Azazel’s call to action came later the same day. Aboard the chariot, Apollyon laid out the plan again, making sure everyone knew what to expect. Now, the team that was supposed to remain on the chariot had moved to the control deck of the air ship, something Freya had called the bridge, even though demons didn’t have that name for it.

“I should curse you, Ama.” Freya ran her hand over the back of the command chair before taking her seat. She chuckled. “You and your little human friend. I just have to do this now. Number one, set a course for the fields of Elysium.”

Hera couldn’t help but laugh. She too had seen the science fiction show Sarah had shown to Amaterasu. “Course laid in, Captain.”

“Engage.” Freya gestured forward with two fingers.

The chariot teleported. After a few seconds, Kate glanced out the forward window down at the fields below her. The rolling fields of gold were only interrupted by ruins in the distance. This was truly a remote area.

Hera turned to look at the others on the bridge. “Azazel and the riders have just teleported to the vault. Time to do our thing.”

Freya nodded. “Indeed. Red alert, shields up, battle stations. Hera, get us to Celestis. Engage.”

There were no such things as red alert or battle stations, but Kate had formed a good idea of what Sarah had shown the demons: something about a next generation of people on a spaceship going on some sort of star trek. Kate had never watched it herself, but now she almost had to.

The chariot snapped to the angelic city, the beautiful fields replaced by dense buildings, all shimmering in a white gold. It took a few moments for the angels to respond in the form of a well-armed Raphael and a few guards. The archangel projected his voice across the city.

“What is this? Why do you demons bring a war machine to this city?”

Freya sighed. “I almost wanted him to attack. Apollyon, do you want to handle this or should I?”

Apollyon shook her head. “I will be ready to take over if you want, but this is your chariot.”

“Alright.” Freya tapped a rune on the armrest of her chair, projecting her voice outside the air ship. “I am high commander Freya of the pandemonium. We are here to demand recompense and punishment in accordance with multiple sections of article six of the Treaty of Celestis.”

Raphael answered with barely hidden confusion. “Recompense for what? Where have the courts violated the treaty?”

“Gabriel has interfered with the rescue of Lilith. We demand you chain him and bring him to us so we can take him into custody. You will also hand over all belongings of Gabriel and God to us.”

“Unacceptable. We will deliberate the extradition of Gabriel in exchange for the human-born head librarian. Surrender of the belongings of God and Gabriel is out of the question.”

“Raphael… you have seen what this chariot can do to this very city. We have brought even stronger destructive tools this time. Merely suggesting we surrender one of us to you is an insult beyond measure. We are willing to give you time to consider and negotiate with the other archangels. We expect your answer by the end of this cycle. If it doesn’t make us happy, we will begin hunting you down, every court from the archangels to the lowest of your kind, until you give us what we want.” She tapped the rune again and looked at Kate. “Why is an archangel interested in you?”

Kate shrugged. “One of his underlings tried to kill me before I turned to hurt Polly. Raphael apologized, even officially with all the bells and whistles in front of Sariel, Azazel and Lucifer. My best guess is that the entire thing humiliated him. He didn’t have full control of his people.”

“Interesting. I don’t like it, but it is interesting.” Freya looked out the front window, seeing Raphael teleport away leaving his guards behind.

“So, how long until the end of the cycle?”

“About five hours. Long enough for them to reach a conclusion, short enough so they have to withdraw from other affairs. Gabriel likely won’t be able to respond to inquisitors at the vault.”

“So, we wait.”

“Yes, we wait.”

Azazel teleported directly onto the bridge of the chariot. “I am happy to report that we are done. The tome is at the library, Nirrti and Eisheth have taken it into the office and Sariel has upped security until we are done here. We can leave now.”

“Well, about that…” Freya sighed. “I might have opted to use a distraction method that was a bit too effective. If we leave now, they will suspect something is going on.”

“What did you do?”

“I demanded extradition of Gabriel and everything belonging to him and God. I gave them until the cycle ends, so another two hours. Raphael went to deliberate with the other archangels.”

