"Hello Children." the impediment smiled wryly.

'This day just keeps getting better.' Satania thought.

"Do you know who I am?" Raphiel challenged the familiar seraph.

"No, nor do I care. The law applies to all, no matter what your rank is or familial ties." she sneered. "You and your friends are in a world of trouble, thanks for giving me another reason to capture you lot. Nice costumes by the way." she nodded at Vigne and Satania.

"Dammit!" Satania growled. "These bracelet things don't work at all!"

"Don't worry Sinner, they work. It changed your hair color, not your hairstyle." she smirked. "It's only been two days since we last met."

"We're just here to search for something, and then we'll be out of your hair. We don't mean any harm!" Vigne interjected.

"Hmm. I dunno, my four wounded subordinates tell me otherwise. Wouldn't you agree?"

Before Satania could even blink, the angel had rushed forward!

The angel's whip brushed past her as she barely leaped out from striking distance.

Gabriel launched two arrows at the seraphim, but she adeptly dodged them as she continued her pursuit of Satania.

"A little help?!" Satania shrieked, flying figure eights to avoid the alarmingly close whip.

"She's too quick!" Gabriel shouted, failing to land any hits with her arrows.

"Got you!" The whip landed its mark on Satania's arm, coiling around it. Raphiel hastily wrapped her own whip around Satania's other arm, locking the poor girl in a painful tug of war.

"Gabriel! Vigne! Do something!" Raphiel grit out struggling to wrestle Satania free.

"R-right!" Vigne squeaked out, and threw her trident akin to a javelin as Gabriel lobbed more arrows out.

The seraphim impossibly dodged the arrows even in her current deadlock position faintly strafing to her side every time an arrow whizzed close to her. Mid-dodge, Vigne's javelin struck her temple causing her to stagger sideways.

'I..I did it!' Vigne mentally cheered.

The angel faltered before quickly restabilizing herself. Vigne froze under the murderous glare thrown at her.

Grunting, the seraphim gripped her whip with both hands, wrenching Satania from Raphiel. Slowly twirling her body, she spun Satania around before catapulting the demon directly at Vigne, both screaming before a sickening 'THUD' resounded with the two groaning into the ground of the hilltop.

"Vigne! Satani-" Gabriel crumpled to the ground unconscious, the faster-than-light seraphim already striking her in the neck before she could react.

"Stay down." she mumbled. "Only one left to subdue."

Raphiel's whip flashed in front of the offending angel.

"Stay away from them!" Raphiel yelled, taking a defensive stance in between the seraphim and her fallen friends.

Satania groaned as Vigne helped her to her knees. She nodded in thanks before looking towards the awe-inducing spectacle. Raphiel and the foreign angel danced around each other in a deadly frenzy. Raphiel, scathed slightly and clearly exhausted from the continuous fighting, still met the angel head on as their whips clashed with each other.

"It takes years to be adept with a combat whip or lasso. The feat is impressive, even if you're a brat." the angel remarked.

Raphiel feigned a strike, which was aptly blocked, before summoning an identical whip in her left hand and swung directly at the angel's throat coiling around it.

Raphiel pulled the whip hard, the seraphim's breath hitching as she struggled.

"Final warning. Leave. Us. Alone!"

Barely grasping the makeshift noose, the seraphim growled as she ripped the whip from her neck.

"Enough!"

She flared her wings out to their full length, igniting them in a fiery shockwave that knocked Raphiel back. She twirled her whip around herself, the whip hardening from the handle, each segment locking into place forming a tachi sword engulfed with flames. "Ju-

" -dgement: CONDEMNED!" the angel launched a wall of fire as she slashed downward. The fire blast honed in on Raphiel before she could dodge. An agonizing scream erupted from her throat as she was incinerated by the wall of flames.

Absurdly, unpredictably and luckily, the vision washed over Satania's mind. She shot up as time appeared to slow as the angel prepared her fatal attack. She needed to act fast! Now!

"-dgement!"

'No no no no no no no no no'

"CON-"

"NOOO!" Before she knew it something red pulsed out of her outstretched hand. Her body lurched forward as she tumbled through the air after the red projectile.

"What the -?!" the seraphim shouted before the small red projectile and large girl shaped projectile collided into her in an explosion of black and red. The force thrust Satania down into the ground and sent the angel careening into the fortress.

