Uriel's Message

"Summer!" Snow shouted, reaching for her.

Summer's leg swung around, ready to knock the leader to the ground. She didn't have enough time to stop herself, let alone dodge the bullets that were about to come.

Guns ready, the men pulled back on their triggers, sending a barrage of bullets at Summer.

A man with blue hair tied back in a ponytail kicked the men back and their bullets. He grabbed Summer and set her next to Snow.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

Summer nodded, taking caution at the strange man.

Snow on the other hand, stared at him wide eyed. "Uriel…" she whispered, causing Summer to look back at him curiously.

Uriel had walked toward the men who were now trying to get back up. The leader looked up at the blue haired angel with a scowl.

"You got lucky there punk. You're outnumbered, so get lost before we kill you" the man said.

Uriel leaned down to him, placed his hand on the man's head, and closed his eyes. Moments passed and the man pushed Uriel away, sweat matted on his forehead and eyes bulging. He stared up at Uriel, swallowing the lump in his throat.

"Boys…let's get out of here…" he spoke.

"But Joe we can take them!"

"No! Get out of here! Now!" he shouted, picking himself up and running off into the distance. His crew stared at Uriel before following after their leader. The angel turned to the ladies and smiled.

"I'm sorry you had to see that. I do hope you're both alright and will forgive me for being so brute."

"What did you do to him?" Summer asked curiously.

"I showed him what lies for him in his future if he went through with his plans."

"It must of been something pretty bad to make him run away like that" Snow added, peaking over Summer's shoulder.

"Most people on this planet don't have very fortunate futures in store. You two on the other hand, you have bright futures ahead of you" he said as he offered his hands to both of them.

Snow took his offer and was pulled to her feet. Summer hesitated before taking his hand.

"Is it really you, Uriel?" Snow asked.

"Yes Koyuki, it is me. Forgive me, I'm early for our meeting. But i couldn't let anything happen to either of you so I had to come here quickly" he explained.

"It's a good thing you came when you did then, thank you" Summer replied.

"It's my duty to protect the saviors of this planet. I would like to escort you back to your home if that's alright with you two?"

"Of course, you're staying with us like Gabriel right?" Snow asked happily.

"If you'll allow me to, I would be most gracious to your kindness" he replied with a bow.

"You're definitely a lot nicer than Michael, you're welcome to stay with us" Summer replied.

"Thank you Miss Natsumi, Koyuki. Shall we be off?"

"Yes, but, we have to find something first in the city. Is that alright Uriel?" Snow asked, flashing her cat-like grin. The angel returned the smile and nodded.

—

"Oh, 623 and Azrael, you're back!" Peach announced, running up to them happily before clearing her composure.

"Peach, is everything alright? You seem flustered" 623 replied, looking her over.

"Oh, sorry. I just have this wave of energy ever since this morning. Oh! how did it go? What's your role?" she asked with more and more energy.

623 laughed and pulled her close with his arm. "I'll tell you all about it later, right now, maybe we should do something about this energy of yours. Where's Zerachiel?"

Azrael chuckled as he peaked into one of the rooms. "He's in here. Gluttony is a sin, you know that brother."

Zerachiel sat on the ground eating apples and bread continuously. He looked up embarrassed up at his brother and the two humans. Brushing himself off, he apologized for being a glutton.

"I'm sorry, good isn't exactly something we have up in the heavens. It's quite addicting" he explained sheepishly.

"It's alright, now, can I ask what you did to Peach here? The excessive energy seems a little too much for her" 623 explained.

"Oh, that should wear off by tonight. It's not permanent so don't worry. We'll just need to endure it for now" Zerachiel told them.

"Brothers, may I have a word?" Gabriel asked, entering the room with Winter beside him.

"Gabriel, yes of course. Please excuse us" Zerachiel replied, following Gabriel and Azrael.

Winter strolled over to his friend and fiancé excitedly. "Both of you, you're also chosen ones? This is amazing! You've got to tell me what you need to do!" he rambled off, showing his excitement as he used to when he was younger.