“Freya… for fucks sake.”

“Sorry.”

“It’s alright, we can work with this. Let’s wait for their response.”

“That’s what we’ve been doing.”

“Well, now we are waiting with more people. That is something I suppose.”

Freya shook her head in amusement. “Some days I wonder why we even try to project this serious façade. The moment a single one of those important angels gets a peek behind the scenes, we are losing every tiny shred of credibility we have.”

“What do you mean.” Azazel grinned. “Obviously we are so superior that we don’t have to take anything seriously. I am surprised that they didn’t send anyone to check on the vault after we knocked out the two guards, broke a decorative vase and War stole some candle thing. It was a bit of a mess.”

“But you did it and that’s what counts.”

“Indeed. So, where are the others?”

Freya gestured up. “They went on top of the hull to have a picnic.”

“Okay, I see what you mean about not taking this seriously.”

“Mhm. I’ll be fine here if you want to join them. The view up there is quite nice.”

Azazel chuckled. “Nah, someone has to keep you company.”

“I appreciate it, thank you.”

Kate stepped closer to Ipos who was standing near the front of the chariot.

“What a view.”

Ipos nodded. “It is impressive. Too bad it was almost entirely built on the back of the lower caste of angels. They rebuilt Celestis after the last war but not much else. The ruins we saw in Elysium were from the second war. They never even tried to rebuild that city. The courts give everyone a simple choice: follow them and live here or be exiled into the ruins beyond this place. If we had been responsible for every destroyed city, I would feel guilty…”

“That implies that the courts destroyed other angelic cities.”

“Yes. One of God’s first orders, according to Sariel. Raze every city, every town not willing to bow to him. He did more damage to the heavens than we ever could.”

“Sounds very much like the humans who follow him. At least the fanatical ones.”

“May I ask a question about your relationship with humanity? I do not want to offend.”

“Ask, fuck knows I have asked some stupid questions.”

“I have heard that you do not speak well of humans. I haven’t interacted with many, especially recently. Do you hate them?”

Kate took a few moments to answer. “No… I don’t. I can just feel the negativity that seems to be inherent in humans who aren’t capable of withstanding immortality. Those who are truly mortal. It isn’t their fault that they radiate all their negative thoughts for me to pick up. Most humans are tiresome to be around, but I have cultivated a group of human friends who aren’t. I can’t hate people for something they have no control over. Something they haven’t chosen.”

“I see. And the angels? Their destructive need for order is part of how they exist. Angels, unfallen, always strive for order and hierarchy. One of them tried to kill you. Do you hate the angels? Or the courts?”

Kate made a thinking noise. “I try not to, but I do feel contempt for the courts, for the archangels who subjugate those they deem below them. They disgust me. Their entire way of life is revolting. It makes me all the more euphoric to meet the fallen angels who reject that. People like Sariel, Kokabiel and the others. Those at the bottom of the food chain here... I pity them. I can’t hate them, they didn’t choose to be at the bottom and be forced to perpetuate this system. Those at the top though… Yes, I do hate them. They are the antithesis to everything I was taught not just as a demon but as a human, every value that my parents deemed important to instill into me.”

“You are truly fascinating. I must admit that I have difficulties empathizing with others. I see the archangels as a mirror. A horrifying reflection of what I would be if I simply followed all my worst thoughts. Not my instincts, but those nagging thoughts, those that intrude on you when you least expect them. I hate the archangels. I hate the courts. And I hate that part of myself.”

“Hey, I don’t know about demons, but humans get those thoughts every so often. Even the best humans sometimes get destructive urges. It’s just natural. It doesn’t make them bad people. What they do with those thoughts is what counts. The angels at the top of the courts chose to live out their worst desires to the detriment of others. You don't, at least as far as I know.”

“Hm.”

Before Ipos could continue, several angels teleported into the air a short distance away from the chariot. Raphael had returned and he had brought friends.