This chapter is the definition of crazy. I hope you like it.
Beta: Julie. fjad
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Chapter Fifteen
A perfect storm
He had been sitting in his comfortable chair, in his highly secured office, when he simply vanished.
The foggy texture felt real under his fingertips as he was kneeling before the golden gates, feeling liberation and gloria, freedom from all the worries and heavy burdens.
It had never felt better.
"Is that convincing enough, Mycroft?" The voice that asked him the question belonged to someone he had believed to be fictional.
Now, however… Angels and demons existed, just as Heaven and Hell, and he, Mycroft Holmes, was now in Heaven with an archangel as his company.
He would make an appointment with Dr. Darrymore— PhD in Criminal Psychiatry—to check on his mental health as soon as this possible hallucination ended.
The problem was he knew it was no hallucination.
At his nod, the archangel smiled and snapped his fingers, making them disappear and reappear in a spacey room with two large sofas and clouds as accessories.
"You are the first human I have brought to Heaven just for a visit. Don't get too used to the heavenly atmosphere, you'll be back on the battlefield to defend the human race straight after our conversation is over." The archangel looked like a man around his forties, with kind but hard brown eyes, and light brown hair, dressed in a long, white tunic with red linings, and sandals. Mycroft hoped Michael would answer a few of his questions.
"The human race is endangered?" Well, he knew that himself, but he still hoped it was reversible.
"I am afraid it is." The archangel wasn't joking or messing around, and Mycroft felt goosebumps run down his arms.
"How?"
"I will tell you something and you make the conclusions, alright?"
The archangel showed towards the sofa, offering Mycroft a seat, which he took eagerly; considering his worldview and knowledge were shattering apart, he needed to sit.
In Heaven.
Dear Lord, why was this happening?
"I am listening." Mycroft looked at the figure of the man with large, white wings behind his back. They were at least two meters long each, and looked very impressive. Now that he had finally accepted that this wasn't magic as he knew it from the wizards, Mycroft could start re-building the bigger picture.
"The world is on the brink of destruction, and unfortunately for you, not everyone in Heaven wants to continue with the current human race, and therefore they are enabling our fallen brother, whom you had the pleasure of meeting today." Michael paused and Mycroft's breath hitched as he understood just whom he had spoken to today.
He had believed the Minister to be an imposter, but 'The Devil' hadn't been on his list of the possible scheme candidates. He didn't believe he existed.
And he had spoken to him today.
Sherlock would lose his mind if he found out.
"You are truly exceptional, Mycroft. It pleases me my gift has not been wasted." He just couldn't comprehend the fact that this was truly the archangel Michael and they were in Heaven.
This is crazy!
"Your gift?" How was he supposed to talk to an archangel who happened to be the famous Michael?
"Crazy is what is happening in the world. You know that better than others. Anyway, if you think you're so exceptionally smart only thanks to your DNA, then think again." Michael took a seat on the opposite sofa, and took a sip of tea which tasted simply phenomenal.
Great, his brains were also not his...
"They are yours, I just gave my blessing." He knew he was staring but what else to do at a declaration like that? "Back to business if you don't mind…" Michael was very polite and had a constant angelic aura that was overbearing at some moments. "You are facing two problems, Mycroft, one being the direct cause of the other. Lucifer will try to wreak havoc as much as he can, with Gabriel helping from the other side. My sister may say she isn't working with Lucifer, but she is.
"Why?" Why would an archangel co-operate with the devil? Wasn't she supposed to be the good one?
Corruption?
"That's a bit harsh. Gabriel doesn't comprehend what she is doing because she's blinded by her love for our Father and hurt for not being in his presence for such a long time. She believes only our nephew can help with the current situation, and considering she has been trying to force his hand for at least a few hundred years…" Michael nodded at the questions in his eyes, and Mycroft felt so human, so simple and vulnerable…
"Our nephew is the boy you know as Harry Potter."
Here we go…
"He is dangerous, Mycroft."
If an archangel was telling him the boy was dangerous, then the boy was beyond dangerous. Was the boy the reason he was here?
"Yes. You stand no chance, Mycroft, and I don't really like it. I want you to fight, to not give up, to defeat the undefeatable. If I don't help you, it's over."
