A purple lizard demon peeked out of a darkened alleyway. He wore a shabby black hoodie, and grey sweatpants that were already stained with ash and blood. He glanced up at the sky, making sure he was still in the shadows.

Up above him, Angels were flying around like vultures. Some dove down to slice some poor sucker into two. Others just kept their distance via mowing down demons with bullets from the air. Either way, they were efficient and brutal as with every Extermination.

Of course, Nigel didn't give a shit about their skill. All he cared about was getting through the Extermination alive, having hidden and ran nearly the entire night from the Angels. He was exhausted—but he was almost home. Just a few blocks were between him and his cramped apartment with paper thin walls and a leaking ceiling and annoying as fuck neighbors. But hey, there was still a mattress waiting for him. And maybe those neighbors were dead by now.

He waited until the group of Angels flew away from his area. As soon as they were out of sight, he made his move and rushed out into the open. He kept close to the buildings, stepping over a dead body or two every now and then. As much as he wanted to, he didn't run. He had to stay as quiet as possible.

As he made his way though, he noticed how silent the neighborhood was. Maybe it was good that he was out in the streets when the Extermination started. From the looks of the corpses on the ground and the pink blood everywhere, near everyone was dead.

"Fucking angels," Nigel muttered under his breath. "Think they own the damn place. 'Oh it's to help reduce Hell's population!' Yeah right, they probably fucking get off being all high and mighty with us. Buncha' dickholes…"

So focused on his muttered rant, Nigel didn't hear the soft flutter of wings nearby as they landed. Nor the soft shing of metal claws unsheathing themselves, or the quiet footsteps following close behind him.

He did notice however, the claw tapping his shoulder.

Spinning around, Nigel could only gasp in horror. Grey form fitting jumpsuit, glowing white wings and halo, a horrid horned helmet, and a mask with a ghastly neon pink grin, as well as a X and circle where the eyes normally were.

An Angel had found him. It tilted its head, and gave a small wave with its clawed hand.

Nigel bolted. "Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuuuuuuuuuuuck!" he screamed, speeding down the block.

The Angel watched him run for a few short confused seconds before shaking its head in exasperation. It flapped its wings, rising to the air before chasing after him.

Nigel's heart pounded. His breaths were rushed and panicked. He had to get to cover, he had to survive!

He pulled out the gun in his pocket, twisting around long enough to aim and shoot at the incoming Angel. "Fuck off you harpy bastard! Fucking die!" he yelled, shooting a few bullets as he spoke.

The Angel merely spun to dodge the bullets, though one managed to graze its shoulder. Despite the injury, it showed no reaction. Instead, it increased its speed, gaining ground on the demon.

Nigel shot a few more times, though his bullets all wildly missed. By now he was in full panic, not thinking straight. In an attempt to escape the angel, he suddenly dove into a nearby alley, the Angel flying by in an instant.

The lizard scrambled to his feet, back pressed against the wall. The gun shook in his grip as he listened for his pursuer. He peeked around the corner nervously, noting no sign of the Angel.

He relaxed for a moment.

Then the Angel landed on top of him, knocking the gun out of his hand and pinning his arms down with its legs.

Nigel the lizard demon stared up at the Angel, the pink glow from its mask providing some light to his face.

Nothing was said at first. Then Nigel scowled.

"Go ahead. Exterminate me. I'm just some nobody who clearly fucked up enough to make it to Hell. A sinner who deserves to die. You don't give a shit. You just think we're trash. Well, you know what? All you Angels can just go—"

His voice cut off, as did the light in his eyes as life faded from them. The Angel lowered its claws, now stained with pink blood. It got up, stepping around the newly beheaded corpse.

It stepped out into the streets, looking around as if scanning the area. At last, it raised its hand, and minding its claws, pressed its wrist to the commpiece in their ear.

"Cleanser SB 905011231 reporting in. Sector 5 in the Southeast Quarter has been cleared. Awaiting orders," it stated, voice feminine and monotone.

Another voice responded, cool and composed. "Good work, Cleanser. Return to your platoon when you are able. The Extermination is near its end. Godspeed."

