The Archangels has gathered many times since the End of the World distinctly did not happen. They puzzled and pondered, debated and discussed.
They raged, seethed and drowned in their anger.
Why had the War been averted? How? How could a single angel and Demon, a group of human children, and a wayward Antichrist destroy an endless amount of time spent planning and preparing?
It was Gabriel, surprisingly enough, who was able to draw a conclusion that seemed halfway plausible. It was not a surprising thing because Gabriel was the one to come up with an explanation, but rather that his conclusion managed to do the one thing Gabriel had happily avoided throughout his command over the Principality Aziraphale: it did not underestimate the soft Angel.
âWhat else could it be? Aziraphale has always asked questions ever since he was created. Perhaps that was his purpose all along.â
âAre you saying that questioning his orders has been his strength this whole time?â Michaelâs expression was hard to discern as it typically was. Gabriel was unused to it being aimed in his direction. He hastened to explain.
âWhat I am saying is that perhaps there is more to Aziraphale than we see. He was left on Earth for so long,â
âHe volunteered,â Sandalaphon serenely cut in, never appearing bothered but with an undercurrent of steel to his voice that echoed the centuries that had passed since the last time his service of smiting the wicked was called upon. It made for a calm face that barely covered a pent up frustration.
âHe was there with only a demon for company,â Gabriel continued, undeterred. âHe was down there and we were up here. What if we missed something? What if She spoke to him and we never knew? He was the last to hear from her.â
Here Gabriel broke off. The group stood in silence as they recalled what the reports following the days after the Not End of the World- the reports that revealed an overheard conversation where Aziraphale quietly admitted to the Demon Crowley that he had been asked by God what had become of his flaming sword outside of Eden. There was no reason Aziraphale would lie. âNot to his precious demon at least,â Gabriel thought privately with a dull voice. He did not say so out loud. They all knew it to be true after seeing how Aziraphale and that demon were together. Gabriel felt a tiredness settle on his shoulders at the private acknowledgment of the ineffable bond the two seemed to have, but determinedly did not pursue that line of thought. He spoke up again,
âWe have missed something. Something that has to do with Aziraphale.â
Uriel shifted, recalling the stammering and nervous Principality staring at her with wide eyes as she looked down at him. âIf She spoke to him again, either He was instructed to keep it to himself or he was too scared to approach us.â Her gaze did not move up from where it was resting on the ground.
Silence again. What was worse- that She chose to speak with a simple, dithering, human loving Principality (but he wasnât simple or dithering at the end, was he?) and keep it a secret or that one of their own (he was still one of them, wasnât he? He had not Fallen and he still performed miracles down on Earth. His love for Her still shined like a star) was so scared of his fellow angels that he did not come to them.
âWhatever has happened, it has to do with him.â Gabrielâs voice was regaining the commanding tone of the leader he was meant to be as he latched onto his idea with all the desperation of someone lost at sea seeing land in the distance. With an explanation for the unthinkable events that had unfolded came room to plan and prepare once again. Preparation led to clearly defined boundaries set in place. That was an environment Gabriel thrived in.
âHe has not Fallen despite keeping company with a demon,â None of them liked to say Crowleyâs name if they could avoid it. âHe continues to do miracles in Her name even though we have not assigned him jobs.â
âIt does make sense,â Michael agreed.
âIt could be that he knew something all along,â Uriel murmured, still gazing downwards.
âHmm.â An agreeable enough sounding hum from Sandalphon.
âBesides,â Gabriel finished with his jovial tone slowly returning, âwhat other explanation is there? Itâs not as if the demon could be significant enough to interfere with the Great Plan on its own.â
The agreements this time round were blessed with more enthusiasm. As if the Demon Crowley could do anything to truly go against the Will of God. No, it had to be something they were missing on the Heavenly side of things, which meant it fell to their own wayward member of the Heavenly Host by default if nothing else.
(They ignored a certain temptation involving a certain apple tree. They also did not address a certain carefree bath in holy water.)
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I ainât no writing wizard, so punctuation and grammar errors abound in my household!
I was bouncing ideas off friends about what the archangels would do next after what we saw in the show. We all agreed they would be frazzled to say the least. Then I had a ball picturing what mental acrobatics they would go through to try to explain things in a way that still fit their worldview. One thing led to another and we ended at a scenario of the archangels trying to get Aziraphale back into their fold, and going about it in just frankly terrible ways. Ended up with the little doodle above. I imagine that the above conversation took place, which in turn led to shenanigans, which then led to Aziraphale having a really hard time. Who knows where Crowley is while Gabrielâs spearheading the charge to bring Aziraphale back under heel. Itâs possible that Hell was roped into distracting Crowley so that Gabriel has his chance to be the Worldâs Worst Ex-Boss. The level of sincerity the Archangels have is left up to the reader.
I am personally tickled at the thought of Heaven considering every possible avenue of thought as long as it doesnât involve acknowledging that The Demon Crowley is impressive in his own right and that the outcast, weird Principality Aziraphale is perfectly content without their Heavenly approval.
