Chapter 53: Chapter 50: The Anguish of the Fallen Angel
For some reasons, Joy still felt Light's presence even when she knew that he already left her with no return. She didn't want to see him ever again because she was afraid that if she did, she'd go to him even if she knew that he doesn't want her near him. She tried to fight off all the parts of herself that wanted to see Light again--that wanted to stop enduring his absence because it affected her life a lot. She acted like it was nothing but she knows deep inside herself that she was broken and all her pieces went with Light- whom she can't find anymore.
She boarded the train that was heading to the next town after the next--to where she met Ren before and sitting next to the busy crowd made her feel more alone. Cammy and Light used to be with her in every step she took and they never left her - but now, she was feeling so sad and left out. She still can't get over about how Cammy just dispersed and became ashes and how she turned her back at Light. It was like she could still see the both of them sitting in front of her on the train, sleeping like kids- but instead of being sad, she smiled at herself and faced the window.
"I guess this is much better than not seeing you at all"
She knew that Light was still wandering on the world because when she was about to do missions, the images on the necklace just disappears-- they become solved without her involvement and she knew very well that it was Light's doing.
Or at least she hopes so.
Light really doesn't want her to do missions anymore.
"No matter what, I'll be the one to save Ren."
Her necklace projected the image of the familiar boy she knew--and a familiar place that she had already seen before because it was also the image of the clinic on the calling card of Doctor Tristan.
"Where is-" Joy asked as she opened the door of the white clinic and she was surprised to see Ren sitting in front of the assistance table. "Ren?"
"Not Ren. It's Akuji. Long time no see, Hope." He coldly said. Ren still looked like a kid to her because he was so small and sweet but she noticed that the youthful, innocent look at his face vanishes everytime Akuji fronts.
How old is this Akuji by the way?
Before Joy could answer, the doctor, Tristan, went out of his office. He seemed unsurprised to see Joy because he knew Akuji fronted again.
"Oh, Hope, long time no see. Have you eaten? Are you hungry?" he asked Joy.
"Enough with this. Can I go now Tristan?" Akuji asked him. "This place sucks".
"Oh, I agree with you but you should stay until lunch" Tristan said and touched the shoulder of Ren.
"Don't treat me like a baby. I'm older than you" Akuji said and he distanced himself from Tristan who just laughed.
"Oh yeah? Akuji? But don't you remember that your body is young? " he said and turned from them.
"I know and this body sucks. This life sucks. Everything sucks" Akuji whispered, anger was evident on his tone. Meanwhile, Tristan faced Joy again. He noticed the strange black aura that Joy's necklace was projecting even if she tucked it inside her shirt. He approached her and looked at her eyes.
She looked different now compared to when he last saw her. The twinkle of light and hope in her eyes had already vanished and she was like a living carcass.
"On my office... Le- let's go" Tristan said. Just as he was going to go to, he noticed that Joy wasn't moving--and a few strands of her hair was turning silver just like how it should be. He was alarmed so he pulled Joy and pushed her to sit on the chair in front of his table. Joy looked angry because of what he did but he still calmly tried to deal with her. "Show me the necklace. Untuck it."
"Something is strange about you. Why would I even trust you?" Joy asked him in a sulky way.
"Hope, I know everything that concerns your mission,so just-"
"Why? Are you also a Chosen?" Joy asked, now interested.
"No, no I'm not" Tristan replied. "The necklace."
Joy untucked the necklace from her shirt- Tristan grasped at the sight of the nearly black necklace and he refused to even touch it. From what he assessed, the necklace was a mic of many people's sufferings, and if he even dared to touch it, he would also feel the frightening mixture of sadness and pains..
"What are you?" Joy asked him as he studied the necklace. "If you are not a Chosen, are you an angel?"
Tristan straightened his position on the chair and he bit his thumb because this was the first time he was asked about his identity.
"There's no point of lying now." he said and looked at Joy. "I'm no chosen. I'm a fallen angel."
"What- how?"
"I can't tell you anything. But now you know who I am. There are many things that I can't tell you but you have to save Ren now no matter what happens." Tristan said.
"That's what I am supposed to do until you dragged me here." Joy said and tucked the necklace back at her shirt. "I have to go."
Tristan watched Joy as she left him on his office. He can't fathom what the strange colors on the necklace means--but he was sure that Joy had saved the chosen--and Joy's own sufferings added up to the sufferings inside the necklace.
"What?!"
Joy's shout from outside alerted him and he came out of his office in an instant. The silver strands of her hair had shocked him but he stayed composed.
"I'm sorry but I don't know what happened. He just disappeared.. I'm sorry sir... I really-" the nurse said, almost crying.
"No, it's okay. Don't cry." Tristan said. Joy was about to leave the place when Tristan pulled her through the hoodie of her jacket.
"I'll help you find him. The other chosen took Ren and he's planning to do the job alone without having your help."
Those words devastated Joy and she fell on her knees because she felt strength leave her permanently. It was then that Tristan saw that the auras intensified and the necklace became darker.
" Hey. There's no point of you feeling down right now. Let's go search for him." Tristan said and removed his white coat. He pulled Joy out of the clinic and began tracing the tracks of Light. He can sense him even before he took Ren and locating him that moment was easy for him.
Just then, Joy stumbled over a brick and Tristan hurried to go to her.
"Are you okay?" he asked her and Joy gave him an assuring glance.
"Say, Doctor, how did you become a fallen angel?" Joy asked him as he assisted her to stand up again.
"I was a guardian angel and I killed someone to protect the human I was tasked to be with. Stop asking now. We have to locate them." Tristan said and pulled Joy again as they ran to reach them.
Tristan stopped at the bridge because he failed to sense Light and they have already lost them because they stopped for too long.
"Doctor, the human you are talking about is Ren, right?" Joy, who was at the back of Tristan asked.
"My real name is Gamaliel. And yes, Ren is that human and I've failed to protect him. Ren had been through many traumatic experiences since he was a kid. When he was 4, he was captured by people who made him do immoral things in front of a camera and sent it to pedophiles. He was sexually assaulted and physically tortured by those people. They shoot videos ever day with other kids--and Ren got beaten every single day. There was never a day that Ren didn't cry for help, and I just stood there watching because I couldn't do anything to stop them. I can't touch or hold him- I can't comfort him and I don't have the power to prevent things from happening. I was just there, guiding him, taught him to say no but I wasn't able to do anything at all. Then one day, when he turned 6, I was finally able to touch things and the first thing I touched is a gun and I shot 10 people to death because of they made Ren do videos again. It was caught on the video but no one could explain how a gun just floated in the air and killed many people so I wasn't prosecuted when I became human. Ren started to form alters when he was 4 and I have talked to them-especially Quiela and Kyle. Akuji was too mad at me because he knew about my presence but guardian angels can't have powers until their humans become 6."Tristan said. "The memory of Ren crying and pleading to those people to stop will forever be fresh to me. I don't repent killing those people at all even if it meant completely losing all my rights to be back at heaven."
"How pitiful." Joy cried. "But what would happen to Light after this mission? I still don't know how this mission will be finished."
"That's something I couldn't answer." Tristan said. " I've sensed them now. Go to the playground and you will see them there. Please, Hope. Help Ren. Help them..."
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