623 peered out of the room, listening in on the conversation between the angels. "Wait, let's hold off until later tonight. It seems like we'll be expecting one more chosen one today."

Winter and Peach stood beside him, listening in together. They could make out whispers of another angel that has made his presence known and is currently with his chosen one. The three concluded that it was either Snow or Summer seeing as they were both gone since the morning.

"I know Summer is also a chosen one for a fact, it only makes sense that Snow is also one of us" Winter revealed.

"That's incredible. What are the chances of all of us being saviors of this world? It's oddly exciting" 623 added.

"Oh, but which one do you think it is though? Between Summer and Snow? Maybe we should wait for all of us to reveal our roles" Peach offered.

"I don't know which one it is, but I think we should reveal our roles tonight to all of us. Even if one of them doesn't know their role, it's only fair we all talk about this. After all, we're in this together for the long run" Winter concluded.

"I'm in. Snow would understand and Summer, she'd be upset for a while, but even she isn't that stubborn" 623 replied.

"While it's just the three of us, can I ask what your angels brought you?" Winter asked curiously.

"What do you mean Winter?" Peach inquired, confused by his question.

"Well, Gabriel brought us the sunrise. He said it was his gift to us, to me. He also said the others would bring miracles with them as well to inspire our help."

"Huh, no, they haven't really done anything yet. Unless you count Zerachiel healing my leg."

"I don't think that one counted. It's something that would mean a lot to us. The sunrise meant a lot to me personally and it was great morale for everyone. Maybe you need to tell them what you want most?" Winter offered.

The three fell silent, thinking about the things they want most. Their thoughts were interrupted as the three angels returned to them.

"Hmm, eavesdropping is so like you humans" Azrael spoke, causing the three to look away, embarrassed.

Gabriel winked over to Winter. "We would of told you right away anyway. Our brother, Uriel, will be joining us."

"Who is he protecting?" Peach asked quickly.

"Koyuki, or Snow, whichever you prefer. You humans come up with the strangest fake names" Azrael mocked.

"Snow, I see. So my sister and Michael still haven't met…" Winter sighed.

"It seems that way. Michael is…stubborn" Zerachiel whispered.

"Perfect match for our leader. Who is your leader anyway?" 623 questioned.

"Technically we don't have a leader—" Azrael began before being silenced.

"Michael is our leader, Azrael just doesn't like to admit it" Gabriel continued.

"Well, I hope we get to meet him soon" Peach replied, smiling sweetly.

"He's the last person you'd want to meet" Azrael chuckled.

"What do you mean?" Winter asked.

"Don't pay attention to Azrael, he's just trying to start trouble. Michael is very stubborn and hard to deal with sometimes. Especially when it comes to Lucifer. Anyway, let's not talk about this right now. Uriel and the other two should be here shortly" Gabriel said, evading the topic.

Just as he spoke, the front doors opened, creaking loudly through the room. The group of six walked out to see Summer, Snow, and Uriel in the door way hauling two bigs bags. Winter and 623 ran over to their side to help them. Summer stared at the two new angels. Her eyes were searching for hers, but she could feel he was not there. Gabriel took notice and walked over to her.

"Save it. We'll talk later" she spoke, putting her hand up to him and walking off.

Gabriel sighed and looked to his brothers to an answer. Uriel put his hand on his shoulder.

"I have a message from Michael" he whispered.

Gabriel nodded. He waved his brothers over. Winter watched them curiously before seeing them disappear in a flash.

"Guess they have important business to discuss" 623 said, carrying the bag of apples.

"Seems like it…" he replied, staring off in the area where Summer left.

"Hey, you go talk to her. We'll take care of this stuff" 623 offered.

Winter nodded and ran through the doors Summer disappeared through. Snow carried the other large bag, smiling happily.

"That more apples?" 623 asked.

"No, not really. We found a garden store in the city a little away from here" Snow replied eagerly.

"Would you like some help Snow?" Peach offered.

