“Sa cla Bleau!” squeals Topanga Rolynns as she completely wipes out on the strip mall pavement in her six inch scarlet Louis Vouiton pumps. Cursing and brushing her sleek, jet-black hair out of her flawless, distraught face, she looks up at the indigo sky and exhales out of immense frustration. After realizing that no one had really noticed her clumsiness,she gathers herself and her shopping bags and keeps walking as a supermodel would on a runway, her short, brawny legs striding with every step taken. Glancing down at what used to be expensive shoes, but were now a scuffed up mess from her little tumble taken earlier. She gasps, “Vy is dis appening to me?” and begins walking towards her silver Lexus hovercraft in the parking lot. First, she puts her Victoria’s Secret shopping bags in the trunk hastily, then slides into the driver’s seat. She breathes in the warm musky scent of the car. It still smells like her father who had been murdered about a month ago. Adjusting the rear-view mirror, she checks her appearance. Staring back at her she sees a pair of jade eyes that were once vigorous and full of life, but now are filled with sorrow and pain. Dark lengthy eyelashes surround them like land enclosing a vast emerald body of water. Her flawless porcelain skin is radiant with blushy cheeks and a light amount of freckles kissed upon her nose and cheekbones. Displeased with the way she looks, the mirror is pushed back up with a stroke and a sigh. She adjusts it once more and starts up the car. With this, a song comes on blaring through the speakers that remind her of how things used to be, when she knew God, and when being seventeen was young and sweet. Little did she know, however, that she would soon undergo an immense change in her life, a change that no seventeen year old should ever have to undergo. Two options are in store for her: possessing the horns of a demon or bearing the wings of an angel.

It was the middle of the summer in Paris, France and Topanga had just turned seventeen. She and her best friend Glee Marie were strolling down the newly paved sidewalk in their neighborhood, wearing nothing but their bright bathers and walking in their bare feet. The warm sun danced along their backs giving them a golden tan as a reward for their extensive time outdoors. Glee Marie was Topanga’s complete opposite, tall and lanky with coiled lengthy golden locks of hair. Her fair skin and dark mysterious eyes left her breathtaking to anyone she passed by. She, of course, was every man’s dream, with the appearance of a model from an expensive clothing store. Topanga was by no means jealous; however, they complimented each other like the colors on the color wheel, Glee, being the bold expressive type, and Topanga the quieter, passive type. Clever in their own ways, they were closer than static cling, and had been best friends since kindergarten. “Vee need boyfriends,” Glee stated casually as they continued walking down the sidewalk with their popsicles in hand, the cherry juice dripping from the heat.
“Agreed, but ow do vee get boyfriends?” questions Topanga.
“Vee vill go out! Tonight!” Glee interrupts with much enthusiasm. “Vee must go shopping!”
“mmm… Glee I av no money.” Mumbles Topanga.
“Vee vill find something then. I vill check my closet darling!” With that said, she kissed both of Topanga’s cheeks and was gone in a jiffy. “Come over in about twenty minutes!” she hollers in a huffy tone and fades off into the distance, leaving Topanga unaccompanied standing on the sidewalk with her popsicle completely melted. She tosses it aside with hands stickier than glue, and looks to her right to see a hint of darkness and decides to sit under the shade of the only tree left in France since the year 2101 when all the large vegetation and the freedom of religion had been banished by their King Zazu. The forlorn tree’s loveliness shows from light years away and its exquisite olive green leaves and lingering branches provided a cooling sensation from the stifling sun. She sits down and takes a deep breath, inhaling the scent of sunshine and tranquility, sitting there without any interruptions but the sounds of hovercrafts passing by and birds chirping a light melody. A buzzing goes off and the peacefulness had been shattered like glass. “Ello Vee.” Topanga says into her Skype device. “Toe! You must get ere at vonce! Look at dis outfit.” Eyeing the stunning black sequence dress through the electronic device Topanga jumps up.
“Oh la la! I vill be there at vonce! Give me a moment darling.”
“Okay, do not be too long! Adieu amore.”

