The Second Archon War: Animula Choragi 16: Belle

Animula Choragi 16: Belle

There were only a few weeks left in the school year, and the students of Collège Jean-Baptiste Delorme were rapidly losing interest in academics and thinking of what they would be doing come the first week in July when school ended. The same affliction had touched Barbara and Charlotte, though their dreams were somewhat different than their peers. 

Still, Barbara smiled at the other students and even chatted with some of them as they hurried to class. Her attendance had been spotty recently, thanks to her performances, but her grades were still excellent. She would probably end up persuading her mother to hire a private tutor for Lycée, and have Charlotte join her. Yes, she had agreed that it was important she attend a public school and learn what it was like to have to be a “normal” girl, but things were changing. Her career as an actress had already begun, and she was determined to continue to pursue it. 

Today, however, she was grateful to be attending a public school, because she was on a mission. Furina and Yennifer had already explained their plan to Barbara and Charlotte to attempt to change the law regarding parahumans’ forced conscription through a legal loophole. This was especially important because Furina herself, the Hydro Archon, had fallen prey to the vile law.

Barbara still wasn’t sure how the Hydro Archon managed to flood her own apartment. Perhaps it was all part of some clever ruse. That, or Furina was just as silly as she appeared. Barbara wasn’t sure which it was, but she loved Furina anyway. 

“What are those signs for, Barbara?” Anaïs Leroux asked curiously. She wasn’t someone Barbara normally spent time with, not because she was an unpleasant person nor one of those who tried to exploit Barbara’s familial connections, but because she played football for a local youth club and simply ran in different social circles, though they did have classes together. 

“We’re starting a political campaign,” Barbara said, showing Anaïs one of the signs. “My friend and co-star Furina de Fontaine is being forced to join the Mousquetaires! It’s very unjust.”

“What?! The actress and singer? I watched her rendition of Billie Jean, it was amazing!” Anaïs said, shocked. 

“Here, take some of the signs and some tape, put them up in the halls and pass them out in class!” Barbara urged. “We’re having a meeting after school on the football pitch. Tell everyone  you know to come!” 

Anaïs nodded and took the posters over to her friends on the girls’ football team, who listened with interest. 

Hurrying to Algebra class, Barbara arrived a few minutes early and explained to M. Lemoine her plan to distribute the fliers. He sipped at his coffee, then smiled and nodded. “Of course, you can make a small announcement. We’re covering graphing functions and finding points of intercept between two functions today. You have your work?”

“Yes, sir,” Barbara said, and passed him both the work she owed him, and a flier. He smiled and accepted them, and was good to his word. Barbara took just a few minutes to explain the political campaign she was organizing. 

“We’re hoping to gather student signatures, and organize a rally protesting this unjust law! Many of you know Charlotte Lustria, who was also nearly swept up by this law and who spent several days in prison. Now, my own mother has a Vision, and I’m worried about her as well as Furina. We might just be students, but if we all speak together, our voices will be heard!” 

“I’ll give 10 points of extra credit to anyone who helps attend the rally,” M. Lemoine said from behind his desk, which Barbara was very grateful for. “It’s good that you all become politically active when you’re young. Stand up for what’s right, and join the spirit of the revolution!” 

That surprised Barbara. M. Lemoine had a reputation for being stern and no-nonsense and a somewhat boring lecturer. He was in his 50s and balding, so as far as Barbara was concerned, he was one step from being an ancient fossil from the days before gods and parahumans. She would have to reevaluate him. 

Not all of her teachers let Barbara speak or even pass out fliers, but she did manage to get to the door first and hand one out to all her classmates. At lunch, she met up with Charlotte, her friends in Drama Class, and Charlotte's classmates in Journalism. It would be a bit much to call them Charlotte’s friends. Barbara was, essentially, Charlotte’s only friend. While Barbara appreciated Charlotte’s bluntness and honesty, most people found her self-righteous and annoying. 

