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If he was being honest, he had expected a longer war.
Lucifer had been talking them up to it for quite a while, and, well-
He kind of expected something a tad bit more... dramatic.
Not that it was lacking in drama, it just...
God had called all the Archangels to meet. She knew there was discontent over the apocalypse- as far-off as it was- and wanted to discuss it. Peacefully.
Michael, Gabriel, Uriel, and all the other loyalists expected to have a simple meeting, and leave, faces smug with victory, because they knew one of them was going to take Lucifer's place soon. They were expecting dramatics, a demotion of Heaven's prince.
Everyone else knew there was a good chance they would die.
When Lucifer drew his sword, only half of the congregation was surprised, while the other half drew their own swords in tandem.
The loyalists' shock only lasted a second, as swords materialized in their own hands and they surged into battle.
The battle was- underwhelming. No body seemed to be getting grievously injured- there was no screaming, no battle cries.
The most dramatic thing was Lucifer and Michael, standing in the middle of everything, battling each other.
Later, some will say Michael was crying. Others will say it was Lucifer shedding tears.
Most can agree that the two loved each other, and hated themselves and each other for being on different sides.
And then, almost as quickly as it started, everything stopped.
The white vacuum that surrounded the angels collapsed, a black hole swelling at their feet. The rebels were sucked down, and the chaos stopped.
In Heaven, at least.
The Fall was slow. Very slow. No one would've been surprised if they had been told it had taken a millennium. If they had known what that was, back then.
But the entire time there was always someone screaming, someone crying, someone cursing Lucifer, or God.
Some tried to fly upwards, but were pulled down by some invisible force, their fall accelerating.
When they finally hit the bottom, the resounding bangs that followed were said to be heard all the way from Heaven.
One of the Fallen opened his eyes, hot, black liquid seeping into them. He tried to shake his head, but the liquid was so thick his movement was slowed.
He tried to swim upwards, but something grabbed his foot. He looked down, but couldn't seen anything. He tugged his leg free of the invisible clamp.
He continued to try to fight his way to the surface, when a hand wrenched around his arm, yanking him upwards.
His mouth opened, chest heaving strangely as hot, sticky, smelly air made its way into it through his mouth.
A face was looking down at him, a face he recognized, but couldn't quite place.
The Face's mouth opened, and flies fell out.
"Are you okay?" The face asked, after a moment of shock from the insects.
The Fallen nodded, rubbing the remaining black goo from his eyes and face. "Where are we?" He croaked. His tongue felt strange in his mouth.
"I don't... know." The Face looked around.
"Who are you?"
"I'm not sure."
"Who am I?"
The Face twisted in discomfort. "Someone I care about." They said slowly.
"Oh." The Fallen Whom Was Cared For said.
The Face lifted The Fallen onto his feet, brushing him off.
The Face started walking, arm wrapped around The Fallen's waist for support.
"Where are we going?" The Fallen asked.
"To find the Star." The Face said.
"The Star?"
"Our king."
The Fallen looked around. He saw other fallen creatures slowly limping in the same direction. He wondered if they were also looking for the Star King. He wondered if they were also cared about.
Most of them were alone.
He looked to The Face. "Why are you helping me?"
"I feel I have to."
The Fallen thought about this. He realized he shared some of The Face's sentiments. He felt obligated to the other creatures that were trying to heave themselves out of the tar.
"There were others in the pool." The Fallen looked behind him, stopping. Another creature brushed past him.
The Face's arm pulled tighter around his waist, moving him forward again. "Keep moving."
"But the others-"
"They'll find their way out."
The Face and The Fallen walked for a very long time. The Fallen's feet and legs had a strange, unpleasant feeling in them. A feeling which made The Fallen groan and wince and whine.
But The Face kept tugging him along, their eyes hard and determined, never wavering, always set on the path ahead of them.
Because of The Face's focus, The Fallen felt more comfortable looking around. He watched as fellow creatures dragged their feet alongside them, moving in the same direction, with the same determination as The Face. It was like they were being called forward.
