~Chapter 10~

   For a second, there was dead silence. The look on the girl's face was of pure hatred.
   "Ai, what are you-"
   "She's right Nolan," Kris interrupted. Nolan very slowly turned his head toward him.
   "What...?"
   Kris smiled an evil smile, one that I had seen on his face a lot recently. "Fifteen years ago, I killed Queen Adriana and King Caleb of Heaven."
   A look of horror and confusion came to Nolan's face. "You...?"
   "You're the reason all of this is happening!!" The girl, Ai, spat at Kris. "Before the war, Heaven and Hell coexisted perfectly! We never fought with each other!" Her shoulders settled as a look of sadness crossed her face. "We were at peace..." Anger came back. "But then, Hell attacked out of nowhere! Many were killed fighting, attempting to protect everyone else. And when it was finally coming to an end...the young boy who had led Hell came forth...and killed Caleb and Adri..." She looked like she was about to cry. Then she looked at Kris in hate once again. "He is the reason there is a war."
   Nolan was appalled. "Kris?" He looked to him, hoping for an explanation that would justify this all, show that his best friend was still there. But he didn't get one.
   "It's all true."
   Nolan was struck into silence. He just stared in horror at Kris. Ai turned towards me.
   "What about you?" she asked. She looked confused and curious.
   "Huh?" I asked.
   Her eyes narrowed, as if she were trying solve some type of puzzle on my face. "You don't seem bad. Why are you a demon?"
   My eyes widened. "Oh..." I looked down at my feet, scared of her eyes. "Well, when I died...I prayed that I would go where Kris was. I didn't care where that took me, as long as he was there."
   "I see..." I looked back up at her, she smiled. "So Heaven listened to you." It was now I who was confused.
   "Heaven?"
   "Yes, Heaven-"
   "Daisy," Kris said in a forceful tone. "We should go now." He turned to walk away and Nolan seemed to snap out of a trance.
   "Wait!" Kris stopped, but didn't turn around. "Why did you attack Heaven!?"
   Kris smiled at him over his shoulder, that same evil smile, and said simply, "To win."
   Ai's anger fumed again. "TO WIN!?!? You just don't get it, do you!? Heaven and Hell are like the Yin and Yang, Light and Dark, Good and Evil! If either disappears, the balance is set off! Everything will be in chaos! Why do you think Heaven has never attacked back!? Not just Heaven, but if Hell dies-"
   "Oh please!" Kris laughed. "There is no 'balance'! If Heaven goes away, it means one thing. Hell wins." He turned to me. "Come on Daisy, let's go."
   I looked back at the horror-struck Nolan and the angered Ai, then went to Kris. "Okay..."
   "Daisy," Ai said from behind me. "You're good, I can tell. He's not. It's never too late to change."
   I hesitated, not sure what to say. "Thanks..." I whispered, unsure if she could even hear me. Then I just walked away with Kris. "Oh," I said, stopping. I turned around. "And, Merry Christmas." I said, attempting a smile.

   Nolan sat by the window, staring out at the snowy night, just as he had been since we'd come back, two hours ago. I walked up behind him and also looked out at the snow. Before it had been bright and beautiful, but now it had a dark, gloomy feel to it.
   "Nolan..." I put my hand on his shoulder.
   "I'm sorry, Ai. I know this ruined Christmas for you," he said.
   "No... No!" he looked at me, surprised by my sudden anger. "I don't care about that!" He looked at me, confused. "I just..." I looked away from his eyes. "I just hate seeing you like this." He gave me a smile, but it didn't reach his eyes. He rested his hand on top of mine, then turned back towards the window.
   "He was my best friend, Ai... My best friend...is leading Hell in the war." He seemed to not know what to think of this.
   I was still thinking of what I should do, but my body was already acting. I wrapped my arms around his shoulders in a comforting hug. "I'm sorry... I know it's hard to wrap your mind around, but...please, just forget about what happened. Just for tonight. It's Christmas. We shouldn't be sad."
   His shoulders slumped and he put his hands on my arms, as if to hold me too. "I know... I'm sorry, Ai. It's just hard..."
   I sighed, but then perked up as I thought of something. "Oh!" He turned and looked at me. "I have something that will cheer you up!"
   "Hm?"
   I put my hand on his face, and kissed him. I then drew back and smiled at him. He looked dumbstruck.
   "I'm confused..." he said.
   I sighed with a laugh and rolled my eyes. "I love you, Nolan." His eyes widened in shock. "I always have. I had been waiting for you to tell me how you felt," I looked away and smiled sheepishly. "And then when you did, I had to leave..." I let my eyes meet his once again. "I've loved you since the day I met you."
   He was still shocked for a few seconds, then a loving smile came to his face. He put his hand on the back of my neck and kissed me. Yes! I managed to distract him, mission accomplished.

