After his death, Dr. Bashir's soul was ejected from his body and nearly drifted to a Hellish torture facility with the other damned when a strange force pulled it toward Beelzebub's palace. Dr. Bashir found himself in the personal study of Archduke Beelzebub. Beelzebub was seated across from him, while Lady Cruciata stretched herself lazily on a divan. "I sensed your death," Beelzebub said. "What happened?"
"I felt overwhelmed," Dr. Bashir lied. "First, Lucifer and Lilith walked into the room, and then some a demon I think might have been Commander Baal and three traitor angels arrived. I thought I had been found out and made an immediate strike at the most obvious threat. I'm sorry."
Archduke Beelzebub knew enough about human ambition to be fairly sure Dr. Bashir was lying. He had almost certainly decided to use the mission to kill Rachel and her mother as a cover to assassinate Lucifer. "Be honest with me, Dr. Bashir. You and I both know you did exactly what you came here to do. Rachel may have been why Rev. Church came here, but she was never anything other than a means to an end for you."
"I... suppose," Dr. Bashir admitted, not sure how to keep up his charade.
"WHAT?!" Cruciata screamed. "But we had an agreement! You were supposed to kill that ex-human bitch who stole my perfect match so the wedding of the season could be back on! You know, House Morningstar and House Carrionfly joined together in marital bliss? Remember? Hello?"
"Calm yourself, Cruciata," Beelzebub said sternly before turning back to Dr. Bashir. "This may surprise you, but I actually rather like your little scheme."
"You do?" asked Dr. Bashir.
"Why wouldn't I?" asked Beelzebub. "I've been manipulating Lucifer for eons, but I'd enjoy the chance to rule directly. If both Lucifer and Miasma were to die, there would be a massive power vacuum in Hell. The death of both the King and the Archdiablesse would leave no clear successor to rulership of the Ninth Circle and Hell in general. Some would back one of Lucifer's other children, some would back Lilith... but others would back me." Beelzebub smiled, knowing it was true. He was debatably the second most powerful demon in Hell's nobility, and many of the anti-Heaven and anti-human hardliners in the court considered him their leader. Why shouldn't he take his place as the Devil? "I suppose I should thank you for changing the plan to clearing Hell's throne in preparation for its TRUE occupant."
Dr. Bashir frowned. He didn't honestly want anyone to rule in Hell, and Beelzebub seemed at least as wicked as Lucifer himself. But how could he back out now? Best to just play along and hope he could take out House Carrionfly as well. "Your welcome."
"It's a pity that you had to expose yourself," Beelzebub said at last, "but I can salvage this for you. Since there is life after death, you have a second chance. The important thing now is to reestablish your cover. A departed human soul cannot be turned into a true demon, but the disguises that Cruciata and Adrammelech were using on you will still work."
"Then you'll need to strengthen the spells on me," said Dr. Bashir. "One of the traitor angels smelled that I was not a demon."
"Impossible!" snapped Cruciata, her wings vibrating furiously. "Adrammelech swore that his spell would hide your true nature from all demons!"
"All demons, Cruciata," Beelzebub corrected. "He didn't mention angels. Fortunately, I have access to stronger magic than our dear Grand Chancellor. Now, I'll need all of you." He opened three portals and called forth the other Iron Knights.
"What do you want?" asked Rev. Church.
"It seems there are angels on the loose down here," Beelzebub answered.
"Good!" crowed Rev. Mather. "They will help us."
"Not these ones," sighed Dr. Bashir. "They have betrayed Allah and aligned themselves with Hell."
"What do we do?" asked Rev. Cromwell.
"The angels can see through Adrammelch's spell on you," said Beelzebub, "but I have access to a stronger one. I am a master of sorcery and know magic even Lucifer cannot imagine. Now, I'll need a drop of blood from each of you."
After an uncomfortable silence, each Iron Knight took out a dagger and pricked the palm of his hand. Beelzebub caught the blood drops in a silver bowl. He sprinkled on unholy powders and muttered spells in Sumerian. "There! Your true natures well now register as demonic to any being in Heaven, Hell, Earth, Purgatory, or any of the eldritch realms beyond."
"Thank you," said Rev. Mather, trying and failing to sound friendly to the ancient demon.
"One last thing, Dr. Bashir," said Beelzebub. "Your enemies have seen you assault one of your targets. I will need to change your features." He walked up to Dr. Bashir and rubbed unholy ointments on his face and throat, causing his entire face and voice to change, becoming demonic again, but also chaning in their fundamental structure. Once the spell finished, his own mother would never recognize him. In fact, Dr. Bashir was now female! Dr. Bashir tried not to look horrified in front of Beelzebub. "Your new cover name is Mabeuth. I'm transferring you from Ambassador Hubal's office to that of Wadd, the Ambassador to Yemen."
"Understood," Dr. Bashir said in her new voice, flinching at its feminine pitch.
"I'll have your new paperwork and ID ready in a few hours," said Beelzebub. "The rest of your should get back to work. Remember, Hell will be on high alert now that there's been an attempted assassination of the Devil, so lay low for a while." With that, he opened three portals for Rev. Cromwell, Rev. Mather, and Rev. Church.
"I dislike just sitting on my thumbs in the Eighth Circle while my comrades are out fighting the good fight," Dr. Bashir said to Beelzebub.
"You can join them just as soon as I've finished the documentation for 'Mabeuth', Dr. Bashir," said Beelzebub.
"Quite right," Dr. Bashir sighed. "If I learned one thing today, patience is everything."