Some NWO characters have already appeared before "Uncertainty." This plot will just wrap up a few story arcs I left hanging and provide a good cliffhanger for NWO.
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Will be Kaiser involved in the story again,or it will be about "regular" citizens?
Chapter 391: Uncertainty, Part 3
Raphael found himself standing on the other side of the street as the bar exploded, sending glass and debris flying in all directions. It took him a while to adjust to the unexpected teleportation, given he hadn't done that in ten years. Wait, he had teleported? He looked to his side, finding Uriel standing next to him, also confused. Somebody had gotten them out of the bar, and there were only two angels who could do that. One of them was Gabriel, who had probably caused the explosion in the first place. The other was...
"Don't ask," said Wilhelm, "I'm just passing through."
"Wilhelm," said Raphael, "What are you doing here?"
"Saving your skins," said Wilhelm, "Now, if you don't mind, I'm going back to..."
"Where have you been for the last five years?" demanded Uriel. "We had a war going on, both among the humans and among the angels, and you just up and vanished?!"
"I've been traveling," said Wilhelm, "And I very much want to go back to doing that."
"Have you heard the news?" said Raphael. "In case you forgot, Gabriel still has all of Heaven to himself, and we're still killing each other here on Earth. And the humans are even worse. Don't you know what happened in Russia and India?"
Wilhelm sighed. "Do you always have to bring that up? I'm starting to regret setting foot in this universe again."
"Why, Wilhelm?" said Uriel. "You're the angel who created the Reich, the one who split this universe off. Now you've abandoned this universe, and you've left your brothers and sisters to be trapped here and slaughtered by each other and the humans."
"Have you ever set foot in another universe?" said Wilhelm.
"Well, yeah, a few centuries ago..." began Raphael.
"You don't understand, then," said Wilhelm, "You don't understand what it is like to see a large part of the multiverse. To see civilizations rise and fall, to see the same individuals do different things...or the same thing. To see how things could have been. Almost every possibility that could ever be and ever was exists out there, somewhere. It's almost perfection, infinity, wholeness. It's as close to God as we can get. Petty squabbles among angelkind pale in comparison, I hate to say."
"Angelkind is facing its worst crisis since the Apocalypse," said Uriel, "The angels have been kicked out of Heaven. Tens of thousands of them, if not more, have been killed at the hands of each other and those madmen in Kiev and Delhi. Thousands more are being persecuted in China and the Eimericas. Those in the Reich are more likely to fight each other than to unite against the real threat, Gabriel. Gabriel wants us to fight each other so that nobody can challenge his rule. He has the angel tablet. He wants to become God. Once he fully unlocks the tablet, he will become unstoppable, and who knows what he'll do with omnipotence? Angelkind needs unity. It needs someone to rally them together and lead them against Gabriel."
Wilhelm immediately understood what Uriel was saying. "No," he said, "I'm not leading the angels. I've never been a good leader anyways."
"You helped Friedrich the Great unify the Reich!" protested Raphael. "You kept the Reich together even when I tried everything I could to destroy it!"
"And yet I could not protect many Kaisers from dying at your hand," said Wilhelm, "I could not prevent the Apocalypse. I couldn't prevent the Anarchy, the Fifty Years' War, the Maximist War, or any of the other calamities that plagued the Reich. I tried to unite the angels three hundred years ago to stop the Apocalypse, and I failed. I can't do any better today."
"You're the only angel that has their full powers restored," said Uriel, "We can't do much because of Gabriel's spell. You aren't affected by that spell. Please, Wilhelm, you have to help us. At least stay here, in this universe, in this Reich, in this time period. Your fellow angels need salvation."
Wilhelm thought for a moment. He sat down on a bench and watched the remains of the bar burn. "If Gabriel's already powered up the tablet and gained some of its powers, does that mean he can just smite you right now?"
"In theory, yes," said Raphael.
"Then why isn't he smiting us right now?" said Wilhelm. "If he really wants us dead, he should have done so by now."
"Don't ask us," said Uriel, "There's probably a reason he's not killing us right now."
"Just stay," said Raphael, "You can help us find out why he's letting us live now. At least show that you care for your brothers and sisters!"