~Chapter 9~

   "You ready Ai?"
   "Um...Well..." Nolan looked at me.
   "What is it?"
   I was fidgeting with my dress. "Well, it's just that Christmas is coming up...' Nolan raised his eyebrows at me. "A-And I wouldn't want to ruin Caleb's Christmas by giving him his memories and putting all this stress on him...and-"
   "And you miss Christmas." Nolan was smiling, he could see right through me.
   "Yeah..." In Heaven we don't really celebrate holidays. There is no Christmas. So, I haven't celebrated Christmas for a long time. The thought of it kind of made me excited.
   "Okay, we can stay for Christmas, but we have to bring back Caleb's memories by New Years," Nolan said. YES!!!
   "Yes, of course," I attempted to say seriously, but I couldn't hold back the smile creeping at the sides of my mouth. Nolan just laughed.

   "OH MY GOSH!!!!! Nolan, wake up wake up!!!!!!!!!" Ai was shaking my shoulders frantically.
   "Hmm? What the...? Ai, it's five in the morning, why the hell are you up so early?"
   "It doesn't matter, come on!!!!" She grabbed my wrist and yanked me out of bed and out the door.
   "Wait, Ai! I don't have a shirt-! Whoa..." A huge blast of cold air hit me when we got outside, but I didn't care. Everything, the ground, the trees, the surrounding buildings, were covered in pure white snow. Ai was spinning around happily as more snow fell.
   "I know right!? It's so pretty!! I'd forgotten..." She said.
   I laughed. "Yeah..."
   "Hey, how about you get dressed and we go for a walk," she said.
   "Okay, good idea."

   "Kris, can we go up to Earth today?"
   "Why?"
   "Because it's Christmas!" I said with a smile.
   He raised his eyebrows. "Daisy, we haven't celebrated Christmas in fifteen years."
   "I know... But we're going to be going to war with Heaven soon... And I thought we should have some fun first!" Kris sighed and rolled his eyes.
   "Fine, but only for a few hours."
   "Yay!!"

   "I miss this..." I looked at Ai. "This feeling. Living..." she held up her hand and a flake of snow landed on it and melted. "Feeling the snow on my hand, breathing in the cold air... It's...really..." Ai's eyes closed and she suddenly collapsed.
   "AI!!!" I quickly caught her before she hit the ground. She was unconscious. I sighed in relief. She seemed okay.

   "Hmm...?" What happened? I was walking with Nolan...and then... I opened my eyes. Snow was still falling. I was sitting on the ground under a tree, except my back wasn't leaning against a tree... "What...?"
   "Shh... You must have feinted from the cold. Just rest for a minute, then we'll walk back," Nolan said. He was sitting behind me against the tree. He had his arms tightly around me, holding me close. He's so warm... I sunk into his arms.
   "Okay..."
   We sat there in silence for a little while, watching the snow fall, then Nolan straightened up. "No way..." he whispered.
   "What?" I asked.
   "Daisy?" He asked out loud. I looked out in front of us. There was a girl there. She was about our age and had glaringly pink hair, with eyes such a light shade of blue they were practically clear. She looked at Nolan in surprise.
   There was a guy standing next to her. He was tall and muscular and he had deep dark blue eyes and short black hair. "Uh oh," he said. Wait... I've seen that guy before...
   "Oh my god! It really is you! I'm so glad to see you-!" Nolan said, but he stopped when I stood up. "Ai?"
   "You..." the guy looked at me and smiled that evil smile I'd seen before. "YOU KILLED ADRIANA!!!!!!!!!!"

