Title: Unholy Union (3 of ?)
Chapter: Hidden Truths
Author/Artist: Ariyana
Pairing: Hellboy/Elizabeth Sherman
Fandom: Hellboy
Theme: #22 cradle
Disclaimer: Hellboy is owned by Mike Mignola, Dark Horse comics, Columbia/Sony and Revolution Studios. Constantine is owned by Vertigo/DC comics, Warner Brothers and Village Roadshow Picture. I am not making any money off this story. It is strictly for my entertainment.
Rating: 16+ Mature themes and adult language.
Notes: This is the next chapter in this crossover with Constantine. Three years after Hellboy and a few months after Constantine. Once again this is slightly AU. So please don't kill me.

X

X

X

"So they have decided to enlist John Constantine. Just as you thought they would," Rasputin spoke softly.

"Yes, it was only a matter of time before one sought out the other. They are predictable if nothing else," a low voice slightly hissed from the shadows.

Rasputin only nodded.

XXX

Constantine had to admit that out of all the shit he had been through, being spirited away by a government agency wasn't something that he thought was likely to happen. Here he was though being guided through an elaborate hallway furnished in ancient relics and artifacts. He stopped in his tracks when he laid his eyes on a display case holding a familiar ancient spearhead.

"The Spear of Destiny?"

"Don't worry that's just a replica of the Spear of Longinus. Your friend Dodson hid the real one remember?" Myers said, smiling.

"How..." he began but stopped when seeing the innocent smile across Myers' face. "Tell me something Myers...or do you prefer John?"

"You can call me Myers, pretty much everyone else does," Myers answered, indifferently.

"Really doesn't that just annoy the fuck out of you?" he asked, completely serious. He fucking hated being called by his last name as if it were his first name. Myers had seemed to pick that up since he started calling him John back in the interrogation room.

"I'm a FBI agent, everyone refers to each other by last name. After a while you just get use to it," Myers said, shrugging.

Well that was a way to skirt answering the question. So the guy was use to it but that still didn't mean he liked it though. "Anyway tell me something John, do you know where the real Spear of Destiny is located?" he finally asked. One way or another he was going to get a rise out of this guy even if that meant going against the grain.

"No I don't but even if I did, you know I couldn't tell you," Myers replied in an amused tone. "Come on, we shouldn't keep HB waiting."

His eyes narrowed at hearing, 'You know I couldn't tell you.' He knew that Myers was a government agent but he sounded like Midnite just then or Gabriel even. He got the distinct feeling that Myers knew more than he was telling but for some reason he was hard to read. Manning had been fairly easy to assess but when it came to Myers it was like someone was blocking him. The same thing had happened when he tried to read Liz. It was like his mind had slammed into a brick wall when he tried to dig deeper than the surface. It was rather curious since he didn't seem to have a problem with reading any of the others.

The feelings he could discern from Myers were warmth, caring, and courageousness. The guy would definitely put himself out there if it meant he could help, which made him pure of heart. He practically wore a halo over his head. He just knew that Myers would answer a higher calling when he finally left this plane. Here the guy works with a demon yet that earned him a place in God's Kingdom. The irony of that wasn't loss on John Constantine yet something wasn't right.

Myers must have caught the look that passed in his eyes caused he asked, "What wrong?"

Constantine just shook his head. "Nothing, lead on."

Silently he promised himself that he would figure out what the deal was with Myers and Liz. He continued to follow Myers down the hall until they ended up at a large vault door with a man in a black suit standing guard.

"Why is there a guard?" he asked curiously. Wondering why they needed a guard present if the demon lived as a man?

"Manning puts them here for show. So the higher ups think that HB is on a short leash. Hey Winn, has HB made it back to his rooms?"

'Oh so the demon is able to move about freely...at least here,' he thought.

"Yeah, he said he needed to make a phone call," Winn answered.

Myers seemed to frown at that answer. "John Constantine, this is Agent Rob Winn. Winn, John is going to be a guest here so he may come to visit HB on his own."

"Right-o, you're the boss Myers."

Winn's remark made Constantine curious about just how much power Myers really had in this special agency but for now he said nothing as the vault door opened. Upon entry he noticed all the cats running around.

"Gate guardians...figures," he muttered, this was just too ironic.

"What did you say?" Myers asked, curiously.

"Cats are considered guardians of the underworld. Often cats act as conduits between the living and the dead. It figures that he, who is considered a key would have an attraction to gate guardians," he explained. It couldn't be a good thing that so many cats surrounded a demon and it kind of unsettled him.