Wilhelm hesitated. After a few seconds of deliberation, he sighed. "Fine," he muttered, "But no guarantees. If things go horribly wrong, I'm leaving this universe."
"That's great," said Uriel.
Wilhelm didn't answer. He tensed up. "I'm sensing other angels in the area, rapidly closing on us. We have to get out of here, before..."
"Don't even try," said a voice behind them.
They turned around and saw a dozen angels, dressed in matching business attire, approaching them. The newcomers drew guns and pointed them at them.
Their leader, a tall bearded man, stepped forward. "Don't worry," he said, "I'm not here to kill you. I'm here to make a deal."
Wilhelm has been exploring other universes, seeing how alternate timelines play out... He's a reader on Paradox Interactive forums!
That means he could be any one of us. 
Now the fateful moment comes as things cross into the Atomic Era, will things slide into increasing tensions and eventually Dystopia, Or get better.
Now the fateful moment comes as things cross into the Atomic Era, will things slide into increasing tensions and eventually Dystopia, Or get better.
Will some player civilization find a star empire or a tomb world in Stellaris?That means he could be any one of us.
Now the fateful moment comes as things cross into the Atomic Era, will things slide into increasing tensions and eventually Dystopia, Or get better.
All will depend on Cold War.I expect that Cold War could last a bit longer than until 1991,because full Roman domination will also require pacifying of China.However,China could be humbled by Vietnamese War and Japanese independence(though OTL India-like),because Vietnamese and Japanese minorities in this timeline are also at Fusang,Penglai and even Siberia,not only in Japan and Indochina.
Still,however,Siberia and California will remain under Asian rule.Oh,how I would thank to CSSA,if they will annex Fusang!
P.S.:What about Claudius Anniona to be Che Guevara's analogue,man who "spreads meritocratic revolution across savage democrats of China"?!
If this Xuantong will follow his Qing OTL twin's fate,he will die around of 1960.Chiang will be alive at that moment,so this timeline's version of Vietnamese War could be:
1)War between monarchist Vietnam and republican China of insane traitor Chiang Kai-Shek
2)War of Vietnam for independence,no matter as Empire or Republic,under Tran dynasty or Ho Chi Minh.
All in all,both Vietnamese war and OTL India-styled independence of Japan could be perfect for reducing great power's number to 2...and getting Cold War back to normal conditions.
1)War between monarchist Vietnam and republican China of insane traitor Chiang Kai-Shek
2)War of Vietnam for independence,no matter as Empire or Republic,under Tran dynasty or Ho Chi Minh.
All in all,both Vietnamese war and OTL India-styled independence of Japan could be perfect for reducing great power's number to 2...and getting Cold War back to normal conditions.
Or a xenophobic militaristic empire bent on galactic domination?
Who said I had to pacify China to win the Cold War?All will depend on Cold War.I expect that Cold War could last a bit longer than until 1991,because full Roman domination will also require pacifying of China.However,China could be humbled by Vietnamese War and Japanese independence(though OTL India-like),because Vietnamese and Japanese minorities in this timeline are also at Fusang,Penglai and even Siberia,not only in Japan and Indochina.
Still,however,Siberia and California will remain under Asian rule.Oh,how I would thank to CSSA,if they will annex Fusang!
P.S.:What about Claudius Anniona to be Che Guevara's analogue,man who "spreads meritocratic revolution across savage democrats of China"?!
That means he could be any one of us.
Now the fateful moment comes as things cross into the Atomic Era, will things slide into increasing tensions and eventually Dystopia, Or get better.
Chapter 392: Uncertainty, Part 4
Hofburg Palace, Vienna - 17 December 1945, evening
Conrad Humboldt never really liked parties. He preferred formal meetings where everything he had to do and say were neatly laid out. A party was just chaos, and he wouldn't know what to do at any given time. But this was a Resistance reunion, organized by Senator Osterhild (she insisted everybody call her that now), and he couldn't turn down that invitation.
When he arrived, he was pleasantly surprised to see many of his old comrades at the palace (which the Kaiser had agreed to rent out for the night, provided they didn't destroy anything again), including Hans and Horst.