There were others, however, who, like The Fallen, only seemed to be following the crowd. They were not receiving the call.
*It would occur to many of the fallen, many years later, that this was the first time they had ever walked more than a few steps, which would be the reason for their aching limbs. In the moment, however, the pain seemed almost dull in comparison to the aching in their bones and their souls, which they also were unable to cite the reason for. This pain which they were experiencing was Emotion. This was, mostly, a foreign concept to the angels at the time, and it wouldn't be widely accepted in Heaven until nearly 3600 BC, whereas it was encouraged in Hell.
It's a common misconception that angels and demons are emotionless. This is incorrect, because, despite what men might insist, contempt, disgust- as well as anger- are emotions. Affection was still in its experimental stages when The Fall took place, and afterwards paranoia and betrayal that both sides were left with made it hard to form strong connections.
That isn't to say that the divine beings didn't love each other, but just that- to save their own prides- angels and demons point to Adam and Eve as the first beings in love.
There was a point when all the creatures stopped, standing in a circle.
The Face let go of The Fallen, walking deeper into the crowd. The Fallen followed them blindly, reaching out, desperate to be under their protection again. Without their hand around his waist, he felt unguarded, and was all too aware of the looks he was getting from the others, a dark, rotten energy radiating off of them in waves. A few grabbed his shoulders, his clothing, and tried to hold him back. The Fallen pushed past them, pushing forward, and latching onto The Face's robes.
The crowd seemed to part for The Face, yet were all too eager to trample over and strangle The Fallen.
When The Face got to the center of the crowd, there was a large clearing, in the middle of which sat a lake of tar. The Face hesitated at the edge as The Fallen broke through the innermost layer of creatures, breaking the near-perfect circle, upsetting the others.
The Face didn't turn around. They were staring at the black lake, not dissimilar from the one they had climbed out of themself. Their skin and clothes had dried since then, leaving behind a black, flaky layer and dark discoloring.
The Fallen took a step forward. He wanted to call for them, but wasn't sure how. A name was on the tip of his tongue. A name which might've belonged to them once, very, very long ago. But The Fallen couldn't quite remember.
Instead, he just grabbed their arm. The Face looked at him, a small smile that was neither warm nor reassuring.
"It's the Star." They said, eyelids fluttering dreamily. The dedication and determination that had been on their face had been sucked away, and The Fallen nearly didn't recognize them.
The Fallen shook their head. "You won't be able to get out."
The Face just shrugged, taking a step into the tar.
"Stop it! Just- just leave him!"
The crowd went utterly silent. There were eyes on him. Angry eyes. The Face faltered, anger flickering over it. They nodded, placing a hand on the back of his neck, softly holding it, before shoving him into the crowd.
Arms wrapped around The Fallen, grabbing his arms, his legs, his waist.
The Face walked deeper into the lake, the black liquid rising higher on their body, until just their head was above the water. Then, they were quickly sucked under the surface, a short, startled gasp the only noise from them.
The Fallen, however, was anything but silent. The Face's true name rushing to the surface as they were pulled downwards. He tried to scream it, to call for them, but a hand wrapped around his mouth as soon as he began to make noise, and the name was lost.
From the lake arose two figures, The Face, and a taller, much more commanding being. The Star. They hovered just above the surface of the tar, The Star- Lucifer- had his hand on The Face's shoulder. He stroked their jaw.
"Beelzebub." He said gently, voice echoing impossibly loud.
'Beelzebub' nodded, walking out of the lake.
The crowd surged forward, eager for names of their own.
The Fallen staggered forward, trying to keep up with the crowd and get to Beelzebub. He tripped over himself, and was unable to get up, the others crowding above him. He resorted to crawling on his hands and knees, slithering between bruised and bent legs.
He kept crawling, his body soon turning into something foreign and long, losing bones until he had lost all appendages and was not much more than a living a vine.
He ran into a pair of feet, which were facing the wrong way. A hand reached down, grabbed him by his neck and lifted him off the ground. The Fallen struggled, growing limbs again as he attempted to escape the grasp of-
"Crawly." Lucifer said, an amused smirk on his face. He dropped Crawly to his feet.
