Heaven's Wake

Maybe in the end, everything was alright. Sure, the Portal of Darkness was gone, closed because of Hiresta's sacrifice of the sword of the Realm. And the Night Army was destroyed, but it wasn't exactly a good feeling. To tell the truth, it left many of us, feeling-- well, empty. As I stood there, my sword in my hand, dripping the blood of dead soldiers, I was feeled with a sense of sadness. Yes, we had crushed the Night Army's monsterous offensive, stopped them from trying to overrun the gates of The Palace. Yet, as I looked around, at the vast battlefield that lay spread out before me and my companions, I wondered if this battle had REALLY been worth it. Many of our ranks were wounded, even more had been killed in the battle. General Hiresta herself was dead. And now, it was all over. This war that had raged for senseless millenia was finally and brutally concluded. I wiped the blood from the blade of my sword, then sheathed it. I was as weary, as tired as any of the others, but I still had a job to do. I unbuckled the leather clasps on my helmet, and let it fall heavily to the ground. Then I set off across the battlefield, looking for any of the mortally wounded troops of the Night Army. I cannot begin to tell you how many corpses that I stepped over, the expressions on their faces frozen-- as they finally slept. I knew in my heart that even though this was the last time that I would have to perform this action, it would never cease to be a part of me. Many of my fellow companions were still rejoicing on the battlefield, and if I'd felt like they did, I'd be shouting and joyous too. But I wasn't. As I walked the grounds of the battlefield, there was a feeling of apprehension over me. I could feel that there was indeed something left unfinished-- something that was important. But what? I didn't know what it was. I couldn't put my finger on it, but it just FELT like there was something evil lurking among us. Still, I continued to check the bodies of the fallen enemy soldiers. Somewhere among them-- I was sure-- there was a soldier who wasn't dead...yet. I'd try to get whatever information from it that I could. I wasn't having much luck though, the majority of them were exactly that--dead, bodies split open, some without heads, others with swords or various other weapons still lodged within them. Yet, I continued to check the bodies. And then, I saw her body as well. Our beloved leader, General Hiresta. Even in death, she looked splendidly beautiful. Her golden armor was inlaided with silver designs that sparkled and caught the sunlight that was starting to rise on the battlefield. Her eyes were opened slightly, almost as if she was daydreaming. But only the small trickle of blood coming from her mouth signaled that she was indeed dead. Her hair, as bright silver as it was, also reflected some of the sunlight as it stayed framed around her face. I was distracted by it for a moment, then I took off my cloak, bent down, and wrapped it around her body. As I picked her up, I looked around the battlefield. I knew that I was postponing my original mission, but it could wait. I could always return to it-- and besides, I had something more important to do now. I had to honor my general.

I had to honor the angel that I loved so much.

Chapter ONE: Is Heaven real?

16-year old Asani Hirata looked up at the dark night sky. Most nights, she would just sit on the windowsill in her room and just look. But tonight was different. Tonight, Asani felt like she was the sky. Furious, dark, forbidden, yet openly calm.

She couldn't explain why she felt that way, she just did. As she sat there, she started thinking about the dreams that she'd been having lately. Her dreams had started becoming like something she'd watched in an anime. Swords, demons, and a beautiful general in armor, enormous armies clashing among the stars. And for some reason, there was an angel. He was beautiful as well-- long dark hair, green eyes, and a tanned complexion that seemed to suit him perfectly. He was well built, too. Every time she thought about him, a shiver went through her body. For some reason, she could see every little detail about him. The armor that he wore, the way his wings sparkled as they caught the moonlight. She could even remember how heavy the hilt of his sword was. She always tried to shake off that feeling, but she never could. It was almost like a dream that wasn't a dream. But is that even possible? She always asked herself that, and got no answer. How could she see his face so clearly-- know everything about him, if she'd never even met him? It was too confusing, that was always her decision. Slowly, as her thoughts faded, she removed her glasses and set them on the inside of the window. She stood up, and looked at the sky one last time before going inside to finish her economics project. Just as she stepped in the window, her phone began to ring. As Asani picked up the receiver, she tripped over the phone cord, which sent her sprawling to the ground. As she lay there, looking up at the ceiling of her room, she could hear the voice on the other end of the line.

"Hey! Asani! A-SAN-I!! Are you there? Stop playing and answer me!"

