A Serpent Angel in Heaven

[ambassador_emily]

The First Five Minutes (of a Serpent Angel) in Heaven

The golden light of Heaven poured through the ornate, equally-golden window.

Emily stood between the chairs, too anxious to remain seated, and watched her big sister across the table. Sera was sitting, reading through the emergency report from Pravuil with a detached serenity that was at extreme odds with the content scrolling down the glowing blue datapad:

Extermination was over. And this time, for the first time, the Purge failed. Heaven lost. The Exorcists called a retreat. Their return was imminent.

Emily's heart was heavy.

The arguments had all been made. The accusations leveled. The begging and pleading begged and pleaded. Nothing had pushed Sera to call off the Extermination. Or at least order Adam to leave Charlie and Vaggie and their bastion of hope, the Hazbin Hotel, alone.

Emily watched and waited to see which way her sister was going to go.

A shaft of Holy Light pierced the room, sent from the Throne Above. From the Seat of Judgment.

A serpentine angel appeared within it, pulled up from Down Below. And fell unceremoniously to the floor as the light disappeared.

"Hha? Hooohh..." the new angel stammered as he jumped upright. "What--? Where?... Where am I?" He looked around in confusion.

He looked very familiar. It took but a moment for perfect clarity to make the connection with the serpent demon they had watched in the Hearing a month ago.

The serpent angel noticed them and stopped, smiling awkwardly as he lifted a hand in greeting. "Oh, hello."

Sera's face fell with a look of existential dread.

Emily's wings spread and her face lit up as she squeaked with joy.

"WELCOME TO HEAVEN!"

Sera's expression had just enough time to melt from dread to horror as the music kicked in, reminding Sera that her little sister had a habit of joining Saint Peter in his song.

"...Oh-oh, I'm so glad you made it here!" Emily sang as she flew over and grasped the serpent angel by the hands.

"You've proved redemption! Oh yes! The verdict couldn't be more clear!"

Emily twirled the disoriented angel, the seraphim almost exploding with joy.

"You fought on the side of virtue (against angels, sad but true),"
"Now God bless, look at you!"

As Emily belted out a rise, a golden portal erupted behind her and she pulled the serpent angel through.

"Welcome to Heaven!" Emily sang, dancing through the air across the main courtroom as angels of the Court stared up in shock and wonder. "My friend, you deserve to be here"

"You've been forgiven! And now, enjoy life without stress or fear!"
"You found the light and fought the fight and sacrificed for love,"
"So now you're up above!"

Emily's song continued as golden portals flashed open around the two of them, carrying them from one end of the Courthouse to the other. From the apex of Sera's office to the Heaven's Court Cafe.

Emily danced and sang and set off flashes of light and sparkling confetti made of holy motes, so caught up in Heaven's epiphany that she wasn't giving the serpent angel time to process.

"What are we seeing here? Can this really be true?" the angels of the Court sang out. But quickly split from a united chorus to many voices of confusion.

"If Sinners can be Winners and there's nothing we can do?"

"It's clear to me the Throne agrees this evil needs to end!"

"Has Heaven really sinned?"

Golden portals carried the younger seraphim and the serpent angel farther through the Courthouse. And in every room, in every corner, the music reached and the angels sang. Sometimes together, but just as often at each other.

"He rose from Below. In Ho-ly light, this is a sign!"

"He slaughtered angels! No no. There's something here that's not divine!"

"Are you really saying you side with the Exorcists?"

"Is there something that we've missed?"

The final portal took the youngest Seraphim and the new arrival back to the room where they started. Sera was waiting.

"Fine, some dissenters," Emily admits, "A few of them are jerks."
"I so glad you're here now, and that Charlie's hotel works.
"Her heart's just so wonderful: her love, her plea, her dreams.
"And the Elders Above agree!"

"WEL-"

"Emily! Stop!"

The younger seraphim jolted as if slapped, her song catching in her throat. The music died abruptly.

She turned to face Sera. Her big sister, usually so impossibly serene, was angry.

"What do you think you are doing!?"

"I-I... I was welcoming him!" It took the younger angel a moment to find her footing. "Don't tell me, after this, after HIM, you still support Adam's genocide!?"

Sera's expression was hard and cold. "Emily. It is my job to protect the angels of Heaven. From threats inside and out." Sera thrust an arm towards the serpent angel. "That. Includes. Protecting. This. Angel."

