The man looked down from the top of the tower, his hands in front of him as though he were capturing water droplets that fell from the heavens. His eyes were forward, watching the cars and people as they walked across the city streets, his eyes drifted over the landscape. He could hear the sounds of the people praying inside the cathedral nearby. He could feel their prayers, their hopes, and their dreams. They all swarmed up towards the skies, waiting to be heard by the great Solomon.

They would have no dreams realized though. Their hopes would crumble. All of it, everything… It would all fall.

For it was not an angel that stood watching them, he was no fluffy answer to their prayers. He was a monster. He watched the rain fall, but it slipped through his hands, dropping to the Earth. His eyes shone in their crimson color. His hair was bound behind him. His face was set in a grim expression.

He was not here for them; he was here to bring havoc to the city. He watched as the gang he had summoned from their hideout moved slowly onto the street. Without hesitation, he stepped forward, falling towards the earth only to land upon his feet. His eyes went to the car, slowing quietly. From the other side of him, he could see another gang appear in their van.

It was just as he had planned.

Today, at exactly 07:06, two cars would break out in gunfire, shooting at one another. One of the gangs would move into the church for sanctuary. The other gang would give chase, setting fire to the cathedral and burning it to the ground with the church clergy inside.

Where was their God?

Judal smiled a bit as he watched the gangs break into war on the streets. The members in the van shot until car that the other gang was in was full with lead. The passengers of the car ran for it, running to the church doors. They shot at the other group as they hid behind the steps, slowly making their way into the cathedral.

He watched from the center of the street, watching as the other gang was in full pursuit. The gang leader glared at them as he followed them in. "Kou, it's over," the man shouted. Such an idiot man, that leader. The other leader seemed to feel differently. He shot at the other, but the idiot's right hand was covering him, deflecting the bullet by blocking it with a door from the car. The Kou gang ran into the church though, slamming the doors shut.

Closer, Judal thought. They were finally getting there. He moved forward, heading to the idiot leader of the gang outside. He wrapped his arms around the man and murmured to him gently. "Don't follow them," he purred. "Set the church ablaze. Send them up in ashes. Make them burn alive for killing your muscled man. Make them die because they killed Masrur. Leave no man alive."

The idiot seemed to listen, his gaze darkening as he looked over at the others. "Sharrkan. Ja'far. Grab the gasoline!"

How willing mankind was, in the presence of angels and demons, to follow the word of a spiritual being. The gang began to pull gasoline out of the car, their cohorts on the other side of the cathedral following suit. They began to pour the flammable liquid over the steps. Their faces were bleak.

The leader rose his hand, preparing to strike a match.

Any second now, the place would burn. The Kou gang would be suffering a large casualty on their end. Their leader and his oldest younger brother would die. The third in line, Kouha, would become leader, having to join back in to avenge his brothers. He would never become a doctor and find the cure for a disease that plagued millions. Hundreds of thousands would die… all because of a match.

All because of one gang's loss of a single member.

Judal smiled as the flame was born, the match rising into the air. Death to the Kou gang, death to the thousands of souls, some not yet born; death to everyone.

"TELL THEM NO!"

A voice cried out through the rain, surprising the demon. He looked up as he saw two figures running through the rain. There was a third with them. The third though. He was not running. He was flying, pure white wings on his back. The figure held the shoulders of the two running, flying a bit lopsided due to the two's differences in height. He cried out and the younger of the two running yelled.

The gang leader, the idiot, turned. The light in his hand went out. "Masrur! Alibaba!" with that, the idiot was running to them. The group gathered, the right hand watching the church, calling off the lighting the church on fire through a walkie-talkie. The group embraced one another.

"Masrur, I thought you were dead! The entire building collapsed!"

The man shook his head as Alibaba spoke. "We thought we were dead! The beams fell on us, but somehow we're alive!"

"It's a miracle," the gang leader declared before he looked over at the right hand man defending them as they all spoke. "We need to get out of here. The police will have been called with the shooting."

"The Kou gang won't forgive us for this," the right hand told him, but the leader shook his head.

"God has better plans for us than burning his building down, Ja'far. Let's return to base."

The gang began to gather in their van. The muscled man, Masrur, and the blond were the first to be pushed into the vehicle. The door was slid shut. They left.

But the angel was still there.

Judal stared at him as the angel stared back. The boy tilted his head as he stared at him. "Are you an angel as well? I've never seen an angel with no wings."

