Chapter Eleven
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"Dear?" asked Aziraphale as he followed Crowley down the steps.
"Yes?"
"You do realise that, according to what you told me, we'll hardly be able to hear each other down there, don't you?"
"Angel, I know we'll hardly be able to hear ourselves down there."
"So we're clear on the plan, then?"
"Yes, we've been over this. Jump into the pit, land on the heart, locate the main arteries, and chop them wide open. Simple. And when the heart's dead, we'll get out powers back and then we'll be able to fly out of here. Job done."
"...oh, God."
"What is it?"
"Crowley, can you honestly believe any of this is actually happening? That we're even having this conversation? Crowley... Are we even still sane?"
Crowley turned, stopped Aziraphale, and said, "Angel. You'll be fine. We'll both be. Because when we get home, we're going to talk about this, all of it, until we've got it sorted out. So even if our sanity's taken a punch, it'll get better. We'll be okay, angel. Trust me."
"You know I do. Always."
"...let's just keep going."
"Of course, dear boy."
"And don't let go of my hand until it's absolutely necessary."
"I won't."
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With every pressure on its surface, the heart began to beat a little faster, a current of blind, mindless feral panic swelling in its veins. The small hot burning thing from earlier had merely pricked and confused it, but this was something more.
"Crowley, I can't keep standing on this thing!"
"Keep going, we're almost there!"
The heart couldn't understand the meaning of the sound vibrations its sensitive membranes were picking up, but it knew that they weren't as high as the ones from the food things its servant usually brought it. These were different things, and the heart was afraid for the first time in its existence.
"But this is... this is enormous!"
"I told you!"
But the heart had never felt fear before, and, dumb animal that it was, failed to grasp what it might presage. It grew tired of the unknown, tiringly strong feeling, and simply forgot about it in favour of hunger. Hunger, it was comfortable with. Hunger, it did understand. It was hungry. It would send out its servant for more food.
"Oh, thank goodness, it's easing down!"
"Good, because here we are! Cut in!"
Food much food and oh no what this no couldn't pain blood the blood the blood pain...
"Don't stop!"
"I'm not!"
Wider wider wider and it hurt it hurt it hurt it hurt it...
"Crowley!"
"Aziraphale!"
Blood spasm blood spasm blood spurting pain pain pain stop blood no couldn't was going to blood flow contraction spasm blood draw in what it could more more the blood...
"Grab my ha-"
The heart swelled like a balloon, shuddered, and burst.
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No-one in the area around the forest was awake to see the enormous red geyser shooting a hundred feet into the air that night. Even if they had been, they'd have thought they were dreaming.