Insert on setting: Earth has been 'no man's land' for the past 50 years ever since the Transport Tower was attacked and Heaven closed the portal. Demons have been fighting to take over Earth while Heaven has been sending troops to stop Hades from claiming the planet. Castyr has completed his training and has joined Ilios in the fight over Earth. They are currently stationed a few miles from the Transport Tower. Now, on to the story!

A cool breeze swept over the three soldiers as they stalked the shadows of the war-torn city. Castyr took quiet, deep breaths as he and his small team hurried back to base. They had completed their scouting mission and were returning to safety. The sun was quickly setting; Castyr's goal was to get his team back to base before the light was gone.

Demon activity increased tremendously with the setting of the sun, so if Castyr wanted to ensure the survival of his two teammates, he needed to outrun the sun. The black mask that covered the star's lower half of his face muffled the sounds of Castyr's deep breaths as he led his team through the bombed-out skyscrapers.

We're nearly there. Just a little farther. Castyr used his position relative to the Transport Tower to pinpoint how far his team was from the base, and the three ran through the base's defenses just as the last ray of light was lost. The entry to the base was pitch black, but as the three made their way into the basement level of the massive parking garage, lights began to appear and welcome the scouting team.

"Well done. Take a rest. I will report to the colonel," Castyr told his two teammates as they entered the common area.

"Ae."

"Yes, sir."

With nods from his two temporary scout members, Castyr left Han and Jessi to rest for the night and ventured further into the base until he came upon his commanding officer's make-shift office.

"Lieutenant Castyr returning from recon." The star saluted his commanding officer.

"Castyr," Ilios greeted warmly and motioned for the star to be at ease. "What's the update?"

"Three squadrons from Hades have arrived at the northern sector."

Ilios sat in silence for a moment as he updated the map that located the current locations of Hades' troops. Once the update had been noted, Ilios shifted from Castyr's commanding officer to the star's caring mentor. Ilios' expression softened as he asked, "How was your mission?"

Castyr released a breath and sat in one of the chairs in front of the colonel's desk. "It was a success. No casualties, thankfully." The star had performed a recovery mission to rescue a fellow soldier the day before. The star's brows furrowed as he thought back to the shadow he had spotted from the corner of his eye whilst on the mission.

"What is it?" Ilios detected the star going deep in thought.

"...I saw someone who looked like him..." Castyr's voice was low as he recalled the shadow.

Ilios set his tablet on the table and leaned his elbows on the desk. "Why don't you take a few days? Go look for him," the colonel offered. Castyr had been working non-stop for the past five years; he was past due for some time off.

Castyr's eyes widened with excitement with the colonel's offer.

"That's the reason you asked to be stationed on Earth, right? To search for him?" Ilios knew Castyr had not given up on Kilo. That was the reason Castyr transferred to a new planet every five years. He was constantly searching for his lost angel.

Castyr nodded in confirmation. "Thank you, Colonel!" The star immediately stood to his feet and bowed in gratitude.

"I can give you three days before you need to return for your next mission," Ilios alerted the star to his limited time off. Castyr nodded once more in acknowledgment before saluting Ilios and hurrying out of the colonel's office.

Castyr ran past the common area for soldiers to relax and socialize and rushed inside his personal tent located against the back wall of the underground level. The star donned a cap and thin, long, black jacket over his soldier's uniform before looping a fresh face mask over his ears. He then ensured his pistols were safely holstered around his thigh and waist before strapping a sheathed knife to his calf.

The star then filled a bag with emergency medical supplies, water, and dried food. He made sure there was enough for three days before slipping on the backpack and clipping it securely around his chest. Once the backpack was secure, Castyr looped the strap of his sniper rifle over his shoulder. For the final effect, Castyr strayed a scent-masking mist over his body and equipment. Once the mist had settled, Castyr exited his tent.

"Where you going?" A young soldier asked when he saw the star rush out.

"I'll be back in three days," Castyr answered shortly as he walked passed his teammate.

The star made his way through the camp of tents nestled into the underground floors of the garage and up onto the ground level of the base. After passing through the base's defense, Castyr pulled his cap lower and left the safety of the camp. Castyr remained along the side of the buildings as he carefully traversed a few blocks from the base.

After walking a fair distance, Castyr stopped at the corner of an abandoned square. Looking up, the star spied a tall building that appeared to be structurally sound considering the circumstances. Jogging around the edge of the square, Castyr arrived at the bottom of the skyscraper. He cautiously entered through a smashed-out door and quickly found the emergency staircase. As quietly and quickly as possible, the star dashed up the stairs.

