Not a bad call. Communication attempts first though, in case the things can jump and don't like people overhead.
[That and while he sure doesn't mind having to kill spirits, especially in the name of self-defense, they stand to gain quite a bit more by staying on their good sides as much as possible. The creatures are everywhere, and he'd rather have them as allies for that reason especially. They know just how easily the spirits can overwhelm them.]
Sure, I'll ask Daylight. And I still haven't spoken to Misty, though I know Soldat is fond of her. It would be a good opportunity to meet her.
[Guiltily, he thinks of Mary. She would love the crocodiles also, without a doubt. But he always worries she will underestimate the spirits; that her attempts to befriend will end in tragedy. Still, she's done well so far. Hasn't gotten herself killed despite her persistence. Maybe she would be all right, and he did promise her he'd bring her along some day since she always worries about him too.
He'll have to give that some consideration but there's no need to decide right away.]
[Hm. A baker. Maybe she bakes things like... roasted cauliflower or sweet potatoes or whole chickens. That's still baking, right? Surely she can't also be like Ignis where everything involves bread and pastry and cakes.
Oh well. He's not going to ask people to cater to him.]
Battery? No, what battery?
[His eyebrows raise slightly under that thick fringe, clearly interested.]
Ah, there was an empty slot where a battery should go; really big ones.
[ He makes a motion with his arms to illustrate, it was not quite the size of a car battery. ]
Probably about this big all together, should have held five of them.
And a crank above it - we turned it, thinking it might've had some backup power source. I think it might be a generator. Wouldn't that be nice, we could find lights!
Huh. Well, maybe some of the shops over there have them in stock rooms. That whole shopping center looked enormous, maybe we can find some if we really search.
[He's still really bummed he didn't even get to go see it, but. That parade, man. Now that he understands their route, he's really itching to go back.]
I didn't see anything like that at the hotel, but there was a lot more to the building than what I saw. Lots of spirits. But the most interesting was the guestbook. Maes looked through it and said he saw names of people in there he knew from where he was before he came here. Also I think he said there were names of people who are currently here, or were here before but we hadn't even been downtown yet. So somehow they were here before the last reset.
Oh, that's very strange. But considering that people are brought back to life-- say, I was speaking to Eliot the other day, and he doesn't remember anything that happened in Beacon.
[ There are gears whirring in Aziraphale's head. Can you hear them creak? ]
It's like with Eleven. Some people have probably been in and out of here for years. Versions of them, anyway.
[How awful.
And no, sadly, he shakes his head.]
I wish we'd gotten photos but we didn't expect our time to be so short. Next time someone's over there, they should. Or, I will. There were a lot of pages but it would be interesting to have a full list. I know Rastus is in it too. I think Maes went to talk to him about it, but I haven't heard yet what he found out.
Perhaps I'll speak to Maes first, then. Should be an interesting thing to see, who has been here and who has not. Perhaps not all their memories are erased.
[ He won't tell Rosi to save Bucky's anonymity, but Aziraphale has unearthed some of those suppressed memories. ]
I'm not sure it's that they're erased, but - maybe. People keep talking about alternate worlds. Saying if you know someone here and they die and don't return, that if they come back months later and don't remember it's because they came from a parallel universe. Same name, same life, same world, but just a few tiny differences.
[The frown on his face establishes that he does not like this idea. He's not sure yet whether he fully accepts it, either. But the thought that there's more than one him out there, more than one Law, living the same lives or slightly different ones, is deeply unnerving. Is there more than one Beacon, too? Is there any point to what they're doing if there are just more worlds with more World Eaters in some endless set of iterations out there?
Even at nearly ten feet tall, it's the sort of thing that makes him feel very small.]
[He nods his agreement. It must be troubling, being thousands of years old and only just learning something so monumental - assuming it's true. But the evidence is pretty convincing, Rosinante figures. Then again, he's in a poorer position to judge, being relatively quite young and entirely inexperienced in these sorts of metaphysical issues.]
