Elysium
© March 13, 2001...Rory V. Pascual

AUTHOR'S NOTE: It is usual for me to be inspired by beautiful cyberart. Eng knows this. Some of my stories were inspired by her masterpieces. And I'd like to think my stories have the same effect on her. However, I've been surprised recently when another artist wrote me, saying that she was inspired by "The Sound Of Angel's Wings" that she created two wonderful cyberart pics for me. Needless to say, her pictures, in turn, inspired me to write this story. This is the FIFTH story in the TEDDY BEAR TALES and it tells what happened to Duncan, Methos and Inno during their visit to Heaven. More than anyone else, this story is for my Maverick listsib CHANIE CLIVIA!! Thank you for the inspiration!!!

PART ONE: 

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        "I thought you said we're welcome here?" Methos asked dubiously. 

        "Well," Duncan shrugged, "they did roll out the red carpet. So I guess they're expecting us." 

        The object of the ancient's doubt was the stairway that greeted them when they arrived at the threshold of Heaven. True enough, as the Scot noted, a red carpet was rolled out on the white stairway. However, the stairs reached up a long distance and disappeared into the clouds. 

        "Can you see what's on top?" The Old Man shook his head. "No, let me amend my question. Can you see the TOP of the stairs?" 

        "Nope," Duncan replied, pouting, "but we won't find out unless we go up the stairs." The Highlander's eyes fell upon the tiny figure who was rolling on the plush carpet in glee. "Inno! Get up from there! It might be dirty!" 

        As the Scot picked the child up, Inno remarked, "It's not dirty, Mama. It's so nice and soft, and it smells just like roses." Then, the little boy sneezed and a drop of snot formed at his right nostril. Inno stared cross eyed at the crystal drop of mucus hanging from his nostril. 

        Sighing, Duncan tugged his handkerchief from inside the pocket of his robes. Unable to get it out, with a fierce grunt, he yanked the square piece of cloth out, pulling his robe up at the same time, giving the ancient a delectable view of shapely bare thighs and a hint of an equally alluring rump. To Methos' delight, as the Scot got down on one knee, the rounded globes of Duncan's ass and the crack in between were clearly visible through the stretched robes. 

        Wiping the snot from his son's nose, Duncan told Inno, "I told you it's dirty." 

        "Oh, I don't know," Methos remarked, framing that delectable tight ass between his fingers. "It looks pretty good from where I'm standing." 

        Blushing, the Highlander hastily loosened his robes that it fell around his legs. "I was talking about the carpet." 

        "Oh, that!" Methos couldn't help the laughter that bubbled up inside him. "Even in Heaven, they have dust mites. Amazing!" 

        The Scot glowered at his lover. "Watch your mouth, you dirty old geezer! We might get thrown out before we even get there." 

        Inno cast playful green gold eyes at his mother. "They won't throw us out, Mama. My Big Papa knows how much I want to meet him." Tugging his parents' hands eagerly, he invited, "Papa, Mama, come on! Let's go!" 

        Giggling, Inno went skipping up the stairs, singing, "One step, two steps, three steps..." Secured to the child's back was Teddy. To Duncan, the bear seemed just as eager to get to Heaven as the little boy. There was a hint of impatience on the toy's face. 

        With a resigned shrug, Duncan said, "You heard our son. Let's go!" 

        As the Highlander hurried after the little boy, Methos complained under his breath, "The least they could have done was install an escalator in this place." 

---

        Thirty minutes later, the two Immortals were nowhere near the top of the stairs. Methos was panting for breath as he lugged an exhausted and sleeping Inno on his back. 

        "Hold it! Time out!" Methos plopped down on the step. Taking his halo, he started fanning himself with it. 

        "Looks like you're out of shape, love," Duncan said teasingly. 

        "I never thought Inno could be this heavy," the ancient grumbled. "MacLeod, what have you been feeding him anyway? I feel like I'm carrying two people." 

        The Highlander wondered if he should tell the Old Man the truth, but ultimately decided to do so anyway. "That's because you ARE carrying two people," Duncan confirmed the fact. 

        "WHAT?" Methos blurted out. Standing up abruptly, he whirled around and around, trying to see who was behind his back. What he heard, however, was a grumble of complaint from Inno. 

        "All right!" ordered the Scot. "You'd better get down from there." 

        Then, there was movement behind him. To the Old Man's shock, Teddy leaped from his back and landed before him, paws on his chubby waist. 

        "Hiya!" the bear greeted the ancient cheerfully with a wave of his paw. 

        Methos bent down and glared at the toy. "YOU? You're the added weight? But you're just a toy stuffed with cotton and old rags. I sewed you up myself. How did you get so heavy?" A thought crossed the Old Man's mind. "How long have you been alive?" 

        "Teddy?" Duncan requested, crossing his arms over his chest. "Why don't you show Methos who you really are?" 