And that was before she’d gotten a Vision. After, well, while the Vision amplified Charlotte’s positive traits, it also exaggerated the negative. Not that Charlotte seemed to care. Barbara didn’t mind either. While she had a lot of people who wanted to be friendly with her, she had few whom she truly thought of as close friends. It was selfish in the extreme to think that being rich, beautiful, talented, and actual royalty was a burden, but…well. Just like Visions, all privileges came with drawbacks. 

“Alright, people!” Charlotte said, standing up on a bench and using a rolled-up folder as a makeshift loudspeaker. “I know a lot of you are already big Furina fans! Well, now is your chance to show your devotion! Give everyone you see a sign and tell them to come to the rally today! Remember, though, this is just the start! If we can get a big group going here, we’ll spread to all the other schools!”

Barbara helped pass out signs, then partnered up with Charlotte as they went around to talk to other students and try to get them to come to the rally. 

“Will there be food?” Simon Leclerc asked. He wasn’t especially hefty, but Barbara supposed boys his age always felt that way. 

“We will feast on JUSTICE!” Charlotte declared. 

“We’ll have water,” Barbara assured him, but made a mental note that at future rallies, food was a must. 

Simon shrugged, water apparently didn’t sound too appealing, but Barbara gave him a smile and a touch on the shoulder. He grinned at her and immediately said, “I’ll be there!” 

Well, God and his Archons had given Barbara her good looks. It would be a shame not to use them. 

As soon as the last bell rang, Barbara ran out of History to the football field, but there was a tremendous press of people. To her delight, hundreds of students were spilling out onto the grounds, carrying backpacks and talking animatedly amongst themselves. 

“Do you think Furina will be here?”

“I want to see her perform live, I’ve seen her videos online a dozen times!” 

“It’s so hot, I hope this is fast.”

Charlotte, bless her, was already out on the field. Barbara groaned softly when she saw that her friend had created a small stage and podium out of ice. That could get them in trouble. However, the display of her Cryo abilities was drawing a large number of students, if for no other reason than the cold ice was welcome on the hot late spring day. 

Charlotte gave Barbara a hand and pulled her up, and they waited a few minutes for most of the students to come in. Members of the Drama and Journalism clubs were already circulating with petitions, and a number of teachers and facility were milling about as well, including Dr. de Launay, the Director of the school. 

For a moment, Barbara was nervous. She had, generally speaking, stayed as far away from politics as possible. They had killed her father, and in many ways, taken her mother from her. Barbara had sworn she would not only never be queen, but would become an actress or something equally silly. But now…now being an actress was demanding she take up that same duty of responsibility her mother did. Well, Barbara would do it in her own way. This, after all, was about Justice, not just for Furina, but for anyone who didn’t wish to be press ganged into Iron Mask’s thugs. 

Before Barbara could start speaking, M. Carrière stepped up to the frozen stage and passed up a loud speaker. “Knock them dead, Barbs.”

She forced a smile and nodded. This was just like any other stage she’d performed on. Taking a deep breath, she lifted the loudspeaker to her lips. 

“Hello, thank you all so much for coming!” her amplified voice said, and the crowd quieted somewhat as they turned to Barbara. “This is just our petition signing, but we’re organizing a large scale student protest, and need your help! Next month, on the second Tuesday after school gets out, July 14th, we’re holding a rally! Yes, it’s on Bastille Day. We chose that date to show the government, we won’t be a part of their military machine!” 

Barbara smiled and began to slowly walk about the stage on the ice, turning to meet everyone’s eyes, just like she did when she performed. “As many of you know, my dear friend and co-star, Furina de Fontaine, has been threatened with jail if she does not join the Mousquetaires. She’s not a soldier, she’s an actress! She shouldn’t be forced to fight if that’s not what she wants! France isn’t even at war! She wouldn’t be fighting the Tsaritsa, she’d just be another thug cape to bully people into doing what Iron Mask and the government want!” 

“Well, we might only be kids, but we can help, too! We want everyone to come to our Bastille Day protest, and fight for Justice, to defend Furina, and all those who are being entrapped! She committed no crime, she just flooded the bathroom! If that were a crime, I’d be arrested for forgetting I’m running the bath!” 

That brought some laughter, and Barbara warmed to her theme. As she did so, however, she felt hands on her shoulders, and a voice began to whisper in her ear. Oddly enough, it didn’t sound like Furina, but…well. She was a very good actress. 

