"25 years ago, God disappeared." "The archangel Gabriel decided he must destroy mankind to bring God back, but the archangel Michael stood against his brother and fought on the side of humanity." "The war continues." "The Prophet built the fire that protects us." "It cannot go out." "Harper, I cannot let you put everyone else in danger." "I'm leaving Vega." "I've never stood still." "I'm not about to start now." " Guards!" " Drop your weapon!" "Why try to kill me now?" "You live in a palace built with their bones." "There's something in there that I want back." "Has anyone ever made it out alive?" "No, but there's always a first time." "You game?" "What's in there?" "The possessed." "Human body wasn't built for occupation." "Some angels can't bear its limits." "They go mad." "And we keep them in here." "It's an asylum... and a prison for those who break our laws." "So, a few days ago, an angel went mad and stole a key from me, took it in there." "I sent some soldiers in to find it." "Good men, but none of them made it back." "And I'd like you to bring it to me." "You want me to go into a madhouse full of insane angels... with just a machete and a flashlight?" "Chosen One is destined to become a great general, isn't he?" "So prove it to me." "Show me your markings are worth my alliance." "What's the key for?" "That's my business." "I mean, I'm looking for a powerful weapon, and you walk into my city claiming to be one." "I mean, what are the odds?" "Julian." "Let's see what you're made of." "Alex, don't go in there." "Listen, you heard him." "This is the only way we're getting an alliance." "New Delphi has soldiers and Empyrean steel." "It's the only thing that can kill an archangel." "I'm going in with you." " No, Noma." " Alex, no way." "Look out for Pete." "This city's dangerous." "I need you to keep Vega safe if I don't make it out of here." "I'll do it." "But I need you to get a message to Vega." "Tell them Gabriel's alive." "The survivors of the human race are gonna need to stick together if we're gonna kill Gabriel." "Done." "So the angel in question will be wearing the key on a chain around his neck." "If you find it, then keep moving." "Good luck." "Attention..." "V-1 curfew is now in effect." "They were killed by V-1 rebels." "Zoe Holloway escaped." "Laurel, Wes murdered that girl." "Harper..." "her name was Harper." "And we had to do it, okay?" "What?" "How can you say that?" "I needed her confession... all her secrets and all her sins." "She wouldn't tell me anything." "I tried." "Now that she's dead, we're safe." "Whatever secrets she had died with her." "She was the last one." "Now I have everyone's confession." "I'm ready for the celebration tonight." "It doesn't make sense." "Why are these secrets so important?" "Why does everyone have to confess them to you?" "After tonight, you'll be gone." "You need their secrets before then because it's not a celebration." "It's a sacrifice." "Isn't it?" " Laurel, tell me I'm wrong." " We have to do it." "Every five years, the Prophet told us to do it, and I volunteered." "That grave isn't for Harper." "No." "It's for me." "When Vega sees their queen has fallen, they'll lose hope, make it so much easier to wipe clean this filthy slate." "Ah, Briathos." "Could you get into Vega?" "Then go." "You deserve a holiday." "And you can bring back a souvenir, the head of Claire Riesen." "My army will be here by sundown." "New Delphi won't give us Alex." "We'll liberate him." "There a problem?" "You want to attack two cities at once?" "The last time we did that, Michael was at our side." "We don't need him." "I've learned a great deal since then." "And when I'm done, Father will see who's always been his most loyal son." "Here, we strike here first." "What, the temple?" "No." "It's a sanctuary." "Spare it." "Be merciful, Michael." "These people don't deserve their God." "They are still Father's children." "And yet he gives us the task of punishment." "I will do as I see fit." "Brother, your blood is too hot." "And yours is too cool." "We should use the Amphorae." "These vessels contain darkness to drive them to madness, brimstone to blind and burn, and blood to drown the survivors." "The elements of God's wrath are swift, clean, honorable." "Honor is to look one's enemy in the eye." "But you wouldn't know that." "You've never killed a human with your bare hands." "You send soldiers to battle and use the Amphorae, but it's not the same." "You don't know the beauty of it." "In winter, when blood spills on snow, it steams." "You're insane." "Michael." "You think I'm just gonna stand by and watch you kill yourself?" "I have to." "One of us does." "One of our leaders wouldn't do it, and then the fire went out, and the possessed came in." "They