"Yes please! Let's go to the roof now!" the black haired girl exclaimed, full of excitement. She grabbed Peach's hand and ran up the stairs with her, leaving 623 on his own. He sighed and dragged his bag of apples to a storage room with the other foods they managed to find. When he was done, retreated to his room. The silver haired boy rummaged through his bag until he found a lighter and a pack of cigarettes. Making sure now one is around, he quickly walked through the front doors into the city. He made sure to walk away from anyone's sight before taking out one cigarette and lighting it. Taking a deep breathe, he inhaled the smoke and let it our shortly after.

"I haven't seen you do that in a while human" Azrael spoke up, coming out of the shadows.

623 jumped from the surprise. "I thought you were with your brothers.."

"Hmm, I was, and now I'm here. Are you sure you want to continue that nasty habit?" Azrael probed.

623 sighed and took another inhale of the cigarette, "Listen, it's not like I enjoy having these. They just happen to help."

"Help with creating the cells inside of you that are slowly killing you?" Azrael asked matter-of-factly.

623 looked up to him indifferently. "Like I said, I don't enjoy them, but they help."

"They're helping spread the cells faster, nothing more, nothing less. You do realize you need to be alive in order to fulfill your destiny?"

"I doubt I'll be dead before I have to do what I need to do. Are you just here to pester me about my addiction or are you here for an actual reason?" 623 snapped back with annoyance.

Azrael looked down at the boy, pitying him. He turned around, facing the darkness he emerged from. "You get one miracle. I'll let you think it over, but don't waste my time" he said before disappearing into the shadows. 623 watched him leave, taking another hit of the cigarette. He stared at it. Anger filled him at the sight of it. He tossed it to the side, crunching it with his shoe, and walked away with his hands in his pockets.

As he grew closer to the building, Winter ran out the doors to meet him, panting.

"Winter? Is something wrong?"

"It's Summer…I can't find her anywhere. I was hoping you'd of seen here outside or something" Winter explained.

"Nope. Guess she just wants to be alone for now. Give her that space, we'll talk to her later tonight about it."

"I know it's just…I wish I could be there for her and I wish she'd let me. I get why she'd be upset but, isolating herself like this and not talking about what's wrong is going to make it worse on her and everyone else…" Winter sighed.

623 stood there, contemplating what Winter just said. His eyes glazed and turned cold. His playful demeanor had begun to disappear on the outside. Winter looked up at him, confused.

"623, are you alright? Did something happen?"

Snapping out of his daze, he looked at Winter and smiled nervously, "Oh no, I guess I just got lost in thought. Anyway! Why don't we go help out with that garden huh? I'm sure they'll need some help up there" he deflected.

Winter stared at him a little longer, looking for any answer in him. He sighed and nodded in agreement. The two men walked alongside each other into the building in silence.

Summer watched them walk away from the top of a neighboring building. Knees pressed to her chin, she watched everything around her, unamused. Uriel stood behind her in silence, waiting to address her.

"You can stop standing behind me you know?" she called out.

Surprised, the angel walked over beside her, taking a seat. "I'm sorry if I disturbed you."

"You're too nice…Snow is lucky to have an angel that cares" she mumbled.

Uriel stared at her with gentle eyes, smiling. "Michael cares, trust me."

"Yeah, sure he does. He cares enough to threaten me and never show up. What a guy" she replied sarcastically.

The angel stared at her, still smiling, unmoving. The girl glanced over to him with a blank face. They sat there in silence for half an hour before Summer broke it.

"You know, some people want to be left alone…" she grumbled.

Uriel nodded in response. "This is true. But you don't want to be alone, not truly."

"And how do you know that?" she snapped back.

"Because Michael is watching over you and telling me so."

Summer sat there, quiet once more. Thoughts of this angel that's supposed to care for her clouded her mind. She was angry, upset, scared, sad, and somewhat happy all at once. The emotions combined though, didn't help her in that moment.

"He's worried about you. He says you're conflicted about me talking to you."