The voice was high-pitched, so it couldn't be anybody but her best friend Courtney.

As she picked the receiver up and placed it to her ear, she signed slowly.

"Courtney! Calm down girl. I'm here! I hear you! Ok?" She said very quickly.

"Girl, what happened to you? I kept calling your name."

Another sign. Asani rolled her eyes, then decided it'd be best if she just closed them altogether.

"I fell. Right when I answered the phone, the cord tripped me. Unbelievable, right?"

"You're telling me. Was it an accident this time or were you just being clumsy again?" Courtney snickered.

Asani opened her eyes, and smiled to herself.

"I guess it was my fault. Didn't look to see if it was safe to come in the window."

"Don't tell me you were out there on the fire escape again, daydreaming about angels and battles again."

"And if I was? Who's gonna stop me? Huh?"

She knew that Courtney was probably laughing at her, but at this moment, she didn't really care. Her dreams were HER dreams, dammit. Besides, and Courtney was one to talk! Her dreams were even crazier! Guys and threesomes. Seriously, who was thinking about sex in this day and age? With as many diseases that were running rampant in the world, people hardly took the chance anymore. Abstinence was STRICTLY enforced.

"Wait, Asani. Now you know that I would never tell you not to do something, but girl, you have got to stay off of that fire ecsape. What if that rickety old thing finally collapses into the alley?

If it does that, I guess I'll just be dead and gone. Asani thought to herself.

"Hopefully I'll get rescued by my hero." She told Courtney.

Courtney really erupted into laughter. Asani held the receiver back from her ear and rolled her eyes.

After a couple of minutes, Courtney finally started to calm down. Asani was waiting for it.

"You really think that a hero is going to save you? No--wait, you want YOUR hero to rescue you! Don't you? Courtney said.

Asani looked at her clock. It was 10:48 p.m., and it was time for her to go to bed. She didn't really feel like having this conversation with Courtney at the moment. She thought of something to say.

Courtney was still going on and on when Asani finally broke in with some words of her own.

"Um, Courtney, I know you're trying to educate me about love, guys, and the world-- but can't it please wait 'til tomorrow at least? I still got my economics project to work on, plus set something up with Stanley. You're already done with your work."

Courtney stopped talking. Asani waited to see what she was going to say.

"Really? You're not through with that assignment yet? See, I told you that you should've been in my group. But, yeah. You go ahead and get finished with that, and then call me back later. I'll be up. My parents are getting ready to leave for the weekend. They said I could invite friends over. The faster you get done, the quicker you can be over here."

Asani thought about it. THAT seemed reasonable enough. Maybe she should go.

Courtney decided the matter for her.

"Tell you what, just get through with that, and get over here. My parents are leaving in the next thirty minutes or so, and then, if you want to, we can invite some guys over...like Jason or Ashton." Her voice sounded really hopeful.

Asani looked across the room to her desk. It was loaded with papers and books and...oh well. She firmly made up her mind.

"What the hell? Courtney? You only live once, right? Count me in. It's umm...10:53 right now. I'll be there by 11:10, at least. Tell your parents that I'm coming over tonight, okay?" She said.

Courtney was ecstatic. "Great! I'll see you in a little while, ok? And I'll leave the back door by the garage open so you can just come in, ok?"

Asani murmured her agreement.

"Hey, Asani. You do remember the gate passcode, don't you?" Courtney asked.

"Of course I do. It's 8-7-7-9, right?"

"That's right. But you know what? How is it that you can remember that-- but you can't remember the number of a really cute guy?"

"That's easy. It's not the number of some guy who only wants to jerk me around. See how simple it is when you cut out the middleman?"

"Asani, you're completely hopeless. You want a guy, but you don't want a guy. Will you ever make up your mind?"

"Probably not, Courtney. But I just don't think I'm ready for a relationship right now."

"That or you're just waiting for your 'angelic' Romeo to show up. Either way, I think that you're insane."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, my friend. I'll be sure to get married for your approval only."

The two of them laughed over the phone together.

"Look, let me go ahead and get some things together so I can come over." Asani said.

"Okay. Just make sure that you're over here. Did you know that there's going to be a movie marathon later tonight?" Courtney asked.

"Really? About what? Monsters? Horror movies? Spys?"

"Just get over here so you can see it!"

