Okay, this chapter is kind of a bit...choppy, because it's both Mel's and Edmund's life in Heaven at the same time, so it ended up pretty weird lol And note - the 'flash step' was something my BFF made up awhile ago at the beginning of our AA rpg, so I decided to use it in here as one of the teaching mechanisms :)

Time.

It didn't exist anymore. It was as if the whole of the Universe had halted, the dimension between Heaven and Earth being the only thing that felt real. It could be forever - he could stay there for eternity and nothing would happen, he would just be floating in the black void and nothing could harm him again.

It was these moments that were screwing with Edmund's brain. Indeed, he was in that space that was between Cosmic and Human time. Death and life were no longer separate, right then, it felt like they had become one.

There was nothing around him. No pretty celestial bodies, no swirling vortex of cloudy matter, no man in white robes to review his life and see if he was worthy of going to the happiest place that existed. It was just an expanse of nothing.

Edmund opened his eyes dazedly, trying to see anything. Was there anything out there?

No, but he could hear something. A very faint whisper of music. It wasn't normal music, the closer it got the more it started to permeate his entire being. It throbbed like a heartbeat, but still felt as soft as the waves in Narnia, the first thing he had felt on his second journey there. That was before he had seen the ruins of Cair Paravel.

But did Narnia exist? Was that all part of his imagination? Of course it existed, he was just there, on the battlefield. But where had it gone, had the entire Universe been obliterated somehow?

All these questions ran through his mind, but none of them seem to make sense as his thoughts overlapped. It felt ripply, his consciousness was fading slowly.

The celestial music was louder now, it was starting to fill up his body with the energy it emitted. And like a soft breeze against his bodice, his surroundings changed, and the void slowly melted away to reveal the bright colours of a place he had never seen before.

Mel let out a breath as her eyes opened. Again, it was morning. The déjà vu of Heaven. Sure, lots of things changed here, never was a day the same. But it felt good to know that something was in order, the same rise and fall of the moon and sun, one day flowing into the next, just like on Earth. It was one of the first things that helped her adjust when she was thirteen and a new angel - it still felt like her old home, but more vibey and happy.

It was then that she realised she felt relaxed. Happy, almost. Whatever was happening last night had obviously stopped.

"Lollie, it's over," Mel whispered into her ear, shaking her. Unlike the previous event in which Lola had stayed in her dorm the entire night, both had fallen asleep on the ground, too exhausted to even climb up into the bed. It was a harrowing night that took a lot of energy out of both of them.

"Thank the Universe. If I had to get one more heat pack for your sudden hypothermia, I would've screamed," Lola groaned as she sat up, groggily. "God, I actually need more than an hour of sleep. My brain is melting."

"You're angel batteries are drained," Mel giggled, handing her best friend an extra pillow, "not your brain. Hey, I can ask Mr. Allbright if you can miss out on a few lessons to catch up on a bit of sleep. I'm sure he'll understand if I tell him what went on."

Lola yawned, flopping back down onto the ground. "Can you do that for me? I need to recharge."

"Connect to the Link after your sleep-in, I guarantee you it will help," Mel said as she got up from the floor.

Lola just simply grumbled, burying her face deeper into her pillow, swatting at her best friend as she stepped over her.

Earth angels needed sleep at least once every five days, because their angelic souls worked differently to pure angels, those who never got the chance to incarnate on Earth. Pure angels could go without sleep forever, unless they weren't in perfect condition.

As Mel turned on the shower, she relaxed as the hot water pelted on her back, massaging and caressing her body. There was nothing like a steaming shower, no other better way to start a morning.

It all came back to him the moment he stared at the gates. They were large and very different, but still what Susan would've called very stylish. And in big letters that even Reepicheep couldn't miss, there was a sign that read 'The Angel Academy'.

But the memories were still there. Every time Edmund looked around at the other students, they somehow morphed into one of the Telmarine warriors. No, not any of them. The one who had killed him.

Shaking his head, he tried to steady himself, leaning up against the gates. He didn't have to go in, he could stay out there all day. He was dead. It didn't matter.

"Hi there," a bubbly girl called out from the left of him.

Edmund turned his gaze to her, surprised someone was actually talking to him. She was quite pretty too, with golden red hair and a soft face. "Hi," he replied, slowly. Could he trust anybody here?

"You obviously must be new here. I'm amazed though, the Agency always seems to be able to mess with time and have students arrive at the beginning of term," she babbled. Blushing, she held out her hand. "Amber Overwood."

"Edmund Pevensie," he introduced himself, taking her hand and shaking it twice. He was trying to be the 'cool' guy, the one who didn't really care what was going on. He just wanted to be back in Narnia. He missed his family. He missed Aslan.

"You really should actually go in, you know. I think we should go see Michael and explain the situation, he'll be wondering about a few things. Wait a moment. He wouldn't, he's an archangel, silly me," Amber laughed. She reminded Edmund of a young Lucy if she had too much sugar before bed time.

"Archangel?" Edmund asked, doing a double take. "So I...did make it to Heaven?"

"Of course! Oh Edmund, you're going to have such the best time here!" Amber gushed. If the other students she studied with had been around, they would be rolling their eyes. She had said the same thing to nearly every one of them. Without his permission, she grabbed him by the arm and dragged him through the gates.

"The whole objective of this exercise is to be able to move so rapidly you seem to be in two places at once, without actually tripping and skinning your knees," Mr. Allbright laughed, an area of his special beach side courtyard cleared to allow the students enough room. "It is actually a power manipulation technique we usually teach students in their third year, but the Academy Council told me to hold off with this class."

