And here is another chapter! Hope you enjoy it!
"Well, we have visited every spawn infested, grease filled cheap restaurant and still haven´t got a clue about Crowley´s whereabouts" Lucifer said, yawning while he parked the Corbet in front of a Mcdonald. "Maybe we should try an airport. If I know my brother, which I do, he will slither back to his grove in London sooner than later."
"You know, you should have more trust in my skills" Chloe answered as they approached the door. As they entered, Lucifer started to feel something. As if someone had performed a miracle. A tiny one, a celestial one… an angel was there, he was sure of that. "Oh, I think we hit the jackpot. An angel was here recently" he walked with confidence to the counter. "Hello, my underpaid worker, we are searching for a boy and two celestial beings posing as humans. Have you seen them?"
"Lucifer!" the detective chastised before showing the confused employee the photo. "Have you seen this pair? They were accompanied by a teenager, maybe."
"In fact, yes, I remember them" the other started, looking at the photo again. "You don´t see many same sex couples with kids here… don´t take me wrong, I´m not homophobic, but… they prefer other kind of restaurants, maybe with less soccer moms or grandmothers who can give them the evil eye?" he signalled the bathroom entrance. "They left the kid and entered there for a long time. And after that, they seemed to be nervous."
"You didn´t happen to hear their conversation?"
"No, I´m sorry"
"Did you see where they were going?"
"No. they simply entered an old car and went off" the employee explained, signalling the parking lot. "What? Were they dangerous?"
"They are just witness to a crime we are trying to solve" she said, not wanting to mention to the poor man how close he had been to two celestial beings. "We have to see your security cameras footage. They can have clues about where they were heading off to."
"Well, this was a waste of time" Lucifer talked, drinking from his container. Chloe walked out of the establishment, agreeing with him after a short visit to the security room, from where they couldn't find anything new. He wanted to call Ella, so she could access the street footage and track the Bentley from the parking lot. "It would have been more productive to search motels."
"Maybe you can be more useful. I don´t know, track them through their miracles? You said that you can do it."
"Haven´t you heard me? All of heaven and hell know that it´s easy to track miracles, they will not perform any short of an emergency now! Specially not now that they are in a strange territory, being searched over by both bands! No, no, no" he stopped in his tracks. "For this job we need a hunter and, as I didn´t have much time before detective douche calls the cavalry, we have to call the two best trackers I can think of."
A few seconds later, a bored Maze and confused Amenadiel were standing in front of them in the parking lot. As the archangel approached the place where the Bentley used to be, he started to realise why Lucifer brought them here. Typical of Raphael, he thought, unless it was medicine, plants or stars, he forgot details. Like the miracle gasoline of his car. It was very tenuous, but he can still sense it. And follow the trail. The demoness also felt the faint trail of the demonic miracle there, knowing exactly who has been there. Woow, so Crowley finally got out of his comfy little hole in London, eh? She wished to know how that was going to result. Half of Hell still wanted to murder him, after all.
"Let me guess, you want us to track Crawly before the others down there realise he is no longer in London and come for him, no?" Maze smiled, mentally picturing the red haired demon getting his ass handed to him. or being chained in one of those hell loops her kind were so fond of.
"Are you going to do it?" Lucifer asked, knowing full well that Amenadiel was already on it. And failing spectacularly, because after so much time running on miracles and Adam´s magic, the trail of the Bentley was so faint that it can barely be followed to the entrance of the parking lot. And that because the car´s engine was turned on in there.
"Yes, but only because he is the biggest prey there is to hunt and I want the credit for getting him, even if I can´t turn him in to the demon tribunal" she rolled her eyes, crouching down next to her ex. "Well, let´s begin. What do you have, hunter angel?"
"Well, it can be said that Raphael covered his tracks well after all" the dark skinned angel announced, shaking his head after noticing how much his little brother changed in this few millennia without him. "I thought that he might have left a trail of miracles after him, like he used to do when he ran away into the cosmos to paint galaxies with his headphones on, but there is nothing."