Due to the intense training for many years, Castyr easily reached the roof before a sweat broke on his brow. Even with the weight of his rifle and equipment, Castyr was barely fazed by the climb. The star picked the lock to the roof's door and silently entered the top of the skyscraper. He took his rifle and readied it as he walked to the edge of the roof.

Lying on his stomach, the sniper positioned the rifle and placed his eye to the scope. Using his rifle's scope, Castyr slowly panned the surrounding area in search of any sign of life. He discovered a few stragglers dodging between buildings, but none of them were him.

After searching the surrounding blocks and going over them again only to come up empty, Castyr packed up shop and exited the building. The star had reached the ground level and was rounding the skyscraper when screams reached his ears. He swiftly few his pistol and advanced toward the cries. Peeking around the granite building, he saw a lone female being harassed by a man.

The victim was too close to the perpetrator for a clean shot, so Castyr holstered his gun and drew his knife before quickly walking up to the male individual. Castyr was easily a head and shoulder taller than the *zinu who was of average height.

The star tapped the man's shoulder who then whipped around to see the tall, silver-haired man standing before him. The moment the zinu turned from the woman, Castyr sliced his knife across the man's neck. He did not flinch when hot blood splattered onto his face.

"Are you alright?" Castyr asked the woman as he helped her to her feet. The frazzled woman nodded. "Thank you," she responded as she admired her savior.

Seeing the woman's malnourished frame, Castyr retrieved a protein bar from his bag and gifted it to her. The woman gratefully accepted the floor and immediately opened the bar's package before hungrily consuming it. After making sure the woman was not severely wounded, Castyr continued on his way.

The star halted once he had rounded the building. He reached into his bag and extracted a thin packet of disinfectant wipes. The star then cleaned his mask and face of the blood before resuming his lonely search.

After searching through half the night to no avail, Castyr entered an empty building and made his way up to the third floor. Using his backpack as a pillow, the star fell into a light sleep and dreamed of his angel.

Castyr woke with the first rays of light as the sun began creeping into the morning sky. He stretched quietly before putting on his backpack and slinging the rifle over his shoulder. The sun slowly crawled across the sky as Castyr went from rooftop to rooftop in search of the missing angel. The star searched into the night, desperate to find even the smallest trace. Eventually, Castyr retired for the remainder of the night only to wake at the crack of dawn once more.

The third day seemed too short to Castyr as he noticed the sun was nearly gone upon entering another rooftop. The star sighed and lay at the edge before bringing his eye to the scope and scouring the surrounding area. The chilling wind cooled the tiny beads of sweat on his brow while he performed a second round over the city blocks below.

The beeping of the device on his wrist reminded Castyr it was time to head back to base. Castyr silenced the reminder and scanned his surroundings once more. He was not ready to give up. The slightest movement of a shadow caught the star's eye at the end of his final pan. Castyr quickly zoomed into the area as a gust of wind blew past him toward the direction of the movement. The shadow stopped and peeked back around the building it just rounded as the gust of wind reached its proximity.

"Kilo?" Castyr gasped as he stared into a pair of purple eyes peering around the building's corner. 

An incoming call startled Castyr. He quickly glanced at his wrist to see Ilios' contact info sliding across the small screen. "Aish," Castyr let out his surprise before answering the call.

"Are you alive?" Ilios' voice sounded through the device. He had not heard from the star over the past three days and wanted to check in to see how Castyr was faring. It also served as a reminder that his next mission was quickly approaching. 

"Yes, sir. I'm on my way back," Castyr replied.

"Okay. Just checking in. Stay safe." With that, Ilios ended the call.

Castyr looked back into his scope the moment the call ended. "Sh*t," the star cursed under his breath.

The shadow was gone.

Castyr scanned the area once more before packing up and rushing down the building's stairs. He exited the skyscraper and glanced at the time. He would have to hurry if he wanted to make it back to base before the mission's briefing. The star tightened his gear before dashing back toward base. 

+++++++

Castyr? Kilo stopped in his tracks and sniffed the air. A gust of wind swooshed past the angel, carrying more of the warm, airy scent he had been longing for. Kilo then turned and peered around the side of the building. He did not spot anyone in the surrounding streets, so he turned his gaze up.

A sniper lay positioned near the edge of the roof atop the building across the street. His gun hid the sniper's face, and his head was capped, so Kilo could not see if the man's hair was silver. The angel's thoughts drifted to the happy hums Castyr would make when he would run his fingers through the star's soft, silver hair. An ache crept into Kilo's heart as his longing grew.