"Why, because we are dumb?" one of the students joked, causing the others to giggle.

Mr. Allbright winked. "No. I don't know myself, but now I am getting the chance to teach you, and I hope you will listen"-he pointedly stared at two students who were chatting-"and learn correctly. As I said, it is pretty easy once you get the hang of it."

Vampiric style powers! Shame Lola had to miss out Mel thought, eager at telling her best friend about what she missed.

"So. The easiest way to explain it, although it may seem highly complicated at first, is to concentrate all your powers on your feet. Then you have to disperse them, kind of 'flinging' them to another spot. The vibes will carry you at high speeds, which should be too fast for the Opposition to fully comprehend with their eyes, thus making them confused."

"And how do we do that?" another student asked, worriedly.

"Practice," Mr. Allbright said simply, smiling. "So stand up everybody and take a try!"

The thing Mel loved most about the class was nobody was afraid at looking like a failure. They all started off bad at power manipulation, and instead of putting each other down, they helped one another. It wasn't a strive for success that made the students aim high for graduation - it was the team-like thought of bringing down the Opposition together.

They all tried, some getting very close to doing it right, others hardly managing to send the vibes to their feet.

Mel managed to channel her angelic energy correctly, but struggled to do the flash step correctly.

On her sixth try, she was slowly understanding what she needed to do, when she looked up. Her eyes landed on a guy being dragged through the Academy by Amber.

"Hey, do you know who that is?" Mel asked Flora, nodding towards the two angels.

Flora, who had already mastered the flash step a few years before in an advanced class, lowered herself closer to the ground. She was levitating nearly six feet in the air, in the lotus position. "Hmm, I haven't seen him before," she replied, opening her eyes and furrowing her brow. "He could be a new student."

"But the Agency always manages to time arrivals with the beginning of term," Mel muttered thoughtfully, her eyes boring into his slowly disappearing figure. Every time she concentrated, shivers ran up her spine. "I had a feeling Amber would seek him out. She always manages to latch onto the new kids!"

"She made herself the unofficial meet-and-greet angel," Flora laughed, setting herself down on the ground in a graceful and soft manner.

"I'm amazed she hasn't re-killed everyone with her sweetness," Mel giggled, catching herself as her smile faded. "That didn't sound too bitchy, did it?"

"Not at all. Just between you and me, it is pretty true," she winked, getting up from the sand and going over to Mr. Allbright to ask a question.

Mel smiled, staring down the pathway. Who was he?

Rapping on the stained-glass chamber doors, Amber looked over to the school secretary, who nodded. The doors automatically swung open for the two, Edmund's eyes nearly being blinded by the intense white light.

"You could've allowed me some sunglasses," he muttered, squinting and raising his hand to his eyes.

"Don't be rude," Amber hissed, before plastering a grin on her face. "Michael, Uriel, I have come with a new student by the name of Edmund Pevensie."

"Ah yes, we have been expecting you," said one of the archangels. He had a glow about him, but it wasn't as strong as the other. In fact, he looked pretty tired and worn out, his suit very crumpled. "Please, both of you, sit down."

Amber seemed to want to take control of the entire situation. She even pulled out Edmund's chair for him, although he didn't protest. All of this was highly overwhelming for him. "Thank you, Michael. Our question is why he didn't arrive at the beginning of term," she said in a crisp, professional voice.

"I assume Edmund hasn't told you about his death," a remote voice commented, obviously coming from Uriel.

"No, he hasn't," Amber replied, puzzled. She looked at Edmund questioningly.

"This is where it gets quite complicated," Michael sighed, looking at both teenagers. "As you know, the Limbo dimensions is for souls who haven't quite made it to either Heaven or Hell yet. An alternate dimension. There is this another world that lives outside of Earthly time called Narnia. Humans can access it via portals on Earth, but time and space reacts differently in between the two places."

"And Edmund was able to access it?" Amber asked, awed at this revelation to her, although she tried to compose herself like, what she considered, a proper agent.

"Indeed. His brother and sisters too. But during a battle, Edmund was killed, and his soul was automatically transported here. Thus why he arrived during the first few weeks of the term, because dying in Narnia means Earthly rules don't exactly apply."

"If I may interrupt, how do you know all this?" Edmund asked. He looked from Michael to Amber, and back to Michael again.

"We possess omniscience, dear one," Michael laughed, although this sent shivers up Edmund's spine. Many times had Aslan addressed him and his sisters with that affectionate title. "Archangels and the creation angels, who made the Universe. Although you will be learning about this more in depth later in your studies."

"And what exactly is the purpose of this place?"

"To teach you how to be a proper agent," Uriel cut in before Michael had a chance to reply. "You will be studying about the powers you possess, and how you can harness them in combat. And if it is your chosen career, you will learn how to become a guardian angel."

"The Angel Academy is for trainee angels of all teenage ages to practice being angels, before they are official ones," Amber commented, smiling at Edmund.

Sitting back in his chair, he thought about this for a moment. It wasn't long before that he had been thrust into a magical world he didn't know existed. Now he had been thrown into another, a place specifically for dead people.

Edmund's head was starting to swim, and the archangels knew it, so they let the teenage angels be excused.

Walking out of the Council's staff room, he turned to Amber. "So all of this is definitely true?"

"Yes, it totally is. Now, I think we best try and get you settled into the Academy before you faint. I notice you are looking quite pale!"