Okay, get ready, full steam ahead, and shit is going to get off the walls. lol I hope you guys enjoy the next few chapters, as they will be the last! I kinda can't believe the end is coming! But trust me, it's going to be good! :O Please review, and thank you so much for reading and sticking with me! xoxo
Gabriella looked across the small nave to where Alex and Michael were sitting in a pew, talking softly. She could see that Alex was troubled, and that Michael was trying to soothe him.
She couldn't blame Alex, finding out that you have a child on the way when you are thousands of miles away from the person you love who is bearing your child; that was asking a lot from a man whose heart and mind were already troubled with being a Chosen One.
She turned back to Raphael who was staring at her, waiting. They had been discussing the best way for their group to make their way back to Vega, and hadn't been able to decide on anything yet. If it were just the angels, they might consider simply flying all the way back, resting when they needed.
But with Alex with them, they needed to drive.
So they were going to try and find a faster, more fuel efficient vehicle that could carry all of their bags, weapons and food supplies. They also needed another for the other four angels, despite the fact that neither she nor Raphael knew where to find such vehicles.
Sighing she turned her attention back to Raphael, "I'm sorry Raph, what were you saying?" she asked. His brow rose at her nickname for him, but he chose not to comment on it.
"I was saying that perhaps you, Raguel and I could head out now and try to find some appropriate vehicles?" he suggested. Gabriella nodded, "That sounds reasonable. Remiel and Saraqael can stay here with Alex and Michael and keep each other safe."
With a nod, Raphael went to speak to Raguel and Gabriella turned away, heading to speak to Alex and Michael.
Michael's head came up, his eyes finding hers. Gabriella smiled at him, and as usual, a shiver of delight ran through him that she was smiling at him, for him.
Gabriella leaned against the pew and smiled at both men, "Hey boys. So Raph and Raguel and I are heading out to find faster cars. We need to make good time, so we need beasts that can cut our time."
Alex grinned, "Can I come?" Laughing, Gabriella shook her head, "No, sorry, you get to stay here with the boys and be safe. You have a baby to stay alive for."
Sobering, Alex nodded. "Ok, we'll scout the church and neighboring houses for supplies then."
"Ok, just be careful please Alex." She gave him a pleading look and reached a hand out to him, squeezing his hand when he took hers, "You are making me an aunt, and I am not about to see you die before you get to see your baby."
Alex smiled softly, "Come on Aunt Gabby, there's no way that's happening. It's going to be ok."
Nodding, Gabriella gave him a bright smile, but still felt like hugging him tightly.
"Gabriella! It's time to go!" Raphael called from the door of the church, Raguel at his back. Gabriella smiled brightly to Alex and leaned down to brush a kiss on his cheek and then a more intimate one across the lips of Michael.
Looking back over her shoulder she saw Remiel and Saraqael moving to stand closer to the two dearest people to her. Turning away, she smiled at Raphael and followed him and Raguel out the door.
She, Raphael and Raguel spread their wings and took off into the sky, heading toward the large city of Erie. It was almost 30 miles away, and would take awhile to reach, but as long as they found cars, it wouldn't take as long to get back.
They flew at a pace they all could maintain, the wind at their backs, buffeting them forward. Gabriella deeply missed the warmth of Vega. She smirked behind the scarf pulled over her face, thinking back to when she had been a little girl and had seen snow for the first time.
She had been so excited, and her father had taken her outside to play in it. When her mother had ventured outside to join them and had received a snowball to the face, she had promptly gone back inside, declaring her desert blood was too thin for that nonsense.
It made her heart ache to think of seeing her parents again someday. Should they stop Gabriel, she and Michael would be able to leave the humans and return to Heaven to see their hosts of family, and she in particular could see her parents.
The thought of introducing her parents (her dead parents, she thought with a rueful shake of her head) to her- boyfriend, lover? Now there was a sticky situation. What was Michael to her? She loved him, with all her heart, but he wasn't her boyfriend…and he most certainly wasn't just a lover.
Ben had been a lover. Michael was…her soul mate. They were meant to be together; theirs was a love that was prophesied about. They would be together until the end of everything. Her parents would approve of that.
Two hours later they landed in a partially ransacked lot of a dealership in downtown Erie. Gabriella looked around and grinned. They were at an Audi dealership, and there were some sweet cars still here.
Heading over to the dealership building she stepped through the broken front door and headed to the back office, where the keys were kept. Peering around she saw the wall of keys was empty…..but if all the keys were gone, all the cars would have been taken, surely?
Looking around the room, her eyes lit up when she spied a safe. Kneeling down, she summoned a small spear of power and formed it into a spike, directing it into the lock mechanism, shattering it. The safe door popped open with a satisfying noise, and Gabriella glanced over her shoulder to Raphael and Raguel with a grin.
Raguel leaned forward, "You will have to teach me that trick, I like it." Gabriella laughed and turned back to the contents of the safe, "Anytime."