"Godspeed." The exchange ended. The Angel tilted its head. "'When you are able…' one might say it's a loophole. But I say…" The Angel retracted its claws. It then removed its mask, which caused their helmet to disappear as well.

She let out a soft sigh as bob cut black hair and pale silver skin was revealed to the open. "It's the perfect time to check out Hell!" Her voice was young and cheery, golden eyes glittering.

SB 905011231, or Nine as her mentor liked to call her, was just one of the many Angels assigned to participate in the annual Extermination in Hell. Known as Cleansers, they head out in platoons to cover specific areas of Hell to hunt down any Demons unlucky enough to encounter them.

Nine, like so many other stillborns, did not have a name. She was assigned a number and raised in Heaven up until she was deemed old enough to start being trained to serve Heaven. It had been many years since, though Nine had remained looking as though she was 16.

She had ended up proving to be a very skilled Cleanser...if not possessing a terrible curiosity for anything and everything.

As she walked through the barren neighborhood, Nine was drinking up the sights with fascinated eyes. She caught sight of a battered but still functioning vending machine.

Skipping over rubble and corpses, she was soon close enough to read the choices.

"Hmm...Coke, Bojack, McWeediez420, Squip, Hero-In…Krunchy Krokodil...Angel Dust?" Nine blinked. "These are such strange names for snacks."

"That's because they're not snacks. They're drugs." A voice from behind said.

Nine jumped, before summoning her claws and twisting around into a crouch ready to attack. She froze upon seeing the speaker.

It was another Angel wearing the same uniform as Nine, though the familiar stern tone in her voice and crossed arms gave away her identity.

Nine straightened up immediately, giving the Angel a wide and hopefully innocent looking smile as she retracted her claws.

"Lavi! I didn't think I'd get to see you during this Extermination! Wow, your uniform is still spotless; as expected of a master sniper like yourself!" she cheerily stated, her wings fluttering nervously.

The other Angel known as Lavi didn't answer, merely starting to tap her fingers against her arm as she waited. Nine kept beaming at her for a few moments longer until she slumped and began to pout instead.

"I was only looking! I wasn't going to touch anything…"

"Are you quite sure? You seemed very eager to press one of the buttons behind you." Lavi shook her head as she stepped over to the younger Angel. She scoffed as she looked at the machine. "Ugh, how vulgar. The Demons have absolutely no shame these days."

Nine tilted her head. "Well, Coke is a name for a soda, right? Maybe that choice is okay!"

"Nine, dear, that soda has that name due to its original recipe containing coke. It no longer has it, thankfully. This, on the other hand," Lavi said, tapping the machine, "would be the drug all by itself, packaged and ready for any sinner to ingest it in any form they chose." She sniffed. "Absolutely wretched."

She glanced at Nine. "Why are you not wearing your mask, dear? We're still on the field, you know."

Nine blushed slightly. "Well, I figured it'd be fine because this area is empty, a-and I wanted to explore it unhindered, so I took it off! It's a bit tight on me…"

Lavi shook her head. "I told you to get it looked at before Extermination day! Honestly…" She reached up to remove her mask and helmet, revealing what appeared to be a 25 year old with golden hair braided back in a romantic tuck. She had the same pale silver skin tone as Nine.

"You're very lucky I decided to check up on you. Commander said you had reported in, but I wanted to be sure you were—oh good Heavens! You're injured!" Lavi rushed to Nine's side, her emerald green eyes fixated on the graze on the young Angel's shoulder.

Nine blinked, glancing at it. "Oh, I forgot it was there…"

The elder Angel sighed in exasperation. She was already working healing magic on it, her hands aglow. "Of course you did. You need to be more careful! You don't know what diseases these sinners might be carrying!" she fretted.

"But it was from a bullet, not a claw…"

"If that was supposed to reassure me, understand that it only did the opposite, dear."

Nine couldn't help but smile. She knew that behind her harsh words, Lavinia was only worried for her charge. It was almost funny how well she could read her mentor sometimes.

Then again, Lavinia had practically raised her. In between her trips to Earth, Lavinia would always take the time to care for her.