A Crown at birth was given you,

Yet you your claim to throne denied

It is for Justice your heart beats true

And not your family’s false pride

“Bastille Day is the day we celebrate the Revolution, our freedom from Kings and Dictators! The Germans might claim they have the Archon of Freedom, but France is the place where men and women first stood together, and cast down a tyrant! My own family WERE those tyrants! Well, no longer! You know me, you know I’m just a regular girl! I’m scared, just like you! Iron Mask and his capes could crush me, and my mother. But if we stand together, united together for Justice, we can make France a place fit to live, for everyone!”

Raise your voice! Let the show begin!

Seek out your Justice with Vigor

Let your passion flow from within,

Daughter of Water’s Pure 

The poem finished, and as Barbara’s speech concluded, a bright flash of pure blue light formed before her. Trembling slightly, she lowered her loudspeaker and lifted up her right hand, allowing her Vision to drift down into her palm. She stared at it, and tears filled her eyes. 

I guess I am good enough. 

The crowd, of course, went wild. Charlotte nearly tackled Barbara right off the frozen platform, and she would have if Barbara had not instinctively called upon the ambient hydro to prop her up. 

“THAT WAS INCREDIBLE!” Charlotte squealed, hugging Barbara tightly. She drew back, a manic grin on her face and glasses slightly askew. “I can’t wait to publish this! I got footage of it, of course, but I didn’t think you’d actually get a Vision until that weird ghost showed up!” 

Weird ghost? Barbara would definitely need to find out more about that later. She nodded and smiled, however, and hopped off to accept the praise and adulation of her peers and teachers. 

Her dream was still to be an actress, and to play about the grandest stages. But she would be an actress who inspired others to fight for Justice. Just like Furina. 

Once she got some space, Barbara went to a quiet corner of the school, and pulled out her phone. Holding her vision in one hand, she prayed her mother would pick up.

“Yes, Barbara? I have a few minutes, if you need to talk,” her mother’s voice said after a few seconds.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Barbara leaned back, forcing a smile onto her face. 

“Hey, mom…you’ll never believe what just happened…”

Julie had grown up in Paris’ Chinatown, and had learned to speak Cantonese just as much as French as she’d grown up. Later, she’d learned Mandarin and English, meaning she could communicate with just about anyone in Chinatown, though there were plenty of Laotian, Vietnamese, and now Japanese people who made their home here. Wanmin Restaurant wasn’t located in Chinatown, but the Mao family did live there. 

“Good morning, Furina,” Julie said, letting her friend inside the apartment. It was mid-morning, but Ling and Uncle Mao had just woken up themselves. 

“Hey, Furina!” Ling said, waving as they stepped inside the small apartment. “I just made breakfast! It’s crepes with dòushā!”

“That sounds lovely, I’ve missed your cooking,” Furina said, taking a seat at the cramped table and smiling as Ling pushed over a plate with several crepes and the sweet red bean paste on it. 

“Julie told us you’re in some trouble with the damned jackboots,” Chef Mao said, looking up from his paper, Le Monde in the original French. While he hadn’t grown up speaking and reading French, he had spent enough years in France as a young man with Julie’s father that he was quite fluent. 

“I’m afraid Iron Mask and the government have taken an unusual interest in me, and are attempting to entrap me with a fine of five million francs, 10 years of jail time, or forced enrollment in the Mousquetaires,” Furina said, making a face as she spread the paste onto her crepes. 

“Bunch of puk gaai,” Chef Mao growled, and Ling nodded in agreement, her expression worried. 

“What are you going to do? I know you don’t want to join the cape enforcers,” Ling asked. 

“Well, that’s what I came to speak to you all about. You see, it’s like this,” Furina said, and laid out her plan to Unionize the theater company and form a civil cape team under the command of Mayor Jeanne d’Orleans. 

“That sounds like a clever plan, and a good way to get out of it,” Chef Mao said with a nod. “Julie, you should join the workers union. I never liked the CUI, the People’s Republic was for Worker’s Rights, and that’s where I grew up. It’s a good plan.”

