When the Pink Clouds Clear Away

By Mel-Mel

Um... Ohayo? You're here? Wow. Okay. I just want you to know that this is an alternate reality mainly focusing on Fuu and Ferio. Mostly Ferio. I'm a HUGE Fuu and Ferio fan. They're just so CUTE!!! Oh. Excuse me. "Kawai". Anyway. I'll bring in a bunch of characters later. The main reason I started this is because I wanted to write something for the Fuu and Ferio archives. The ones I've seen are so empty. ALL Rayearth fanfic archives are empty. COME ON GUYS!!! USE SOME IMAGINATION!!! WRITE SOMETHING!!! ::clears throat:: I'm done. I was also on a "City of Angels" kick when a friend mentioned making Ferio an angel in training. I had been contemplating making Fuu the angel (there's this really cool picture of Fuu in the OAV with angel wings...) But I liked this idea better. It'll probably be a few parts so hang in there. Please. No suing me. I own nothing besides the stories. And a few OAV tapes. And a plush Mokona I made myself (Mokona is god. At least in Cephiro.) That's it. Enjoy! Write me comments with the e-mail address at the end of the story!

-Mel-Mel

PS: Short note. Ferio is about 18 while the girls are all 16. Comparatively. Use your imagination.

_____________________________________________________________________________

PROLOGUE:

Ferio blinked. He couldn't tell where he was. Bright light was shooting into his eyes from all directions. Lifting his arm to shield his eyes he tried to look around. Pink, fluffy clouds were everywhere. There was some sort of classical music playing in the background ('Elevator music', he thought.) while little butterflies and sakura petals floated through the air spreading golden dust. What stood out the most was a pair of huge gates followed by a long line. A line that HE happened to be in. 'What the...? Where am I?' He brought his arm down and stared. In front of him were a bunch of elderly people, a few kids, and some middle aged businessmen.

Extremely confused, Ferio tapped on the shoulder of the man in front of him. "Hey? What's going on? Where are we?" The guy looked at him like he had two heads.

"What do you mean 'Where are we?' We're in the Line", the man turned back to facing forward. Ferio scowled. 'Let's try this again.' He tapped the man on the shoulder again. The guy turned around and glared.

"WHAT?!" Ferio started turning red. 'This guy has a death wish.'

"What exactly is "the Line"?" The man's eyes widened. He glanced around skeptically. Ferio crossed his arms and waited impatiently.

"Kid, this is the line into heaven. They're going to judge you here. You're dead." The man turned back around after a few more looks at the boy behind him.

Meanwhile, Ferio had gone white. 'Dead? DEAD?! I was just walking down the street when that stupid idiot in the car came and... Oh. My. God. I'm dead.' Ferio was brought out of his reverie when some person behind him gave him a nasty shove forward. Amber eyes looked up to see a short purple haired man standing on a stool with a very large book.

"Name?" The man stared calmly at Ferio.

"I'm dead." The man started leafing through his book.

"Dead, Dead, Dead, Dead. Hm. There's nobody in the book labeled Dead... Oh! Dead! Yes, I know you're dead. I wanted your name. Name?" Ferio glanced at the man then back at the floor.

"Uh, Ferio." The man started leafing through the pages of his book.

"Ferio, Ferio, Ferio, Feri...oh. Oh boy. Well..." The man looked up at the green haired boy. "Well, Ferio. I've got good news and bad news. Good news is, you aren't going to hell. Bad news is, you aren't going to heaven." Ferio raised an eyebrow. The man answered his unspoken question. "Well, I'm looking over your report here and...ooh boy..it's not good. You barely make it out of the hot spot. How could you do all this in only 18 years? Kids today...I'm scared to look at 10 year old Gonzalez's report. He may be some serial killer for all I know! Anyway. You have to make up for all this.." The man gestured to his book. "...junk. You'll be trained as an angel and do all the good deeds you can, then you can get to heaven." Ferio again raised an eyebrow.

"I thought angels were already IN heaven. Why would you make me an angel, Mr...?"

"My name is Clef, and you'll be an angel because they don't stay in heaven. They have to go take care of people on Earth. It's lots of work, BELIEVE me. Now, I'm going to let you train with Umi, one of the best angels we've got. Lots of spunk and will power. She'll get you into tip top shape." Clef brought out a quill pen and a scroll seemingly from thin air. "Just sign here please." Ferio blinked, but didn't ask. Wasting no time with reading the document he signed his name. Clef rolled it up and it disappeared along with the pen.

"Primera!" Clef's shout echoed throughout the clouds. All of a sudden a weight was dropped on Ferio's head. Barely managing to keep his balance he looked up. There on his head was what looked like a pink marshmallow. 'If everything is in shades of pink in heaven I'm glad I'm not going.' The thing jumped down from his head and on to Clef causing them to both loose balance and fall to the floor.