Hans quickly noticed him and smiled. "Conrad!" he said. "Nice to see you again! How are you doing?"
"Oh, fine," said Conrad, "Haven't been assigned any missions yet, so I've got time to relax. How's the Athanatoi treating you?"
"Same," said Hans, "I'm shipping out to Neurhomania in a couple of weeks. A few separatist groups are causing trouble in the south."
"That should be fun," said Conrad.
"Oh, please," said Hans, "Have you ever spent a few weeks in the Amazon? It's quite literally Hell. I'd probably rather relive the entire war than go there."
He sighed. "But at least it's better than just sitting around doing nothing, right?" he asked, grinning.
Conrad laughed. "Of course!"
"Uh, guys?" said Horst, pointing up. "Are you seeing this?"
Conrad looked up and saw a few lights flickering. The smile vanished. He glanced around the room, scanning the crowd of former Resistance fighters for anything suspicious. His eyes settled on a faint flickering apparition, darting between the backs of the partygoers.
"So..." said Hans.
He turned back to Hans and Horst. "Yep. Palace's haunted."
Hans's face paled. "What?" he said. "Now?"
"Wait, haunted?" said Horst.
"Yeah," said Conrad, "Hans, you're with me. Horst, stay here and make sure nobody panics."
"Haunted?!" said Horst.
"It's complicated," said Conrad, quickly walking away before Horst could respond.
Conrad and Hans walked into the kitchen and grabbed some salt from the table before any chefs could notice. They then headed for another room.
"How is this possible?" said Hans. "This is the palace, for crying out loud!"
"Look, I'm pretty sure nothing got in," said Conrad, "The palace is warded from top to bottom. There's no way something came in from the outside."
"Well, we got in," said Hans, "Multiple times. Maybe we or the Angeloi broke something?"
"Unlikely," said Conrad, "We only targeted anti-angel warding during a few of our attacks, and the palace's warding covers more than just angels. There's also a lot of backup warding, so even if we destroy a lot of sigils there are probably a dozen backups."
"So whoever's haunting the palace died inside, then," said Hans, "Most likely recently, given a lot of people died here when the city was liberated."
"But who?" said Conrad. "It can't be any of the Angeloi. The Inquisition made sure that none of them came back as vengeful spirits. But then the only candidate is..."
Hans suddenly realized what Conrad was getting at. "No," he said, "Just no."
"How can you be sure?" said Conrad.
"Because we were there," said Hans, "We buried his body properly. We got Alwine and Horst to let go of him, without any coercion. It's not him."
"Okay, you buried him and got his loved ones to let him go," said Conrad, "We did the same for a lot of other Inquisitors, and they still came back and had to be dealt with."
"Conrad, I'm telling you, it's not Engelbert!" shouted Hans.
At that moment, a vase next to them started spinning, and both Inquisitors stared at it.
"...Engelbert?" said Conrad. "That you?"
The vase exploded.
"Oh," said Hans.
The room temperature suddenly plummeted, and Conrad could see his breath fog up. The lights flickered overhead. A cloud of ghostly energy appeared in the air in front of them, slowly coalescing into a human-shaped form. Seconds later, it had consolidated into an image of Engelbert Dolfuss, who was still wearing the Resistance outfit he wore on the day of his death. There was a large bullet hole in his chest, and his clothes were stained with blood. His face was ragged and his eyes were bloodshot.
"Yeah, say that again," muttered Engelbert, "It's not like you can see me or anything..."
"Engelbert?" said Hans.
Engelbert stared at him. "Hans? Conrad?" he said. "You can see me?"
His image flickered.
"Take it easy, Engelbert," said Conrad, "You might not hold this form for too long, okay? It takes a while."
"Then we should talk fast," said Engelbert.
"Wait," said Hans, "Why aren't you in Heaven? I mean, you obviously deserve to be there..."
Engelbert's image continued flickering. "I couldn't. I can't. Heaven's closed, remember? It not only affects angels but everybody else. Everybody who's died in the last ten years is just stuck in Purgatory, waiting. Even Niederung. And it's bad in here. It's been made even worse due to the war. Can you imagine, giving your life for your nation only to be stuck in Purgatory? It's basically Hell."
