NOTE: I'm writing this story for NaNoWriMo. So, I don't have time for editing or heavy proof-reading. If there are things that don't make sense because of this, please let me know. But, there should be a bare minimum (hopefully) of spelling mistakes and errors, because I did read over it once. I just want to get feedback on the story while I write it.

Enjoy! Please review!

The Peace-Keepers
No Use In Crying

- 1-

5 Years Ago

Perching on the metal railing of an abandoned building in the Westside of Perseverance was a dark figure. He had a hood covering his blonde hair, and sunglasses on to hide his silver eyes. The Peace-Keepers signature cape whipped around him as the wind raced through the night, pulling freezing rain along with it.

He was a Peace-Keeper; an elite member of a secret army. An army designed by the Lords to keep peace in the worlds of the Vital Realm. For twenty years, they’d done their job. Since he was sixteen, he’d been helping them. For six years, he believed he was doing the right thing.

A crash of thunder set the night singing, and a flash of lightening it up the sky.

The thunderstorm was well-timed. It was as if the Lords were trying to signal something: that this was wrong, that he shouldn’t be doing it. It was something he already knew. But, it would be done with or without him. He couldn’t stand letting it happen while he sat at home. Safe. Protected. Something she would never truly be again.

Because they were going to kill her. The Peace-Keepers were sworn against killing innocents. Or so they’d let him to believe.

Usually, he was thankful for the rain. It cleared their tracks, kept their work a secret…tonight, he wanted just the opposite. Tonight, he wanted them to pay for the crime, for the treason, they were all about to commit.

Jumping swiftly, and silently, from the railing, the man headed back into the building. He would check one last time that it worked, one last reassurance, and then he would head to the meeting place. On the second floor was a wardrobe, no different than the one that was in every other room, on every other floor. They were uniform, and unnoticeable should someone suspect anything about this building. When you opened it, it was just as ordinary. There was dust in all the right places, and it looked completely undisturbed. It was only to those looking for it that it could be found.

Closing his eyes, and quickly releasing and focusing a small amount of power onto the backboard. As if it had been there all along, a portal was Created. On the other side of the portal was another one identical to it, in a small town in Creation. In less than ten seconds, he’d have her through it, and it would be over. She’d be safe. She just wouldn’t be herself anymore.

It had to work. It was her only real chance.

Pulling his power away, the backboard returned, looking untouched. He let the wardrobe door close behind him, and vanished from the building. If anyone walked in now, there would be no trace of his presence. He was too good at what he did.

Traveling quickly across town, nothing more than a shadow in the dark, he reached the meeting place in no time at all. He was early, but that was expected of him. He was doing everything just as he normally would—he couldn’t risk setting off any alarms in anyone’s minds. He couldn’t have anyone questioning his motives, or his actions. Everyone had to believe that this was what he wanted. He knew he couldn’t be too happy, and knew he couldn’t brood too much. Too much of either would tip the scale one way or the other, and if it tipped either way, they could consider his opinion compromised, and pull him from the case. That was something else he couldn’t risk. He needed to be on this case. Not because it was bound to get everyone involved an elevation of power, and not because he would be persecuted if he didn’t. No, he needed to be on the case, because he was her last hope, just as he was her worst betrayal.

Because he was the one person she trusted the most.

One by one, the other men on the mission began to arrive. No one talked, because no one had anything to say. Everyone here was aware of what they were doing; everyone knew the treason they were committing. Everyone knew it was wrong. He knew, without a doubt, that he was the only one to act on it.

He also knew, without a doubt, that everyone here knew his connection to her, that everyone knew of their relationship, their friendship. It was why he saw some people glancing his way, why everyone now and then someone looked like they wanted to talk to him, to possibly tell him to back down from the mission. But, it wasn’t until the Sergeant Major arrived that he was questioned.