"Maybe because it shouldn't be you talking to me…" she whispered.

Uriel looked at her sadly, knowing what she meant. He held out his hand for her. Glancing at it, she remained unmoved.

"Would you like to see the future you'll help create?" Uriel asked, still holding out his hand.

Resistant, Summer remained sitting in her spot, fighting the urge to grab his hand. In her head, she kept trying to persuade herself to just do it, to stop fighting herself on simple decisions. Her rational was losing.

Pulling his hand away, he looked off onto the rooftop where the four friends were making a garden together. He pointed at them.

"You don't have to if you don't want to, but, maybe you should take a chance sometime. I'll be able to show you whenever you need me to. But, maybe you should be with people that care about you instead of alone. They're worried about you."

"I know…" she whispered.

"I have a message for you. Would you like to hear it?"

"…No."

"It's from Michael."

Her body tensed, fighting itself from moving and speaking. She sat like a statue for minutes before Uriel got up from his seat next to her. He began walking away from the girl. She struggled to continue her resistance, but failed.

"W-wait!…What…what's the message?" she asked meekly.

Turning around with a smile, he leaned down to her. "He'd like to meet with you, in your dreams. But because you guard yourself so much, he can't. He's asked me to tell you to open yourself, to be more willing and accepting. Start by letting your walls down. Be with your friends, your brother. And when you are about to sleep, be in the comfort of your room. Don't run away and guard yourself otherwise, you two will never meet."

Summer stared at him, eyes wide and glazed. He stood up and walked away from her, leaving her to be alone like she'd wanted in the beginning. Replaying the words in her head, she considered listening, but also, she considered not to. Summer looked out to the rooftop where everyone was. The angels were all there now as well, helping out and spending time with her family. She yearned for it, but her stubborn nature refused to reward her with such luxuries. The last time she allowed herself to be so careless, she lost her mother.

Still, she watched them work and play, enjoying their time in this apocalypse. She felt a smile forming and a tear racing down her cheek. Maybe…she thought, Maybe I could…no…but…ugh, why am I like this…I just want my life back…I want to not worry about everyone's safety…yet…I just want to feel that happiness again…

—

"Hey Hastings! Quit hogging the dirt!" 623 shouted at the old man.

"Ho ho, as I recall, you were hogging it just a minute ago" Hastings retorted.

"Oh yeah? You wanna fight old man? I can take you!" 623 replied with a coy smirk.

"Ha, humans sure know how to be entertaining" Azrael replied from his spot on the roof.

"We can be a handful sometimes" Winter replied chuckling.

Everyone was enjoying themselves, working and playing alike. Peach on the other hand, worked on her own plot of the garden by herself and in silence. She glanced up at 623 and Hastings throwing dirt at each other. A familiar joy and sadness filled her.

"You know, you could join them" Zerachiel spoke, walking over to her.

She shook her head, continuing her work. "I'm not like that…" she replied with a fake smile.

"You're bad at lying" he replied, leaning down to her.

She grew quiet, cradling a faint smile still as thoughts and memories of her old life filled her head.

"Remember, I've known you since you were born. I know that separate side to you. And, I know what happened."

"That's in the past…nothing can change that.."

"Are you so sure? Have you tried?"

"Of course we've tried…but nothing works…we tried convincing him, but…he only accepted a part of it…" she whispered.

"You haven't tried everything then" Zerachiel whispered back, helping her plant a small tree.

"There's nothing I can do…I'm not a doctor…I can't heal everything…" she replied, a tear rolling off her cheeks and watering the soil below her.

"But I can…and you will be able to as well" he replied smiling and brushing her tear away. She looked up at him, surprised. She remembered what Winter told both her and 623 earlier in the day about miracles.

"Zerachiel…is it true you can perform a miracle…?" she asked.

He smiled, looking her in the eyes, he nodded.

"I can bring you one miracle, anything your heart desires. Even what you once thought was impossible."

Peach stared at him incredulously. Her glance went back to 623 and Hastings. She remembered that day like it had just happened yesterday.