The Death of a Third of Heaven's stars.
Lucifer and Azuriel watched like proud parents as their respective Brother and Guardian awoke. Aziraphale and Raphael blinked sluggishly in the harsh bright light. Azuriel wished she could change the colour of heaven, but Celestial realms were not her jurisdiction. Lucifer grinned in unadulterated joy as he swept his brother into a hug.
“Welcome to Heaven, Brother! You’re just as perfect as I created you!” Lucifer crowed.
Azuriel walked up to Aziraphale and gently pulled him into an embrace.
“Welcome to the land of the living, Aziraphale. I hope that whatever the future holds, it is good for you.” She whispered into his ear. Letting go she walked towards Raphael who started to bow. She caught his arm and raised his face to look at her before pulling him into a similar gentle hug.
“Hello Raphael. Welcome to life. I have great hopes that your future is bright as the star that made you.” She said, pressing a small kiss to the side of his face.
Azuriel glowed as, per her expectations, instead of conforming with her normal sign of claim, Raphael instead formed a twisting black snake Tattoo, whereas Aziraphale had a Dove on his back between his wings. Smiling she patted him once again on his shoulder before stepping back. Turning to look at an ecstatic Lucifer she smiled.
“Why don’t you go and introduce them to the others, my dear? They are the newcomers after all.” Azuriel pushed, hoping to create a good bond between the brothers and the newly created Angels. She could see the natural curiosity in Raphael’s eyes as he looked up to the twinkling stars in awe. Winking at him she whispered as he was led away by an excitable Archangel,
“Come back later and I’ll show you how to craft them”
Raphael’s eyes gleamed.
“And here, my darling, is where you came from. The Serpent’s Constellation.” Azuriel giggles as she watches Raphael’s face glow in wonder.
Azuriel smiles softly as his childlike wonder softens her, inside and out. He was so adorable like this. Placing a large, upturned hand next to him, Raphael steps onto it and sits quietly.
“Do you want to help me make a star?” She whispers, picking him up as she brings him towards her face.
She found that Raphael quite liked being sat in her palm while she was in God size. Smiling again, Raphael nodded rapidly. God above, this Angel was going to make her even soppier than she already was. Bringing her other hand up towards him she squinted her eyes in concentration. She grinned as she heard a small gasp coming from her right hand. Sitting in her left palm was the glowing origin of a new star. Raphael glanced up at Azuriel and down at the star then back at the large Goddess.
“C-can I…?” He stuttered.
Azuriel nodded earnestly. Raphael reached forward to touch it but flinched back so hard he almost fell off her palm. Azuriel frowned, looking at the door that shut them off from Heaven’s main halls. Closing her hand and extinguishing the light, she set Raphael down before shrinking to her humanic height, just a little smaller than Raphael. Moving to stand in front of the timid angel she kept her hand ready to summon her bow at any point. She moved slowly towards the door as the noise behind it stopped. Looking back at Raphael she shrugged before his timid expression turned from one of confusion to one of fear.
“LOOK OUT—” Azuriel felt her head hit the floor as she was shoved out of the way of an Angel with his sword aimed straight at her heart.
Buzzing was all she could hear for a good minute before she straightened up. She started raising a hand to her head before processing the scene before her. Right in front of her eyes was Raphael being held down by two Angels as a third was about to strike his heart with a sword of Holy Fire. Raphael, tear streaming down his face, silently pleaded with her, his eyes screaming ‘Get out of here!’ and then ‘Please help me’. Screaming her rage she leapt to her feet, summoning her bow she didn’t even bother drawing the bowstring. Instead, she jabbed the pointed edge straight through the Angel holding the sword with a screeching cry, twisting it as she pulled it out. The Angel fell to the side, dead. She watched remorselessly as the clous under his body disappeared and he was plunged down into the Abyss. Standing there, before Raphael and his would-be executioners she shook with rage. Finally, when she spoke there was a layered quality to her voice.
“You Angels had better let him go, before I think of a punishment even Falling wouldn’t come close too.” She hissed, her teeth sharpening into fangs in her anger.
The Angels holding Raphael shook in terror and let his arms go, fleeing the scene immediately. Azuriel’s anger quickly dissipated as she took in the state of her dear friend.
“My darling, are you hurt anywhere? Did they do anything else to you?” She dropped to her knees, cupping his face as he tilted it to get a good look at his neck, then she patted down his arms, feeling for any wounds.