"Confounded fairy! Get off me!" The thing made a series of grunts and jumped off the little man. Clef calmly got up and started struggling to right his stool. Ferio had to stifle a laugh. It was rather amusing watching the guy trying to lift a stool twice as big as he was. Finally giving up, Clef gave the stool a kick then turned blazing purple eyes towards "Primera".

"What?!" Primera turned out to be some sort of fairy in a rabbit costume.

"Next time, Primera, please refrain from jumping on me." This was followed by a death glare from the a fore mentioned party.

"And WHO's idea was it to dress me as a bunny?!"

"I don't care if hopping is in the job description, but stop hopping onto my head! Just...just take this kid to Umi. He needs to be trained as a guardian angel. Hurry up! Make sure he's protected too! Remember what happened to the last one with Umi." Both Clef and Primera grimaced.

"How did that girl become an angel?" Ferio was suddenly grabbed by the fairy and dragged away.

"Hey!" Ferio tried to stop being pulled backwards. "Wait a minute! What exactly happened to the last one?" His question was lost though because Clef disappeared as he was surrounded by pink fog. 'I'd be dead if I wasn't already...'

CHAPTER ONE:

Ferio found himself pushed into a clearing with a fit of sneezing. Obviously he was allergic to pink fog. When the fog left he was face to face with a blue haired angel, wings and all.

"So you're the one I have to train, huh? Well, not much to work with..." The angel started circling the guy in front of it. Ferio began to feel like a used car. And he was much more uncomfortable not knowing if his observer was a girl or guy. Before he could respond she (he thought it was a she) shrugged.

"Well, come on. Might as well get started. My name's Umi. Let's see. First is clothing." The girl looked Ferio up and down. "Ripped jeans and a T-shirt! What are you? That is so last season. You look like the boy next door fallen into a gutter." The girl waved her hand and a set of clothes appeared in front of her. "Here, put these on."

Ferio looked at the clothing. "This is any better than what I'm wearing?" Umi glared at him.

"It's a uniform so shut up and put it on." Ferio glanced around. Blushing he looked pointedly at Umi. "Fine, yeesh! Modest one, aren't you?" She turned around leaving him in semi-privacy. Ferio rolled his eyes and quickly changed. The outfit mainly consisted of some pants, white shirt, and sash with gold embroidery. 'I'm so glad the guys can't see this. I look like I'm wearing fancy pajamas.'

"Okay, what's next?" Umi turned around, choked down a laugh at Ferio's appearance, and then went into deep thought.

"Well, now you need to be "processed". So..." Ferio waved his hands wildly.

"Hold it, hold it. What's "processed"?"

"Making you an official angel."

"Do I have to get wings?"

"No. I just love the whole white feathers thing. Makes me look so pretty and immortal."

"So what do we do?"

"Hold on. This may feel weird." Umi waved her hand and a bright flash erupted. When it ended Ferio blinked in a haze. Feeling dizzy he leaned on the nearest object, which happened to be Umi.

"Get off me!" Ferio immediately brought his hand back. Looking down he noticed something was missing. Eyes widening and choking he quickly looked back at Umi. She was busy making a full length mirror appear.

"Umi.."

"Hold on. I've almost got it." The mirror became solid. Umi turned to look at Ferio. Giggling at his expression she pushed him in front of the mirror. "How do you like it? Nice huh?" Ferio started choking.

"Umi, something's missing."

"What? You want a halo?"

"No! Umi, something of MINE is missing", Ferio growled.

"What? You can't take anything with you when you die. What is... Oh. That. Well what do you expect! Angels are androgynous. You can't be a guy or a girl, so we have to get rid of...things."

"I'm a pretty boy! And look! I have a ponytail! A really long pony tail! And, and, and, well look! I look like some sort of he-she!"

"What do you think androgynous means, idiot! You aren't a girl or a guy! You're and it! You have no sex, no distinguishing features! You're a mixture!

"Do you think I would have become an angel if it wasn't necessary! If you read the scroll, which I think you DIDN'T, you would have known you had to give up certain aspects of humanity! No eating, sleeping, and no sexual relations! Believe me this is BORING! No way to tell what or WHO you are when you look in the mirror! Looking in the mirror and thinking you're a boy! Having people mistake you for the opposite gender! I once thought I saw a totally cute guy in the reflection of a window and it was me!"

'That answers the question of her gender...', Ferio thought as he ducked Umi's flailing arms.

"And the whole good deed junk! Chasing around a bunch of ungrateful, UN-religious slobs. Being their conscience and subconscious! Not getting anything in return! Working for CENTURIES to make up for deeds you yourself didn't even know you committed! Spending your extra time playing cards with 18th century rejects, or reading old manga! It's no piece of cake!"

Ferio blinked at the now red Umi. "Okay, I'll shut my mouth." Umi put her hands at her sides from their previous position above her head. She straightened her collar and cleared her throat.