All at once she pushes herself up briskly, giggling with anticipation and frantically brushing off the grime and loose blades of grass clinging to the backs of her muscular legs. As she is doing this, an unexpected rustling comes from the branches above her, causing leaves to sprinkle down upon her. “Hmm Zat is no bird.” She mutters under her breath. Shaking it off and turning around hastily she came face to face with the creature that had apparently been in the tree. She stared at him, in disbelief and utter shock. Wearing a pure white cotton v-neck tee shirt and white shorts, a young boy, bronzed from head to toe gazed right back at her. He had sharp features: high cheekbones, eyes an almost indescribable piercing gray with wavy golden locks of hair covering his entire head, giving him the appearance of an eighteen year old. Smiling with confidence and leaving Topanga breathless he speaks at last, “You must be Topanga Rolynns.” He stated in more of an easy tone rather than a question, sticking out his lovely hand in a friendly gesture. Reaching for his hand and shaking it Topanga murmurs,” Ow-ow did you know dis?”
“Ah, she speaks!” the boy says with a pleased expression across his face. “Well, you see,” He chuckles lightly,” Okay, don’t like freak out, but I uh, I have been watching you. You snore when you sleep by the way.” Appalled by this American boy’s comment Topanga is at a loss for words. “I was sent by God to watch over you after the murder of your father. Oh and did I mention that I am a Cherubim.” He explains with a handsome grin. Puzzled from hearing this, Topanga manages to ask, “uhm, a vot?”
“Basically I am of the highest beings in the hierarchy of angels. To put it more bluntly I am a heavenly being that supports the throne of God or act as a guardian spirit. The names Nosam, by the way. You, my dear, have not been to church recently have you?” About fed up with his nonsense, she pipes up saying, “You know nothing about me. Plus our religious freedom ‘as been snatched away for undreds of years!”
“Hmmm… you talk funny, you know that?” he utters with a chuckle. “Better get a move on to your friend’s house. She is expecting you miss. Just remember, I shall be watching.” With this, he is gone within the bat of an eye, leaving behind a miniscule piece of parchment floating in the gentle breeze. Snatching it up, Topanga reads:
Topanga Rolynn’s Thoughts
Freaked out/confusion- pretty normal
Totally crushing on me- well what d’ya know?:)
Thinks I am totally full of myself- eh, half true
Dumb American???- no comment
Disbelief……………

Reading it quickly, she grumbles and rips the paper into a shredded mess. As the pieces fall to the ground softly, they fade away before hitting the ground. She gasps, and bolts towards Glee’s house. Panting and breathing heavily, she glides along the sidewalk, passing generic colorless houses, causing them to seem like a haze in the evening light. When she reaches her destination, Glee bursts through the door with a frown plastered upon her attractive face. “I told you to be ere twenty minutes ago! Where av you been? It iz almost dark!” She screeches.
“I uh, I got caught up in zomething, so zorry. I uh, met a boy,” Topanga admits.
“A boy? Like a male, zee opposite of a female? Did you flirt? I must ‘av details! You two kissed didn’t you? Before me? What is iz name? Oh mon amour, you cannot get a kiss before me!” After Glee had stopped cornering her with questions, Topanga manages to say, “E vas cute, and completely dreamy, but e vas totally bonkers!” Shaking the last part off, Glee looks rather pleased with hearing this. “I am zo proud! Now let’s get you prettied up. We are going out tonight zo I can meet a boy!”

The thing about Glee is that when she says get you “prettied up,” she really means let’s get you looking like a harlot in half an hour. Sitting on Glee's lavender quilt in her multicolored room, she curls Topanga’s dark glossy hair into tiny spiral tresses with the all-in-one curling iron and cakes on at least an inch of makeup on her face, eyes glittered to the max and to top the whole essence off was a short ebony dress with sequins covering the whole front side. She does some finishing touches with her crimson lipstick and lends her black leather stilettos to Topanga. Taking a peek into the full-length mirror, she shrugs as if that’s as good as it will get, thinking to herself how disastrous taking off all this makeup will be when she returns home. Shorty after getting her friend "prettied up," Glee starts getting herself ready, wearing a little royal blue strapless number, and straightens her naturally corkscrew curly locks of hair by turning the all in one curling iron into a straightening system in just the click of a button. She accentuates her lovely complexion with bubblegum pink lip-gloss and gives herself a Smokey eye look, and dots her eyeliner onto her right upper lip giving herself a false beauty mark. Tall velvety black boots top off her whole outfit and they are ready to go. "I'll meet you outzide darling, give me just a moment." Glee says trying to rush. She has a history of tending to always be late.

