Chapter 4

Heavenly Host

"I knew you'd make it!"

Kemuel narrowly avoided getting tackled by the angel of joy. "Hey…"

Camael paused in her attempts to wrap her arms around Kemuel. "What's wrong?" she asked as a frown overcame her face.

"It's nothing to worry about, Cammie," Kemuel assured her little sister, placing her hands on the younger angel's shoulders and crouching to look her in the eyes.

The angel of joy huffed in a minor pout. "Is this about why Azrael came back all mad?"

"Maybe," Kemuel half-admitted. "But it might just be more that she's worried I'm staying on Earth a little too often than she likes."

Camael looked down sheepishly, shuffling her feet. "You have been away more than usual."

Kemuel sighed, closing her eyes and counting to ten before reopening them. "Camael, I will never leave any of you. You all mean too much to me for me to choose Earth over you."

"We believe you, Kem… We all do," Azrael's voice said from behind her, and Kemuel turned her head just enough to see that not only was Azrael there but also Zadkiel, Haniel, Ambriel, Uriel, Leliel, Cassiel, Jophiel, and many, many others.

"What is this?" she asked, standing and turning to face them – a hand still on Camael's shoulder.

"It's not an intervention," Zadkiel told her with a hint of amusement to help convey the attempted joke. He took that moment to brush several strands of his ginger hair (which had fallen across his face when he landed with the others) back with his hand.

The deep, gravelly tone of Cassiel's voice reached Kemuel's ears next. "We know you visited Lucifer after locking Mother away."

"And we know you helped him take his place on the throne of Hell," Jophiel added, his accented, bass voice reverberating in the clearing with its deepness.

"We've known since Azra saw you with him when she was escorting some souls down there," Leliel continued.

Kemuel narrowed her eyes at the angel of night. She should have known that Azrael had told their sister as the two were twins. But for all of them to know..?

"We don't blame you for wanting to see him," Zadkiel said, taking the train of voices back up again.

Azrael let out a short laugh at the statement. "If anything, we commend you for doing so."

"None of us would have done it," Haniel muttered somberly.

Kemuel didn't know how to respond to her brother – to any of her brothers and sisters. So she just stood there, staring at each of them as they took a turn to speak.

Ambriel went next. "We just want you to know that you have our support in all of this."

"I think that you'll find even those of us not here will agree," Uriel added. "You've always been there for us, and now we will be here for you."

A chorus of agreements rang from the crowd gathered in the clearing. The main conspirators in this arrangement, earlier having stepped forward out of the many faces and the others now moving to join them, created a circle around Kemuel and Camael, who had stayed by her older sister's side the entire time. Kemuel was surrounded by her family – whole, well and happy.

But there was still one member missing.

—o~O~o—

"She's sulking over near the Gates again," a voice muttered.

Another scoffed. "No she's not— look, she's down on Earth."

A glare was sent in the being's direction. "You're obviously blind."

"You're obviously seeing things."

"…"

"…"

"That was a horrible come back."

"Shut up, the both of you," a new voice snapped at them.

"What is she even doing?" another voice asked after a stiff silence.

They all collectively watched the angel of authenticity for a moment. "It looks like she's watching Earth."

A huff. "More like watching Lucifer."

"She could be keeping an eye on the test that's taking place," the second voice from before inputted.

"That thing hasn't even started yet," someone else objected.

"But it is being implemented."

"Don't even think about starting an argument."

"We weren't," the two chorused.

"What's with the girl?" yet another voice asked.

"The woman or the child?" the first voice asked in turn.

"… Both, I guess."

The owner of the first voice looked down to Earth, keeping a steady gaze on Chloe and Beatrice Decker. "The supposed killer of the woman's father was released from jail, which would account for the woman's high levels of stress, but the child seems fine to me."

"They live with a demon," someone commented.

"Kemuel said that Mazikeen could be trusted to protect the child and her mother."

"That doesn't mean the demon should be trusted."

"But it does mean that we don't have to worry about the demon."

"Isn't the demon Lucifer's personal bodyguard?"

"I think she used to be. It doesn't look like it anymore."

"What about the other human— the… doctor?"

"You mean the therapist? Dr. Martin is taking the supernatural aspect into her life rather well if you ask me."

"And if you ask me, she's not taking it that well at all. She just rejected the demon— not that I'm sympathizing with the Lilim."

"I think we can all agree that Mazikeen can be put under the inspection of those in good relations to Heaven."

There was a chorus of approval.

"Well, now that that's sorted out, can we please get back to the doctor woman?"

"What about her? She'll obviously start her appointments with Lucifer again by the end of the week if not sooner."

"Oh, and what makes you say that, brother?"

"Kemuel made sure that the doctor would be fine. It stands to reason, then, that Dr. Martin will be back to being involved in Lucifer's path."

A silence fell over the group of angels.

"What is She doing?"

A shudder ran through the group at Her mentioning, and only one dared to look.

"She's starting to work on her vessel's job— being a lawyer or something. And it looks like she's already given a dozen of her clients directions to where Azrael's blade is."

