The only problem with blaming the pain that shot through his leg on a bat was that animals didn't tend to wear hard souled leather flats! Crowley winced through snarl gritted teeth that only just held back an angel withering string of curses. Ultimately these would never be uttered. How could he curse the foolish angel out for worrying about him and tagging along to just to make sure he actually came back? It was so saccharin sweet... If the bats weren't still an issue he might have risked the darkness in an attempt to land a blind kiss. Given the way the day had gone he likely would have ended up kissing damp wall. But his heart thrilled with those words, they were a team! Did anything else matter?

"Right, close your eyes."

Crowley's weight shifted in the pitch black, twisting under Aziraphale's protective arms until he was facing the bats.

"Tight as you can! This may not work but if we can't see then I don't feel these bats have much right to see either!!"

The darkness was shattered as a brilliant flare of cackling electricity burst out on the ceiling. The bright light burned with a white-hot intensity, bleaching everything out entirely for those who had not been keeping their eyes tightly sealed. It still seemed bright even behind closed lids.

The bats had not understood the warning. They were instantly dazzled by the electric strike which sent some scurrying off for the darker corners of the maze but most of them took flight towards the entrance, preferring the relative darkness of the sunlit afternoon to the blinding white.