As the vibrant yellow sun slowly dipped below the horizon of Heaven's vast ethereal ocean, a majestic angel stood with his eyes closed against the railing of a luxurious suite at one of Heaven's many grand resorts. Immersed in deep meditation, he listened intently to the soothing sound of the gentle waves lapping against the white sandy shore below. His thoughts, however, constantly betrayed him as his fingers idly toyed with a quartz crystal amulet that hung from a shimmering gold chain around his neck. Try as he might, they kept drifting back to the events of the day when, as a designated High Angel, he had attended a court hearing with the Princess of Hell. Somehow, she had managed to secure an audience with the esteemed High Seraph Sera, her charge Emily, and the First Man himself, Adam, which had made an immediate impression on the Angel. As he listened to the Morningstar's daughter present her case, he found her idea of rehabilitating sinners so they could ascend to Heaven to be truly noble. Intrigued by her idea, he would have supported her cause were it not for the degrading behavior of the court as they argued over what it takes to get into Heaven. The Angel was genuinely confused that the Seraphine could not provide any answers to Princess Morningstar's challenge.

Despite making a list of what it takes to ascend, in which the exhibit known as Angel Dust accurately checked off, The High General Adam and his lieutenant were adamantly against it, cruelly citing that Hell is forever. The other angels of the court argued amongst each other on the merits of both side's arguments, but he would not take part in it. Instead, he watched quietly, listened intently and when Adam revealed that he sent exorcists to Hell every year to execute a selection of the populace, and now declared that his army would first target The Princess' hotel in their next scheduled attack in a month, he approached Sera with deep concern after the hearing. He questioned the wisdom of these executions, but Sera abruptly shut him down. With a deep sigh, she told him that while she appreciated his position as a High-Angel, this matter was above his station and she advised him to purify his thoughts and not speak of it again. The Angel reluctantly obeyed and returned to his suite, where he took a spot on the balcony and tried to focus his mind on meditation and forget the events of the day.

Never having had such difficulty focusing his thoughts before, the High Angel closed his eyes more tightly, letting a single thought seep through: if he could have helped the princess, he would have done so. As he worked to return to a calm state of meditation, he did not notice the quartz crystal in his amulet begin to glow softly. A gentle hum grew from a tiny whisper to a more powerful beat, gradually growing louder and stronger. He opened his eyes to see an orb of white light emerge from the crystal and watched as it hovered in front of him. It stayed there for a moment, bobbing slightly, before exploding in a blinding flash. Stunned, the Angel raised his arms to block the brightness, which dissipated as quickly as it had appeared. Rubbing his eyes to clear his vision, the Angel gasped as pain flashed through his head. Memories suddenly flooded his mind, including his time on Earth, his sister, his comrades in the Special Forces, his life saving the helpless, the day he died, and shocking memories of the Princess of Hell herself. These memories caused him to feel true fear for her, fear for the woman he loved, and he whispered her name under his breath: "Charlie!"

The angel hastily tucked the amulet under his robes, stepped back from the railing, and unfurled his great white and blue a single burst of power, he shot straight up into the sky and bolted toward the great metropolis of Heaven's capital city.

.

.

At The First Man's apartment in the main city of Heaven, Adam and Lute were lounging comfortably in gravity chairs, drinking and laughing, as they relished in the execution to happen in one months' time. A loud knock at the door disturbed them. Grumbling, Adam rolled his eyes.

"Go away!"

The second set of knocks were louder and harder. Lute started to get up but Adam waved his hand, "No, I'll take care of this!"

Jumping out of his chair, drink still in hand, Adam stalked to the door and pulled it open harshly to see the angel from the beach standing there.

"Who the fuck are you?"

"Angel." Angel said, pointedly.

"No shit you're an angel, I asked who you are, dumb ass!"

"Angel is my name, Adam. That's all you need to know."

"No shit?" Adam blinked, adding with a singular laugh, "Fucking lazy. What the fuck do you want?"

"I attended the court hearing today, and heard you're going to Hell in a month for an execution. I want in."

Adam, sipping on his drink, sputtered, and nearly spilled the rest, "Excuse me? Wh.. no! We don't need you."

Angel's demeanor didn't change at the refusal, "Yes, you do. You know your Executioner army can be harmed. You've gone into all previous executions with reckless abandon."

"How the fuck do you know that?"

"I'm a High Angel, Adam," Angel started with a truth and added a necessary lie, "I spoke to Sera and I understand why these executions take place, and I want to be a part of it."

Having risen from her chair, Lute stepped over to the door, eyes cold, "Fuck off, prick! We got this!"

"No," Angel's voice darkened, "You don't. Morningstar and her motley crew will be training with the knowledge that you have weakneses. They have a chance. You want them all dead, right? You need strategy for this one and that's what I do. I can make sure that the plan goes off without a hitch."

Adam scoffed dismissively, but Lute has a thoughtful look on her face, "And what do you have to offer?"

"What? Are you seriously considering this asshole?"

"Angel is right about one thing. One of our numbers was killed in the last execution, and it's not going to harm us to have more weapons and a strategy next time." Lute looks to Angel, appraising him, "You're a strategist, huh? Prove it. What do you have in mind?"

Lute stepped back to give Angel room to his eyes in exasperation, Adam tossed back the rest of his drink back in one swallow.

"This better be fucking good!"