In the beginning
There was only The Word,
And with The Word He spoke into being
the realm of Heaven and its angels.
And He spoke into being
the sun, the moon and the stars.
And then the Earth,
its oceans and its beasts.
And finally He spoke into being
His masterpiece:
Us.
And we were His children
to love, keep and protect.
Placed above all others, we were
His most cherished creation,
most beloved on Earth
and in Heaven.
This was The Word as it
was spoken to the prophets,
and then it was
handed down to us.
The Word of God
our Father in Heaven.
And a thousand generations
found shelter in that Word
So here we are tonight,
The Word
becomes flesh and blood.
Our flesh and blood.
And I got news.
The Lord, He didn't keep his
Word, No. He backed out on it.
He abandoned His kids a long time ago,
and He ain't payin' child support.
- Am I right, Maggie ?
- You got that right, preacher boy.
Brothers and sisters,
our Father is a deadbeat dad !
- Amen to that.
That's right. And we can all
forget about the "divine plan, "
because there
is no divine plan.
It's a blind universe
out there, friends.
Our lives are nothing but
a chain of unrelated accidents.
- Get used to it !
- Get used to it !
Bad things happen to good people
for no reason. Get used to it.
Get used to it ! - Good things they
happen to bad people for no reason.
- Get used to it ! -
Get used to it ! - Say it again !
- Get used to it !
- I can't hear you !
- Get used to it !
- Do you want salvation ?
- We want salvation !
- Do you want it now ?
- We want it now !
God is dead !
God is not dead.
He just doesn't give a damn.
Please help me. Please.
Oh, God.
No.
Praise the Lord.
It's done.
No. No, I did what you told me.
The blasphemer is dead.
Oh. Oh.
Oh.
- Oh, but I couldn't.
-...pushed me out of the way before...
I'm sorry.
I can find him again.
- I can!
No.
Yes. Yes.
Please.
No. Don't go.
Don't leave me alone.
Please.
Please.
Ohh.
Hey, Joseph.
L-282's mom
wants his corneas back.
- Did you give her the
"gift of sight" rap ? - Yep.
Says they were harvested
without her consent.
- She wants her kid to go to the
next world intact. - Mm.
"Take heed,
you senseless ones.
Does He who
formed the eye not see ?"
- Huh ?
- Psalm 94.
Deal with it, Carl.
All right.
Let's see what we have here.
Ahhh. Leadpoisoning.
Hmm. Okay, Rasputin.
What army did you piss off ?
Allright.
Let's do a liver temp. Thermometer.
Okay.
Do the honors.
Okay.
Eh. The liver's
that away, Magellan.
There you go. T.O.D.
approximately 8:00 P.M., huh ?
All right. See what else
we got on our John Doe here.
Um...
"Danyael Rosales."
Danyael.
Funny spelling, huh ?
"Father unknown.
Mother, Valerie Rosales, deceased."
Valerie Rosales.
Oh, Jesus.
It's starting again.
It all comes back,
over and over again and again.
- Never stops, never ends.
- What do you mean. ?
Look. Look
at that burn pattern. Look.
- It's like...
- Go on.
It's like she got hit with napalm
and never moved.
All right.
These are from the scene.
Okay.
You get hit with a blast like that,
don't you curl up into a tighter ball,
expose less skin ?
- Are you asking me ?
- I've asked myself a thousand times.
- I don'tknow.
- Look at the body position.
I'm lookin.
Closer.
Closer.
It's like she was
shielding something.
Yes.
Yeah.
That something...
was herchild
She was
protecting her child.
You gave him your life.
That still wasn't enough.
So you, uh, personally
knew the victim, huh ?
We go back.
I know him from
before the big bang.
The big bang ?
- When exactly was the big bang ?
- The beginning.
- Good night, Joseph.
Yeah.
Good night, Kyle.
All right. Look. I'm going to let you go,
but I may have to call you back...
later on down the line
as a material witness.
Gabriel... Is there no last name ?
I mean,
is it like the Artist Formerly
Known As Yanni or something ?
- Sting.
- I thought it was Yanni.
Shows you how far out oftouch I am.
Is this... this address current, "Gabriel" ?
I can tell you
in two words: un-fortunately.
Is that with a hyphen ?
- Slash.
- Date of birth ?
There's no date of birth
here. Why is that ?
I asked the woman at the Department
of Motor Vehicles that same question.
She told me not to bother her
on a coffee break.
D.M.V.
All right. Why don't you tell me ?
How old are you ?
Thirty-nine.
Hmm.