The angel returned his focus to the sniper after a few seconds. The sniper's face was now turned away from his rifle. Kilo studied the man's body. The sniper was more muscular than Castyr and about nine inches (23 cm) taller than Ithyos' star. Unless...Castyr grew...?

Kilo's eyes slanted as he continued to observe the sniper. Was it just wishful thinking? What would Castyr be doing on Earth and as a sniper at that? He should be in his warm residence. Not in this cold, war-torn city. At least, Kilo prayed Castyr was not there.

The angel lowered his head and backed away from the corner of the building. Instead of wishful thinking, Kilo focused on the reason he had left the safety of the department store. He wanted to reach the Transport Tower. The tower was the tallest building in the city, and thus, was the easiest point from which to fly to Heaven. 

Now that he had his wings, Kilo could simply fly to heaven. But, he needed a decent lift-off, and he would need to practice flying and get familiar with the feel and movement of his wings.

The angel spotted a smaller building on which he could safely practice, and he quickly made his way to the roof. Kilo stood in the center of the square roof and extracted his wings. They remained folded against the angel's back until he slowly opened them. It strangely felt good to stretch them.

Kilo then opened them to their full extent and stared in awe. How did I get such beautiful wings?

The angel slowly brought them down in a single flap to test out their strength. To his surprise, Kilo's body lifted into the sky roughly twenty feet. The angel slightly flailed his arms and legs in reaction to the sudden rise. To Kilo's shock, his wings turn downward and ease his landing.

"So, you can act on your own?" The angel said to his black wings as he safely landed. "That's handy. But I still need to know how to fly properly." Kilo released a huff and set his hands on his hips. After taking a moment to visualize the process, he tried again. 

After a few hours, Kilo had gained decent control and could fly without plummeting to the ground. So, he moved on to his next skill: teleportation. Starting from the center of the roof, Kilo raced to the edge. His goal was to teleport successfully to the roof of the building across the street.

He was roughly fifteen feet short on his first try, but he was able to pull out his wings and stop himself from splitting onto the street below. Kilo would need to learn how to gauge the distance he wanted to teleport. So, he flew back to the roof and practiced over and over and over. Two hours passed, but the angel eventually succeeded.

The next skill he needed to practice was telekinesis. He used Ymir as his tool with which he could experiment using telekinesis. By morning, Kilo had gained decent control over his new abilities. 

Out of curiosity, Kilo lifted his shirt. He was pleased to see his wounds had completely healed. Just as his self-healing had increased, so had his senses. That was how he could pick up the sniper's scent.

Kilo's mind went back to the sniper from the night before. The man smelled an awful lot like Castyr, but something about the scent was off. It was almost as if it was being dampened or altered. So, Kilo could not be certain that the sniper was Castyr.

Ripping himself from his thoughts, Kilo flew down from the building and found a secluded place to catch up on his rest. The angel's healing body was still sore from all the years in Hades. Using his arm as a pillow, Kilo lay down and closed his eyes. However, an itch on his back kept Kilo from falling asleep.

Why won't it go away? Kilo scratched the spot, but the itch would not be satisfied. The angel signed when he realized the itch was the spot where his wings were. When he let his wings out, they wrapped around Kilo, trapping the angel's body heat and protecting him from the cold of the night. Oh. Thank you.

Wrapped in his soft wings, Kilo let his body relax and fell asleep. When he woke several hours later, Kilo's wings folded back up and disappeared. Sitting up, the angel shook off his drowsiness and walked to the building's entrance to peer outside. Kilo was shocked to realize he had slept the day away; it was now night again.

Although he had wasted a day, Kilo did not mind. It was the first time in a while that his body had felt so rested. The angel zipped up his jacket and began walking toward the Transport Tower. He was anxious to return to Heaven.

While making his way through the war-torn city, Kilo practiced his teleportation by skipping around a few blocks. Occasionally, the rustling of stragglers reached the angel's sensitive ears, but they were usually a few blocks away and were gone just as quickly as they had come.

The Transport Tower steadily grew taller as Kilo neared it. The sound of bullets and bombs interrupted the quiet of the night, and all hell broke loose within a matter of seconds. Kilo's attention was brought to the base of the tower where he saw a battle break out.

Kilo did not waste a second in rushing to the edge of the battle. Two, great forces were fighting for control of the tower. Kilo spotted demons and angels fighting in close-distance combat and realized Heaven was trying to take back the tower from Hades!

*Zinu - A Humanoid being that is naturally extremely muscular and has red skin.