Come What May
Haltia's prompt: Harry interacting with angels before the divide (either as an angel created by God, or after reaching the status of Master of Death and either outliving his own world or dying/being thrown through the Veil of Death to the start of Creation because the magical world feared him too much?). It could be cross with almost any of the angel-demon including medias, but my personal favorite would be Supernatural. I'd especially like to see Harry interacting with Castiel and/or Gabriel.
0o0o0
Anna: Dean, do you know how many angels have actually seen God? Seen his face?
Dean: All of you?
Anna: Four angels. Four. And I'm not one of them.
Dean: That's it? Well, then how do you even know that there is a God?
Anna: We have to take it on faith... Which we're killed if we don't have.
Lucifer: Gabriel, if you're doing this for Michael...
Gabriel: Screw him. If he were standing here, I'd shiv his ass, too.
Lucifer: Huh. You disloyal...
Gabriel: Oh, I'm loyal. To them.
Lucifer: Who? These so-called gods?
Gabriel: To people, Lucifer. People.
Lucifer: So, you're willing to die, for a pile of cockroaches? Why?
Gabriel: Because Dad was right. They are better than us.
Lucifer: They are broken, flawed, abortions!
Gabriel: Damn right, they're flawed. But, a lot of 'em try, to do better. To forgive.
Lucifer (To Dean): You know why God cast me down? Because I *loved* him. More than anything. And then God created...You. The little, hairless apes. And then he asked all of us to bow down before *you*. To love *you*, more than Him! And I said, Father, I can't. I said these human beings, were flawed, murderous. And for that, God had Michael cast me into Hell! Now tell me, does the punishment fit the crime? Especially when I was right. Look what six billion of you have done to this thing. And how many of you blame me for it.
0o0o0
God and Death do not know, truly where one of them Begins and where the other Ends. They have always Been and will always Be. Death, as God remembers, slept and so God sung, and the song was the Word.
Death awoke, and both knew there was a price in Being, and that was a End. God knew that one day, he too might die – if Death so wanted it. Knew too, that God could sing again and Death would sleep. Yet neither wished the other ill, for in all existed they were alone but for one another And God so created, the universe, galaxies, planets, stars, suns, all worlds, the nine Heavens and the nine Hells and more than what one mortal can dream or give philosophy. Such is religion's seeds.
Yet, there is the Word of God, the song which woke Death; from which all God's creations are born. Death ensures they know of their Father, and in doing so - of him – who they fear, for it seems to them that Death is an evil thing.
Death names the race of angels, for that Word means messenger. There are only the first four, the Archangels who see the face of God and who hear his Word and who between God and Death they call Death their Father. It is God who creates them, but it is Death that names them.
That is as God wills it.
0o0o0
"I don't like my name." Gabriel, whose name meant God is my strength, whispers to his brother Michael – first born, whose name means Who is like God. Michael rolls his eyes, but looks about for anyone who might be spying on them. Things are changing in Heaven, and all who call the Heaven home knows it. Yet that has never been like Gabriel, to call anywhere home.
"What name would you have, if you could choose?" Gabriel looks startled at his eldest brother's question, tilts his chin and is quiet.
"I would have many names." Gabriel decides, after a long quiet between them.
"Than go and claim your names." It is not Michael, who speaks, nor Raphael or Lucifer – but Death. His hair is dark, but all the rest of him is changeable, he has been green eyed and brown, had had smooth round cheeks and sharp ones with a pointed chin and thin face.
Death smiles at Gabriel's wide eyes and Michael – who fears little in Heaven – nods solemnly to the dark haired immortal. Michael is God's first born and right hand, but Death…Death is God's equal, and as worthy of their love. Yet it is Death's nature to inspire fear, fear of the unknown, so hated.
Gabriel looks about Heaven as if he does not know where to start, Death tilts his chin just so, and Gabriel with a wide grin, goes.
There are immortals in Heaven who God never created, but if they are Heaven's own creations or that of Death's, not even those immortals say. Not all things God has created are good, this Michael knows – for he saw Asherah kiss Death - she who will be called Eve, had fled into Purgatory with the Leviathans. God was jealous, and would have no other before him.
Lucifer laughs as soon as Gabriel is out of sight; with his smile it is clear enough why his name means Light-bearer. God loves him above all his brothers, and sometimes Michael wonders if Death loves him as much to name him as such.
"Do you think he will go far?" Lucifer asks of Death, but Death does not answer. His eyes blaze bright, like the light that Lucifer is named for. God calls and Death answers - going in the blink of an eye - the two left behind look at each other, it a look of long suffering.
"I hate that." Lucifer admits, and Michael looks into the distance with a frown upon his face. All of Heaven will one day be his. And yet… not yet. God gives, and takes and Death may not be the creation of God, but from Death all God's creation learns the meaning of loyalty. Death will never deny God anything, and it does not matter what Michael or Lucifer or Gabriel thinks.
