Wings On Fire

One Less Angel In Heaven

After Barachiel leaves the Holy Library, I find myself running toward the War Hall. I do not stop until I find Gabriel. When I find him I block his way toward the War Room. 

I throw my hands up and sputter, "Please, Gabriel there doesn't have to be war. We don't have to fight. Please, don't fight!"

He stares at me and heartlessly mutters, "Aziraphale, there's no stopping this war. The Angels that question God's plans must be punished and cast out of heaven."

I grab Gabriel's tunic and nearly hiss, "There doesn't have to be a war! I don't want there to be a war! I can't fight Barachiel! Please, Gabriel!"

He calmly and gently removes my hands from his tunic, holds them in his, looks me calmly in the eyes, and says, "I'm sorry Aziraphale, you don't have a choice, but don't worry, We'll win the war." he smiles, releases my hands, pats my shoulder, and continues on his way to the War Room. 

I wipe my face, clasp my hands in front of me, and calmly leave the War Hall. I don't want this war to happen, however, I don't have a choice. I am being forced to fight him. I don't want to, but I have to. 

Three Weeks Later:

I spend every waking hour in the War Hall focusing solely on my fighting techniques and nothing else. I have learned that I would be a General of my very own legion of Angels. I have given them all the information and training that I care to give them. After a while, I became bored and sent my legion to practice what I taught them. Now alone, I draw up my plan to destroy Lucifer. He is the reason that everything is being disrupted and destroyed. He's the one who's taking my Barachiel away from me. I've decided that Lucifer must pay. 

I continue preparing for the war in hopes of saving Barachiel from himself and Luficer's clutches. This is the only thing that is keeping me going and will be my undoing.  Before long, All the angels on God's side have assembled on the battlefield ready for a fight that unbeknownst to them would unleash a series of events that are ineffable in nature. Among the angels on God's side is me, even though I don't want to fight, I must fight. 

With all the preparation all the angels can hope to have both sides prepare for the war to start. I prepare my legion for the war with all the bitterness of an old friend. With the stage set, and all the pieces in place, the war began with a firey fury from both sides. 

The Great War:

As the war rages on, I watch as angels fight against one another to persuade the other of the error of their ways, as my firey blade connects with those who choose to desert God. I slash, stab, and smite those who stand in the way of God's ineffable plan. As I focus all of my pain and anger in my combat, I find myself questioning if I chose the right side. Should I have chosen Barachiel? I grit my teeth, push the doubt away, and refocus on the battle in front of me and all around me. I can't let myself think of him or I will slip up. I'm so focused on not thinking about Barchiel that I am blindsided by the enemy angel on my right. 

I am knocked down and nearly stabbed when flowing red hair enters my vision and I hear an audible, "NO!" before there is slack. I drop my sword and embrace the still form on top of me. I manage to adjust enough to see the face. I see that it is Barachiel. I hold him close to me letting tears stream down my face as an anguished scream erupts from my lips when I realize that the blade pierced his abdomen destroying the unborn creation inside of him.  Our creation is gone in an instant. As I am sitting there clutching Barachiel's unconscious body to my bosom a deep, burning wrath envelops my celestial being. 

I gently place Barachiel on the clouds and say, "I promise I will find you again."

Then I pick up my sword allowing the flame to burn bright with my otherworldly wrath. I slowly walk through the angels and approach Lucifer, who is just standing at the edge of the clouds watching the war rage on with a sly smile. He sees me and I can see his smile fade as I run toward him, grab his tunic, and say, "This is for Barachiel" before plunging my sword deep into his heart, twisting for good measure. 

His ocean-blue eyes cloud over with true horror as I pull the sword out and push him down toward the boiling pool of sulfur below. As I stand there, I hear God's voice softly and lovingly say, "Oh, how beautiful he is, even as he falls."

I softly smile and say, "Yes, he is quite beautiful, but nothing lasts forever." 

I turn to God and see a single tear glide down her cheek as a pained smile dances on her lips. Without hesitation, I gently hold her hand and just stand there with her as she weeps for her fallen angels. This is where I spend the rest of the war which quickly and systematically ends when all the deserters see their leader fall, which in turn results in them falling as well. I see a flurry of red hair as Barachiel falls lifelessly into the boiling pool of sulfur. 

When the deserting Angels were defeated and made to fall the war finally ended, and God brought me to her office. I remain quiet as I sit in a golden chair staring at my hands. 

God sighs and says, "It had to be Aziraphale, I'm sorry."

I gently glance up and utter, "I know, but my heart still aches for him."

God gently sighs and goes to her workbench and brews something that starts as a deep violet and ends up a bright scarlet. She lets it cool down a bit before pouring some of it into a marble cup. Then she drops something that looks like a sugar cube into it, lets it dissolve, and gently stirs it. When finished she hands me it and says, "Here, drink this, it will help with your aching heart."

I take the cup, put it to my lips, and allow the scarlet liquid to cascade over my tongue, and down my throat. I empty the cup and give it back to God, who just smiles, pats my head, and goes to clean the cup. As she did so, I remained seated in the golden chair. As I sit there I feel a peculiar numbness take hold of me before an unholy burning enters my mind. My vision blurs as my body vibrates and shudders. Knots are twisting in my abdomen as nausea bubbles its way up my throat and eventually finds its way to my mouth causing me to double over just as reddish-yellow liquid bursts from my mouth and splatters on the blinding white marble floor. A few seconds later, I collapse onto the floor and lose consciousness.