The Angel's Curse

Revelations, Part Four

Essie watched as Anathema returned to the front of the shop, followed by Aziraphale and Crowley. The two walked close to each other, their arms brushing. Evidently she had been correct in assuming things had gone well.

"We're cool, demon?" she said expectantly.

Crowley looked at her. "Yeah," he replied, a trifle warily.

"Right, so everything is fine, we're all caught up?" asked Anathema, reclaiming her spot next to Essie on the sofa.

"I'm not," piped up Adam indignantly. "Nobody told me anything."

Everyone in the room stared at him in silence for a moment.

"Adam, you're the Antichrist," said Aziraphale pointedly.

The boy looked thoughtful. "Oh yeah," he mumbled, a bit sheepishly.

Another short pause followed. Then Crowley asked quietly, "So what do we do?"

Everyone looked to Essie. She was staring silently at the floor. Upon noticing the attention, she flicked her gaze up.

"Yeah, there's a thing I didn't mention," she said. "I don't work for Heaven. Or Hell. And neither does my mother." She paused as though to say more, then didn't.

Aziraphale blinked. "Would you mind elaborating a bit?"

"She has her own agenda," Essie began. "She wants to start the war up again."

"Yeah, we know," said Crowley testily. Then he thought over what she'd just said. "Wait, what d'you mean, 'her own agenda?'"

"She wants Heaven and Hell to obliterate each other," interjected Adam. "She wants nothin' t'be left, nothin' but Earth."

Essie nodded. "Exactly. Okay, how to explain... So basically she wants to protect the Earth. She hates Heaven and Hell more than anyone. She hates them because they're always 'messin' about' with Humanity. She just wants them—us—to be left alone." As she said the word "us," she gave Crowley and Aziraphale a look as if to say "yeah, us supernaturals too." The three of them had chosen their side—they were human. Neither here nor there.

Color splashed on a world of monochrome.

"But why though? It just doesn't make any sense," said Anathema. "If the war starts up again, it'll destroy Earth, won't it?"

"Yes!! THANK YOU!!!!!!" cried Essie, throwing her hands up. "I've told her that, and she says she's got a plan for that, but i don't think she really understands it."

Aziraphale blinked, then said slowly, "How much time have we got? You said that Hell is preparing to dispatch the first wave. We need to stop that from happening."

"I don't know exactly how long we have. But it's safe to say not much."

"What you're saying is that Veranine believes that she is doing the right thing. That makes her very, very dangerous," pointed out Crowley. "So we need to convince her that what she's doing is wrong?"

Essie shook her head. "That's not going to happen."

"Well we have to do something!" Crowley hissed, growing more agitated by the minute. "How is this even our bloody problem anyway? All I ask, all I've ever wanted is just to live in peace!" He concluded this outburst with a huffy little snort and smoldered behind his sunglasses.

Essie regarded him coolly with her eyes narrowed slightly. "If you want to live here, then it is very much your problem."

Crowley snorted, folding his arms and looking away.

"Well, anyway, something must be done. And soon," said Aziraphale, hyperaware of the tension.

"This is the third time we've established this, we know we have to do something," sighed Essie, pushing her hand through her hair.

"We could expose Veranine..." suggested Crowley, still glaring sullenly at a bookshelf as if it had done him some deep and personal wrong.

"Yes but it may not make any difference," Aziraphale countered. "One way or another, they want the war. They won't care."

Anathema spoke up from the couch. "We could warn Hell," she said quietly.

"Didn't you hear him??" Crowley looked to be on the verge of breaking beneath the stress of the situation. "They aren't going to care—"

"Shut up!"

Everyone turned in unison to stare at Adam, who was on his feet and looking upset. "You grown-ups, you just stand around debating what to do and bickering among y'selves, an' nothin' ever gets done! This is why they wanted me to end the worl' in the first place, this is!"

There was stunned silence, except for a yip and a low growl from Dog.

"And you're forgetting something." Adam pointed at Aziraphale. "He's mortal now, and I can't fix it. So if you all try to go to Heaven or Hell, he'll die."