Even to this day, Nine wasn't sure why. But she would forever be grateful.

"I'm fine, Lavi. Just a scratch," she chirped. Lavinia sighed as she finished, though she had a fond smile on her face.

"Of course you are. Now, we need to get going. The Extermination is almost over." She nodded her head to the large clock tower in the distance, its hands inching closer to 5:00 AM.

Nine groaned. "What?! Oh, but I just got started exploring! Please Lavi, just a little longer?"

She stared at her mentor with puppy dog eyes. Or, what she thought puppy dog eyes looked like. Even if she had never seen a puppy, Nine was sure she got it.

Especially since Lavinia's wings were twitching, showing she was trying—and failing—to avoid being affected.

Nine made her eyes even bigger. "Pleeeeeeeeeeease?"

Lavinia finally sighed. "Very well—but! On one condition." She gave Nine a raised eyebrow. "I will come with you."

Nine pouted but nodded. "Okay…" The younger Angel brightened up, flapping her wings to hover slightly above the ground. "Let's go!" she cheered, flying ahead. She may not be able to get as close as she wanted, but she could still look around!

Lavinia huffed, taking to flight herself and following her. "Wait for me, Nine! I'm not as fast as you!"

Nine gaped in wonder as she and Lavinia walked through an abandoned red light district. She glanced up at the flashing neon signs advertising the various different strip clubs, porn studios, and drug stores.

"My goodness. This place is absolutely filled to the brim with filth." Lavinia wrinkled her nose at a nearby club whose posters displayed a wide variety of strippers in next to nothing clothing. "Really, it's very dirty."

Nine looked up, a flashing neon pink and green sign lighting up her face. "Yeah...but it's very colorful, too," she said softly.

Lavinia grimaced, seeing the sign. "Yes, well...still. They could at least try and not display such foul language in the open. Nine, don't repeat it, please."

"I won't. I still think the colors are pretty though," the younger Angel replied. Lavinia huffed but was mollified by the statement.

They continued down the street, Nine continuing to gaze around while Lavinia kept an eye on the time.

"Everything's so red here. Was it always like that?" Nine asked.

"I don't know. I wouldn't be surprised if it was," Lavinia commented. "Likely Lucifer and his fellow traitors would know."

"I guess...maybe he wanted it to be red? But why?" Nine wondered.

Lavinia sighed. "You would have to ask him, Nine. Or one of his family members, they might know as well."

Her student's head whipped over to her. "Family members? He has a family?" she asked intrigued.

"Yes, somehow. His wife is Lilith, the First Woman, and they had a child I believe. I forget her name...anyway, one of them may know. Though, I doubt we'll meet any of them any time soon," Lavinia remarked.

The young Angel simply nodded, her gaze drifting to the wall next to her. She paused in place upon seeing what was on it.

There was a hastily scrawled message, short but simple. Fuck You! Heaven, it read.

"Oh dear. Ignore that, Nine. These people don't understand the good we are doing." Lavinia said, frowning as she gently tried to pull Nine away.

Nine stayed in place, however. She couldn't help but think back to the words the lizard demon had spat at her before she killed him.

"Lavi...Hell doesn't like us very much, does it?"

Her mentor sighed, letting go of her. "No, they don't. They're Demons. It goes against their very nature."

"But...they really don't like us. At all. We're always hurting them, hunting them. They insult us, spit in our faces, and tell us over and over how horrible we are." Nine began to pace, wings raised and fluffed in agitation.

Lavinia tried to speak. "That's in their nature to lie, dear, they—"

"Is it a lie though, when it's true?" Nine cut her off. She bit her lip before speaking. "I've heard so many things from them, Lavi. I keep my composure and say nothing, as per protocol, but...it's hard. Especially with the ones that just start crying instead. Scared for their afterlives, unable to do anything as we go in for the kill. Over and over."

She stopped, before she summoned her claws. She grimaced at the amount of demon blood coating them.

The young Angel glanced over at Lavinia, looking torn. "If we're doing the right thing...then why does it feel so wrong?" she asked.

