Origin

Tenshi looked around, everything seemed dark and foggy. "Hello?" Tenshi asked, calling out to anyone around. Tenshi stood in the same spot but spun around, trying to see anything in the distance of any direction, and suddenly, she sees Peni standing in front of her. Tenshi felt immediate relief as she saw Peni, as if a massive weight had been lifted off of her wings. "Peni!" Tenshi said, feeling happy to see her.

"Why aren't you like the rest of us?" Peni asked, as her eyes seemed to darken, as if she didn't want to look at Tenshi.

"Huh...?" Tenshi asked, feeling immediately nervous and confused.

"You aren't like us." Maruchi said, as she walked through the fog, stopping beside Peni. "You're not a female pepper like we are." Maruchi said, as her eyes also darkened.

"You don't understand anything..." Kumetsu said, as she too came from the fog.

"What are you guys saying?" Tenshi asked, as she began to feel outcasted.

"You don't act like a female pepper." Peni said, her expression didn't change much, which was normal, but the other's expressions didn't change either, which wasn't normal.

"I am one..." Tenshi said, feeling a little defensive. "That's why Zeus sent me to Hades' realm..." Tenshi continued, trying to prove she's one of them.

"You act so different." Tetsu said, as she also appeared from the fog.

"You can't possibly think that you could release this female pepper from her prison, when you aren't even a female pepper yourself." Peni said, as cold eyes peered through the darkening.

"You've never looked at me like that before..." Tenshi said, as tears began to leak from her eyes. "I just... I'm learning a lot if new stuff... I've never been allowed to act on these feelings..." Tenshi said, as she wiped the tears away.

"I never want to see you again." Peni, Maruchi, Kumetsu, and Tetsu all said at once, before they faded away.

"Wait!" Tenshi called out. "Please, come back!" Tenshi said, as she began to cry more.

Tenshi sat up and rubbed her eyes. "Mnn..." Tenshi mumbled, feeling tired. "Just a dream..." Tenshi said to herself, feeling very relieved.

"Tenshi." Peni said, as she walked up behind Tenshi. Tenshi stood up, turned around, and quickly hugged Peni. "Tenshi?" Peni asked, feeling confused and worried as she felt Tenshi's tears through her clothes. Peni didn't know why Tenshi was crying, but Peni hugged Tenshi back anyway.

"Please don't ever leave me..." Tenshi said, as she looked into Peni's eyes.

"I won't, not purposefully anyway. I'll do my best to always be here with you." Peni said, as she patted Tenshi's head. Tenshi smiled and wiped her face, then Tenshi looked around.

"We're still in the woods?" Tenshi asked, as her eyes landed back on Peni.

"Yeah, we didn't know if there's anywhere specific that we needed to be." Peni explained, hoping that they can still do it soon.

"No, I don't think it matters..." Tenshi said, trying to think of what exactly they need to do.

"Okay, when can we start? Everyone's ready." Peni said, as she looked towards the others, all sitting together at a camp fire.

"We can start now." Tenshi said, as she walked over to everyone. "Everyone..." Tenshi said, as Peni stood close behind her.

"Yes?" Maruchi asked, wondering what they'll need to do.

"We all need to stand, so get up, please." Tenshi said, as everyone stood up at her request.

"And theeeen?" Kumetsu asked, feeling excited and impatient.

"Um... We'll all need to hold hands, we can do a circle around the fire." Tenshi said, as she took Peni's left hand and C-Ku's right hand. Then C-Ku took Kuream's right hand, Kuream took Kumetsu's right hand, Kumetsu took Gofkuji's right hand, Gofkuji took Porcelain's right hand, Porcelain took Tetsu's right hand, Tetsu took Hiraki's right hand, Hiraki took Maruchi's right hand, and Maruchi took Peni's right hand, as they formed a circle around the camp fire. "Okay! Now we all need to pray!" Tenshi shouted, as the wind grew heavy.