"There are Exorcists arriving back in Heaven as we speak. They are angry, in pain, distraught. Many of them just lost friends or loved ones in that fight. They have seen their sisters' bodies desecrated. And their hearts are filled with sorrow and rage."

"I have been preparing to be the target of their fury. But now they have another, because YOU just gave them HIM!"

Emily stumbled back. "Wh-what...? B-but..."

"Right now, the threat I need to protect him from is you. Return home while I talk to our new arrival alone," Sera ordered. "Maybe I can salvage this."

Emily looked to the serpent angel, tears brimming in her eyes. "I... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to."

She turned, fleeing through a new golden portal. Before it closed, she could hear her big sister speaking to the new angel in a calm, measured voice.

"Sir Pentious, if I am not mistaken? I apologize for Emily's... exuberance. And the danger it has put you in. This is not the welcome to Heaven that a new angel deserves. However, for your own safety, I request that you remain within the confines of the Courthouse where I can ensure your well-being. At least until things calm down. Will you agree to that?"

Comments

[ihaveasked]

He was not, by nature, a very public figure. Few angels could speak to having met him personally- though, on reflection, the name 'Selathiel' had certainly come across a few desks. A servant of the world, who performed a thankless job and had no major incidents that any could recall.

And yet, he'd been seen a great deal, around the Courthouse, of late. He'd ministered to the imprisoned Exorcists, and things had... not quite calmed, nothing about the situation was calm. But had stabilized, at least, from outright, from threats of violence to tensions that were... contained. Wounds had been treated and tempers soothed... for now.

Tonight, however, less than a week after the extermination, the quiet angel with the gilded wings was making a visit that was a touch more personal. A slender hand curled into a fist, rapping upon the High Seraph's door.

[high_seraphim_sera]

"Enter."

Sera looked up from her desk. It had been a few days, and the immediate chaos was subsiding. But from the three newest datapads delivered, there was much to be done and almost all of it frustrating. Two petitions from different factions within the Court. The very fact that the Court had developed factions was undeniable and deeply troubling.

The third was actually good news from Court's infirmary. One of the Exorcists, despite having been nearly cleaved in twain, was going to make a full recovery. Miraculous. But then, miracles were the forte of the angels serving in the infirmary. And as an extra blessing, the sister who had refused to leave her side was finally getting some rest.

Sera looked up. "Selathiel. To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?"

To most angels, the greeting would have been purely formality. But Selathiel had shown her kindness once. There was a chance this visit would be friendly.

[ihaveasked]

"Merely checking on you, my lady."

He bowed, slightly. "I heard tell you had something of a medical incident, and wondered if there was some way in which I could offer assistance. If this isn't a good time, of course, I could return later."

[high_seraphim_sera]

So it was out. Of course. Like that could be hidden from the Court.

Sera put on a smile. "I did. But it was a passing thing. I am fine now."

Oh, that's not going to worry anyone at all. But what else could she say?

Sera looked down at her desk. "Now is fine. There is nothing here that cannot be pushed back for later. Come on in."

She tapped at her desk to shut the door once Selathiel was inside. "Have a seat. Refreshment?" She always kept something chilled to drink on a table near the window.

[ihaveasked]

He moved, smoothly, across the threshold. "Please. You know, I'm sure, how the masses love their rumours. It is said that a lie can run around the world before the truth has put its boots on. I can't help but wonder if there might be some truth to that. Still, it is a relief to see that the exaggerations are merely that."

[high_seraphim_sera]

Sera sighed inwardly. "And what are the rumors, if I may ask?"

"For the record, I fainted. Likely due stress."

I collapsed. It felt like my heart was seizing and I couldn't breathe. I was unconscious for more than a day.

"I am not happy to have had such a moment of weakness, but it happened and has passed. I would rather not give the angels reason to worry."

Sera sighed outwardly. "In your estimation, is this something I need to address formally?"

[ihaveasked]

"If one were to believe the rumour mill, one might assume you'd had an all-out brawl with Michael, had a violent breakdown in broad daylight, and secretly plotted the whole unpleasant affair under orders from on high."

The pale angel took a seat, folding his hands gently. "I wouldn't give it much thought. Such petty gossip would be a distraction, and your efforts better spent elsewhere."

[high_seraphim_sera]

Sera had to laugh a little at that. "If I had a brawl with Michael, by what divine intervention am I here for this conversation?"