Scuffing to the pink hovercraft in her skyscraping high heels, Topanga finally reaches her destination, Glee’s passenger seat. She attempts to open the car door with a strong tug and a pull, "locked? Sa cla bleau!" She leans her back on the car in frustration, folding her tanned arms under one another, and out of nowhere an impulsive, single chill creeps down her spine causing her to shudder. Suddenly, an earsplitting screech is sent from the dark starry sky above her. An unknown object is falling at a rapid pace, coming straight for her. Momentarily, it crashes with an obstreperous noise following, leaving her knocked to the ground from the earth quaking and cracking around her. Blazing fire and hazy smoke are surrounding Topanga, and an unidentifiable object surrounded by murky fog comes dragging itself towards her. Calling out to her it says in a deep raspy voice, "Venio te requiret Rolynns." Her heart rate accelerates and she is breathing heavily. It repeats itself in English once more, "I am coming for you Miss Rolynns." Frozen from horror, she is unable to budge, but before it reaches her, a luminous flying object swoops down and attacks it with speed and agility. She ducks down trying to secrete herself from being seen, when it suddenly hits her. It was Nosam, and something out of the ordinary was definitely going on.
Moments pass by, and five more blazing objects come crashing from the night sky like poignant falling stars. Glancing to her right Topanga catches sight of Vee’s hovercraft, smashed in like a useless aluminum can. She manages to drag herself over to the destroyed metal mess and hides herself underneath it. The eerie silence that once filled the air was broken by gibberish sounding talk reverberating from the five objects that had fallen from the sky. From what Topanga could see, they looked like demons, sinister creatures, allowing one to sense the wickedness radiating from their very presence. She hears a rustling coming from the dirt and debris surrounding her, and breaks into a cold sweat. Without a chance to retaliate, “Boo,” Nosam whispers, with a smug look strung across his invigorating boyish face. “Those are not demons, just so you know. I heard your thoughts, and well, they are actually gargoyles from various cathedrals all over the world. There were six of them at one point, but I got rid of the one trying to get hold of you. The one standing tall, with sharp beady red eyes, his name is Fiago. He literally has a brain of stone, hailing from the Washington National Cathedral. Now, the thicker, sturdy looking one on the other hand, that’s Delco. He is the one to worry about, and will stop at absolutely nothing until he gets what he desires, hailing from the Cologne Cathedral in Europe. The other three are Tilo, Bo and Pela, who are all similar in size but have dissimilar horns, symbolizing their strength and intelligence. Pela is the only female gargoyle in the world, and she is one that you, my dear would not want to mess with. They all hail from the Notre Dame Cathedral. Legend has it, that gargoyles were meant to ward off the devil, while others believe they were meant to remind parishioners of the perils of evil. God has informed me much differently however, and I do not know much about these demon-like creatures.”
Gazing upon the stony creatures with disbelief, she asks,” Vy are zey ere?”
“Oh, my dear girl, they are here because of you.” He says with much fear in his solid eyes. “Me? Vat are you speaking about?” “Do you even know what you really are Topanga Rolynns?” Without letting a single word slip her pursed lips, she shakes her head slowly from side to side, running her dainty fingers through her wild mess of black hair. Nosam chuckles heartily from the sight of her, casually brushes dirt off the tip of her nose, and leans in tucking loose frantic strands of hair behind her left ear and gently whispers, “you, are a Demangelous. At the stroke of three in the morning tomorrow, you will either be on the devil’s side, or God’s side. You are the most powerful being, and if the devil’s followers get to you, they will rule the universe, making the whole world literally a living hell. This is why I was assigned to protect you from evil’s harm. Plus you’re totally adorable, so protecting you is a much more desirable task for me to accomplish.” With that being said, he backs away and waits for the tumult of questions bubbling inside Topanga. “Dis must be zom sort of mistake! Ow can dis be? She says all in a single breath.

