Fantasia on the 'Dargason'

         Ten in the morning, Maya thought. Scott should be here any minute now. For Maya, meeting Scott had been almost life changing. He listened to her and never tried to force his opinions on her. This was something Maya hadn't experienced from anyone in a long time. Her parents had raised her in a strict, almost Puritan manner. Grades and extracurriculars were stressed very heavily on the teen. They also were forceful in regards to the opinions she had. Maya sighed. She wasn't really allowed to think for herself when around her parents. Scott was different. He allowed her to be...herself.

         On the beach a few paces from where Maya sat, Chloe walked along the beach admiring the lake. For her, there wasn't a lot to see because Scott hadn't arrived yet. Idly, she tugged at her navy blue sweater. As opposed to Maya, she was nervous about Scott's arrival. Two hours were left on her observation, but these were going to be the most nerve racking. Chloe was unaware how the dust would affect Scott's interpersonal exchanges, and she feared that her dust application may not have been the best it could have been. She wished that she had that dart for Maya just in case Maya flipped out due to Scott behaving erractically.

         Scott pulled into the parking lot and looked at the clock in his car. Ten o' one, he thought. That's a record! He parked his car and stepped out into the surprisingly cool November air. A gentle breeze wafted, but this time Scott's hair stayed in place. Looking around, Scott saw Maya sitting on a swing and made his way over to join her.



         "Well," Kirsten said. "It's time for me to head back up. I promised Sally I'd meet her for lunch."

         "Okay," Edna said not looking up from her Palm.

         Kirsten looked at Edna. "You never get tired of that game, do you?"

         "No."

         "Goodness. Well, I better go. You should come along. After all, come two o' clock or so you have to show Chloe dart administration."

         "Crap!" Edna exclaimed, dropping her Palm. "Thank goodness you reminded me. I damn near forgot."

         "Damn near?" Kirsten asked. "You forgot. Plain and simple."

         "Fine, fine," Edna mumbled. "Go ahead and laugh it up. Yukyukyukyukyuk."

         "But it's true. Come on. Let's get going."

         With that, the ladies left the house and returned to Heaven.


         Chloe slid onto the edge of an oak branch and made herself comfy. From this tree, she could closely observe Scott and Maya without being seen. Despite divine beings were invisible to mortals, Chloe still liked to hide. It gave her a bit of an adrenaline rush, one of the many reasons she was so fascinated with matchmaking. Also, she couldn't shake the feeling that something still wasn't quite right. Still, Scott and Maya proceeded to chat without being aware of her perched in the tree.

         "Good morning, Maya," Scott said.

         "Hey, Scott," Maya replied shyly.

         "How you doin'?"

         "Doin' good."

         "That's good. You talk to Beth yet?"

         "No. They'd left the bar before I did, and I don't have Beth's number, so I can't call her."

         "That could serve as a bit of an obstacle."

         Maya chuckled. "Well, I could stick my head out my window and yell 'Hey, Beth!'"

         "But that wouldn't be all that effective now, would it?"

         "Probably not."

         As the humans chatted, Chloe listened intently. To her, it seemed like Scott seemed to be doing okay. She dug out her Palm and accessed her notepad. While Scott and Maya continued their discussion from last night, Chloe noted what she had seen in the observation so far. She was interrupted from this task, though, by a stray comment.

         "I'm thirsty," Maya said.

         "Let's go down the street to that little cafe, then," Scott said. "I'll drive."

* * *

         In Heaven, meanwhile, Kirsten and Sally sat at a linen covered table, sharing a plate of canapes and discussing the hottest topic in Heaven.

         "How goes the investigation?" Kirsten asked.

         "I'm working on a lead Luke provided," Sally said.

         "Really," Kirsten said. "Luke is the last person I'd expect to help in a time like this."

         "He picked up Chloe," Sally replied. "That's probably why."

         Kirsten nodded. "That would make sense, as opposed to everything else around here lately."

         "I know. There have been a lot of animals around here lately, wandering around loose. That makes me very worried."

         "Yeah. When I was at that bar in Avon Park last night, I saw a plasm."

         "A plasm???!!!" Sally shrieked. "That is not good."

         "I know," Kirsten said. "I didn't tell Edna or Chloe."

         "Good. Let's keep it that way. Well, now that I know a divine being has actually seen a demonic form near Chloe, I have a huge break. Still, it disturbs me."

         "Me, too."

         "But if that plasm was anywhere near Chloe, the demonic forces may be trying to get into Heaven. Heck, with all these animals, the forces may have already begun an infiltration."

         "But what would they want with Chloe?"

         "I'm not sure. That's what's going to eat us alive."

         "Sally."

         "Yeah?"

         "We're dead."

         "Technicalities. Anyway, have you seen anything else?"

         "Not that I can remember at the moment."

         "Heard anything?"

         "Not yet."

         "Okay. Let me know if you do."

         As soon as Sally said that, their entrees were set on the table.

* * *

         Chloe looked at her Palm. 11:45...fifteen more minutes, she thought. Her notepad was now filled with her observations of Scott and Maya.Still, from her vantage point (near the kitchen) she continued to watch them as they shared an order of blueberry pancakes. Maya was looking on adoringly as Scott told a story about a prank he pulled on the principal of the local high school when he was there. Listening to Scott, Chloe began to wonder something.

         "I know what you're thinking," Edna said.

         Chloe nearly leapt into the air. "Edna! Oh my word! Don't do that."

