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It was the day after the Supreme Archangel had shown up soaking wet on the doorstep of the library. Beelzebub had talked with him long into the night trying to figure out why he was there, and more confusingly, why he had no memory. It was a rather fruitless endeavor as they had to keep restarting the conversation when Gabriel would interject and throw the Archangel’s train of thought off. Really by the end of it the best lead they had was from their brief conversation with Shax from before they had even came across the Archangel. Something was going on in Heaven, that was pretty much it. Not having the means to investigate Heaven though, Beelzebub chose to look for clues where they knew Aziraphale spent a decent chunk of his time, Earth.
So, that’s where they were a few blocks away from the library heading towards St. James Park. Gabriel had said he and his boss often went for walks around the park while he gave his reports. It was as good a place as any. They had chosen to walk, despite owning a car, as it gave them more time to think about what exactly they would look for when they got to the park. The more they thought though, the more they just thought about how terrible the idea of leaving Gabe alone with his old boss. They were still having issues getting along and Bee figured that they would have to have words of different varieties with both parties. But they needed to get out of the library, so looking for any clues about what happened to the Supreme Archangel seemed as good an excuse as any.
Habit led Beelzebub to a bench that they often sat on with Gabriel. They did not sit, but leaned on the bench to give their feet a bit of rest. Still thinking about where to look for clues they were fairly certain they were not going to find. Their thoughts were interrupted by a terribly familiar sound. A quiet movement of grass and low hiss.
Beelzebub turned to stare in horror at the medium sized black and red snake moving towards them. They knew what was coming, but it had been so long, and they were trying to piece together why now? Bee hadn’t been to Hell since their failed execution. Their boss had been true to his word of leaving them and Gabriel alone. So why was this snake now wrapping around their legs? Several more had joined the first, some coming from the ground, and others seeming to come out of the snakes already wrapping around their body. Panic gripped Beelzebub’s mind as the snakes climbed higher and engulfed more and more of their corporation. It became hard to breathe, both because of the fear the demon felt and because of how tightly the snakes were wrapping their body. Beelzebub closed their eyes and waited for the scene they knew would greet them as they felt their figure being transported against their will.
“Beelzebub, just the demon I was looking for.” The voice had a rather forced cheerfulness behind it that Bee wasn’t used to hearing.
They opened their eyes at the greeting, expecting to find themselves in their boss's cramped dark office. Instead they noticed they were in a cramped space, yes, but they could still see the buildings and busy streets of London around them. As they quickly glanced around to get their bearings they realized they were sitting in the passenger seat of a car. Not just any car, a car they had been meticulously taking care of for almost a century; the striking black 1933 Bentley their boss had bought? when it first came out. Bee did not often see him driving the car, but he had inquired about the condition of the car about every other time they met, or sometimes conducted surprise inspections.
Beelzebub realized this was the first time they had A) been in the passenger seat of this prized car and B) the first time they had been in the car while it was moving. That’s right, they noticed the scenery around them was moving at a rather fast rate for downtown London traffic. They turned to look at their ex boss with a look of confusion and fear combining on their face. He seemed to be half expecting a response to his greeting so Beelzebub finally replied.
“Crowley, I can’t begin to wonder why you’d be looking for an ex demon.”
As they looked more at their old boss they noticed he seemed to be in his more human passing form rather than his demon form. Beelzebub had only seen him look like that a few times, most prominently at the airbase in Tadfield. Although, there was also something Bee had never seen Crowley with, sunglasses covering his eyes. It made sense, if he was trying to pass as human as possible, but he hadn’t even worn them at the airbase. They realized it made his usually carefully maintained expressions impossible to read.
“Oh, can’t I just want to check in on you?” Crowley’s voice still had that strained lighthearted tone to it. “We used to be close, remember?”
It was true that before they were on Earth Beelzebub had hung around Crowley quite a bit, although they always got the impression the snake demon’s memories of those times were quite different from their own. However, they couldn’t deny they wouldn’t have been positioned on Earth without their relationship with Crowley.
“You could’ve just sent a text, Heaven, even a letter would have worked.” Bee prodded, they knew Crowley was dancing around the point as he often did.
“You know I’ve always appreciated the chance to get out of the office.” The cheerfulness finally gave way to the playful taunting tone Bee was used to.
“Well, this can’t be work related because last I check, I don’t work for you anymore, Crowley.” They made a point of not using his usual title of Lord.
“I guess you could say I’m taking some time-off, dealing with a… personal matter.” Crowley’s lips pulled into a flat line as he finished speaking.
“Oh… lovely catching up with you then, but I don’t want to keep you from that.” The statement demanded that they turn to leave, but they had forgotten they were in a moving vehicle and so they had to wait for their old boss to respond.
“Oh ho,” he chuckled and turned slightly, half looking at them, they guessed as the shades still hid his eyes, “actually I think you can help me with this matter.”
“Really?” Bee was genuinely confused as to where this was going.
“Yeah, see I’m looking for… someone.”