Crawly? Crawly thought. What type of name is Crawly? But even as he thinks this, it is the only thing he has that is his own. The only name he knows. And he hates it, but he had just been giving an identity, and couldn't throw it away.
The Repurposing was the birth of demons of a species. It stripped demons of their angelic instincts and desires to do good, and serve God. These feelings were replaced with hatred, lying, and a loyalty to Lucifer.
That was what seemed to be happening to everyone else. Crawly just... wasn't as enamored with Lucifer as the others were. He got bored of sitting around, waiting on Lucifer, building him a palace, discussing how much they hated Heaven.
The last of which was the biggest problem.
It was easier when Crawly didn't remember anything before the Fall, but once he started to remember, there was a strange feeling that he couldn't ignore. As much as he tried to ignore it, he was feeling... doubt. Again.
Crawly was beginning to think maybe there was something wrong with him; he hadn't fit in in Heaven, had hated their rules and their stifling cleanliness and bright whites and fake smiles, but couldn't seem to adjust to Hell, either. It was dirty, and hot, and dark, and everyone was angry and awful and Crawly just wanted a friendly face.
Maybe that's why he found himself sitting beside Beelzebub, in a desolate desert on the far side of Hell. He sifted the sand through his hand, eyes scrunched against the heat and the burning stench of scorched flesh that seemed to be ever-present in Hell.
"Crawly, you said you needed to speak with me." They said.
Crawly nodded, scratching the back of his neck. "It's been a while." He said quietly.
Beelzebub sighed. "Don't you think I have more important things to do?"
"Honestly? No."
Beelzebub scoffed. "I am the-"
"Yeah, yeah the Duke of Hell. But, I mean, we're kind of useless now, aren't we? Not... creating things anymore." Oh, how he missed creating.
"It... sounds to me like you're having... doubts."
Crawly nodded.
"Well- well you can't go back to Heaven." They snapped.
"I know."
"You can't- Crawly, no one is going to join a new rebellion. Not so soon."
"I don't want to start a rebellion! God knows I'm nowhere near…" He waved his hand around vaguely. "Savvy enough. I just- I just hate it here." He whispered the last part.
Beelzebub shook their head. "I'm sorry, but I can't- this isn't- we can't be having this conversation."
"Don't tell Lucifer. Please."
Beelzebub nodded. "I won't, I promise." They shuddered, as if thinking of what Lucifer would do if he found out Crawly was having thoughts. "Just- promise me you won't tell anyone else, okay?"
Crawly nodded. He felt a hand on his shoulder.
"I'll- I'll find something for you to do. I promise. But just- just remember that being bored is so much better than being punished."
Crawly shrugged. Logically, he knew this was true, but the aching boredom that gnawed at him was ever-present and unbearable.
Hell had caught wind of Eden and Adam and Eve rather quickly, which was odd, because they were now mortal enemies with every resident of Heaven. No one knows exactly how the rumors were spread.
When Beelzebub told Lucifer about the humans, his eyes lit up. "We can cause a lot of trouble with them." He'd said.
Beelzebub nodded. "We just have to be mindful of Heaven's guards. We wouldn't want to prematurely start a war or conflict-"
"We'll send someone in their animal corporation."
The list of demons available shortened. Not all of them had the ability to change forms, apart from their human-esque corporations, and even those were lost to some after the Fall, leaving them deformed and terrifying. Only a select few had animal corporations. A few had inanimate corporations, like rock or fire or lava.
Running their eyes over the milling crowd below, Beelzebub looked for potential nominees.
"What about Crawly?" They offered. "As a serpent?"
Lucifer smiled, patting them on their shoulder. "Yes, Crawly will do. Call him in."
Beelzebub nodded.
Beelzebub found Crawly on the outskirts of their realm again, this time, it presented itself not as a desert, but rather as a dead, decrepit forest, almost like a mirroring of Heaven's Eden.
"I've found a job for you." Beelzebub said.