"Pray? About what?" Maruchi asked, feeling like that's an odd thing to need to do.

"Pray about setting her free!" Tenshi replied, as she looked over at Maruchi.

"Who exactly is she?" Hiraki asked, wanting to know everything she can to make sure this works.

"Some Gods would call her 'The Mother' while others just used her name, Kokoro. It's said that Zeus imprisoned her when she made a great sin." Tenshi said, explaining everything she knows.

"That's it?" Maruchi asked, wishing there was more.

"Well, we know her name, let's use that." Gofkuji said, as everyone silently agreed.

'Aphrodite... if you can hear us, please help us. We wish to set Kokoro free...' Tenshi thought, as she prayed to Aphrodite.

'I don't really know what I'm doing... but if you're a God and you can hear me, we want to set Kokoro free, we need your help.' Maruchi thought, as she made her best attempt at praying.

"Is it working?" Kuream asked, wondering if Tenshi feels anything.

"Just keep praying." Tenshi said, as the wind grew stronger around them.

Thunder clapped in the throughout the forest around them, and moments later someone began to speak. "It isn't everyday that ten people pray at once for the exact same thing..." A man's voice echoed from above them.

'Zeus...' Tenshi said, as her heart seemed to skip a beat.

"Who are you?" Maruchi asked, as she looked up into the sky, where the voice was coming from.

"I'm the one who answered your prayers... You can call me Zeus." Zeus said, as his body appeared above them. Everyone felt too scared to move, as if they were frozen.

"Zeus... you can't stop us!" Tenshi shouted, trying to stay calm and focus on the mission.

"Oh, I absolutely can. But I don't need to." Zeus said, as he took a relaxing pose in the air. "Not one God will come to help you, I made sure of that." Zeus continued, as he looked at all ten of them.

"Then why come? Surely you have better things to do." Peni said, feeling nothing but hatred toward Zeus for abandoning Tenshi in the Underworld.

"It's simple, really. I wanted to see defeat on your faces before I enslave all of you, maybe take you to the Circus Tent for a good show or two before you break." Zeus said, smiling at them all.

"You're sick..." Kuream said, feeling disgusted.

"If anyone here is sick, it's you, Zombie girl, your existence disgusts me, disregarding the fact that you're a pepper..." Zeus said, as he stuck out his tongue like he was gonna puke.

"Everyone, just continue praying! Ignore him! Someone will help us!" Tenshi shouted, as she began to keep praying, as did the others.

"Haha! Good, good! Keep trying! Don't give up!" Zeus shouted, as he laughed at their efforts. "I can't wait to-" Zeus said, as he got cut off by getting hit so hard that he flew into a tree. The group looked up to see an amazingly beautiful woman, one that none of them could possibly describe. "I see that letting my guard down was a mistake..." Zeus said, feeling frustrated.

"You don't need to pray." The beautiful woman said, as she looked at the group.

"Aphrodite..." Tenshi said, as she smiled at Aphrodite.

"My own daughter... on their side?" Zeus asked, as he clenched his fists.

"I'm on no person's side." Aphrodite said, looking down at Zeus. "I am only on the side with more love, something you wouldn't understand." Aphrodite continued, as she lowered herself to the ground where Zeus was.

"There's no 'love' here, there's nothing but sin, and it needs to suffer." Zeus said, ready to kill Aphrodite if she doesn't leave.

"All you guys need to do, is wish for 'The Mother' to be set free." Aphrodite said, as she took Zeus' hand.

"You all heard her." Peni said, as they all did what Aphrodite told them to.

"You won't physically do anything, because it's against you." Aphrodite said, as she looked at Zeus. "You wanna watch them crumble." Aphrodite continued, looking disgusted at Zeus.

"I want to see sin be destroyed..." Zeus said, trying to explain his goal to Aphrodite.

"Then you aren't needed here." Aphrodite said, as they both disappeared without the group noticing.

'Kokoro... we need you to be free.' Peni thought, as she imagined a locked box unlocking and opening.

