Together (SEASON 1)

by Moonflower_Cat

Summary:

Marie is a seemingly normal person, though there has always been something peculiar about her. However, whatever it is, it never interfered in her life. At least until one day, when she had an odd dream. She shrugged it off initially, then it wouldn’t leave her alone. About two months later, several oddities occurred in her day until that night when everything changed. Now awoken in a strange world, she learns she has been chosen for an exchange program in a hell-like place. She soon falls down a deep rabbit hole after disobeying the one rule that was given to her. Follow her on this long journey as she uncovers a hidden past, the truth about these strange worlds, and the relationships that are built along the way.

 

Note - Some tagged items may not appear in this part of the series, but will show up later in the story. It’s here to give readers a heads up even if it doesn’t show up immediately.

Chapter 1: The Beginning

Notes:

Chapter has been slightly rewritten

Marie, I don’t have time.

 

There were flashes. Various images. She saw a red-haired little boy.

 

They need your help.

 

A faceless woman.

 

My brothers, they’re—

 

The voice started going in and out, as if her ears were under water. She saw a hand coming out of the dirt. Then a needle.

 

I made a terrible mistake.

 

Four objects. White wings.

 

She could be—

 

A golden apple.

 

They’ll never be able to—

 

Then there was a throne. A man with white hair. A blue glow. An arrow...

 

Marie—

 

White and black feathers fell around her in a dark void. Then she saw the red-haired child again, but... older?

 

Marie...

 

Then a girl with wings?...

 

Can you—

 

Who are you?

 

Can you hear me?…

 

Everything went quiet for a moment as Marie opened her eyes. It took a good second for things to become audible once again. There were the sounds of a fan, the bathroom light switch going off, the door creaking, and loud music pounding through the walls. She was in her room, and everything was normal. Despite that, she felt this uneasy feeling. She picked up her phone beside her and checked the time. 6:09.

 

She stretched, cracking her back and shoulders, then got out of bed.  She dug through her drawer, taking out a pair of socks, and putting them on. She also got out her leotard and tights for her dance rehearsal, and another outfit for her class later. As she walked out of her room, her roommate, Samuel, was sitting at the table. "Morning, Marie." She opened the fridge and took out a yogurt cup. "Hey, Sam. What’s with the neighbors?"

 

"They always do that. Told them to turn it down. But they’re stubborn as hell." In frustration, she huffed while opening a drawer, taking out a spoon.

 

"Have you submitted a noise complaint? Or talked to the landlord about it?" Samuel nodded as she sat down across the table from him. "He said he can't do anything about it." She rolled her eyes and groaned. "That’s bullshit." Sam just laughed.  "Well, it's not like you can say that to his face." He said, grabbing his keys.

 

"You have dance class today?" She nodded. "I'll drop you off on my way to work." After thanking him, she ate her last spoonful, finishing her yogurt, and throwing the cup into the trash.

 

 

——

 

 

After Samuel parked in the parking lot of her dance studio, she took her dance bag out of the trunk and walked around to the driver's window. "Thanks again, Sam."

 

“No problem. It’s the… least I could do.” They talked for a minute or two more, then he drove away. She began walking to the studio building, though as she walked onto the sidewalk, she caught a glimpse of something strange.

 

She turned her head, looking at the street corner. There was a man with white hair standing there, looking at her. He was pale, tall, and wearing a cape. He looked vaguely familiar. Almost like she saw him somewhere before...

 

"Hey, Marie!" She was snapped out of her daze when her friend, Paris, approached her. "Oh, hey Paris." She glanced away from Paris, looking back at where she had seen the man, but he wasn't there anymore. He disappeared. Odd. "Is something wrong?"

 

"No, I just thought I saw something over there..." Marie looked back at Paris and shrugged. Paris had a smile on her face, though she could tell she was concerned by her eyes. "Well, get in here. Mrs. Lee was asking where our Odette was."

 

“Sorry, I shouldn’t have stopped for coffee.”

 

“It’s fine, she probably won’t be mad. