Fallen ~•A Good Omens Fanfiction •~

Chapter 10: Joan of Arc

Chapter 10: Joan of Arc
Almighty's narration

  'So he is the angel you wanted to give this mission to?' asked Metatron, doubtful.
  'Yes, don't worry, he'll handle that,' assured Gabriel. 'No one else was free, anyways.'
  Somehow, the way the archangel said it hurt Aziraphale. It felt as if Aziraphale was his last choice - the worst of all.
  'And he already knows the human beings, it will be useful,' added the Supreme Archangel.
  'Well, if you say so,' sighed Metatron. 'Just give him the instructions, I have other business to deal with. Need to talk to Michael about that Joan girl.'
  Metatron left and Aziraphale was now alone with Gabriel. He wondered what kind of mission would be given to him, especially because Michael was given one too, and he didn't want to meet him on Earth.
  'Well, your mission will be to protect Joan of Arc,' Gabriel said. 'You won't be communicating with her, it's Michael's job, but you'll be a knight and assure she is miraculously safe until... until you get new orders. Hell will surely send someone to corrupt her, make sure not to mess this up for once.'
  And the archangel, too, left. Aziraphale headed to the gate that would lead him to Earth, wondering if he could find Crowley. It was the only actual thing that helped him stay calm.

***

  Down in Hell, it was the same thing. A bored and annoyed demon complaining about his boredness and annoying a prince of Hell. Beelzebub sighed and shouted:
  'Will you shut up at once?!'
  'But what else can I do?' replied Crowley theatrically. 'I can't believe that living actually satisfies-'
  'You're going back up,' interrupted Beelzebub.
  'I... Wot?' said Crowley, astonished.
  'You're going back to Earth,' repeated the Lord of the Flies. 'There's this French girl, Joan of Arc - bount to be a saint, to Heaven's point of view. I want you to try and tempt her to vice, and if it doesn't work, well, kill her.'
  They hadn't even finished their sentence that Crowley was already gone. He couldn't possibly wait to leave Hell and Heaven would probably send someone to protect such a girl... and who else than Aziraphale, his angelic friend, to accomplish this task?
  And on that thought, the demon rushed to the surface.

***

  'Understood, Aziraphale?' asked Michael for the tenth time at least. 'You stay around, but never too close, and you keep an eye on her, and you never disturb me when I'm talking to her.'
  'Yes, I have understood,' answered Aziraphale for the tenth time. 'I assure you, I won't bother you at all.'
  'You better do. It's here, she's there. Now stay here, I'll go talk to her.'
  Aziraphale nodded and looked around. There didn't seem to be anything wrong - anything that could prove the presence of any demonic entity. Then a glimpse of red hair caught his eye and he saw him. Aziraphale smiled. Crowley was there. Of course he was.
  Crowley looked at Aziraphale. He knew he had noticed him - after all, he wanted him to notice his presence. All he wanted was to talk to him, about anything the angel wanted, he didn't care. He had missed him, though he wouldn't admit it. Crowley could see in Aziraphale's eyes he wasn't the only one, but he couldn't go to him because of Michael. If Aziraphale wasn't of the "smiting" kind, the archangel Michael certainly was.
  'Wait,' mouthed the angel.
  'Behind the house, after Michael's gone,' mouthed Crowley back.
  And the demon disappeared from Aziraphale's sight. Michael was almost done talking, and the girl seemed to be very disturbed. Aziraphale knew he was supposed to care about it, but all he could think at the moment was his future meeting with Crowley.
  Crowley saw Aziraphale hurrying discreetly towards him and hardly restrained a smile. The angel grabbed his arm and pulled him closer.
  'Do you know what Michael could have done if he had seen you?' Aziraphale started.
  'Yeah, but he didn't,' replied Crowley. 'I've been careful.'
  'You didn't seem that careful to me,' said the angel, frowning his eyebrows. 'I was able to see you. You would have been more discreet as a snake.'
  'You're sure of that? There are no snakes like me in France. And you know me much better than Michael does... than anyone does. I made sure you could see me, but nobody else did.'
  Aziraphale eventually let go of the demon's arms and sighed. He looked up into the sulfur-yellow eyes of the demon.
  'So, what's been going on for you?' he said calmly.
  'Not much. I've been promoted to Baron of Hell to make Hastur go mad, which was the only fun thing that happened. And what about you?'
  'Even less than that, just paperwork at all times...'
  Their eyes met again and they smiled. Gabriel, Beelzebub, all Heaven and all Hell could say anything but Aziraphale and Crowley only were happy when together.
  'I guess you have to protect the girl from temptation,' said the demon.
  'And I guess you have to tempt her,' smiled Aziraphale.
  'So that's it again, huh?'
  'Looks like that.'
  After a moment of silence, the angel asked:
  'Will you help me?'
  'I wondered when you would ask me,' replied the demon with a great smile.
  Of course, he would help Aziraphale. When would he not?