Five weeks later
Shilo sat on her living room couch, reviewing the papers she had written over the weeks. A pair of glasses sat on her nose, providing a clear view of her work up close. She had gotten all the documents about the extermination and Heaven's system so far, barely enough to expose to the seraphim and the archangels. Beside her, Nicholas lay on the other side of the couch as he chewed on his chew toy of a bone.
She let out a sigh, catching Nicholas's attention. She carefully placed the papers on her coffee table, grabbing her coffee mug filled with caffeine and ice. She took a sip, letting the cold taste of sugar, cream, and her bean juice mix and cool down with three ice cubes. After she had her caffeine fix, she leaned back to her couch.
"Okay. So far, I have gotten down to who started this, the reason, and how long it started." She sighed. "Not sure if it's enough to explain everything." She put her mug back on the table.
Then she picked up a paper; inside were details about Heaven's system. She huffed as she read it over while brushing her long bangs up. Jophiel was right about the system stopping working and that souls failing to fit heaven's standard; only a few got lucky to enter heaven while the others got placed down there like pigs in a slaughter farm. To her, it's not right for Heaven to be so picky and not accept souls just because they're not sane and their mistakes are not suitable.
"What do you think, Nicholas?" Shilo asked him, hoping he would give her an answer. Only he tilted her head, hardly understanding.
She leaned back against the couch, letting the paper fall from her hand and land on the floor. She removed her glasses and set them down alongside her mug. She placed her hand against her cheek, thinking hard about her goal and the solution she hoped to accomplish. Those new sinners' lives would be in grave danger.
"Even if I did manage to spread the truth about this, how will this solve this overpopulation problem?" She questioned herself. If she managed to get Heaven to beg the seraphim and the archangels to stop the extermination, what about the overpopulation of the damned? "Hmm..let me think.."
She grabbed her binder from her table and opened it as she reviewed her research. While reading, she was tapping her foot against the floor, thinking hard. What is something that would help new souls without feeling judged and would feel accepted? Her eyes widened as an idea popped into her mind.
"I got it!!!" she shouted and jumped off the couch. Nicholas got started and landed on the floor. Shilo pushed the papers off the table with a strong force from her wings.
She dashed to her bedroom, grabbed some paper from her desk and a pen, and wrote her ideas down with a vast, crazy grin. As she wrote, she could imagine that if this was accepted, Heaven would remove the exterminations, and the exorcist angels would live like everyday angels without staining with blood. Her excitement was buzzing through.
She set her pen down. "This will work!!" She happily exclaimed.
Her cell phone rang during this time, breaking her out of her thoughts. She farrowed her eyebrows. Who would be calling her on a Sunday? She approached her bed and picked it up. The caller ID showed that Michael was calling her.
She answered it. "Hello?" She spoke.
"Shilo?" Michael asked through the phone. "Are you busy?"
Shilo froze, hearing his words when speaking to Adam, calling her naive and ignorant. It hurts her to think he doesn't want to talk to her. As much as she wants to talk to him and hear him explain himself, she is not ready to talk to him, not while she is still healing and focusing on her task.
"Yes. I am swamped." She lied.
"Oh," he said, sounding disappointed in the other line. "I was hoping you and I would go somewhere together; I hardly see you." He explained. She has been avoiding him and the archangels for five weeks, not wanting to be near them.
Shilo sat on her bed, holding her phone close to her ear. "Geez. I wish I could join you, but I need to set up assignments for class." She lied, coming up with an excuse she hoped he would buy it. "It's almost the end of the school year, and I need to wrap things up."
Micahel sighed. "Very well," he nodded. "Let me know when you are free. I love you, angel."
Shilo's throat hitched, hearing him say it. "I...I love you too," she replied. She hung up on him, putting her phone away.
She let out a huff, rubbing her forehead, as she could feel a headache coming on. She wanted to believe him—believe that he had good intentions for her as her boyfriend. Yet how could she when she heard nothing but truth in his voice? It's draining her.
She gets up from her bed and returns to her living room, where Nicholas is chewing his toy. The binder is on the coffee table, open to the world and carrying all the proof she needs.
"Just a few more, and it will be ready." She whispered. Even if it's impossible, lives are more important than her own.
The next day, Shilo was in the hallway of the angelic courtroom building. She was lucky that Belle was too busy with a client to notice her coming in and sneaking past her. This made her come in unnoticed and out of sight. She made her course to the archive, remembering her couple's last visit there. She carefully crept without making a noise.
