A/N: This will be a canon+ GuardianAngel!Haught, Demon!Waverly, Wayhaught and EarpSisters story. After this prologue which sets the scene, it will follow canon scenes up until the season finale, at which point it will become original (and terribly exciting!).

I love to hear feedback, thoughts, theories and advice to please take the time to leave a review. It's very much appreciated.

PROLOGUE

Five people sat at tables inside the dimly lit diner when two well-dressed and striking middle aged women walked through the door. An elderly couple sat in silence across from each other against an inky window; a worn looking father took the icecream from his own sundae and added it to his young son's; a young woman sat alone and straight-backed in the further booth. She didn't look up as the two women approached.

"In all of New York City, you wanted to meet here?" said the elder of the women as she lowered herself into the booth. The young woman looked unsurprised by their arrival or the lack of greeting.

"You wanted me to live in the mortal world," she said, unsmiling. "This is how mortals live. I'm sorry it doesn't meet with your standards, mother."

The elder woman pursed her lips. "What name have you taken?"

The young woman brushed a lock of brilliant auburn hair behind her ear.

"Nicole," she replied.

"Good. Unassuming. I see that you've taken that approach with your appearance as well."

Annoyed, Nicole studied the chipped surface of the table for a moment. When she looked up again, she'd veiled the anger from her eyes.

"It's been a long time since I've seen you, Aunt Amriel," she greeted the other woman who had remained standing. Amriel seemed acutely uncomfortable, fixing her collar every couple of minutes and glancing at the other diners suspiciously.

"They won't be listening," Nicole reassured her, reading her mind. "That's the beauty of this city, no one notices anyone but themselves."

"How human," Amriel murmured. "Laylah, please, make this quick."

Laylah appeared to ignore her sister. She fixed her keen eyes on her youngest child.

"You'll have to be more careful in Purgatory," she said. "You won't be anonymous or invisible there."

Nicole looked up sharply. She shoulders tensed at the name of the town.

"I'm to go then?"

Laylah inclined her head. "There's trouble building for the Sanctuary. We need everyone to do their bit to protect the Triangle."

Nicole looked down, buying herself time to mull over the information. She wasn't enthusiastic about leaving the bustle and colour of New York City for a tiny, country town in the middle of a power struggle. Her year in the city had given her challenges of navigating the subway and encountering rude people, she wasn't sure she was ready to give those up for a spiritual battlefield.

"What am I to do?" she asked eventually, knowing that regardless of how she felt, the choice was far from hers. She was used to being a pawn on a cosmic chessboard with as little power as the mortals that sat around them. She'd been surprised to learn how fervently they entertained the notion that supreme beings governered their world – call it God, Krishna, Allah, Elohim, Nirankar or a myriad of others. She'd been able to understand why they sought that comfort, given the idea that the universe was whirling like a spinning top balanced precariously on the edge of the abyss was a truly terrifying one, and she envied them that ignorance. Contrary to the representations she'd seen during her time in the mortal world, angels were as powerless as humans. Nicole didn't answer to an all-knowing being, just her parents, her community and their purpose of keeping the scale of the universe balanced. And sometimes it sucked.

Laylah hesitated before answering her question and that made Nicole's skin prickle with apprehension. Her mother never hesitated, and that was how she knew that she was no longer relegated to mundane protections.

It was Amriel that eventually answered.

"It's Samael," she said simply. Her cheekbones appeared jagged as she pursed her lips in anger. Nicole waited, knowing there was much more. Samael had been Amriel's partner, until he had been tempted by the allure of power and fallen three centuries ago.

Laylah placed a calming hand on her sister's elbow.

"Samael started a chain of events in motion 180 years ago when he and that witch laid the curse on Wyatt Earp and the Sanctuary. It has been contained for almost two centuries and has given us no significant need for concern."

"Of course," Nicole commented dryly. This was a bedtime story to her, not news. And the fact that there had been no concern for the lives lost during the curse, as long as the precious balance was maintained, was not news either.

Her mother gave her a sharp look but ignored her insolence. "There is a greater threat rising than we could ever have predicted."

"And what am I to do about it?" Nicole asked sarcastically. She was an infant in the hierarchy of angels and she had no talent or desire to be a Power, a warrior angel.

"You're to do your job," Laylah snapped, irritation slipping through her façade. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "This is very serious, Neriah. There is a fledgling in the Sanctuary who has the power to combat this threat, but she is vulnerable and ignorant. She needs a guide and a protector until she is strong enough to embrace her power and use it against the darkness."

"So she's my charge?" Nicole said. For the first time her stomach gave a little flutter of anxiety. This wasn't going to be as simple as guiding an eighteen year old towards the college course that would lead them to a life of fulfillment.

"Yes," Laylah said. "And she's to be protected at all costs. She might be our only hope."

"Why me?" Nicole asked, the obvious question. Laylah and Amriel exchanged a cryptic glance.

"You have more potential with this charge than any of us," Laylah said eventually, typically and annoyingly vague. Nicole rolled her eyes and nodded.

"So when do I leave? And who am I to guard?"

Laylah gave a small smile but it didn't reach her eyes, they never did.

"You're to go to Purgatory today. And you're to guard Waverly Earp."