H-How old do I look ?
Be cruel.
I'll just put down "39"
instead, huh ?
You know what?
Fact is I'm old enough
to know better, Sparky.
- What'd you call me ? - That's what they
called you when you were a kid, right ?
Yeah. You did good
- Can you buzz me in, Clark ?
No. Not before that.
- Where's your morgue ?
- That's off-limits to the public, sir.
A.Z.Jones, FBl.
That'll be two floors down.
Tunnel access to the sub-basement.
I'm gonna have to ask you
to identify the body, ma'am.
I'm also gonna have to ask you
wait just a little bit longer here.
- There'll be somebody along
to help you. - Thank you.
I always knew
we'd see each other again,
but I never thought
you'd look so...
different.
We become the thing we fear.
I let myself go.
Obviously.
Or I wouldn't be here.
- Ah.
- I need the heart.
You, more than anyone, know what he is.
He's their last hope.
I never know
what side you're on, Zophael.
Well, that should be infinitely clear
to you now. Come back to us.
We can retake
what's rightfully ours.
We can make it like it was
before the monkeys. Remember ?
Or has this place completely
befouled your senses ?
I like it here.
I even learned to drive.
You know what
your one flaw is, Gabriel ?
You only see what you want to see.
Have you ever looked around ?
Our Creator poured all His grace
into this world, but do you see it ?
- Do you see it anywhere ?
- Not yet.
Destroying Heaven
is not what I was up to, Zophael.
Not even Lucifer,
is that arrogant?
Go on.
Out of my way... monkey.
- I had to know.
Ah. Thank you
for not jamming.
Where did he go, Joseph ?
- What ?
- Where is he ?
No. You don't just stand
there straight-faced
and tell me he walked
right out of here.
- You don't do that.
- I'm sorry.
Sorry ? How am I
supposed to take that, huh ?
Probably the same way I have
for a very long time. Badly.
I just lost the only thing
I cared about...
in this whole
fucked-up universe.
You haven't seen "badly,"
sir. Not yet.
What's it like
to wake up as dead meat...
with the buzzards circling ?
Do I know you ?
I know you from
before you were born.
Both times.
Huh ?
"Zophael. Spy of God."
"Bridge between rebel and
loyal factions within Heaven.
His true allegiance is unclear
from religious texts."
My kingdom
for a straight answer.
Pyriel. Pyriel.
Who the hell is Pyriel ?
He died in my arms.
T.O.D. was 8:00 P.M. That
was taken six hours later.
Look. I still don't believe what
you're tryin' to tell me.
I was afraid of that.
All right. Let's go.
Where ?
There are things that ghosts
and civil servants just shouldn't know.
No. You drive.
Embryos and idiots.
I hate this place.
"ln the final hour shall come one born...
with the heart ofan angel
and the soul of a man."
Ever hear
of a nephalim ?
- A what ? - Take your
vitamins, Vincent. Good boy.
Nephalim.
Half angel, half man.
Old Testament's chock-full of 'em.
They're very nasty guys.
And very, very hard
to kill.
Am I right or am I right,
Boris. ?
Are you saying
Danyael's a nephalim ?
Am I ?
I guess I am.
Do you really
believe that ?
Look.
I've had four
gutted hermaphrodites...
burn to black pitch
right under my nose.
I've had one cop,
my best friend,
driven insane by the angels
shrieking in his head...
before somehow
spontaneously combusting...
in a madhouse he had mistaken
for a monastery.
A pretty young woman, now dead
knocked up by a stranger...
who left her three months, pregnant
in only 48 hours.
And just yesterday, a young man,
allegedly her son,
shot up six ways to sun down,,
crawled out of a drawer...
and waltzed out
like Lazarus.
So, yeah, I'm pretty much open
to a buffet of possibilities.
Any suggestions ?
No.
What's the "D" for ?
Uh, "doughnut."
I'll take one of those
with the colored fragments on it.
Did you see a young man about this tall,
dark hair, dark brown jacket,
come in here earlier ?
Look. That'll be
and about, uh, 50 bucks
for the recollection.
- What kind of an answer is that ?
- A minimum wage answer.
You answer my question,
or I'll personally see to it that
you spend the next millennium...
chained to a damp wall
wondering just what it is...
that's been winding its way up through
your bowels for the last 750 years.
Cool.
Look. The dude came in here
about a half an hour ago...
and scarfed down about two dozen mixed
in less than five minutes.
He was, like, on this serious
sugar rush, you know what I mean. ?
Spontaneous tissue regeneration
tends to do that.
