Soldiers with Wings

Chapter one

Hello, this is Soldiers with Wings, my first Tales of the Abyss story. It is an OC as you have noticed and I hope that through time and feedback, I will be able to create an overall good character that fits well with Asch. We shall see. Now, you'll all be confused about their whereabouts at first but I guarantee you that everything will fall into place and you'll feel proud for knowing the special secret about why everything is so different. This is not an AU. Lol.

So enjoy.

'This can't be happening…' she thought frantically. 'H-how did they know?'

Some of the soldiers held onto her while she tried to calm herself. They were all fairly well trained and she hadn't been able to put up much of a struggle with all of them gripping her, none too gently. With them, was a man who she knew was in charge of them all. He seemed like a nice enough man…if he hadn't been holding her down. They had shouted his name repeatedly during the process of trying to get her into the current room. Apparently his name was Din.

Din was a fairly handsome man, with smooth, straw-blond hair and peaceful blue eyes. He was one of those people that wore his sword at his side like more of a fashion statement rather than the purpose of using it for killing. She could tell, at least at the moment, that he was not going to harm her.

The other soldiers seemed to be a different story though. They handled her like she was a piece of trash. This resulted in more thrashing from her and more problems for them. But why should she be concerned with them? Look what they had done. They had dragged her from the streets where she caused no harm to anyone and into this place where everyone could stare…could know.

"Please, stop struggling," Din whispered down to her as she tried to push to her feet again. "You'll just come off as more violent than you already are."

The girl pretended like she hadn't heard and continued on with her twisting rampage against them. Though in truth, his tone had sounded like he held a sliver of care for her well-being. She shook it off though. No one cared.

They crushed her to her knees once more and this time, she bowed her head and closed them all off, closed the world off. She had no idea what else to do with herself. What was the normal way to react to such a situation? To such unfairness?

"Pay attention!" an armor-clad guard growled from behind her. She didn't budge, didn't even attempt to lift her head. He wasn't worth it.

But apparently this angered him because a moment later a fistful of her black hair was in his hand and he yanked her head back roughly. Her eyes flew open in complete shock, then outrage.

"Let go!" she yelled, her voice cracking.

Like a bolt of lightning she pivoted and struck, launching her knee successfully into the man's stomach. The successful blow surprised her, and apparently the other guards were not expecting such a quick action either. They stumbled behind her, trying to keep a grasp on the chains that held her secure.

Din was quicker than them though, and before she was able to continue with another punishing blow for any of them, she was wrenched back by her chains and almost fell onto her bottom, but managed to rock on her heels and stay standing. All the tugging was starting to do a number on her wrists though, and they felt raw and hot under the clasped metal.

The girl turned angrily to glare at the blond but to her complete surprise; he returned it with a peaceful grin. She was so stunned she couldn't find a suitable action to reply with, so she just stared.

Din turned to the guard, his expression melting to that of a stern one. "You're dismissed."

"B-but-" the guard tried to protest. He looked back and forth between Din and her in confusion, like he couldn't believe that he was the one being punished.

"Get out!" the blond yelled so loudly and so suddenly that the girl flinched and tried to shuffle away. The guard took off and headed for the large wooden doors that connected to the other corridors. She followed him with her orange eyes, a little envious that he got off so easily. This wasn't looking good in the slightest for her. They needed her for something, and with the chains clutching so tightly at her wrists it didn't seem as if they needed her permission.

"Is there a problem?" a different masculine voice suddenly cut in over the murmurs. The girl blinked and turned around, along with Din.

Her eyes fell onto a man with long blood-red hair and a piercing green gaze that was already locked onto her, as if insinuating that she was the problem. For a moment she could find no comfortable thought in her head as she took in his whole appearance. His expression was so fierce, so dangerous that it made it hard to not judge a book by its cover. He was tall for a man, with pastel white skin though he was far from looking sickly. He seemed somehow….otherworldly.

He continued to stare her down, so she lowered her orange eyes to the ground, not in obedience but in denial, refusal to acknowledge him. It was obvious he was the one in charge of all the others and probably Din too. She could feel a certain power radiate from his presence. It made her angry.

'It's his fault…' she accused immediately. 'These are his soldiers…it's his fault!'

She knew. Somehow she knew.

"She's a fighter Asch, lots of fire." Din said, looking at her almost fondly. The girl kept her eyes defiantly on the floor. Fire that couldn't melt steel wasn't hot enough.

