Disclaimer: I own everything in this story besides Spot Conlon, and the President. Obviously.
Author's Note: I think this might be offensive to some people, who are extremely religious, so if it does… Don't read it. I hope y'all like it!
Dedicated to MoonShadow. The one and only.
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The shot echoed around the theater like a gong in an opera house. The entire world seemed to stop for a moment, and in all essence, it did.
Vera Cheval sat in silent shock, as she watched the blood pour from hole in the president's head. She had failed in her mission, she was supposed to protect this human being, and she had let him die.
Damn it all to Hell! She thought viciously.
"Don't you talk like that Gabriella." Her 'ears' perked, as she heard the booming voice in side her head.
"What? It's just a figure of speech…"
She mind-grumbled back at the voice, which happened to be her brother-Gabriel."Time to come back Gabby. You failed again," she could practically hear her brother shaking his head at her. And thought with an odd sadness about the mess around her.
"But I can help Gabe! I can help them-"
She was cut off with a quick, but oddly gentle insistence."You can't do any more for them Gab, you know the rules. Come on home, Dear."
She felt a soft tugging in her stomach, and tried to fight it, but finally gave in.It would do no good, so she simply sighed in exasperation, before casting a last longing look about her in to the realm of chaos this theater had become.
"Beam me up Scotty," She thought with morbid humor, as the room before her started to fade. The colors bled into each other, the deep burgundy color of the curtains, mixed with the deep brown of the woodwork. Each slowly fading out of focus, and she closed her eyes for a moment, feeling her stomach lurch, as she was transported from this world, upward. A long, long, way, upward.
~*~
The first thing Gabriella saw, when she opened her brown eyes, was a smoky white cloud.
Home sweet home,
she thought ironically. And stumbled to her feet. She smiled slightly. It was an odd type of comfort, feeling the milky tendrils of the clouds curling around her hands, encompassing her bare feet, and creeping up her ankles. She still wore her no-nonsense black skirt, and her blue blazer. There was only one small difference, poking out of her blazer, right below her shoulder blades, were two gloriously large, white, soft, wings.She unfolded her wings, sighing as she finally felt them stretch out to their full extent, a full six feet wingspan. Long, even for an angel. It had been sooo long, since she had done that. She forgot how good it felt. Like a summer breeze on a hot day, rushing threw your hair. But, as always, those moments end, and she sighed. Staring…Okay, more like glaring, up at the breath-taking sight, of the large golden gates. Both stood closed, beautiful to some, intimidating to others, but to her, they were just the same as the last time she had stared up at them.
Placed in front of the imposing gates, was a platform with a chair behind. In this chair, sat a very bored looking angel. He stared glumly down at the large book in front of him, chin in hand, and doodling absent mindedly in the margins, with a peacock feather quill. A long line of elderly, and young, people stretched out form the podium, and she quickly found a spot at the end of the line. There were only a few people in front of her, and she heard others pop in to existence behind her.
"Name," The angel grumbled blandly to an old man.
"E-Erick B-B-B-B-Bell," Said Erick obviously frightened. The angle scanned the page with bored eyes.
"Heaven for you sir," He pointed to an angel, who had appeared beside the man. "Follow Cherise here, and she'll help you settle in."
The man stammered thanks to the angel with the book, but he was already dealing with the next person.
"Name," He said again, just as dully.
"Susan Teller," the young woman sneered with a glare.
The angle didn't seem to be affected, and simply scanned his book, turned the page to look at something else, and looked back up at the girl with a dry expression.
"Well you have, been a bad girl, now haven't you?" he grinned, the first sign of emotion she'd seen so far. "Sorry, you don't pass the test Hun… Going down." He pushed a small red button on the desk, next to the book, and there was low beep.
"Wait! I've changed! I-" but she cut off, for just then, the square of floor beneath her disappeared, and she fell, her screams carrying up to them. The angel looked vaguely interested, and stared down at the trapdoor, as it closed. He turned back to his book.
"Next?" He said dispassionately. She stepped up to the podium.
"So, where'm I goin' sir?" She asked with a smile on her face, waiting for the angel to look up. And look up he did, smiling when he saw whom it was.
"Darien you old devil! How ya been?" She asked, jumping around the platform, and giving him a tight hug.
He laughed heartily, "Just because I've been at this post for over 300 years, doesn't mean I've stopped being angelic! How are you Gab? Did you fail again?"
Gabriella smiled sheepishly, and nodded. "They got me here just as soon as they heard about it…" She muttered bitterly, but Darien laughed again.
"With good reason m'dear! You remember the last time they left you alone with a disaster, hmm? The whole Titanic business?" She blushed, but nodded sheepishly.
"Well! I guess you've got an appointment with the big guy hmm? Well! I'll let you threw so you can deal with your brother before then." He returned to his podium, taking a small remote from a drawer, and pushed a button, it made a small beeping sound, and the golden gates started to open.