'I want you to be free, Kokoro, we want you to be free...' Tenshi thought, as she imagined the group breaking the chains around a door, and opening it to let Kokoro out. A beam of light poured through the trees, directly on the group, and the wind grew slower and slower, before it finally stopped too. A girl began to appear within the light, but everyone had their eyes closed, so they didn't notice her immediately.

'I feel... a strong presence...' Peni thought, as she slowly opened her eyes, noticing the girl.

"Tenshi..." Peni whispered, trying to get Tenshi to look. Tenshi opened her eyes and noticed the girl too, as Tenshi let out a gasp, the rest of the group noticed her too.

"Did we do it?!" C-Ku asked, as she felt excited. The girl looked around at everyone, her hair was blue and was in a ponytail, and her eyes were as blue as her hair. She wore a white T-shirt, and a short, blue leather jacket over it, she wore jeans and sandles too.

"Are you... Kokoro?" Tenshi asked, as she realized she could feel the same connection to this girl as she did to everyone else here, but this girl's connection felt much stronger.

"That... is my... name..." Kokoro said, as she seemed to take her time speaking. Kokoro landed on the ground, and stumbled to keep her balance.

The group let go of each other's hands, and rushed to Kokoro's side. "Are you okay?" Peni asked, as she helped Kokoro stand.

"Yes..." Kokoro said, as looked up at the sun. "What time is it?" Kokoro asked, suddenly changing the subject.

"It's almost the eighteenth hour..." Gofkuji said, as she wondered why the time mattered.

"Then, I have about three hours..." Kokoro said, as she sat on a log.

"Three hours for what?" Peni asked, feeling confused.

"Three hours until I need to go to sleep." Kokoro said, looking exhausted.

"You have a bed time?" C-Ku asked, as she didn't understand the point of a bed time.

"Technically, yes." Kokoro said, as she looked at the group. "If I don't go to sleep by nine PM everyday, I'll die." Kokoro explained, as if it was nothing.

"Woah! What?" Tenshi asked, as she began to feel worried.

"I've delt with it for over a thousand years... I'm used to it." Kokoro said, trying to ease the group.

"Oh..." Tenshi said, realizing how old Kokoro must be.

"So, I remember you all needed something, what is it?" Kokoro asked, talking to everyone as if she knew them already.

"How did you know about that?" Peni asked, feeling suspicious.

"I've been watching over all of you..." Kokoro said, with a small smile. "It's all I could do to make sure my children are safe..." Kokoro continued, as she looked up at the group, looking calmly at everyone.

"Children...?" Maruchi asked, feeling confused about what she meant by that.

"Zeus gave me three curses along with imprisoning me..." Kokoro said, as she began to explain herself. "One, I must sleep every night at nine PM or I'll die. Two, all of my relatives will have a curse too, but he's lazy so everything is completely random." Kokoro said, as she looked at Peni.

"You mean..." Peni said, realizing what Kokoro is talking about.

"Your Phantom, it's the same as my needing to sleep at nine PM. I like to call it Death Bed." Kokoro explained, as the other's also realized.

"So... you're our mother...?" Kuream asked, as she felt confused.

"Three, if one of my hairs fall out, then a piece of my own soul is taken and replaced with a growing baby's soul in a womb..." Kokoro said, as she noticed that only brought more confusion to them.

"But... wouldn't your soul eventually grow too small?" Peni asked, trying to understand.

"You would think, but if a piece is taken from the soul, it'll grow back just like anything else on your body." Kokoro said, hoping that cleared up some confusion.

"How do you know this...?" Hiraki asked, feeling suspicious about the whole situation.

"While I was imprisoned... I ended up having a few surprise visitors..." Kokoro said, seeming vague.

"Who?" Kuream asked, wondering if they're important people.

"They'd rarely tell me their real name, usually only gave some title, or nothing at all." Kokoro explained, answering as much as she can so that everyone isn't as confused.

