"Sera?" Emily sat at the breakfast table, a bowl of cereal in front of her. While she didn't necessarily need to eat, as an angel, it was enjoyable, and it didn't really hurt anything. She especially liked the taste of cereal. She had a small collection of colorful cereal boxes that had her favorite tastes. Being an angel, she was created, fully aware and conscious, but she had to learn things about herself. She had to learn about her likes, her dislikes, her sense of humor, her hopes, dreams, and fears. So, she liked to keep track of everything she learned with little mementos. Sera thought it was a little silly, but Emily did it anyway. "Seeeeraaaaa," speaking of Sera, she was ignoring Emily, sitting at the other side of the table, engrossed in work. "Hey Sera!" Still nothing. "Sera, is it okay to show that new Winner around Heaven? Say nothing if it is."
"What?" Sera looked up from her papers and Emily frowned, her plan thwarted by a response.
"I was just thinking... it's been a day or two since Pentious got here and-"
"No." Sera didn't even let her finish. "I don't want you near that... that thing."
"That... Winner?"
"That is not a true Winner." Sera's expression soured in disgust. "That is some kind of... warning of a flaw in Heaven's security."
"Oooooor," Emily held up her spoon, "it's proof that Charlie is right about redemption?" Emily gave her a hopeful look only to be met with a glare.
"Do not even start with that, Emily, I swear." Her tone was harsh. Sera had been getting more and more antsy and abrasive, especially after that fiasco of a trial. Emily was still mad at her, but at the end of the day, they were sisters- at least what the angels considered to be sisters. Emily was made in Sera's image. Sera was to guide her, to train her, to teach her the ways of the Seraphim. But recently, Emily had been on her own for more hours of the day than she was beside Sera, studying what was to one day become her job. She was just doing busy work, in her mind- though Sera insisted it was all important.
"But isn't it our job to help Winners get settled into life in Heaven? As Seraphim of Gabriel, we should-"
"Emily! I know what our duty entails. But this is not a normal Winner- this is a security risk and must be dealt with accordingly."
"So, dealt with by Michael's Seraphim?" Emily knew before Sera even reacted that she had hit a nerve.
"You are too young and inexperienced to understand the nuances of our jobs." Sera's hands hit the table and Emily milk sloshed in her cereal.
"Well to be fair, it's hard to learn all of these nuances," she repeated Sera's own wording back at her, "when you stopped letting me shadow you all the time."
"That is enough. I am the highest-ranking Seraphim here. You will obey me. You are not to have contact with that... that... abomination! Am I understood, Emily!?" She leaned over the table, close enough that Emily could see the fire in the two eyes on her face. The multitude of eyes in her hair and halo were glaring intently at her. Emily's hand tightened on her spoon, and she scooted back in her chair. She held her spoon in front of her as if trying to hide behind it.
"Y-yes Sera."
"Now," Sera withdrew, all of her eyes closed except the two on her face, as she went back to her paperwork. "If you're done wasting time snacking," her eyes flickered to Emily's cereal bowl where the milk was starting to turn rainbow from the sugary treats inside. "Don't you have studying to do?"
"More protocol manuals?" Emily groaned. Firstly, she wasn't done snacking, she still easily had half a bowl to munch on. Secondly, she had been doing nothing but reading boring manuals on angelic protocol day in and day out for what felt like years. Angels were big on protocol, she knew that. But eventually they had to run out of things to make protocols about. They were bordering on Doomsday prepping at this point.
"More protocol manuals." Sera smirked as the books materialized around Emily and she had to dive to save her cereal bowl as they landed on the table with a loud THUNK. She clutched her bowl protectively to her chest as she looked at the mountain of manuals with dismay.
"Wait! Before I read all these very exciting manuals like: proper protocol for repairing fountains in Doggy Heaven," how would that be any different than the manual on regular fountain repair? "Can I at least deliver these muffins to Abel?" She levitated a cute basket full of muffins she had baked last night. She had decorated the top to look like little sheep.
"Abel?" Sera made a face. "You know we're not supposed to form interpersonal bonds with the Winners."
"Sera, his dad just died!"
"Ah," Sera's expression softened for a moment, "yes... I suppose that is true." Her fingers drummed on the table for a moment, her expression distant. "Very well, but as soon as you finish, it's back to your books. I have much to attend to, don't bother me unless it's urgent." And with that, Sera gathered her things, and vanished. Emily didn't really even need to ask where she was going. It was probably her office. Sera spent most of her time locked away in there. Emily let out a breath she didn't realize she had been holding. Finally, she was alone again.
She felt the need to just get out of the house. The image of Sera hovering over her, glaring, made her feel so small. She would really need to talk to Gabriel about getting a new tutor whenever he got back. At first, her time with Sera had been great. She had adored Sera, she was strict, yes, but she had so much to teach Emily. Every day was spent, learning, exploring, and experiencing all the joys Heaven had to offer. But gradually, Sera started to pull away. This whole... Extermination thing was just icing on an already rotten cake. Emily was shocked, appalled, but not entirely, one hundred percent, surprised. She still didn't want to believe it, but Sera refused to discuss it anymore, and it became like trying to squeeze water from a rock, trying to get information out of her sister.
She kept the muffins levitating, as she took her still half full bowl, and her spoon, and headed out into the glowing streets of Heaven.
"Good morning, Emily!"
"Good morning, Jon!"
"Good morning, Emily!"
"Good morning, Demetria!"
"Good morning, Emily!"
"Daisuke! Good morning!"
Walking out into Heaven was always such a pleasant experience, a real palate cleanser. Emily happily ate her cereal as she walked, waving and greeting everyone she passed. It was always such a beautiful day out, it would be a shame if she spent it all indoors, pouring over dusty books.
"Emily! Good morning!"
"Molly!" Emily's expression brightened as she was approached by a Winner with voluminous blonde hair and pink freckles beneath her eyes.
"It's so good to see you!" The two exchanged a hug as Emily was careful not to spill anything on her dress. "I was actually hoping I would run into you. I heard about what happened in Hell, do you know if my brother is-"
"From what we know, he's fine." Emily squeezed her a bit tighter before letting go. Poor Molly. Finding out about everything with the Exterminations had made her a nervous wreck. She had two brothers in Hell that she seemed to care about deeply. She had no way of knowing if either had survived. "I can't be one hundred percent sure, but everything I know seems to indicate that he's fine."
"Thank you." Molly hugged her back just as hard. Emily could feel the warmth of tears against her neck. Oh no, if Molly started crying it would make Emily start. (Angels were very in-tune with the emotions of humans- Winner, Sinner, Living- it didn't matter. A human was a human, and Emily was not as in control of her emotions as the other, more experienced Seraphim.) So, when Molly's feeling of relief, worry, and sadness swept over her, Emily burst into tears. "Oh no! Emily I'm sorry I forgot about the emotion thing!"
"No, Molly, it's okay! You need to feel your feelings!" Emily buried her face in Molly's hair. Even though these weren't her own feelings, it still felt nice to cry. And she could feel that Molly really just needed the empathy, the outlet.
"I'm just hope he's safe!"
"I do too!" And Emily truly was. She had seen in the trial that Sinners weren't a lost cause. She saw so much potential for good wasted down below. And with Pentious having just appeared in Heaven, that meant there was more potential for Angel! Of course, she was forbidden from telling Molly any of this. But oh, how she wished could!
"I didn't mean to stop you from doing whatever it is you were doing." Molly sniffed as she finally released her grip on Emily. Emily had to levitate her spoon and bowl as well, so she could put her all into the hug. The spoon flew to her mouth, as she took a bite and sniffed, looking back at Molly.
