Marching Song

         "Edna, I'm not sure if this is such a good idea."

         "Of course it is, Chloe. There's no need to hover over them if everything's going according to plan."

         "But-"

         "No buts, Chloe. Now run along. I have to work on a case Vale just assigned me."

         Chloe left, giving Edna a sidelong glare as she walked back to her room. Along the way, she kicked a dachsund puppy that was in her path, not caring if it was hurt or not. Upon reaching her room, she went to her main computer and booted it up. After putting in her username and password, she checked her e-mail. Though she had no personal messages, there were a few bulletins she had yet to read. Choosing one that said Earth Time February, she clicked the hyperlink. The usual melange of pictures and articles appeared on the screen, and Chloe briefly scanned it. She then went for her favorite department, the new Guardian Angels listings, which was released every two months. One of her grandparents had become a guardian angel not long after she joined the heavenly ranks, but she hadn't had the chance to reunite. As she scanned the list, a familiar name caught her eye.

Catherine Isabel Watkins-to be instated in June

         "Cate?" she asked herself. Then she wondered why they were announcing Cate's instatement in February even though it was still four months away. She pulled out her Palm and enetered a couple commands.

         "What?" she screeched. "Damnit! Freakin' Luke is always busy."

         A pounding on the door disrupted Chloe even further.

         "What???!!!" she screamed.

         "Chloe, it's Damian," the voice replied.

         "Come in," she sighed, and Damian opened the door.

         "What's wrong, Chloe?" he asked once he was inside.

         "I was hoping to talk to Luke," Chloe growled.

         "Me, too," Damian replied. "I was hoping to thank him."

         "Thank him for what?"

         "For letting me know in advance that I'd be working with another guardian angel."

         "Which one?"

         "Catherine."

         "As in..." Chloe pointed to her friend's name on the screen.

         "The same."

         "Damian, she's too young to be up here! She's my age! Why's she being called?"

         "I think you know."

         "This has to do with...?"

         "Scott and Maya, yes. She's going to be Maya's guardian angel."

         Chloe sighed. "That's not fair."

         "Who said life was fair?"

         "But this is death."

         "Listen, Chloe. Death is just a part of life."

         "But why now? For her? She's been through too much. I've been through too much."

         "We all have, Chloe, but them's the breaks. When one thing is changed, it's not just that one thing. Your death illustrates that."

         Chloe shook her head. "But why?"

         "Why?"

         "Why what?"

         "Why did I die?"

         Damian shrugged but remained silent.

         "Damian?"

         The angel simply patted Chloe on the shoulder. "Don't worry about it. Maybe you should sleep. You're close to snapping."

         "Okay," Chloe whimpered, and she obediently crawled under the covers.

         Before leaving the room, Damian shut down her computer.

         Must be nice to be an apprentice.


         While Chloe slept, Damian took off in search of anyone that would listen to him. He was in a crux. His subject wasn't correctly responding to Chloe's actions, and Chloe knew it. What could he do? Edna was a very stubborn mentor who wouldn't let her pupils interact with other divine beings to assist an Earthling couple. However, he needed Chloe's help as much as she needed his. As he walked, he passed a sea green dome structure, and an idea struck him.

         Kirsten!

         He rushed over to the dome and knocked. A pale, blonde girl in a pink dress answered.

         "May I help you?" she asked.

         "Yes. Is Kirsten inside?" Damian asked.

         "I'll go get her," the girl replied before reentering the dome structure.

         A few minutes passed before the girl returned, and when she did return, Kirsten was by her side.

         "Damian," she whispered. "What's going on?"

         "I need some advice," he replied.


         Meanwhile, Edna sat in her cubicle reading over some of Chloe's documentations. Reading over them, she frowned. Despite she had ordered Chloe to a period of six Earth months of rest, Chloe had been making observations that violated this order. That merited a defiance citation, something which Edna hated writing. Still, she opened one of her desk drawers and thumbed through numerous files. A rap on the wall of her cubicle interrupted her from her task.

         "Edna," a voice sounded, "Vale would like to see you immediately in chambers."

         "Chambers?" Edna said. "What's going on?"

         "He wouldn't say," the voice continued, "but he sounded angry. You better go."

         Opting to avoid arguning with this peon, Edna shut the drawer and followed him to Vale's chambers. Upon arrival, she found Vale facing away from her, looking out one of the windows.