        With a gracious nod, the bear twirled around and around on his toe like a top. As the Old Man looked on, Teddy transformed into a handsome young angel in a traveler's tunic. 

        "TOBIAS?" sputtered Methos. "All this time...you're Teddy?" 

        Raphael's good friend gave the ancient a graceful bow. "Just call me the Guardian of children..." Giving the Scot a sly wink, he added, "And adults who act like children." 

        "It wasn't an act, Tobias," commented Duncan, "and you know it." 

        "Yes. You're such a delightful little angel, Radha. Too bad you had to grow up." 

        Duncan gave his lover a fond glance. "I had to. I fell in love." 

        "And had a nice little cherub to boot. I'm impressed!" 

        "Hey!" the Scot laughed. "I'm not taking all the credit!" 

        "Of course you couldn't!" Tobias put in mischievously. "It's Methriel who's the horny one." 

        "Watch your mouth, pal!" Methos growled. "After hefting you for half an hour on my back with my son, I'm of the mind to throttle you!" 

        Suddenly, a cheerful voice piped in, "Wow! An angel!" Clambering down from his father's back, Inno gazed in awe at Tobias. "Are you a real angel like my Mama and Papa?" 

        Tobias rubbed his knuckles over the lapel of his tunic. "You could say that." 

        Methos snorted in disgust. 

        Offering a hand, Inno introduced himself, "Hello! My name is Sean Richard Innocence MacLeod Pierson, but my parents call me 'Inno'! What's your name?" 

        "My name's Tobias. Nice to meet you." The angel took the offered hand and shook it. He then muttered to Duncan, "How did his name get so long?" 

        "First time I heard it," the Highlander answered. Turning to the child, he said, "Honey, Tobias is also your Teddy Bear." 

        Inno's mouth gaped in surprise. "You're Teddy? Why didn't you tell us who you were?" 

        "Because Tobias here is a freeloader," Methos began. "He gets away with a lot of stuff when he's in Teddy Bear mode. For one, he loves to be carried around..." 

        "Sorry, don't have cab fare." "He loves to be pampered." 

        "Hey, you're stitches easily break apart. Where did you learn how to stitch anyway?" 

        "And he..." Methos started, remembering a distinct scene in the past when Duncan had reverted to the mind of a child. It was in a secluded part of the lake, just the Highlander and the bear. That magical day, 

        Duncan was... 

        Tobias was trying desperately to look innocent. 

        "YOU GOT FIRST SHOT AT MY WIFE!" Methos roared in fury, grabbing the angel by the neck. 

        Duncan looked at his lover curiously. "What are you talking about?" 

        "That day at the lake, you were holding Teddy and you were...doing...something and..." 

        The Scot thought for a long moment. Suddenly, Duncan gasped. "Oh, you pervert! You were spying on me in my secret place! You saw me..." 

        With his elders unable to finish what they were going to say, with a raise of his finger, Inno concluded for them, "Papa saw Mama enjoying his own body with Teddy." 

        Blushing all over, Duncan yanked the lapel of his robes up to his neck, mumbling, "Oh! Oh! Oh!", over and over again. 

        "TOBIAS, I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!" cried Methos. 

        But then, there was a happy barking sound. From the stairs, a huge dog came bounding down. Surprisingly, there was a halo stuck to the back of the dog's head. 

        "Here's my ride!" Tobias quickly leaped on the dog's back. "Care to come with me, Inno?" 

        "Sure!" Before his parents could stop him, Inno sat before Tobias and the two hurried up the stairs and disappeared into the clouds. Inno's happy "WHEEEEEE!" echoed through the air. 

        "We'd better go after them," the ancient laid a hand on the Highlander's arm. 

        Duncan immediately flinched. "Don't touch me, you dirty old man!" 

        "But Duncan, my love. I only wanted to make certain that you were safe. That's why I happened to be there." 

        "No! You're a pervert and that's that!" 

        Their argument was interrupted by Tobias, whose head hung from the clouds a short distance away from them. "Aren't you guys coming?" 

        "We're coming!" shouted Methos. "Because I still want to get my mitts on your neck!" 

        Tobias gave the two men a displeased frown, clucking his tongue. "Peter won't like the way you've been dirtying his carpet." 

        "Of course, it's going to get dirty," the ancient growled in exasperation. "We're stepping on it so we could go up the stairs." 

        "But no one has stepped on that carpet since we had it installed, and that was centuries ago." 

        Duncan looked at the angel suspiciously. "Why's that?" 

        Tobias grinned mischievously. "Why walk...when you can fly?" To emphasize his point, he even draped a wing down. Furious, Methos hurled his halo at the angel, who laughingly vanished into the clouds. 

        Unfurling his wings as well, Duncan exclaimed, "Let's hurry,  you old pervert! I'm of the mind to strangle Tobias too!" 

        "I'm right behind you, sweet cheeks!" Methos affirmed as he gave the Scot's buttocks a firm squeeze, eliciting a snort from the younger man. 