"It's okay!" Emily mumbled, swallowing her food. "I was just running some muffins to Abel."
"Abel... oh poor Abel." Molly started to tear up again making Emily's eyes start to water as well. "How's he doing? I haven't seen him since... you know."
"Neither have I." Emily hadn't been able to do much since the Exterminators had returned. Upon discovering Adam's fate and discovering Pentious's appearance, locked Emily in her room: in case those monsters try to go after them all. Emily wasn't sure how the 'legions of Hell' were going to get to Heaven since they would have to go through Port Gatory, and that place was a labyrinth.
"Can I go with you to see him? I am really worried." Molly took Emily's hands meaning she still had to levitate the spoon and bowl. Emily squeezed her hands in return.
"Of course you can! I am sure he needs the extra support in these trying times!" What could be better than surrounding Abel with loving friends? "I don't suppose you know where he is, do you?"
"No, but have you tried the petting zoo? You know how much he loves it there." It was true, Abel did often spend a lot of time at the zoo. He had run it for a while, at least, that's what Emily had heard. But Abel didn't have the... personality for such a public-facing job, so now Noah was in charge, and Abel just helped behind the scenes. It wasn't his main job in Heaven, but it seemed to be a favorite passion project.
"That's a great idea!" Emily's wings fluttered. "Let's start there!" She let go of Molly's hands and took her bowl and spoon back. Fortunately, in Heaven, cereal never got soggy no matter how long it sat in milk. Emily had never experienced soggy cereal, but Winners had described it to her, and it sounded terrible!
"Come on." Molly took the lead, Emily following behind as the two gave a wave and a greeting to each Winner they passed. It was the cheery atmosphere of Heaven. Everyone was delighted, having the best days of their afterlife- repeated for all eternity and never losing the fun and wonderment of the experience. There was nothing but a sea of happy smiles in between Emily and Molly and the petting zoo. They reached the entrance, the happy rainbow sign with the hand-painted dove underneath. There was already an array of Winners, low ranking angels, and even cherubs all flying around, enjoying every animal ever created; living together in harmony in a perfect paradise.
"There he is!" Emily pointed excitedly as she saw a familiar man with wavy black hair, a signature tuft of gold in the front. His golden eyes were focused on one of the sheep in front of him, resting its head in his lap as he petted it. The sunlight colored halo over his head seemed a little dimmer. He definitely was feeling down, and who could blame him? After everything that happened, he had to be experiencing a lot of emotions.
"Abel!" Molly called to him, waving all four of her arms. He looked up and smiled, waving them over.
"Molly, Emily, it's so nice to see you." He didn't get up as they walked over. Emily didn't blame him, that sheep looked pretty comfortable in his lap. "What brings you here?"
"You, actually." Emily took a seat on one side of him, and Molly sat down on the other. "We wanted to see you."
"See me?" He looked confused for a moment. "Oh." His face instantly fell; he looked over at Molly. "Did my dad kill one of your brothers and now you're here for revenge? I mean it's justified but let me at least get away from the petting zoo."
"W-what?" Molly blinked at him uncertainly. "Oh gosh! Abel no!" She covered her mouth with two of her hands while another hand patted Abel on the shoulder. "Honey no. My brothers are fine from what we know."
"That's good to hear. I was genuinely worried. I still can't believe my dad would do something like that, you know? Like... he didn't seem like that type of guy. Then again, I guess it's pretty on brand for me to have a family member I love and trust do something brutal." Instinctively, Abel moved a hand up to the golden strands of hair. Emily winced a bit.
"We are sorry about your dad..." Emily put her hand on Abel's other shoulder.
"Sorry that he existed? Sorry that he headed a genocide? Or Sorry that he died?" Abel looked back down at the sheep as Molly and Emily both looked at him in dismay. Abel was a good, wonderful person. He was kind, loving, caring. He would give a total stranger the shirt off his back if they needed it. But he had a tendency to get a little... bleak. Which was why he no longer was heading the petting zoo.
"Sorry that he died." Emily squeezed his shoulder. "I know you two were really close."
"We used to have lunch every Wednesday. It was great. Just... seeing him, talking to him. I don't have mom or Cain up here- and Seth doesn't really talk to me. It was just the two of us. I really thought he cared; you know? But then he had to get called onto some new job and he was just... around less and less... and when he was around it just... wasn't the same. I was worried about him, you know? Tried to talk to Sera about it, but she doesn't like me much." That was true, Sera found Abel to be a real downer. It was why she didn't like Emily hanging around him. "I even tried to meet with the Metatron."
"Did you actually get a meeting?" Molly asked. Emily knew the answer, but kept her mouth shut. Abel shook his head.
"No. They just keep telling me she's busy dealing with other matters and she'll be with me soon." The Metatron wasn't actually there, was the problem. Emily knew that, but only because she had forced it out of Sera by threatening to storm into her office about the Exterminations. She was out with the Archangels doing... well... only God knows what. Something important, no doubt. But the Winners weren't supposed to know that. Sera said it was to prevent them from worrying. "Hey Emily, think you can talk to Gabriel for me next time you see him? I want to talk to Michael, but I don't know any of his Seraphim." There also weren't really any around right now, but that was also not something Emily could discuss.
"Sure! Next time I see him, for sure!" Emily had only actually met Gabriel a few times. Right after she was made. He took her hand and led her to meet Sera for the first time. He had been so warm, so loving, so kind. She remembered feeling safe and happy around him. It was a feeling similar to how a human felt about a parent. He had come to her before he left. He told her that they would come back soon, and he left with the other Archangels. He told her to be good, to listen to Sera, and that he was proud. Emily felt a little guilty that she and Sera had been at odds recently. She hoped Gabriel wouldn't be too upset.
"Thanks," Abel smiled at her. "You're a really good friend." He smiled at Molly on his other side. "You both are."
"And!" The basket of muffins flew so it was in front of his face. "These are for you! Feel better muffins!"
"Oh wow, thanks. This does make the fact that my dad was brutally murdered a little better." Usually when humans said things like this, they were being sarcastic. But Emily knew for a fact that Abel was being genuine.
"You... you're welcome." Emily smiled; it was still a rather awkward sentence, even if Abel had meant every word. It wasn't often that an angel had to comfort someone about a death (outside of their own of course). So, Emily was not entirely sure how to handle it. But Abel was her friend, so she was going to do her best!
"We know this is rough for you right now, but just know you have all the love and support you need: in me, in Emily, in all of Heaven!" Molly leaned over to give Abel a hug. Emily decided to join in from the other side, sandwiching the Winner between the two of them. Abel didn't seem to mind. He only stirred to protect his muffins from the curious sheep in his lap.
"I really appreciate it, you guys." He was smiling as they let him go, though Emily could tell he was still sad (or maybe she was feeling Molly? It could be especially hard to tell in groups.) "But you really didn't need to go out of your way for me. I understand the inevitability and suddenness of death. Even the afterlife can be fleeting because there is nothing in this universe that is truly safe from disaster. We're all just one wrong step away from toppling, helplessly into the void. Oh! Is that the Heaven Flakes cereal that changes the milk into rainbows?" Abel seemed to have finally taken notice of Emily's floating bowl (it was honestly almost finished at this point).
"Oh, yeah! They're really good, have you tried them yet?" Emily was a bit caught off guard by his sudden change in topic, but she was relieved.
"Yeah! They're delicious." Abel agreed.
"You know," Molly looked over, "I actually haven't tried the rainbow milk ones. I have heard great things, but I just haven't had the chance."