"Why don't you simply stop him, then? You're Michael, the all-powerful archangel, why don't you try to put an end to something you describe as the end for humanity?" This wasn't a typical conversation with one of the gold fishes, and Mycroft was honest and fully invested like never before in his life.
Michael thinned his lips, his eyes were hard and one eyebrow was raised in question. "Why should I protect you, if you don't even believe I exist? Tell me, Mycroft, I would really like to know the answer to this question that I have been asking myself over and over again."
"Because you're an angel." He sounded retarded to his own ears, but he had no other explanation as to why. He didn't understand that himself, if he had to be honest. Most British people also didn't know Mycroft existed, but there he was, worrying and saving their lives, without getting anything in return.
"Funny." Michael stopped drilling him with the hard gaze that went right through to the bones, and looked somewhere above. "He is not my enemy, therefore I shall not use my powers to stop him. And before you ask, even if I wanted to, I couldn't. His powers were given to him for a reason, and I cannot compare to that. He has a license to kill, signed by our father, and there is not much I can do against it."
He was afraid now. He truly was, because it didn't look too good.
"Who is he?"
God's James Bond...
"He is as old as I am. While he is supernatural, he's not an angel and not a demon, he's something completely neutral. He has fans like Gabriel and Lucifer, and his mother..." Mycroft was looking for any clues in the brown eyes of the archangel, blinking only when he comprehended what Michael had said.
"A scythe?" He didn't need an answer from his conversationalist, he understood it himself what Harry Potter's mother was.
The archangel seemed to be deep in thoughts before finally focusing his gaze on Mycroft.
"I'll show you."
The quiet room disappeared to be replaced by the sounds of a large megapolis and the next second Mycroft's feet landed on polished pavement of a very interesting looking crystal city, seeing people on the streets as if he was casually standing somewhere in London.
"We are in my memory, Mycroft, to see my nephew. I find that showing him once could be much more beneficial than explaining and imagining, when dealing with people like you."
Why were all the buildings so weirdly shaped? Were they actually spherical?
Xxx
He had been in his bed, and that meant it was again a dream. He had had a very hard day today, with Pansy Parkinson and Hermione Granger fighting in Slytherin dormitories before breakfast and creating problems where they weren't needed, especially now, when Potter's insane adult-memory could wreak havoc any minute.
Severus looked at the weirdly shaped buildings and looked around, knowing whom to look for.
Potter was nowhere to be seen, and Severus decided to look around, since he was dreaming anyway.
The day was extremely sunny, with a few sparse white clouds and warm breeze, the sunrays illuminating the whole city in light from the crystal buildings. Severus had never seen anything as beautiful before, and he marvelled at it while listening to elegant music that seemed to come from everywhere.
The city was magical, but it was a far cry from Diagon Alley. Their magical London was the complete opposite of this city, and he tried in vain to find any indicators as to where exactly he was.
Above were at least fifty rows up of cars, with enormous air interchanges, and Severus shook his head in amazement.
He had never heard of this place, and it had never existed. The level of technology seemed much higher than in their muggle world as well.
Severus stopped near a shop with large screens, and with a pleased smile, he saw the news broadcast.
A weirdly-dressed, red-eyed, pink-and-blonde female with no wrinkles and pouty lips was showing her white teeth in a friendly smile, and Severus was all ears.
"Today the new law was approved by the Sovereign Senate, and before you start cheering, at least listen to it fully, zizzu-zuzzu, people?" Apparently, this 'zizu-whatever' was similar to British 'alright'. What a crazy world Potter had in his head...
Sovereign Senate…
Severus heard a lot of cheering from the nearby passers, and intrigued, he listened further.
"Now, our dear viewers, you can purchase up to seven female slaves and ten men, meaning two more each!" The pretty blonde with pouty lips was smiling in joy together with the people on the streets, and Severus continued listening, horrified at what he was hearing.
"The Slave show with be held live, today, on AST. It's the event of the month and every celebrity will be there, along with the fans of the show, so don't go anywhere, we'll be right back, after a small commercial break."