She walked past the courtroom, almost reaching the end, and stopped momentarily. Then, hiding behind a slightly open door, she peeked inside.
Inside is Michael, pacing as he rubs his head and mumbles angrily. Standing before him is Lute, but she notices something off about her. Lute was covered in golden angelic blood, a few bruises and scars, and her left arm was missing. Like it was ripped off from its hinges. Did she get into a fight, or was training too hard? Shilo would have guessed exorcist angels should be training.
After pacing for a few minutes, Michael stopped and faced Lute with rage. "What do you mean Adam is dead?!!" he roared at Lute, who remained firm in her stand.
"He was killed by that princess and her pathetic friends," Lute explained to him. "Her father got in the way."
"Lucifer!?" Michael snapped. His eyes widened in shock. If Lucifer got involved, that would mean the agreement was broken. He slapped Lute across the face, making her hunch down in pain.
Shilo flinched. She had never seen him strike at a woman, not even at Shilo. She listens to them carefully.
"I told you to not go after Charlie and her hotel!!" Michael snarled, angry that she broke the one order he told her and Adam not to do during their extermination. "And now that you drew Lucifer's attention, you broke the one agreement we must keep!!"
Lute rubbed her cheek, feeling the harsh sting of his slap. She pulled herself back to her original position and glared at Michael with rage. "Why should I care about a stupid rule?! Hell is full of filthy, pitiful, and miserable souls that live up to their expectations!" she yelled at him. "They should all be dead!!"
"And what would happen if you did?!!" Michael yelled back at her with a question. "You'd be putting us in a war that will destroy humankind on Earth!! The Deadly Sins! The Goetia!! The Overlords!!" He pointed out the most powerful creatures that would not hesitate to attack if necessary. "They will all come to us if we kill their kind!!"
"What happened to the prince of heaven?! The greatest knight that slaughters every evil in sight!? And the bravest angel that protected heaven?!! Lute barked back, showing no fear. "You have lost your title over the years!! All for a stupid hag!!" she panted in rage, glaring hard at Michael.
Suddenly, her eyes widen in fear as a large shadow overcast her. Before her, Michael's form is changing into his angelic form. A huge seraphim angel that has eyes on his wings, feather robe in white and blue that covers his body except for his head, a lion head and long platinum blonde hair and mane, his halo behind his head that has eyes, his shoulders have eyes, and his eyes are blue with no sclera. The eyes all stare down at Lute with rage.
Shilo watched Lute backing away, afraid of his angelic form. Shilo had never seen him reveal his true angelic form before. And in truth, she would be scared in Lute's position if she was out there.
"Don't you dare bring Shilo into this! She has nothing to do with me!" Michael roared loud, his voice powerful and echoing as he spoke angrily. "She is just a pest the Seraphim needs to control; she is not your fucking concern!! Unless you want to end up with the same fate as your former comrade, you watch your tone and remember your place." He threatens her. "You are beneath me, just as all of Heaven is. And I will not let a little exorcist tell me what to do," he snarled, leaning down to give her a warning glare. "Understand!!?" he roared, echoing the courtroom.
Lute shakily nodded. "Yes, sir. Please forgive me," she begged in a shaken voice.
Once he received a nod from her, his angelic form changed back to his standard form. He nodded with a pleasing smile. "That's more like it. You are dismissed till we decide your fate," he leaned close to her. "Breathe a word of this, and you will live your days down in Hell," he threatened her.
Lute nodded, still shaken by the sight of his angelic form.
Shilo quickly left, not wanting to get caught by what she witnessed. She knew Michael could be very stern. She had never seen him behave like this to another angel, let alone someone like Lute. Lute must have really gotten under his skin to make him mad. She better play it safe around him when she decides to face him.
When she was close to the archive, taking a turn, she spotted a familiar angel just coming down the hallway. It was Zephyr.
"Oh shit.." Shilo mumbled.
Zephyr was looking over his book, listing his tasks and duties. He headed down the hallway until he spotted Shilo at the end. "Shilo!?!" he gasped. He teleported his book away and approached her. "What are you doing here!? You know you're not supposed to be here!!"
Shilo made a shushing noise, trying to get him quiet. "Not so loud!" she yelled in a whispering voice.
"Shilo!! Just.." He groaned. "Just what are you doing!?" he asked in a whispering voice. "If they find you, you'll—"
"I'll what? get fallen?" Shio questioned him with a raised eyebrow.