"Alright, alright! Let me get finished throwing this stuff in a bag, and I'll be on my way. Sound like a plan?"

"Sounds like the plan is set. See you later, girl."

Asani agreed, and hung up the phone. She ran to her closet, yanked the door open and pondered over what to put in her overnight bag. Finally, she decided that whatever she didn't have, Courtney was sure to have it. Nobody's family had as much money as Courtney's. As she grabbed the bag and her carkeys, she thought about how hopeful Courtney had sounded when she'd mentioned guys. She cut the light off.

As she rushed out of the room, she thought to herself, Nobody ever said that guys and girls can't kiss...

Asani let her window down, and punched in her destination on the security console. Then it prompted her for the passcode.

"It's 8-7-7-9." She said.

The gate opened slowly as the computer's voice stated: "Diamond Square Security Access code enabled. Please follow the lit path to your destination point. DO NOT deviate from the path."

She didn't really need it, but it was a newer system designed to prevent anyone from getting lost since Diamond Square was a huge estate community. The majority of the houses built within its walls cost over 6.8 million. Everytime she came over here, Asani would try not to think about how nice these houses looked. Tonight though, she didn't even have to worry about it. She was so intwined thinking about her dreams that she wasn't really thinking about much else.

As she pulled into the Harmon household driveway, she saw Courtney's luxury sports car parked on the side. She got out of the car and grabbed her bag, then she locked the door. As she approached the house, she didn't even really pay attention to how dark it was. There were no lights on anywhere, except for the ones that were outside the house. She walked up to the side door and pushed it open. As she stepped inside the house and closed the door, lights all over the house started to light up at the same time. Yet another security feature of the Harmon household. Asani looked around for a moment, then she decided to go up the stairs to Courtney's room to put her bag down. While she walked through the rooms, she decided that if anything, this would be the type of house that she'd like to have, when she was older. But she couldn't live in a house like this. It didn't really matter. This house was too big for her to be in by herself.

And where in the world was Courtney? Asani didn't want to have to wander around the house looking for her, but as she realized, her friend was a great prankster. Somewhere in this huge house, she was already set to play another of her now 'infamous' pranks. Asani cleared her throat, and strode triumphantly around the house.

The joke's gonna be on her, when I get my hands around her NECK!! Asani thought.

She walked from room to room, clicking on light switches, and examining closets. Finally, she had only two last places to check, the attic and the basement. Both rooms by themself were absolutely huge, so Asani decided to flip a coin and see where she should head to first.

Head's the attic and tails is the basement. And God help her when I find her! Asani thought, as she caught the coin.

She looked at it.

"Heads it is, then." She said, putting the coin back into her pocket. "Ready or not, it's Courtney killing time."

She headed to the stairs, and went up into the attic. As she stood in front of the door, she figured that Courtney would more than likely be hiding behind something, so that she'd be able to pounce on her from somewhere.

Asani muttered to herself, "If she thinks it's gonna be death from above like last time, boy, has she got something coming to her!"

Asani opened the door and switched on the light before walking in the attic. She stood there for a minute, looking at the things that were all over the place. Some of the stuff was weird, and bulky looking. Then she remembered that Courtney's parents were also art and culture lovers. Some of the things in this room alone had probably cost more than her own parents would ever see in a lifetime. She started walking past stacks and stacks of boxes, carefully wrapped mirrors, some very antique furniture, and more...boxes. At that moment, something in the back of the attic sparkled, and that 'gleam' was what caught her eye. As she walked towards it, she realized that what she was looking at was a very beautiful and heavily jeweled sheath. Futhermore, there was a sword in the sheath, and its hilt was jeweled in the same way as the sheath. The jewels encased within the silver hilt caught all the light of the room and sparkled and shined magnificently. There was a huge diamond encased in the very bottom of the sword hilt, and it was the largest jewel that Asani had ever seen in her life. Something seemed so familar about this sword, and she couldn't shake the feeling that she'd saw it somewhere. She knew for a fact that since she'd never been in this attic, that couldn't have been how she'd first saw it. Plus, she hadn't seen it any of the rooms in the house either. So why did it seem so familar? Something in her was urging her to reach out and pick up the old sword, and she obeyed, grasping the sword by the hilt,as she slowly and gracefully pulled the sword out of the sheath and looked at the blade itself. The blade of the sword was polished and shining, and in her hands, the sword felt light. Asani grasped the hilt with her other hand, and it was almost as if she was in a trance, as she performed very masterful movements that only an expert swordsman would know how to execute. She was slicing the blade through the air, listening to the sound that it made, and it was almost as if the sword itself was in some way 'talking' to her. She could feel the very spirit of the sword within herself, and it pleased her greatly. She was so intrigued with the sword, she didn't even notice that Courtney was standing there behind her, staring. Asani held the sword up with both hands, looked at the blade again, and it was at the moment she actually saw Courtney's reflection, that whatever had come over her was broken. The sword immediately became heavier than it had been before, and she dropped it onto the floor. As it lay there, Asani sank down to her knees and placed her hands over her eyes. Courtney rushed forward, scared that Asani might be hurt.