That was good. To laugh.

I was ready to die on that hill. But I wasn't ready to fight on it.

"The truth is both more simple and more weighty," Sera admitted. "And since you have shown me kindness and taken an honest interest in my well being where no other of the Court has seen fit to, I will pull back the veil a little."

"I am an Elder. Like Michael, Gabriel, Azrael," Sera stated. "Like Lucifer once was. We were the ones who created the universe, each in doing our part of the Divine Plan. All in accordance to the Great Design. Except Lucifer, who... well, that is a different story."

"My part included the creation of the first humans. Adam and Lilith. From the dust of the earth..." Her voice trailed off.

For a moment, she was silent.

"Recent events have forced a re-evaluation of many of my decisions. The Court is in conflict. And the man I created is dead," Sera said. "So if I have seemed less sound or stoic than usual, it is because I am in mourning."

Casual Archangels

[my_menagerie]

Another bright, sunny day in Heaven. Just like all the others. Every day was a bright, sunny day in Heaven.

Azrael strolled one of the High Roads of Heaven. Archangels didn't hang around the Promenade. Still, it had benefits. This new drink, for instance. The one with the beads in it. Tapioca, he thinks. Truly delightful. A truly refreshing beverage with a chance of choking. How could you not be enamored?

Wait, is that who he thought it was? Away from the Throne and not tending to his soldiers. What a chance meeting. They so rarely talked.

"Michael!" Azrael greeted with a smile, spreading his arms. "Long time. What have you been up to?"

[helluva_loa]

Michael turned to face Azrael. "Attending my duties primarily. Is there a reason you wished to speak with me?"

It had been...how long? At least a century since they'd last spoken. Their personalities didn't mesh well even if there was overlap between their individual duties for the Throne.

Honestly, he found Azrael more than a little unsettling. He supposed the other archangel's cheerfulness was a way of coping with his rather macabre duties, but there was always something very unsettling about it.

[my_menagerie]

Azrael smiled. "Of course. Just got back myself." He nodded downward. "Would you believe they're having another war in the Middle East?" He sipped his drink and chuckled. "I know: shocker."

He lifted up the drink. "Have you tried these 'boba' drinks? I'm particularly fond of the banana." He eyed it. "The flavor is from a strain that went extinct on earth a while ago. But we still have it here." Another sip. "I highly recommend it."

"So, any big movement on your End?"

[helluva_loa]

"I am quite fond of the strawberry and apple flavors. They are quite refreshing after a long training session."

Azrael made the weapons that Michael and his soldiers trained with, that would be used when the Final Battle came.

"No, and I pray that it is still many millennia away. I hope yours is a long time off as well."

[my_menagerie]

"Millennia? Ouch." Azrael winced almost playfully. "If this was truly a race, I'd think you were trying to throw it."

Azrael leans against a railing, looking down at all the angels flitting about the golden streets below. Taking in the perfected air. "You know me. I'm already prepared a dozen different ways. Just waiting on the signal. But you know what that's like."

He stared down. "Sometimes, I wonder if the souls down there are going to wipe themselves out before either of us get the call. Wouldn't that be a right mess." He tapped a foot. "You have to admire how they're trying."

[helluva_loa]

"I do not desire to see Creation end. It gives us so many wonderful things. Such as that boba tea we both favor," Michael said.

He really didn't like how flippant Azrael was being about such things. As much as their conversations made him uneasy, he needed to be absolutely sure about something. Which meant having to suffer through this trial.

"Do you refer to Earth or Hell?"

[my_menagerie]

Azrael sipped his tea in response to Michael's advocation for Creation. He was used to Michael's view enough that it didn't surprise him.

But for the question, he raised an eyebrow at Michael.

"I meant Earth, of course," Azrael said. "The sheer ingenuity that mortals possess is one of His greatest Gifts to them. And the fervor with with they apply it to ending each other? I believe there is inspiration to be found."

He shook his head. "Sometimes, I think only the lack of permanency causes their efforts to fall short. Could you imagine what they would do with weapons like the ones I make?" He chuckled again. "You and I would be out of a job."

He held up a hand. "That is a joke, of course. The best they could do is wipe out themselves. Eliminating life in Heaven and Hell is beyond them. Too many of them don't even believe anymore."

[helluva_loa]

"I would not be opposed to being 'out of the job' but not due to humanity committing self-annihilation.

