Sorry for the delay, my cat had babies last week, and we had to also get our male cat fixed, so its been a busy week.
...
Time moves much differently for immortal beings from the dawn of time, it was rather easy to lose track of the time, and a mere eleven years can go by much faster than they can even realize. And now it was the eve of William the Anti-Christ's birthday.
Both Aziraphale and Crowley were on edge, sitting across from each other at a table in the angel's study. As far as they could tell, everything was going as planned. Neither heaven nor hell were aware of the ruse they had pulled on them. As far as THEY knew the Dowling child was hell's master, ready to come into his powers in less than a day.
"So the hell-hound is due to show up around three tomorrow, right?"
"Yup. Supposed to be the biggest and meanest of the newest litter, bred specifically for the boy." Crowley scowled into his glass. "it's supposed to be there by his side, to protect him and all that."
"Ah, I see."
"Yeah, he's supposed to name it, and whatever he names it, it becomes. Stalks-by-night, Throat-ripper, anything like that. But if we did this right, he should just send it off with no name."
"And if he DOES name it?"
"Eh, well, you know." Crowley frowned, decidedly not looking at his friend. He waved his hand about, "At that point there would be nothing we can do. It would all be over."
Neither them liked that thought, and neither of them saw any other way to ensure the prevention of the end of the world. They decided very long ago, that even the most extreme alternative to their plan was out of the question. All they can do now, is just to wait and see.
...
They had decided to have a fun time, despite the fear of things to come. It was a birthday, and it's not every day you turn eleven. And even though Aziraphale's idea to celebrate at home. wasn't necessarily a bad one, there could have been load's they could have done on their little plot of land, Crowley had thought it would have been better to be away from their home, lest the wrong people follow the hell hound and realize the ruse. He had thought it would be safer at the amusement park. They could easier watch out for a large hellish beast. Plus considering that it was late August, it was cooler in climate so there wasn't that many people at the park either. Less of a chance of something going wrong; or at least that was the demon's thought.
And so they waited, and it was a rather fun time, they made sure that William enjoyed his eleventh birthday. They had always kept an eye out, all throughout his life even, for any signs of reality-altering powers, and though they had never SEEN any outward obvious signs of any thing of the sort, they could still show up at any point.
Or so they thought.
Three o'clock came. And went... By 3:30, they both had realized something must be wrong. And the only way for them to find out, was for Crowley to contact hell, which was not something he could do with Aziraphale and William in the car, so on the way home they stopped for some ice cream. The demon watched as the two of them went to the back of the line to purchase their treats, and fiddled with the radio until Freddie Mercury's voice switched from singing 'Under Pressure,' To a speaking voice to one of the demon's down in hell.
"Hello Crowley."
"Um. Hi. Who's this?" Crowley asked, eyes drawn out the window to Aziraphale and William waiting in line for ice cream.
"Dagon. Lord of the Files. Master of Torments."
"Yeah. Just checking in about the hell-hound...
"He was released over a half hour ago. He should be with you by now. Why? Has something gone wrong, Crowley?"
Crowley's heart started pounding. "Wrong? No... Nothing's wrong. What could be wrong? Oh, there it is, I can see it now. What a lovely, big, helly hell-hound. Yep. Great talking to you."
He quickly turned the radio off, then sagged into the seat, head banging into the headrest. He ran a hand through his hair, sorely tempted to rip it out in a mixture of frustration and fear. He looked back out the window and saw that Aziraphale and William were enjoying their ice creams. Aziraphale had opted for a vanilla cone with a flake, while William went with a cookies and cream type cone.
He caught the angel's attention. He mouthed 'No dog?' to which Aziraphale looked casually around the area, then shook his head in response, mouthing 'no dog' in return. Crowley turned his head to look at the young boy they had just spent the past eleven years raising, watching as William licked the dripping ice cream from the back of his hand. Crowley looked back at the angel, who seemed to no longer be interested in his vanilla flake. He mouthed the question that had been sitting on both ethereal being's minds. 'Wrong boy?' To which Crowley nodded, fear settling in his stomach. 'Wrong boy.'
...
It was later in the afternoon, Aziraphale and Crowley sat in Aziraphale's room, trying to brain storm how everything could have gone wrong with their plan.
"Why did hell have to pin this on me. Why did I have to be the one for this 'Great plan.'" Crowley stared at his empty glass, his mind trying to figure just where and how it went wrong.