Crawly startled, spinning around. He had been digging in the dirt when they found him. He saw them, and calmed, taking a deep breath. "Really? What is it?"
"You've heard of the garden?"
"Sure." He broke a stick beneath his foot.
"And the beings that have been created?"
"Yeah."
"We want you to… tempt them."
Crawly snorted. "To do what?"
Beelzebub shrugged. "I don't know. Just… go up there and cause some trouble."
Crawly nodded, looking ready to set off when Beelzebub grabbed his arm. "It'll be safer if you go as a snake."
Crawly wrinkled his nose. "Last time I almost couldn't change back."
Beelzebub looked at him pointedly. "Crawly."
"Fine, fine, whatever." He ripped himself out of their grasp, turning around.
"And Crawly?"
"Yes…?"
"I've given you something to do. Fix yourself. Doubt will get you destroyed."
Crawly was eerily still. "Okay." He said quietly, before disappearing.
Crawly noticed, quite quickly, that the two humans, Adam and Eve, never went near a certain tree. On this tree were large, round, red fruits. Eve's belly was big with her unborn child, and she and her partner were struggling to find plants they were sure weren't poisonous, while also avoiding the large animals. Crawly was sure no harm would come to them, at least not in the walls of the garden, but it was good they managed to develop survival instincts.
Crawly took advantage of Adam's absence to talk to Eve.
She was lying on her side, one arm under her head while the other was wrapped around her belly. She was green and clammy and sweaty with nausea and uncomfortableness.
Crawly decided to approach her in the corporation that was most like hers, rather than the snake.
He walked into the small cave she and Adam had claimed as their home. She startled, sitting up and backing away, hands guarding her stomach.
Crawly had his hand open and upturned, to show he was not a threat. "It's okay. I'm really not that scary."
She looked at him like he was a madman, but didn't make any move to scream or run, so Crawly took that as a good sign and sat across from her, a good distance away.
"What's up with the tree?" He asked. "With the uh… apples?"
"You can't eat from there." She said hurriedly, fear suddenly replaced with concern for Crawly.
"I know. I didn't. Um. Why, though?"
She tilted her head. "Because God told us so."
"So, what? You just don't get to eat because God says so?"
She nods.
"Eve, you're pregnant. You're eating for two- Adam's got to eat, You've eaten nearly everything else off the trees. I don't see the harm in just- just one."
"No, it's not right."
"Don't they look, I don't know, delicious?" He twirled a strand of his hair around his finger.
She shook her head. "No apple is worth God's wrath."
"I know people who've gotten God's wrath for way less. To tell you the truth, she's incredibly temperamental."
Eve's eyes were narrowed with suspicion. Crawly decided to sit in silence and let her think about it.
When she spoke, it was about something else entirely.
"What… what's on your body?"
Crawly looked down at the black robes he was wearing, and looked back up to Eve. He became aware that she was very much unclothed, and he was very much not.
"Um… my robes. Is that- alright?"
She slowly crept forward, reaching out for the silk. She felt it cautiously.
"It's so soft."
Crawly nodded. "It'll keep you warm at night. And protect your skin from brambles. Do you… want it?"
She laughed, once again siting, though this time a little bit closer. "No. I don't need it. I'm fine the way I am. The way God created me."
"Are you… sure?"
"Yes. You're just odd, is all."
Crawly sighed. She reminded him so much of himself, before the Fall. When he was so naive, so accepting of God's will. He remembered, in the beginning, not having the capacity to even think about disobeying God.
Eve's stomach grumbled. She groaned, clutching her stomach and leaning forward on her arms. She gagged, throwing up a clear liquid. Like there wasn't anything left in her stomach to expel.
"Could you go look for Adam?" She gasped, shoulders heaving.
Crawly froze. He really shouldn't be helping them, should he? The assistance he's been giving so far have been in an attempt to get her to disobey God. Finding Adam doesn't go against God's will. Doesn't cause trouble.
Eve groaned again, rolling onto her side, breaking into sobs.
Crawly leapt to his feet, leaving the cave, slithering through the woods to find Adam.