Beelzebub’s mind was racing, they couldn’t tell at all what was happening, the events of last night for some reason completely escaping them. Before they could think of anything else to say, they asked a question that would feel stupid in a few moments.
“Who?”
They couldn’t be sure, but the car seemed to pick up a bit more speed after the question left their mouth.
“You might know him,” Crowley had turned back fully to the road, but he tilted his head to the side before adding, “the Supreme Archangel?”
Bee’s stomach dropped at that, their mind suddenly able to remember everything that happened yesterday. The Supreme Archangel turning up soaking wet and without any memories, the only things he had with him were a small black and red snake of demonic origins, and a mysterious letter addressed to the very person sitting beside Beelzebub now. They were careful to keep any reaction off of their face, they didn’t know how much Crowley knew, and they weren’t going to give him an opening to get at the very vulnerable angel.
“I guess I did see him at the airfield a few years ago, not since then though.”
“Is that ssso…” the car was definitely picking up speed now, “cause word going around is that he’s missing from Heaven.”
“Yeah, I think Shax mentioned a rumor like that to me yesterday.” Bee gave a slightly stiff shrug as they talked.
They were looking out the front window of the car and did not like how close they were coming to not only other vehicles but pedestrians on the street. Bee glanced back over to Crowley who did not seem concerned in the slightest to the amount of near misses he was having and he continued to speak with an even tone.
“I just thought, if he’s missing from Heaven, maybe he would be on Earth somewhere. You’re probably the demon with the most knowledge when it comes to Earth, so… Do you have any possible leads?” He turned to half look at Beelzebub again which was very careless given the speed of the Bentley now.
“Umm…” they tried to quickly think of the best way to answer, “Nope, don’t think I’ve come across any Supreme Archangels here on Earth. I can check with my angel if you’d like?”
Beelzebub thought they saw a slight wince from the snake demon at the question, but they couldn’t be sure. The statement was only a half lie, they didn’t think the angel currently sitting in the library could still be referred to as the Supreme Archangel. They hoped it would be difficult for their old boss to pick up on their deceit.
“That so…” Crowley had thankfully turned back towards the road, but had also chosen to somehow go even faster as he continued to speak, “I guess checking in with that angel you consort with would be a good place to start.”
“I’ll, uh, do that then…later.”
“When you do hear something, let me know. Seems there might be a lot of other people interested in finding this missing angel and I want to be the first to get to him.”
Beelzebub did not like that statement. What exactly was the High Duke of Hell wanting with the Supreme Archangel of Heaven. Since they didn’t have anything to lose, they asked just that.
“Why are you so interested in finding the Supreme Archangel anyway?”
“Like I sssaid,” Crowley was hissing as he responded, “it’sss a persssonal matter. Let’sss just sssay it would be bessst for everyone if I find him firssst.”
“I don’t have to do whatever you tell me anymore,” Bee countered, “I’m gonna need a little more than that if you want my help.”
Yet again, the Bentley’s speed crept impossibly higher. We’re they even in London anymore? Bee doubted it, but that wasn’t as important as their conversation.
“Fine.” Crowley spat his response, “After… after we met at… the…airfield, we became… friends…of sorts. I-I just want to-to make sure he’s safe. That’s all I really need to know for now. Can you at least help with that?”
The tone the demon spoke with was very genuine, even desperate sounding, but Beelzebub’s demonic intuition told them the statement was a lie. So, despite how innocent the last question had been Bee decided to withhold their information. If they let the High Duke of Hell know they knew at least vaguely where the missing Supreme Archangel was it probably would not end well for anyone. They played it in a way they thought would be safe.
“Sure, I’ll let you know when I find anything out.”
“Greaaaat.” was the only response they got.
Not a moment after Crowley had finished giving his enthusiastic response but the Bentley came to a screeching sudden stop, throwing Beelzebub forward into the dash of the car. They fell back into their seat and were given some parting words dripping with so much contempt Bee was glad they had chosen to keep their information close to their chest.
“I look forward to hearing that update from you Beelzebub.” The smile on Crowley’s face would have been pleasant if it had not been following those words.
Taking the opportunity they got out of the car saying their own fumbling hasty goodbye before they closed the door. No sooner had the door closed did the sleek black Bentley peel away from the curb back out into the London roadways. They watched it disappear weaving between cars just as carelessly as it had when Beelzebub had been in it.
After a moment they actually looked around to figure out where they had been dropped off. Oddly enough, they were in front of St. James Park. It was uncharacteristically nice of Crowley to take them back to where he had stolen them away from, so they chalked it up to coincidence. They considered picking up their investigation, but it had never really started, and besides, the conversation with their ex boss had given them quite a bit of new information to go over with Gabriel. Plus, their nerves were shot after that car ride and they would need the walk to calm themselves down. So, they began the 30 minute walk back to the library to fill their partner in. Using the walk to also mentally prepare for the comfort they would have to give to their beloved and the amnesiac angel who had probably pushed each other's buttons in the short time they were gone. Yes, the walk would be nice.