"Well, what can I do?" said Conrad.
Horst burst into the room at that point. "Guys, Octavia's about to seat the guests and--"
He stopped when he saw Engelbert.
"Um, nothing now," said Engelbert.
"Dad?" said Horst, incredulous.
"Hello, son," said Engelbert, smiling.
Horst, not one to break down so easily, broke into tears. "Dad," he said, "Hey, dad. We all missed you so much."
"I know," said Engelbert, "I missed you all so much. Your mother most of all..."
"So, uh, we'll just let you guys talk in private, then," said Conrad.
"Yeah, tell us if you need anything," said Hans, "By that I mean Horst, because, well, Engelbert, you're...you know what, I'll just show myself out."
Conrad and Hans stepped out of the room.
Constantinople
The angels led Wilhelm, Raphael, and Uriel into a waiting room and gestured for them to sit down at a plain table in the middle of the room.
"How long is this going to be?" muttered Wilhelm.
"You've got to get somewhere?" replied one of the angels.
The bearded angel walked in. "Check them for weapons," he ordered.
The angels frisked them, finding one dagger on Uriel and one pistol on Raphael. Wilhelm was unarmed.
"My apologies," said the angel, "Standard security procedure. Can't be too careful these days. Better to be too careful than dead like our friends in Russia."
"Hello, Bartholomew," said Wilhelm, calmly.
Bartholomew smiled. "Wilhelm," he said, "Nice to see you. It's been too long."
He glanced over at Raphael. "And you," he spat.
Raphael simply glared at him.
Bartholomew looked back at Wilhelm. "Madness, wasn't it? A pitiful force of 20 angels behind enemy lines, fighting Raphael and his army."
"It was a calculated risk," said Wilhelm.
"It was suicide," said Raphael.
"I'd thought you'd gone insane," said Bartholomew, "I questioned your leadership. I second-guessed every step of your campaign. But you were my commander. I held my tongue and followed orders. And you won. Your gambit paid off."
"Unfortunately," said Raphael.
"Shut up," said Uriel.
"We won," said wilhelm.
"Word of your victory spread," said Bartholomew, "You got called back to the garrison. You became the great Wilhelm...while I stayed behind, just a grunt."
"You gained a reputation for yourself, as well," replied Wilhelm, "The captives I left in your care, you tortured and killed them."
"I was ordered to kill those captives," said Bartholomew, "You've been flying solo for so long, you've forgotten that's what angels do. We follow orders."
"In the centuries since that mission, it appears you don't do that anymore, though," said Wilhelm.
Bartholomew smiled. "Yeah, I give them now."
He glanced at his guards, who stood back.
"You can get to your feet now," said Bartholomew, "Walk with me."
The three of them stood up, Raphael grudgingly so. They walked out the door and entered a hallway.
"We realized that our human allies were more trouble than they were worth, after what happened in Russia and India," explained Bartholomew, "So we purged them. They got in the way."
"You killed them all," said Wilhelm.
"I regret doing so, but it had to be done," said Bartholomew, "They could have been potential vessels for Gabriel's followers. Yes, he does have followers. I couldn't take the risk."
He turned to them. "You guys nervous?"
"Your followers would like nothing more than to kill me," said Raphael, "And probably Wilhelm and Uriel as well."
Wilhelm nodded. "I'm not entirely sure you don't want to as well."
"If I wanted you dead, I would have done it already," said Bartholomew.
"So we can go," said Uriel.
"You archangels can go anytime," said Bartholomew, "I can't hold you guys here anyways."
"And me?" said Wilhelm.
"Of course," said Bartholomew, "It would be unbecoming of me to hold the angel who stared down Lucifer against his will. Though, I don't know why you would. What's out there for you, Wilhelm? What do you really expect to accomplish on your own? You'll never defeat Gabriel that way."
"What do you know about Gabriel?" said Wilhelm. "You're just fighting your fellow angels instead of uniting them against him."
"We have different methods, Willy," said Bartholomew, "But we want the same thing -- to defeat Gabriel and restore our kind to heaven."