- What ?
- Where is he now ?
Oh.
Hiding in shit...
just like a monkey.
No matter how many times you tell them,
they never seem to learn.
You must always,
always remove the heart.
Hey, hey, hey !
- What are you ?
- Judgment.
Don't push your luck.
Ah. Ah ?
Crazy me.
Nice coat.
Killing you
would be so easy.
Yeah ? Fried food can kill me.
A mugger can kill me.
You're not so special
down here, "Jones."
How do you bear
what you've become, Gabriel ?
You, who were once exalted
above all others.
You been with a woman,
Zophael ? It's like dying.
You moan and cry out.
You get to a spot...
that has you
begging for release.
Once,
I was an angel of death.
Now, I die every day
when I have the cash.
Enough about me.
You must be scared.
What if you lose ?
You must be scared you might
become like me, right ?
Yes.
My dying memory is being in your arms.
I remember slipping away
and thinking,
God, how lucky I was
to hold you one last time.
But I... I kept slipping...
until all around me
there were just bodies.
I don't understand.
No.
Maggie, get out of here.
- Get out !
- No, Danyael ! No !
Maggie, get out of here.
- No ! No, Danyael ! Please.
- Please don't go.
- Maggie, I said go !
- How does it feel, Danyael,
to know that
you're almost perfect ?
- If not for the monkey inside you.
- What am I to you. ?
What is this ?
I said, "What is this ?"
And why am I drawn to it ?
Pyriel.
Who ?
The whited sepulcher.
The next God.
Help me, please.
Come closer.
I tried
to reason with him.
I tried everything
I could.
- Help's on the way.
- Good. That's good.
There now.
That's better.
Please.
Let me explain.
- Looking for these ?
- Take the car. You can have it.
- I'm afraid that won't do.
After you.
Yes, yes, I know.
You keep a gun under the front seat of
your car ever since you were robbed ...
in that dark cul-de-sac in that
very, very bad part of town.
But the idea of actually
using it is a bit, what. ?
Repulsive ?
So therefore you
keep the bullets stashed safely...
in the glove box.
I'm not here to hurt you.
Promise.
Earth angel, Earth angel .Hmm.
Is this the best you can do ?
- Do we have a problem ?
- Look, why do you even need me, huh ?
Can't drive.
I believe this
can go faster.
Sure.
Whatever you say.
We really don't
have time for this !
Monkey.
Good trick with the car.
I'll have to remember that.
Jerk the wheel
to the right, and... wow.
I swear to God,
I'll use this.
I'm sure you will.
- But why don't we just talk instead ?
- Don't !
I said don't !
- Fact. I am an angel.
I'm also your friend.
We can both help each other, but you're
going to have to be willing to listen to me.
Are you ready
to listen ?
I usually measure time in eons,
but in this particular case,
every second counts.
- Please. I told you, I'm not
here to hurt you.
We both see things
the same way, you and I.
A world abandoned
by the Creator.
A universe in chaos.
Danyael Rosales saw it too.
He saw it more clearly than any of us.
But he's
lost his way now.
He's been deceived by my brothers, who
still cling to old ways, old truths...
who still harbor
some cold, empty faith...
that our beloved Father
shall somehow return...
and deliver us
from this wasteland,
this killing field.
But that will never,
never happen, Magdalena.
You know it. I know it.
And most ofall,
Danyael Rosales knew it.
- Until now.
- Why ?
Because he's being
driven by forces...
beyond his control.
- Where's he going ?
- He's going to stop our savior,
the only one who can set things
right again with Heaven and Earth.
Savior ?
His name is Pyriel.
It means "light of Heaven."
He came here
in the first war,
led the army ofGod that cast Lucifer
to a far more distant shore.
And here he's remained.
- Is he evil ?
- No, no.
Evil is the realm
of darkness.
Pyriel is the light.
He is the shining beacon
that will lead us...
from an eternity
of rotting despair...
unless Danyael's there
to stop him.
- Why would he do something like that ?
- Shh.
Magdalena.
We've always communicated
with your kind through voices.
Voices. Voices
that make saints weep...
and zealots kill.
Voices that drive an angry mob
to incinerate a mother...
desperately
shielding her little boy.
It is those same voices
that now speak to Danyael.
Danyael would never
listen to them.
Whatever was human
in Danyael Rosales...
died before he rose
from that morgue.
He is no longer
your Danyael.
You know it.
You felt it.
Didn't you ?
Why should I
believe you ?
'Cause you have to.
Everywhere I go,
you're there.
I close my eyes,
you're there.
running from
his dead mama.