"Who is she?" a clear voice rang out, but this time it was not that of a man. It could have been a nice voice, if the tone behind it wasn't so demanding.

The tiny girl took her eyes from the floor, looking up to locate the source of the new female voice. She was not hard to miss.

A tall woman now stood in front of her, a short distance away. She was wrapped in an elaborate gown of white and gold. She had a beautiful face, with slim green eyes and blond hair that flipped out at the ends but she seemed somehow spoiled. As if she had never left the castle. A small sneer was set so openly on the edge of her lips.

Asch cut in again. "Who is this prisoner?" he asked, obviously out of the loop. His gloved hand slid to his sword. It was a threatening action, as if someone had disobeyed completely. Sin narrowed her eyes a little. Did he not know why she was here?

A guard stepped forward and bowed to the woman before replying curtly.

"She's a replica, my lady."

The young girl closed her eyes and clenched her hands.

'There…it's out…' she thought, unable to restrain the twinge of self-worthlessness that was ever with her. She shifted her eyes carefully to gage every person's reaction.

Mostly, she got weary or appalled stares but when her orange eyes finally landed on the man named Asch, she saw an emotion close to rage. Nothing could describe the frightening look that he had only for her. It was like he didn't even care that she had done nothing wrong…like being a replica was enough of a reason to hate her.

Her expression turned to a glare especially for him, simply because of his judgmental unfairness. Who was he to hate her, without even a reason?

"A replica?" he hissed in an accusing voice. "Who found her! Who captured her!" he shouted. The soldiers around her shuffled uncomfortably. Were they afraid of him?

She couldn't understand his reaction, though she tried very hard to...to make sense somehow of this bizarre human being. Was he angry at her? Or the soldiers that had dragged her here? She hoped in the confusion that it was the latter. She could tell from first glance that this was a man that her rudimentary punches and kicks would affect little.

Din spoke up, allowing her no more time to consider. He jabbed his thumb at the large wooden doors that the other soldier had left through before.

"I dismissed him a few minutes ago…I'll take care of him later."

This answer didn't seem like enough for Asch, his green gaze immediately turned back to her, much to her complete displeasure. It didn't appear as if he wanted anything to do with her. She scowled darkly and turned away from the man.

'To hell with him…' she decided. It was certainly easiest.

"It's been a while since I have had a replica…" the woman suddenly cut in, coming closer. She lifted her satin dress to descend down the stairs to her. She felt her body stiffen as if it was coiling, but until she learned this woman's intentions she had no idea how she would release it. Perhaps this was just misunderstanding.

Out of the corner of her eye, the young girl saw Asch's eyes narrow and then he tossed her another disgusted glance. He blamed her for this too? She pretended like she didn't see it.

"She's pretty strong too…" a guard said grimly, rubbing his wrist for a moment.

The woman stopped in front of her and observed her closely, stepping side to side to do so. The edge of the young girl's mouth pulled down in annoyance. What was she going to have to do for this bizarre woman, who she was sure she would like as much as Asch or less.

"Such bizarre features…eyes the colour of fire, and hair as black as coal..." the woman drawled softly, sounding like she was reciting a passage from a book. Maybe she was?

"Yes…you will do nicely on the front lines," she murmured with a hiss of glee. Then she turned to a personal guard and nodded. Her voice turned from ladylike to a snake's bite. "Bring it here. Now."

"What! The front lines!" the tiny replica shouted and succeeded in getting the woman's attention again. Her heart jerked in fear. "You dragged me from the street! You can't do that no matter how important you think you are!"

She yanked at her chains, making them clang noisily.

The woman's pretty green eyes glinted a little. "It's not that I'm particularly important. You are so inferior that you simply don't matter. Very sad…" she trailed off, mockingly sympathetic.

With another blow to her ego the replica snapped and lunged at her with a growl. The blond woman yelped and stumbled back in surprise.

"You're heartless! You all are!" the black haired replica snarled while trying to close the distance between them again. She was so angry she could barely focus on anything besides the object of her rage.

'This isn't fair!'

Just as her arm jabbed out to deliver a blow to the woman, a second hand slammed down on her forearm and grabbed her so roughly that she was shaken from the effect.

"Let go!" she shouted immediately, thrusting her other fist in the direction of the new enemy.

His other hand was up in a flash was well, and when her smaller fist connected with the center of his hand, he grasped in tightly. Her struggling died away a few seconds later when she realized that she wouldn't be able to get free from him.

