Sam, Dean, and Meg stared in amazement. Crowley was hooked into some sort of device that held him over a vat of what looked like water and slowly lowered him into it with a loud hiss a millimeter at at time. If anyone tried to help him out of it, as Samuel Campbell was attempting to do, it would quickly yank the demon back up and restart the process. Dean was beginning to suspect that his grandfather was only pretending to help so the demon would continually be dunked. There was no way in hell the man was that stupid.

Castiel was staring at the vat of (possibly) water itself and frowning.

"What is it Cas?" Dean asked after he was finally able to tear his eyes away from the sight.

"An angel blessed this water." Castiel replied.

"And that is significant how...?" Sam asked.

"I don't know any angels that would do this. Raphael's forces would have simply killed Crowley if they had been here, as would mine. This isn't Balthazar's style either." Castiel replied.

"What about those two yahoos you chased off about a half second before my and Sam's grandfather showed up?" Dean asked.

"It is possible." Castiel replied. "And as they are an unknown variable, potentially disturbing."

"Unknown variable?" Sam asked.

"They are of another universe. While they are Aziraphale and Zophiel, they aren't the ones that I know. Their grace is the same, but... At some point during their existence, they acted differently and from there they became different. While I have a good idea as to how the Aziraphale and Zophiel of this universe will behave in a given situation...They would not have come up with this." Castiel replied gesturing at the torture device Crowley was hooked into.

"So, is that good or bad Cas?" Dean asked.

"I do not know, and that is what disturbs me." Castiel replied.

&!&!&!&

Zophiel wasn't entirely sure why he had decided to find the New Aziraphale. Possibly because he wanted to see for himself whether or not this Aziraphale would truly be as disloyal as Aziraphale believed he would be. Having been Father's spy amongst Lucifer's ranks at one point, he was sure that he would be able to follow the New Aziraphale unnoticed. As he began to employ skills he had not needed for a very long time, he was forcibly reminded of those dark days when he himself had nearly fallen. He had picked himself up though, and even carried Michael's standard into battle once.

Zophiel found the New Aziraphale standing next to a human conveyance having an argument with...him? At least Zophiel thought it was himself, it was hard to tell under all that tainted grace and the slithery nature which reminded him of the jewel bright serpents he had so admired before the Fall that seemed to be a magnification of his ability to slip out of tight spots almost miraculously unscathed, but it almost felt as if he were looking in a mirror while wearing a costume of some sort. He could even see a small portion of his own untainted grace under all of that...difference.

The Argument the New Aziraphale was having with his counterpart was different from the ones he had with Aziraphale when he encountered him. There was the bickering, but...there was none of the usual venom in it. That, and they didn't look like they were going to go for the wings like he and Aziraphale almost always did when they met. He still remembered the feather pulling fight they had had when they were fledglings. Neither side had forgiven or forgotten it.

"...can't believe you don't know how to change diapers, considering that you were the godfather to the first human child." his counterpart was saying.

"They didn't have diapers back then. Eve just sorta held the kids away when they started to well...go, and hoped that she didn't get any more on her. I haven't really bothered with babies since then, they destroy books." the New Aziraphale replied.

"What did they use when Eve couldn't hold it away?" his counterpart asked, honestly curious.

"Leaves." the New Aziraphale replied.

"Whatever, hand it here." his counterpart said, sounding unhappy.

"Crowley...?" the New Aziraphale said. Apparently that one word carried some sort of unasked question, because his counterpart replied.

"I was Nanny Ashtoreth remember, and what self-respecting wife of a cultural attache changes diapers?" his counterpart said as he took the infant from Aziraphale with an expression of disgust.

Zophiel found himself wondering exactly why the New Aziraphale and his counterpart were in the middle of nowhere tending to the half-breed offspring of a shapeshifter when they should be destroying it and the others that were strapped into seats in the vehicle. And what was that about the New Aziraphale being godfather to the first human child? What had Aziraphale done, or not done? What secret did Aziraphale hide that would make him think that one who is himself would be disloyal, would rebel?

"So angel, what was it you wanted to tell me earlier?" his counterpart said once the baby was changed and back in its little seat.

"I may have made a mistake when picking the direction in which we jumped." the New Aziraphale said almost sheepishly.

His counterpart froze, and then turned to face the New Aziraphale sliding his tinted glasses down so he could look the other angel in the eye with a pair of venomous yellow eyes that sent shivers down Zophiel's spine as several clues he'd been ignoring finally clicked into place. Somehow he knew that those weren't snakeskin boots on his counterpart's feet.

"When I went for a place that was "Like home", I ended up picking a place that was a little too much like home." the New Aziraphale said.

"Too much like home how?" his fallen counterpart asked.

"Um, apparently Castiel derailed the apocalypse, and there is a war in Heaven between the faction that wants to get it back on track and those that don't." the New Aziraphale replied.

"Why hasn't Michael, Gabriel, or Raphael sorted it out?" his fallen counterpart asked.

"The humans threw Michael into the Pit." the New Aziraphale replied. "I don't know about Gabriel, but the angels I encountered claimed that Raphael was leading the army that wants to continue with the Apocalypse."

His fallen counterpart fell back in shock, landing on his ass.

"The humans WHAT?" his fallen counterpart yelled.

"Threw Michael into the Pit." the New Aziraphale replied, sounding distressed.

His fallen counterpart stood up abruptly.

"Watch the munchkins until I get back." his counterpart said.

"Why? Where are you going?" the New Aziraphale asked sounding worried.

"This is something I have got to see for myself. The only reason I can think of why fa-...He would allow Michael to be thrown into the pit is...effing Ineffability." his fallen counterpart said before he vanished.

Zophiel considered appearing there and then and dealing with this mess, but if it came down to a fight to the death between himself and Aziraphale, he wasn't entirely certain he would win. Add in the differences between this Aziraphale who freely associates with one of the Fallen, and the outcome becomes even more uncertain. Temporarily retreating would be the best option for now. At least he now knew why he had liked the New Aziraphale when he met him, it had been because the New Aziraphale didn't radiate an immense dislike of him that was almost palpable. In fact, the New Aziraphale had actually seemed to like him, in fact it felt as if the New Aziraphale had considered him a friend.

What the heck did his counterpart mean by Ineffability?