Cassi rolled her eyes as the two archangels circled her. Normally, she wouldn't have minded being inspected upon, but once one of them insulted her parents, her attitude towards them turned sour. "Can we get on?"

Michael tapped their foot and pursed their lips. 'Hm, he has a pet and the pet has a pet. How quaint."

Uriel circled Cassi as they eyed her up and down. "To think he had one of these with a demon. He's been a fallen angel for more than we knew."

The nephalem crossed her arms. "By my account, my father is more of an angel than anyone up here. Oh, hm, is Muriel around? If so, he is the second holiest angel up here. You should take a lesson from them." She smirked. "How to be an angel 101."

Uriel grimaced while Micheal scoffed.

"Cassi!" Aziraphale spotted the red hair from a distance.

Cassi pushed past the angels and hurried to her parents. The angel embraced his daughter as the demon wrapped his arms protectively around them both. "Are you alright?" He kissed the top of her head. "Dad and I were so worried." He tightened his embrace. "We are never letting you go again." He kissed her head once more. "Oh, my darling, beautiful, lovely, precious girl."

"You're squishing me." she grunted. "Both of you."

Both let go, but not before Crowley held her shoulders and twirled her around. "She seems fine." He confirmed and straightened up. "Don't ever run away like that."

"Um," Cassi sounded unsure as she didn't leave on her own accord, "alright?"

Aziraphale held her hand in his. "We should go before-"

"Cassiopeia." The Metatron was heard behind them. "Glad you decided to come for a visit. How's your cat?"

Aziraphale and Crowley exchanged glances and looked between the Metatron and their daughter. "He's fine."

Crowley raised his brow. "You know something we don't." He spoke to the ancient angel. "You have known something we haven't."

The Metatron glared at the demon. "I don't have to explain anything to you." He gruffed.

Crowley stepped forward but was pulled back by Aziraphale.

"I told you to keep him calm and now I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask him to leave. You and Cassiopeia are welcome to stay but not him."

"As if I want to be up here any second longer." The demon growled. "Let's go angel, Cassi."

An angel came up to the Metatron and whispered while the family made their way to the elevator. "Uh, I'll see you soon, Cassiopeia." The Metatron smiled suspiciously.

"Leaving so soon?" Micheal taunted. "Please don't come back."

Uriel smirked.

Cassi growled and turned to the angels. "You are the worst angels I've ever had the displeasure of meeting and you are what? Archangels? Are you really, because you don't act like it? Fucking pathetic excuse for angels. I do hope it hurts when your pretty little wings turn to charcoal."

Michael and Uriel were left stunned while the family jumped into the elevator, the ineffable parents looking mighty proud.

Crowley paced back and forth, hands on his hips as he licked his lips. "So," he halted, "erm, th-this is your cat?" He pointed to the tall man next to Cassi. "The one who keeps biting my plants? The one who knocked over, not one, but three vases? The one who scratches at the backdoor to be let in only for a second later to beg to be let out?!"

Hex shrugged. "I'm very indecisive and the flowers inside those vases were not very tasty."

"I grew them for Aziraphale, not for you to eat." He said through gritted teeth.

Aziraphale pushed him away from Hex before both entities could hiss at each other as they would normally do. "Cassi, darling, why didn't you inform us before?"

"Em, slipped my mind, really."

"Slipped your mind?" Crowley interjected. "Having half of you inside a cat slipped your mind?"

Hex and Cassi exchanged looks. "Um, not really half more like some?"

"I've never seen anything like it." Beelzebub tugged on Hex's sleeve. "Clever way to use one of hell's demons."

Gabriel poked Hex's arm. "So…some of your demon side is in here, Cassiopeia? Using an insignificant demon from hell to hide the side given to you by Crowley. Fascinating."

Hex grimaced and swatted both away. Silently, he glided to a nearby table and proceeded to knock down a stack of books. "Stop that." Aziraphale lectured and shooed him away.

"I'm hungry." Hex stated plainly and walked towards the makeshift kitchen.

As the familiar left the room, those who remained turned to Cassi for answers. "I honestly am not sure how it all works." She confessed. "I just did as I was told; kept him by my side for seventy one years and counting."

Aziraphale gasped and snapped his fingers at Crowley. "The Metatron's comment makes sense now. He knew about Hex."

"Heaven is always sticking their nose where it doesn't belong." He turned to Gabriel. "Yes, I do mean to offend." The demon then glanced at his daughter. "Brainwashed." He mouthed. "Wha-what's happening?" He noticed the people outside.

Everyone's attention went to the windows where the sky seemed to turn night, snow had ceased, and people outside were eyeing something in the sky. Gabriel followed Beelzebub out the shop as they could sense something was brewing.

"Angel." Crowley simply said as he too walked out.

Understanding, Aziraphale held Cassi's arm and escorted her towards the back of the shop where Hex was stuffing his face on some biscuits. Meanwhile outside, people pulled out their phones as hundreds of meteors came crashing down from the still sky.