Michael has heard what the children of Asherah whisper in Hell, that the Leviathan had fought for Death's freedom – and God had shut them away from Death forever. There are between the nine Heavens and the nine Hells, places where no one can cross, and Purgatory is the greatest of them.
"Do you think Death does?" Michael is curious to what Lucifer's answer might be. He presses his lips together and shakes his head. If God is Light, than Death is of the Dark; yet that does not mean absolute good or evil, only a balance between them.
Death steps back into sight, with a longing look toward where Heaven descends.
"It is almost done, his last work." God's works they do not see until it is done, but Death sees all parts of it – sometimes, Lucifer envies it- that bond between them. He wants it for himself. Or something like it – for Michael, there is Heaven to be prince of, for Gabriel there is creation, and curiously – for Lucifer there is only this.
It is all he knows. This great work, this last creation of God… before God gives all Heaven into the keeping of Michael. What will become of God – or of Death? Will they just go on, to another Heaven – into another place which Lucifer can not follow? He can not stand such a thought.
"What is it?" Lucifer asks of Death, and knows he will have an answer – Michael might have asked, and Gabriel, but they might not have gotten an answer.
"A world." Is Death's answer, and there are other worlds, of course – but this will be the last God will make in this place – perhaps not the last in time, for there are world seeds which might yet grow.
"Death, how many worlds are there?" Gabriel asks when he comes back to Heaven, waving his hand to the nebulas that will birth stars above. He does not say where he has gone – only that the other name is Jibra'il. It is a strange question that Death is asked, for few would think Death would know. Each creation of God thinks that Death is one of their own, and that is the gift and curse of Death.
"No one knows." It is true too, for sometimes no matter how old Death is he feels as if he's just started discovering things. That is what God vowed long ago, that they would go on finding things out until the end of them.
"Where did you come from?" Death pauses in place, and Gabriel glances to him with great curiosity.
"A Veil." That is all that Death ever says about it, as the scar upon his brow of lightening or light zigzaggig silver; after though – Gabriel tells Lucifer, and each brother goes about looking for Death's Veil in their own way. Michael though, has learned to watch and wait.
It is only the wait of seven days and seven nights until Lucifer sees the world, and loves it. It is beautiful, full of life, a river flows out of the garden of Eden where it becomes four he has never seen the likes of such as that before; it is not until Lucifer sees the east of Eden that he sees it's most corrupt creation. They are born of the body of God, and of his spirit.
Her name is Lilith. She breeds them, humans. There are hundreds each day, born from her blood and breath. Her husband Adam is the favorite to God. Lucifer looks upon Adam, and knows God his Father's old jealousy. Love is ever a part of God's Word, but love takes many shapes both pure and twisted.
"Love them, as you love me. Honor them, as you do me." God says at Lucifer's side. He does, in his own way. Lucifer looks about at them, and can not stomach it. He bows to his Father out of love and loyalty, but these…these are not worthy of it. Lilith smiles at him, and turns a frown at Adam comparing the two of them. It sickens Lucifer.
Lucifer bows his head, and knows he must say something or be swallowed by silence.
"I can not, Father – I will not!" Lucifer flees, rather than face God. At God's side, Death holds him back, for upon God's face is a look of both fury and sorrow.
"He does not know." Death speaks, for this world, the last world – it was meant to be Lucifer's own.
"He will not know. Ever." God states and it is so.
Death understands and bows his head, and other angels are born – Raphael whose name is God Heals first among them. He loves all the world and all it's beings. Lucifer goes to Michael to stand at his side, to turn from God's commands, Michael argues. God gives Michael his birthright of Heaven, gives to Gabriel the continued creation, and gives Raphael what would be Lucifer's, the keeping of Earth. Raphael stands always at Michael's side. Yet other angels, sons of God, breed children with the daughters of Man; and Lucifer takes Lilith to be his – a human with a soul twisted and turned into immortal, something strange they call demon.
Gabriel flees then and God –alone - goes after him, and Michael strikes down Lucifer into Hell.
Death alone protests, and Michael locks up him in a box with War, Pestilence and Famine. Death calls them his brothers, and when his God given ring breeds stones, gives them one each. Each stone sings of God's Word, and it all Death hears until…
"O hello, Death." Lucifer greets him, but he does not want to be greeted. His reapers, who have always heard him – those who are the spirits of those who came before creation, who had no purpose before Death made them serve his three daughters, Atropos, Clotho, and Lachesis who call themselves Moirae after him, and Fates after the meaning of that name is forgotten– they gather and speak not a word as Death's green eyes glow with light.
God does not speak aloud for all the angels in the Heavenly Host might hear – and fear. He does not need to say a Word, for Death hears him and as always – always obeys.
The world will be saved.
The handle of the scythe in Death's hand was once only a wand. It is called Elder and it answers to it's masters spell.
0o0o0
(Incidentally the Moirae of the Greeks likely came to be called after Moros/Morus which is death, doom, destiny, the force which dove mankind to their fate.)