killed my friends until our leader did what he promised." "Then the fire lit again, and we were safe." "You're afraid God won't return." "So am I." "You've let a false prophet take advantage of your fear." "But I hear God's voice." "We all do." "But I don't!" "And if it were Father," "I promise He would have something to say to me!" "I'm one of his children too." "Michael, I have a responsibility." "That mean anything to you?" "It did... once." "Father's wrath must have a face." "And that duty is mine." "How say you, Lyrae?" "A death is as glorious as birth." "Why else would Father have made them mortal?" "Michael, you value a higher angel's counsel over your own brother's?" "Justice must be done." "No, I won't allow cruelty." "Father's orders were to cast these sinners out into the darkness." "I want them to suffer the limits of their bodies." "Spill blood, but do so with honor." "Always." "Michael..." "Farewell, Sodom and Gomorrah." "There, that's better." "Are you afraid of the dark, soldier?" "Don't be." "It's lovely in the dark." "Ah!" "Turn out the light!" "Turn out the light!" "Over here." "Open!" "You okay, man?" "Yeah." "Who are you?" "I'm from Vega." "Vega?" "General Riesen?" "Wow." "I didn't think it was possible, Gates, but you have managed to turn this place from charming hovel to just hovel." "Well, hello to you too, Claire Riesen." "And all this is the price of genius." "A little method, little madness, you know." "To what do I owe this honor?" "I have a favor to ask." "Oh, straight to the point, just like your pop." "Well, I'll try not to take it personally, but I'm kind of busy, so..." "How busy?" "Where'd you find that?" "My dad never came empty-handed." "You are a quick study." "Last time the General brought you here," "I don't think you were even old enough to have a drink." "It's been years, right?" "Yeah, well, things change." "Gates, I need you to find someone for me." "Zoe Holloway, she's a V-1, wants to overthrow my government." "What, did she say that in a strongly worded letter?" "No, she tried to kill me." "She escaped prison, and my soldiers can't track her." "But I bet you can." "Claire, I'd love to help you, but I'm an engineer." "I power the city." "I build you a bomb here and there, but I don't play detective." "Come on, Gates." "You and my dad built this city." "You know it better than anyone." "You could find her." "Please, it's important." "Yes, it is, but I can't, not now, sorry." "Gates, I'm not asking." "I thought you said that this was a favor." "Yeah, well, now it's an order." "Tinker with that thing later." "You know what?" "This bad boy is a processing core from a generator that powers three floors in Agri-tower B, all stalks of corn." "It went kaboom at 3:00 a.m." "So, I don't fix this, we can kiss those crops good-bye." "There are rumors of a rebellion, Gates." "You know what those grow up into?" "Civil wars." "It's the curse of the Bambino." "The Boston Red Sox traded away Babe Ruth and bought the team 86 years bad luck." "Michael was our Babe Ruth." "After he left, everything fell apart." "I mean, he was the only angel that gave a damn about us." "Yeah, well, maybe we never really knew him." "Look, give me an hour, and I'll see what I can do, okay?" "Thanks." "General Riesen, what the hell are you doing down here?" ""General"?" "Sam, you know this guy?" "Why'd he call you Sam?" "Wait." "Who the hell are you?" "Eli." "I'm a prisoner, like him." "Wait." "W-why is he calling you Sam?" "That's my name now." "I didn't want to tell him who I really was." "Too dangerous." "I've been down here for weeks." "I am the leader of Vega." "Why are you a prisoner down here?" "I killed a monster, an eight-ball." "Claire... my Claire, is she okay?" "She's fine." "I left to protect her and the baby." "My daughter..." "she's pregnant?" "You just left her on her own?" "I told you," "I left to keep her safe." "I didn't just run away like you and Michael did." "There's something down here I need to get." "Some eight-ball has a key around his neck." "It's a round copper disc." "But I'm starting to think it's bullshit, and I was just sent down here to die." "No, I've seen it, out there." "But, no, look, it's dangerous." "So, no, just get us out of here, please." "No, show me the eight-ball... now." "What's taking so long?" "Never fear." "I have the perfect plan of attack in mind." "Michael..." "My lord, my lord!" "Help me!" "The angels have come." "They'll slaughter us all." "No, no, no, no, no." "You are not safe here, friend." "You must go, go now." "No, no, no, you must come too, or they'll kill you also!" "How we've angered God, for him to let his angels upon us!" "Ah!" "You're one of them." "Aah!" "Now!" "Go, friend, go now." "I will not hurt you." "You're