The Above || Completed

48 War Cry

My entire being surged with a luminous, insurmountable power. A calling sounded in my brain, summoning me to where the flute was held. Unable to resist, I ascended to Zachariah's side. He gave me a knowing look and a respectful nod.
"You followed me," I said, looking pointedly at the flute.
"Who else was going to watch out for one of our most precious artefacts?" he said light-heartedly.
I smiled cheekily. "I should've known better."
"Zachariah," Grace spoke, her voice hoarse. "What's-"
There was a long pause as she looked around and realised she was in Zachariah's arms.
"Oh, my Lord and Saviour..." she said in awe.
"Not quite." Zachariah chuckled.
"He's the angel, Grace," I clarified.
She laughed with difficulty. "I can see that."

"They're coming, Maddison." Zachariah said suddenly. "Our brothers and sisters are coming."
I squinted at the ground, where archers shot arrows in vain, no longer able to reach us. But that wasn't the only reason we hadn't been skewered yet. Our fellow angels had managed to free themselves and start attacking the archers who stood in their way. The archers went down like a row of dominoes just waiting to topple. The angel slaves weren't wasting any time showing their power. I felt so much pride swell inside me that I shot up into the air and let a star burst from my palms. A gold star. The star of my father's rebellion. When I came back down to Zachariah's side, there was a huge crowd of winged creatures floating around us. Some had looks of joy on their faces, some were serious or full of wonder. Then there were those filled with vengeance. I caught my father's eye in the throng. His tear-filled eyes travelled from me to the star and he beheld me with every shred of pride he could muster.

"Everyone," Zachariah announced, "it's about time you were freed."

^^^

Dad found us a relatively safe place to hold a gathering as enormous as ours. Apparently, the Above is blessed with an abundance of gargantuan cloud islands in its vicinity.
Seriously, what is with us Zephs and cloud islands?
Anyway, we took Grace off Zachariah's hands and left her to my father, who practiced healing for survival during his time as a slave. We were lucky. She could've ended up like Erica. But, God, I wish I didn't have to think that way. Our minds are cruel. The only place our thoughts can be truly merciless.

That left Zachariah and I to rally up our rebellion. We devised a plan to break into headquarters. Most of us would be concentrated on attacking the council but I made sure we gathered forces to save Aeron too. However, the only problem was that each of us had a different idea about the methods we would use to overthrow our government. I figured the majority of us were intelligent enough to know that a practical approach would be the most effective. And we were, but so many of the slaves had let their bloodlust get the best of them. Could I blame them? They'd been captured, tortured and ridiculed by the very people they were sent to help. After years of being trapped, how could they prevent thoughts of vengeance from surfacing?

When protests started ringing out from the crowd about how we would take action, Zachariah pulled me aside so we could discuss how we would go about this.
"We're running out of time," I said, casting my eyes about worriedly. "Aeron could be-"
"Dead, I know," he finished. "But we won't be able to get anything done if we resort to violence."
"Look, I understand their bloodlust as much as the next guy. What I've been going through for the past day is what they've had to endure for years. How do we make them see reason through all that retribution?" I pointed out.
Zachariah's now golden eyes seemed to twinkle. "Preach to them that if they want results, this is how they'll get them. Tactful, assertive invasion, not mindless war."
"I don't know any good orators around here," I said dubiously.
"You could do it." He shrugged.
My jaw dropped. "You can't be serious."
"On the contrary, Maddison. How big of a role did you really plan on playing in this?" he asked.
"I'm trying to help, but-"
He cut me off, grabbed my arm and pulled me close so I could feel the heat radiating off his body. "You wanted a chance to save your people, well, here you have it. If there's anything you're ready for, it's this. You have lived as a citizen and an angel. This is a job made for you."
"For goodness' sake, Zachariah, your girlfriend could get jealous." I inched away.
He smirked. "So, you're in."
"Do I have a choice?" I sighed, nerves already lighting up my palms.
"You'll be fine. If you want, I can stay right by your side and hold your hand," he said sympathetically.
I smiled at him. "Thanks."
If only Aeron were here.

Zachariah and I were now floating above the heads of our fellow angels.
"Listen up!" He called. "Maddison just wants to make one thing clear, this is a strategy, not a mindless attack."
To my surprise a lot of them didn't react. They were going to give me a chance to explain. But there were a couple of outcries from some of the angrier angels.
"What gives you the right-"
"You were never a slave!"
"Who do you think you are?"
I grew fed up fairly quickly. "I don't know your stories, but how can I? Do any of you know mine?"
There was silence. Zachariah nodded for me to go on.
"I'll tell you. My father, Luziel, was the leader of the first revolution. It failed. My civilian mother and angel father raised me as a normal citizen of the Above. I wasn't clueless as to the existence of angels, in fact I praised them. After I learnt of who I was, my mother was killed and my father was taken. I fled to Earth and lost my memories."
A voice interjected from the crowd. "At least you were free!"
The rest of the angels cried out in agreement. More pandemonium.
"But was I?" I snapped. "Are you telling me you've forgotten what it's like to suppress your true nature? I lost my family and then forgot who my family even was. I forgot I was an angel."

Another wave of silence settled. I continued. "When I returned, I made a friend who insisted we search for the angel invading the Above. We discovered the council's secret. Things got complicated. I loved my council, only to discover everything there is to hate about them. I regained my memories and because of me, my friend was captured under false pretences and so was I."
I paused to survey my audience and saw they were intent on listening. Another nod from Zachariah.
"He's been sentenced to death. We need to save him before that happens. He wishes to help our cause and what's more, he plays no part in the council's crimes. The same way no other citizen does. Our target is the council alone. I'm only going to ask a quarter of our forces to join me in saving my friend. We'll take out those who stand in our way, without killing our obstacles," I explained.
"What do the rest of us do?" Someone shouted out.
I took a deep breath. "You're going to invade the council headquarters. The same goes for you, take out your obstacles but do not kill them. My group will meet with yours eventually. All you need to do is trap the council in their head office in order to begin negotiations."
"They deserve to die!" Another shout.
"What kind of goodness do we have left in us if we don't give them a chance to surrender? We are not like them," I countered.

Then someone actually said something reasonable, "What if they don't cooperate? What if they still think they're better than us?"
My ominous hatred for the council bubbled up inside me now. "They'd be very stupid to do that."
Zachariah could tell that I was shining a totally different light on the situation. But he didn't object.
He merely said, "If the council refuses to see the light, we'll blind them."
"And why should we listen to you?" Another idiot.
I smirked. "I was once a citizen, by now you can tell what I've become."
Murmurs reached my ears.
"Overpowering them with force will only get us so far! So will attacking with our minds alone. They can easily do the same. But overpower them with force and mentality, and we win."

Every angel seemed to pause for a minute, taking that in. Then they all gave a passionate war cry.

^^^
!!Author's Note!!

I am so relieved that I could miraculously get over the extreme case of writer's block that hit me in December. Even if it's just for now. I'm so sorry everyone. I kept you waiting for quite a while.

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