The day after the war God had declared a day of rest for the Earth, heaven and the angels to get their bearings upon the effects of what had just happened. Aziraphale figured that frankly, the Almighty was tired too. Having to create an entire world and universe, creating all the angels and the humans were taxing not to mention She had had to defend herself against Satan and his horde of demonic followers. But if pressed She would simply pass it off as giving the humans an excuse to rest as they could easily work themselves to death as the angels could. Of course, angels couldn't die but they were perfectly capable of experiencing burnout and God knew this too well which is why She had decided to Metatron give the order to have them all rest.
Many of the angels went back to their playing and dancing in the harmony and peace of heaven but with caution. Everyone was shaken by the fact there were traitors under their noses this entire time and could only have imagined what would have happened had Azreal not betrayed the demonic cause.
But the Holy Water had been drenched into the clouds of heaven so no demon could ever set foot again just as the Hellfire that guarded Hell kept all the angels out. They were separated and Aziraphale hoped for the sake of all of them the demons would leave them alone for now. He would be sadly mistaken.
But he could never be one to take a day off. Not once in his entire life even though it was only seven days long. He decided it was his job to put heaven back into tip-top shape. Plus he didn't really fit in with the other angels. He didn't know why. They all seemed so focused on beating the demons know where Aziraphale only had eyes for protecting the earth. He didn't ever want another horrible war to happen or any other angels to fall the way the demons did. He just wanted peace and harmony for all of God's creations and not just in heaven.
He worked his way around the war scene cleaning up the goo and blood of the archangels and putting them into small boxes which he then labeled with their names and their tasks and duties. He hadn't known most of them personally but he figured that they needed to receive a proper memorial of some kind.
He felt the other angels blamed them for their fates and wanted to move on and forget the dead archangels but Aziraphale could never do that. To him, all life was precious big and small and everything had a purpose.
He miricled the broken windows back to their original glory and repainted the walls pearly white to replace the remaining scorches of hellfire that were left there. Occasionally he would find himself sad and would have to take a minute to recollect his feelings. He had cried and felt true sorrow for the first time yesterday but he was grateful for it at the same time. It meant he wasn't going to forget what would happen and would take all the necessary steps to prevent it from ever happening again.
He then took the boxes over to the finest shelf closest to where the archangels were resting and placed them there as a tribute to the dead archangels. He even apologized to them silently even though he knew they could not hear him.
He moved on and was fixing some out of shape clouds but realized the day of the seventh day of creation was coming to a close and took a moment to sit on the soft clouds and enjoy the beautiful sunset from where he was standing in heaven.
He felt a presence near him suddenly and could not make it out to be angelic and instantly he thought it was a demon but upon further concentration, he realized the being was not that either. It was a being of which he had never encountered.
He turned slowly hands on the handle of the flaming sword that lay beneath his cloak from the battle before and saw a young woman with long flaming red hair the went a little past her shoulders. She had flaming blue eyes of ocean passion and a joyous smile on her face. She was slowly feeling the clouds and speaking to herself.
Aziraphale approached her and realized she was wearing a toga-like his only except it was flaming red like her hair. She peered up at him with mysticism in her eyes.
"You fought in the war yes?" She said enthusiastically and ran up so close to him their noses were almost touching even though she was taller than him.
"Who are you, my dear? Are you lost? I saw you talking to yourself and I could not tell if you were distraught. My name is Aziraphale and I am a Principality in the hierarchy of the archangel Gabriel. Please tell me what I can do to assist my dear."
She chuckled before firing back "Oh yes Gabriel. One of the only archangels to survive along with Micheal and Uriel. The rest died glorious deaths which I enjoyed every second of watching. I must warn you of creation's shadow lurking over the garden of Eden. I will soon start killing time and the humans will be my puppets. They will live and breathe for me and give their lives and die within me. It is such a lovely shame."
Aziraphale could not believe his virgin ears. "What an awful thing to say! Angels are dead and you are laughing like this is some sort of joke!"
"Oh, it is a joke! Rich men send the poor men out with their bombs and shells. Their little toys of war. Their toys of mine. They play and die. Play and die over and over again. Growing and evolving me. This story will be told many times but with different players."
"Stop it right now! You can not be serious miss! Stop with these awful preoccupations within your mind. There isn't going to be another war like this. This is the war to end all wars."
"They always say that. Little boys with their tools. Little angels with their swords. Sons and daughters die in war. War and violence blood and brains. Every time the world will never be the same. When the fall of man happens I will be there for their little violent thoughts and I will expand upon them."
Aziraphale felt protective of the humans below suddenly and bit his lip. "Leave them alone! Please they have done nothing to you!"
"I am created in the minds of man! I am the atrocity and the red eye of the storm! I am all these and more for the humans shall come to call me War!"
Aziraphale stepped back but War roughly grabbed his shoulder and pulled him so close he could feel her hot angry breath upon his face. His heart was beating face and he began to chuckle uncortroablly as he was very uncoverable.
War groaned through her teeth before flashing him a toothy menacing smile.
"You said your name was Aziraphale yes? Look around you my puny Principality and see the words I speak are true. The angels do not want peace. They want me and they live to serve me. I am a master pulling the strings of my little angel puppets. You may have removed the cracks of heaven but the scars are still there. Nothing you can do will stop me. I am and always will be and I will see no end to my destruction until the time passes in which humans have no need for War which will be never."
She then released him and Aziraphale backed up releasing a breathe he didn't know he had been holding in all this time. She smiled again before walking away into the sunset and Azriaphale did not know what to make of her.