---

        When they finally reached the Gates of Heaven, the two Immortals found Inno quietly standing beside Tobias. The child was eyeballing the red rooster seated on its perch beside St. Peter. 

        "You have a nice chicken, Mister," Inno commented, marvelling tat the cock's beautiful long tail. 

        Peter cleared his throat. "That is not a chicken, son. That's a rooster. And my name's Peter." 

        "How come he doesn't cluck or crow?" 

        "Because when he crows," Tobias began, "it would mean Peter did something bad." 

        "AT LAST, I HAVE YOU, YOU SCOUNDREL!" Methos grabbed Tobias by the throat and started strangling the angel. 

        Ignoring his lover and the beleaguered angel, Duncan placed his hands on Inno's shoulder's and said gently, "Inno, son. Have you been disturbing this nice gentleman?" 

        "It's quite all right, Radhael," Peter reassured him, smiling. "He's a wonderful little boy. A bit inquisitive, but..." 

        "How many eggs has it lain?" Inno suddenly piped in. 

        That question caused both Peter and his rooster to cough. Even Methos and Tobias stopped their wrestling. 

        Flustered, Duncan reminded the child, "Inno, I thought you've been watching the Animal Planet Channel. You know that roosters are male chickens. They don't lay eggs." 

        "But you're a man, Mama," argued Inno, "and you gave birth to me. So why can't the rooster lay any eggs?" 

        "I don't think he could do that, child," Peter whispered in his ear. 

        However, the rooster started clucking. To everyone's amazement, a golden egg fell out of his ass and landed in Inno's hands. 

        As Peter glared at the confused cock who raised his wings in a clear "Don't ask me how I did it!" gesture, Inno exclaimed, "Gee thanks, Mr. Rooster! Oh, by the way! Which came first -- the chicken or the egg?" 

        Clearing his throat, before any more embarrassments could take place, Peter invited, "Go right in, folks! Welcome to Heaven!" 

        Slowly, the Gates of Heaven opened and a shaft of golden light shone through. When the light finally dimmed, they were greeted by a glorious choir of angels singing "Alleluia!" 

        As they went through the Gates, Methos mumbled to his lover, "I guess the repertoire hasn't changed much in millennia." 

        "Radha! Methriel!" Turning, they saw Raphael heading towards them, Gabriel and Michael following behind him. The seraph embraced the Scot. "It's so nice to see you again, Radha!" 

        "And I, you, Raphael," said the Highlander warmly. "This is our son, Inno." 

        "It's a pleasure to meet you at last, Inno," the seraph declared. "Tobias told me so many things about you." 

        "He's my Teddy!" Inno beamed as he clung lovingly to the beat up angel. Tobias blanched, feeling the child's fingers close around a dark bruise. 

        Gabriel embraced both Immortals. Grinning to Duncan, he said, "In case you're still in the mood for improvisation, we've got a special choir for modern music which I'm sure you'll find to your liking. You might want to join them." 

        Methos quickly shook his head. "Naah! He's been converted into a classical nut. You should take a look at his CD rack. All opera. Not a single Queen, Bruce Springsteen album in sight." 

        "I see you're still your old, rather annoying, self, Methriel," Michael remarked teasingly. 

        The ancient rebutted, "I see you still haven't lightened up one bit, Michael." 

        The archangel uncomfortably coughed. Seeing that Gabriel and Raphael were busy speaking to the Highlander, he leaned over and whispered to Methos, "Errr, Methriel... Are you planning to...uh..." 

        "Planning what?" 

        "Uh...you know." 

        "No, I don't know." 

        "You know what I'm talking about." 

        "No, I don't. Why don't you just spit it out?" 

        The handsome, but stern-faced, angel blushed crimson as he straightened up. In all formality, he declared, "If you and Radhael intend to indulge in a little...activity, we've prepared a nice PRIVATE haven for both of you." 

        Duncan's head cocked up, overhearing the conversation between the two archangels. 

        But Methos just couldn't resist. "Just what kind of activity do you have in mind, Michael?"

        At that last query, Michael blurted out, "SEX! What kind of activity requires privacy anyway?" 

        At once, Raphael and Gabriel pounced on the poor archangel. The seraph kidded, "MICHAEL! I'm shocked! You said the 'S' word!" 

        The Prince of the Heavenly Hosts gave the ancient a menacing glare. "It's a private spot in Eden's Garden. 

        It's near the lake. I couldn't risk any of the Cherubim or the Thrones bumping into you two while you're humping away." 

        Gabriel gasped. "He said the 'H' word!" 

        Flustered, Michael pushed his way between the two angels. "Come along, gentlemen! We still have duties to perform." 

        "We'll see you later," Raphael told Duncan as he and Gabriel hurried after the archangel. 

        Methos smiled as he placed proprietory arms over Duncan and Inno. Gazing out into the magnificence of the afterlife, he declared, "Welcome to Heaven!" 

CONTINUED IN PART TWO...click on next, below