~Chapter 8~

   "Come back...? And leave Adri...? N-No... I... I can't..." The thought of this hit me like a fatal blow. My legs nearly collapsed from under me. Nolan carefully put his arm around my waist and lowered me to the ground.
   "I know this is really important and all, but Heaven hasn't been this disorganized since...well I would have still been alive, so I don't know," he attempted to get a laugh out of me, but my face was housing a severely stressed look. He sighed. "They're lost without a leader. Even after Caleb and Adriana were lost so long ago, at least they had you. Now, with you gone things are getting crazy. They need you, Ai."
   "But I'm just a replacement!" I finally found my words. "We all need Caleb and Adri! I can't just leave, they haven't remembered yet!"
   "Then they need to remember. Soon." I looked up at Nolan. He was deep in thought, but when he felt my eyes on him, he smiled at me. "We'll work this out. Don't worry."

   "WHAT!?!? What do you mean you're leaving!?!?" I jumped from Liliana's outburst.
   "Lil, I'm sorry. But Heaven needs a leader. They need me." She put her hand on her head as if she had a headache.
   "But Adri and Caleb need you too," she said. "How are their memories supposed to return if you're not here?"
   "Well..." I said. "I think I might be able to have Caleb's memories return..." Hope crossed Liliana's face. "But I'm not completely sure if it'll work," I added quickly. The hope didn't fade.
   "Whatever," Liliana shook off my doubt. "Why Caleb though? Why not Adri? Or them both?"
   "Well, Caleb was always better at handling tough situations. And as long as he stays around Adriana, her memories should come back to her."
   "Okay...So how are you going to bring back Caleb's memory?"
   "Same way us angels do everything. I'm going to pray for it."
   Liliana nodded. "Good luck," she said.
   I smiled. "Thanks," I said. "I'm going to need it."

~Chapter 7~

   "Class, I'd like you to welcome our new student, Nolan." We might as well have been inside a Charlie Brown cartoon. Everyone was so wrapped up in their computer projects, they barely even noticed the teacher.
   "Hey, nice to meet you all." I pulled my eyes away from my computer. It couldn't be... I slowly turned my head to see "the new kid" standing by the teacher. He was tall and had short brown hair and bright green eyes. His cute, childish smile was one that my eyes knew very well. His eyes were wandering around the room as if they were looking for something. When they came to me, the corner of his mouth pulled up in a small smile.
   "I'm sorry, they're right in the middle of a project," the teacher said to him. He turned to regard her, but his eyes never left mine. "It's too late to start one of your own..." The teacher turned to the room. "Would anybody be willing to work with Nolan for the rest of the project?" His eyebrows raised at me in a silent question. I sighed.
   "He can work with me," some girl stole the words right out of my mouth.
   "You go girl!" her friend whispered.
   "He's so cute!" another one said. Nolan gave me a sad look and I returned a silent "Sorry."
   Throughout class I could feel his eyes on me. Finally, the bell rang. The girl that had claimed Nolan was still flirting with him, so I stood up, grabbed the hood on Nolan's jacket, and dragged him out of the room with me.
   "What the hell are you doing here!?" I yelled as soon as we were far away from any of the students.
   He flinched away from my anger. "It's nice to see you too..." he said in a sarcastic voice.
   "Damn it, Nolan! I'm serious!! Why are you here!?" His face became serious.
   "Ai, it's been three months already. I got worried." He gave me one of those soft, loving looks and I looked away from his eyes.
   "I can take care of myself..." I said. Nolan took me in his arms.
   "I know, I'm sorry. I was just worried." I sighed and hugged him back.
   "Well don't be. I'm fine." I took a small step back from him.
   "Come on, you should get back before-"
   "Actually," he interrupted. "There's another reason I came here." His eyes strayed from mine. Something's wrong...
   "What is it?"
   "Heaven. They're in chaos without a leader. Ai," he looked at me with serious eyes. "They need you."