not my friend!" "Aah!" "Are you afraid?" "No, I am not." "Is this it?" "This is what you'll use?" "Why are you here, Michael?" "I'm leaving... tonight." "I know I can't change your mind, but I won't watch you die." "I can't." "I wouldn't have asked you to." "I can't save you, but there is someone I can." "Alex, the boy who's like a son." "He needs me." "Some promises can't be broken." "You taught me that." "Good-bye, Laurel." "When you came here, you were lost." "I saw in your eyes, you were running." "If you go back out there... please promise me you'll be careful." "I know you don't believe in the things we do, but..." "I hope you find something you can believe in." "I have." "Now I know Father's still out there." "I have faith, because He meant for me to come here to find what I'd lost, to find you." "The world ended, but all that was good and beautiful didn't die with it." "You are afraid." "Yes." "Hey, what's going on?" "I found your rebels." " You found Zoe?" "Where is she?" " Uh-huh." "Some abandoned warehouse behind the Flamingo." "I have my eye on every watt in the city." "So when V-1s siphon off a little juice to power a lightbulb or a space heater," "I let it go, but this time..." "Huh, you do that?" "Yeah, why?" "You want me to stop?" "No, just didn't know you did it." "Okay." "So this warehouse is just lit up like Times Square." "Someone in there just started using massive wattage in there, way more than a lightbulb." "It could be computers, radios, communications." "If your gal's trying to start a revolution..." "Yeah, I get it, command central." " Now we can get Zoe." " Jackpot." " Thank you so much." " Welcome." "Here, sit." "Gabriel, I need you." "You'll pay for what you've done!" "Savage, barbarian." "Unspeakable." "Men gutted, hung by their entrails, babes torn limb from limb before their mothers, and he delighted in it!" "Father asked for their death, not their torture!" "Gabriel. you have killed with your own hands for the first time." "Brother." "He warned us never to leave the safety of Mallory, our home..." "And to rid our community of secret and sin with confession and sacrifice." "And I, Laurel, have taken those secrets and sins into my heart." "As I die, so do they." "Stop!" "I'm here to take your place." "Gabriel, what have you done?" "Archangel." "Stay down!" "For eons, we've shed human blood on Father's command." "It's a terrible task, but it's ours alone." "But the unholy joy you took with your duty shocked me more than any!" "Is such joy for archangels alone?" "For I gleaned it all from you, Michael." "Your brutality... was a glorious inspiration." "You are my muse, Michael." "Brother..." "No, Michael, you wouldn't." "Lyrae, you have broken the will of God and must be punished." "No, you wouldn't, Michael." "I cast you down to the lowest sphere of Heaven." "Gabriel." "Gabriel, stop him." "You will no longer hold the exalted rank of higher angel, thereby your body shall be taken from you." "Stop him, Gabriel." "I banish your spirit to the cold ether of the outer sphere." "Oh, what satire... that you should be judge and executioner." "To the darkness, far from the warmth of Father's light." "Gabriel!" "Michael." "You can't do this." "It won't work." "Get out of here, you son of a bitch." "No, wait." "Why won't it work?" "You have to take the secrets and sins of this town into your heart, all of them." "Well, you haven't taken mine." "Am I not part of your town?" "You gave me shelter, fought the enemy shoulder to shoulder." "So, unless she takes my secrets too, then all of this is for nothing." " You don't belong here." " No, he's right." "He's one of us." "Michael, will you confess your secrets and your sins to me?" "I have killed." "No." "No, I have slaughtered." "Cities so scorched, no life may ever grow again." "My fury destroyed the innocent and the guilty and those I loved." "I was the one who passed judgment, but it's I who must be judged." "I have to take your place as sacrifice." "You give me the secrets to carry." "I'll take them with me." "Michael, you can't." "I won't let you." "I'm not the man you think I am, but I can be if you'll let me." "You're crazy." "It won't work." "It will work." "Father just told me it would." "Why do they take the eyes?" "They're jealous of us." "I came here once." "It was a military defense bunker... big, like NORAD." "You don't look so good." "Well, I'm sick." "It's my heart." "Did you know about the eight-balls before you came here, that they live peacefully with humans?" "Why would you think that?" "Maybe somebody told you." "_" "_" "I'm gonna need that key." "Ah, you son of a bi..." "Oh." "Oh, God." "Damn it." "Oh." "Sanctify this vessel." "Protect this body and soul." "What are you doing?" "Come into