“I’m fine,” he snapped, when asked by the higher officer if he could handle it. “You know I can handle it. I can handle anything.” It wasn’t a lie, the Sergeant knew this. It had been one too many times that he’d pulled the officer’s ass out of the fire (both literally and not), and they both knew he could hold his own. It wasn’t until this assignment that he’d realized that meant doing what he believed in…even when it could cause his own downfall.

“Alright, Corporal,” his Major nodded, and turned away.

“In fact, I would like to deliver the girl, Sergeant Major.” The Major stopped, along with all other movements of the other officers.

“Are you sure that’s the best idea, Corporal?”

“I am, Sergeant Major. I need to do this. And I’ll do it better than anyone else here, you know that.” He didn’t care about insulting any of them, because he didn’t care about any of them. After tonight, after this, he wanted nothing to do with this army. He fucking hated all of them.

“I believe in you, Corporal. You may…add the finishing touches,” the Major said, with a little too much glee behind those crooked lips, showing how twisted the hearts and minds of the Peace-Keepers really were—showing how stupid he had been for not noticing before it had come to this.

From the back, an arrogant Private stepped forward, looking their Major in the eye. “Sir, you know that he’s opinion is compromised, that he cares too much about this case. You can’t let him do it, Sir.”

The Major raised a single eyebrow at the Private, and before anyone could take another breathe, flung Force at the young boy, sending him flying into the wall behind him. “I make the decisions,” he replied, showing no emotion at the sounds the Private was emitting. It was likely that he’d broken the kid’s legs--when he should have been listening to him, because the Major had just assigned the wrong person to the most important task, without considering what the Private had been sa—“Erais’o,” the Major commanded glancing briefly over his shoulder to see that the Corporal was listening. “You will help to deliver the girl.”

And with that, the Major waved for his men to follow him. The Private attending to his fallen friend said a quick prayer to the Lords for his friend, shot an unnoticed glare towards the Major, and then fell in line.

This put a minor damper on his plans. He really hadn’t wanted to kill anyone, but it seemed Erais’o had to go. It would be simple; he could take him down when he wasn’t waiting for it. Erais’o had always been gullible, and kind of stupid, but intimidating-ly strong, and jut as powerful as he. He would have to use his wits.

Erais’o fell in line beside him, shooting him a glance as he did. Reading his fellow Corporal’s eyes, he saw a lot in that one look. But, most of all, he saw he wasn’t trusted. Erais’o would be on edge, he’d be waiting for something to happen. This wasn’t going to be as simple as he wanted it to be, but it would still happen. Erais’o would not stand in his way.

* * *

A little over an hour later, he overlooked the street where they were ripping her wings from her back, and heartlessly breaking her bones. She’d stopped crying out. She’d stopped begging for her life. She’d never once asked why. He was glad she’d stopped speaking. He was barely holding himself back from losing his patience with the entire situation. Because he would be delivering her, he wasn’t allowed to help with the beating. After they finished beating her, he and Erais’o would deliver her to her parents. How could a Peace-Keeper say they found her lying in the alley, and make a believable case that they were looking for her killer, if they were covered in her blood, and had scratches from where she’d struggled?

He was thankful they believed he was delivering her. He wouldn’t be able to lay a finger on her.

It was still raining. The streetlights hit the wet pavement, and he couldn’t help but think how the reflected gold light was the color of her eyes.

They stopped beating her at the order of the Major. With sickening child-like abandonment, they played with the wings they had torn out. How long ago was it that these brutal men, men who had once been soldiers, had become monsters? Her murderers stepped away from her, and Major called them forward.

Erais’o moved next to him, and he could feel the discontent flowing from his fellow Corporal. He must not have known exactly what this assignment was about, and if he did, the reality of it must now just be getting to him. Too bad he was going to have to kill the one guy with a conscious.

He gathered her into his arms. He avoided looking at her at all; just touching her was enough to make him want to lash out in anger. But, he could do this. He had to focus, and get her too safely. He could feel her heart barely beating. Within moments, she’d be dead—he didn’t have much time.