"They better be careful with my baby."

"It's okay, Rae. It's a celestial sword; the worst they could do to it would be getting it covered in blood."

"Still… Lucifer better take care of it."

"Speak of the Devil— What on Earth is he up to?"

It took them all a whole minute to do a double take on what Lucifer was doing. Most of them were flabbergasted while several more were left outright confused.

"What..?"

"Did he just say..?"

"What in Creation is a 'Dansformation'?"

"Do you think he's trying to be someone else?"

"Maybe he's trying to—"

A different voice cut in. "Hey, guys— I gotta go do my rounds. Tell me about it all when I get back?"

There was a shuffling of feet. "I should get back to taking the new census."

"And I have to finish calculating birth/death rate statistics."

"There's probably a backup of souls I haven't welcomed into Heaven yet."

"…"

"…"

"Fine— Daniel, Vasiariah, you two stay with me; the rest of you get back to your work."

"But Za—"

"But what, Metatron? We'll keep a vigilant watch and inform you all as you come back."

There was a reluctant grumble of acknowledgment from the group, and slowly, the crowd dissipated. The remaining trio made themselves comfortable, sitting down. There was no telling how long it would be until one of the others would finish their job and return. At least they had each other for some company.

"Hey, where'd Kemuel go?"

Zadkiel swept his gaze to where he'd seen his older sister earlier. When he saw that she wasn't there, he threw his hands up in a 'why' gesture before covering his face with them as he rested his elbows on his knees.

"You've got to be kidding me…" Zadkiel groaned.

—o~O~o—

Golden sunlight streamed into the room through the curtained window, though the room itself seemed to radiate with its own warm glow. A man was sitting at a desk littered with paperwork, a mug of coffee steadily cooling off to the side. The man sighed, leaning back in his chair and rubbing his face with both hands.

A child with dirty blonde hair burst into the room, giggling in high spirits. "Daddy!" she cried, successfully wrapping her arms around the man's waist even with the awkward positioning due to the man sitting in a chair.

"Hey, monkey," the man greeted his daughter, lacing an arm around her shoulders to return the embrace.

"Whatcha working on, Daddy?" the girl asked curiously, peeking at the desktop.

The man moved to cover up some of the papers so that she wouldn't see some of the more disturbing pictures. "Just work, sweetheart."

"You're always working," Chloe complained, her bottom lip sticking out marginally.

"It's how I keep the world a safer place, so you and mom can be happy," he explained to her in a placating, negotiating tone.

"Tommy can keep his toy figures," she exclaimed, sticking up her nose. "You're my hero, Daddy!"

John Decker smiled. He ruffled Chloe's hair, gaining another giggle from the girl. "I love you, monkey."

"Chloe!"

Father and daughter looked towards the door. "What'd you do this time, huh?"

"Nothing," she said innocently.

Pulling back, he raised an eyebrow at her, and tapped a finger on her chest, over her heart. "Be honest, Chloe. Now run along and make up with your mother."

The girl nodded and embraced him once more before dashing out the door. The man returned to his work. A minute later, a dirty blonde haired girl burst into the room, happily exclaiming, "Daddy!"

Kemuel watched as the scene replayed in the exact same manner as it had not long ago. Such was the workings of personal heavens, where the human souls relived their happiest moments. This was the closest the angel of authenticity could get to Chloe without actually going to Earth.

From what she'd seen, the angel could understand why Chloe Decker might been seen as an extraordinary human being. Brave, honest and dedicated; not only a good cop but also a good mother – not to mention a good friend… And yet Kemuel still didn't understand.

With the way Kemuel was unintentionally broadcasting her thoughts and feelings, it didn't take long for God to notice and come to see what was wrong. "I didn't give you permission to visit personal heavens as you pleased just so you could use them as another area away from your siblings for you to sulk in," He said, engaging the angel in conversation with a light tease that prompted her to tell Him her thoughts.

"I don't understand… She makes him happy in ways I never could have. She's— special… And I don't understand why…" the angel admitted to Him as she continued to watch the replaying memory.

"Chloe Decker is the miracle child of John and Penelope Decker," He told her after a moment.

Kemuel frowned, turning her head to look at Him. "Miracle..? What do You mean?"

"Gabriel and Amenadiel would be able to tell you," He suggested nonchalantly during the lull of the memory after it had replayed another couple times.

Kemuel blinked, considering whether or not to give Him a response before turning to give Him a look. At His smile, she fought the urge to roll her eyes. "Unlike how I can find You, I don't have any way to get to them – especially Amenadiel with how close to Her he is."

He hummed in thought, rubbing His beard. "Talk to Netzach. They'll need help with this case," He said, abruptly changing the subject.

"You're sending me to Earth?" Kemuel let out a soft sigh and shook her head at His rather unsubtle dismissal of the earlier topic.

"This is a game far more complicated than chess and against ourselves – to win, one must play twelve moves ahead and know the workings of every strategy to get to the end."