"What!?" Emily gasped. "Molly, you have to try them! I have a big box at my house! I can totally make us all big bowls!"
"Except Sera doesn't like Winners in the house." Abel had found a slight flaw in Emily's very fun plan.
"She's got a lot of rules lately." Emily's wings drooped as she crossed her arms over her chest, careful not to press against the closed eye that was currently hidden by her dress. "I'm supposed to go right back to studying after this. Maybe I can get the cereal, milk, and bowls, and bring them outside! That way, you're not in the house."
"Ah yes, the angelic art of being technically obedient." Abel mused.
"I don't want you to get in trouble." Molly seemed concerned. "I can always just pick up some Heaven Flakes whenever I want. It's not like it costs money." That was true, but Emily really wanted to share. Sharing was caring! She already couldn't show Pentious around because of Sera's stupid rules.
"I won't! Sera won't even know. She's super busy today." She was super busy every day, and Emily was starting to lose her mind reading nothing but manuals while Sera was off doing... well... some sort of important angel stuff.
"Maybe she's meeting with Rochele." Abel gave a shrug. Emily's eyes immediately lit up and her mind started to race.
"Rochele is here!?" This might be the answer to her troubles.
"Oh, is she? I've never actually gotten to meet her." Molly looked excited. "I hear she's quite nice!"
"She's great!" Emily got to her feet. "Do you want to go meet her!?" She doubted Sera was actually going over. Sera had been so out of sorts with the whole Exorcism secret being outed that she highly doubted a visit would be on her mind at all. And Rochele never stayed in Heaven very long. She was the angel in charge of delivering souls to Earth. She served directly under both Michael and Gabriel- one of the few Seraphim who worked under two Archangels rather than just one.
"That could be fun! What do you say, Abel?" Molly looked over excitedly, swinging her legs a bit.
"Why not? It's not like I'm doing anything else. And I enjoy spending what limited time we all have left together." Emily blinked. Oof, Abel was worse with the morbidity than usual. His father's death must really have been hitting him hard.
"Let's go!" Emily gave the sheep one more pat on the head before she, Molly, and Abel headed out of the zoo. There was an idea forming in her head- a plan. She might just get to spend the day how she wanted after all!
"I hope she doesn't mind us visiting. I hear she's usually incredibly busy." Molly held to Emily's arm as Abel walked on her other side, carrying his muffins. Emily took a moment to finish her last bit of Heaven Flakes, drinking the milk, before making the bowl vanish back to the kitchen.
"She shouldn't. She loves me." Emily gestured to herself with her free hand. "So of course she'll love you too!"
"She likes me and I'm hard to like." Abel agreed.
"Awe Abel, don't say that!" Molly looked upset by the comment. "You're great! You're sweet, and kind, and sure you can be a little..." she paused searching for the right word, "... grim but we love you!"
"She's right!" Emily wiped the rainbow milk from her upper lip. Abel was quiet for a moment as he looked specifically at Molly.
"I am sorry about my dad though."
"I know." Molly reached over with two of her arms that were not gripping Emily's and patted Abel on the back. "I promise you we're okay. You know what they say: The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father."
"I dunno about all that." Abel gave a small shrug. "My parents ate an apple once, then some tangentially related stuff happened, and then I got murdered. So, I feel like that quote has some selective application. But I'm glad we can still be friends. There have been a lot of Winners avoiding me lately. More than usual."
"I think people are still just upset about everything." Emily had been feeling the tension lately. The Winners were really on edge since the revelation. She felt bad that Abel was taking some of the push back. The guy did seem to have a habit of being a target for unfounded blame.
"I don't blame them. I mean, a lot of people have family in Hell. I have family in Hell." Abel gave a small sigh.
"We'll get this all figured out. I promise." Emily wasn't really sure how; she didn't have any long-term plans outside of making a very convincing presentation to Sera- possibly via song.
"Oh hey, we're here." Abel derailed the conversation as he pointed to what appeared to be a large, ornate nursery. While it was usually busy, it was currently hectic. Low ranking angels and white, bird-like Cherubim were busy wrapping up white lights in soft blankets while at the center, a tall Seraphim stood reading over everything on a projected a series of rapidly changing holograms. The Seraphim in question was pale blue in color, her wings did not match, three were white like Emily's but they were alternated with three blue wings. Her cerulean, curly hair was held up with ornate golden clips, above her head her halo glowed like a beacon. Over her golden eyes sat a pair of rounded blue glasses, covering the dusting of golden eyes on her cheeks. (Though they were closed at the moment giving the illusion of freckles).
"Everyone is doing so great! I'm really pleased to see how many new souls we already had before I even arrived. I'm so proud of you all!" Her voice was soft, but somehow carried over the entire room.
"Rochele!" Emily called to the Seraphim as she stood in the doorway, waving enthusiastically. "Rochele it's been forever!" She saw the golden eyes look up and finally fall upon her. Rochele blinked, pushing her glasses further up her nose as she looked Emily up and down.
"Oh my heavens! Is that Emily!?" She flew over in a flash and picked Emily right up, spinning her around. "How you've grown since our last meeting! Oh Emily, look at you! I barely recognize you!" Emily laughed as she was twirled and drawn into a big hug by the much taller Seraphim.
"It's been too long!" Emily was put back on her feet.
"Oh yes it really has. I got a little turned around in Purgatory. But that ended up being a blessing in disguise! I found quite a few wandering souls. Got them back to the Port before they got too lost." That was pretty typical of Rochel. For all her gadgets and angelic power, she had a tendency to get turned around or otherwise get delayed. Which was sad because she was barely in Heaven as it was. Once every year or so. Though it was for such short amounts of time, that Emily almost never actually caught her. If it hadn't been for Abel, she'd probably have missed her again.
"You didn't drop another batch of souls, did you?" Emily teased playfully as she flew up to hug onto Rochele's neck as the Seraphim immediately went back to looking at all the holograms displaying lots of information about the souls she was gathering- getting ready to deliver to the living world. Rochele's face fell for a moment before she laughed.
"That was one time! And I only dropped one bag. And Chelm wasn't... that bad. It's all fixed now." She took a moment away from her careful analysis to reach over, affectionately pinching Emily's cheek. "I watch where I am flying now. Most of the time."
"Hey, since you're here, can I ask you something?" Emily leaned forward as Rochele went back to examining her work.
"Anything little seraph, I am happy to teach."
"So, there's this Winner that just got here, and I would love to show him around Heaven! But could you like... write me a note saying it's okay?" Emily put her hands behind her back. She felt a bit bad about going above Sera's head like this. But in Sera's own words she was `the highest-ranking Seraphim in Heaven`. Except right now, for this brief moment: she wasn't. Rochele blinked.
"Why not just ask Sera? You know she's the head Seraphim while all the others are out f- Winners! Hi!" She had nearly tripped over Abel and Molly who had both been watching Rochele's small angelic legion darting back and forth in preparation.
"Oh right! My friends!" Emily put one arm around Abel and the other around Molly. "You already know Abel! And this is Molly! She's really great!" Whatever Rochele had been going to say was anyone's guess. Emily was disappointed, she didn't even know where the others were, Sera had refused to tell her.
"Oh, it's so nice to meet you! And hello again Abel!" Rochele smiled brightly. "I remember when you were just little souls ready for Earth! And look at you now!"
"Dead?" Abel looked confused.
"Well, I was going to say: Winners, but I suppose you're not... wrong." Rochele blinked, but quickly recovered herself. "It's so wonderful to see you all! You picked a good Seraphim to have as a friend! Emily's the best!"
