We all knew that there was trouble from above. We heard it from the constant rumbling, like a brewing storm, shortly after we all bowed before Man. The voices of the Archangels thundered and roared as they quarreled before Father, and all we could do was listen on.

"Father," spoke Lucifer, voice gentle, "I love You more than anything in creation. I will serve You to the end of time, but I…I cannot bow to these humans."

"You will do as Father commands," Michael said, voice strained, as he had already repeated this many times.

"But Man is tainted and flawed. Mortal. I can see evil in all their hearts, dormant as it is," replied Lucifer, in his silver-tongued way.

"And you do not think that I can see it in you?" resonated Father, and there was a shocked murmur among the angels below.

"My devotion to you overcomes all," says Lucifer, unwaveringly, but we could all tell how much Father's words stung him.

"Then prove your devotion to me, Morning Star, and vow to serve Man as you served Me," We all knew that from His tone, He was done with this discussion. Lucifer knew as well, but whether it was from his own pride, or his hatred of Man, or a reason far darker that he turned to Michael, pleading,

"Will you stand with me, brother?" There was no reply. He turned to Gabriel, then Raphael, then to all of us gathered below, "Who will stand with me? Who refuses to lower themselves and become as worthless as the dirt under Man's feet? Who loves Father more than they love these hairless apes?"

As soon as Lucifer uttered the last word there was a great BOOM, energy crackling forth across the bright expanse above us. We shrank away, for never had we seen such anger or conflict among the angels. For a second, I thought that the whole sky had fallen down on us. But it was Lucifer, eight wings spread out behind him, light pouring from him as he hit the ground in our midst. We scattered, but didn't go far as we watched him get back to his feet, with such a look of grief in his eyes that I was stopped in my tracks. He was suddenly struck down again as Michael landed upon him, full of righteous fury.

"Stand down, Lucifer," he said, towering over us all, "Father still loves you. Don't believe that because He created Man, He'll forget you."

"He already has. I know Him better than you. I can never know or love Man as much as He!" cried Lucifer, not making a move to rise, but looking Michael in the eye as he says, "I will not stand down. I'm sorry, Michael."

I'm not sure who made the first move. Everything happened so fast. The next moment, Heaven was tossed into chaos. Both Lucifer and Michael had drawn their swords and were clashing, the sound of their blades reverberating through the air. Many of us fled. Some stayed behind to fight or try to stop the fight. Others were too afraid to move. I looked up at Father, hoping for some hint of what to do, but He had turned His back.

This wouldn't be the first time, or the last, that He would abandon us.

The battle went on for a very long time. I…I'm not sure how long it lasted, as I had fled to Earth with some of the others to avoid this war. Without guidance from Father or any of the Archangels- Gabriel had disappeared, and Raphael had sided with Michael- we were wandering sheep. But down on Earth, it was relatively quiet. I found some members from my Garrison- Balthazar, Inias, Amrael, Raguel, and Uriel. Together we watched Heaven as it was slowly torn apart, the cities we spent centuries building blown to dust. Angels that at first had tried to stop the fighting had now sided with either Michael or Lucifer. Many died, their piercing cries of agony heard by every single one of us. Meanwhile, the humans were still cocooned in their paradise, unaware of the war fought because of them. For them. Because of them. A powerful warding spell had been placed around the Garden by Father, denying all angels entrance.

"Another sign of His distrust towards us," Uriel, the one with second thoughts about fleeing Heaven, had muttered, though he was quickly hushed by the others.

The tide of the war, from the beginning, was in Michael's favor. Two archangels, seasoned with fighting experience against the Darkness, could easily defeat a whole legion of angels and Seraphim. But Lucifer was crafty. He found two of his most trusted angels, ones who had sided with him since the beginning, and gave them great power and knowledge.

One was an angel named Lilith. The other was a Seraph, Abaddon. If I had known what crimes against creation those two would commit, perhaps I would have done something…But it's in the past now. Nothing I did would have changed that.

With those two by his side, Lucifer seemed to be gaining the upper hand. It was the final battle, the final clash. Raphael had been injured when Lilith and Abaddon ambushed him, leaving Michael and Lucifer circling each other, alone on the battlefield.

"Please, big brother, you don't have to do this!" said Lucifer, his tone still filled with sadness and pity. As if none of this mess was his fault.

"You disobeyed Father. I tried to warn you, Lucifer. I have no choice," replied Michael's voice, solemn and tired.

"We were created having a choice. Why did Father give us this ability, if not to mock us with it?"

"Father has His reasons. Don't question them-"

"I've tried doing that. I've tried to keep my mouth shut for so long and be a good little son. You think that this is the best you'll get, but I can give you so much more. I can give you freedom, Michael. We can still walk from here, side by side, and together we can be our own gods…"

"HOW DARE YOU SAY THAT!" Michael roared. We could see thunderclouds gathering above us, dark and churning. This was it. This was the last battle, and we would all be destroyed…

It was then that Father chose to intervene.

There was a flash of blinding light from above the clouds. As we saw the shape fall, glowing like a dying star, we heard Father's voice boom like thunder,

"Lucifer. You dared to wage war against your Lord, so filled with hatred were you for My creation. The gates of Heaven have been sealed from you. I now declare you banished from Heaven."

There was one, final CRASH that shook the earth as Lucifer, the Morning Star, was cast out by Father's hand. Then there was silence.

As if it were some kind of act of mercy, before he fell Lucifer was able to take Lilith and Abaddon's Graces, dooming them to the life of a mortal human. Father would not dare hurt or kill a human then, as they were blameless and pure, so He allowed them to live out their lives on Earth without any recollection of their angelic backgrounds. It was a terrible mistake - one Lucifer would take full advantage of.