Alastor materialized in the kitchen, grateful to see them all still laughing. He tried to join in but he caught Charlie's eye. He felt shame. He knew the Princess could tell it hadn't gone well.

Why couldn't he get the hang of it. All his life he had tried to do the right thing. He really had. But he always got it wrong. He suddenly felt self-conscious sitting so close to his angelic mother. She had raised him as well as she could. How could she have created a monster. Because that's what he was. A monster. He could feel it with every bit of gumbo that didn't quite fill him. The anger, the insatiability. He thought it best to leave, to turn in early and avoid any questions from Charlie which he knew he should have. To avoid trying to converse with everyone as if his hands and teeth weren't stained with blood. His mother had been right about one thing, pretending to be someone else makes you forget who you are. Maybe he was the monster after all. Probably for the best he had made the deal with Lucifer. He would stay where he belonged.

Just as he was about to excuse himself, the kitchen erupted into white light.

Everyone but Katherine covered their eyes as Michael appeared, immediately pulling his wings close in distaste.

"Good...evening" he said carefully, his eyes drifting across the drinking demons. Everyone watched in rapt attention as his eyes fell on Alastor, specifically. Alastor couldn't meet his gaze. Michael wrinkled his nose subtly and turned his attention to Katherine.

"I'm afraid I come bearing good news," Michael said slowly, keeping his eyes trained on Katherine. "This little experiment has been approved."

Charlie squealed and the others' faces seemed to light up. She even saw Alastor deliver her a genuine smile although it did not quite reach his eyes.

"But we have stipulations."

The room fell silent. Apprehension filling the air.

Michael kept his face level. "We'll allow the Princess to have this little excursion….but I'm afraid there's quite a bit at stake. This will be a bit of a...how do you say...pass or fail venture. We're giving you 6 months, your time. At the end of the six months there will be another judgment. If you pass, you ascend. If you fail….well...you don't. No second tries, no new…." this time he didn't hide his nose wrinkling in distaste. "Guests."

"If it seems promising we'll meet to discuss once more and see about the longevity of this. But for now we think a closed focus group is best."

Charlie and Katherine nodded. The others remained still.

"And," the Angel continued, straightening his cuffs. "You'll have an observer."

Katherine opened her mouth to speak but Michael held a hand up to her. "You've been compromised my dear. You're lucky we allow you to stay at all."

She closed her mouth but leaned back into her chair, haughtily.

Michael smiled, directing his gaze to Alastor at the end of the table. "I'm sure your progress will be properly reported."

And with that the angel snapped his fingers, his figure dissolving into light. But this time it wasn't a barren space left behind. Another figure took his place. A tall slender man, with dark messy hair. Even as an angel there was something tired about his eyes. The room filled with white noise as the angel trained his eyes on Alastor, flashing him a smug grin. "Alastor," his voice rang like a bell. His tone was friendly, but his eyes were not.

Alastor leaned back into his seat, baring his teeth, his eyes narrowing. The air crackled as the Radio Demon let out a soft cackle of a radio searching for a station. "Hello old friend," he spat at the angel, his voice low, tinny, and dangerous.

And just when I thought things couldn't get worse," he thought to himself. His fingernails left imprints on the table.