But Not Forgotten: Prelude
Prelude
Raphael stood in a spot slightly to the left of the material plane, watching but not truly a part of it, following the progress of one tiny soul and wondering why he was there instead of planning his next assault against Castiel and the fools who dared to deny the glory of the Apocalypse and the coming of Paradise. He turned his attention to Nathaniel, small and plump and utterly unremarkable both as an angel and in the borrowed flesh of the female vessel. Nathaniel looked at Raphael with pure adoration, practically squirming with pleasure. That look swiftly morphed to that of a kicked puppy when Raphael spoke.
“Why are you wasting my time, sister?”
Nathaniel gestured towards the mortal that she had already pointed out; solidly built with straight red hair, tapping away speedily on the keyboard in front of her while chattering at the man standing over her. Very ordinary. Very dull. Not that unlike Nathaniel, when Raphael thought about it. After a moment of panicked confusion from the lesser angel, Nathaniel started speaking quickly. “You must look beneath the surface, my brother! I know the human isn’t much at first glance, but-”
Raphael hushed Nathaniel’s babbling with a wave of his hand, extending his senses to better study the human. A small, ordinary, unimportant soul, nothing that warranted this waste of his precious time--
And then Raphael saw it, buried deep beneath all the layers of dullness. Like staring in to the sun after looking at a dying flashlight. Something brilliant and powerful and perfect, exactly what Raphael needed. “Nathaniel, explain!”
“I - I can’t, brother,” Nathaniel told the archangel, stepping between Raphael and the woman. “But I believe she was involved in a Gallifreyan visitation to the planet.”
Raphael twitched, making the lights in the office flicker for a moment and startling the humans. “They’re gone, they’re all supposed to be gone, never to plague us again!” he hissed.
“All but one,” Nathaniel corrected gently. “And he left something behind in her.” The angel smiled, a sweet and open expression, like a child who expected to be told that they had done exceptionally well on their exams. “But he hasn’t been anywhere near her, not for years, just like the others we’ve noted before. Remember? But unlike them, he left… that behind.”
Raphael could have sung with joy. He could see it clearly now, what was lurking inside that woman. Centuries of knowledge, near limitless power, hidden away and just waiting to be tapped. He could break the stalemate with the upstart Castiel and set the universe back on it’s proper path. Once again, everything would be right in the world. “Bring the woman-”
“Donna, sir,” Nathaniel interrupted, earning herself a sharp glare, “Donna Temple-Noble.”
Raphael just looked at the lesser angel until she stopped talking, squirming beneath the weight of his Grace and his Glory. “All that matters,” Raphael said slowly, as if speaking to a particularly dull witted child, “is what she can do for us, and I want her out of here and somewhere we can unlock what she has in that head of hers. Do I make myself understood, Nathaniel?”
Raphael never raised his voice; he never needed to. Nathaniel dropped her gaze and murmured a soft noise of agreement. Raphael studied his sister a moment, searching for any signs of rebellion, some proof that this one would have to be made an example of, but Nathaniel showed only quiet obedience. Raphael’s will would be done. The archangel left without a word; there was much work to be done, things that actually required his full attention.
Nathaniel did not move until after the archangel was well and truly done. Then she slumped against Donna Temple-Noble’s desk as the woman, possibly the most important woman on the planet, continued to type, completely oblivious as her fingers flew across the keyboard.
Nathaniel didn’t notice one of her fellow cherubim breezing through, drawing together the woman repairing the photo copier and the man delivering water for the water cooler. Maybe if she had, nothing would have ended up on fire.
But maybe not.
Part One
Raphael stood in a spot slightly to the left of the material plane, watching but not truly a part of it, following the progress of one tiny soul and wondering why he was there instead of planning his next assault against Castiel and the fools who dared to deny the glory of the Apocalypse and the coming of Paradise. He turned his attention to Nathaniel, small and plump and utterly unremarkable both as an angel and in the borrowed flesh of the female vessel. Nathaniel looked at Raphael with pure adoration, practically squirming with pleasure. That look swiftly morphed to that of a kicked puppy when Raphael spoke.
“Why are you wasting my time, sister?”
Nathaniel gestured towards the mortal that she had already pointed out; solidly built with straight red hair, tapping away speedily on the keyboard in front of her while chattering at the man standing over her. Very ordinary. Very dull. Not that unlike Nathaniel, when Raphael thought about it. After a moment of panicked confusion from the lesser angel, Nathaniel started speaking quickly. “You must look beneath the surface, my brother! I know the human isn’t much at first glance, but-”
Raphael hushed Nathaniel’s babbling with a wave of his hand, extending his senses to better study the human. A small, ordinary, unimportant soul, nothing that warranted this waste of his precious time--
And then Raphael saw it, buried deep beneath all the layers of dullness. Like staring in to the sun after looking at a dying flashlight. Something brilliant and powerful and perfect, exactly what Raphael needed. “Nathaniel, explain!”
“I - I can’t, brother,” Nathaniel told the archangel, stepping between Raphael and the woman. “But I believe she was involved in a Gallifreyan visitation to the planet.”
Raphael twitched, making the lights in the office flicker for a moment and startling the humans. “They’re gone, they’re all supposed to be gone, never to plague us again!” he hissed.
“All but one,” Nathaniel corrected gently. “And he left something behind in her.” The angel smiled, a sweet and open expression, like a child who expected to be told that they had done exceptionally well on their exams. “But he hasn’t been anywhere near her, not for years, just like the others we’ve noted before. Remember? But unlike them, he left… that behind.”
Raphael could have sung with joy. He could see it clearly now, what was lurking inside that woman. Centuries of knowledge, near limitless power, hidden away and just waiting to be tapped. He could break the stalemate with the upstart Castiel and set the universe back on it’s proper path. Once again, everything would be right in the world. “Bring the woman-”
“Donna, sir,” Nathaniel interrupted, earning herself a sharp glare, “Donna Temple-Noble.”
Raphael just looked at the lesser angel until she stopped talking, squirming beneath the weight of his Grace and his Glory. “All that matters,” Raphael said slowly, as if speaking to a particularly dull witted child, “is what she can do for us, and I want her out of here and somewhere we can unlock what she has in that head of hers. Do I make myself understood, Nathaniel?”
Raphael never raised his voice; he never needed to. Nathaniel dropped her gaze and murmured a soft noise of agreement. Raphael studied his sister a moment, searching for any signs of rebellion, some proof that this one would have to be made an example of, but Nathaniel showed only quiet obedience. Raphael’s will would be done. The archangel left without a word; there was much work to be done, things that actually required his full attention.
Nathaniel did not move until after the archangel was well and truly done. Then she slumped against Donna Temple-Noble’s desk as the woman, possibly the most important woman on the planet, continued to type, completely oblivious as her fingers flew across the keyboard.
Nathaniel didn’t notice one of her fellow cherubim breezing through, drawing together the woman repairing the photo copier and the man delivering water for the water cooler. Maybe if she had, nothing would have ended up on fire.
But maybe not.
Part One