Titanic (Aziraphale X Crowley)

Chapter One: They Meet Aziraphale

Aziraphale and Muriel were flown to the ship in a helicopter. But Lewis had his concerns about him.

"He's a goddamned liar!" Lewis told Brock, "Some nut case seeking money or publicity. God only knows why, like that Russian babe, Anesthesia."

"They're inbound!" Bobby told the two.

The helicopter was ready to land but Lewis wasn't done

"Aziraphale is the name of a Principality Angel. So an Angel supposedly died on the Titanic when he was who knows how old, right?" Lewis asked Brock

"That's right," Brock confirmed

"If he had lived, he'd be over 100 by now."

"He'll be about 6,000 years old next month."

"Okay, so he's a very old goddamned liar. Look, I've already done the background on this dude all the way back to the '20s when he was working as a bookshop owner. A bookshop! There's your first clue, Sherlock. His name was A.Z Fell back then. Then he marries an artist named Anthony J. Crowley who ends up working with him. They move to Soho and they adopt a couple of kids. Now, Anthony's dead, and, from what I hear, A.Z Fell and Co. is dead."

"And everybody who knows about the diamond is supposed to be dead or on this boat, but he knows."

The helicopter landed on the deck and the crew started to unload all of Aziraphale's things. He didn't pack light. Four men had to help Aziraphale out of the helicopter as he was in a wheelchair. Brock welcomed him aboard along with his granddaughter. Muriel pushed Aziraphale to the temporary cabin and waited for the luggage so that they could unpack. Brock and Lewis would check on them later on to ask if the room was alright. Aziraphale said it was nice. Aziraphale was setting up all of his pictures as he never traveled without them.

Brock asked him if there was anything he could do for him. He said he would like to see his drawing. So, Brock took him and Muriel to the deck where all of the artifacts were being kept, including the drawing. Aziraphale looked into the water to see the drawing he had lost so many years ago. Aziraphale closed his eyes as he remembered the night it was drawn and the stunning yellow snake eyes that studied him as they were drawing. Aziraphale opened his eyes again as Brock started to tell him about the diamond he wore in the picture.

"Louis XVI wore a fabulous stone that was called the Blue Diamond of the Crown which disappeared in 1792. About the same time old Louis lost everything from the neck up. The theory goes that the crown diamond was chopped too. Recut into a heart-like shape that became known as the 'Heart of the Ocean.' Today it would be worth more than the Hope Diamond."

Aziraphale scoffed, "It was a dreadful, heavy thing. I only wore it this once."

"You actually think this is you, Grandpa?" Muriel asked him

"It is me, dear. Wasn't I a dish?"

Brock lightly laughed at Aziraphale's comment, "I tracked it down through insurance records. An old claim that was settled under terms of absolute secrecy. Can you tell me who the claimant was, Aziraphale?"

"I should imagine someone named Gabriel," Aziraphale said remembering the name all too well

"Gabriel, that's right. Archangel. Claim was for a diamond pendant he bought his worker: you. A week before he sailed on Titanic. It was filed right after the sinking. So the diamond had to have gone down with the ship. You see the date?"

"'April 14, 1912'." Muriel read

"Which means, if your grandfather is who he says he is, he was wearing the diamond the day the Titanic sank," Lewis told her

"And that makes you my new best friend," Brock told him with a smile

Brock then took him to another side of the room where all of Aziraphale's old things were being kept. Aziraphale looked at it all in awe. He hadn't seen these in years to the point he almost forgot about them. He picked up a hand-held mirror and was amazed at the fact it hadn't changed a bit. Well, the reflection had changed a bit. He put the mirror down and picked up a gold ring that he used to wear. Though it had broken from either the sinking or how long it had been down at the bottom of the ocean. Either way, he remembered it clearly.

Brock kneeled next to him and asked, "Are you ready to go back to Titanic?"

Aziraphale looked at him and nodded. Lewis set up a simulation to describe what happened that night.

"Okay, here we go. She hits the berg on the starboard side, right? She kind of bumps along punching holes like Morse code-- dit-dit-dit-- along the side, below the waterline. Then the forward compartments start to flood. Now as the water level rises, it spills over the watertight bulkheads which unfortunately don't go any higher than E deck. So now as the bow goes down, the stern rises up slow at first, then faster and faster until finally she's got her whole ass is sticking up in the air and that's a big ass. We're talking 20,000, 30,00 tons, okay? And the hull's not designed to deal with that pressure, so what happens? She splits, right down to the keel and the stern falls back level. Then as the bow sinks, it pulls the stern vertical and then finally detaches. Now, the stern section just kind of bobs there like a cork for a couple of minutes, floods, and finally goes under about 2:20 a.m. Two hours and 40 minutes after the collision. The bow section planes away, landing about a half a mile away going 20, 30 knots when it hits the ocean floor," Lewis imitates crashing sounds as the simulation shows the Titanic hitting the ocean floor, "Pretty cool, huh?"

"Thank you for that fine forensic analysis, Mr. Bodine," Aziraphale said, "Of course, the experience of it was somewhat different."

"Will you share it with us?" Brock asked

Aziraphale said nothing and got up from his chair to look at the underwater footage of the Titanic. One of the cameras showed the door to the First Class deck. Aziraphale flashed back to crew members opening the door for him as the orchestra played before coming back to the present day. He suddenly became overwhelmed and got upset. Muriel was ready to take Aziraphale away to rest but he refused. Muriel insisted but Aziraphale still refused. He sat back down as Brock got a tape recorder ready.

"Tell us, Aziraphale," Brock urged

"It's been 84 years..." Aziraphale began

"It's okay. Just try to remember anything-- anything at all."

"Do you want to hear this or not, Mr. Lovett?" Everyone stayed quiet, "It's been 84 years... and I can still smell the fresh paint. The china had never been used. The sheets had never been slept in. Titanic was called 'The Ship of Dreams' and it was, it really was."

The scenery around the decaying Titanic suddenly changed to when it was all shiny and new. Back when she first sailed in 1912.