         "Sorry," Edna said. "Normally my pupils aren't so diligent in the observation period."

         "I have this feeling something isn't right," Chloe said.

         "Nonsense!" Edna exclaimed. "You did everything to a T. Look at them. Things are progressing smoothly. They're going to be here a while, so follow me."


         With that, the two divine beings were in Donaldson Park. A bowling pin sat crookedly in the sand of the lake's shoreline. A tern flew by it, but it didn't move. Chloe noticed that all the birds (and a lone man on a park bench) seemed oblivious to this pin.

         "What's going on?" Chloe asked.

         "Crash course in darts," Edna said with a smirk. "Watch me."

         Edna then unearthed a neon green water pistol and fired the plastic trigger. A small blowdart flew from the pistol and struck the head of the pin.

         "Damn," Chloe whispered.

         "You'll be doing that to Maya," Edna said.

         "With that very gun?" Chloe asked.

         "We call them launchers," Edna said. "I need to teach you some basics, though. After you complete this assignment, this will be as essential as your Palm. It will launch every type of dart except the Grade A Atomics."

         "Grade A Atomics?"

         "Essentially huge darts that we use on stubborn humans. Now you didn't hear this from me, but if you had lived, you would've gotten one."

         Chloe looked away from Edna, trying to prevent herself from shedding tears. At that, Edna patted her shoulder.

         "I didn't mean to hurt you," she said. "I was just trying to explain the power of those darts. Anyway, we have precious little time."

         A bell from one of the nearby churches rang, signaling the arrival of a new hour.

         "It's noon," Chloe muttered.

         "That means I have less than two hours to teach you about darts and how to launch them."

         "Let's get to work, then."

* * *

         Sally sat at her desk rubbing her temples. The papers were reaching new heights as the detectives brought in their reports for her. She had volunteered to lead the investigation into Chloe's death, and she had the best credentials for the task. However, it was proving to be more daunting than she could have ever anticipated. The possibility of Satan having his minions inflitrate Heaven was more than enough to give her insomnia. Ever since Luke had filled her in on what he had found while picking up a gentleman in Sebring, the whole process was more straining than ever. Detectives were working overtime, but it was extremely tricky for all of them, because keeping information from possibly slipping into a Satanic minion's hands was incredibly difficult. These minions were very cleverly disguised, and many times they took on the forms of sleeping animals, which had everyone practically reduced to a whisper in order to exchange information. A knock sounded on the door, disturbing Sally from trying to read a report.

         "Who is it?" she asked without looking up from her desk.

         "It's Luke," the voice on the other side of the door replied.

         "Come in," she sighed.

         With that, Luke entered and saw the condition of Sally and her office.

         "Goodness, woman! What is going on?" he asked.

         "Well, if you thought what you learned was bad, you might want to sit down," Sally answered. "I have even worse news."

         "What could possibly be worse than Satan being after Chloe?"

         "Kirsten spotted a plasm on the night she, Edna, and Chloe went to dust Scott."

         "A plasm. You're joking."

         "No. Kirsten hasn't told anyone except me. It looks like Satan is going to sabotage Chloe's project or at the very least has the intent to do so."

         "Oh no."

         "Oh no is right. Now did you come in just to chit chat, or is there something important going on?"

         "I just wanted to let you know that there have been some relocations. That and God wanted me to pass this message along to you."

         With that, Luke handed Sally a green slip of paper. Sally opened it and looked at it for a moment. Then, her face went white.

         "Not good, I take it?" Luke asked.

         "God is relocating some of my detectives."

         "Inflitration..."

         "Yup. We're in really deep trouble now."

* * *

         Back at Donaldson Park, Chloe loaded a blue launcher similar to Edna's as Edna rapidly entered commands into her Palm. When she finished loading the launcher, Chloe went to the beach and picked up seven bowling pins riddled with darts. As she returned with the pins, Edna placed her Palm into her jacket pocket and looked at her pupil.

         "It's 1:45," Edna said."Maya's at her house. Just leave the pins here."

         "Alright," Chloe said.

         With that, they looked at each other, soon arriving at Maya's house. They stood at the front door when Chloe raised her hand to knock.

         "Now, now, Chloe," Edna said. "You know they won't hear you. Let's go around to the back."

         The two walked around to the backyard. Ignoring the trash and other clutter in the yard, they found the back door. Edna opened it, resulting in a brief squeak from the door. Wordlessly, they walked into the house. Walking into the kitchen, they neither saw nor heard any activity on the bottom level. To make sure, though, Chloe dashed into the living room, the foyer, and the den, looking for anyone and anything.

         "All clear," she said to Edna.

         The two then headed upstairs, looking in all the rooms. They finally found Maya laying on the floor in her bedroom, writing in a diary. Edna entered the room first and watched Maya write.

         "Good!" she whispered. "She's writing about Scott."

         "Duh," Chloe breathed. "Now let's just get this over with." She then looked at the clock. It read one fifty-five.

         Seconds ticked on eternally for Chloe as she anxiously awaited two in the afternoon, the hour in which she'd rewrite destiny. She unsheathed her launcher and checked to see that it was properly loaded with the correct dart. As the hands of the clock inched closer, Chloe raised her launcher. Her hands were unmoving, but her eyes reflected uncertainty and aprehension. She shot Edna a nervous glance. A soft chime rang in the distance, and Edna nodded at her protegé. Chloe didn't hesitate and fired the dart.

Fugue a la Gigue