"What happens to the baby's soul when their soul gets switched?" Peni asked, feeling like she knew the answer already.

"I'm not sure, but I imagine it just dies, unfortunately..." Kokoro said, with a sad face.

"That's awful..." Tenshi said, as she looked at her own hands.

"That doesn't make you a bad person or a killer though." Kokoro said, with a clear voice. "You had no intention to do that, it's just how it works. If you knew, you wouldn't have done it." Kokoro said, while looking into Tenshi's eyes.

"She's right, Tenshi, don't fault yourself for something like that." Peni said, as she sat her hand on Tenshi's shoulder.

"Okay, I guess everything makes at least some sense." Maruchi said, still feeling confused but also satisfied.

"Then, weeee need you to help resurrect someoneeee." Kumetsu said, as she took Kokoro's hands.

"pepper, right?" Kokoro said, as she closed her eyes.

"Yes!" Kumetsu said, as she let go of Kokoro's hands.

"I don't have that ability, unfortunately." Kokoro said, feeling bad for being useless after all the trouble they've been through.

"His soul escaped." Peni said, as she looked into Kokoro's eyes. "His soul made it out of the Underworld." Peni continued, hoping that would change things.

Kokoro was silent for a moment. "You're right, I've found his soul, it's lost." Kokoro said, as she began to focus.

"Can you communicate with him?" Tenshi asked, hoping that she can.

"I can't." Kokoro said, while keeping her focus on pepper. "But you all can talk through me." Kokoro said, as she moved her head around, as if she was looking around somewhere.

"Hey!" Tenshi said, as she called out to pepper through Kokoro. Tenshi waited for a response, but heard nothing.

"Hey!" Tenshi called out again, hoping to get a response this time.

"Hello...?" pepper's voice echoed around everyone.

"pepper, is that you?" Peni asked, hoping it was pepper.

"Yeah, this is pepper. Is that you, Peni?" pepper asked, realizing who he's talking to.

"It isn't just me here, but yes, I'm Peni." Peni said, glad to hear confirmation that pepper made it out.

"I don't know where I am, I can't see anything..." pepper said, asking for help.

"Where you are isn't important, but all you need to do is keep going forward." Tenshi said, as if she knew where he was.

"Okay, I think I can do that..." pepper said, not sounding very confident.

"pepper... Once you make it to your body, we'll be on our way." Peni said, as Tenshi nodded.

"I don't think I can wait for you... I need to get to my girls." pepper said, as he continued moving forward.

"That's fine, we'll catch up eventually." Peni said, as she looked at Tenshi.

"How do you feel?" Tenshi asked, trying to help pepper focus.

"Uh... I feel light, but fine other than that." pepper said, feeling a little confused about the point of that, but not feeling confused enough to ask questions.

"That's good! Focus on that feeling!" Tenshi said, as she felt excited.

"Okay." pepper said, as he did his best to focus.

"Are you seeing anything?" Tenshi asked, hoping pepper did it right.

"No... I don't see anything." pepper said, as he kept looking around. "Wait!" pepper shouted.

"Do you see something?!" Tenshi asked, with excitement.

"Yeah, I see a light! I'll go to it!" pepper said, as he rushed to the light.

"No! Stop!" Tenshi yelled, feeling worried.

"Oh..." pepper said, as he stopped right outside of the light.

"You need to go the opposite way of the light." Tenshi said, with a sigh of relief.

"Okay." pepper said, as he turned around and walked into the darkness.

"That should do it, pepper... Good luck." Tenshi said, as Kokoro opened her eyes.

"Huh? Hello?" pepper asked, as he wasn't expecting her to leave.

"How did you know Kokoro was gonna wake up?" Maruchi asked, feeling confused.

"I didn't, but I knew she wouldn't be able to communicate past that point." Tenshi explained, as she looked at Maruchi.

"So... I guess I just keep walking?" pepper asked, as he continued walking. pepper's eyes darted open as he took a huge breath of air.