"Crawly has evaded Hell´s Justice for three years and their notice for more than six thousand, of course he is going to… Crawly is bloody Raphael?!" screamed Mazekeen, surprised. Chloe looked at her with the same look. Didn´t she knew all of Lucifer´s secrets? "I mean, I suspected something. And that would explain why Lucifer kept him up here despite Dagon´s and Beelzebub´s efforts to demote the snake back down there…"
"Really? You kept Raphael up here despite knowing how powerful he was?" Amenadiel asked, somewhat thankful for his brother´s thoughtful decisions. Even if a very dangerous demon has been roaming the earth unnoticed by heaven.
"You don´t know what happened down there when he Fell, he is was in hysterics!" the Devil defended his actions, a little bit offended. "I don´t know what happened up there, but he was screaming all the way out of the sulphur bath. And the next few years, before I sent him out there. I took him up there a few times and saw how the stars seemed to calm him down, so I made the assignment permanent" the older angel repressed a squirm. He definitely couldn´t let Lucifer know. "Why did he Fell anyway? Crowley didn´t side with me in the Rebellion, he only asked a few questions."
"Ehhhh, let´s talk about it later" the Firstborn, using the skills as a hunter he prided himself of to track the trail. He, after all, was in charge of passing it down to the younger angels. "Right now, we have to find our brother before your unruly subjects."
"He is right" the Lilim said, extending a hand. "Crawly is wanted in Hell after his hand in stopping the apocalypse. Now, being me, I´m thankful for his intervention, as if he hadn´t done anything, I wouldn´t have the opportunity to raise Charlie along with Linda, but another demon would certainly kill him on sight. Especially now that he is in the open."
"In the open?"
"Do you think your brother is an idiot? The one that is not Lucifer or the douches up and down there, I mean" the woman gave him a look. "Crawly is smart. As soon as he decided to betray heaven and hell, he set up wards around his home to keep angels out of it. His angel boyfriend did the same. And they both know how to make wards, they are the strongest I have seen in eternity" she smiled, remembering the last time a demon tried to get into Soho. She hasn´t smelled that aroma outside of fried chicken. Ever. "But outside of London, they are vulnerable. And they know it."
"So they are fleeing" Amenadiel realised, opening his wings after looking around the parking lot and making sure both security cameras and people were looking elsewhere. Having them out made him more sensible to magic, making it less hard to find the trail of the escapees. "Come on, Mazekeen, we have two runways to find."
"Right" Lucifer and Chloe nodded, deciding to return to the station in the Corbet, to see if Dan or Ella have new clues. Or, as the Devil put it, to get some help from the person who knew Raphael the most. While they were hunting, the angel was ambushed by the demoness and thrown to the ground, with her knife on his neck. He gave her an incredulous look, but her face was stone serious.
"What the hell, Maze?!"
"I will give you only one chance and you better answer, or you will end up losing a feather or two" the Lilim started, frowning. "What are you hiding to Lucifer about Crawly? Or how you like to call him, Raphael" she shook her head. "Now I know why he changed his name, the first one was awful."
"What is so awful in God Heals? I think it´s a pretty enough…"
"Don´t change the subject" the knife was pressed even more into his neck. "Talk now or your wings are going to lose more than a few feathers."
"You won´t do that…"
"Charlie needs a new pillow anyway" she pulled the other blade out.
"Alright, alright!" Amenadiel finally conceded. "Take the knife away from my throat and I will tell you" the woman didn´t make a move to take the blade away. "Have in mind that none of this is really my fault, it´s Gabriel´s. If that douche hasn´t done anything, Raphael wouldn´t even have Fallen in the First…"
"What?!" Mazekeen practically screamed. Crowley has always been a strange demon, with his love for humans, the open spaces and that particular angel of his, but that he wasn´t meant to Fall… that was unbelievable. "I thought that your dad, his great Assness up there, sent the rebel angels down in a fit of fury. Do you really mean that HE sent an innocent down there? On purpose?!"