“Yeah, it’s like we said! One for all, and all for one!” Ling agreed enthusiastically. 

Julie nodded. “I will, of course! Is there anything else we can do to help?”

Ling and Chef Mao nodded, and Furina sighed, setting down her fork and looking down at her plate. “I know…I know you haven’t always been treated fairly, here in France, either.”

Julie felt a pang and looked away, fighting back bitterness and anger. That was supposed to be over now. At last, she had a role. A real starring role! But she knew it wasn’t. Especially not for Uncle Mao and Ling. 

“It’s better than dying,” Chef Mao said gruffly, folding his arms over his chest. “Which is what we’d do in China. That place is still a hellscape, thanks to the Archons.”

The look of hurt that passed over Furina’s face surprised Julie. She knew that Yennifer was an Archonist, and she and Furina were dating, so perhaps that wasn’t a shock, but the pain looked like Chef Mao had just said he hated Furina with visceral disgust. 

“I…I know that Beelzebul, that is, the Electro Archon, was…harsh…in her dealings with China,” Furina said, looking away. 

“If there were any Justice in the world, the Raiden Shogun would have to pay for what she did to China,” Ling agreed sourly. 

For a moment, Julie felt as though she were suddenly underwater, and she thought she heard the distant slam of a gavel. Furina locked eyes with Ling, and Julie felt her heart stop. 

Furina’s eyes were…glowing. The sudden power there made Julie tremble and want to fall flat on her face, but that was silly! This…this was just Furina! She washed dishes, and made silly jokes, and helped poor starving kittens. She was a good friend and a wonderful costar, but she…she was just Furina.

Right?

This I swear to you. Come what may, you are my people. And one day, the Electro Archon will face my Justice, at your behest. 

Oh. Oh no. That…that was DEFINITELY not Furina. This was a being of Power, an ancient entity full of Authority, the living embodiment of Justice. Well, it was Furina, only…only not the human woman that Julie knew. 

The sensation of being underwater suddenly faded, and when Julie blinked, it was just Furina there. Just silly, clumsy Furina, who cried when a customer bullied her and got tipsy on two glasses of wine. 

“Sorry, um, t-there was one other thing,” Furina said, as Ling and Uncle Mao trembled and gaped at Furina. 

“I…um, yes?” Ling managed, but Uncle Mao clearly couldn’t speak. 

“I don’t just want Justice for capes. I want Justice for everyone. That means the immigrants in France who have increasingly been the target of harassment by the government, especially the Chinese expatriates, or the Japanese who have fled Beezelbub’s tyranny. I…I need your help. All of you. We’re having a march on Bastille Day, in protest of the government’s policies. I’d like to organize it with the support of those in Chinatown. You…you took me in and cared for me, even when I was a broke, homeless, out-of-work actress. I want us to stand together, to stand for Justice.”

Furina pulled some posters out of her bag, and set them on the table. “I…I know it’s a lot to ask, but…France was meant to be the land of Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity. That means for everyone. As long as you too believe in those, and seek Justice…we were meant to work together, not apart.”

Ling slowly picked up one of the signs, but her eyes were locked to Furina. “You…you really…care about us? Even if we’re not French?”

“That doesn’t matter,” Furina said firmly. “I’m not- that is…um, well. I’m…sort of…”

“Not from France,” Chef Mao said, sounding rather poleaxed still. 

Furina nodded meekly. “Um, keep that a secret, would you? It’s…it’s sort of on my ID papers…I think of myself as French now! It’s just…uh, very complicated. I…I want to see France as a country that truly embodies Justice for everyone. No matter who you are. So, um…thank you for breakfast…I…I think I should go…”

With that, Furina stood, bowed, and hurried for the door. 

“Wait!” Julie got to her feet, and suddenly wrapped Furina in a hug. To her surprise, she found Furina was crying and clinging tightly to Julie. 