“You may not believe me, but you are a decedent of a harthacross. Meaning, precisely the week after you turn seventeen, you become either profoundly malevolent, or highly angelic. You will possess powers that you did not even know you had. I am warning you to be ready for anything.” Nosam explains, informing her that the devil himself has been trying to get her for weeks now. “No. No. No! My père vas just a normal French man, and my mère is a simple ouswife. Dere is no vay zat I can be dis harthacross zat you speak of. It just cannot be!” She spoke with disbelief and continued to shake her head and run her fingers through her hair, sitting in a fetal position. He looks down at the dirt they were sitting in with grief in his eyes, and finally with hesitation and sadness in his voice he says, “Topanga, you were...adopted. I had hoped that I would not have to be the one to break this news to you, but, my dear, your parents never told you because they loved you like their own. In their eyes, you were their baby girl. A precious gift from God, your mother liked to say.”

Sill remaining in the fetal position, chin resting on her knees, and staring off into space, a single, solitary tear manages to cascade down Topanga's enchanting face. The only tear that she has ever shed in her seventeen years of life. It collapses on the dry soil and where it landed a single ivory white rose sprouted out of the loose dirt. A transparent glow encircled the enthralling flower, allowing it to shimmer with radiance. Topanga gasps, and hesitantly reaches out to touch it gently with her forefinger, feeling the silky petals on her fingertip. Immediately she is calmed and filled with serenity, forgetting about all the morbid news that had just been presented to her. Nosam plucks it from the ground, seals it within his pocket, and puts his hand directly on her dainty shoulder knowing precisely what had just overcome her, ”You are good, and always will be one of God's sacred creatures. Now let us go. We must get out of here before the gargoyles sense you here.”

Not removing his hand from her shoulder, Nosam says,” Close your eyes, we are about to travel through space and time. If you don’t, you may get dizzy, and where we are going the altitude may make it far worse.”
“I vill keep my eyes open if I vant!” Topanga claims stubbornly. Nosam smiles warmly and says,
“Suit yourself, princess.”
Within seconds they were suddenly moving at the speed of light. Everything around them was like a dream. Colors were colliding together, and her mind was racing as well. They both landed with a thud, causing her head to spin. Not able to stand, and stumbling to the ground she manages to say, “Vere are vee Nosam?”
“I cannot tell you that sort of information. We are, however, not in your beloved France anymore if that is what you are thinking. We had to get as far away from there as possible.” Looking around when she could finally see straight, the sight of a warm fire and the smell of fresh rain embraced her. They were in some sort of unknown cottage. Scurrying to the door she unbolts the lock and yanks on the handle, throwing the wooden door open. It is dark and murky out, but the only thing she could catch sight of were trees that went on for miles. They were in some sort of forest. She steps onto the porch and the incessant pine trees surrounding her. Looking up at the fluorescent glowing moon shining upon her and lighting up the night, she sighs. Not out of frustration, but out of peacefulness knowing that she had Nosam to protect her.

Something dark and mysterious swoops down and shatters her pleasant thoughts. Bolting for the door the object quickly moves toward her and steps in front of the door leaving it off limits. She then realizes that it is Delco, the gargoyle that Nosam had told her to worry about.
The beast did not take his sinister eyes off Topanga for a single moment. She could feel his unpleasant stare burning through the dermis of her skin. Glancing up, she stares right back at the brute with persistence in her eyes, showing no sign of fear whatsoever. The demon-like monster moves in closer, meeting her face-to-face. So close that the feeling of its warm breath caressed on her facial skin. It exhales and finally says in a deep horrifying tone, “So we finally meet, Topanga Rolynns. Glad you were not too terribly difficult to find. Thanks to your cute little angel friend, I was able to trace your harthacross scent.” He casually steps back with his clawed stony feet scuffing the wooden porch floor. “My, my, it is a sin and a shame I have to destroy this beautiful creature, Isn't it Pela?” As soon as his words were spoken, a wicked, high pitched voice chimes in, “Well, if you cannot destroy her, allow me to do so!” Pela whirls from a nearby pine tree and waltzes up to the porch with confidence and a ruthless look engraved into the slits of her eyes. “Well, we can't take all night!” she screeches placing her hands on her hips. “It is already two-thirty and Satan has given us specific orders... remember?” Draco nods and picks Topanga up by her neck roughly. She does not struggle, nor fight the hideous creature. She just thinks to herself, where in God's name is Nosam.