They moved quietly through town, headed towards the Fairy Palace. As they neared the location of the abandoned building with his portal hidden inside, he feigned having weak arms and needing just a moment to rest. Considering the condition of the girl, Erais’o didn’t complain. He had no reason to be suspicious anymore. They were so close to their destination, and the man looked too sick to his stomach to argue about anything. So, he sat her down, and let his eyes pass over her quickly. Such a bad condition she was in, such a horrible fate she’d run into.

Looking away, he glanced at Erais’o, just in time to see the man put his head in his hands and take a deep breath. Now was his best chance. Shutting his eyes, he quickly began to summon his powers, and was about to release a heavy wave of Force when Erais’o spoke.

“I’m not going to stop you.” Stop him, it did. Just not in the context that Erais’o meant. Apparently, he was more intelligent than he’d been given credit for. Lowering his hand, he waited silently. “Save her, please. I can’t…I can’t stand the thought of what happened back there. I didn’t know her, not personally. I can’t imagine how you must feel…”

He was right, he couldn’t. He had no idea how this felt, he had no idea what this really meant for the world. “You’re right, you can’t.” He closed his eyes once more, and lifted his hand. Erais’o looked at him, and he saw the apology in the man’s eyes, saw the sorrow he was feeling. He lowered his hand again. “I can erase your memory. Send you with her. You won’t remember anything about this world, your powers or your life. You can start over. Or, I can kill you. Those are you only too choices. But, you need to choose fast, there’s barely anytime left.”

And for the first time, he saw a grown man cry. Erais’o was older than him by at least a decade, and it sent chills down his spine. “I’ll go,” he blubbered, the way his hands and voice shook giving the impression that he was sobbing from relief. “I’m so sorry.”

He had nothing to say. Nodding his head at the Corporal, he picked her back up, and headed towards the building. They reached the wardrobe and he sat her back down. Erais’o positioned himself next to her on the floor, watching the man in the hood closely.

Reaching in his pockets, the man took out a small folded piece of paper, and stuck it against the girl’s palm, folding her fist tightly around it. Then, he closed his eyes, laid his hand over hers, and summoned the power of Life.

A small piece of his health, his age, and his life as whole left him in a smooth string of air, which followed a straight path towards her mouth. It entered her body, and within seconds, he could see her slowly healing. But, she would never fully heal, there were some things he would never be able to give her back. Like her the life she was living now and the wings they’d heartlessly taken from her.

Erais’o caught on to what was going on beside him, and gasped in shock.

“Does anyone know that you can Heal—“

“No,” he snapped. “And after a few seconds, neither will you.”

Reaching over and placing his free hand on Erais’o’s forehead, he summoned his power, and sent a wave of Force into the Corporal, knocking him into unconsciousness.

From the pocket he had sown into his cape, he pulled out a vial of memory erasure, and extracted it into a needle. A little bit of this could erase twenty years of this from a person. He’d double it up for Erais’o, and once it ran through their veins, once they gained consciousness, they’d remember nothing but vital functions, and common sense. He injected it into the vein of Erais’o’s arm. Repeating the steps again, he turned to the girl with the needle, and as he pressed the tip into the vein of her arm, he leaned down to press a kiss onto her forehead.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered.

Placing the remaining erasure back into his pocket, he stood and placed his hand against the backboard of the wardrobe. As before, he summoned Create and the portal appeared. He sent them both through it, and muttered a pray to the Lords that everything would turn out okay for her, if not both of them.

Then, he covered his tracks, making sure to leave no sign he’d been there, and made his own escape. Hopefully, he’d get away before they noticed he never delivered her to the Palace. Hopefully, he’d be long gone before they came after him. Hopefully, somewhere, someone out there was sending a pray up for him.

Thanks for taking the time to read! Next chapter soon!