"Get fallen and become an enemy!" Zephyr explained. He grabbed her shoulder, bringing her close as he stared into her eyes. "Do not waste your sacrifice on him!" he yelled quietly.
Shilo blinked. Confused about what Zephyr was telling her. "What are you talking about?" she asked him.
"It's not worth committing blasphemy, Shilo!!" Zephyr continued on, not hearing her question. "Don't..let it go!!"
"Okay. I'm confused." She specified.
Zephyr sighed, shaking his head. He faced her. "Shilo, don't. Don't ever. Try to visit Lucifer. Don't!" he explained.
Shilo blinked. He thought Shilo was trying to go to Hell and see Lucifer. Even when she has no plans to go to Hell, never. She pushes his hands off her shoulders, backing away to get room. "I'm not doing this to see Luci. I'm here to reveal the truth," she revealed.
Zephyr's eyes widen in shock. "No, you don't mean..." he mumbled.
Shilo senses something off about him, as if he knows something she is telling him. "Wait, you knew?" She questioned him. "About the extermination?"
Zephyr nodded without hesitation. "Yes."
Hearing this, Shilo let out a stressful roar, not caring if anyone would listen to her. She can't believe that even Zephyr knows about it and never bothers to tell her about it. The floor becomes covered in frost, sensing her anger. "Great!! The archangels!! Sera!! Lute!! Now you!?" she pointed at Zephyr. She placed her hands under her hair. "Why does everyone I know get to lie in front of my face??!"
"Even Father has secrets he won't share with his angels," Zephyr confessed.
Shilo faced him, an expression of irritation planted on her face. "Like he is allowing angels to go to hell and kill those sinners?!" She implored to his face. "Zephyr, you know it won't solve everything. It's just an endless cycle of slaughter."
"It's the same as life and death," Zephyr proclaimed. He watched Shilo's irritation turn into a deadpan, and he sighed. He stares at her sternly. "Sorry Shilo. I cannot let you do this," he disclosed.
Shilo glared at him. "And why not?! " she snarled. "I can't let this go while the extermination is still going on, and no one knows what is happening." She explained her belief.
Zephyr glared back. "I don't know. I suggest staying out of this!!" he advised her with a finger jab.
"And go back to being ignorant!?" Shilo implied, her eyes showing rage.
"Ignorant!!?" Zephyr echoed her words. "You are playing a dangerous game!!"
"This isn't a game!! This is a matter of life and death!!" Shilo fumed, angry that he was not taking her side as usual. "I can't let those sinners get killed by the angelic blade! This bloodshed has to stop!"
Suddenly, Shilo felt a painful sting on her cheek. She touched her cheek, wincing in pain as she faced what struck her. Zephyr was panting heavily with his hand up in the air, and his eyes widened by what he had done. He has slapped her.
"Shilo!" Zephyr shouted after he slapped her across the face. "Stop believing such a thing! War and harmony exist for a reason," he lectured her. "If there's no extermination, then Hell can overtake Heaven! Demons and sinners exist!!"
"But I came up with ideas that can help!" Shilo objected. She rubbed her cheek, getting the sting off. "Maybe if the soul would take therapy, or they would get a second chance back on earth!!" she listed her ideas. "It would dim the overpopulation, and no bloodshed would happen!"
Zephyr let out a scoff. "Unlikely!!" he disputed. He sighed, his face growing soft. "Stop this, please," he begged her.
Shilo becomes silent. Her eyes hurt and upset, and he finds her ideas ridiculous. She frowns sadly, her eyes cast down, and her bangs cover her eyes.
"Shilo..please," Zephyr advised her.
Then she gripped her fist tightly, digging her fingernails into her palm. She lifted her head up and glared at him with determination inside her eyes. She is not giving up, not on the sinners, Charlie, or herself. "I'm through letting others decide for me. I'm done listening," she declared, as the virtue of perseverance.
Zephyr's eyes widen in shock. "You wouldn't dare.." he agonized. She is going to go far to stop this.
"watch me." She challenged him. She walked past him, heading to the archive.
But Zephyr rushed ahead and used his wings to block her path, stopping her from taking another step. "If you do this, you are my enemy," he warned her.
"I'm not going to stop my goal." Shilo fumed, feeling her powers building up in rage and determination.
"And I'm not letting you do this," Zephyr argued.
