I'll come 'round your houses and stamp on all your toys!

[hydeforareason]

With Christmas passed and another New Years spent together, the months after just seemed to fly on by.  The routine became commonplace, Peter was a little less clingy, and Sam felt incredibly proud to be the father of that little boy.  He'd nearly forgotten about the little journey to the centre of nothingness where Peter had his tea party with

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[hydeforareason]

"Want to know why?" Jack was getting...angry. Very angry. But Gene was a lesser being by nature. Jack had never been human. He helped his brother create humans. And his brother had abandoned him to look after the whole mess. It was driving him mad. "I'm not your fucking boss, Gene. I do not have the power to do anything except open a little gap between pocket worlds for you guys to migrate. I can't fast track anyone. Sam will never get his wings while there's already an angel in your world. So when you take off, he'll get to stay and take over. I think. I don't know exactly how it's all suppose to work, how you guys become what you are, except I'm pretty sure it has to do with the way you die. Demons? Well they're pretty nice and easy. I just ask them. When their souls are getting ready to be shifted into a particular world based on a fuck load of things you can't ever grasp, I sort of hand out this questionnaire. give the interested people interviews...and that's pretty much it."

Jack shook his head and finished putting his gun back together. He checked it, pulled back the hammer to let a bullet slip into the chamber, and reholstered it.

"Sorry for yelling, but I'm tired. I don't have any good company. I've been to every little world and so far, none of the angels in training want to move over. So what am I to do? I cut losses. A few hundred worlds to save a thousand, you know?"

[alwaystheguv]

Gene wanted to argue back and fight this man but something about him reminded Gene of himself. That stress and anger that came from this job and being unable to control the circumstance he was stuck in sometimes. Jack had it on twice a scale and while everything the man stood for left him uneasy, he had to admit that the bloke had a point. "Look, I wish I could help, but not Sam. Never Sam. I have faced demons, other bosses and other forced and I'm not sending him off. Got it? I'd help but ... you only want Sam and I can't give him."

Simple as that. He wanted to pitch in, he didn't want anyone to die unhappily, but what was he to do? Really?

"Look, if you can find someone, anyone, who you think could possibly take over that world and gain his wings, I'll help him. That's it," that was all Gene was offering and if Jack didn't want it, bugger him.

[hydeforareason]

Jack paused. "All right, you know, I never asked that. I guess it's because I get to wear the big D title and everyone just assumes we're all evil. It's not like that. I mean, look at you. You're an angel but you're not even close to a saint."

He had to laugh at that, standing up from behind the table.

"I'll give you a year, Gene. If you can find someone willing, and they have to be willing, to step up into that old angel's shoes? Great. No destruction. But after that I really do need to get some sleep okay?"

It seemed reasonable to him!

[alwaystheguv]

"I'm far from it. Look,, I don't like you or your henchmen or your poncy RAF gun but I get where you're coming from and that's the sole reason why I'm even here trying to help, got it?" But after that, he didn't know how else to help. There was no way they were ever getting Sammy.

Getting to his feet, he sighed somewhat.

"I need access to that other world, bigger index of people, I need to find the right bloke. Or girl," he only added that because he was always being lectured by Sam on equal rights.

Huh, some things stuck!

[hydeforareason]

Jack frowned very, very softly. "Gray's been gone too long," he said softly. "He never showed you anything... You can go whereever you want. Well, I say 'wherever' but there are dangers. I don't have time to babysit you. I don't have time to babysit my own clan. You understand, right?"

What did it matter if he did or didn't? Jack really needed to get back to let Keats out. Gene's companion was never happy these days. And Jack really did like him! And liked him better than most of his brood!

"Okay, lesson one: There are things here. Not angels or demons, and I can't get into what. But they can hurt you. Or get you lost if you leave the little bit of void around your world. Pretty much, you just find a door into the network, then think about where you want to do and ideally, another door will open for you. Here. I'll show you."

He led Gene out of the stars into a hallway of pure black where Gene immediately dissolved into that poor boy with half a face. Jack didn't notice.

He showed him how to find the world in question and opened the door for him too. Just so he'd remember. Immediately, the demon of that world appeared beside him, looking started.

[alwaystheguv]

Gene was surprised at how smoothly it seemd to be to jump universes, yes, it as odd but still, it was very easy. Almost unsettlingly so. He stood beside the man, 19 and in a PC uniform, scrappy and bloody, his clothes hanging off him. He didn't look like much of an angel and he kind of hated that.

Gene turned his head when he noticed another bloke in the room and reached for his gun... only to realise this form was never armed.

The fatal flaw of being stuck as a trainee.

"Christ," this was not what he was expecting, surrounded by demons with no back up and the demon seemed... well, not dangerous, more bothered than angry or devious.

[thecrackshot]

"Really? He's going to shoot me first thing? Where'd you find this buy?" Sylar was not amused. Oh, all right, he was pretty damned amused. Standing there with his arms crossed, hair all feathered and wild and clothing a bit gothic, and glanced at Jack with a sigh. "Kind of missing some pieces too."

"He's not your angel, no. But he's going to help."

Sylar looked down right confused now, head tilted, as if trying to work out the situation. He couldn't. "What do you mean, help--" Jack snapped his fingers and the demon disappeared.

"Always so argumentative. Damn it. Anyhow, have a look if you want."

[alwaystheguv]

"Why is everyone else so bloody ... older?! I'm the only one stuck like this," Gene growled and it sounded rather embarrassing because he sounded like a kid ranting at their parents about how unfair things were. He was lucky that he was a tallish kid, he wasn't that far off Jacks height or that might of been the final straw. "What did that demon die off? Choking on his own smugness?"

Gene took off, exhaling loudly as he started out into the world. He had no idea how he'd find someone to take over but he had to start now, he couldn't afford to lose Sam.

He just had to find someone with half a brain and some commitment... hardly difficult.

"Dunno what I'm looking for."

[cpt_51century]

"Actually, yeah, something like that," Jack replied to Gene before he popped out of existnce. He really couldn't hand hold the other angel who, luckily when he stepped through the door, turned back into his gruff older self. It was the stars and the void that made people change back to the form they were most bound to.

For Gene, that was his death figure. For Sam? Being a child. It was just how that worked.

At least Gene had a year to find someone. For the moment, Sylar left him alone. Mostly. There abouts. He watched, of course he watched, but he knew what was riding on this. Destruction. He wanted Gene to win.