The Salvation War/Heartwarming

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


  • A leader of the burgeoning resistance of dead souls within Hell learns that the person who's been keeping the portals open for them to get supplies is a transexual. At first he's disgusted, but quickly realizes how much she's done for him while suffering extraordinary pain every time she opens a portal. Eventually he completely overcomes the prejudice he was raised with to regard her as a valuable member of the team. When he finally meets her face-to-face, he gives her a hug.
  • The angel of death Uriel attempted to lay waste to Eucalyptus Hills, California — even through the defenses (read: tinfoil covering houses) his power to kill managed to penetrate, but by force of will and love for one another the people inside held out long enough for the U.S. Navy to come through. It's especially poignant due this being shown through the eyes of a human resident and her dog: Her dog watched her carefully, he could sense there was danger even if he couldn't define it. But, his human was doing something about it and that was good. If the worst came to the worst, Rex knew he could bite with a pressure of more than 350 pounds per square inch and if the danger wanted to get to his human, it would have to get past him first.
    • Two words: Good boy ... and immediately made a Crowning Moment of Funny by the loving woman giving him a big steak as treat with the dog monologueing how he'd much rather like that piece of lamb, in the end settling for the steak and stealing that lamb whenever his human forgets to close the refrigator next time ... good boy indeed!
  • In a weird way, Abigor's surrender is heartwarming — at least, because his last surviving veterans, his mates, and his kidlings don't have to die for the (arguably) inevitable and unavoidable mistakes he made in his invasion of Earth.
  • There's also the scene where a daemon mother, assuming that only harm can come from the humans from Earth invading Hell, hides her kidlings and begs US forces to kill her but spare her children, but they instead are perfectly happy to spare the whole family and even feed her children for good measure.
  • After Robert E. Lee overhears his instructor in 21st-century warfare evaluating him as dangerously incompetent for a combat command, he takes full responsibility for his failure to adapt and throws himself at the mercy of their commanding general David Petraeus, even praising his lower-ranked tutor — a female African-American captain, no less — as a fine officer and tutor with great skill and patience. Petraeus in turn offers him a desk job... but instead of "exile," it's administering a convalescent home for former American and Confederate soldiers who're either traumatized or feeling alone and unwanted in the 21st century:

"To care for our veterans, soldiers from every era in our history." Lee was entranced by the idea. "Sir, I do not just wish it, I desire it with all my heart." "Then the position is yours. You may start tomorrow."

  • Even Michael gets one when he's about to finally challenge Yahweh openly, accepting that he's definitely going to die if his plan fails before advising his allies of the best way to avoid Yahweh's reprisals if that happens. Then it gets better: those same allies ignore his advice and join the battle with him, just when Michael was about to give up.
  • Memnon, after him found himself working for the human forces in Armageddon?. After centuries of working for Demonic Lords who treated their minions like garbage, terrorizing and demeaning them and treating them doing a really good job at something on occasion as an excuse to punish them for being inconsistent, he finds that humans are far different. To his wonderment, the humans set reasonable standards of performance and are effusive in their praise when they are exceeded above and beyond the call of duty. Just the moment after a long mission flying to a target, when the undead soldiers insist he use their portal to return to base, saying his mission is done and it's only fair he get an easy way home, is enough to realize how wonderful it is to be appreciated.
  • Lemuel's descent to earth which thus far had always meant almost guaranteed death to angels with a broken (in more ways than one, literally aswell as figuretively) Maion in his hands and the sole desire to rescue his beloved echoing in his mind. Only after the worst is passed, when his mind is once again capable of elevating itself above the levels of sorrow, fear and utter despair of losing her does the other point, the need to rescue the angelic host as a whole as best as "inhumanly" manageable strike home. (Hint by this troper: Reading these chapters whilst listening to Nightwish "Cadence of her last Breath" make the impact that much powerful)