"I think you are the first person who has ever rationalized HB's love of cats," Myers snickered. "Before I started working here I never liked cats but after being around them so much. They've grown on me," he admitted, picking up one of the cats and heading further into the living area. "HB, where are you?"

"Hey John, I'll be right out," a deep gruff voice called out from the other room.

Myers nodded as the cat nuzzled against him and purred. Constantine noted the cat looked almost exactly like Angela's cat, Duck. He looked down to see several cats rubbing against his legs. He was beginning to feel like he didn't want to be here. It just felt wrong.

"So you're John Constantine?"

He turned finally laying his eyes on the demon in question. He was huge! Much bigger than any demon he had ever seen. He couldn't draw his eyes away from him as he watched Hellboy pick up a cigar and box of matches.

"And you're Hellboy?" he replied finding his voice again.

"HB, do you mind?" Myers asked pointing at the cigar.

Hellboy merely rolled his eyes; tossing the cigar and matches back on the table. Somehow Constantine got the impression that he wouldn't be so obliging in the future and if smoking was a vice that kept him calm then he rather the demon smoke.

"You don't have to do that for my benefit. I can handle the temptation," he said, knowing that was a lie.

Apparently Myers knew it was a lie too. "Not likely, John. Long time smokers often relapse even after years of not smoking," he said frankly. "And we didn't bring you here so you can pick up old habits again."

"Damn, Myers you're mother hen routine even extends to Constantine here?" Hellboy asked, his voice oozed with amusement.

"As if I'd leave you two unsupervised. I'm not stupid and you both better keep that in mind," Myers said darkly.

Constantine felt a little taken aback and noticed Hellboy even grimaced. So Myers definitely wasn't a person you wanted to get mad. It seemed that he had some bite underneath that innocent facade he wore after all. That left Constantine to consider if that was a good thing or bad thing.

XXX

She had been walking into her apartment when she heard her answering machine click off. Silently she swore having missed a phone call. She hurried toward the machine nearly tripping over her cat in the process.

"Duck! Get out from under foot! You silly cat!" she reprimanded. Quickly she hit the play button on the machine before picking up the cat. Duck began nuzzling and licking her chin. "Okay I can take a hint. I'll feed you in a minute."

After a few moments the messages started to play. "Hello, Detective Angela Dodson." a deep gruff voice said. "I'm Agent Howard Benson, from the FBI. I'm working on a case in New Jersey that involves an acquaintance of yours, John Constantine. He is consulting on a special case and he told us you may prove to be useful as well. If you could fly over here tonight that would be greatly appreciated. Just call the following number... and one of my agents will pick you up and escort you to the airport... "

Angela blinked at the machine several times before fully absorbing the message. It had been months since she and John had spoken to one another. It was not like she hadn't tried to speak with him but he always seemed to put her off. Now he was recommending her for a FBI case? It just didn't sound or feel right. He wasn't the type to cooperate with authorities but then again the FBI didn't exactly take no for an answer.

She looked down at the cat purring against her neck. Feeling unsure of what to do. It would have been nice if she had a vision or something, but she was picking up nothing. Her eyes slowly focused on her desk and she found herself gazing at an old picture of her, Isabel and their old college friend John Myers. He had been instrumental in helping her clean up after the Ravenscar incident and he was the only other person who knew exactly where she hid the Spear of Destiny. Plus she owed him a huge debt for helping her get Isabel a Catholic funeral even if they did have to fly the body to New Jersey to get it.

Then it hit her like a bolt of lightning: images of both John Myers and John Constantine's unconscious forms being hovered over by demons, Myers' girlfriend being cut down in a fight with more demons, a large red demon fighting to protect an unconscious and bloody dark-haired woman and a baby being taken from its cradle. The images disappeared as quickly as they hit her causing her to almost lose her footing. Duck promptly hopped out of her arms. Her mind was racing; that had certainly been something but what did it all mean?

"Troubles brewing and two men you care a lot about are going to die if something is not done to help them," a familiar voice spoke.

Angela turned around to see Isabel walking out of the shadows, a golden aura surrounding her. She could feel the tears fill her eyes as she looked at Isabel who was dressed in all white and smiling sadly at her.

"Isabel!" exclaimed Angela, rushing to hug her sister. Isabel silently held her sister and soothingly stroked her hair. "Izzy, I'm so sorry I didn't stand by you."

"Shh, it's all right," said Isabel, pulling back to look into her twin's eyes. "Angie, you don't have to feel guilty for the past. All is forgiven," she said softly, placing a motherly kiss on Angela's forehead.

