alive. So he had to take drastic measures. The god found a human who was working on a robot that could kill demons. It was called Xbot.
"He took Xbot and sent it to attack Zack. Unlike any angels, this was a machine. It was made out of demon metal, which would render him impotent alone. When the demon arrived, Zadie couldn't even help Zack—the demon metal weakened angels just as much, if not more, than it does demons.
"So, all she could do was watch as the man she loved was slaughtered, before her own eyes, his throat ripped out by that cold-blooded robot.
"With nowhere else to go, she returned to the Overworld. But nothing was the same. All she did was pace. She wouldn't eat. She mumbled to herself incoherently. Her wings got blacker and blacker with each day.
"This only lasted for about a week, until she died. She was the strongest angel to live, but love was even stronger than her."
Silence settled in as she finished telling the tale. May processed everything she heard.
"Of course," her mom said, "that's just an old wives' tale. Why in the world would an angel fall for a demon? Besides, Zack acts nothing like how demons act. And who ever heard of a demon-killing robot?" She chuckled.
Am…am I in love with Oliver? May asked. Is that why my wing is turning black? Like Zadie?
"Where'd you hear that name anyway, hun?" Her mom asked.
"Huh? Oh…um…I heard one of the demons talking about it," she said.
"Oh," she said. "Well, I've got to get dinner ready. Why don't you wait in your room?"
"Oh…yeah, sure," she said absent-mindedly. She walked down the hall, feeling a burning headache coming on. She shut her door and laid on her bed, looking up at the ceiling.
What if I end up like Zadie? What if I die like she did? Her face and chest felt hot, and her heart started thumping loudly in her chest. She tried to drink some water, but it made her feel nauseous. What should I do? I can't keep my wings hidden forever…
Time melted together as she laid there, the burning only getting worse as her head pounded. Am…I…sick…?
"May! May, did you hear me!!!"
May opened her eyes. From the shadows in her room, she knew some time must've passed. She realized she fell asleep. Her head still pounded violently, and her entire body burned. Despite the heat, she started to shake, suddenly feeling cold.
"MAY!"
"YEAH???" She forgot she was being called.
"Your dad's almost home, I need you to come set the table!" Her mom yelled.
"Oh. C-coming!" May got up and was hit with a wave of nausea. She had to balance herself on her bed post. She walked over slowly, making her way to the kitchen. Her mom was finishing dinner.
May grabbed the plates and began to set the table when the front door opened.
"I'm home!" Her dad called.
"Welcome home, honey!" Her mom yelled from the kitchen. "Dinner's just about done!" She walked over to kiss him hello. "How was your mission?" She asked.
"Amazing!" He laughed. "Not only did I kill the demon," he said, "I killed his whole family, too. Easy day today."
She laughed, holding him around the waist. "That's great, dear. Sounds like fun."
"It was."
May looked between the two of them. "You…killed his family?" She asked.
He looked at her, still smiling. "Yes, of course."
"But…your mission was to beat the Rank Five, not kill him. He's–He's not even evil anymore. He stopped what he was doing to start a family, and you killed them. What if they were innoce—"
"May," he said, "demons aren't like us. They're made for us to kill, and look good doing it. The humans love us for it, and they have for years. Centuries, even. Demons aren't capable of anything good, May—you need to realize that."
"B-but they're trying to change!!" She blurted.
"No they're not," he said. "They're trying to copy us—killing their own kind just to win over the humans' praise. What they don't understand is the humans hate them. Why would they want a cheap copy when they can have the real thing?!"
"Remember, May—the same demons preaching about "change" now were the ones who fought in the Demon Raid only 100 years ago. They want the humans to love them so badly, when they killed millions of them, and destroyed 3 of their cities before they were stopped. They're hypocrites, and stupid ones at that!"
"No, Dad!" What he was saying made a level of sense, but she knew he couldn't be right. "I met a demon! He was friendly to me, even though he knew I was an angel! He didn't kill Marco, and he didn't even hurt me!!! I know there are bad demons who kill for fun, but there's some out there who are actually good!"
"Good?!" He scoffed. "May, DEMONS. ARE. ALL. TRASH." She flinched at her dad screaming, but he continued. "I-I can't even look a demon in the eye without every fiber of my being wanting to slaughter it. They're stains on this world, May. ALL OF THEM. And I hope they ALL DIE. I'll kill them myself if I have to!!!"
His words echoed in the following silence. If she wasn't so nauseous, May would've had the urge to cry. Her head was swimming. But amidst her pain, something dawned on her.
I'm not happy here… she thought. My parents are the real demons here…they're heartless. Since when did they get so heartless? Did I just never notice??
She started to shake violently as her breathing quickened. She could feel her heart in her ears.
I…I just want to be happy! When was the last time I was actually happy?!
It played in her head.
"You're as beautiful as the flowers in May!"
"...Oliver?"
It hit her. That was it.
"Oliver?" Her dad asked.
Her heart started pound, quickening with her breath. That was it. That was what she needed.
"Oliver…I need Oliver…"
"What?" Her mom asked.
It all snapped.
"OLIVER! I NEED OLIVER!!!" She shook, holding her arms. "OLIVER! OLIVER! OLIVER!"
"Who's Oliver?" Her dad asked.
She was crazed. Her eyes darted everywhere, and the shaking only got worse. "OLIVER! OLIVER!" She turned and ran for the door, swinging it open. "OLIVER!" She screamed into the night sky.
Her parents were alarmed by her behavior, following her outside hurriedly. "May, what the hell is going on?" Her dad asked.
She was crying at this point, burning and shivering everywhere. "I NEED HIM! I NEED HIM!!!" She took off running, opening her wings mid step and shooting into the sky. "OLIVER! OLIVER!"
That's when her mom saw. H-her wings, she thought, they're black… She gaped.
"MAY, WAIT—!!" Her dad screamed.
"No!" Her mom said, stopping him. "Let her go."
"What? Why?!"
She couldn't believe what she was about to say. "She's going through a withdrawal. If she doesn't find this so-called 'Oliver', she'll die." She let out a sigh. Everything that happened that day was now starting to make sense. "Your daughter is in love with a demon."
"ACHOO!"
"Damn, Oliver. You've been sneezing all day," Marilyn griped.
"Yeah, I know," he said. "I think I'm allergic to something."
They were in his apartment playing video games. Earlier that day, they dropped Marco off at the Underworld Detainment Prison. Now, they were trying to relax before they're suspension ended and they had to go back to school.
"So, what game do you wanna play next?" He asked.
"The one with the kitties :3!!!!"
He groaned. "Why are games like that even made? They're trash, and no one ever wants to play them!"
"I do!!!!" She exclaimed. "It's so cute!!!!"
"Well, you can play it. I'm gonna go to bed."
"WHAT?!"
"We've got school tomorrow, Marilyn! I've gotta get some sleep! This has been the worst school year ever for me, okay? I've gotta try to do something right."
She pouted, slowly sliding to the floor. "I don't wanna go to school tomorrowwwwww."
He got up and walked to his room. "Well, we have to. Goodnight." He shut the door, leaving Marilyn to play her cat game for the next half hour.
Meanwhile, May was in the park—the same park she met Oliver in—lost. This was the only place she knew of…she had no idea where he lived. She tried looking around, but was too exhausted. She laid on a bench, huddled for warmth. "O-Oliver…" she said as she closed her eyes and fell asleep.
End of chapter 13