~Chapter 6~

   "Yeah!" I watched as the group of four walk out of the school.
   I envy them...
   To be alive, with no worries, no problems. Just life. Being so easy-going. Not making plans, having spur the moment trips to the movie theaters. I miss it... I miss it so much.
   It's been fifteen years since then...
   Fifteen years ago, I died. Kris had just died, and I felt as though I couldn't go on. I was walking home from school, and I wasn't paying attention to where I was going.
   It was as if the car appeared out of no where...
   I had only a few moments before I was swallowed by darkness, dead. In those last few moments, I prayed.
   Please, I don't care what happens, where this takes me. I just want to be with Kris. I want to go where he is...
   My wish was granted.
   I woke up as if from a long deep sleep. Everything was hazy, but a familiar voice brought me to reality. This was a voice I loved to hear. It was sweet, but harsh. It could be evil, but for me it was soft and nice. It was the voice of the boy I loved. Kris.
   "Daisy..." My senses still covered in fog, I looked hazily around.
   "Hah...?"
   "Daisy?" This time it was more clear.
   "What?" I sprung up. "Kris?!" He smiled. Something's different... said a voice at the back of my head. I blinked and shook my head. I don't care! It's him!! "Kris!!" I lunged forward and wrapped my arms around his neck. "Kris, it's you! It's really you!!" Tears came to my eyes as I finally embraced Kris after going two weeks without him. I could feel his strong, familiar arms around me. It was the happiest I would ever be.
   I later found that the place I had woken was the land of devils, beneath the Earth's crust. Hell. Why? Why was Kris sent here? Kris... Who are you?

~Chapter 5~

   "Okay so, let me get this straight," Liliana said. She was holding her head as if it hurt. "You, Caleb, and Adri are angels. Adri and Caleb were King and Queen of Heaven. You were Adri's best friend, even when you were alive. And Adri and Caleb died to save you, and the rest of Heaven, from Hell."
   "Yes."
   "Then what the hell am I!?" Her sudden shouting made me jump.
   "I'm sorry, I thought you already knew. You are a protector."
   "I know that," she said with a sigh. "But, I mean, how do I have these powers?"
   "I'm not quite sure of that myself. I believe a small amount of power was taken from each angel, and given to you."
   She gave me a questioning look. "What makes you say that?"
   "Well," I said. "After Caleb and Adri were lost, we all seemed to be a bit weak. We assumed it was because our king and queen were gone, but now, seeing you with such power, I believe the power of Heaven took a small amount of power from all of us, and gave it to you."
   "The power of Heaven? What's that?"
   "We're not exactly sure what it is, but it seems to control our powers."
   "What do you mean?" Poor Liliana, she looked majorly confused.
   "Here's an example;  unlike humans seem to think, angels don't walk around with feathered wings. We don't usually fly, we're actually just like normal humans. If we wish for wings, we say a prayer that asks for them. If our reason for them is good enough, they are granted to us, but only temporarily. That is what I did to come here."
   "Wow... So you think this 'power of Heaven' thing gave me these powers to protect Adriana and Caleb?"
   "Exactly."
   "That's so strange-"
   "Lil! Ai! Come on!!" Adri yelled from the school gates. She was standing with Caleb, waiting for us.
   "Coming!" we yelled in unison.
   "What were you two talking about?" Adri asked as we neared her.
   "Oh, nothing," I said. Liliana looked at me, but remained quiet.
   Seeing the look on Liliana's face, Adri asked, "Is everything okay?"
   "Yeah, we were just talking about random stuff!" I said, hoping she wouldn't see through my lie. Thankfully, this was actual teenage Adri, who didn't have years of wisdom and perception added on from ruling Heaven.
   Still not looking completely convinced she slowly said "Okay..." Then, she put a smile on her face. "So what movie should we see?"
   "Oh!" Liliana burst out. We all jumped. "I heard there's a new movie based off 'Tale of the Full Moon'! It's about the girl's life BEFORE everything happened!"
   "Sounds good!" I said, happy to be moving onto a different subject. "Adri?"
   "Sounds good to me! Caleb?" She looked up at him.
   "If you're okay with it, so am I," he said as he wrapped his arms around her. She giggled.
   "Aww, how cute," Liliana said.
   I laughed. "So then, shall we go?"
   "Yeah!"