"-tania! Satania!"

The deafening ringing stopped as the demon's spinning vision slowed.

"Raph...Raphiel?" Satania squeaked out, trying to focus the multiple Raphiels back into one. Raphiel helped raise the demon out from the small crater she created.

"Are you okay?! Can you stand?"

" 'm..fine..I think.." Satania mumbled, one hand clutching her head as she hobbled towards Vigne who was supporting a very dazed Gabriel.

"This...isn't…over!"

The girls turned towards the offending voice. The angel stumbled out from the broken wall of the fortress bruised, singed, and with scrapes marring her body and uniform. "I'm reporting this!" The wounded angel took off, soaring away from the scene of the fight.

"We need to go back to my family estate. Now!" Raphiel ordered.

"No...shit..." Gabriel spat. Gladly accepting the aid, Satania leaned her weight on Raphiel as the group trudged back to the Shiraha estate as fast as they could.

"We're screwed! Screwed!" Gabriel yelled.

Her screams echoed in their de-facto planning room in the Shiraha Estate. Medical patching up from the maids and a day of earned rest later, Satania was left clueless again. The ever-increasing pile of unanswered questions would be the new norm it seems.

Somehow things just keep getting worse. Now she has angels tracking her like she has some sort of bounty! And her powers didn't give her any warnings prior, the one useful thing they were good for! They helped at the very last minute, but the point still counts.

"We didn't do anything wrong! Can't we tell the authorities? She has to have a couple of screws loose!" Vigne said.

"We would shoot ourselves in the foot by doing so. She was a seraphim, I'm sure of it. They're the highest ranking military officers second to Heaven's General, Virtue Fortitudo herself. They report directly to the Virtues. Any report we make will go straight to her or whoever she's working for, and put a spotlight on us." Raphiel explained.

Satania's eyes flashed open as an idea struck her like lightning. There was at least one angel who they 1000% knew wouldn't be helping these rouges. She locked eyes with Gabriel.

"Oh no. No no no no no no!" Gabriel declared frantically, shaking her head.

"She's the only angel we can be certain of."

"Absolutely not!"

"Sin Lilith said it herself, that your sister was a Virtue Tempura? Tempuranti or something?"

"Temperantia." Raphiel corrected. "But Satania's correct. She would be the only one who can help us now."

"What about your folks then? Can't the oh so great and powerful Shirahas help us?" Gabriel countered.

"They can't aid us if they aren't here." Raphiel crossed her arms. "And even if they were, angelic-demonic political relations are 'beneath them'. If it doesn't aid the family, it's of no concern to them." Raphiel muttered.

"Zelel will kill me if she finds out about any of this!"

"Or we could literally get killed. Seems like a fair trade to me." Raphiel rebuked.

"But-" before Gabriel could finish Vigne touched her shoulder.

"Gabriel." she uttered pleadingly. Gabriel's resolve crumbled underneath Vigne's scrutiny. It always did. Gabriel deflated, her arms sagging at her sides.

"Fine. But when this all goes south don't say I didn't warn you." she mumbled, defeated.

"And before we forget, you and Satania need to change your hairstyle or sis will piece together who you are."

"Okay, we can stop flying here."

The girls landed near the outskirts of a small town, a mere fraction of the size of Roodkloof and its towering skyscrapers.

"Aurore is pretty quiet around this time, butttt we'd better keep a low profile and walk the rest of the way." Gabriel ordered.

The evening crowds of the town shuffled past the girls as they trekked to Zelel's abode. The disguises were (thankfully) working as intended, no one batted an eye at the two demons.

"All right. We're here." Gabriel announced.

Gabriel opened the front gate and guided the girls to the front steps of the most mediocre bungalow Satania's ever seen. This can't be it. The gate surrounding the property was more impressive. At least it had two floors. Hesitantly, Gabriel rang the doorbell.

"Coming!" a voice rang out.

"Remember, your names are Tariel Albright '' Gabriel pointed at Satania "and Asteel Cohen." she pointed at Vigne. "We met on Earth, at college, recently. Once you realized who I was, and who my sister was, you two have been pressuring me to meet her. 'Tariel' is facing backlash from overexertion using her spells and wants guidance from the 'Great Virtue of Temperance'." Gabriel rolled her eyes. Both nodded back in confirmation but froze as the click of a latch unlocking was heard. Mustering all her strength, Gabriel took a deep breath, before the door swung open.