She glared at the bruises littering his biceps and healed them right up. She was too busy checking for other wounds to notice, but Raphael had gone pale. Too pale. Pushing the Goddess hands off his arms and grabbing her wrists he startled her into looking into his eyes. Gasping with a sense of desperate urgency Raphael spoke two names.
“Aziraphale, Lucifer.” That was all that was needed to get them both rushing out of their haven and into the blood-soaked halls of a half-damned Heaven.
It took longer than they thought to find Lucifer or Aziraphale. They probably would have got there quicker, could have prevented everything that was about to happen had both Azuriel and Raphael has less of a bleeding heart. Stopping on the way to heal all injured Angels was a slow task and it lost them precious time, but neither of them could just let their brethren suffer. After an undisclosed amount of time, they both made it to the Throne room where the fighting between the most important was happening. Both of the Star-makers were frozen in their tracks as they burst into the great room. At the foot of the throne lay Lucifer, his wounds many and grievous. Standing before him, his own sword out but quaking in fear stood Aziraphale, shouting at the other Archangels to get away and asking, ‘Why are you doing this?’ but to no avail. Time seemed to slow as Uriel, one of the Archangels, raised his sword, intending to strike down Aziraphale. Raphael came out of his stupor and rushed as fast as he could toward his friend as the sword came down. Azuriel could only scream in horror as the blade crashed down and pierced flesh.
“RAPHAEL!!! NO!” Azuriel screamed with such power that the Archangels were thrown back and hit the walls with such force that they were knocked unconscious.
Azuriel ran toward her friends, watching as Aziraphale wailed and crumpled to catch Raphael as he fell over. She witnessed her creation cry and scream as Raphael closed his eyes, his beautiful golden eyes that held nothing but love. Scrambling over to Lucifer she knelt beside him. Breath leaving her and pleading to God over and over she turned him over. His face, as beautiful as ever, lay blank as stone. Placing her hand on his cheek she caressed it with so much care, she thought she would break.
“P-please, Lucifer. Don’t go. You’re my only salvation in this place. What about your brother? You can’t just-just leave him her to rot. Heaven is not place for you or him. You Promised me you would be there for the creation of my Earth! You swore you would come and live down there with me, where no one could touch you! You PROMISED” Azuriel sobbed and screamed, tears of Gold leaking from her pure white eyes.
Looking back, she saw her Angel in a similar state, Raphael still and pale as the moon. Picking Lucifer up she walked over to Raphael and Aziraphale and placed them side by side. Stroking both of their cheeks with the back of her hand she pulled them back to rest in her lap. Tears blurred her vision as the two options came to her. She turned to Aziraphale.
“Aziraphale. T-there are two options to save their lives. You will not like them.” She then softened her voice, wracked with grief. “Option one. Let them be reborn. As Humans. They will have no—” She stuttered before drawing a deep breath. Aziraphale listened through hash sobs. “They will have no memory of us whilst human a-and they will only live once before returning to heaven as spirits. We would never see them again” She whispered the last part, staring down at the brothers. Aziraphale spoke.
“A-and the second?” His voice broke as he understood.
“Yes, my love. They have to Fall. They would keep some of their memories from their life before-b-before the Fall, they would keep their Immortality and supernatural abilities. But they would be Demons.” She hushed.
The concept was frightening, even to her. Aziraphale sucked in a harsh breath. He turned to look at the fallen Angels before them. And then nodded solemnly.
“Very well, Aziraphale. The Archangels shall not remember our interference. You are safe so long as you don’t stray far from their path. I shall also strip your memory of this moment, It is too painful.” She told him, looking into Aziraphale’s dull eyes, seeking consent.
Her creation nodded once again. Sending him a half smile she placed her hands so they were hovering above Lucifer and Raphael’s chests. Azuriel started chanting and the floor beneath their heads started to fall away, like some kind of cruel Halo. Soon enough the hole devoured them. Azuriel whispered a blessing for them to land safely and painlessly. Her blessing did not reach them. Turning back to Aziraphale she snapped her fingers, and his face went blank before his eyes slipped closed.
“Aziraphale, you will wake having had the nicest dream, in your bed. You will think you had missed the fighting, was knocked unconscious by another Angel by accident. You will remember only snippets of Raphael. You will… You will not remember me.” Azuriel felt awful for changing her promise.
He had agreed to erasing the singular memory, not a whole chunk of his life. But it had to be done. For the better of them all.
Azuriel then let herself weep for the death of a third of its angels, and the extinguishing of it two brightest Stars.