The End of the World...Again? [Aziracrow]

12

Then everything that was happening at that moment stopped. The stars ceased falling, the people, the angels, and the demons stood frozen, life simply came to a halt.

Crowley lay on the ground, struggling to breathe, the extinguished flaming sword buried in the left side of his chest. Aziraphale descended and knelt beside him, his halo gone and his eyes, though still carrying some purple hue, had returned to normal.

"What have I done?" —he said, lamenting.

"WHY?" —came the distant cry. Then Raphiel appeared, her wing still hanging, injured, her eyes no longer burning, and her face filled with pain. "Why did you intervene?" —she asked, turning towards the demon lying on the ground.

"I wasn't going to let Aziraphale become a murderer, and especially..." —he paused to catch his breath. "And especially not let him kill you." —he answered her.

She pitied him but looked at Aziraphale and moved closer, pointing her dagger in his direction. The Archangel simply opened his arms.

"Go ahead... Do it... I deserve it, I already killed my best friend, let me join him" —he said, looking at her with pain. "I want you to know you will always be my daughter, and forgive me if I took away the little happiness you could have felt."

Raphiel raised the dagger, ready to strike the Archangel, but at that instant, as she was about to end it, memories flooded her mind—Aziraphale reading to her and teaching her Bible stories, maps of the Earth, when he gave her his wings and a star. She tightened her grip on the weapon and screamed, tearing through the silence, only interrupted by the crackling of the flames burning around them. A lightning bolt split the sky and struck the dagger, vanishing it.

"Enough..." —exclaimed a powerful voice in a calm tone.

Time for the angels and demons began to flow again, and they all looked at each other, confused, not understanding what was happening.

"The Armageddon is about to begin!" —decreed Metatron.

"The Earth will be ours!" —Shax shouted after emerging from the ground.

Weapons appeared, and they were ready to fight and initiate a new celestial war, but then something stopped them.

"No!" —exclaimed the voice again, accompanied by a deeper one.

They all looked at each other in terror and surprise, and then a blinding light appeared, more intense than even the sun's rays, hovering above all the angels. From the ground emerged a tall figure, dressed in an elegant and pristine suit, black hair, and eyes glowing red.

The angels lowered their faces in the light, and the demons knelt before the figure. God and Lucifer were present for the first time.

Raphiel didn't understand what was happening. She just looked around, confused. Aziraphale, on the other hand, had isolated himself from his surroundings, his attention entirely focused on Crowley, who took his hand and kept repeating: "Everything will be fine, angel. Don't worry about me."

"So... A rebellion..." —Lucifer began. "Whose idea was this?" —he asked, annoyed.

Everyone pointed at Shax, and she pointed at Raphiel. Lucifer looked at her, furrowed his brow, and briefly looked up at God.

"But look at this. What do we have here?" —he said, walking towards Raphiel, studying her. He took her wings and examined them carefully. Upon seeing the wound, he felt some pity for her demon half, so he healed it. "After the fiasco with my son, you decided to try again with an apocalyptic angel?" —he questioned, stepping away from Raphiel and glaring at the incandescent light with his bright red eyes. "That's hitting rock bottom, even for you".

"The creation of Raphiel was indeed my idea, but things didn't go as planned..."

"Oh, so you admit that your grand plan had a flaw..." —Lucifer said sarcastically.

The angels exchanged shocked looks at such disrespect, but God was not offended.

"I wouldn't call it a failure, I'd call it an intervention..." —he explained. "Because of this intervention, I have made a decision: the end will come, but it will not be today. Go with your demons... Angels, return to Heaven."

Lucifer merely gave a slight bow, turned to the legions, and with a gesture, they all returned to Hell. The angels returned to Heaven, leaving only Raphiel, Aziraphale, and an agonising Crowley.

"Raphiel" —called God. "I know that Aziraphale considers you his daughter and that Crowley, in turn, holds you in affection. He has sacrificed himself for you, yet you have tried to destroy everything out of anger, just for hearing words spoken in a moment when reason fails and emotions dominate. You have enormous power within you, and now it's time to decide. Tell me, little angel, where do you wish to go? Will you come to Heaven, or will you go to Hell?"

Raphiel was undecided; she knew everything she had done was wrong and didn't want to make another mistake. She looked at Aziraphale, who was still crying over Crowley. The latter was still clinging to life despite having lost so much blood. She looked at the sky and said nothing; it wasn't necessary—her thoughts and desires were enough.

"So be it." —declared God before leaving, accompanied by a loud thunderclap and light rain.

Raphiel ran over to the Archangel and the demon, knelt down, and placed Crowley's head on her lap.

"I want to apologise for everything, I let myself be carried away, and I caused chaos. I'm sorry, Father"—she said, looking at Aziraphale.

Hearing this, he was moved and embraced her. He then looked at Crowley and apologised to him as well.

"Don't worry, it's just a scratch" —he joked, but the little laugh he managed was replaced by a grimace and a groan.

Raphiel took the blade of the sword with one hand and gently stroked the demon's forehead with the other. "I promise I'll fix this."

Before he could ask anything, she swiftly removed the sword, pulling a scream of pain from the depths of Crowley's throat. After that, she closed her eyes and vanished. At this, Aziraphale became distressed.

"Crowley?" —he placed a hand on his chest. "Crowley...! Crowley!" —he began calling him desperately, shaking him.

Raphiel took his hands and got his attention. "Father, please calm down, I need to know... I was created with a part of demon, wasn't I?" —Aziraphale nodded, still keeping his gaze on his friend, who he now suspected was dead. Raphiel spread her wings, which were still black.

Raphiel placed her hands on Crowley's chest and closed her eyes. "Half and half".

With that, she began to recite a kind of prayer in a low voice. Then her hands began to glow, the blackness of her wings slowly disappearing, revealing the white colour from before. In a blinding flash, the rain stopped, and the sun appeared.