"Well, I suppose it could have something to do all of those memos you kept sending them. Telling them how you invented the Spanish Inquisition and World War II." Aziraphale refilled their drinks.
"And it's my fault that they don't check up!? That's on me?" Crowley tore off his glasses, dropping them on table in frustration, and rubbed his eyes tiredly. "And now we have to figure this all out in who knows how much time."
"I thought you had taken the anti-Christ that night? How did you end up with the wrong child?"
"I don't know, angel! I left, I went back, I took the Dowling child leaving them with the child I THOUGHT was their real child. Something obviously went wrong while I..." Crowley's voice trailed off as his attention was drawn to the bedroom door. Aziraphale turned to see what had distracted his friend.
"Oh! Oh dear." Standing in the door was William.
Crowley felt a pit in his stomach at the look on the young boy's face, for a different reason than the fear he had been feeling moments before. "How...uhngk...how much did you hear?"
William sniffled, shrugging. Crowley and Aziraphale looked at each other, not sure how to proceed. He had obviously heard enough, and more than they had ever wanted him to hear. The angel stood up, and pulled out a chair so that the eleven year old could sit with them. "Come here, my dear. It appears we have some things we need to talk about."
Aziraphale got up and made some hot cocoa for him and William, and a cup of tea for Crowley. Meanwhile, Crowley pulled out one of the angel's secret stashes of biscuits. This was a special circumstance, so he got out the ones with the pink frosting on them.
"So, my dear. I am certain you have some questions. Why don't you tell us what is on your mind?"
William, opted to sit in Crowley's lap instead of the chair, rubbing at the tears that had streamed down his cheek. He shrugged, not sure what to make of he had heard. "I 'unno. What did you mean that I'm the wrong child? Am I not supposed to be here?"
"Uhhh, well..." Crowley cleared his throat, trying to think of the best way to answer his question. "It's not that, darling. Not at all. It's just..."
In that moment both Aziraphale and Crowley wished they could communicate telepathically. It would make explaining everything easier.
The angel sighed. "My dear, I think it would be much easier to explain this if we tell him everything."
"You mean..." Crowley gestured vaguely between them.
"Yes. I believe, given the circumstances, he deserves to know the truth about his parents."
...
It took some time to explain everything, and though the two of them did not go into extensive detail, they did explain everything they could. William seemed to understand enough, he WAS raised the two of them. He was quite entranced by Crowley's serpentine eyes. In his entire life he actually never saw them clearly, considering his dad was always wearing some sort of sunglasses. At most he could see a peek of their color. It was actually pretty cool, having one parent as an angel and the other a demon.
"So, if I was this anti-Christ person, right now I would be trying to destroy the world?"
"Eh, more or less yeah." Crowley twirled his spoon idly between his fingers.
"And if I were trying to destroy the world, then what would you do? That can't be good, how can you stay by someone trying to ruin something you love." William crumbled the cookie in his hands, still feeling confused on some things.
Aziraphale and Crowley looked at each other, both of them immediately catching the tone of his voice.
"My dear boy, there is nothing you could do could stop us from loving you. If it had come to it, we would try to perhaps talk you out of it. No matter what our respective sides say or want, we would stay by your side."
"Really?"
"Yes." Crowley said with a tone of finality. "Nothing you can do would make us not love you. Even if it brings on Armageddon." The demon cupped a hand on the boy's cheek. "You may not have been the boy I meant to take eleven years ago, but that doesn't change the fact that you are our son. And neither heaven nor hell can take that away from us."
William smiled. Thinking on it, he didn't know why he was so worried, all in all it was just confusing. "I love you dad. Love you papa."
"And we love you, my dear." Aziraphale ruffled the boy's hair. Crowley however had gone very still, sniffing at the air. "Crowley?"
"Something's changed." He licked his lips. Realization dawned on him on just what. "He's done it. He's named the hell-hound."
"Hell-hound?" William asked curiously.
"Are you sure?"
"Would I lie to you?"
"Well you are a demon, it's in your nature."
Crowley rolled his eyes. "I wouldn't lie about this."
"What's wrong, dad?" Warlock asked, still not following what was going on.
"Armageddon." Crowley answered.
"Welcome to the end times."
Aziraphale and Crowley looked at each other before looking at the boy between them. One thing was for certain: They HAD to find a way to prevent things from proceeding. No question about it.
...
This is pretty much what i have left of my completed chapters, please leave me feedback, though i may not reply i still love each and every one of you. I need motivation though because my schedule just changed and my days off are now different. Lets keep going!