Kemuel huffed at His answer, mulling over what it might mean before refocusing her thoughts to His orders. "I'll take that as a yes." Pausing, Kemuel bit her bottom lip. "Am I traveling to the morning Joe Fields was released from prison?"

He gave her a knowing smile. "I'm glad you noticed the temporal paradox. Now I won't have to explain what you need to do."

Kemuel opened her mouth, ready to argue against that statement when, but then shut it when she realized that was all she was going to get out of Him for the day. Technically, she did have a general idea of what she would do – or really, already had done as of yet. Time travel was always an abstruse matter.

With a swift nod, Kemuel took off in search of Netzach. It didn't take her long to find the keeper of their Father's time pieces. Using said time pieces was the easiest way to travel back and forth throughout the time continuum, though the action was rarely done. But apparently today would be an exception.

Somewhat like her younger siblings, whom she had noticed were subtly watching her, she had been looking down to Earth to watch herself. It had only been a small ripple, a temporal disturbance barely large enough to catch her attention – but even as small as it was, it had – and she had kept an eye on herself interact with Chloe Decker during the minutes before Joe Fields had been murdered by Perry Smith. Now that she had spoken with Him and received a mission that could only have involved what she'd witnessed, Kemuel knew that when she had felt the disturbance, it had actually been her entering what the humans called a predestination paradox – albeit a very localized one.

Kemuel finally spotted the distinguished multicolored hair of her ninth younger brother (and, technically, thirteenth younger sibling). "Netzach, there you are. I've been looking for you," she greeted as she landed gracefully next to the timekeeping angel.

"Kemuel," the angel of eternity responded a touch warily. "What brings you here?"

"Oh, come now, Net— You know exactly why I'm here. I can't have been the only one to have noticed the paradox."

Kemuel kept a steady, unnerving gaze on her little brother as he fidgeted in place. "Fine, but you know I'm not supposed to let anyone use them without permission anymore," he said, finally breaking when she added a raised eyebrow.

"Who said I didn't have permission?" she inquired half-jokingly. She needed to spend an afternoon alone with him sometime, get him to release some of the tension she was seeing in his shoulders.

Netzach relaxed a bit at the implication, glancing over to the time piece closest to them. "I guess it wouldn't be a problem then… I don't have to tell you the rules, do I?"

"Do you really have to ask?" she inquired in turn, playfully teasing him.

"… Not really," came the muttered response. Netzach glanced over to his right, eyeing the collection of time pieces. "I suppose a short trip wouldn't be unsound…"

The angel of eternity gestured for Kemuel to follow as he turned and moved over to a specific table. Kemuel's eyes widened at the time piece Netzach was going to lend her. "The Sands of Time?"

"You know I'm a fan of the classics," Netzach replied with a shrug as he stood on the other side of the large, golden hourglass.

"When you say classics, I think Chronos's Zodiac Wheel, the Time Machine from H.G. Wells' book of the same name, or even the TARDIS... not an idiom," Kemuel said with a smirk.

Netzach huffed in disagreement, giving her a mild glare. "You have the predetermined time you need to go to?"

"It'll be less than an hour before Joe Fields is murdered."

"And you'll be back here within the hour?" he asked, placing his hands on the top supports of the hourglass.

Kemuel mirrored the action, though she put her hands on the bottom handles. "Well..."

Netzach's face dropped, his eased mood faltering. "You're staying on Earth?" It was more of a statement than a question.

"It's just until they arrest Perry Smith," she assured him.

"You know I have to tell the others where you are eventually."

"And I'm not telling you not to— In fact, you can even tell them right after you've sent me back—" she began, her grip on the handles tightening slightly.

"Kemuel," Netzach interrupted, giving her a shy smile. "I'm not a fledgling anymore. I understand... Good luck."

The angel of authenticity was stunned by the other's admission. The next thing Kemuel knew, she was in the space-time vortex. Netzach must have turned the hourglass when he'd distracted her. At least she knew where (and when) she was. Not all trips into the vortex were smooth, and the further back in time one went, the rougher the 'ride' got. That being said, it would be easy for Kemuel to find the exit point she was looking for. Truthfully, Netzach had chosen the best time piece to use for this trip.

Kemuel landed in a parking lot, and not far in the distance, Chloe Decker stood next to Warden Perry Smith as the supposed criminal, Joe Fields, was escorted to a prisoner transport truck.

A/N: Yeah, so there's Chloe, not that I've put what her role in all of this is yet. You people may or may not have noticed that I did some editing in the earlier chapters – it was just a bit of misspelled word corrections for the most part and a bit of added author's note in the prologue, so you don't have to go back and reread them unless you really want to.

Last edited: [1/12/2020]

Lady Syndra: My holiday was great, and I thank you (and any others) for understanding why I took a break. Technically, I still don't know what to do with Chloe, so I'm focusing on continuing a little plot between Luci and Kem (what I mentioned earlier). But Kemuel will have a part involving the Joe Fields case, which I'm planning on using for the season finale, and this was also a way to slowly introduce Kem to Chloe (and eventually Dan, too).

Lami: I'm glad you think this story is cool. I hope I can keep meeting you expectations.