Authors Note: So here is the second completed snippet. I have no idea when the next one will be up, as I mentioned in last chapters notes it has grown to be much, much bigger than I expected it to. Still, I hope you enjoy what's here and as always I'm always open to constructive criticism and questions.
On that day the skies tore apart and fearsome beasts did come forth, to satisfy their endless hunger. And a war raged through the heavens and in the depths, burning all in its path. Light and darkness were consumed, leaving only shadows. The Dragon and the Sword did fight together once more, shining brighter than the Sun. And in the end there was Silence, and all that was left was Death.
Xander closed the ancient tome with a sigh, an ache in his heart – and his Grace. Leviathans – or something very similar. And all of Heaven and Hell sacrificed to stop them.
"Mutually assured destruction." He whispered sadly.
Well. He had known for a while that he was alone here. The utter Silence, where there should have been Song, was a big give-away. Still, he mourned his – Gabriel's – brothers. His big brothers Michael and Lucifer reconciled in death, wasn't that somethin'? Xander smiled bitterly.
And that explained the Hellmouth too – after all, all of reality being torn to shreds by the Leviathans would certainly leave scars. The perfect dimensional weak points for demonic energies to leak through to spawn the many and varied monsters that plagued the Earth. Particularly with no more Heavenly Host to act as guardians for the earthly plane.
So. That left the question of what now. In another universe Gabriel had run from the fight, hiding from the pain of his brothers killing each other in his Dad's name. But Xander wasn't Gabriel and this universe wasn't the same. There was no conflicting loyalties when it came to the apocalypses here – where Gabriel's family was divided and broken, Xander's family was together and whole. And that's the way it would stay.
Fledging archangel or not, mentor-less or not; Xander would stand and fight. He would protect his family, hold them together so what happened to Gabriel's siblings would never happen to his.
But even so, Xander didn't think he would be revealing his new-found archangel status to the rest of the Scoobies anytime soon. He had enough Gabriel in him (and Xander-ness too) to want to avoid that confrontation as long as possible.