Judal frowned at him, watching the innocent manner that he remained there. The boy's expression gave no trace of recognizing what he was.

"Can you see me? Are you a prophet perhaps?" The boy's feet finally touched the ground, his pure white wings resting against his back. "I am the angel Aladdin."

Judal smiled at him as a thought came to mind. He moved forward slowly. "Hello there," he greeted. He held his hand out as a sign of good faith. "It is a pleasure to meet you Aladdin."

The angel stared at his hand a moment in wonder, his blue gaze looking up at him before he reached out. That hand hesitant as he reached forward. There was a curiosity though. There was a wonder in that small angel. Judal could already see his plan playing out before his eyes. A new plan, far better than he had had in store before. That soft hand touched his, pressing against his as he began to prepare to shake his hand.

And Judal pulled him into his arms. He moved fast, running with the shocked angel in his arms. He ran as fast as he could and he laughed, his laugh cold, hollow; sending chills down the struggling angel's spine. Through the rainy streets, until he was back where he had crawled out of the depths of hell. He threw the angel down to the ground, his hands going to the angel's back.

"You angels are foolish creatures," he purred. His hands grabbed a fistful of the feathers that made up the boy's wings and he ripped them off. The boy cried out, trying to break free, but Judal continued, pinning him down with his legs as he worked. One fistful after another, he yanked those feathers from the boy's back. Then there were the wing's main framing, the feathers were just for perfecting aerodynamics of course. He grabbed a knife from nearby, taking it to the boy's back…

The angel laid on the floor when he was finished with him, bleeding of all things. Judal could only stare at him, panting. His plans for the night had been ruined, but they were not over. There were other ways to get death to the city. There would be other wars between gangs to start. No angel was going to stop him.

The boy looked up at him though, those blue eyes staring at him. His mouth struggled to keep from only letting whimpering escape. His eyes were brimmed with tears, some having fell from those angelic eyes. "Who… who are you?"

"Who?" Judal moved forward and smiled at him. He reached down and stoked that bleeding back of the boy's, leaning in close to murmur into the child's ear. "I am the archangel Judal. I fell from Solomon's grace over a thousand years ago." He licked at the boy's ear, feeling him shiver beneath his touch. "Your kind would call me a demon."

The boy looked up at him, shaking more. He tried to move, but his back. It would take a day at least for his quick healing to scar over where his wings had been. He wouldn't be moving until that point. He was prey, ready for lesser demons to come and kill him.

Judal bit his thumb, letting the blood run freely from the wound. He pressed his finger to the floor and traced a circle around the angel. All the boy could do was watch him as he worked.

"I would ask," Judal purred to him, "for you to remain here, but I know for a fact that you won't be moving." He leaped over his expulsion circle and leaned over the boy, kissing his neck. His hands roaming along the other's body, "how about you do me a favor and try to remain breathing until I return. Falling is a terrifying time. I would hate for you to let your soul drift to the heavens and for you to try to be born as a human." He dug his hands into the angel's back, letting him scream. "If you do though, know this… I will find you."

"Why?" The angel stared at him.

"I will hunt you down to the ends of this planet and I will make you suffer… because that's what I do," he murmured. His lips went to the boy's a moment before he pulled away. His smirk returned as he looked towards the walls, listening quietly as church bells rang in the distance. "Excuse me while I finish the work I had started this morning."

With that, he ran; leaving the angel to lie on the floor.

Aladdin's eyes went to the ceiling before closing, tears falling from his eyes as he whimpered. "Ugo-kun… Solomon… please help me… What do I do? I can't breathe…" He curled up in that circle, his back in agony. Everywhere he looked, he saw his feathers, strewn about the floor. He soon heard the sounds of gunshots, of screaming. But he couldn't stop the pain. He couldn't save anyone.

Surely there were other angels, he thought, wincing as he heard the sound of the demon laughing in the distance.

An archangel who had fallen from grace, now running rampant. Why?

He shook his head as he looked towards the ceiling. "Is he why I'm here?" Aladdin bit his lip, trying to quell his tears. "I will save him… if that is what you wish. I will return him to the light."

The silence only seemed to assure him, making him curl up more.

When the other returned, there was going to be more pain. Aladdin would fall, but it would be for a noble cause. He would save Judal, since that appeared to be his mission in this city. He would save the other before sacrificing himself.

For the greater good…

It was for the greater good.