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mekachu04Fandom: Good Omens (TV)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Relationships: Aziraphale & Crowley (Good Omens), Aziraphale & Adam Young (Good Omens), Aziraphale & Crowley & Adam Young (Good Omens), Crowley & Adam Young (Good Omens)
Characters: Aziraphale (Good Omens), Crowley (Good Omens), Hastur (Good Omens), Disposable Demon (Good Omens), Satan | Lucifer (Good Omens), Beelzebub (Good Omens), Adam Young (Good Omens), Wensleydale (Good Omens), Brian (Good Omens), Pepper (Good Omens)
Additional Tags: No beta we fall like Crowley, is it still 'headcanon' if you're discussing religion?, feature author's own personal outlook on religion, specifically Hell and God's relationship to it, Minor Character Death, Paul Adeyefa's character is named Legion in here, discussion of past mutilations, Aziraphale was a cherubim, Aziraphale was a warrior, Discussion of the Fall, Imprisonment, Abduction, mentions of torture, BAMF Aziraphale (Good Omens), Aziraphale is "just enough of a bastard to be worth knowing" (Good Omens), Post-Apocalypse, Nope'geddeon, Post-Canon, Time Manipulation, Wing Injury, hurt!Aziraphale, Hurt!Crowley, discussions of Pre-Canon, Crowley didn't fall - he was pushed, Crowley Was Not Raphael Before Falling (Good Omens), Happy Ending, Aziraphale's True Form (Good Omens), lucifer is reasonable, aziraphale is not himself today, smite-y aziraphale, Protective Aziraphale (Good Omens), lucifer is not luci (tv) but heavily influenced by him, possible self-harm, unintentional suicidal actions, Burns, Crowley's True Form (Good Omens)
Series: Part 1 of Every Step
Aziraphale worked very hard at being soft. He's been working very hard for more than 6000 years to be soft, and one demon is trying his patience on the matter, leading him on a smiting spree in hell.
aka - exploring my personal headcanon's of our fav duo's pasts, set sometime after the series ends. Tags will be expanded reflecting each new chapter to minimize spoilers. i'm not very nice to either of of our beloveds in this, but it all works out in the end.
title from 'I Will Always Love You' by Whitney Houston
Chapter titles are based on the prompt used for that day
I am not the first, nor the last, to ponder Aziraphale being a principality, instead of a cherubim, which scriptures say are the ones who guarded the gates of Eden. Given the line from the book: “Technically Aziraphale was a Principality, but people made jokes about that these days” and my tendency to make every thing hurt, I took this as our angel being demoted.
So, some choices are made that lead people to getting themselves very hurt. While no one it doing this as a conscious choice to self-harm, they are also making zero choices to remove themselves from the situation.
"AZIIIII RAHHHH PHAAAAAAAAAALE!"
The cry echoes through every circle of Hell, distraught and fearful. But, unlike the rest of the voices often heard in the realm of the damned, this one is not in fear for itself in any manner.
Beelzebub's crone, Dagon, has returned with another demon in hand. However, the newcomer looks less they're being dragged along, and more like their escort wasn't going fast enough.
Sure enough, once they are close enough to be distinguished as two separate demons, Crowley breaks away from Dagon completely, running headlong at the angel with nary a glance in Lucifer's general direction. Crowley barely falters as he reaches the Holy Light, slowing only once he has to shield his face with his arm as the light has gotten too bright for even his sunglasses as he approaches.
Watching the human-shaped serpent run pass him, Lucifer can't help but notice the change in Crowley's demeanor. The demon's stumbling on the broken ground, one hand reaching out blindly, grasping the air, his voice a steady mantra, "Aziraphale. Aziraphale. Aziraphale. I'm here. I've gotcha. Aziraphale." The Morningstar has seen his clever tempter in many moods over the millennia, but even when he crawled away from Hastur after the pits, he never looked this terrified.