"Now, Ferio, this way." Umi started walking through the clouds. Ferio scrambled to keep up. "You get to meet God." Ferio stopped dead.

"Who?!"

"God. The head honcho? The big man? The judge?" Umi shook her head and muttered something about "brain-dead males". Ferio grunted and muttered something back about both of them being "it's". Umi glanced scornfully behind her and walked ahead. Ferio walked quickly behind.

They once again appeared in front of a pink clouded clearing with Ferio sneezing up a storm. A large curtain covered the area in front of them and pink light illuminated the already pink clouds.

"What is that?" Ferio squinted as the curtain was drawn back.

Umi, now wearing sunglasses, leaned over. "It's God. He doesn't like people to see him in his true form. So don't be surprised if it turns out to be some weird animal." The light faded and a pink powder puff was seen sitting on a pedestal. "Or Mokona."

"Puu! Pupu!" Ferio looked lost.

Umi sighed. "God says 'Hi'." Umi glared at Mokona who had the most air-headed grin on his face.

"Pupu, puuuuu, puu, pupupu!"

"God says 'Welcome to the OTHERSIDE."

"Pupu, puuuupu, puu!"

"God says, "You're pretty cute for an angel."

"Puupu pu."

"Says, 'You're a real looker'."

"WHAT?!!!"

"Mokona!"

"Puupu pupu puuu puu?"

"No he will not go on a date Saturday night!"

"Puupu?"

"No, I will not either!"

"Puupu!"

"I am not translating that!"

"What'd he say?"

"I am NOT translating that! In fact, I'm not translating anything. I'm leaving! Come get me when you're done!"

Ferio watched Umi stomp off into the clouds. Turning hesitantly to face Mokona, he smiled weakly. "Uh, hi. Nice to meet you." Mokona frowned. Ferio's palms started to sweat. Finally, after a few minutes of silence, Mokona hopped off his pedestal. Hopping up to Ferio he stopped.

"FERIO. I AM GOD." Mokona's mouth opened, but instead of "pu's" there came a loud booming voice. Pink clouds echo REALLY well.

"THE MAIN REASON I TALK TO NEW ANGELS IS TO SEE WHO WORKS FOR ME. YOU ARE A FINE YOUNG MAN. IF YOU DO EVERYTHING CORRECTLY YOU WILL HAVE NO PROBLEM. ('This sounds like a job interview', he thought. 'I bombed my last job interview. This can't be a good sign.') SEE YOU NEXT CENTURY. I HAVE TO GO FIX SOMEBODY'S HARP NOW. CARELESS FOOL LEFT IT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE PEARLY GATES. SEE YA!"

Mokona hopped off. Ferio stared after him. A few seconds later Mokona came back. "PRIMERA! TAKE THIS GUY TO THE ASSIGNMENT ROOM THEN SHOW HIM BACK TO UMI." Mokona disappeared as Primera in the bunny costume reappeared.

She angrily dragged Ferio by the collar and deposited him in front of a large computer database. The cursor was blinking on a huge screen.

"Ferio was it?" Primera shrugged. "Any way. Type in your name and answer the following questions about yourself. Tell me when you're done. I'm going to go read my new Elle magazine." Ferio looked up at the tall computer screen. A slight whirring noise alerted him to a small keyboard appearing from the computer. As soon as he typed his name a large list of questions appeared. 'Write an essay on why you became an angel.' Ferio groaned. 'Well let's see,' he thought, 'I died?' He began to write...

Two hours later, Ferio waited for the information to process. A slip of paper appeared from the same opening the keyboard had appeared from. It simply read:

ASSIGNMENT FOR: Ferio

NAME: Fuu Hououji

LOCATION: Tokyo, Japan

Crumpling the piece of paper into a handy pocket he went off in search of Primera. The bunny dressed fairy was looking through some fashion magazine, trying to catch up on news about her latest celebrity crush. She glanced at Ferio, closed the magazine, and dragged him off through the clouds to Umi.

After the sneezing had subsided, Umi motioned for him to follow her. Walking along in silence they soon came to the end of the pink clouds and an abrupt drop to earth.

"Now listen, Ferio. I'm going to teach you the basics of being a guardian angel when we get to Earth. Don't forget your assignments name and address on the way down. Right now, I'm going to teach you to fly." Ferio smiled. 'This should be cool. I'll be superman!' "I'm in too much of a hurry to go into detail so I'm using the mother bird approach. Ready?"

"What?" Ferio didn't like the look in her eyes.

"See you down there!" Umi pushed him over the edge of the abyss. The last glow of pink clouds disappeared in the brightness of a midmorning sun.

Thanks for reading. I can't believe you got this far. Wow. What'd you think? I want emails, please. Comments are appreciated. Even if you don't email me, more will be out. It will just take a while considering I have little time right now. Thanks for reading. I appreciate it.

-Mel-Mel

princess_rosalyn@hotmail.com

PS: Anybody have title ideas? I don't like the one I have now.