"We just love her!" Molly beamed, hugging Emily. "And it is so nice to meet you! I have heard so much about you!"
"Aren't you sweet?" Rochele smiled, going back to focusing on the many names and numbers that moved at light speed across her screen. Sera had been getting onto Emily, especially recently, about becoming too close to the Winners, so it was a bit odd to hear Rochele encouraging her. "I wish I could spend more time chatting with you all. I feel like I never get to talk to fully formed humans."
"Yeah, you missed a lot." Emily was happy she was here now though.
"Muffin?" Abel offered one of the muffins in his basket to Rochele.
"Oh, these look delicious! Thank you for sharing!" She took the offered muffin. "What's the occasion?" It was Heaven, so there didn't necessarily have to be on occasion, but Rochele must have noticed the decorated basket.
"They're: Sorry your dad was brutally murdered muffins." Abel replied right as Rochele had taken a bite. Her eyes widened for a moment, she chewed and swallowed.
"W... what now?"
"Wait... you didn't hear about Adam?" Emily was a bit surprised. Sure, Rochele wasn't around all the time, but the death of a Winner was big news. She would have thought Sera would at least called. Sera had numbers for all the highest-ranking officials in Heaven in a little book in her office.
"N... no?" Rochele looked genuinely shocked. "Abel, I am so sorry... you and Seth must be devastated. I know you were close with your dad."
"It's... hard. But thank you." Abel's sadness washed over Emily, and she teared up. She could see Rochele falter for a moment, but she was a much older, more practiced angel so she swallowed the emotion back down and instead offered a hug to Abel which he accepted.
"There has been a lot of craziness recently. There was a trial, and we got to meet some Hellborns, and there was an Exorc-" Emily started to explain but as she did, a red alarm began blaring on Rochele's screen.
"Oh, cheese and crackers! The time!" She began to rush even more, her attention no longer on her guests. "Whatever trial it was, I'm sure Sera had it handled. That's why she was entrusted to keep Heaven safe." So, Rochele hadn't been told about the trial. Did she even know Exterminations?
"Wait! Did Sera tell you anything about the Exterminations?" Emily tried to shout over the alarm.
"Exterminations? No, we don't really have pests in Heaven. I wouldn't think we would have a need for anything like that. But I really have to go, little dove." She was hard focused on the screens and Emily knew she had lost her to her work. "All right everyone! Who's ready for another successful year of delivering souls!?" The lower ranking angels and the stork-like Cherubim all cheered excitedly. "Amazing! Love your enthusiasm! Love your hustle! And mostly, I love each and every one of you!" They cheered again and Emily almost felt inclined to cheer as well. The energy was just so high.
"Wait! My note!" Emily still felt a tiny bit bad about going behind Sera like this. But she also felt like it was wrong for Sera to utilize her position to stop Emily from welcoming a new Winner- especially one who might prove Charlie's point about redemption. And she imagined there would be some culture shock for poor Pentious. "Do you think you can write it, just really fast? Sera is so busy." A true but unrelated statement. Emily felt a bit guilty- but nothing she had said had been a lie.
"Still a very strange request, Em." Rochele was too busy to really question her further. That was sort of Emily's plan. Rochele was easily distracted, especially when she was busy. "But if that'll make you happy? Sure. Not sure why you even need permission." She typed very quickly on one of the holograms, signing a glowing, sky blue signature at the bottom. The hologram turned solid, and Rochele handed Emily a beautiful scroll with permission to show the new Winner around.
"Thank you so, so, so, so, so much!" Emily hugged her again. Rochele smiled and kissed her on her forehead.
"All right my sweet little dove, I must be off. Earth needs me!" She took off toward the sky, then toward the right. None of her angels or Cherubim moved a muscle.
"Purgatory's entrance is that way!" Emily called, pointing to the left. Rochele stopped for a moment, looking at her map.
"Oops! Sorry! This way everyone!" She took off toward the left this time. Only then did all her underlings follow her toward the pearly gates.
"She was nice!" Molly seemed excited. "I love her hair! But did anyone get the impression she... hadn't heard about that whole trial? And thusly the Exterminations?" Emily looked at the note in her hand, deep in thought.
"Maybe she already knew?" Abel suggested, his mouth full of muffin.
"I just don't think Rochele is the type to be okay with that." Emily replied hesitantly. "Though I certainly wouldn't have thought Sera is the type either. So... I dunno..." She hated to even think that she didn't trust one of her own superiors. Surely something as big as the trial would have been important enough to bring to Rochele's attention. Sure, she was in and out of Heaven, but she was incredibly high up in the Angelic hierarchy. It just seemed like something that should have been discussed.
"She's gonna hear about it eventually." Abel shrugged. "I mean, she didn't even know my dad died. So, she might be kind of out of the Heavenly loop, so to speak. These muffins are awesome by the way."
"Oh, thank you! I worked very hard on them." Emily was glad he enjoyed them. She had been up at all hours baking.
"So, what was the whole thing about the note?" Molly leaned over to look at the glistening scroll in Emily's hand. "Since when do you need a note to give a tour? And... doesn't Peter usually do that?"
"Well... yes... but!" Emily held the note to her. "This Winner is super special. I just... can't say why. It's um..." She hid her face a bit. "Classified?"
"Oooo, mysterious." Abel seemed more amused than anything else. "Does this mean we can't meet this Winner?"
"Oh no! Of course you can!" Emily lowered the note again. "He's going to want to meet wonderful Winners! And I can't think of two better Winners than the two before me right now!"
"Emily you are so sweet I could cry!" Molly replied at the same time Abel said:
"Sera's going to be mad at you for having favorite Winners. She's been real sensitive about that lately."
"Oh shush." Emily nudged him playfully. "Are you ready to meet him!?" She couldn't think of two better Winners to help Pentious get acquainted with Heaven than her two best friends!
"Yes!" Molly looked genuinely excited. "You know how much I love meeting new people! I am even in the Welcome to Heaven dance number!"
"You do such a good job in that." Abel commended her. "I can't imagine having to do that dance as many times as you've had to."
"Oh, we only do it like once every day or two. They group Winners together and we perform it then. If we did it every time there was a new Winner, I would have no free time."
"You won't have to do the whole song number for our new friend! I think it might startle him." Emily had to assume there would be some culture shock for Pentious. Also, she was trying to keep things low key. If she had Peter up and dancing around with his choreographed song number, it might get Sera's attention. "I think he just needs a nice tour with some friendly faces!"
"No dance! Got it!" Molly pumped her first excitedly. "What's the hold up!? Let's meet our new friend!"
"This way!" Emily's wings fluttered excitedly as they headed in the direction of where Pentious was being kept. Of course, the very nature of Heaven didn't exactly create a need for places such as prisons, so when Sera wanted to keep Pentious away from the other Winners, she had to get creative. So Pentious was staying at a resort hotel, guarded by a rotation of various Exorcist. The two in front of the door were not the highest ranking, so Emily felt a bit more confident as she approached.
"Back away, Emily. This place is off limits. Sera's orders." The Exorcist on the right held her spear toward Emily. "You too, Winners."
"Viola, you know my name. My dad literally led your army." Abel made a face.
"I said stand back, Winner." Viola didn't stand down.
"Sorry about your dad, though." The second Exorcist had her sword up, but her stance was less aggressive.
"Thanks, Sugar Tits." Abel nodded to her.
"Abel!" Emily and Molly both gasped at the rather uncharacteristic comment. Abel blinked, looking between the two.
"What? That's her name."
"That is my name. But you can just call me Sugar." She still had her sword raised. Molly coughed a bit leaning over to Abel, whispering in his ear.