"Izzy, what does the vision mean?" Angela asked, sitting down on the sofa.

"I don't know all the details, but there is a disturbance in the balance and both Myers and Constantine are caught in the middle of it," she explained quickly. "If something isn't done our side will sustain huge losses."

"I wasn't in any of those visions. If I went would it change anything?" Angela asked, wondering if she could make a difference considering last time she almost helped bring about an apocalypse.

Isabel kneeled down in front of Angela, lightly grasping her hands and looking into her eyes. "Angie, you're one of the strongest people I know. If anyone can make a difference, you can."

She smiled touching her forehead to Isabel's. Despite everything that had happened to them Isabel still believed in her and Angela didn't want her sister's faith to be in vain.

"I'll call Myers and find out what is really going on," said Angela with a sigh.

"That's my girl," replied Isabel affectionately.

XXX

Myers really hoped that they were doing the right thing by involving John Constantine. If it hadn't have been for Abe's revelation that Rasputin was being aided by someone powerful enough to block him. They would have never sought out the exorcist. He had already felt Constantine's attempts to read him a couple of times but he had gotten good at blocking out surface psychics. What he called skimmers, psychics who could only read the thoughts and feelings that were on the surface of a person's conscious. Of course Abe had been the main reason he learned to lock down his thoughts, it was rather annoying having Abe blurt out his personal thoughts and feelings at the most inopportune times. However he couldn't keep Abe completely out like he had managed with Constantine.

Myers stood back watching John and HB silently sizing each other up for several minutes. It definitely felt awkward being caught in the middle of the two of them. He had to admit that the two were kind of alike only that HB used witty banter to lighten a mood and Constantine seemed to go for that dry, deadpan kind of humor that either you got or you didn't. It was certainly a good thing that Constantine hadn't gave Liz a second look or Rasputin would have been the least of his worries. Myers was about to break the silence but was beat to the punch by the sounds of his cell phone ringing.

"Oh sorry," he apologized, grabbing the phone out of his jacket pocket. "Myers speaking."

"Hey John, it's me Angela."

He could feel the blood drain from his face at the sound of her voice. 'Oh crap!' he thought, quickly he spared a glance at Hellboy and Constantine before turning his back to them. "You got to be kidding me?" he muttered softly under his breath. "Hey...Ange, long time no hear from," he quietly stammered, a nervous tinge in his voice. "What can I do for you?"

"John I received a phone call just a little while ago from an Agent Howard Benson, asking me to go to New Jersey for a special case. He told me that John Constantine was already there and told them I could help."

"What!" He snapped, spinning around to face Hellboy. He must have looked rather menacingly because both Hellboy and Constantine seemed to slink back.

"John, that's not the half of it. I had a vision that you were also involved and I think you're in great danger," she added in a grave tone of voice.

His angry expression changed to worry at her words. From what he had learned about Angela's premonitions, she was rarely ever wrong. "Are you sure?" he asked cautiously.

"I wouldn't have called you if I didn't think what I saw was important. I don't know if what this Howard Benson said is true but I'm worried for both you and John. I even saw Miranda getting hurt badly. I can't sit back and do nothing."

He fought to maintain the barrier around his mind in spite of what she was saying to him. He could feel both Angela and Constantine probing him. Trying to access what was going on in his head. If he continued to allow them to keep mentally poking at him they would finally break through. "Look I need to call you back," he said quickly. "Give me ten minutes."

"Is something wrong?"

"I really can't talk at the moment," he said, kind of curtly.

"Okay, but please call me back quickly," she sighed heavily.

"I will," he said, shutting his cell phone.

Myers looked at Hellboy. Both fear and rage were boiling to the surface but he refused to let them win. He had always been the picture of patience and understanding but even he could be tested. "HB, you and I are going to have a very long talk about your phone privileges when I get back. You two try not to kill each other I've got rather pressing business to contend with at the moment ," he said, keeping a very thin lid on the anger he was feeling.

Hellboy grimaced at the pitch of Myers' voice. "Oh come on Myers, it can't be that bad," HB said, hiding behind one of his lighthearted grins.

Any other time Hellboy's light humor might have made him soften but not this time. For whatever reason HB had put in a call to Angela and got her involved. There was no way Myers could fix this situation now that Angela had premonitions. Like it or not, she was now a part of their mess. "We'll talk later," he said, making a beeline for the door.

