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Aziraphale was on his way back to the bookshop. He needed help.
The second coming. He had thwarted the previous one, so this one shouldn't be any difficult either, he thought. All he needed, was his faithful companion... the only person he could really trust. The Metatron had already explained the plan to him, so aziraphale exactly knew what he should do. The problem was, The Metatron never said anything about how they were going to "initiate" it... a small but crucial detail.
"Earth" the lift announced. He was so sure when he made that decision, but now all he could think of, was their last minutes together... How he begged him to help him, how he pleaded "I need you!" But the demon had already made up his mind. He wasn't going to help. He wanted something else, a different life, free from all that heaven-hell nonsense. How could he be this stupid. Of course, he is not going to help. He didn't help then. He is not going to, now!
Aziraphale turned to the lift. He, himself, agreed to do it, to make heaven glorious again. So he should be one taking full responsibility for it. He opened the doors to the lift. Weird... Seemed like his miracle didn't work. It was still the pub, with people in it. Aziraphale tried the miracle again but suddenly heard bells ringing. He recognized the sound. He had heard it before. Panic took over him, and just when he was about to rush to the bookshop, everything went black. They had started it without him...
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-I know you.
+you do not know me.
-I know the angel you were.
+the angel you knew, is not me.
He remembered that conversation. He could also remember that Job's children were miraculously saved that day. How could he forget it though. It was the first time he had disobeyed God. He could remember how awful it seemed to him at first but didn't know what words were said that calmed him down.
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"No! You can't kill me. There will be paperwork!" The executioner stayed still. Well, that was odd... Aziraphale couldn't perform miracles but seemed like he just freed himself from that French jail. Or did he?...
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"Shouldn't we all thank the serpent? He was the first schoolmaster, the first advocate of learning, the first enemy of ignorance, the first to whisper in human ears the sacred word "liberty", the creator of ambition, the author of modesty, of inquiry, of doubt, of investigation, of progress and civilization."
He read these lines while smiling to himself. That wily old serpent would love to hear these words... where is he, by the way?
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He stared at the gun that was aimed at his face. I either discorporate, or survive, he thought to himself. The gun fired and the bullet flied towards him. A second later, he opened his eyes and thought to himself "no paperwork!" And laughed at his own words. But were they his words?...
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Aziraphale took his sword "come up with something!" He thought to himself. Time stopped and he found Adam and himself in another dimension. Did he do that himself? Did he really stop Armageddon? Of course not. The pictures were blurry in his mind, but he could for sure say that someone was there with him that day. Someone has always been there, alongside him, throughout the millennia. But who? Flashes and pictures came to his mind. His memories were fading and his head hurt. He couldn't remember.
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Aziraphale opened his eyes. He was back in heaven again. He looked around and tried to understand what just happened. He was on his way back to the bookshop to do something... to look for someone... or no? He wasn't sure... something was not right. He turned to look for the model of earth they had in heaven, but it wasn't in the usual place. What happened to it?
A giant, floating head came to him.
-"this one was easier than we thought." The Metatron said with laughter. "You can't even imagine how convenient it was. I could tell you, but you wouldn't understand. Missing someone?" He gave aziraphale a photo. The photo was just aziraphale, holding a bullet, looking cheerful. The Metatron was right. He couldn't understand. Something was missing. Someone. A marksman. A savior. He tried to remember his time on earth. More than 6000 years, and he never got into trouble? He knew he wasn't alone. He was sure about it. But was he really?...
He wanted to know. Was it all an illusion? All those miraculous escapes of death. Did they never happen? Or...
A sudden flash of a battle came to his mind. He was at war, reaching out a hand to grab someone he knew, an angel he knew. The red-headed angel tried to keep his balance by holding onto aziraphale's wing, cause his own were burning up in flames. But he couldn't, and as aziraphale's wing was slipping out of his hand, he shouted "you put doubt in me about God, aziraphale. But I forgive you..." and fell.
Aziraphale's head was spinning in an awful speed. He was figuring out. His time on earth wasn't an illusion. They all happened once. But now, they're being wiped out slowly. It started with earth and in a few more minutes, it will get to the stars and nebulae. He was right. The second coming was in fact easier than the previous one. If that red-headed angel hadn't helped in all those things, heaven couldn't sort things out this quick. Cause he remembered Michael once said "wiping out a specific person from the book of life, would also clear out everything they've done"
Tears started to form in his eyes. Someone was really there with him throughout his life. His red-headed companion wasn't an illusion and he was never alone. Aziraphale tried to grasp the last bit of memory he had of him but as the last stars around the pillars of creation were fading away, their creator also slipped out of aziraphale's mind. A second later, aziraphale found himself crying over something he couldn't even remember. Whatever it was, it had something to do with the void he was feeling in his heart.