"Did your dad really name her-"
"The names got worse as time went on." Abel whispered back. "You haven't met Adam 2 or Cain Still Loves Me."
"Cain Still Loves Me?" Molly repeated, perhaps a bit louder than she intended. The two Exorcists exchanged looks.
"Oh no, I'm Sugar Tits, and that's Viola. Cain Still Loves Me was two shifts before us. But I can tell her you're looking for her!"
"Sugar, shut the fuck up. They aren't supposed to be here!" Viola nudged her companion rather aggressively, while still keeping her spear held. "Sera's orders- so don't try to pull any of that rank bullshit on us."
"Okay, I can sense some annoyance because this is rank related, but," Emily held out her note, "you can't argue with Rochele!"
"Rochele was here?" Viola snatched the paper from Emily's hand. "Why the fuck would she care about any of this? She's not even here in Heaven, like... ever." Sugar peered over Viola's shoulder, golden eyes trying to read the note as Viola kept moving it further from her with each gesture.
"I mean... but if that is from Rochele... that means we have to let her in. Hold it still, will you?" Sugar grabbed Viola's arm to stop her from moving. There was a thing about angels: they followed a very rigid hierarchy. It was almost second nature to obey commands. Not entirely, Angels were definitely able to question authority, but it was rare and it typically was frowned upon. It was one of the reasons Emily hadn't brough her concerns up to Rochele directly. (That and the fact that Rochele was only half listening by the end. Still, she had gotten her note. She did feel a little guilty about using Rochele's distraction and lack of knowledge to her advantage- but it was in order to do a good deed. The ends definitely justified the means here.)
"But Sera's orders are that no one goes in. Especially you." Viola poked her spear to Emily's chest as Sugar read over the note.
"Why not?" Abel put his hand on the spear, forcing it lower.
"Yeah, I'm curious too?" Molly crossed two of her arms and put her two other hands on her hips.
"Oh! No reason at all!" Sugar waved off their concerns. "Just unimportant stuff, boring too."
"So we can definitely go in then? Because it's unimportant and boring, and also because Rochele said it was okay?" Emily pointed at the note in Sugar's grip. Sugar looked at Viola who looked far from happy.
"You keep watch. I'm going to deal with this." Viola grabbed the note back, wings unfurling as she shoved past the three of them, storming off. This put Emily on a bit of a timer. She knew Sera would eventually find out what she was doing, and she would be very unhappy once she did.
"So?" Emily looked at Sugar. "Can we go in?"
"I suppose I can't say no... you did have a note." Sugar stepped aside and Emily opened the door to where a serpent-like Winner was curled up with a punch of little chicks in his lap.
"Pentious!" Emily beamed. "You have birds now!"
"Emily! Hello again!" He smiled at her as Emily let Abel and Molly in and closed the door behind her. "These are my egg boys! Though I guess they're chickens now?" He seemed equally confused by the birds.
"We're in Heaven with the angels!" One of the birds announced.
"Yes, I know. We all know." Pentious looked a little annoyed.
"I am so sorry you've been stuck in here." Emily gestured to the plush, comfortable room. This only made Pentious look confused.
"Stuck? This place is amazing! The TV is a little anticlimactic if I'm being honest, but it's really comfortable." The way Pentious spoke, he elongated the 's' sound, Emily hadn't noticed in her very brief interaction with him.
"Well, we want to show you around Heaven!" Emily gestured to either side of her. "You know me already. But these are my best friends! This is Molly and Abel!" She gestured to each in turn. Pentious squinted at Molly for a moment as if trying to figure something out, but eventually he seemed to give up.
"That sounds fun! Am I allowed to leave now?" He looked so excited. Emily knew she was doing the right thing.
"Yep! Rochele said so!" Emily clapped her hands together. "So, let's get out of this stuffy room!"
"I have no idea who that is but okay!" Pentious got up and all his little birds began to follow in a line.
"She's the angel in charge of new souls on Earth. She's kind of a big deal in Heaven." Abel explained. Emily opened the door leading everyone out. Sugar gripped her sword, watching them carefully.
"I don't think you're supposed to leave with him."
"It's allowed!" Pentious assured her with two thumbs up. "Rock-hallah said it was okay!" Emily snorted.
"Rochele. So, you are actually very close. But yes! Totally allowed! Be back soon!" Emily grabbed him by the hand and started dragging him outside. "Welcome to Heaven!" Emily gestured all around as they reached the outside of the resort.
"Usually we have a song, but you can see it at out next performance time." Molly walked up beside him. "But welcome welcome!" She grabbed both of Pentious's hands in hers. "Like Emily said: I'm Molly."
"Hello Molly, I'm Sir Pentious. But um... friends... ah yes... I had those once- they just called me Pentious." This was great! Pentious already seemed to like Molly. One of the chicks pulled on Molly's boot.
"I like all your arms and legs!"
"Oh, thank you!" Molly leaned down so one of her hands could pat the chick on the head. "You're so sweet!"
"They are charmers." Pentious seemed pleased.
"And I like the yellow in your hair! It matches my feathers!" Another chick was hanging off Abel's pant leg.
"I USED TO BE AN EGG." Another Chick shouted to no one in particular.
"Oh thanks." Abel touched the golden curls that only occupied the middle and left part of his bangs. "It's where my brother beat me to death with a rock." Pentious's smile had fallen slightly. Emily cleared her throat. "Oh, sorry. I'm Abel. That Abel." It was a common question with Winners who met Abel. Emily didn't really blame him for just getting it out of the way. But did he have to be so bleak about it? Pentious squinted at him for a moment, clearly thinking.
"Oh, you're Cain's bother!"
"Weird way to put it, but yes." Abel nodded.
"I know your dad." Pentious nodded.
"Wait... what? You mean like... know of him or-" Abel started to ask but Pentious cut him off before he could finish, or Emily could interrupt.
"Yeah, he killed me!"
"What?" Able and Molly spoke in unison and Emily covered her mouth. Technically, Sera had just told her not to say anything about Pentious to anyone. She never said anything about Pentious saying it himself.
"One second Pentious!" Emily smiled brightly before pulling Molly and Able aside into a huddle. "Okay guys, don't freak out."
"Is he a Sinner!?" Molly hissed, keeping her voice down.
"I mean... that's certainly an interesting idea." Emily bit her lip, her eyes darting between the two before looking solidly at her own feet. As an Angel, it was quite difficult for her to straight up lie. It wasn't... impossible. But it really didn't feel great.
"Yeah, he's a Sinner." Unfortunately, Abel was well aware of that fact and knew that Emily's refusal to answer might as well have been her waving the word: YES, on a big neon sign.
"Emily what the heck is going on!?" Molly hissed.
"I can't exactly say. I'm not allowed." These were her friends, Emily trusted them with everything in her. But rules were rules. "But if you figure it out for yourselves... I can nod or shake my head."
"So, he was in Hell... and now he's... up here." Abel looked behind him at Pentious who was playing with his chicks quite happily while they had their huddle.
Emily nodded. Molly looked thoughtful.
"And he's definitely a Winner. He's not just visiting..."
Again, Emily nodded.
"So, was he like...?" Abel looked at Molly.
"I mean... there's no way, right?" She met his gaze. They both looked at Emily who was covering her mouth with her hands.
"Was he redeemed?" They asked together. Emily could barely contain her squeal of excitement.
"Maybe!" They really weren't sure. But there was no other reason he could be up here. "But try not to say anything, okay? I am trusting both of you."
