Evangelia floated on wings of pure light, golden and silver threads swirling around the angel as she beheld the battlefield. She was clad in white and silver armour, chased with golden filigree. Mighty wings arose out of her back, composed of light and magic. Her face, though marred by smoke was still painfully beautiful to look upon, alabaster skin tinged with vitality, and piercing brilliant blue eyes swirled in gold. Brown hair gusted and flowed around her in response to the wind made by her power, and she held a spear of pure golden light, the other hand rested upon a sheathed sword.

The Heavens had repulsed the latest effort by the forces of the Hells to burst forth onto the mortal planes, aided as many times before by the creatures of Faerie in turning back the devils and other demons.

Evangelia had just finished defending the final approaches to one of the portals that led to Earth, the ground before her littered with the smoking remnants of lesser demons and horrific creatures that had rushed the gate. Evangelia had stood alone against that ravening horde. A single angel. A single light against the avalanche of darkness.

She had been enough. As she always was.

Yet now, a perplexing question awaited her, and she cocked her head to one side, her height in the air slowing lessening.

Below her a young devil had cast aside her weapons as Evangelia had reared back, preparing to spear her through with a shaft of pure heavenly light...and had fallen to her knees. The sole survivor of this effort...surrendering.

Evangelia cocked her head to one side as she slowly descended. The devil was indeed young, no more than a few centuries at a guess. She knelt there, black hair cascading over her face and down her back, obscuring her face as she held her hands out. Her body was covered in the traditional black armour of the Hells, red skin peeping through in various areas...dressed as she was to be alluring and terrifying for any mortals who encountered her. Evangelia simply felt...curious. The devil's body trembled as Evangelia drew near, and a voice emerged from among her black tresses.

"P-please...I don't...I don't want to fight."

"And yet that is what your kind do." Evangelia's voice was soft as a breeze, yet melodious as birdsong. She hovered for a moment, and then crunched to the ground, the tip of her spear of light expertly sliding forward and tilting the devil's chin up to meet her eyes. Blue-gold eyes met eyes of red and black, "Give me a reason not to smite thee."

"I...I submit to you!" The devil babbled, "Please! Captivity is better than dissolution. I don't want to spend a century or two reconstituting myself in the Hells." She shuddered, squirming on her knees, "I...I'll...I'll give you my n-name. My true name."

Evangelia's posture tensed slightly, her interest successfully perked, "So I spare you here, and in return you promise...what exactly? Service? Loyalty? Information?"

"Everything!" The devil nodded, eyes alight with hope. A familiar enough emotion to Evangelia, whose presence often engendered such feeling...though never before from a devil. She paused for a moment, thinking, and then came to her decision.

With a bare thought, and flick of her wrist, her spear of light...split. Tendrils of the light sped to the devil's wrists, gripping them and yanking them behind her, folding her arms into a tight boxtie. More tendrils flowed down the devil's body, ripping and tearing at her armour, shredding it apart with effortless ease until the devil knelt naked before Evangelia. A proper pose for a captive...but the light was not yet done. A thick band of it settled around the demon's throat, flaring until it would have been blinding to any mortal eyes...and leaving behind as it faded a burnished silver collar, with golden banding at the top and bottom. Seamless, lockless, and yet utterly inescapable.

The devil gasped, panting hard as she found herself bound, naked and collared, and Evangelia stepped closer. A single angelic finger reaching out to touch the devil's chin, tilting her face up to look up into the face of Heavenly beauty.

"Your offer is accepted for the moment. I take you under my protection." A leash of golden light materialized, and Evangelia gave it a yank, pulling the devil forward and pressing her into her armoured thigh. A faint moan of thanks and...other emotions which Evangelia was unfamiliar with, came from the devil. The angel gave a mental shrug. Her course was clear. Take the female back to her fortress in the lower reaches of the Heavens, interrogate her...and determine if it was possible to return this fallen creature to the Light. Evangelia had never bothered trying before, but there was something about the young devil that was...enticing.

"Now...we shall spend some time determining if you can be...redeemed."

And with that She yanked the devil to her, holding the smaller creature close to her armoured torso, the black and red head crushed to her breasts, and then launched them both back into the air.

Towards the Heavens...and Home.