It's not a look that settles well with the Lord of Hell. He turns away, preferring to strain his sight on the now still angel who remains reticent by the interruption. The cherub's fury has begun to turn on itself; it still longs to raze Hell, but Lucifer knows he's gotten into its head, and the rage lit aflame by Hastur has begun to turn inward. It does not diminish in the slightest, however, still gaining power and Lucifer is aware his princes are having to move farther back to avoid being damaged themselves.
All others but Lucifer have passed out of the angel’s awareness, its focus still razor sharp on him. Crowley has run into the light and Lucifer can no longer find his form against the brilliance of the angel. The air is filled with the sharp smell of burning flesh, and Lucifer bows his head at the foolish demon; whatever Beelzebub had thought he could do to sway this course as failed; another demon lost forever in Heaven's wayward wrath.
Except, the angel turns slowly away, and with his distraction, the light softens out to the intensity of a sun blazing inferno. He and Lucifer both look to see where Crowley still lives, clinging desperately to the angel's arm, "Aziraphale, We're okay now. Aziraphale. Aziraphale. Come back to me angel. Aziraphale."
He is burning away where he touches the intruder, the miracle that provided his body clothes burning away and leaving his corporation exposed to the angel's unfiltered grace. But his grip never falters, and his begging creeps across the air; whispers deafening in the otherwise vacuum of sound that has fallen over this circle.
The arm not clinging to the angel is still thrown up over the demon's face, tears leaking past to wet streaks of cheek that are slower to burn away. But as soon as the Holy starts to ease up again he's pressing against the angel; forehead sizzling as he rests it against the last angelic face, body tucking close to fit against the cherub.
His corporation has burned to bone in a few places, no longer able to shield his occult core. And yet as it too burns, Crowley doesn't flinch away. His body can not produce sound anymore, so his damned one fills in, a song of supernovas and comet tails that thrums in waves that are more feeling than thoughts, more wavelengths of intent than words.
He himself is more concept than demon right now, what has survived having his grace burned away by sulphur is now smoldering under the quickly mellowing holy wrath.
The angel looks no better. Its ire is fleeing from it like the water after a flash flood, leaving behind an exposed and wrecked foundation. Without Heaven to replenish its Holy Retribution, it has used too much of its own self to fuel its rage. Should it remain much longer in Hell, it will flicker out completely.
The Light-Bringer has three options. He can let the cherub extinguish itself, and they can all take this as a warning against entertaining angelic prisoners in the future; and if he is feeling merciful, let his own demon die with it.
He can take the both of them to the sulphur pits, submerge each and let Hell burn away the residue marks of Grace tainting them both. If it's meant to be, he can see if Hell will take alight in Her fading Grace's place. Will see if he can coax a new demon into existence, spinning promises of letting them remain together to cement their loyalty to him.
Or, he can wash his hands of them both, and leave it to their own strength of Will. He may still get his demon to re-align themselves to him, albeit it will never be as strong as it was the first day. But it will be new debt owed to him, possibly two, and the thought of having those favours at his beck-and-call does please him as well.
The angel is burning down, no longer shining outward, and they both only still stand because they have found support in each other. Lucifer makes sure to wave down his princes who have started to his side in the encroaching darkness, and approaches his distressed little brothers.
Aziraphale. That is what Crowley had called him, though Lucifer cannot recall a brother of such a name from before. Although, he had many brothers, and outside of his fellow Archangels, most of those he'd bothered to learn the name of had fallen with him. Ironically, each of those names had been lost from all celestial kind once the grace that sustained them had burned away.
The strength of will is all that remained of the two. Pure stubbornness. The angel, Aziraphale, had burned them both into near non-existence. Crowley was barely more than an idea of distress, and Aziraphale was one of regret and shame. When he holds out a hand to both, they both radiate acceptance.
To die together is their only remaining wish.
Thankfully for them, Lucifer is much more than the average angel, fallen or not. When he sends them away, it is with a demonic hope that they will at least try to live.
In the quiet rubble, it's easy to pick out the careful footfalls of his princes. Lucifer says nothing for a long moment, deep in thought, before turning to his Prince of Flies.