Severus was silently looking at the monitors, calming himself with the idea that it was just a dream, even if Potter inspired.
On the screen, appeared beautiful children of different ages and then a kind and professional looking man in his sixties.
"All the organs you need, selected for your specific needs, for only seventy to ninety credits. Fresh and healthy, that is how we must strike to be. Don't let yourself get old, get a new set of organs now and save credits!"
Severus looked away as one picture of open ribcage was shown, and wondered if this was hell.
The next commercial showed a ruined city with destroyed buildings and hordes of hungry people before it changed to palaces with crystals everywhere.
The text appeared and a soft voice read it with intonations that made Severus hold back a snarl.
"Having a bad day? Lazy slaves ruining your morning? Then listen here! Two slaves for the price of one, only today. Don't miss your chance to a deal of your lifetime! At Madform now!" Everyone around him rushed towards one destination, and Severus thought it was the same Madform where the slaves were being sold.
This city looked beautiful but it was the worst place he knew. It was more disgusting than Azkaban.
The sun disappeared, and Severus looked up, to see dark clouds gather from all the sides, lightings striking in spider webs. The warm breeze was replaced by ice cold wind, and he heard people scream in panic.
The earth shook under his feet, its vibrations making the glass and crystals cling, creating a sound that was getting louder and louder, and he was alert in a second. The ground was shaking steadily, before the power of the shakes went up in some places, and soon the whole buildings were swallowed by the holes that had appeared in the ground.
He ran towards safety, even if the shaking did not stop, his heart beating wildly, even if it was a dream, it felt horrible now. One of the most terrifying nightmares he had ever experienced, Severus thought, as he looked up.
The cars were now crashing into, and falling onto each other, the magical barrier being the only thing that separated them from the ground and pedestrians, like Severus.
The ground was shaking, the cars were all falling down like bugs, but that wasn't what made Severus freeze. His heart was beating too fast, and it was hard to breathe when he saw the waves above, surrounding the city from all sides. Huge, simply enormous waves stood tall, as if waiting for something, hovering high above the crystal city which was being destroyed by the earthquake. Severus was standing on a street that was partially damaged, and looked down at a particularly hard shake, removing his eyes from the waves only for a second. When he looked back, he screamed in terror as the waves were now rushing down, towards the city and him.
It is a dream.
A dream.
Severus heard the screams all around him, the once beautiful city drowning in them when he felt the impact of the wave.
He woke up with a scream, spasmodically breathing and clutching his hand to his heart. Only after getting a few deep breaths, Severus noticed his other hand was clutching a wet envelope.
When you visit a place, it is a custom to take a souvenir with you.
Severus quickly opened the envelope and took out the souvenir.
On a beautifully shaped magnet was a picture of the crystal city, clearly magical, as it was like a miniature figure with flying cars and the large golden gates he had seen in Potter's memory. The same gates that fell onto the city when the waves crashed.
The name of the city was closed with a plaster, and still breathing hard from the nightmare, Severus tore the plaster off.
ATLANTIS
Xxx
Mycroft darted forward when he saw Jim Moriarty stand near a tall figure, dressed in black, and was held back by Michael, who seemed pissed now.
"I cannot believe it!" The archangel was now muttering through his teeth, clearly unhappy with the yellow-eyed man who held Moriarty's elbow, smiling sweetly.
"My all-time favourite brother! What a coincidence!" The yellow-eyed man laughed out loud, pointing at Michael with an index finger, beckoning them closer.
Brother of Michael who looked creepy and wasn't very beloved…
Dear Lord!
"Now that's how you address me, Michael! Learn from Mycroft while you still can." The Devil was cackling, dragging white-faced Moriarty with him, moving towards the rows of people, dressed in white, black or grey clothes.
"Lucifer, what is he doing here?" Mycroft also would like to know the answer to the question, since last time he had seen Moriarty, the man had been heartless—literally—and half-dead.
Now they were also approaching the crowds on the hill, overlooking a shining, crystal city.
"Michael, what is he doing here?" Lucifer mimicked the other archangel, blinking rapidly at Mycroft, yellow eyes shining with glee. He had spoken to this 'person' already.