"Then why kill your fellow angels?" said Raphael. "You're only dividing angelkind even more."
"Perhaps," said Bartholomew, "But better to nip a fledgling faction in the bud than let it grow into a bigger threat down the road. A drop of blood to save a gallon."
"I don't agree," said Wilhelm.
"I'm not asking you to," said Bartholomew, "You don't have to agree. But I will certainly outrace you in the fight against Gabriel. If you can just set aside your complaints for a second, there's no reason that the two of us can't take him down. You, with your reputation. Me, with the resources and manpower. Together against Gabriel."
They walked into an office with a large map on the wall. Locations around the world were marked with dots and corresponding photos of Gabriel.
"What is this?" said Wilhelm.
"Sightings of Gabriel," said Bartholomew.
"He's been on Earth?" said Uriel.
"Three times that we've confirmed," said Bartholomew, "That's the benefit of working in groups. We've got eyes and ears in almost every country, though our presence in India will take time to rebuild and Russia is hopeless. But it seems Gabriel's sticking to Europe, or more specifically the Reich proper. It's only a matter of time before we get an active location."
"Why wait?" said Wilhelm. "With this kind of information, I'd lure him out."
"I knew you'd be asset," said Bartholomew, "Nobody's as motivated as you to take him down. I've had my hands so full with the factions, it's distracted me from the real goal. But with you by my side -- the new boss, the ultimate hero, and two archangels working together -- think of the message that would send to would-be dissidents. They'd finally understand that resistance is futile. Think of the bloodshed we could avert... What a united angelkind could accomplish in heaven...and on Earth."
The doors opened, and two angels entered, dragging in another angel, probably one from another faction. Bartholomew kneeled and drew his dagger, pressing it against the angel's throat.
"What are you doing?" said Raphael.
"What needs to be done," said Bartholomew, "I'm going to torture him and get what he knows. Then I'll kill him. You'll help out, of course."
Bartholomew stabbed the angel in the stomach, causing him to scream in pain as grace leaked out from the wound.
"Tell me where the rest of your faction is!" demanded Bartholomew.
"They're all dead!" screamed the angel. "I'm the last one!"
Bartholomew wasn't satisfied. Not withdrawing the dagger, he twisted it in the wound, causing the angel to scream even louder. "Tell me the truth!" he shouted.
"Can't you see he's already telling the truth?" said Wilhelm. "He's got nothing."
Bartholomew stoppped torturing the angel. He pulled out the dagger and stood up. "Yeah, I kind of figured."
He handed the dagger to Wilhelm. "If he's got nothing, I don't need him anymore. Kill him."
"Bartholomew," said Wilhelm, "It doesn't need to be like this."
"Get your head out of the sand," said Bartholomew, "Who are you? I want to work with you, but I need proof that you're willing to do what is necessary to achieve victory. Sacrifices must be made and all that. That you can do what has to be done. This must be done."
"No," said Wilhelm, "I won't."
Bartholomew looked at the archangels. "And what about you?"
"Why would I help you, of all people?" said Raphael.
"You can't make me anyways," said Uriel.
"We were never free to leave," said Wilhelm, "It's either obey or die. So, I choose."
"I'm sorry to hear that." Bartholomew stabbed the angel in the heart. The angel screamed as grace fled his eyes and mouth before slumping over, dead.
Bartholomew turned back to Wilhelm. "As your refusal makes perfectly clear, you always thought you were better than me. Shall we put your superiority to the test once and for all?"
He snapped his fingers, and rings of holy fire appeared around Raphael and Uriel. He lunged at Wilhelm, punching him in the mouth twice.
"Did you really think I would take on two archangels without the necessary countermeasures?" said Bartholomew. "I'm not an idiot."
"No," said Wilhelm, "Angels fighting angels must stop. Might as well stop with me."
Bartholomew picked up his dagger. "Fine," he said.
He lunged, but Wilhelm grabbed his arm. Bartholomew's angels tried to intervene, drawing their guns, but Bartholomew said, "No! Stay out of this! This is my fight!"
Wilhelm twisted Bartholomew's army, putting him in a headlock and pressing the dagger to his throat.
"Okay, you win," said Bartholomew, "Now kill me."