"Head up to earth, and deliver a message," he tells Beelzebub, who nods warily, "Tell our wayward Hell-Son that his uncles might need some looking after."
While not really liking the thought of once again talking with the Antichrist, Beelzebub is just happy to get away from the pure destruction, is quick to do so as asked.
Having a Prince of Hell lurking outside this particular 16 year-old boy's bedroom window is sadly not as unnerving as it should be. Dog barely gives Beelzebub a second glance before curling back up next to Adam and going back to sleep. The Former Anti-Christ is tempted to do the same, but figures he out to at least see when the demon wants, before deciding whether to continue ignoring the Lord of Flies.
Their talk goes much smoother than their last one, even though Beelzebub can't help but ask one last question before ze departs, if maybe he wants to rule the world now?
"Not so Much."
"Can't blame me for trying," ze buzzes with a smirk, before melting back into the earth.
Adam's sleep is troubled that night, but he waits until morning, his parents believing they're sending him off to school, and he simply asks the Them if they'd rather go to London instead today?
They take the train from Oxford, and Adam leads the group to the only address he has for his two otherworldly uncles. Uncle Fell and Uncle Crowley have respected his wishes to remain hands off, but Adam has sought them out on occasion when he has questions; mostly over 'is this just puberty?' or 'is this demonic?' Adam has visited his Uncle Fell's book shop a few times over the years, Aziraphale quite happy to show it off, especially since it only was standing by the grace of Adam to begin with. The Them had come with that first time, but as of late Adam has found himself making the trip alone. (He's not complaining, mind, it's just he has noticed the Them aren't quite a tight knitted as they were five years ago)
Adam saw the burned out shell of the shop in Crowley's mind once in the beginning, but had never actually stepped in the bookshop when it was in anything else than the angel's very meticulously maintained chaotic mess. Today, the door unlocks for him, though he's not sure if it did because he thought it should or if it did because it wanted him to enter; and four teenagers step into the aftermath of a preternatural fight. The entire frame of the book store is cracked, right down though the foundations, productive wards all busted and burned away. Shelves have been smashed, and books lie torn and broken on every inch of the floor. Residual miracles cling to the surfaces where they've been deflected, the wood shuttered under the impact.
There are a few spots where something tried to burn; the scorch marks dissolve under Adam's scrutiny. A few books had caught wayward hellfire sparks, but even those repair themselves under Adam's watchful gaze.
When Wensleydale trips on uneven floor under a rug, Pepper pulls the cloth away to reveal a set of drawn circles. The floor they've been etched into is shattered and broken. Brian find his voice first, kneeling at the edge of the broken wood, "What was it for?"
Adam recalls Aziraphale's memories of it, "I think its a door or a telephone or sum'n. I think Uncle Fell used it to go back home once. I bet he musta been trying to call for help."
There are no signs that Uncle Fell or uncle Crowley have been here recently. Whatever fight was here was an old fight, and what worried Adam most was that it didn't look like either one of them had ever tried to comeback after. "We should try Uncle Crowley's instead," he hinted, and the Them made their way back out to the street. As Adam closed the door behind him, he suggests to AZ Fell & Co, Antiquarian and Unusual Books that it was never broken in the first place. The buildings frame creaks and it rights itself, the foundation reknitting itself together as it should look. The wards ease themselves back together; in his own paradox, Adam could actually make them strong enough to keep himself warded out, but it seems like the wards don't want to do that, and he feels them molding to let him be one of the three exceptions to the celestial block. Four, if one counted Dog as separate from him, which it seems like the shop does differentiate. He does boost them to make it harder to break around them like the last attack seemed to do; not an easy task when dealing with enemies who could fit between electrons.
"Adam?" Brian asks, completely unbothered by the bookstore's jaunt back in time to when it wasn't broken, but still showing signs of unease for the violence witnessed inside.
"I need to find my Uncle Crowley's place." Adam repeats.
"Where's that?"
"I'm not sure, but i'm sure we'll find it. Lets take the bus."
