(New story! I feel that I should point out that not only do we not have the end of this written, we also don't actually have a clear picture of what it will be, so... Please review, let us know what you think, etc.

Warnings: um... this story has angels and demons in it. It's not tied to any one religion, but if it offends you, well... sorry. Here's your warning. Also future adult themes and Gilbert's mouth, so nothing new there. Enjoy!)

Mattie blinked. He did not recognise where he was or have any memory of how he'd gotten here. The last thing he remembered was—

oh yes. Being beaten into oblivion by a group of rogue justice-seekers, just outside the cafe. He looked down to see his clothes still ripped and bloody, and he winced. Wasn't life spectacular…

Maybe that's where he was… oblivion. It would certainly seem to fit; his surroundings were pale and bright, too bright—like a photograph that hadn't been exposed long enough. The highlights were blown out and the shadows, which should have been almost black, opted for a light grey instead. Just a few more seconds exposure…

He liked photography; he wished he were better at it, but it would only take more practise to become so. He felt like he had a hard time figuring out what to do to adjust his photos, to make them better. It was also hard to find subjects to capture, because apparently people didn't like him.

No, that wasn't why… He had gotten beaten up because those guys had thought he was gay. Or that he was acting gay, too gay… or something. It was stupid and uncivilised. He was gay, but that wasn't the point.

How had he gotten away?
Where WAS he?

Instead of calling out, he got up, dusted himself off—he didn't feel sore, which was odd—and planned on walking around, until he could find something he recognised to get home. He wished he had his sunglasses. Why was everything so bright?

"Matthew?"
"Ah!" he turned around to face a man in a dress. Mattie's first thought was 'ah, someone I can trust'… perhaps the gay crowd was just a little too queer.

"'Mattie', please," he corrected, still confused, "Who are you?"

"Mattie, of course. Sorry. My name is Arthur."

"Hello…"

Evidently, Arthur realised that his introduction did not clear much up for the boy. He coughed. "Er, yes, sorry. Do you know where you are?"

Mattie shook his head.

"…Do you know what's happened to you?" the man suggested. Mattie shook his head again.
"Oh, I hate doing this," Arthur said. Without allowing Mattie time to become nervous about what he hated doing, Arthur simply told him, "Love, you've died."

—

He couldn't breathe. He couldn't move. But he suddenly found that he didn't need to.

Arthur guided him down the pale streets, through the empty metropolis to what seemed to be the capital. He met other beings, whom he was pleased to see all wore dresses, regardless of sex or gender. Arthur said they were angels. He also said that he was an angel and that Mattie was one, now, too—which was bizarre to him, since he wasn't really religious. Still…

The angels in the capital removed his stained clothing and gave him a clean nightgown; they healed his bruises and broken bones, removed the scars he didn't want, made him slimmer and stronger. They offered to fix his eyesight, but Mattie liked his glasses. He didn't think he looked like himself without them.

When they were done 'fixing' him, they gave him wings, a halo and a place to stay. None but the last was obvious to him. He thought that he should be able to feel his wings beneath his shoulder blades, or be able to touch them when when he wrapped his arms around himself, but he couldn't. Nor, when he looked up, could he see his halo. Arthur had told him they would grow stronger as he did. In the meantime, though… he needed rest.

—

He learned about his duties as an angel in the next weeks. It was still strange to think of himself as an 'angel', though he had gotten used to the underexposure, just as Arthur had said he would.

It was also strange separating himself from his old life. He kept forgetting to put thing in past tense, even though he was so obviously—literally—on another plane of reality. Despite this technical error, he could feel the distance between his old life and this one, or rather, his life and his death. He did not feel dead. He also did not feel remorseful or sad about losing his family and friends, which kind of freaked him out when he was able to wrap his head around it… Still, Arthur had told him that heaven tended to neutralise pain, so he accepted it. He found himself constantly thanking the elder angel for all his advice.

As an angel, Mattie was essentially meant to go around and help people on Earth. He didn't have to make them religious, which he was thankful for… religion was still weird to him. No, he just had to keep people's spirits up, give them hope. He liked that. He hadn't been depressed or anything when he was alive, but everyone went through dark turns. He had died on one of his. Occasionally, late at night, he tried to relive his last moments, but it was hard—too fuzzy, too distant, too little time to relive before he must have passed out. He couldn't even hear the damaging voices anymore.

There were four planes of existence, as far as the angels were concerned. This place, the calm, underexposed cityplex, was heaven. Earth was another plane, hell another still—and finally, the limbo zones. Nowhere places, or, with a clever pun, utopias. Those were the only places where all powers were truly equal: angels, demons, humans, it didn't matter. It was supposed to be that way on Earth, but the powers fluctuated so much there that it didn't work. Demons, evidently, had little power here, and angels, well—

"Just don't end up in hell."

—

Hallo, Gilbert here~

Danke for reading our story! I know you all are sad that I'm not in it yet, but don't worry, I'll be in it soon~
Bitte review, danke.
See you next time~

P.S. Sorry about the hiatus on The Reincarnation AU. I have a shit ton of stuff but I'm working on it! Hopefully you all will be able to read my genius soon~!
Danke again, auf wiedersehen. Awesome out!

(Do you guys get annoyed with those squiggles? I do. Sorry about that.)