The man was on his knees, pawing through the dirt to free a large brown bulb from the ground. Crawly returned to his human corporation.
"Adam!"
Adam swung around, walking stick held out like a weapon. "What?"
"Eve is… She needs you."
His eyes widened, and he rushed back to the cave, Crawly following him.
He fell to his knees next to her, cradling her head. "Eve."
"I'm so hungry." She mutters, grabbing his hand.
Adam nods, helping her sit up and presenting her with the berries he had wrapped in leaves. They were smashed up, dripping onto Adam's hand as he opened the makeshift bag.
Eve grabbed the leaf and ate the whole thing, breathing deeply.
She looked over Adam's shoulder at Crawly. "Bring me an apple?" She asked, her voice small and high, like a child. Crawly felt a need to protect protect protect swell up in his chest.
"But-" Adam started.
Eve closed her eyes. "We'll die, love. I don't want to die."
"God won't let us die, Eve. We must have faith-"
Eve ignored him, staring at Crawly, pleading with him.
Crawly nodded, silently leaving the cave.
The apple tree sat proudly at the top of a hill, red fruits shining in the sunlight. The branches seemed to reach down to reach Crawly's hand. He grabbed an apple, and rushed back to the cave.
The worst of Eve's pains seemed to have subsided, and she sat against the wall of the cave, her partner beside her, coiling a curl around his finger.
When they saw Crawly, both of their faces fell, like they hadn't actually expected him to come back.
Still, Eve reached for the apple, hands shaking. Her hands wrapped around it tightly as they took it to her trembling lips. She took a large bite, the crunch echoing around the otherwise silent cave. She ate slowly, eyes at on her lap, like she was ashamed. She swallowed, and quickly took another bite.
Soon, she started to cry. She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.
"He's going to cast me away." She sobbed as she took another bite.
Adam seemed frozen, not knowing what to do. He just placed a hand on her shoulder.
By the fifth bite, Eve was shaking with sobs. Adam was rubbing her back.
"It's okay. We'll figure it out. I'll take care of you. I promise. I won't let him-"
"I'm cold!" She wailed, wrapping her arms around herself. "I am, I am, I am! I am cold, and I have bug bites all over me, and cuts on my legs. I'm- I'm naked!" She bawled, dropping the apple and rocking back and forth. "And I've pretended I'm not, but I am. I am. I'm sorry, Adam. I'm sorry, I'm not good enough for you. I'm sorry I've disobeyed God. I'm sorry." She pressed the back of her hand to her mouth.
And, yes, this was intensely familiar. Crawly winced, waiting for the blow. The rejection, the hatred. He waited for Adam to snap.
Instead, he gently wrapped an arm around Eve, picked the apple off the ground, wiped the dirt from it, and- after a long, and very nervous look of consideration, took a large bite. Then another, and another, not even stopping to chew. He crunched on the apple, a bit of apple falling onto his chin, and then swallowed roughly. He turned to Eve, holding her face in his hands reverently.
"There's nothing to be sorry for, love. You are good enough. You're perfect."
She laughed as he gently wiped away her tears. She reached up, flicking the apple off of his face.
"You're a slob." She laughed.
"And you're naked." He said, matter-of-factly.
She giggle a little, surging forward and burying her face in his neck. He wrapped his arms around her tightly.
Adam looked over to Crawly, whose mouth was hanging open with shock, and adoration. Adam smiled to him, mouthing thank you.
Crawly nodded, standing to leave.
Crawly walked through the garden for a long time after that, milling everything over.
Adam had left God for Eve.
But why?
He didn't understand.
This was the first time a sacrifice had ever been made for someone else.
It was such a profound act of love- it was idiotic- it was nonsensical- it was something entirely different from anything Crawly had ever seen.
It was something so entirely unique. So achingly human.
Storm clouds began to gather.
Crawly sighed, looking up at the wall above him. He slithered up to it.
At the top of the wall was an angel, who Crawly felt… drawn to. He walked up to stand next to him.
"Well, that went down like a led balloon."
"I'm sorry, what?"
"I said, 'well, that went down like a led balloon.'"