Her breathing came in hard gasps, but she set him with a glare that was far from defeated. He was to blame. This man with the flaming red hair was to blame for everything, for being so careless with his soldiers, for dragging her here, for stopping her fists. If he didn't want her around then why had he let his soldiers roam so carelessly through the city streets? If she was such a problem, he had brought her on himself.

He didn't say anything but he returned the glare tenfold, his eyes so full of anger and hate that her confusion furthered even more. She had never done anything to him. They had never even met before.

"You're not a replica," she hissed to him, confusion still layering her voice. "Don't act like you're worse off."

He responded; whipping her around and bending her arm behind her in a lock. She gasped instantly from the pain and the strength behind the action. The shackles on her arms clanged noisily.

"Don't act like you know everything," He replied icily. It sounded insufferable indeed, as if touching her was testing his control. She had no doubt that he could snap her in two easily.

Suddenly the other woman was in front of her, and when she raised a hand the replica knew instantly what was coming for her. So the replica took the blow without a cry, the smacking sound ringing out through the large room.

She turned her head slowly back to the taller woman, her bangs falling in front of her blazing eyes. She said nothing.

"I'm going to teach you…" the blond woman sneered.

"My lady?" The guard from before was back.

"Bring it to me," she snapped at him, and once he was within arm's reach, she wrenched what he was carrying away from him. Bit by precious bit, she was losing her composure. She held up the retrieved item for the smaller girl to see.

"Do you know what this is?" the woman asked slyly now. She decided again to remain silent. It looked like some sort of intricate helmet with eerie inscriptions running along it. It was nothing like what every other soldier was wearing around her. Her stomach was starting to flip uncomfortably.

The woman continued. "This is called a Fonon Essence Helmet…it's made from my genetic fonons…" she said."Let's see you try and fight this!"

The replica's orange eyes widened as the woman slammed the unusual helmet down on her head, momentarily stunning her and concealing her eyes. Immediately the intrusion on her mind made her gasp and fight for what she knew…was her living conscience.

Her soul.

Asch's P.o.v.

He held on tightly to the crazed girl as she struggled and thrashed against what he knew, was a psychic onslaught from the fonon helmet. This was now a mental struggle between the replica and the lady of the castle. It was obvious who would fail…no replica had ever escaped it.

The helmet was unique in design and function. Simply pulling at it would not get it off. Glass covered the victim's eyes completely, leaving only their mouth visible. The glass lightened or darkened based on the victims current mental state. When it faded to black, it was over. He looked away.

'Can't this be handled somewhere else?' he wondered in displeasure. It was disturbing to have to watch a soul be taken over…even if each one was a replica.

"Asch!"

His head snapped to the blond woman in front of him, a weird sense of deja-vu befalling him like every other time he looked at her. He knew what she would say.

"You're in charge of training this one. I don't want her damaged."

Asch stared at her for a moment, his eyes narrowing in slight confusion. Something was wrong. The woman seemed strained…more strained with this mental battle than any other time she had tried to put it on a replica. Was this replica…somehow putting up a struggle that was actually causing her effort? That had never happened before.

He took a swift glance down at the replica he was securely holding. The glass covering her wicked orange eyes was not darkening…in fact…it almost looked lightened. Her breathing was stilled ragged, but the point was that it was still her own breathing…not controlled by someone else. Not a puppet, not gone yet.

'She's fighting back…impossible…' he thought. Never had he seen a replica last longer than a minute. Now somehow she was managing to fight the mental struggles off all together? Was she that stubborn? Or had the others been more willing?

"Take her to the training room," the woman snapped loudly; her fists and her voice shaking. She turned away from him quickly but not before he caught a glance of the bead of sweat on the side of her face. Clearly she didn't want anyone to see this.

He nodded skeptically but when he tried to make the little girl walk, she actually struggled and lashed at him while snarling curses that made him elbow her in the back.

He could not believe it as he pushed her roughly towards the training room. She was young, no older than thirteen or fourteen years old, a replica too, and she had just resisted the fonon helmet. It intrigued him and angered him all at once. Apparently she was going to be around for a little while longer.

He would watch her. Closely.

I hope you liked the first chapter. I wrote this story so long ago that I felt like I really needed to update it to my current writing style. I pray that it will satisfy the average reader haha.

Review Please.

Kazink