At that very second it was almost like he had been cued to attack. Nosam glides from the roof of the cottage house with great ease and knocks Draco to the ground. Crack! The perfectly assembled porch had been crushed from the force of Nosam's strike on Draco. Topanga is tossed aside like a rag doll and Pela manages to catch her, not gently by any means. “Thought your boyfriend could save you huh?” She whispers gruffly in Topanga's ear, as more of an angry statement than a question. “Time is ticking.” At that very moment, the earth below her was sizzling and a crack was forming beneath her. “The time is now!” Pela cried out in a pleased tone. Taking her wretched hand and balling it into a fist, she punches it through Topanga’s bony chest with great force. Shocked from the unexpected blow, she could feel Pela's wondering hand inside of her and felt her body becoming icy and weak. Her organs were pulsing and felt something unknown being ripped away from her body, something that every human needs to survive. Her soul!
Nosam is luckily able to quickly shatter Draco with his powerful strength in their dual. Jumping from one gargoyle to the other, he manages to tackle Pela to the ground. Much too late, Topanga's soul had been ripped out of her body, which was now sprawled lifeless on the forest floor. Her luminous soul was clutched tightly in Pela's gruesome hand. Struggling, but managing to get up, an uncanny smile spread across her face. “You think you can save her?” She cackles with delight. “Well, think again angel-face!” She closes her wicked eyes, as if in deep thought and the crack in the ground spreads wider as a result, revealing flames and an eerie smoke arising from it. Nosam holds his breath and jolts at her relentlessly, but it was too late. She had already jumped into the crevice with Topanga's soul. The crack closed up and there was no evidence that this night had even taken place. Draco's dust had vanished and the hole in the porch was completely mended. Suddenly he looks over his right shoulder and catches sight of Topanga's comatose body that was still strung underneath an old pine tree. Kneeling down beside it with sorrow and a deep sadness surging throughout him, he turns Topanga’s mangled body over with gentle force. He brushes the tangled mess of hair out of her pallid face and buries his head in her stomach breaking down into sobs. Pulling a pure white handkerchief from his pocket, the ivory rose falls out along with it. Noticing its presence, he leans up and scoops it into his hands. Twirling it in his fingers, the flawless flower was shimmering in the moonlight. He sits it on Topanga's chest and lays down beside her, taking her barren hand in his. He whispers, “You are good, and always will be good. Remember that.” Leaning in, he kisses her cold, distant lips softly.

Moments that seem like endless hours pass them by. Nosam is not about to leave her now though. He hums an old tune that his mother used to do for him before bedtime when he was a lad to try and comfort himself. Just then, a beam of light was sparkling down on them from the heavens above. The rift in the earth appears once more like an old friend, and something was sucked from it. The rose disappears from where it was laid. An unknown glowing object that did not happen to be there earlier, was now whirling around in circles freely. Nosam watched it dance around the dark forest in curiosity, until it flew straight into the chest of Topanga. Momentarily Topanga is coughing, gasping for air and rolling around with life. Swiftly picking her up and embracing her with strong arms Nosam was not about to let her go. “Vat appened?” Topanga mutters weakly. “I let them take you away. I did not do my job, and it will never happen again.” When he finished, he looks down at her with warm eyes, tilting her chin up with his genial hand, and kisses her warm, luscious lips with passion. She could feel herself melt into him, causing her heart to pound rapidly.

Before they both even realized it, the stream of light grew brighter and enclosed around the both of them. When they were surrounded by nothing but a pure white radiance, Nosam looks at Topanga with eagerness. “It is time my dear,” he says blissfully. Swiftly grabbing her hand, the both of them are moving through space and time second time once more. Topanga glances over at Nosam as he acknowledges her with a handsome smile. Reaching their destination, they were surrounded by a pure white abyss.

A fuzzy feeling envelopes her, and she hears a familiar deep and inviting voice say, “My dear child, welcome home. I sure have been waiting a long time to say that to you.” Appearing out of literally nowhere, a man with kind deep blue eyes and a snow white beard is standing in the abyss with them, his arms wide open. “Father?” Topanga says without even thinking and leaps into his arms, and feeling his affectionate embrace.
“God! Oh how I am glad to see you!” Nosam says eagerly, running up to the man and hugging him. “How in the world did you get Topanga's soul from hell my lord?” he questions God. “Oh, my dear boy, you saved her soul, with a kiss from a faithful angel,” God answers with a courteous smile. “Happy to have you home my precious child. We have been expecting you."