"O-of course... it's just... you know what this could mean for my brothers!" Molly looked just as excited as Emily felt. Even Abel seemed thrilled by the idea, which was a bit surprising.
"I could see Cain again!"
"Exactly!" Emily was a bit surprised Abel wanted to see Cain. But they were both excited, Emily could tell, and it was feeding into her own eagerness as some sort of energetic feedback loop. "PENTIOUS!" She broke the huddle running back to him. He seemed startled by her shouting, even more surprised as Emily pulled him into a hug. "There is so much to show you!"
"And sorry about my dad murdering you by the way. I know the feeling. Not how it feels to be murdered by my dad specifically but... I mean... you get it." Abel added as Emily picked up the larger form on Pentious in her hug. She couldn't help herself. All the energy around her was making her overly excited.
"Oh, it's fine." Pentious nodded to Abel. "I got better."
"Hey, this may be a weird question, but I have two brother's in Hell, have you seen either of them? Anthony and Arthur. They might look like me?" Molly clasped her hands together as Emily put Pentious back down.
"People don't really use their real names in Hell." Pentious shrugged. "So, I'm not entirely sure..."
"Is Pentious not your real name?" Abel tilted his head to the side.
"No. It's Cedric." Pentious replied as he looked Molly up and down taking in her four legs and four arms. (Sometimes Molly only had two, they second pair were retractable). He squinted, his hat squinted too. "Though you look a bit like Angel Dust." Emily gasped. That was the Sinner from the trial. She looked at Molly for a moment. There was some resemblance! (Though the Sinner and Winner forms were not necessarily any indication of biological relation.) Molly wasn't high enough in rank to have seen the trial- in fact- no Winners had been invited outside of Adam. (He had been going to a lot of meetings lately that, typically, didn't allow Winners.)
"Molly he's right! Maybe that was one of your brothers!" Emily grabbed the two of Molly's hands that weren't clasped together.
"Angel Dust... huh?" Molly looked amused, but also a little sad. "That sounds like something Anthony would come up with. Do you know if he's okay?" Pentious was thoughtful for a moment.
"I'm not entirely sure. I died before we finished the fight. But he was still alive when your dad blew me and my Egg Boys up."
"We 'sploded!" One of the chicks called gleefully.
"Well, if it helps, your friends killed my dad." Abel patted him on the shoulder. "So maybe that makes us even?"
"That sounds right." Pentious seemed content with that trade (though it didn't seem as if he had originally had an issue with Abel.) "So, am I going to get this tour? Or is this the whole thing." He looked around, hands on his waist. "Because I'll be honest, I thought Heaven would be bigger." Emilly giggled.
"No no! There's so much more!" She grabbed Pentious's hand. "Sorry, my friends were just surprised to find out where you were from. That's all!" She started dragging him along behind her.
"Let's start with the Petting Zoo! That's where I work!" Abel offered. Pentious didn't seem to mind being dragged around (all his chicks just hopped onto him, using their wings and feet to climb up to his hat), but he did look confused.
"You need jobs in Heaven? I thought that was just a thing in Hell."
"It's just something to do. You don't need to go. It's just fun stuff to stay busy. Pretty much everything is free in Heaven, so you only do the work you want to do. And people here love to help out!" Molly explained. "I'm a dancer!"
"I didn't think Heaven would allow th-" Before Pentious could finish, Molly cut him off with a laugh.
"Just a normal, artistic dancer."
"So, if I don't want to do any work... I don't have to. And I can still eat and have a place to live?" Pentious seemed a bit hung up on this whole job thing. It must have been very different in Hell.
"You could, but you will get really, really bored." Abel warned. "Take it from me, dude. I've been here forever. The work is fun! And you get the joy of helping others which is one of the best parts."
"It is!" Molly agreed with a happy sigh.
"You guys are a bunch of weirdos!" One of the chicks chirped happily from the brim of Pentious's hat.
"Be nice!" Pentious snapped as Molly and Abel both just laughed. "But he has a point. That sounds fucking ridiculous."
"That's Heaven for you!" Emily beamed. "Oh, here we are!" She pulled him under the sign, gesturing to the array of animals in their respective areas, surrounded by excited Heavenly beings from Cherubim, to Winners, to Angels. "This is our petting zoo! Noah runs it! But Abel helps with animal care!"
"Why are the animals all just... sitting there?" Pentious squinted at the scene before him. "They should be ripping each other apart!"
"It's Heaven." Emily reminded him.
"Are we gonna get eaten, boss?" The chicks peeked down at Pentious from the brim of his hat.
"The angel says no." He reached up, patting the little birds affectionately. "I could, perhaps, find enjoyment in this place."
"It's really fun!" Emily assured him. "Oh, but we have so much else to show you! Let's keep going! You will have all the time in the world to check this out later! And we can all spend a day here or something if you want!"
"Y-you want to spend time with me?" His yellow eyes started to water. Emily was hit with the feeling of loss, of loneliness. On no! Of course he still missed all his friends back in Hell!
"Absolutely!" Emily assured him.
"You seem great!" Molly added.
"Yeah, you're cool." Abel agreed.
"And I'm sure all your other friends will come up here on their own time! So, we can be your friends until you get reunited!" Emily gave him another hug. "You're one of us now! And I know there might be some adjustment period for you so if you have any questions, you can ask me, or Molly, or Abel!" She didn't want to think about him asking anyone else. Sera would kill her if word about his origin traveled far. And she doubted someone like Lute or Viola would be happy to help. She didn't want Pentious to have any kind of negative experience.
"You remind me of Charlie..." He sniffed a bit.
"I'm going to take that as a compliment!" Emily liked Charlie. A lot. Charlie was what everyone down below should strive to be. In a way. Emily liked to think she was helping Charlie by showing this redeemed Sinner around. She wished there was a way to talk to her, to tell her that Pentious was here- that her ideas were working. However, Heaven and Hell did not have a simple form of contact. Emily had no idea how they even kept in touch. Only Sera knew that. "Where should we go next?"
"Promise Land!" Molly suggested eagerly. "That's where I do some of my shows! I have a great acrobatics routine that everyone really enjoys!"
"Omigosh! Yes! I love Promise Land!" Emily grinned. They saw Abel's workplace, it was only fair to show off Molly's! Plus, it was just a super fun place! The winners loved all the rides, food, and shows.
"Promise Land?" Pentious blinked.
"It's one of our theme parks!" Emily explained. "It's really fun! There is so much to do and see! Sera used to take me after training!" She had stopped a while ago, claiming Emily was getting too old for constant treats. Emily was a bit upset by the change of heart, but she kept going on her own (or with Abel) whenever she had free time. It was how she had met Molly!
"Oh like Lu Lu World!" Pentious brightened up. "I have been there a few times! It was incredibly expensive, and the lines were awful. But the rides and food were great!" His face fell a moment. "Except when they weren't."
"I died on the Hell Drop!" One of the chicks chimed in. Emily covered her mouth. That sounded so dangerous!
"You got better." Pentious didn't seem that upset by the comment.
"You guys have a theme park in Hell?" Abel asked curiously.
"Several! But we can't go to all of them because we're bound to Pride Ring. We have Lu Lu World and Hellsny. There's also Loo Loo Land, but that's in Greed so I can't actually go there. But I heard it's just a bad rip-off of Lu Lu World." This was all quite fascinating! Pentious had insight into Hell, there was so much they could learn from him! Emily stopped as they reached the massive golden gates that surrounded the beautiful gilded amusement park within.
"Welcome to Promise Land!" Molly gestured excitedly at the towering coasters and rides that sat upon their bed of clouds. The park was bustling with Winners and all types of angels, looking around, waiting in short lines, eating food, all having a great time. Pentious's eyes widened, as did the eyes of his little chicks.