"NO! It was GABRIEL who did it! And Raphael was not an innocent… at least not in the point of view of many up there" he rolled his eyes, hiding his guilt and exasperation. He just hoped that this didn´t woke up any hidden feeling. He didn´t want to fall again. "I think we should continued with this search, we have to find them before any…" the blade made a little cut on his skin. "Maze…"
"Spit it out"
"Raphael… he was the Great Healer and Starmaker of Heaven, you know? He was also most of the times with his head up in the stars, listening to music in high volumes with his headphones up and ignoring the damn world around him" he couldn´t help but smile when he remembered the second youngest archangel. "All of us considered him our most beloved younger brother, even Uriel, and he was younger than Raphi."
"Crowley is still a fan of loud music, if you want to know. And a ditz, considering that he misplaced the antichrist of all things in the world" the demoness continued with the conversation, rolling her eyes. "To the point"
"Hummmm… Raphael was dutiful too, despite his attitude… and everything. So in the war… in the war he said it was his duty to heal everybody, even the rebels. So he made the worst decision of his life and declared that the healers were neutral… bloody stupidity, because practically no one obeyed him. By the end of the war, he was drained and unable to protect himself from… from Gabriel and his goons, who considered him a traitor. That mixed with the questions he asked in heaven… that didn´t end well for him."
"You are keeping something to yourself" the demoness stated, glaring at him. Amenadiel swallowed, not really wanting to go there. Half a minute and a very angry Lilim holding a hellish blade later, the angel spilled the beans. And what an amazing sight was Maze´s face when he did. He didn´t even know demons could show that much emotions. Of course he knew Maze could have fury, anger, excitement and happiness, but… there were others. "I knew you and your siblings were douches, but something like that…" she took the blade away. "I respect you."
"Thank… you?"
"No, really, I respect people who could inflict that kind of torture on others. No wonders Crowley is like he is now" she chuckled a bit, remembering the confused snake the demon in question was in his first years in hell. "But you will have to tell Lucifer."
"WHAT?!" Amenadiel practically screamed. "Have you heard what I told you before? Maybe I forgot to say that there was no other more protective of Raphael than Lucifer. If he knows, he is going to rip my wings off and then flew off to do the same to Gabriel, thus causing a bloody war with heaven. AGAIN!"
"Well, it´s what you and your siblings deserve" Mazekeen stored her blade away after playing a little with it. "Should have thought about the consequences before sending Lucifer´s favourite little brother downwards in a bleeding mess."
"Maze, he doesn´t have to know. It was not my fault…"
"Oh, it´s exactly what it is" the demoness smiled. "And punishing those guilty is what I do for a living. Or at least use to… and enjoyed" she approached until her chest was touching his. "You have until the end of the day to tell Lucifer, or I will. And believe me, you don´t want that. It´s going to be faaar worse." The archangel gulped. "Until the end of the day, birdie. Or you will have to face me."
"Maze…"
"Until the end of the day" she finished, extending her hand to catch the essence of miracle even better. As a Lilim, she didn´t have wings to do that, so she had to do that. The archangel, for his part, only gulped. To face his oldest guilt, one he kept hidden and well locked for millennia, or to let an angry Lucifer kill him. The answer seemed easy, after all he wanted to see his son grow up, but it wasn´t really, as he didn´t want to fall again. But perhaps… perhaps facing the music, as the mortals call it, would be the best. If he didn´t lose his wings again on the process.
"I need to talk to Linda" he finally decided, unable to pick an alternative. He just hoped the beloved mother of his son was as understanding as she always seemed to be, because this was going to need lots of understanding, especially if he was about to uncover what happened in heaven after the war.
-In an hotel room near the airport-
"Okay, we will have fake passports tomorrow afternoon and plane tickets" said Crowley, entering the room, taking off his glasses before passing his hand over his face. "Now I´m seriously missing miracles. It would be so easy to just appear the necessary documents from thin air…"
"Dear boy, we both know that outside London we can´t do too many miracle. Especially after catching so much attention appearing all the way across the Atlantic" Aziraphale said, carefully re reading his notes about the Agnes Nutter´s prophecies. The demon approached from behind, reading over his shoulder. He could clearly see his angel was worried. And not without a reason.
Prophecy 456: the mistaken boy crosses the great lake, the mistaken boy calls as Munson mummers paint his world crimson. Snake and bird answer, Devil´s paradise gets infested. Guilt wrecks the formerly fallen as the punisher king searches. Dance, dance, ineffable pair, and dodge the hunters, that the true boy will soon appear.