He knew if he was going to call Angela back he had to do it outside away from Constantine. "Do me a favor Winn, keep your ears open. If you hear any fighting or commotion between them, go in there and break it up."

"You got it boss," Winn said simply.

Myers sighed trying to hide his frustration. He wished Winn would stop calling him 'boss' but the young agent seem to have a lot of respect for him and that was how he expressed it. He continued further down the hall to the library, so he could put in the call to Angela. Taking a deep breath, he prepared himself for the worse.

XXX

The moment Myers had left the room Constantine looked over to Hellboy for some answers. He didn't like the feelings that he sensed from Myers. The man was obviously hiding something and he was sure that Hellboy knew the basic reason why.

"What was that all about?" he asked. He didn't like being kept in the dark.

"Don't worry about it, Myers just lets himself get bent out of shape too easily," Hellboy said, brushing the question off. "So I guess I can call you John since Myers is out the room," Hellboy continued, picking up another cigar. "So John, tell me, what was the real reason you decided to help Liz?" he asked, offering a cigar to John.

A subject change, so he wasn't going to get any answers from Hellboy. That meant he would have to corner Myers later and see if the other man gave anything away. He had been so close to finally breaking through the damn wall but Myers' abrupt departure had put a quick stop to that. He really wished he had a cigarette. Things like this always agitated his nerves. He was about to wave the cigar away but after a second thought he took it instead. He didn't want to smoke it because he didn't like the taste of cigars but holding it made him feel slightly less agitated.

"I mostly helped her out of curiosity. Not many people can set off an explosion in that close proximity to themselves and walk away perfectly fine," he said, sitting down across from the demon.

Hellboy's ears slightly perked and Constantine inhaled sharply at his own choice of words. "Mostly curiosity? What was the rest of the motivation then?" Hellboy asked, raising a questioning eyebrow.

They locked eyes and for a moment things seem to slow down. The words 'I couldn't just leave her there!' hung in the air but John refused to speak them. No way was that demon going to get something that telling...that revealing out of him. Instead he reached into his pocket and pulled out the pack of gum he had received from Myers. He considered between smoking the cigar or chewing the gum, his nerves were really craving a cigarette. Finally he decided on the gum, he had gone that long without smoking. There was no need to fall back into his old habits so soon. The silence was beginning to become deafening. Hellboy was the one to speak first.

"All right John Constantine you win. I won't press you on it. Thank you for helping her though. I owe you one and I always repay my doubts," Hellboy smirked, lighting up his cigar.

"No problem," he answered simply. He sighed inwardly. He had just barely dodged that bullet. The ominous feeling still hung heavily in the air. Myers was hiding something, so was Hellboy. He knew it was natural for everyone to have their secrets but for some inexplicable reason he felt their secrets had something to do with the current situation. His gut was telling him that whatever they were hiding had everything to do with why Rasputin was coming after them again.

"Do you have anything to drink?" he asked, realizing how dry his mouth and throat felt.

"Sure, water, energy drinks and beer, what's your pleasure?" Hellboy asked opening his mini fridge.

He could have used something even stronger than that. "I'll take the water," he said almost regretfully. He needed to keep his wits about him. At least for the time being. When he got home he would most certainly be climbing into a bottle of whiskey and not coming up for a week. He gave up smoking; he couldn't be expected to give up everything else that dulled his nerves.

XXX

Myers found himself pacing in the library after his small chat with Angela. There was so much they both left unsaid for safety reasons. The fact that she admitted seeing death facing them all, really rattled him. He knew being apart of the BPRD was dangerous and he knew that being with the FBI was no safer but death in the BPRD was always darker or more gruesome. He had seen fellow agents eaten alive, ripped apart and otherwise maimed by demons and dark creatures compared to that, taking a bullet for the President was a cakewalk.

Why did HB call her? How could he do that, knowing that she had almost been used as a gateway to unleash hell on Earth? He stopped pacing and focused his mental barrage of questions toward Abe's tank. His foot impatiently tapped against the carpeted floor.

"Red is trying to play matchmaker. He is trying to get Mr. Constantine and Detective Dodson back together again," Abe said swimming into Myers' view.

"What? We're in the middle of trying to stop Rasputin and HB's playing cupid?" John asked in disbelief. Of course he knew that Angela had some strong feelings for John but he had figured that they would sort it out themselves. This was insane! Liz didn't seem to be handling her first pregnancy very well. Rasputin had been sending minions to randomly attack all of them. Abe was sensing a strong ally along side Rasputin and they were losing agents faster than they could train them but somehow HB thought matchmaking in the middle of this was a good idea. Myers found himself completely baffled.