"It's so... nice... and clean!"
"Well of course! We want our Winners to have a wonderful time! Moses takes great care of the park!" Molly explained.
"He's still running it?" Abel glanced over at Molly. She nodded, enthusiastically.
"Oh yeah! He loves it, and he does a fantastic job! I am pretty sure he came up with the name."
"Why is it so... empty?" Pentious squinted at the small lines. Emily followed his gaze. It didn't look empty to her. "Where are the four hour lines that you wait in only to have the ride break down when you get to the front? Where's the massive mob of people shoving each other in the food lines? Or trampling one another at the shows? How expensive is this place if there's no one here?"
"It's free." Emily, Abel, and Molly, all said it in unison. It seemed Sir Pentious was really struggling with this one concept in Heaven. That must be a cultural difference.
"And you get a return time when you want to ride a ride. So, you can explore the park to your heart's desire until your time to ride whatever you want! That way you aren't trapped in a line forever! You just go up to the ride booth and get a ticket with your time on it! It's super easy and convenient!" Molly explained. She did know the park better than either Emily or Abel.
"And how much does that cost?" Pentious questioned, one eye narrowed the other wide. There was a collective sigh before everyone simply replied with:
"Free."
"This is incredible! You could ride everything without having to get into one fist fight over line cutting!" Pentious looked truly excited by the theme park. "And if you steal other people's return tickets, you can ride everything back to back!" Molly, Emily, and Abel looked at one another uncertainly.
"Bro, you can't do that." Abel put a hand on Pentious's shoulder. "That's against the rules, my man."
"So, no one ever steals the tickets?" Pentious looked genuinely confused by the revelation. "Are you sure?"
"This is Heaven, no one would steal. It's not allowed." Molly reiterated. "We take rules very seriously here."
"Very." Abel agreed. "But I mean they're basic ones like no stealing, lying, killing, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera..."
"No lying?" Pentious looked up at his chicks on his hat and then back over at the Winners and the Seraphim. Poor Pentious seemed to be going through quite the series of revelations. Emily felt bad for him.
"The lying rule is really more for angels. Winners aren't really encouraged to lie or anything like that but they aren't held to quite the same standards. After all, mistakes and bad choices can happen, your only human." She too put a hand on Pentious's shoulder. "If you mess up, it's totally okay! Just learn from it!"
"I didn't expect Heaven to be so... forgiving?" He tilted his head to the side. "Then again " he straightened back, "they let Adam stay and he was committing a lot of murder and that seems to go against one of your rules."
"Yeah, we didn't know about that. I mean we and in: the general public." Molly specified. "And a lot of people aren't super happy, Winners especially." It was true, ever since the trial had become public knowledge (in part thanks to Emily herself) there had been a growing divide between those that agree with the Exterminations, and those that vehemently opposed the idea.
"Ugh, sorry again about all of that." Abel put his face in his hands. Emilly patted his back, as did Molly, and- much to her surprise- so did Pentious.
"It's okay, you seem cool. And we were both brutally murdered by members of your family, so we have something in common." Abel looked up, blinking for a moment before a smile snaked across his face.
"Oh, I like you."
"Awe you guys are getting along already! This is so great!" Emily turned the group back-pat into a big group hug. This was going even better than expected! She knew she could count on her friends to make Pentious feel welcome! Heaven just had so much to offer.
"Why don't we show him where you work?" Molly suggested. "Abel and I both showed off our workplaces! And you have the most important job of everyone!"
"Oh, I want to see!" Pentious looked rather excited. Emily hesitated for a moment. She didn't have the heart to point out that she rarely got to visit her workplace anymore. Sera would only let her get study tools and then kick her right back out. But there was no reason she couldn't at least see the outside- it was rather beautiful.
"Okay, but we can't go inside." She didn't want to be caught by Sera anyway. Though, she doubted that she was actually in the building. There wasn't much there at the moment, save for a skeleton staff. (Not literal skeletons, of course, just the minimum of angels needed to keep it up and running.) "Plus, I am technically not working there. I am just a student."
"It is an important part of Heaven." Abel added. "I was just there earlier. It's where you would go to talk to the highest ranking members of Heaven, the big dogs."
"Like Sera?" Pentious followed along as they started to walk. They could fly, but Emily didn't know how good Pentious was at flying yet and she didn't want him to feel awkward. Emily nodded.
"Sera and other high ranking Seraphim. But it's more for the angels above her: The Archangels." She made a rainbow over their heads as she said the words. (Just to add a little fun emphasis.) "Gabriel, Raphael, Uriel, and Michael- they are sort of in charge of everything."
"Haven't seen them around much recently." Abel put his hands behind his head as he walked, golden wings tucking behind him.
"I have never even met them." Molly added, two hands clasped behind her back, two stretched out in front of her. "Abel has met everyone, he's just been here that long."
"I'm old." Abel agreed. "Older than Emily."
"It's true, I'm only two hundred and fifty." Emily replied with a giggle.
"Only?" Pentious seemed taken aback.
"For an angel, that's super young." Emily explained. "Most angels are much, much older."
"Oh, there's also the Metatron!" Molly clapped her hands together. "I have only met her once. She's kind of..." she trailed off for a moment.
"Blunt. She's really, really blunt." Abel filled in the blank for her.
"Yeah, I was trying to think of a nicer way to say that." Molly giggled.
"And she is an Archangel?" Pentious counted on his fingers for a moment. "You only listed the four names earlier."
"The Metatron isn't a traditional angel." Emily wasn't sure how exactly to explain it. "She's sort of the messenger for the one in charge of all of this. "She is her own... entity... but maybe you could consider her more like... a very advanced AI?" Did that make sense? Pentious just looked confused. Oh no she had done a bad job! "A-ah well... you'll meet her eventually! It'll all make sense then!"
"I get to meet the Metatron!?" His eyes sparkled a bit. "I know I just learned who that is, but she seems very important."
"Everyone does! Eventually." Emily knew Metatron wasn't around at the moment. Had she been, something as exciting as Pentious would definitely have gotten her attention. She wasn't overly involved in Heaven's day-to-day. The high ups trusted those beneath them, and thus didn't pry into their affairs. But with something interesting like this? She would expect it to travel up the ladder pretty quickly. She was a bit disappointed that Gabriel hadn't shown up to see Pentious himself. She would love to have a chance to see him again. She came to a stop in front of a beautiful building made of marble and gold, the ornate designs seemingly alive with their own glow. "Here we are!" She gestured to the building. "The Main Hall! There are lots of offices and stuff in there, it's actually way bigger than it looks on the outside."
"Oh wow! It's so fancy!" Pentious seemed excited. "Maybe I can get a job here too!"
"I wanna work for Raptor." One of the chicks agreed.
"I wanna work for Nickle!"
"Raphael and Michael?" Emily asked genuinely unsure.
"Probably. They say crazy shit all the time, you learn to just accept it." Pentious assured her. "They are good minions."
"Friends." Emily corrected. "You have friends in Heaven, not minions. Coworkers is an acceptable term too, though."
"You'll get used to all the terminology." Molly assured him. "This is all still so new to you! And like Emily said: we are here to help!"
"You guys are so nice." Pentious's eyes watered. Emily felt a little lighter, there was genuine joy in his emotion, though it was muted by the sadness of loss. Of course, he still missed those who he left behind, but if he had managed to get here, then it was only a matter of time for all the others!
