I didn't know where Kell lived, which meant I'd have to call someone who did: Micky. I wasn't sure if I was looking forward to it or not.

I turned my phone on for the first time since leaving Hell. Immediately after it was on and connected to the network, it began to vibrate, the screen displaying countless texts from Micky. Scrolling through, I skimmed what he had had to say- most of it was along the lines of 'hey, where are you?' and 'Are you around? Want to hang?'. One of them was just 'We still have work' followed by a frowning emoticon.

I called him, and he immediately answered, talking before I could get a sound in, "Blake! Where have you been? Well, I know that, but still. No warning? Guess you're back in Hell though."

"Yeah. Hi Micky. Sorry about leaving so suddenly."

"Nah, it's okay. You were clearly stressed. You're doing better now though, right?"

"I suppose. I've been called back to... Uh, I'm not sure. I guess I'm trying my hand at diplomacy? I'm not really suited for this."

"You're super nice though. I mean, what else do you really need to peace-keep besides an even temper and good manners?"

"Tact?"

"Nah, Blake, I'm sure you'll be fine. You're like the nicest guy I know."

"Again, not sure that qualifies me for political negotiations." I said. "Anyways, Micky, I actually need your help-"

"Yeah?" Micky asked enthusiastically, before I could finish. "What?"

"I have to talk to Kell. Do you have his address or phone number?"

"Both. Can I come along?"

"I don't know if that'd be a good idea."

"Aw. Alright. But we should get together soon."

"Yeah, no, we will. Just... not for this."

"Right."

Micky told me Kell's address, one of the luxury apartments in this building's twin, not far from where Micky lived. I'd actually assume most of Hell's elite lived in these two towers.

Kell lived close to the top of the building, and I was honestly surprised that he didn't inhabit the penthouse. Was he too humble for it, or somehow too poor? After Kell, was one of the most notorious people throughout the entire city. I actually had trouble thinking of someone more famous. Michael? Maybe Alexander?

I knocked on his door several times and waited. Micky had also given me both his cell and home phone number, so if he wasn't home I still had another option to try.

After a couple of tries, Christina opened the door. "Blake?" She said. It was around four in the afternoon, but she looked like she had just woken up.

"Is Kell here?"

"He's at work. Should be back soon though, if you're fine with waiting it out."

"I don't mind." I said, since I had nothing better to do anyway. But I did sort of mind- in that it felt very weird to step into her house. I only knew her vaguely. And how long was 'soon' again?

Her apartment was not larger than Michael's, but the cleanliness made it seem huge. The place didn't look lived in- if not for the presence of a jacket on one of the chairs, I would have thought it to be a display room.

"Did you want a drink?" Christina asked drowsily. She picked up half a glass of red wine from the kitchen counter. "Here, sit on the couch. Watch something, if you'd like."

"I'm good." I said. I sat down on the couch, but honestly, doing so felt like I was bringing down the couch's value by thousands of dollars. I ran my fingers across the stainless white velvet nervously.

"What are you going to speak to Kell about? Anything I can help with?" Christina sat down next to me,

"I wouldn't doubt it. I don't know. Michael somehow talked me into trying to get him free of his house arrest. Guess he just wants to help things."

"Yeah." Christina looked off, staring at her reflection in the television. "He always wants to help, you know. But it doesn't tend to work."

"How much trouble is Hell really in?"

Christina frowned. I was still trying to guess if she tipsy or not. Something about her face seemed off, but she spoke evenly. "I feel like the city's been through worse. The angels are getting rowdy, sure, but all they're doing is resisting rent and speaking in angelic. Luckily, The Banes aren't presenting too lucrative of a future. Otherwise we'd have problems."

"Oh, that reminds me- how's Amrael doing?"

Christina briefly frowned. "Haven't heard anything. I think she's staying with her mother."

"She nearly got me killed last time I saw her." I said. "Actually, that was the second time she nearly caused my death."

"Yeah. She's... a difficult kid. But I sincerely doubt she meant anything mean spirited. You've met her family."

"I hope it's just a phase."

Christina raised an eyebrow. "Everything's a phase."

"Not homicide."

"Okay, fair point, but again, she's had a bumpy life. I'm not sure what she did, but she probably thought she was being cool or whatever. I wasn't too different at her age."

I shifted uncomfortably on the couch. "So, what do you think I should do about Michael?"

"He's more my problem than yours." She said sadly. "I'll talk with him about it."

"You don't have to, you know. It really isn't your job to ensure his wellbeing. That role probably belongs to a mental institution."

Christina glared at me. "Michael used to be worse. He's on meds now. And I like him too much to resent keeping him in check."