"Why do you always have to do things to piss me off? Why are you such a fucker?!" Even white-faced Moriarty, who apparently, had no clue where he was, or who he was with, looked surprised at the exclamation.
"I am a fucker? You are a fucker, Michael, for turning against me!"
"You have always been insane, but I loved you too much to notice just how insane you truly are!"
"No fighting, boys, today is a good day. Finally." Nothing should surprise him anymore, even a tall, blonde woman with shining blue eyes and large, white wings behind her back.
"Gabi, you look amazing today, sister!" Lucifer made a movement to hug the woman, who with a sneer, looked at Michael instead. "Mycroft Holmes…Are you serious, Michael?" Everybody here knew him, or so it seemed, and could read thoughts, which wasn't what he was used to.
"Lucifer dragged the bastard who had broken a Seal to watch, and you're not asking why. What do you think Lucifer can discuss with number two on his black list?" If Moriarty was number two, Mycroft wasn't sure he wanted to meet the number one.
Who could it be? Then again, what exact criteria were used to get into the list was also unknown, and Mycroft for a second felt he was going crazy.
"I don't care, Michael, let him. I am here to enjoy the memory," Gabriel answered with a lazy wave of her wing, and smiled at Mycroft.
"You want him to succeed, you want him," Michael pointed at the confused Moriarty, "to continue. He's a monster, Gabriel, have a little bit of dignity!"
"What do you want me to do? He is not ours and Lucifer cannot take him. Look at the mark on his hand and then babble about morality and dignity, brother." Mycroft managed to see a symbol of what resembled a four on Moriarty's wrist that was quickly taken by Michael.
He had so many questions...When he lifted his eyes from the mark, he met Moriarty's gaze and he saw it there too- for the first time in their lives they were nothing here. They were human, no matter how smart.
"Is that the Devil?" He so wanted to smack his fist into Moriarty's face, however, it was the expression on the said face that fascinated him. At Moriarty's whisper, all three supernatural guests looked at each other and then at the crowd which was getting larger and larger.
"No, that's the Queen."
Snickering, Devil waved at Moriarty and winked. "Hi, darling!"
"Is that for real?" Moriarty's question was mirrored in his own head, as Mycroft noticed that the crowds on the hill were parting, allowing a figure in a grey cloak to stand at the front, the scythe shining in the sun.
"Is that…?"
"Yes."
It looked like he and Moriarty understood each other very well, as they both were staring at Death with wide eyes.
"Who is the boy?" Mycroft whispered to the-one-who-should-be-dead, only to hear a whisper back.
"What?"
"Harry Potter, your friend. What is he?"
"One of them, I think." Moriarty nodded with his head towards the crowd.
"So you don't even know?" How can someone be so careless?
"Harry does not know himself who or what he is. I know that he doesn't die easily, though." Jim smiled his innocent but crazy smile and Mycroft almost shook his head.
Surprise. Not.
"What have you done?"
"He broke the second seal," Lucifer answered the question instead of Moriarty, and even added a small "Thanks."
"I did what?" Moriarty was shaking his head, as if denying everything, even when all three supernatural beings looked at him with raised eyebrows.
"Did you shoot Harry Potter in the head three times?" Gabriel smiled a sweet smile, as if thankful.
Moriarty was silent, wincing, and Mycroft's horrifying realisation was written all over his face.
"Yep, that was me."
"The boy cannot be killed?" Mycroft asked Moriarty who mouthed a silent but large "No", rounding his sparkling eyes.
"He's the only one with full authority from our father, so what did you expect?" Gabriel wasn't even looking at them, instead inspecting the city below.
"What authority?" Jim Moriarty was truly interested in the answer and thinned his lips and eyes at the answer Mycroft had already known.
"To kill."
The lightning stroke came from out of nowhere, hitting the ground nearby.
"Where are we?"
Mycroft looked over at Moriarty, who had asked a question again, and then to where the madman was looking. The crowds on the hill parted, creating three groups, in white, grey and black.
Angels, demons and the grey were…
"Reapers," Michael smiled at the silent question and then winced, looking somewhere up.