"Gabriel? This is a surprise." The newly appointed Cardinal Virtue of Temperance glanced down in awe.

"Hey sis."

"And you've brought Raphiel too! And...friends." Zelel said, glancing over the two angels in the back. "Please, come in." Gabriel marched through the doorway, the other three slowly following suite as Zelel closed the front door.

"So tell me Gabriel, what trouble did you get into this time? It's not like you to visit out of the blue, and I know school isn't out on holiday for at least another two months." Zelel asked as she sat down into her beige loveseat.

"I didn't do anything this-"

"Your stipend has been reduced again, hasn't it? Came to borrow more money huh?" Zelel drawled out. Gabriel faltered at the accusation.

"No! Well, yeah it went down again but that's not why I'm here." Zelel stared down Gabriel before rolling her hand, urging her to continue.

"Our friend Tariel needs help!" Gabriel exclaimed, pointing at Satania.

"She's sick, like REALLY sick, so we came to Heaven to bring her to her family while we stayed at Raphiel's."

"Mm-hmm." Zelel nodded along.

"But then this crazy seraphim chick with a whip attacked us out of nowhere! But we fought her off!"

"..crazy seraphim chick?"

"And now we need your help to keep us protected as we help Tariel."

"Ah-huh. That's all?" Zelel deadpanned.

"I'm pretty sure I covered all the bases."

Zelel examined the four girls standing in front of her. "And your name was?"

"A-Asteel miss! I-It's nice to meet you." Vigne feigned.

"I'm sure it is. What happened to your other friends? The one who was always scheming and the other who was always attached to you by the hip?"

"You mean Vigne and Satania? They're back on Earth. You know they're demons...they can't exactly be here without us getting in trouble... " Gabriel chuckled.

'She's surprisingly good at spinning stories and lies together out of the blue. Scary.' Satania thought.

Her head now propped up on her hand, Zelel hummed in deep thought. "I've decided. I'll help you."

"Really?" Gabriel gaped.

"IF, you assist me with one of my duties." Zelel finished.

"Of course there's a catch." Gabriel groaned.

"Come now. Think of it as hands-on training."

"Fine. Me n' Raphiel can go-"

"Nuh uh." Zelel shook her head. "You and Tariel can accompany me there."

"Wha- Zelel! She can't!" Gabriel countered.

"Give me one good reason why she can't go."

"She- she's still sick remember? How insensitive can you be sis?"

"She trekked her way here well enough. You won't have any issues flying a little longer right?" Zelel asked "Tariel".

"Erm.." Satania fidgeted underneath the older angel's stern gaze.

"As I said. Besides, you need the discipline anyway. I know you've been neglecting your studies."

"Here we go." Gabriel sighed.

"Don't 'Here we go' me!" Zelel snapped. "If it wasn't for me and the council showing leniency, you'd be expelled from the program in an instant!"

"I'm trying okay?" Gabriel shrugged.

"And a wonderful job you're doing at that! If you keep this slothful nature, you'll be fallen in no time!"

As the bickering match continued, Satania nervously paced in the corner of the room.

"I can't do this!" she whispered to Vigne and Raphiel.

"I don't think you have a choice." Vigne whispered back.

"I can't keep lying to Zelel forever!" Satania hissed.

"Have faith. This is a great opportunity to figure out what is happening in Heaven! It won't be forever, just an hour or two. You can do this 'Tariel!'" Raphiel winked.

"Right...all right! I can do this." Satania said.

"Tariel." Zelel's voice cut through the conspiratorial group in the corner.

"Yeah?" Satania jumped at her fake name being called.

"Are you ready? Time is of the essence." Satania nodded in agreement. "Then let's get moving. We'll be visiting a good friend of mine one town over." Zelel and Gabriel exited the house.

Satania glanced back at Vigne and Raphiel.

"You'll be fine, don't worry. Now go on." Raphiel encouraged, shooing Satania out the house.

"Having second thoughts?" Zelel probed.

She shut her door, and any chance of Satania backing out of this errand.

"No. Just getting my bearings." Satania responded.

"If you say so. Let's go."

A/N: HOW HAS IT BEEN AN ACTUAL YEAR SINCE I LAST UPDATED