When you were in your home world, were you able to ask your god questions like this? I assume you can't now. But I wonder if there's a way to reach out somehow, through the portal.
[Wow, he hadn't expected that sharp turn at all. An angel on bad terms with his god? But it sounds like maybe he'd done something to lose her favor. To... put it mildly. Huh. What sort of betrayal is an angel capable of?
Well, maybe he can guess, actually, given how close Aziraphale is to Crowley. Angels probably aren't supposed to befriend demons, let alone fall for them.]
Sorry. Didn't realize - I don't know how this stuff works.
You see, Heaven and Hell were planning to have a battle over Earth, which-- well our Earth was like this but with daylight and oh, seven billion more people, give or take, it'd really shot up since the 1800s - not important, I'm digressing. Anyway, Crowley and I wanted to put a stop to it, so we did.
Typically the punishment for an angel is to become a demon, but, well. You can see why that might be a problem, so our sides decided to... ah, execute us.
And so.
We're not very much on good terms. With either Heaven or Hell. Anymore.
[Seven billion. And Aziraphale and Crowley saved them all.
That does help fill in the gaps. Aziraphale had told him about the battle on Earth. He hadn't heard about what happened after.]
No, I imagine. But you did the right thing, stopping them.
[His own act of treachery hadn't been anywhere near as noble. Saving seven billion people - that gives him a sudden burst of respect for these two, and he had already respected Aziraphale quite a lot.]
Whatever it is we have to do, I'm sure we can work it out ourselves.
[They'll have to. But clearly not even real gods are all-knowing or infallible.]
That's a good thought. Might be other worlds out there who've dealt with them. I don't think Rastus or Robin can find something that specific, but maybe Pluto.
[Could still be hard, but it's worth a shot. He frowns as he considers it, then sips at his drink.]
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[That and while he sure doesn't mind having to kill spirits, especially in the name of self-defense, they stand to gain quite a bit more by staying on their good sides as much as possible. The creatures are everywhere, and he'd rather have them as allies for that reason especially. They know just how easily the spirits can overwhelm them.]
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[ They should have plenty of time to plan something out. ]
Perhaps Misty, as well. She quite likes the Rat King, I think that she might actually want to see the crocodiles.
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[Guiltily, he thinks of Mary. She would love the crocodiles also, without a doubt. But he always worries she will underestimate the spirits; that her attempts to befriend will end in tragedy. Still, she's done well so far. Hasn't gotten herself killed despite her persistence. Maybe she would be all right, and he did promise her he'd bring her along some day since she always worries about him too.
He'll have to give that some consideration but there's no need to decide right away.]
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She is an excellent baker.
[ He looks off wistfully for a moment. Sorry Rosi, his username is lunchbreaks for a reason, this boy is always hungry. ]
But, yes, that is for another time.
There are other stores if you are interested.
--Did I mention the battery?
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Oh well. He's not going to ask people to cater to him.]
Battery? No, what battery?
[His eyebrows raise slightly under that thick fringe, clearly interested.]
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[ He makes a motion with his arms to illustrate, it was not quite the size of a car battery. ]
Probably about this big all together, should have held five of them.
And a crank above it - we turned it, thinking it might've had some backup power source. I think it might be a generator. Wouldn't that be nice, we could find lights!
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[He's still really bummed he didn't even get to go see it, but. That parade, man. Now that he understands their route, he's really itching to go back.]
I didn't see anything like that at the hotel, but there was a lot more to the building than what I saw. Lots of spirits. But the most interesting was the guestbook. Maes looked through it and said he saw names of people in there he knew from where he was before he came here. Also I think he said there were names of people who are currently here, or were here before but we hadn't even been downtown yet. So somehow they were here before the last reset.
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[ There are gears whirring in Aziraphale's head. Can you hear them creak? ]
You don't think it's a coincidence, do you?
Had anyone taken a photo of the guest book?
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[How awful.
And no, sadly, he shakes his head.]