Shilo glared at him. If he would not let her pursue her goal and expose the seraphim to Heaven, then she had no choice. It went against everything she was taught as a virtue, but desperate times called for desperate measures. She lifted her hand up, then, without a warning. Shilo released a powerful snow blast from her hand, pushing Zephyr out of her path.
Zephyr fell to the floor, wincing in pain from the blast. He looked up at Shilo, standing above him, staring with a challenge in her eyes.
She took a step back while the hallways dimmed the lights. "I'm running on luck, and I don't want to lie." Shilo sings. "But it's eating me up; not my style to comply." Her shadow formed behind her as she sang. "I like living life like it's do or die." She keeps backing up. "If I'm villainized for my state of mind, that's fine." Her shadow changed from an angel to a being with ram horns and glowing eyes.
Then she danced while singing. "I got that trigger-happy, battle-loving. That crazy, all-for-nothing, I keep them guessing gotta keep you mesmerized." She spins around like a ballet as she twists her hips. "I got that, got that alluring fire. I'm an electric wire. One touch and you can't help but become energized!"
After a while, Shilo made it to the archive without notice. "I got that. I, I, I got that." She looked around, hoping she hadn't drawn attention. "Become energized." She closed the door behind her.
Once the door was closed, she walked past rows of shelves. "I wanna see the world. No, I don't wanna hide." She sings as she touches the shelves. "Like a caged-up bird. I wanna live, not survive." Suddenly, six chains with the color of the archangel's halo grabbed her. The gray chain is on her wrist, and the pink chain is on her other wrist. The teal chain is on her waist, the orange chain is on her biceps, the green one is on her other biceps, and the blue chain is wrapped around her neck.
"Cause I got that shimmer shine. Yeah, I got that magnetic smize." She struggled to break free from the chains. "I got those words like wine. Have you got it mesmerized?"
She used her wings to push forward. Then, the chains dissolved into ashes, breaking free. "I like living life like it's do or die." Her shadow appeared on the wall. "If I'm villainized for my state of mind, that's fine." Her shadow changed to its ram horn side as it let out a crazy laugh.
"I got that trigger-happy, battle-loving. That crazy all for nothing." Shilo then dances inside the archive while singing. "I keep them guessing; gotta keep you mesmerized. I got that, got that alluring fire. I'm an electric wire." She smirked, a flash of dark blue and ice blue in her eyes before returning to normal. "One touch and you can't help but become energized."
During the song, Shilo put together her research inside her binder. "Na-na-na, na-na-an. Na-na-na, na-na-na. na-na-na, na-na-na. become energized." She looked over and read a page, smiling and nodding. "Na-na-na, na-na-an. Na-na-na, na-na-na. na-na-na, na-na-na. become energized." Shilo turned to Nicholas, who was sleeping on her bed, letting out a soft smile. "Na-na-na, na-na-na. Become energized." She closed her binder and set it on her desk. "Na-na-na, na-na-na. na-na-na, yeah."
Shilo had been sneaking into the archive for days to gather more information until she had all the proof she needed, even heading there after finishing her job. All while dodging Sera and the archangels, who had hardly seen her for weeks and were growing concerned that she was avoiding them. Sera is beginning to grow suspicious of Shilo, as Emily is sensing something is off with her old teacher. Sera sighed, knowing what she must do.
Inside the archive, Shilo sings. "I got that trigger-crazy, battle-loving, that crazy all-for-nothing. I keep them guessing. Gotta keep you mesmerized." She looks to be enjoying it—the thrill of feeling alive again. She dances. "I got that. Got that alluring fire. I'm an electric wire. One touch, and you can't help but become energized."
"Na-na-na, na-na-na. Na-na-na, na-na-na. Na-na-na, na-na-na. Na-na-na, na-na-na. Become energized." The archangels looked at each other and showed concern. "Na-na-na, na-na-na. Na-na-na, na-na-na. Na-na-na, na-na-na. Na-na-na, na-na-na. Become energized." Michael sighed. As much as he is deeply concerned for his girlfriend, he has a lingering suspicion about her.
Shilo closed her binder, smiling with pride in her. It is done. "I got that. I-i-i got that. That energy." She picked it up. Now that research days are over, all that is left is to show it. "I got that. I-i-i got that." Her smile turned into a smirk; she could hardly wait to see the look on their faces. She sings with her smirk still on. "Become energized."
'I Got That' by AmaLee