Prophecy 457: The snake falls in the sulphur, his wings ripped out in regret. Trapped, trapped, there is no escape, guilt keeps chained those with an open door. Let go of regret, search for the truth that will make you free. Fallen not, just sauntered down slightly. Heal yourself first, sneaky old snake, then others will heal.
Prophecy 458: The one who heals extends his wings into the darkness, the one who heals rises as his light baths the shadow. The twin of Belen rises by the hand of the True Innocent in Hell, bathing with her healing light the tortured souls of hell.
Prophecy 459: Newly rised healer wanders alone in the darkness, feelings of terror and revenge staining his core. Not true sin committed before, no true evil in his soul. Read, angel, and read carefully, as sin of rage stains black. Safe him or lose him forever, it is now in your hand.
Prophecy 460: tears unfallen since the beginning of times gave songs that haven´t been heard since the stars were young in the sky. Memories of a past appear in dreams, torturers he can´t get rid of. Face the Seven each other for the first time in six thousand, face them who deal the most pain, and heaven will start to heal.
"Have you found something else?" asked Crowley, sitting down next to his angel, wanting to rub his forearms. He was stressed, he couldn´t deny that. They couldn´t perform miracles, were in a city heavily affiliated to Lucifer and a pair of lunatics were following them. Bloody fantastic. "I know the first part of the prophecy is a warning about the Dowling´s deaths, but" he turned to see Warlock, who was distracted by the TV. "Formerly Fallen and Punisher King… the second can be Lucifer?"
"Maybe, you once said that he considers himself more a punisher than a torturer" the white haired man sighed. "What really worries me is that mention about hunters. Heaven and hell are both after us. That´s why we set wards around our home, to make sure they didn´t reach us and to have the advantage."
"You don´t have to tell me" the snake hissed after saying those words, his tongue getting out of his mouth between his teeth. "The true boy can be Adam? I mean… when the nuns mistook him for Adam, they caused the triple exchange that landed us all in this trouble."
"I don´t know, last time I talked to him, he wasn´t interested in coming to the States" Crowley answered, deep in thoughts. "Hey, Aziraphale, do you remember when… I mentioned that I didn´t remember anything from before the Fall?" the other lifted his head. What was he saying? "I… I mean that… I always had that vague notion that I didn´t do anything wrong, that I only asked questions, but that is all. Anything specific is just… gone."
"Now that you are saying that, dear, I remembered" he lifted himself from his chair and put his hands around him. "Why are bringing that up now?" he didn´t like it at all. "Did you remember something?"
"No, it´s all blank, but" Crowley took off his glasses, showing his serpentine features. "one of the prophecies said that I will have to face my past. My regrets. What if… What if I am mistaken? What if I really did something terrible during the Fall? What if I killed someone or maim them? What if…?"
"Do you regret Falling, then?"
"Whatever I did… I don´t know, but I must have done something terrible to receive this punishment" the snake turned around. "The only think I truly remembered from heaven apart from my questions is someone telling me that I deserve what I was getting. And for some reason I believe it."
"Oh, Crowley, I´m sure you did nothing wrong" Aziraphale said, trying to calm the demon. On the other room, a boy of fourteen who had not been as oblivious of the chat as the adults hoped frowned. Nanny… Crowley wasn´t bad, Warlock knew it, and whatever he did in the past, he had obviously already paid for it. Whoever said otherwise can talk it out with Warlock himself. A ring behind him took him out of his thoughts.
"Hello?" he answered the phone he didn´t even know Aziraphale had.
"Hello? Who are you?" another English accented voice asked. Warlock put the phone away from his face, viewing the caller identifier. Who was Adam Young? "What is happening? Where are Crowley and Aziraphale? Are they in trouble?" silence. "What´s going on?!"
And Adam appeared in escene. Or is going to, as soon as he manages to get to USA from England. How do you think Lucifer is going to react once he is in front of him. And the others when they learnt that Their Devil has a son? Should he met Trixie? Review!