I wish we'd gotten photos but we didn't expect our time to be so short. Next time someone's over there, they should. Or, I will. There were a lot of pages but it would be interesting to have a full list. I know Rastus is in it too. I think Maes went to talk to him about it, but I haven't heard yet what he found out.
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[ He won't tell Rosi to save Bucky's anonymity, but Aziraphale has unearthed some of those suppressed memories. ]
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[The frown on his face establishes that he does not like this idea. He's not sure yet whether he fully accepts it, either. But the thought that there's more than one him out there, more than one Law, living the same lives or slightly different ones, is deeply unnerving. Is there more than one Beacon, too? Is there any point to what they're doing if there are just more worlds with more World Eaters in some endless set of iterations out there?
Even at nearly ten feet tall, it's the sort of thing that makes him feel very small.]
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Parallel universes.
That complicates things a bit.
[ He takes a deep breath; he certainly had some feelings about that with Castiel, but he didn't want to voice his concerns at the time. ]
This all really is unnecessarily complex.
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[He doesn't like it, but the universe doesn't cater to him. Never has. Why would that change now?]
You've never heard about that, though? Not even, you know. As an angel?
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Didn't even stop to think there might be another one.
[ He heaves a sigh. ]
It's not like I ever had all the answers, but I usually have a better grasp than this. It's-- unnerving, I'll tell you.
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When you were in your home world, were you able to ask your god questions like this? I assume you can't now. But I wonder if there's a way to reach out somehow, through the portal.
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No!
Definitely not. Best not question our God and what She's told or not told us. It's all in Her Plan.
Besides, I-- I love Her, still, of course I do, but I was executed by other angels, and I don't think She is taking my calls.
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[Wow, he hadn't expected that sharp turn at all. An angel on bad terms with his god? But it sounds like maybe he'd done something to lose her favor. To... put it mildly. Huh. What sort of betrayal is an angel capable of?
Well, maybe he can guess, actually, given how close Aziraphale is to Crowley. Angels probably aren't supposed to befriend demons, let alone fall for them.]
Sorry. Didn't realize - I don't know how this stuff works.
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[ Yes, okay, he should probably explain. ]
You see, Heaven and Hell were planning to have a battle over Earth, which-- well our Earth was like this but with daylight and oh, seven billion more people, give or take, it'd really shot up since the 1800s - not important, I'm digressing. Anyway, Crowley and I wanted to put a stop to it, so we did.
Typically the punishment for an angel is to become a demon, but, well. You can see why that might be a problem, so our sides decided to... ah, execute us.
And so.
We're not very much on good terms. With either Heaven or Hell. Anymore.
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That does help fill in the gaps. Aziraphale had told him about the battle on Earth. He hadn't heard about what happened after.]
No, I imagine. But you did the right thing, stopping them.
[His own act of treachery hadn't been anywhere near as noble. Saving seven billion people - that gives him a sudden burst of respect for these two, and he had already respected Aziraphale quite a lot.]
Whatever it is we have to do, I'm sure we can work it out ourselves.
[They'll have to. But clearly not even real gods are all-knowing or infallible.]
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There's another angel here, but I believe he's in a similar situation.
[ He keeps thinking. ]
Matt, perhaps, could ask. Or Javert - I believe they are both devout. But nonetheless, yes, best we should try to figure it out amongst ourselves.
--The portal brings in items from other worlds. We should ask for information about the World Eaters.
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[Could still be hard, but it's worth a shot. He frowns as he considers it, then sips at his drink.]
Who's the other angel?
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It's Castiel, and he likes to learn about humans.
[ It makes him excited to talk about the other angel, maybe give him some friends to teach him traditions. ]
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[And indeed they will meet on the weather station expedition, so, nice.]
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I really don't think he will mind if I had, but... please be easy with him and... gently guide him as a human.
[ Because he remembers a time he didn't look for a minute and he was out of touch with humans and they... well, they weren't nice. ]
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I'll do my best. And unless you have anything else you wanted to talk about, I think I'll head out. I don't want to keep you tied up all day.
[As if time matters to that degree here, but it's only polite to try and excuse himself as he finishes his cup of tea.]