Was the boy thinking...
Was he thinking about destiny ?
Do you think he'll live
to see another day ?
So many
who want him dead
Yet he gets by.
Does he stop to wonder why. ?
Does he think he might
be here for a purpose. ?
Does he wonder
what that purpose is ?
I do every moment
of my existence.
Before you were born, I tried
to rip you from your mama's womb.
I failed.
The Sword of Heaven...
could not still
this tiny mortal heart.
How come. ?
It's not being here
that perplexes me.
It's the not knowing.
How come you ?
What could you mean ?
Do you know who ?
- Nothing.
- Clearly the facts say otherwise.
You're the Word.
Whatever it is you're destined
to commit upon this Earth,
it's His will,
it's what He wants.
No angel,
however powerful,
can be anything
but the messenger.
Danyael, you're a message,
and now...
for the first time in a gazillion years,
l get to know what it is.
I get to know
what that message is.
Okay, I did my time
in Sunday school.
If this Pyriel's like
the Second Coming or something,
how come I don't
know anything about him ?
Maybe you just
chose the wrong religion.
I dreamed of you.
I'm Mary.
I know the enemy ghost.
Last night I dreamed
the end of one history...
and the beginning
of another.
The darkness was met by the coming
of a great warrior.
I dreamed ofyou.
You look smaller
in person.
% Together
Flying for life %
Tell me something.
Do you still
love your God ?
The truth.
As much
as He loves me.
Say, ma'am, I wonder if you
could tell me how to get to Gila Flats.
Yeah, it's, um... It's over
on the Hualapai reservation.
I don't suppose you could
be just a tad more specific,
Madge.
Where's your friend ?
Oh, you
have a long memory.
Rachel is, uh...
under the weather. She's bedridden.
But I'll tell her
you inquired.
- What do you want ?
- Everything.
But to begin, I
need some coffee, fresh-brewed,
Sweet N Low,
non-dairy creamer,
small grape fruit juice,
three eggs, yolks firm, not hard,
bacon, crisp, hash browns,
dry wheat toast, butter on the side...
and a portion of your
famous blackberry jam.
It's gonna
be a long day.
Remember, we're here to stop him,
that's all. And nobody gets hurt.
- Go up the hill and turn.
- I suppose you caught his scent.
Something like that.
There.
You've done well.
I'm proud of you.
- Do not lose him.
- I won't !
- Okay. Now what ?
- Go faster.
What's that. ?
lgnore it.
- Don't let up.
- I won't !
Turn left.
Hard left.
I don't see him.
He's there.
Jesus !
- Faster.
- We'll run him over !
- Exactly.
- I can't do that !
I told you
what's at stake here.
That wasn't the deal.
Nobody was supposed to get hurt.
How did you think we were going to
stop him, Magdalena ? With a prayer ?
I don't know,
but not like this !
He's almost at the destination.
We have to kill him.
- We have no choice.
- I do.
- I'm warning you. - Whoeveryou are,
whateveryou are, I'm not afraid ofyou.
You should be.
She's still
in there, Danyael.
Dying, I suspect.
Not that
that really matters.
So, this is what
it must feel like...
to be human.
Not quite.
Maggie.
- Danyael.
- I'm here.
Look behind you. - What ?
Aaah !
Aaah !
This is what it feels like
to be human.
- Bring her back.
- I can't.
- You have to.
- What are you afraid of ?
- Nothing.
- Why so desperate to get her back ?
'Cause you know what Heaven's
gonna be like for her...
if you don't finish
what you start.
Are you an angel ?
Once upon a time.
- I don't want to die.
- No.
Who are you ?
Gabriel.
Hold my hand, Gabriel.
Please.
Oh, my God.
I'm so afraid.
Don't be afraid.
- Where is Danyael ?
- He's fighting...
for you.
The child
of divine fornication.
What do you want
from me ?
I have come
to help the monkeys perish...
by mutual slaughter...
and then sow the Earth
with a better seed.
Genocide.
It happens
now and then.
Turn away, nephalim.
Blight not...
and keep warm.
Fuck you.
There is no such thing
as destiny.
You above all
should know that.
What am I doing here ?
The one thing your kind
excels at...
dying.
Aaah !
It's not a mindless,
indifferent,
blind universe, Danyael.
It never was.
Get used to it.
Shh.
ln the end there's still
The Word everywhere...
in Heaven and its angels,,
the Earth and the stars,
even in the darkest part
of the human soul.
It was there
The Word burned brightest.
And for a moment,
I was blinded