Lavinia stiffened for a few moments, unsure of what to say. Then she replied, voice soft and calm.

"Nine. They are Demons. They are liars and tricksters. They will try to get into your head to make you—"

Suddenly, fireworks exploded over the pentagram in the sky. Both of them looked up in surprise.

"Wha—what are those?!" Nine asked, covering her ears as her eyes widened in awe. They were loud, but also the most colorful things she had seen yet.

She turned to Lavinia with sparkling eyes. "Who's creating those explosions, and how can I meet them?!" she asked eagerly with a bright smile.

Only for it to disappear upon seeing Lavinia's pale face. "L-Lavi?" Nine asked as she lowered her hands.

"Oh Merdle." Lavinia whispered. It was hard to catch with the fireworks still going, but Nine managed.

"Lavi? What's wrong?"

Lavinia's eyes shifted to her, wide in horror. "It's the end of the Extermination. Those fireworks are the signal for all the demons to come out. We need to leave, now!"

She grabbed Nine's arm, yanking her to the air as she took flight. Nine was barely able to unfurl her wings in time to avoid falling to the ground.

"Put on your mask, Nine! Oh Merdle, oh ship, oh ship ship ship!" Lavinia muttered under her breath, mask and helmet already on somehow. Nine quickly placed her mask on, summoning back her helmet as she pulled away from Lavinia to fly beside her.

Down below, the windows of a few buildings opened up, with Demons' heads popping out. Some left the buildings and began to walk out into the streets, already scavenging from the remains of their former neighbors or just taking the remains altogether.

Nine couldn't help but stare. "Wow...there's still so many left…"

"Focus Nine! We need to get to the clock tower, the portal shouldn't be completely closed yet! Oh Merdle, I can't believe I lost track of the time!" Lavinia was in a state of sheer panic, wings flapping harder in order to increase her speed. Nine went faster as well to match her mentor's pace, giving her a worried look under her mask.

"Lavi, it's gonna be okay! We can make it, I know we can!" she tried to reassure her. Lavinia didn't respond, solely focused on reaching the clock tower.

The two Angels continued to fly their way to the clock tower, leaving only feathers behind in their wake.

The clock read 5:10. Nine hoped there had been a small delay. She didn't want to think about being left behind.

The two finally reached the clocktower, heading straight for the top. Despite its appearance, it had a flat rooftop. The Angels would gather there after an Extermination, each platoon exiting through the portal there back to Heaven.

"Come on Lavi! We're almost there!" Nine shouted, racing forward. Lavinia followed, struggling to keep up.

They got there just as the last platoon went through. The portal was already beginning to close, its blue glow already fading.

Nine was about to charge forward when Lavinia collapsed onto the roof. "Lavi!" Nine gasped while rushing to her mentor's side.

Lavinia was gasping for breath. "Oh, these D'ed Guardian wings! What good are they if they can't manage to go beyond the sound barrier?!" she cried.

Nine helped her up. "Just run for it! I'll help you fly after we get through!" They both ran toward the portal.

"Nine! Just go on ahead! I'll be fine!" Lavinia tried to say, only to be shot down by her charge.

"No! I'm not leaving you behind!" Nine yelled over her shoulder. "We can both make it!"

They ran as fast as they could, but by this point the portal was already almost closed. In a last ditch effort, Nine flapped open her wings and grabbed Lavinia, flying toward the portal with her mentor in her arms.

However, the extra weight slowed her down considerably, and before their very eyes, the portal closed shut right before they could go through.

Nine ended up flying through the space the portal had been in, crashing hard onto the rooftop. She rolled a few feet before slowing to a stop near the edge.

She moaned in pain. "Ow…" Nine let go of Lavinia, who had been spared most of the pain, and sat up slowly, wincing. She took off her mask to rub her forehead tenderly. "I am definitely feeling that later," she muttered.

Lavinia sat up on her knees, removing her mask while staring at the spot where the portal had been. She then turned her head around to stare at the awakening city below them. Nine also turned to look.

She could feel her heart sink at the amount of Demons now walking nonchalantly in the streets.

"Oh Heavens...we're stranded in Hell," Nine whispered.