"Finally," Gabriel muttered, while throwing her hands in the air, and going towards the group in white, leaving Lucifer and Michael with him and Moriarty alone, not bothering to answer the question about their location.
"Our nephew is here," Lucifer sang in a happy voice, looking at the moving figure, which had appeared with the hit of the lightning. A shimmering, hooded cloak was covering the face of the newcomer, who held something in his right hand. Only at Moriarty's spasmodic movement, which caused him to fall onto his knees, Mycroft looked away from the hooded figure.
"Now we'll be good boys and stay behind that sceptre, not directly in front of it." The Devil quickly dragged both him and Moriarty behind the newcomer, allowing Michael to approach them from the side, sidestepping the direct path of the sceptre the man was holding. His elbow burnt like mad the second the Devil touched him; the eerie yellow eyes shining with maleficent thoughts as the Devil- Sherlock just would not believe him- looked over his face.
"Sad that you're not mine, Mycroft. Should I say 'yet'?"
Thank God…
"Hands off!" Lucifer received a shove from Michael and let Mycroft's elbow go, allowing the archangel to heal everything with just a simple touch that felt so good.
"Time."
One word, and almost everything around him seemed to freeze in time, allowing to watch only the cloaked figure, who now held the sceptre that resembled Saturn in vertical position, the outer ring of the sceptre twirling faster and faster. The air became cold and the clouds appeared from nowhere, completely hiding the sun.
Spiderwebs of lightning were illuminating the now black sky, hitting the ground more and more often. The wind changed from a warm breeze to cold, biting blows, growing in power more and more.
The time seemed to halt completely when the outer ring of the sceptre slowed down before it fully stopped twirling.
"The balance cannot be restored, so according to the procedure, I initiate the countdown." Mycroft looked away from the man, who seemed to be talking to the sceptre in a rather bored voice, to gaze over archangel Gabriel, who seemed to have problems with standing quietly. She was half-jumping in anticipation, while Michael stood quietly, eyes cast down in silent prayer.
Moriarty, who had managed to get up from his sudden and unexpected kneeling position, grabbed Mycroft's hand.
"What the hell is going on?" Moriarty's face had traces of fear that Mycroft wasn't sure he himself had managed to hide that well from Jim's smart eyes.
"He's our reset button." Lucifer's face was centimeters away from theirs, and Mycroft shivered at the same time Moriarty did. He wasn't the only afraid here, it seemed.
The suspicion of what the man with the sceptre could be crawled into his brain and then hit directly into the heart. People call it a panic attack, and he was going to get one now, especially after reading the same conclusion in Moriarty's shining, insane eyes.
He wasn't sure if it was ecstasy or terror he saw there. Or both.
The sceptre in the man's hand shone bright white, and an aura of power far greater than simple magic washed all over them, before collecting all its rays in one pulsing ball of light at the tip of the sceptre.
"Zero." Now the man's voice was clear and commanding, the shimmering cloak billowing in the wind, and with the sceptre that even archangels tried to avoid, he looked more than dangerous.
The pulsing with the light ball exploded and rushed towards the city, destroying everything on its path. The crystal city was being crushed from all sides, the sounds of crystal breaking was in background of the screams that flew up to the hill where they stood.
The power of destruction was unimaginable; earth shaking and wind with fire were tearing the large city apart.
When the waters that surrounded the city rose into soldier-like waves, standing so high Mycroft could not see the tip of the wave, he and Moriarty could only stare in silence, everything they saw confirming their assumptions.
When the waves crashed, destroying the city with brutality none had seen before, Mycroft closed his eyes and accepted the fact that if his world wanted to live, they would have to somehow stop the destructive power of Apocalypse, for the end was closer than they had ever imagined, and he was looking at him now.
"He's perfect, isn't he?" The Devil took out a large tome and laughed. "I simply loved Atlantis, but not many souls left to buy, soooo boring."
God save them.
Apocalypse was real and he was here.
Xxx
a/n I think Yikes! is more appropriate than Oops! Told you Harry was powerful ;)
Dear guest and everyone who bothered to spend a minute and leave me a note , thank you so much! I miss Voldemort and Lucius, so the next chapter is theirs. Maybe not, we'll see. Till later!