"I'm afraid so, I tried to talk him out of it but you know Red," Abe sighed heavily.

Myers walked over to the podiums and begin turning the pages on Abe's four books. "Abe this isn't good. Angela has visions and they can be very accurate at times. If we don't find out what Rasputin is doing, I'm afraid most of us won't be alive much longer."

"Maybe with Detective Dodson's help I can see what our enemies are up too," Abe said thoughtfully. "Our combined efforts could be enough."

"We'll soon see. Man, what am I going to tell Manning? He is going to have a cow when he finds out that Angela is now involved. And I don't even want to think of what chatting with John is going to be like," Myers stated, slumping against Abe's tank.

"You could always have Liz explain to Manning," Abe offered.

"How long has Liz known HB was planning this?" Myers asked incredulously.

"I just told her after you took Mr. Constantine to meet Red. She wasn't happy about it either but she knows what Red can be like."

Myers sighed heavily. "Just think Abe, in the not so distant future we are going to be dealing with a little HB."

"Goodness, I hope not. Maybe she'll take after Liz," Abe said lightly.

"She? Since when do you know the gender?" Myers asked curiously.

"I've seen small glimpses of the future. I haven't told them but I'm certain it'll be a girl," Abe said happily.

Myers actually felt a smile cross his face. Having a gender assigned to Liz and HB's baby made her real and she was all the more reason why they all needed to survive. That little girl deserved to be born and to have both parents alive.

XXX

The nausea and sharp shooting pains were things she could certainly do without. Some days she was perfectly fine but most days she felt like crap. Between the two plane rides, the demon attack and the mountains of stress she felt even sicker than usual. Her will power and sheer determination were the only things keeping her going at this point. She and HB had made a conscious decision to hide her pregnancy for as long as possible. It was in their best interest that it be kept a secret especially from Manning. For all the good that Hellboy had done there were still many that didn't like the idea of them being together. The last thing they needed were those same busy bodies interfering with their unborn child.

She sat in her office trying her best to finish her report on what happened in Los Angeles. She desperately wanted to complete her paperwork before she was called upon to smooth things over with John and Manning. Sure she thought it was sweet that HB wanted to help Constantine and Dodson get together but she wished he had picked a better time. The last thing they needed was to be on Manning's bad side before he found out about her pregnancy. It would only make the baby fallout worse but she didn't have the energy or the strength to really stop HB, especially when he put his mind to something.

Her eyes were swimming just looking at the computer screen and the damn nausea seemed to be getting worse. Taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly she willed herself to concentrate on finishing her paperwork. Honestly she would have rather not remembered the attacking shadows. She had seen those things in her dreams but the actual experience of being consumed by darkness was far scarier than any nightmare.

"Liz..." a low voice hissed, causing her to turn away from her desk. Her eyes scanned the room cautiously. Suddenly a massive stabbing pain hit her that caused her to double over clutching her stomach. The room seemed to be spinning and everything began blurring. The lights in her office shut off, leaving her in complete darkness. She tensed at the feeling of a pair of strong hands grabbing her arms.

"What's a matter Liz?" her attacker asked, picking her up and slamming her into the wall. A small whimper escaped the back of her throat. She began struggling but the strength of his grip only increased.

"Who are you?" she asked, her hand bursting into blue flames.

"That won't work on me, dear heart. I'm fireproof," he hissed, grabbing her hand in his crushing hold. "All you'll end up doing is making yourself even more vulnerable," he added.

The pain in her abdomen was getting stronger and she could feel the creature absorbing her flames until her hand turned back to normal. Involuntary tears fell from her eyes.

"What do you want from me?" she asked, her voice barely a whisper.

She could feel her attacker press against her, while his hand traveled to her slightly protruding stomach. The baby that was barely sixteen weeks a long even protested the unwanted touch. She turned her head away in disgust when she felt his hot breath on her face.

"It's not what I want, it's what he wants. He won't stand by and let the traitor have his cake and eat it too," he said menacingly. "What exactly do you think would happen if I devoured her little soul?" he asked, his hand pressing harder against her stomach.

Liz grabbed his hand, fighting back the panic threatening to overtake her. A sudden blast of energy pushed him back and she sank to her knees clutching her stomach protectively.

"Not even fully formed yet and she's protecting herself. He'll be most pleased to know."

The lights came back and Liz found that she was alone. She slumped against the wall trying to calm down. The pain was slowly subsiding but her body was still shaking in fear.

TBC