"Asani? Asani? Are you ok? What's wrong? What happened?" Courtney asked, a worried expression on her face.

Asani slowly dropped her hands and her vision focused on her friend. She was still kind of numb, but as she regained control of her senses, she realized that Courtney was kneeling beside her. They looked at each other for a moment, then Asani slowly asked Courtney about what happened. Courtney was dumbfounded. She didn't know what to tell her.

Except...Courtney looked at Asani closely, before she said anything.

"Asani, I...I really don't know what happened...I came inside from locking up the guesthouse like my parents told me to, and I saw your bookbag in my room. So I started looking all over the house for you. I'd just checked the basement, and then I figured that I might as well check here, too." Courtney stood up, and then helped Asani up from the floor.

"Anyway, I'm glad that I did check in here, because when I came back here, you was holding my father's favorite sword from his collection. No one's ever been able to hold that thing, it's so damn heavy. Even my father couldn't lift it past his shoulders. That's why it's still here in the attic." Courtney scoffed, then she looked at Asani.

"Speaking of which, how in the heck were you able to lift that thing? When I saw you, you were acting like some type of swashbuckling pirate, or Zorro, or something. Have you been taking fencing lessons or something, in your spare time?"

Asani looked at Courtney. As they both looked at each other, Asani looked down at the sword. It still lay there on the floor where it had fell. Courtney bent down to pick it up...and apparently was having a hell of a time trying to accomplish that task. She could barely pick it up high enough to place it back in the sheath.

"Christ, this thing is so fuckin' heavy! Dammit!!" She was clearly gasping for air. Suddenly, Asani just reached over and grasped the hilt of the sword and picked it up without any effort. Courtney let go of the sword's hilt, completely amazed, as she watched Asani place the sword back in the sheath and carefully put it back where she'd gotten it.

Courtney looked at Asani and then at the sword. She couldn't believe how Asani had just picked up this huge sword and just plucked it back into its sheath. She'd never known whether the blade was sharp. Furthermore, up until now, she'd never even seen the blade itself. Nor had her father, for that matter. Courtney let out a whoop. She was clearly excited. Her eyes were lit up like christmas lights. She grabbed Asani's shoulder (which brought Asani out of another trance, but Courtney didn't know that), and shook her.

"Oh man, wait 'til mom and dad get back! I'm going to tell him about how you pulled that thing out like it was just a toy sword or something. That was amazing! Girl, you must have some muscles that you don't know about!"

Asani blinked. Courtney's expression was saying it all. She was very ecstatic about what had just happened. Asani looked at herself in the mirror, and gasped at the reflection she saw. It wasn't hers at all. It was a reflection of a very young woman, and although she looked young and beautiful, there was something about her that made Asani realize that whoever it was she was looking at,this was a person who was meant to be respected. The woman wore golden armor inlaid with silver, and there were highly decorative designs on her armor. But it was what Asani saw next that made her eyes bulge. Slowly, almost as if she was acknowledging her, the woman held up her right hand--and there--in the woman's grip, was the very sword that Asani had just picked up. There was no denying it, the huge diamond on the end of the hilt said it all. As Asani looked closer, the woman nodded at her, and then placed the sword back in its sheath. Asani couldn't say anything-- make any type of sound. She tried, but it just didn't work. She was still trying to speak when Courtney grabbed her by the shoulder.

"Girl, are you ok? Ever since you touched that sword, you've been acting strange..."