"EMILY!" The young Seraphim jumped at the sound of her name, bellowed through the busy streets. Oh no. Caught already? She slowly turned to see Sera storming toward her, a very satisfied Viola at her side. "What do you think you're doing!?" She grabbed Emily pulling her away from the Winners.
"I had permission! Rochele said-"
"You leave Rochele out of our business!" Sera's grip tightened on her arm. "You could have gotten her in trouble too. Did you even think about that!?"
"I just wanted to-"
"You need to think things through, Emily." Her anger was valid, Emily had sort of gone behind her back and over her head. "I am in charge for a reason."
"Hey, go easy on her, Sera. It was my idea." Abel tried to intervene.
"Winners shouldn't lie." The look Sera gave him could make a statue crumble.
"You let my dad lie to all of us about where he was going once a year!" Abel wasn't letting up. Emily was relieved to have his support, but at the same time, she was worried for him as she could see how upset Sera was getting. The eyes in her hair were beginning to open.
"Abel."
"My dad is dead because of you!"
Sera opened her mouth but closed it again. She took a deep breath and released Emily's hand and went to Abel. She stood over him, but he didn't back down. Glaring up at her, wings outspread, eyes bright. She knelt down and took him in her arms, hugging him tightly. "I am so sorry for your loss, Abel." It was only a moment before he was crying in her arms. Emily felt relief washing over her. That was the Sera she loved, comforting a hurting soul.
"It's just... it's just not fair..." Abel sniffed, Emily could tell he was trying to hold back tears. He failed and just started to cry in her arms. Emily started to cry too, overwhelmed by Abel's grief. The chicks on Pentious's hat also started to wail. And Molly began to pet them as a way of comforting them.
"I know." Sera hugged him gently. "I know you're hurting. And in Heaven, you should never hurt. I failed you, Abel. But I promise I can make things right." She placed a kiss to the top of his forehead. "But to do that I must be able to do my work without being undermined." She looked back at Emily who was still sniffling, wiping her face. She felt so... guilty.
"S-Sera I'm-" Emily started to speak, but Sera took her hand, gently this time.
"Everyone is emotional right now, loss is such a rarity on Heaven, and it has hurt us all deeply. Why don't we all calm down?" She nodded to Viola who walked over to Pentious.
"You're with me."
"Back to my room then?" Pentious didn't sound upset but Emily still felt bad about letting him get involved in this.
"Yep. Let's go." Viola led him away.
"We should go as well." Sera looked down at Emily who looked back up at her, tears still in her eyes. "Come along, now."
"We'll catch you later, Emily." Molly put an arm around Abel who still looked distraught. Emily nodded as she followed Sera silently back into their house. Sera looked so worried... so... disappointed. It made Emily feel even worse. Sera took a seat at the table, gesturing for Emily to join her.
"Sera, I-"
"I am worried about you, Em." Sera spoke rather bluntly, though her tone was gentle. "This sort of behavior isn't like you. Going behind my back, endangering Abel and Molly, exposing them to a Sinner, tricking Rochele into breaking my rules so you could do what you wanted..." she shook her head sadly. Emily thought about pointing out that Rochele actually out-ranked Sera, and therefore couldn't really break her rules. But this didn't seem like the time to argue semantics. Still... there was one point she felt she had to make.
"Pentious is a Winner."
"Pentious is a threat." Her tone was not harsh, but just... stern. "Look at it the chaos he has already caused. You let him wander for... what...? A few hours? And now Abel is lying? To my face?" Sera had a point, although, of the group, Abel would be the most likely to lie, especially if he was trying to protect Emily (and she had a feeling that's what he was doing.) Still, she could see Sera's perspective. And saying: Abel would have lied anyway wasn't going to help Abel. Emily bit her lip.
"I am sorry, Sera."
"I just worry about you, Emily... so, so much. I love you, we are family." She put her hand on Emily's that was resting on the table. "I just want to keep you safe. What you're doing? It scares me. The last thing I want is to have you ending up like Lucifer. Could you imagine if Gabriel heard about all of this?" Another pang of guilt hit her in her core. She didn't want to upset Gabriel! She wanted him to be proud of her when he finally came back. "Or worse, Michael?" Emily had never met Michael, at least, not in a one-on-one setting. She had seen him, once, when Gabriel left. But she knew of him: the Warrior. The Judge. The leader of the Legions of Heaven. "Now I can keep this whole incident between us. It was just an honest mistake, you were clearly trying to do the right thing." Sera squeezed her hand. "You didn't tell Molly or Abel about that Sinner's true origins, did you?"
"N... no of course not. You made me promise not to do it." Emily felt bad, even worse when she saw the relief on Sera's face. But it was true. She hadn't said a thing. Pentious had explained everything himself. So, it wasn't a lie necessarily, but it still left her feeling a little queasy.
"You are truly a good angel, Emily. I know you want to help, but there is so much more that you don't understand." Sera reached across the table, putting a hand to Emily's cheek. "I just want you to be safe."
"Yes Sera." She couldn't look Sera in the eyes. She felt so awful. "I think I should return to my studies."
"I think that is a wonderful idea." Sera smiled, letting her hand fall. "I will be in a meeting, I won't be back till later, why don't I cook us something nice when I get home? It's been so long since we've had a nice meal together." Emily finally looked up at her.
"I would like that."
"Wonderful." Sera got to her feet as Emily took out one of the manuals from the pile. She watched as Sera took her leave. She felt awful, could she get Sera into trouble? Was Sera risking herself on Emily's behalf?
The guilt was eating at her, gnawing at her gut. Her fingers drummed on the table as she read the same page over and over again. The words were just a blur. She really didn't want Sera getting hurt because of her. Or Rochele. Or Abel, or Molly, or Pentious. What if they blamed this whole thing on him!? And then Michael cut his wings off and cast him back out! Or he banished all of them!
Emily stood up. She couldn't focus. She needed to get up and move around. She hadn't damned her loved ones. She had been doing the right thing! Pentious being here was a good thing! I meant that redemption was possible. It had to be something good!
Ring
Emily paused. She was halfway down the hall when she heard a phone ringing. She blinked, looking around, realizing she was just outside of Sera's room.
Ring.
She had a phone in there? Maybe she had forgotten her cellphone because she was so distraught over Emily? Poor Sera! Emily felt like it was the least she could do to bring it back to her since it was her fault Sera forgot.
Ring.
Emily cracked the door open and slipped inside. She followed the sound until she saw a rather beautiful, white phone sitting on Sera's desk, tucked away behind a stack of papers. It wasn't a cellphone at all. It was an old looking design, certainly outdated. Emily hadn't seen the phone before, but then again, she didn't really go into Sera's room.
Ring.
Emily took a deep breath. Well, it would be rude to ignore whoever was calling. Her hands trembled as she picked up the gilded receiver. Her breath caught in her throat.
"Hello?" The voice on the other end was masculine, but it definitely wasn't Gabriel. "Sera is that you?"
"..." Emily tried to force words out of her throat, but her tongue felt glued to the roof of her mouth.
"Sera? If you're talking, I can't hear you." The voice on the other line spoke again. "It might be an issue on my end. Try calling me back." There was another pause. "Oh, and this is Michael." Emily's blood turned to ice in her veins, and she instantly slammed the receiver back down on the phone, hanging up as quickly as she could.
She slipped out of Sera's room, her heart pounding. Her whole body shook. She closed Sera's door behind her.
What did Michael want!?
Emily hugged herself, trying to calm down.
Had she really messed up that badly!?
A/N: I know this one was super long! I hope you enjoyed it! Lucifer and Adam will be back next chapter! But at least we got to see what Heaven was up to!