the light." "What did you just do?" "How did you do that?" "Get up." "Come on, get up." " You all right?" " Yeah." "These missions made my dad crazy." "He used to hate not being on the ground." "Lady Riesen, they're approaching target." "I want Zoe Holloway taken alive, but if she resists, shoot to kill." "Ma'am." "Let's move." "Move." " Your side, your side." " Covered." "Come out!" "Show me your hands!" "Stand clear." "It's clear." "No sign of Holloway." "What?" " Here!" " Go!" "Move!" "Movement!" "Get down on the ground!" "Wait, wait, wait." "That's Zoe." "Go, go, go!" "Move it out!" "Damn it, he had her." "Left side!" "Left side!" "Michael, when you came to us, you were a stranger." "Now you belong to us." "Will you take the secrets and sins of our town into your heart?" "Yes, I will." "It should be me." "Your grace is a light that shines in the darkness." "It's what's going to lead Father home." "Hey." "_" "It's happening." "I, Michael, take the secrets and sins of my people into my heart." "As I die, so do they." "Thank you." "It'll work." "It has to." "Michael." "Father's will be done." "What are you doing?" "Lyrae spoke the truth." "I am Father's sword." "I, too, must be punished." "No." "Gabriel, please, I beg you." "Never." "I'll sooner take my own life." "Forgive me." "I shamed you for your mercy, for the light inside you, a light I covet." "Mine has long since gone dim." "I fear it will not kindle." "It can, and it will." "No more, brother." "I'm done." "Perhaps we are never truly done." "Thank you." "Sergeant Mills, please, take a seat." "I wanted to thank you for your efforts in tonight's mission." "Well, thank you, Lady Riesen." "Sergeant, why did you hesitate... when you missed the shot?" "You could have captured Zoe." "It was dark." "My team was close." "I didn't want to hit anyone else by mistake." "You don't make mistakes." "Expert marksman, best in your unit, I hear... flawless on a 500-yard moving-target test." "How far away was Zoe?" "50, 60 yards?" "Lady Riesen, I'm sorry I missed." "But that's not a crime, is it?" "No... not unless you did it on purpose." "What?" "Claire, I've got..." "I'm sorry, Lady Riesen." "It can wait." "Look, I told you, it was dark." "I didn't want to hit one of my guys." "You had a clear shot." "Oh, yeah?" "What the hell do you know about guns?" "Corporal, give me your Beretta." "Now..." "I'm no expert or anything, but at that range with a clear shot, even I wouldn't have missed." "Sergeant Mills, how many other traitors are there in my military?" "Go to hell, you bitch." "Take him out." "Come on, the exit's up this way." "Come on." "General, come on!" "No, I can't go." "It's right here, come on!" "Come on, General." "Come on, you got it." " I can't make it." " Come on, buddy." "I can't." "I can't." "Shit!" "Open the door!" " Alex?" " Open the door!" "Alex, you son of a bitch." "I never thought you were coming out of there." "Thanks, Noma." "Uh, who's this guy?" "Riesen?" "General." "Ah." "Lady Riesen." "Don't tell me you're praying." "No, I used to, but I don't find comfort in it anymore." "Faith helps little children sleep at night, but it won't help me protect my city." "You know what?" "I did not recognize you before." "Hmm, I didn't recognize myself." "Curse of the Bambino lasted 86 years, right?" "Not 87." "The Red Sox didn't give up." "Neither will I." "Well, I'd bet on you." "Ah." "You know what?" "A lot has changed, but not that smile." "So... what did you want?" "Um... surveillance camera caught a shot of your rebels when they escaped, and, uh, that's one of the crates the Agri-tower guys use to deliver food." "I don't understand." "They left behind all their gear and guns, and they took this... why?" "What's in it?" "I don't think it's corn." "Hey, my key..." "do you have it?" "Yes, I do." "No one's made it out of there alive." "Orpheus only escaped the underworld because he had a magic lyre." "How did you do it?" "Like you said, I'm a powerful weapon." "Now I want my alliance." "Oh, no, that man's a murderer." "He killed an angel in my city." "Take him back to the asylum, where he belongs." "That is General Edward Riesen of Vega." "Part of the pact between our two cities, which you now owe me... you'll pardon all of his crimes." "Find them quarters." "You have your alliance." "Welcome to New Delphi." "All of you." "Let's talk about Vega." "Sweet dreams." "Jeez." "Please, don't hurt me." "Oh, but I will, Wes... much more than just hurt you." "It'll pale in comparison to what you did to Harper." "You see, killing was once a speciality of mine." "That's all behind me now." "But for you, I'd make an exception." "Lay a hand on anyone else, and I'll destroy you." "Speak of this to no one." "I'll be watching." "Am I understood?"