"Christ's been jumpin' around the time tables again," Darien shook his head sadly. "Been givin' us all these wired machines and such. This thing was inspired by those car auto-lock, thingies…" he coughed. "Anyway! See ya in the next millennium!" He waved, as she crossed the boundary in to Heaven.
She waved back at him, as she walked down the silver paved streets. Large buildings of gold, and bronze reached upwards around her. She thought it was all rather too frilly, but her opinion didn't matter. She wasn't even an Archangel! Just a simple assignment lackey, a bit above the average, but nothing special. In fact, she really only kept that title, because her brother was Gabriel.
Yes, THE, Gabriel. She thought bitterly. And just then, as if called by her thoughts, she saw his white-robed form turn a corner, and start running down the street to her.
"Gabby!" he cried, running up to her still form and embracing her. "You're late!" He said immediately, releasing her.
"I'm what?" She asked, confused.
"Late!" he yelled again, grabbing her hand, before dragging her to the Town Square, where a large building made of gold stood. "For your meeting! I swear, Jesus is gonna so kick you off the cloud for this one. Now come on! Fix your hair quick! You wanna look nice for this meeting!" He rushed ahead of her, clearly set on his task.
"You're right Gabe, I should look nice. What do you think, is pink my color?" She asked, holding a corner of her left wing, and grinning evilly at her brother.
"Oh no! No dyeing the wings again Gab!" He said hurriedly, pushing her inside the golden building and rushing her up the marble stairs and into a carpeted room, where there were rows, upon rows, of wooden chairs. Angels occupied some of the seats, others were very empty.
At the head of the room, there was a dark wooden desk; behind it sat a young angel. Her wings died a deep purple to match her hair. She was putting a coat of purple nail polish on, when Gabriella and Gabriel walked up to her desk.
"Um, excuse me?" she asked nervously, her brother already seated in a chair behind her. The girl glanced up at her and put down her brush.
"How may I help you?" she asked with a fake smile, smacking her gum loudly.
"I need to see Christ," she said bluntly.
"Do you have an appointment?" Kerri-as her nametag said- asked cheerfully, and pulled out a schedule book from a drawer to her left.
"Yes mam… And I think I'm late." She added sheepishly, and Kerri flipped open the brown book.
"Name please?" she asked, all business.
"Gabriella," Gabby said quickly, peering over the edge of the book. Kerri scanned a page with a purple colored fingertip, and tapped at one spot.
"Here you are! My you are late, aren't you?" Kerri punched a button on the intercom.
"Excuse Mr. Christ, there is a Gabriella here to see you." She spoke to the black box.
"Does she have an appointment?" a booming voice asked.
"Yes sir, she does." Kerri replied happily.
"Send her in." was the short reply, and Kerri motioned her towards a door at the other end of the hall.
Gabriella crossed the room as quickly as possible, opening the door, and stepping threw into the room beyond.
"Gabriella!" Came the voice, which belonged to a small man, sitting on a thrown, at the front of the room. He opened his arms in welcome, and his dark brown skin shined in light. She smiled ironically, thinking of all those ridiculous paintings of Jesus on Earth.
"Come in! Come in!" He welcomed, and she walked forward, and sat in the chair immediately in front of the throne. " We have things to talk about, don't we?" he asked, laughing. "You've let your ward die Gab…Again! What am I supposed to do with you, huh?" He shook his head sadly.
"This is very serious Gabriella, very serious." He said suddenly. His face taking on a somber mask.
"You have failed alm-" he was cut short, by a red light flashing behind the throne, and noise like a telephone rang out.
She coughed after the fifth ring. "Aren't you going to get that sir?" she asked, but he waved it away.
"I'll let the answering machine pick it up." And after the seventh ring, she heard a voice, that sounded suspiciously like Kerri's, sounded in the room.
"Hello! You've reached Heaven, your prayer is important t us, please hold…" Gab had to stuff a fist in her mouth to keep from laughing out loud.
"I just installed it, helps a lot…" Jesus explained to her. "Anyway! As I was saying!" he sobered again.
"This is very serious. If you don't start making some progress, I'll have to put you back to tours of the capitol building." Gab shuddered.
"You've failed almost every mission you've been given... You can't mess this up." Gabriella listened with rapt attention.
"What's the mission, sir?" she asked, and he held out a hand that now held a picture.
"This is your next ward. His name is Spot Conlon, he needs help." He explained, as she reached out for the photograph.
"What's his problem?" she asked, tenderly taking the picture, and staring down at it. "I mean, grrrrooow." She growled suggestively, and he laughed.
"I don't know," he frowned, "that's the problem, he seems to have a certain… nothingness, about him. Just…nothing…" for the first time, god, seemed to be thoroughly confused. And Gab wasn't entirely sure she liked it.
"The year is 1900, you have to find out what, and who, this boy is. The door will transport you to the landing place, I'll pass your regards on to your brother." Gab turned to go, taking that as dismissal, but she stopped, With her hand on the doorknob, when she heard Jesus's voice.
"And Gab," he told her seriously once she had turned to face him, "this is your last chance. Don't screw it up."