Reaching inside she pulled out a cardboard box full of car keys. Reaching in again she pulled out stacks of cash, dollar bills that were marked "United States of America". Counting it, she totaled it up to $50 thousand dollars.
Chuckling softly she tossed it aside, "Sorry bud, aint no United States anymore. Saving that was useless." She spoke to the probably long dead person who had stashed the money in the safe, reaching in again to pull out paperwork for the cars, and other items that were now useless.
Standing she handed the cardboard box of keys to Raphael, "Allright lets each take ten and start trying to find something driveable that meets our needs, yea?"
Raphael nodded, grabbing a handful of keys before handing the box to Raguel who did the same. Gabriella took the box back from Raguel and headed out after them. Working through the lot, they slowly discovered that half of the keys didn't match cars.
Finally, Raguel found a Q5 and right beside it Raphael found its hybrid match. Both turned over quickly, but were low on gas. They moved quickly to siphon gas from cars around them and fill the tanks, though it still took the better part of an hour.
Both men climbed behind the wheels of their finds, Gabriella sliding into the seat beside Raguel, deciding she needed to know him better. Nodding over to Raphael, they pulled out and headed back up the interstate in companionable silence for awhile.
"Why did you decide to join us Raguel?" she asked softly after they had sat in silence for awhile. He glanced over at her and then shrugged; a very human gesture she thought.
"I could have stayed with the Camp, its true. But I knew my brother Michael needed my help. And Gabriel must be stopped. He must be brought back into the fold. So really, how could I not join you?" he spoke softly but forcefully, reminding her of Michael a bit.
Nodding Gabriella gave him a smile, "I'm sorry we don't know each other well. I've been human most of my life. I'm still getting used to being an angel. I'm more used to living like I'll die in 50 years from old age, rather than living like I'm going to be around for millennia. It makes me more direct than some angels I think."
Raguel thought for a moment, "Perhaps. Michael is much the same. Though perhaps that is from living among the humans for so long. Or perhaps that is just who he is. We are all created differently. You shouldn't feel like you need to change who you are, just because your true biology has been revealed."
Gabriella glanced over to him surprised, and was more surprised to see a gentle grin on his handsome face. "Don't look so surprised Gabriella. You are a dynameis, you are supposed to rule the movements of the cosmos, affect fates. I would be surprised if you were as serious as I, whose fate it is to punish wayward angels."
Looking out the window Gabriella sighed, "Sometimes I miss being human. And then I remember almost dying from infection, and actually dying…and I think this is better."
There was a long silence and then Raguel asked hesitantly, "W-what was it like?" Gabriella snorted, "Dying?" Raguel nodded, "Yes, I'm sorry, you don't have to answer."
Gabriella sighed, "No, it's fine." She fell silent for a long time and then spoke, "It sucked. Gabriel impaled me with the spear of Heaven through my midsection, and part of my spine. I was paralyzed from the waist down, and I was bleeding out." Her hands gripped her jacket tighter around her, her body remembering the pain.
"I was in Michael's arms, but I could barely feel them around me. I could actually see the link to Heaven opening…it was amazing. By then the pain was almost gone, and I knew I was moments from death. I said my goodbyes to Michael and Alex, and I pulled the spear out with my last bit of energy, and I died."
She choked out a laugh and wiped a tear away, "Christ, I haven't talked about this with anyone. Not even Michael." Raguel reached a hand over and squeezed hers gently, "Please, I didn't mean to upset you."
Gabriella shook her head, "No, it's ok. I just haven't talked about it." Shaking her head again, she cleared her throat, "Mmm, okay. So then I was in Heaven, and I was watching Gabriel and Michael fight, and then this pain started in my abdomen, and ripped through my body, taking me to my knees. When I was able to look up, I was back in the woods where I had seen Father before. He was standing before me again, and offered me his hand. When I took it and stood, the pain ended. He explained that I was an angel, and that I needed to return to Earth, and stop Gabriel. So I did."
Taking a deep breath, Gabriella looked around and realized they were pulling onto the road where the church was. "Well….now you know what dying is like!" she quipped dryly. Raguel pulled the car into the church parking lot and stared over at her for a moment before exiting the car.
-Oookay so that's odd-Gabriella thought to herself, before shrugging and stepping out of the car, only to find Raguel in front of her, blocking her path to the church. He looked profoundly uncomfortable, but wrapped his arms around her in a tight hug.
"I am sorry you endured something so excruciating my sister. I am sorrier I made you relive it. Please forgive me" he whispered. Gabriella had stiffened when his arms first went around her, but relaxed when he began to apologize.
Hugging him back, she whispered, "You have nothing to apologize for. Family helps each other heal. That's what you were doing, and you didn't even know it. Thank you."
Breaking apart they shared a smile and then headed into the church, where Michael, Alex and the other two angels were waiting with more supplies they had found in the nearby town. In the gathering dusk they loaded up the cars with the supplies and siphoned off the remaining gas from the hummer, topping off the cars.