Wilhelm, though, released him. "No," he said, "I've done enough killing."
"What are you?" said Bartholomew. "A penitent?"
"I'm nobody," said Wilhelm, freeing Raphael and Uriel from the holy fire and heading for the door.
"You don't understand, Wilhelm," said Bartholomew, "There can be no peace without war."
He drew another dagger and lunged for Wilhelm again. Wilhelm grabbed one of the guards' guns, spun around, and shot Bartholomew in the head. The angel leader's body fell to the floor with a dull thud.
He turned back to the guards. "Let us pass."
The guards stepped aside, and the three of them walked out.
Vienna
Ten minutes later, Horst poked his head outside. "You guys can come back in," said Horst, "I need your advice on this."
Conrad and Hans walked inside. Engelbert had sat down in a chair, if a ghost could sit.
"Hey, guys," said Engelbert, "Sorry I had to meet you again like this, but, well...death is inconvenient."
"Got any plans now?" said Conrad. "I mean, with Heaven sealed off, you'd just be going back to Purgatory."
"He's staying with me," said Horst.
"Look, kid," said Hans, "There's a lot we don't know about this Heaven situation. There's a lot you don't know about ghosts and the supernatural. There's a reason we restricted knowledge of this to the Inquisition and the higher-ups in the Resistance. There are risks to taking your father home with you. The longer ghosts are, well, ghosts, they have a tendency to...snap."
"He's my father," said Horst, "He cared for me when he was alive, and I should care for him until he can get to Heaven."
"It's better for me to stay here than go back to Purgatory," said Engelbert, "At least I can be with my family here."
"Fine," he said, "Just be careful. Horst, if anything happens to your father, you must be prepared to do what is necessary. And that includes burning his body."
Horst nodded. "I understand. I'll keep him safe until you can sort out Heaven."
"Don't worry," said Conrad, "The Inquisition is working on it."
Horst smiled and headed for the door. "I think I'll head home early," he said, "Help my dad settle in."
"Sure," said Hans, "Anything."
The former Resistance fighter left the room, but Engelbert lingered inside for a little longer.
"Well?" said Conrad.
"I just want to say thank you," said Engelbert, "Thank you to both of you. Thanks to you I found a purpose at the Inquisition and the Resistance. I found something that I believed in and fought for. It was a pleasure to work with you guys. But please, don't repeat my mistakes. Put your families first. Promise me you won't sacrifice those you love for anything. It's not worth it."
"I promise," said Conrad.
"So will I," said Hans.
Engelbert smiled. "Well, goodbye, then. I hope you guys do well, and I'll see you soon. Wait, that came out wrong. That's a bit awkward."
Engelbert's image suddenly flickered out, and Conrad and Hans were alone again.
"Do you miss him?" said Conrad.
"Yeah," said Hans, "Things aren't the same without him."
Hagia Sophia - 18 December 1945, morning
Wilhelm entered the great cathedral alone. He had sent Raphael and Uriel away to reach out to the more moderate factions in Constantinople. And it wasn't like they could keep him with them anyways.
He entered the nave of the cathedral and sat down in one of the pews. Clasping his hands, he bowed his head in prayer. He hadn't prayed in a long time. He'd been traveling for so long that he'd lost track of the time. But he felt that he needed guidance now.
"Father, if you're listening, I'm sorry," he said, "I'm sorry I created this chaos. I'm sorry I let it happen. I'm sorry I couldn't do more to fix it. Many of my brothers and sisters are dead because of me. I am not seeking forgiveness for that. What I did cannot be forgiven. But there are many of them who tried a new way and paid the ultimate price for it. They tried to end the cycle of bloodshed. And they have my respect. Please, Father, I need guidance. I need to know what I can do to help them."
A hand dropped on his shoulder. He looked up, seeing that it was one of Bartholomew's guards.
"I don't want to fight," said Wilhelm, gripping his gun, "But if I have to, I will."
"I didn't come to fight," said the angel, "When I fell to Earth, I thought I had no choice. But yesterday, you showed me that there is a choice. And I chose you."
"I'm sorry," said Wilhelm, "I'm not a leader."
