Disclaimer: I own very little.

A/N: Look! Look! I only have 3 more chapters to post! And one of them is mostly written, too. :is feeling very proud of herself:

Oh, and about that cliffhanger thing? ...I lied. Well. Didn't foresee the end of this chapter. Whatever.

Chapter 22:

Silent Salvation

For a moment there was just silence. Pregnant, absolute silence that was pressuring them all to say something, yet nobody dared to speak up first, everybody waiting for somebody else to make a move.

Finally, though, Uriel stepped forward, drawing one of the swords from his belt -- the one with a round emerald on the hilt. Throwing it whirling right upwards, he then grasped on the blade as it came back down. Taking another few steps forward, he then offered the sword to Crowley, the hilt first.

"I vowed that I would never let this fall in the hands of a demon," the dark-haired archangel said levelly. "Though there's little to be said for certain at the moment, I am indeed certain you are not one anymore."

Wordlessly Crowley accepted the sword, his eyes locked at those of his elder brother. Still not looking away from Uriel, he put the sword onto his belt and, very carefully, still trembling slightly, rose to his feet.

For a moment there was silence again as Crowley eyed the four archangels challengingly, Aziraphale standing warily beside him. At last, the silence was broken as Uriel spoke once more.

"Shall you believe now?" asked the archangel quietly. "Or do you demand yet more evidence?"

Crowley raised an eyebrow, only barely managing to keep his expression in control. "So it was you in that church?" he asked quietly. "But of course. The Angel of Salvation, aren't you?"

"That is indeed one of my tasks, yes," Uriel replied levelly. "But no, I wasn't the one to meet at you at that church. I wasn't informed of those events until shortly afterwards, and I must admit that I was rather doubtful anything would ever happen." He raised an eyebrow as well. "And that's because no holy change can be brought upon a creature of evil unless they initiate a manifestation of holy power first."

Now Michael stepped forward, too, while Gabriel stayed back, supporting his lover. "You successfully blessed the falling snow, and thus proved yourself indeed worthy of Rising," he said. "Try to find it in yourself to accept forgiveness, Crowley... Carowiel. I'd like to have you in my ranks once more."

Just as Crowley was about to speak, though, another voice spoke up. "Wait!" Gabriel called out, now casting Crowley a sharp look. "Before this goes any further, I must ask one question." Locking his eyes at the golden-freckled ones, he asked quietly, "Why did you once kill Aziraphale in such a cowardly way?"

For another moment it was absolutely silent. Raphael looked shocked and the other archangels just grim. Aziraphale's expression was unreadable. Crowley, however, just lowered his gaze.

"I... I heard some older angels of my side talking," he said quietly. "They planned to take Aziraphale down by unfairly attacking him many at once. He wouldn't have survived it, there was no way he could have... But he was such a good fighter, he'd been able to hold them back for some time. His death would have been slow and painful." Raising his eyes at Gabriel, he said, "I wanted to save him from the pain."

The silence that was already getting pretty familiar with the scene returned once again. Then, Crowley turned to look at Aziraphale. "Doesn't this shock you at all, angel?" he asked sharply.

Now, a slight smile rose to Aziraphale's lips. "My dear, I knew it," he said, shocking pretty much everyone present. "Did you really think I wouldn't recognize your aura? Divine or not, I knew immediately that it was you behind me. Sure, it did shock me that you actually killed me in such a manner, and I was very bitter afterwards. However, over time I came to believe that you probably had a good reason for it, especially as you started to show some signs of having a tiny decent being somewhere deep inside. I have never questioned you about it because I figured I would find out with time if I was meant to find out. And I did."

Gabriel's wary expression turned into a broad smile. "Aww. The power of true love," he sighed, drawing Raphael closer to himself. "You two sure do make a cute couple in the end!"

Uriel, however, ignored his fellow archangel's words. Instead, he looked at Crowley. "Crowley... Carowiel," he said, sounding more hesitant than any of those present had ever heard -- which practically meant that he was more hesitant than ever before. "You have now received the evidence you demanded. Your wings are white, the marks of your demonic nature are away. The fire you summon is divine, your armour is silver, you even have your sword. After all this... Do you wish to have your sins forgiven?"

The silence came back, decided to rest for a bit, and lay down for a nap. Nobody said anything.

Then, very slowly, Crowley spoke.

Next chapter:

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