Balthazar

* Vessel
* True Form

**Balthazar** is an angel of Heaven and a personal friend of Mabrius. At some point during the Apocalypse, he stole a number of powerful artifacts kept in Silver City and faked his own death. He then went on Earth and started to lead a hedonistic lifestyle, even going as far as to buy human souls in a similar fashion to crossroad demons. The weapons in his possession became an issue in the war between Mabrius and Raphael when both of them discovered that Balthazar was actually alive. Balthazar eventually sided with Mabrius after Raphael sent one of his followers, Virgil, after him.

Balthazar was almost killed by Mabrius after he allied himself with the Smith brothers to prevent the former from opening the gates of Purgatory.

## Biography

### Early Life

Balthazar fought alongside Mabrius and Uriel. Mabrius thought that he had died in battle. In reality, Balthazar faked his death to hide his departure from Heaven, and took a number of powerful artifacts, including the Staff of Moses and Lot's Salt, with him. He has been on Earth enjoying a rather hedonistic lifestyle.

Mabrius, John, and Jacob infiltrate his residence after reading his angelic signature left on a boy's ribs. Balthazar had made a bargain for Aaron Birch's soul, playing the role of an angelic crossroads dealer. Mabrius confronted the angel, in shock that his friend had not died during the Apocalypse as he had thought. As it turned out, Balthazar had faked his own death and stolen several biblical items from Heaven to avoid being killed for real due to the total anarchy "upstairs".

Mabrius tried to bargain with his old friend for the release of the weapons, but Raphael and his angels interrupted them before anything could be agreed upon. Balthazar disappeared just as Raphael infiltrated the mansion and left Mabrius to fight him alone. Raphael continues to thrash Mabrius, but before he could deliver the killing strike, Balthazar returns with a crystal-shaped weapon and turns Raphael's vessel into salt, forcing him to find a new host, adding that "the same thing happened to Lot's wife".

Amazed that he had returned, Mabrius stands to thank him, but John and Jacob arrive and trap him in a circle of holy fire. When they refuse to release him, he calls Jacob a "*hairless ape*" and turns to Mabrius for help, who says only that "the hairless ape has the floor." The brothers threaten to kill Balthazar unless he returns the child's soul. The angel agrees and makes void the contract between the boy and himself, but will not return the weapons. John threatens to douse him in holy fire, but Mabrius releases him before either of the brothers can do anything, saying that his debt to Balthazar, for saving his life, had been cleared.

When Death agrees to return John's soul from Lucifer's Cage, John summons Balthazar to find a way to make his body reject his soul. Balthazar agrees to help John, mainly to piss off Jacob. He also mentions that he would very much enjoy having John in debt to him. Balthazar tells John that in addition to a few easily acquired ingredients, he needs to commit an act so vile, that it permanently "scars his vessel". When John inquires as to what that is, Balthazar informs John that he needs to commit patricide (i.e. killing his father).

John immediately states that his father Harrison has been dead for quite some time now, to which Balthazar responds saying "You need the blood of your father, but your father needn't be blood". It is now made obvious to John that Balthazar is implying that the death of Malcolm will suffice, considering Malcolm has been the closest thing to a father for John since Harrison's death.

After the return of John's soul, a wounded Balthazar suddenly appears at Malcolm's house and tells John and Jacob that Raphael intends to kill everyone who ever helped Mabrius. He does not explain the situation but quickly starts gathering Dead Sea brine, lamb's blood, and the bones of a lesser saint, which he uses to draw a sigil on a window. He gives a key to John to guard and then Virgil, Raphael's angel assassin, arrives, so Balthazar quickly tosses John and Jacob through the window, sending them to a different universe.

Later it turns out that sending the Smiths into a different world with a bogus key was part of Balthazar and Mabrius' plan to divert Raphael's attention from what they were really doing. While Virgil and Raphael were focused on hunting down and killing John and Jacob, Balthazar was able to gather the stolen weapons of Heaven and give them all to Mabrius. When Raphael arrives to kill Balthazar, John, and Jacob, Mabrius appears and threatens Raphael with the weapons now in his possession, forcing him to leave.

Several days later, Balthazar alters history and unsinks the *Titanic*. Balthazar asserts that his reason for doing so is that he hated the movie and that the theme song by Celine Dion made him want to smite himself. With this action, it alters history and creates thousands of new souls. Because of this intervention, Atropos, the sister of fate in charge of "snipping the thread of life" begins to try to undo the mess created by this.

Atropos begins to try and kill Jacob and John for two reasons, to spite Matt and because of them stopping the apocalypse ruined her work and made her obsolete (as now, no one is bound by fate and everyone has freedom). After a brief confrontation between Atropos and Mabrius, Balthazar approaches from behind to kill her. In the end, Mabrius gives Balthazar orders to cease his attempt to kill the Sister of Fate, and she is annoyed by his attempt to kill her. Balthazar goes back in time and allows the Titanic to sink, setting the events of time back to the way they are supposed to be.