"You are, Wilhelm," said the angel, "If you'll accept me, I will follow you. And I'm not the only one."
More angels filed into the cathedral and surrounded him.
Yeah, only it's much easier to break into.
A more fitting analogue would probably be the various Inquisition headquarters and the Resistance bunker during the war.
An Inquisition member and his ghost father, the perfect buddy cop comedy plot.
Also, Wilhelm becoming the reluctant leader of rebel angels sounds fun.
Also, Wilhelm becoming the reluctant leader of rebel angels sounds fun.
Time for Wilhelm to make his return and save the day. I'm quite curious to see what exactly Gabriel has been up to.
Gabriel need some sense. I mean seriously, if God notices what you've been doing, he'll zap yo ass out of existence.
Chapter 393: Uncertainty, Part 5 Gabriel
Tap-tap-tap-tap. Tap-tap-tap-tap. Click.
The fireplace is lit. French music plays in the background. Fingers type on a laptop keyboard. Gabriel clicks and leans back in his chair. Satisfied with what he has wrote, he looks up and
What makes a story work? Is it the plot, the characters, the text? The subtext? And who gives a story meaning? Is it the writer? Is it the number of comments and shares and likes (shame on you lot, by the way, for just reading and not commenting)? Or is it you?
Yeah, you, I'm talking to you. Don't play the fool. Don't laugh! I'm really talking to you. That means you, @Michaelangelo, with your snarky but terrible Canadian humor. Or you, @TheAnguishedOne, with your pitiful attempts to cheer me up. Or @spendabuck, with your "thoughtful" advice for worldbuilding that will never be implemented. Or @Cossack_of_Hetmanschina with your attempt to dictate the direction of this story against my will. That also means you, @Sir Dippingsauce with your crazy shenanigans everywhere; don't think I forgot that incident a few pages back with your failed but funny attempts to quote me! I'm looking at you @dragoon9105, with your challenge to my story's dominance, your random capitalization, your putting screenshots before your text (which infuriates me), and, most of all, your prioritization of gameplay over story and not the other way around! Yes, I'm calling out your decision to embrace the Worm just for its bonuses and reforming into a merchant republic just to get more money, which is easily doable even if you go feudal! A "shoutout" to everybody who is reading this right now but not commenting. And you will comment!
Yeah, listen. It's me talking. You think I'm a fictional character in a story on some obscure corner of the internet? Think again. You're so smug and arrogant, sitting in your chair staring at your computer instead of doing your homework or your job (and probably behind your mother's or girlfriend's (I'm assuming you're a white college-age male with reasonable intellect and finances because you've got the time to read this) back), all for what? Some temporary pleasure derived from watching me type this on some random forum? What do you really gain from reading this? Actually, ignore I said that. Why am I even talking to you? Oh, right, I remember now. Silly me. This will all go away when I'm omniscient, don't worry.
Tonight, I thought I would tell you a little story and let you decide.
Okay, how do I turn this off? Do I just hit the submit button or
Industrial District, Constantinople - 19 December 1945
Wilhelm walked down a dark underground corridor, trying to locate a pusling sound resonating in his head and in the air around him. He caught his trenchcoat on something and tore the inside of it, but he ignored it. He could always buy another trenchcoat. He continued searching for that sound.
He entered a room and found a massacre. Bloodied bodies, surrounded by wing-shaped scorch marks, lay everywhere, and on the far wall a glowing sigil was drawn in blood. Wilhelm took out his notepad and drew a somewhat accurate sketch of it.
He heard a noise behind him and ducked as a gun went off and a bullet zipped through the air where his head was. He whipped around and quickly disarmed the woman behind him, the gun clattering to the ground.
"Please!" shouted the woman. "Please don't! Don't hurt me!"
"I'm not going to hurt you," said Wilhelm, "It's okay. What's your name?"
"Sarah," said the woman, "Sarah Milton."
"Sarah?" said Wilhelm. "It's me, Wilhelm. Remember me?"
Sarah recognized him. "Yeah," she said, "How could I ever forget? Raphael kept trying to kill me after I married Kaiser Wolfram."
"What happened here, Sarah?" asked Wilhelm.