         "Have a seat, Edna," Vale said in a rumbling monotone. "Chase, you are dismissed."

         The peon left as Edna sat in a navy velvet chair in front of Vale's desk. After she had taken a seat, Vale turned around. His flowing hair had been pulled back into a tight ponytail, revealing his slightly gray tinged eyes and even paler face. Edna felt sweat break out on her palms.

         "Were you about to cite Chloe?" he asked.

         "Y-y-yesss..."Edna stammered. "Sh-she was d-defyingg an orrder, sir."

         "A six month period of rest order?" Vale asked. "Edna, those are to be use only twice every five years unless the situation absolutely merits lassez-faire. Scott and Maya do not. I heard you arguing with her. You gave her a counterproductive order and ignored her vocalized concerns."

         "But everything is going smoothly!" Edna yelped.

         "I got a memo from God indicating otherwise," Vale said.

         "What?" Edna shrieked. "What do you mean? Chloe did nothing wrong! You know that!"

         "It's circumstances beyond her control," Vale said. "Scott can see Chloe."

         "How?" Edna said.

         "That's currently being investigated. From my perspective, though, I saw an apprentice trying to be proactive, and I saw a minion unwilling to look into the case further than the basics so the apprentice's questions were answered."

         "I didn't know she-"

         "Her adamance in requesting an extended vigil should've been your first clue. I'm suspending you from further cases until the Foster-Burkhalter case is resolved."

         "How long is that?"

         "Until the case is resolved. What part don't you understand?"

         "But-"

         "And I would like to meet with Chloe myself from time to time, preferably weekly. You must let her meet with me while you work this out. Understood?"

         "Understood, Vale."

         "Good. You are dismissed."


         Kirsten and Damian were sitting by a playground fountain, talking away while watching some of the children and infants cavort. Some cats and dogs were lurking, and a young Latino man was shooing them off while watching over the children. However, the animals kept coming back, and at one point, Damian extracted a knife, prompting all the animals to flee.

         "Where'd you get that knife?" Kirsten asked Damian in concern.

         "It's Scott's," Damian replied. "He called it Vernon."

         "I wonder if he knows it's missing," Kirsten asked.

         "I took it from him so he wouldn't pull any more idiot suicide stunts."

         "Probably a good idea. So you think Chloe knows something is wrong with Scott and Maya. You want to help but don't know how you're gonna work around Edna."

         "Exactly."

         "Considering that there's a huge scale investigation going on in the higher ranks right now..."

         "Investigation? Into what?"

         "That's classified information, not to leave the department ranks."

         "Oh."

         "I'll talk to Vale about it. If nothing else, he'll be prompted to handle the situation somehow."

         "Okay. In the meantime, then what?"

         "Make sure Scott remembers dates, and keep an eye out for anything suspicious. If you see anything, tell Chloe, Vale, and Sally. Something tells me Chloe's gonna be on her own."

         "Why's that?"

         "Just a hunch. I'll tell you about it later. I'm gonna go catch Vale before he wanders off for the evening. It's kinda late as it is."

         With that, Kirsten left Damian at the fountain, contemplating the information he had just received.


~*~*~



         In a white walled room, Cate lay on a bed, connected to numerous medical machines. Her once vibrant eyes dully lolled around, not noticing her parents and younger twin. All she knew was pain, pain that hadn't taken long to overwhelm her. She'd spent the past few months wrought with headaches, doctors' visits, and finally one day collapsing in the dorm room while Emma was yapping banally about whichever guy she was seeing that week. Sure, she knew that her relatives were in the room with her, but her ability to respond to external stimuli was nearly nil. All she could do was wait and wish for the pain and misery to end. Unbeknowest to her, her silent pleas were about to be answered.

         A fairly young gentleman in black quietly entered the room, unknown to everyone else except Cate. Upon seeing him, she smiled. If nothing else, he was a sight for her weary, dull eyes. The man approached her, standing by her left side. He patted her hand, which was being held by her sister. He opened his mouth and began speaking silently. Still, Cate knew what he wanted. She nodded, and he moved his hand to her eyes. When his hand had rested over her eyes, she closed them, unaware of everything Earthly: her sister and parents crying, her heart stopping, and the flatline tone from the various monitors to which she had been tethered for what felt like years.



 Hammersmith