~Chapter 4~

   "Ai, go!!" Adriana yelled as she stopped someone from attacking me.
   "But-!"
   "No! You have to get out of here! Caleb and I will take care of them! You remember what I told you right!?"
   "Yeah, but-"
   "Ai! Get out of here!!" Caleb yelled.
   "I'll save you, both of you! I promise!"

   "Ai! Thank goodness, you're back! Wait...where are Caleb and Adriana?" Miranda said as I rejoined her.
   I gave her a sad look. "They're gone."
   "What!? NO! They can't-!"
   "But it's okay!" I interrupted. "We'll get them back."
   "What? How's that possible?"
   "Well... Adri told me that when an angel dies, they're reincarnated on Earth. In fourteen years, we can get them back."

   I am a ghost, or at least, that is my form when on Earth. The correct term for what I am would be an angel. Us angels live up in Heaven, a place above the clouds that people can not see. We were always peaceful, we never meant any harm to anyone. However, there is another race that did. This is a race of what humans would call demons. They are creatures made from the souls of the dead who were not able to make it to Heaven.
   They live in Hell.
   Hell tried to destroy Heaven, and a war broke out. Many were lost, but King Caleb and Queen Adriana protected all of Heaven, and ended the war. But, the price was their lives. I dread the fact that I was right there and I couldn't help them. Adri, my best friend from when we were still alive, died to save me and the rest of the angels.
   That is why I must save them. Hell will rise again, and they will destroy us if we don't have Adri and Caleb with us. We need them. So, fourteen years now have passed since the war, and now it's time. Caleb and Adri will have been reincarnated on Earth after they died. Now, all I must do is find them, and get them to remember everything. Hopefully, I will get them before Hell does.
   "Are you ready?" Miranda asked me. Miranda is my friend who I met after death. She died on the same day that I did. In Heaven, the day you died is sort of like your birthday on Earth. Miranda has shoulder length black hair and light purple eyes.
   "I think so."
   "You won't be gone long, right?"
   "I hope not."
   "Well, just remember that no matter what, I'll still be here when you get back." Miranda gave me a friendly smile.
   "I know. Thanks." I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. "Through the clouds, between-"
   "Ai!!" A familiar voice said.
   Miranda smiled at me. "I'll leave you two alone."
   "What...?" As Miranda walked away I turned away to see a familiar tall boy running towards me. He had short brown hair and bright green eyes. As soon as he reached me he wrapped his arms around me. "N-Nolan..."
   "Thank goodness you haven't left yet," he said. "Ai, I know I'm just a friend to you, but...I love you, Ai. I know I do. I don't want an answer right now. Just, think about me while you're gone. Think about how you feel about me. I'll still be your friend, even if you reject me. I'll be waiting for you." I smiled and hugged him back.
   "Goodbye, Nolan." I took a step back and gave him a smile. I again took a breath and started over my prayer. "Through the clouds, between Earth and Sky, grant me wings, so that I, have the power I need to fly, to go to Earth, and leave the sky!" Huge white feathered wings spread out wide from my back. I walked to the open window.
   "Ai," Nolan said from behind me. I turned my head around.
   "Hm?"
   He gave me a kind smile. "Goodbye."
   "Bye," I said. I jumped and let myself free-fall towards Earth. I landed somewhere in the ocean and was washed up on shore. As soon as I felt the sand underneath me and the cool salt water brushing against my skin, familiarity washed over me, and I suddenly realized how much I missed the real world. "Earth..."