Crowley shuddered as his mind went to his once upon a time fall because that is what it was that he, everyone, was witnessing; angels being cast down. Their wings would be burned before they hit the ground, the agony of knowing you were no longer "good" would hurt more than any physical pain. It would be years before the newly fallen angels accepted their fate. However, another thought plaguing Crowley's mind was why they were being cast down. He huffed as he ran back inside. "Angel?" He pulled Aziraphale into a private conversation. "We can't stay here."

Aziraphale let out a breath and nodded. "Let me just get a few things for the drive."

Crowley shook his head. "No, no, angel, listen to me." He glanced at his daughter who was shooing Hex away from another box of biscuits. "We can't stay on earth. It's not safe for her."

Aziraphale looked back at Cassi and looked around his beloved shop. It wasn't at all that he loved the shop more than his daughter but the thought of leaving everything behind, every memory within it, every moment, every second, was an anomaly he had to accept. His shop would be gone, along with every other earthly existence, including the humans he cared for and loved. Teary eyed, he nodded at his partner and mentally prepared to say goodbye to his shop. "Oh." He felt a side embrace.

"Are you alright, papa?" Cassi had noticed her father's dejected mood.

Aziraphale placed his arm around her shoulder and gave her a calm smile.

The door opened once more with Beelzebub peering in. "Crowley." They gestured for him to follow.

Crowley squeezed Aziraphale's arm and patted Cassi's shoulder, afterwards informing them he would be back in a second.

Aziraphale composed himself and smiled down at his daughter. "I am, darling, just," he looked around the shop, "um…shall we pick out some of our favorite books?"

Cassi did not inquire on the odd behavior and simply nodded.

—-

Crowley stammered as he looked around the now semi empty intersection. Those left around held a no perplexed expression and resumed their journey to wherever it was they were going. "Why are they not reacting?"

"It's part of it." Gabriel informed. "They will be oblivious until it happens. To them, the person leaving never existed."

Just then, another set of beams came down from the sky as it raptured another group of people. The chosen humans gilded upwards and those left behind carried on their way. The demon glanced over the coffee shop to find it nearly empty with Nina nowhere to be found but an isolated Maggie drinking a cup of coffee at one of the tables. "So…tha-that's…this is it then? The Great Plan? It's finally happening?"

"It was ineffable, Crowley, you must've known." Beelzebub answered. "It was delayed, yes, but a battle was always meant to be."

Gabriel cleared his throat. "Speaking of which." He gestured towards the pub where the door chimed. "Fancy meeting you again." The angel greeted. "Michael, Uriel, Sandalphon, and, hm…Saraqael. It's been a while indeed."

Sandalphon showed off his gold tooth as he grinned ear to ear. "Thought you would be far away given your lack of appreciation for-" he glanced at Beelzebub, "-the finer things, such as war."

Beelzebub rolled their eyes and didn't even bother to acknowledge the angels.

"Is she in there?" Micheal pointed at the shop. "The naughty demon lacking manners."

"Gets it from her father's pet one would guess." Sandalphon taunted.

Crowley slid his glasses down to his nose. "I can't even be mad. You're right on both accounts. She gets her naughty attitude from me and yes," he smirked, "I am Aziraphale's pet, and I fucking enjoy every minute of it." Crowley pulled his glasses back up and opened the shop's door. "Especially when he tells me what a good boy I am!" He slammed the door behind him.

"Crowley!" Aziraphale packed another book into a small luggage while Cassi helped as best as she could. It was hard for the angel to decide which books to take and which to leave. He had collected them for millennia after all.

"What? Angel, he's a fucking arse." Crowley plopped down on the sofa. "Never liked that one. Pompous prick."

Cassi glanced to the window where she observed her parents-non-parents talk to the annoying angels. "Dad?"

"Hm?"

The nephalem looked between her fathers where one seemed unsure of what to do and the other tried to decide between Mansfield Park and Emma. "Are…are we leaving earth because of me?"

Aziraphale ceased his task. "Dar-"

Crowley stood and cleared his throat. "No, Cassi, not because of you but for you. The angels are coming down to defend their territory because they don't like it when someone tracks mud in their precious heavenly floor. After they have it out with, erm, the others of your kind, heaven and hell will decide who is the best, not that it truly matters. But," he sighed, "heaven wants to use you for their own and that is not on. Your father and I refuse to let them use you like that."

Cassi pondered for a moment. "What about the humans? The shop? The Bentley?" She asked softly. "The coffee shop? Nina, Maggie? The people around us? Will earth truly be gone?"

Aziraphale walked to his daughter and gently placed his hands on her shoulders. "Cassi," he could see himself in her galaxy eyes, the innocence he once exhumed, "as much as you wish to help every single individual, there are some things that are too powerful to put an end to. Dad and I tried once, years ago and were successful, we even saved you without knowing about you, however, darling, we can't seem to find a way to fix it this time."

Cassi's eyes glossed as she looked up to heaven. "It's not fair." She looked back at her father. "They should not be played with like puppets or tested to destruction."

Aziraphale and Crowley exchanged looks, agreeing with their daughter's sentiment.

"Oh, bugger." Hex had a mouthful of biscuits and pointed at Cassi. "St-stop! Stop her!"

Cassi pushed Aziraphale back and, in a blink of an eye, time ceased.