"I think I'd go crazy."

"Sometimes I worry I might. But you do what you can for your friends. I'll always love him most when I barely knew him. But I know more now, and that simply is what it is."

"Yeah?"

"Tell me Blake, is it worse to fall from glory, or to have never achieved it at all?"

She finished her glass.

Kell arrived an hour later to a scene smalltalk and the sight of me downing my third glass of water. He said hello first, then went into the bedroom. Leaning back so I could spy into the room, I saw him take off his suit jacket and hang it up in the closet. Then he came out to join us.

"What's going on, Blake?" He sat in a matching white armchair. Christina had gotten up when he had entered to kiss him on the cheek, and she returned from the kitchen with a drink for him.

"Michael asked me to talk to you about getting his lock down lifted. He thinks he can calm the angels down."

"He can." Kell said immediately. I watched him roll his jaw with a strange fascination. There was something captivating about the simple weariness of his voice, and that ugly grey scar that streaked across his face. "Michael could calm the angels down, tell them he's here and everything will be right. That is his role, after all. The one he's assigned himself. Lord knows he could leave if he wanted to- he could do anything if he wanted to."

"So why not let him come out?"

"Because he's awful." Kell looked at me like I was an idiot. "If he announces he's still alive, some angels will be pleased and others will turn on him for not fighting the war single-handedly. There's a good chance he might turn on us, too, if we let him mingle with some of the more upset angels. And who knows what Alexander's response will be?"

"Is he really in charge again?"

"No. We just let him fester in the penthouse and sit in on meetings. He's a terrible leader, but actually not the worst. Until things calm down, however, I'd much rather he not rear his head into things."

"Well, he is immortal." I said. "You know he's an old friend of Michael's?"

"He is? I've never heard that before, no." Kell frowned slightly, likely mulling over what this meant. "It makes enough sense. Though I'd call them enemies, I suppose."

"I believe the term is 'frenemies'." Christina chimed in.

"It sounds crazy, but Mannie says it's true. Evidently he made the angels, and then made the cycles and everyone immortal trying to fix that."

"Mannie's back in town?" Kell said quietly.

"That's quite a fuckup." Christina asked at about the same time. "How'd he manage to do that?"

"I guess he... wasn't specific enough when he sold his soul? Kind of made a conditional statement without meeting the condition. Said he wanted things to go back to normal and the Earth keeps freaking out because they aren't."

"Doesn't that mean he can fix them?" Christina asked. She looked towards Kell for confirmation.

"I doubt it. We don't want to dabble around with wishes anyway."

"No, I mean without any soul selling. If he wanted things to return to normal, and the cycles are just the glitchy remains from that vague idea, wouldn't they go away if his wish was fulfilled?"

"I doubt it's possible. And besides, what could possibly be normal to Alexander?"

I thought back to what Mannie had explained to me on the way into Hell. "He actually was pretty specific. He had been preforming experiments on Michael and the other angels, and he regretted his actions. The wish was about making things better between them, back how they used to be."

"So you're saying we could solve this temporal bullshit though the power of friendship?"

"If... that's how soul selling works, I guess so."

"I think we're getting side tracked. The issue at hand is Michael." Kell said.

"This is about Michael." Christina insisted. "The angels are immortal because of the cycles, yeah? Alexander said it himself, and you've confirmed it. If we could make the angels a bit more normal, they'd adapt much better to Hell."

"I'm not sure they'd feel anything other than angry at having something like that taken away from them." Kell said.

"Oh, you barely even look at angels. I have a lot of angelic friends. They're not pleased about the prospects of outliving their friends, lovers, and children." Christina said. "Plus, we'd be able to kill Alexander off. Or at least, he might calm down a bit since his grand goal was met."

"Alexander said the only way for things to be fixed was for every angel to die." I reminded. "And that it would raise the dead and restore memories."

"Maybe. But I'd prefer to try this first. Less bloody."

"Honestly, I'd rather the dead stay dead." Kell added.

"I'll get to planning first thing tomorrow." Christina said. "I'll give you a call."

"Me?"

"It was your idea."

"It was... yours."

"Alright, but you inspired it. I'll be there too to help with wrangling Michael. But we'll need you to get Mannie."

"Mannie?"

"She's a friend of Alexander's, you know. I assume we'll need all three of them together for the power of friendship to really come through."

"I'm not sure this is a good idea."

"Oh, and maybe the sister too?" Christina said, turning to Kell, who merely sighed. She looked at me. "Michael has a twin sister."

"A twin sister he is violent opposed to." Kell added.

"This is absolutely going to end in a bloodbath."

"Hey, at least they're immortal." Christina said. "They'll come right back!"