Sarah looked at the sigil and back at Wilhelm.
"I heard it too," said Wilhelm, "What is it?"
"I don't know," said Sarah, "It sounded familiar. It sounded like Heaven. It's so weird down here. I followed the tone and found so many of my brothers and sisters here as well. It felt safe here, and then the doors slammed shut and a strange angel arrived. He said he worked for the new God."
"For Gabriel?" said Wilhelm.
Sarah nodded. "He made us an offer...join Gabriel and fight for him, and we would be allowed to return to Heaven."
"Return to Heaven?" said Wilhelm.
"I didn't believe him either," said Sarah, "But he said he would take us home. Some angels joined him. The rest of us refused, and...I woke up to this."
"I'm sorry for your loss," said Wilhelm, "For all of our loss."
He reached over and healed her wounds.
"You took a stand against Bartholomew, didn't you?" said Sarah. "Are you going to help us, lead us against Gabriel?"
"I'm not a leader," insisted Wilhelm.
"But you..." began Sarah.
"I'm not a leader, Sarah," said Wilhelm, "But I'll find Gabriel and make him pay for what he did to us."
"Let me help you," said Sarah, "Let us help you."
"You're safer away from me," said Wilhelm, "Gabriel wants something from me. As long as he does, you're all at risk being in my presence. Now, this angel who attacked you, what was his name?"
Conrad's house, Vienna
"So this angel's name is Gadreel?" said Hans. "This Gadreel, he's working for Gabriel?"
"Apparently so," said Wilhelm.
"Who is Gadreel?" said Conrad. "Why would Gabriel send him to do this work, when he could just use the angel tablet?"
"Like God, Gabriel is apparently working in mysterious ways now," said Wilhelm, "And I don't know why he would pick Gadreel, of all angels."
"What's so special about him?" said Hans.
"Gadreel was the angel who let the serpent into the Garden of Eden," said Wilhelm, "For that we locked him away for thousands of years. Though Eden wasn't really a specific garden in a specific location and there were more than just two humans there and the whole 'sinning' thing was just that they had developed to a reasonable level of intellect to understand what sinning was--"
"Okay, enough with the theology," said Conrad, "You can debate this with the Ecumenical Patriarch later. This Gadreel said that angels are returning to Heaven? How? Did Gabriel reverse the spell or something?"
"Look, let's just find this Gadreel and ask him," said Hans, "Maybe beat the answers out of him too."
"Yeah, here's something to start with that," said Wilhelm, pushing the sketch in Conrad's direction. "It's acting as some kind of angel siren. I think it's a spell. The ingredients used to set it up were very old and rare...I've never seen it before."
Conrad placed a rather thick occult book on the table and began flipping through it. "This might take a while," he said.
He looked up and saw that Wilhelm was gone. "Seriously?" he said.
A few seconds later, Wilhelm rematerialized, a bunch of files in his hands.
"While you're busy with that, I've taken a look through police records," said Wilhelm.
"Those are police records?!" said Hans.
"Hey, I can time travel," said Wilhelm, "I'll return them as soon as I'm done and a second after I took them. Anyways, looks like this symbol was spotted at a handful of crime scenes over the last couple of days, all multiple homicides."
"And where were these crime scenes?" said Conrad.
"One was in Constantinople, the one I investigated," said Wilhelm, "The rest are clustered in Austria, mostly in industrial areas along the Danube. It seems Gadreel's headed west, upriver."
"What's the next big town?" said Hans.
"There are two," said Wilhelm, "Melk and Krems. Krems is closer to Vienna. You guys should take that. I'll take Melk."
Before they could answer, Wilhelm teleported away.
Constantinople
After returning the police files, he returned to the hotel room where he had stayed the last night. He started gathering up his personal files when the electricity in the room started to short out and buzz. He paused and looked around.
The television turned on by itself, and a man with a mustache appeared on the screen. "Hello," he said, "Remember me?"
He ripped off the mustache. "Michael. I'm going to take that as a yes."
He snapped his fingers, and the TV switched off. Wilhelm turned around and found the archangel Michael standing behind him.
"I'm going to need your help, brother," said Michael.