Interim State | The Graphic Novel

            Pilate died some time ago and woke up alone, chained to the side of cliff.  Eventually an Angel known as Michael came to him and told him who Jesus was, and why Pilate was chained.  He was a prisoner of Purgatory.  For all of his sins Pilate acted out of good.  He sought to protect his people, to keep Judaea a good and noble place.  However for all of Pilate’s good intentions his actions brought harm to many and for these crimes he must pay; except he also did one other thing.  Pilate let Jesus die, as Michael put it.  For this the Angels have decreed Pilate can never enter Heaven he will spend the rest of eternity here in Purgatory.       After several years another Angel came to Pilate offered him a chance of limited freedom, the chains would stay but Pilate would be free to wonder Purgatory but at Heaven’s whim.  He would become a Charon; he would be forced to find those souls that Heaven has lost.  Now Pilate wonders a vast wasteland a broken man, with nothing to keep him company but the thoughts of his actions. 

Granted a hero’s welcome in Heaven she was ask to serve in Michael’s army.  An honor granted to few members of humanity.  Eventually Joan started to see the turmoil Heaven was in.  A place she dreams of seeing, a place she died for was in chaos.  It was self-destructing all around her and even worse the majority of the Heavenly Host did nothing to stop it.  She resigns her post but in the process met an Angel.  This Angel drafted her to help solve one of the problems plaguing Heaven, lost souls.  Not a Charon but more like an ambassador to them from Heaven.  Joan serves the Charon now, helping how she can, doing what she can to protect Heaven.

When Worth awoke in Purgatory a Angel named Leonael appeared before him with the rest of Worth’s family.  Leonael offered Worth a choice, serve his time in Purgatory with his family or take his families’ time.  Worth accepted the additional time gladly letting his family go to Heaven before him.  Although Worth was surprised he was going to Heaven at all.   Years later Worth came across a Charon who was in the process of tracking down a soul.  Worth lead him to the soul and as payment a year was taken off of his sentence.  Since then Worth has made a living being an information broker and sometimes bounty hunter in Purgatory.