Gabriella volunteered to drive, taking Michael and Alex in the car with her, and the other four angels in the other car. They had already mapped out their route, and would drive as fast as possible to get to Vega.
Gabriella closed her eyes and cast her power out; she could feel a large snowstorm rolling up behind them, off of the Great Lakes. They would be caught in it if they didn't leave now and drive as fast as possible. Opening her eyes she told the others about the coming storm and slid behind the wheel of the car, ready to get going before the storm caught them.
They pulled out with Raphael and the others behind them, the engine purring quietly. Gabriella focused on the road ahead of her; her discussion with Raguel still fresh in her mind. She hadn't thought about the day she had died, rather preferring to put it out of her mind.
Michael had never pressed her on it, knowing instinctually it was too painful to speak of. She was grateful to whatever process had occurred in Heaven to her body that had left her without any scars from the spear. In truth, all scars from her body were gone. Even those from her childhood.
At first it had been startling, but then she had figured it was like a cleansing had occurred. Looking over at Michael, she saw his own scars peeking out from under his shirt collar, and she knew she would acquire more on this journey.
Michael smiled at her, and she was taken out of her melancholy thoughts. She reached a hand out to him and smiled when he took it in his own strong one, squeezing softly. Glancing in the rearview mirror quickly, she smiled at Alex when their eyes met.
She was happy for his sake to be returning to Vega, so he could be with Claire again, but if her power was any indication, there was trouble there already. Earlier in the day Gabriella had extended her power to Vega, reaching deep into her power to find Claire, and had found that Claire knew she was pregnant, but hadn't yet told anyone.
Knowing the political climate in Vega, Gabriella found that to be a wise decision. Her father might very well either use it as a political tool, or force her to abort it. Gabriella had always found General Riesen to be a principled and well reasoned man, but she knew well from time in the clinic that many fathers had changes of heart when their daughters turned up unexpectedly pregnant.
She could only hope that Claire could keep the pregnancy a secret for a little while longer while they journeyed back. They had half the country to journey across, bad weather chasing them, 8balls to exorcise, and staying alive to achieve.
Turning her full attention back to the road, Gabriella watched the miles fly by into the night. Eventually snow started to fall, just as Michael and Alex fell asleep. Pushing hard, they made another 150 miles before Gabriella felt exhaustion tearing at her.
Reaching out with her mind, she found Raphael in much the same position. They agreed to stop and switch out drivers in another 50 miles at which point they would be in Elkheart, IN. An hour later Gabriella was shaking with exhaustion, she pulled off the side of the road with Raphael behind her.
Shaking Michael gently she whispered, "Michael, come on wake up. I need you to drive." He was alert in a moment, taking in her pale face, the dark circles under her eyes, and her shaky hand on his arm. Cupping her cheek gently, he let a burst of angelic energy flow through him into her, and watched as her eyes slid half shut, a sigh escaping her.
"God that's almost as good as an orgasm" she whispered, her voice hoarse. Michael choked on laughter and shook his head, leaning in for a soft kiss. "You slay me woman" he whispered as he pulled away.
They moved quickly to switch places and waited while Raphael and Saraqael did the same. Once everyone had switched positions, they took off, with Gabriella quickly falling asleep.
Her dreams were confusing….she was somewhere tropical…warm, the moon shone down on the white sand. Her boots were covered in sand and she looked around, trying to figure out where she was.
Gabriella walked up the beach slowly, inhaling the salty air greedily. There was no one else on the beach…but she could swear she heard voices….As she came around a corner, she saw two shadowy figures in the distance.
She darted into the trees at the beaches' edge and moved closer, wanting to see who they were, and hear what they were saying. Stopping about 30 feet away, she crouched down and listened with her power…
"Gabriel, why am I here?" the taller of the two figures asked. She leaned in and saw that he was nearly 7 feet tall, with hair as golden as the sun and muscled like the statues of Greek gods.
"Because I need help Lucifer! You have always wanted the humans; well, now is your chance. Ally with me, and you can have humanity, all of it, groveling at your feet!" Gabriel beseeched him.
Gabriella sucked in a small breath of shock-Lucifer? Gabriel would really ally himself with Lucifer to get what he wanted? He would never see Heaven again if he went through with this.
"Gabriel….your war with Michael bores me" Lucifer intoned, glancing away towards the crashing waves.
A look of desperation came over Gabriel's face, "Would it bore you to rule Heaven?" Lucifer went still as a statue. Gabriel smirked, "If we were to capture the dynameis, we can use her power to reopen the gates of Heaven, permanently. You could rule Heaven, and I will rule Earth."
Lucifer turned back to Gabriel and gave him an appraising look, "Now…that I might be interested in."
Right, so now Lucifer is in the mix...like i said, shit is going to get crazy. :| prepare yourselves.