"I was not entirely sure which realm you meant given current events."

Given they were out in the general populace (even if there wasn't an angel in sight), right now the Elders had impressed that matters regarding the recently-revealed Exterminations be kept quiet for the time being. Even if it rankled Michael's sense of honor, he would do as requested...up to a point. Michael believed full transparency was sorely needed to stop the horrifying practice, but he'd already blundered one public appearance in regards to it. Sooner or later it would come out, hopefully sooner to prevent the practice from continuing.

Investigation

[my_menagerie]

"While I can condemn based on what we know, I can only absolve if her soul has not been bartered. I too need more details before I can decide whether or not I should So with that, I'm off to meet an Angel of the Court who doesn't make me want to kill him."

---

Azrael laid back in his chair, enveloped in the sepulcher darkness of his estate's inner mausoleum. A place for solitude, rest... and today, for a conversation that should not be pried upon.

When he wasn't looking for you, Selathiel was not an easy angel to find. It was easier to just give him a call.

Azrael held out a hand, summoning an orb of ghostly pale light. The orb gave birth to a second, which sought out the angel who Azrael knew had at least a cordial relationship with the High Seraphim.

"Selathiel," the Angel of Death greeted when the orb eventually found the angel and was received. "I have a dire matter I wish to discuss with you. I need a favor."

[ihaveasked]

For the scarcest few seconds, the second orb seemed to have some difficulty, hovering in place as if in confusion- before zipping off on its charted course.

The pale, aquiline face of Selathial appeared not long after, of course.

"Azrael." He bowed, slightly, inclining his head out of respect. "To what do I owe the pleasure of such esteemed patronage?"

[my_menagerie]

"A little raven told me that you have had a few cordial visits with the High Seraphim. I request to make use of that rapport," Azrael told him bluntly.

"It appears that the High Seraphim has let a demon bind her," the Angel of Death relays. "The Throne is concerned. Rightfully so. But details are a scarcity. Any facts you can glean, preferable in the form of witnessed memory, would be invaluable. But barring that, it would be beneficial to at least know her side of the story."

With a frown, Azrael stated, "I would ask her myself, but Sera and I have not been on speaking terms for over four millennia. Anything she told me directly would be tainted by her attitude towards me."

With a dire smile, Azrael asked, "Would you help a poor Reaper out?

[ihaveasked]

"I see," he said quietly. "Well, that is quite serious, if true. It would be remiss of me to neglect such a duty, and I shall endeavor to determine the truth, Azrael. If I may ask... what fate must befall her, should these rumours prove to be accurate?"

[my_menagerie]

"There is only one punishment that can be levied against her, Selathial," Azrael informed the lower angel. "Sera was created to do her job. Refusal to do so is Disobedience. Willfully compromising it is Disobedience. If her sin is determined severe enough to warrant discipline, then Sera will Fall."

He spread his hands, "Unless you suggest a sternly worded letter of reprimand."

[ihaveasked]

Selathiel bowed. "If the Throne wills it, then it is beyond question. I care for her as I do all of God's children... but the lesson, of course, of history, is that no man nor angel is incorruptible. I merely ask so I might rise to meet whatever course the future takes, rather than scramble to not be swept up in it."

[my_menagerie]

Azrael nodded. "I anticipate your report." With that, he ended the call. The pale orb before Selathiel gave up the ghost.

[ihaveasked]

Ah, Azrael. Such a brilliant mind. So like a spring in a volcanic valley, clear and pure- and belying the roiling inferno and toxic cocktail hiding within.

Such clarity of purpose.

But what was his next move? He had many cards to play, of course- but in this instance, perhaps...

A card flicked between his fingertips, flicking between two faces, one numbered VIII- the other XIII. Which to make his approach to...

The latter would be easier by far to bend to him, but the former... Yes, perhaps the former would be a better option to make his first overtures.

The card vanished, in a puff of flame, and the aquiline angel set off at a leisurely pace, unnoticed by all who passed him by.

[ihaveasked]

Some time later, he emerged, a short distance away from the familiar sight of Sera's dwelling.

His features slid easily into a smile, and he knocked on the door.

Another bottle of wine would, perhaps, have been received poorly. This early, he'd instead opted for a peace offering of coffee and pastries. Azrael wanted Selathiel to find the truth, and he was ever a faithful servant.