Asani was finally able to tear herself away from the mirror--and she tried to tell Courtney what she'd just witnessed. But Courtney was having a hard time trying to understand what she was saying. Asani was talking so fast, it was no wonder the poor girl was confused. Finally, Courtney looked at Asani and asked her to repeat herself--slowly.

Asani collected her thoughts, paused, then started talking in the most controlled manner that she possibly could. Courtney just stood there and listened.

"Courtney--I saw a woman in the mirror! She was like my reflection or something, I don't really know how to explain it. But she was young-looking--with silver hair, and golden armor that had silver designs on it. And you won't believe it-- she was holding the sword!

She was holding your father's sword in her hand, and then she pointed it right at me and nodded her head at me, almost as if she was telling me that it's my sword or something! She was just looking at me, like she could actually see me! Every time that I tried to move, she just looked at me again, and it was like my body was under her control or something! No matter what, I just couldn't move."

She looked at Courtney and saw the look on her friends face. There was no denying that right now, Courtney was probably considering the fact that Asani might possibly be going crazy. Asani turned away and slowly looked down at the floor. She was quiet for a long time, and Courtney still stood there, just looking at her. Finally, Asani spoke.

"You probably think that I'm crazy--that I've been hallucinating, but it doesn't feel like it to me. I could actually feel the woman's presence before I looked in the mirror, but I didn't know why I felt like that. If you don't want to be my friend anymore, I understand--and I'll get my things and leave..."

Asani slowly looked up at Courtney's face, and the two stared at each other in awkward silence. Finally, Courtney reached up

and smoothed back a section of her long dark hair that had fallen out of place. She stood there, and didn't say anything for a moment, then she placed her hands on Asani's shoulders and smiled.

"Girl, what are you talking about? Stop being friends? Us? Are you crazy?" She laughed, grabbed Asani and hugged her tightly.

Asani was surprised by her friend's sudden display of emotion, Courtney hardly ever touched or hugged anyone...what was really going on here? Courtney was still laughing as she let go of Asani. Which of the two was more surprised?

"I mean, I just thought that--" Asani tried to explain. Courtney looked at her and held her finger to her lips. Slowly, she gripped Asani by the hands, and led her back over to the mirror. As the two stood there, looking at their own reflections, Courtney suddenly said, "Asani, you are like a sister to me. My mom and dad think of you as their daughter too. My entire family is crazy about you, like you wouldn't believe. Why do you think that you can get away with practically anything when you come over to visit?"

Asani started to reply, just as a phone began ringing downstairs. Courtney was off like a flash- Asani right behind her, to see who it was. They rushed down the attic steps and down the long hallway to the nearest phone. Courtney stopped, caught her breath and looked at the Caller ID.

It read: Tiffany Mason, 809-783-4485.

Courtney waved Asani off, mouthing the words, "It's just Tiffany.."

Asani nodded and wandered off down the hall towards Courtney's room.

Reaching the doorway, she paused before walking into the room, then saw her backpack lying on Courtney's bed, where she'd tossed it. As she walked over to it, suddenly, she found herself amidst a gigantic battlefield, smoldering ashes and fires everywhere, abandoned weapons, and - wait, what were those- things? Asani slowly reached down and turned over one of the bodies that was closest to her- and found herself staring into the dead face of some monstrosity that she could never even begin to imagine would exist. She jumped up, screaming. She turned to run and-

"Asani! Girl, what's wrong? Why are you freaking out?" Courtney's hand was on her shoulder, and she appeared to be very concerned about the way that her friend was suddenly acting. Asani came back to reality.

She grabbed Courtney and gasped.

"I had some type of vision! " She blurted, before Courtney could even say anything to her. "There was a huge battlefield, and I was standing in the middle of it- bodies were everywhere- and the sky was all dark..."

She sank down to the floor, and Courtney sat down beside her. Asani was so traumatized that she began to cry.

"Oh my god, what is going on with me? I can't believe this! Am I really driving myself crazy? " She sobbed.

Courtney opened her mouth as if to say something, but decided against it.

Instead, she put her arms around Asani and hugged her tightly, saying,

"It's ok. We can make it through this. I'm your friend, always- I don't care how crazy you get. Ok?"

Asani finally calmed down enough that Courtney could release her, and she did so. As the two of them stared at each other in deep silence, Courtney suddenly said, "Tiffany's on her way over here."