“I…I just want you to know…you’ll always…always be my friend,” Julie told her. “No matter what. I agree. France needs Justice. I…I’m half French, but…but I never felt like I really belonged here. I want this to be a country where I can belong, where I can be-”

You fall and stumble, trip and fail

Yet again and again, to your feet you rise

Determination is your creed and so

In the end, success shall be your tale

Julie jerked back from Furina, and found that her lips were moving, even as her eyes faintly glowed again. No. This couldn’t be. She…she wasn’t worthy of this!

Liberty! You shall practice your art!

Equality! None shall be left behind!

Fraternity! Bonds beyond all blood!

Arise! Daughter of France’s Heart!

The teardrop shape that fell into Julie’s hands wasn’t quite like Furina’s or Yennifers. Half of the frame was, and yet, the other half…the other half looked like the Chinese Visions that Yennifer had seen. That felt…right. 

Fear filled Furina’s eyes, and Julie realized that for whatever reason, Furina didn’t wish to be known for what she was. Well. Julie had practiced all her life to play upon the stage, and she’d acted alongside Furina in truth now. Time to take up a new role. 

“I’ll have to thank the Hydro Archon for this,” Julie said, giving Furina another hug. “One day…I hope to tell her how much she means to me.”

“I…thank you,” Furina whispered. “I hate lying, and yet…my whole life is a lie…”

“It’s not lying. Just acting. Someday, share the script with me. Until you can…I’ll always be your co-star,” Julie whispered. 

Furina laughed, nodded, and hastily departed. 

Slowly, Julie went back into the apartment, where Uncle Mao was sitting and looking stunned still. Ling, however, jumped up and embraced Julie. 

“Are you OK?” she asked.

“How could I not be? I was just…just talking with a friend,” Julie said.

Ling pulled back to study Julie’s face, brow wrinkled in confusion. “But, she has to be-”

“Our old dishwasher. And nothing more. Don’t forget it,” Julie said, and shot a warning look to her uncle. 

He shook himself. “But…she is…no. It can’t be. She…she’s a good girl. A kind girl. And just…human.”

“She bleeds like the rest of us,” Ling said quietly. “I should know, she even had to borrow my underwear…”

“And that’s all she can be. She needs our help to fight oppression and injustice. We have to give it!” Julie declared, gripping her vision tightly. 

“That one needs our help? But, she said she would judge-”

“No, Dad. The Hydro Archon will. That’s just Furina,” Ling said firmly. 

Her father looked incredulous for a moment. Then, slowly, he nodded. “I see. Just a dishwasher. A Bodhisattva amongst us.”

“More like the Christ. She did turn water into wine,” Julie muttered, then shook her head. “Regardless, are we going to help her? Can we?”

“I know a few other old men I can talk to,” Uncle Mao said, taking a poster. “They’ve talked about how the government has treated us, and how no one cares that we have to pay extra bribes only for the police to look the other way when someone throws a brick through our windows with a slur and a demand we go home. This is our home!”

“And we’ll fight for it!” Ling declared, making a fist. “No matter what, I’m not giving up, and neither should you!” 

“Yes, of course. I have some friends I can talk to as well. There are lots of second-generation Chinese who are tired of being treated like second-class citizens,” Julie said, gripping her Vision. 

She could barely believe this. Furina was an Archon. Well, she hadn’t exactly done the best job of hiding it. First had been that song, that beautiful, transcendent song, that had moved Julie’s heart in ways she couldn’t imagine. Then there was the fact that Furina could speak every language Julie had ever heard of, and didn’t even seem to realize she was doing it half the time. And the fact that it rained when she cried, though it hadn’t just now, odd. Oh, and the Holy Spirit, or whatever that dove had been, had come down to give her a Vision. Plus the Water into Wine. 

Alright, in retrospect, it was blindingly obvious. Julie really would have to figure out how to help Furina keep a secret a little better, because she was terrible at it. 

Believe it or not, she actually did keep a secret for 500 years. But it’s good to have you aboard, regardless. 

Julie blinked and looked at her Vision. Had it just…talked to her? 

Well, it was supposed to be a Divine Gift. That made sense. Probably. 

Either way…it looked like Julie had a lot of work to do. The show must go on. 

Author’s Note: 

It’s a good thing Furina is adorable because she’s really gotta work on that whole “secret identity” thing.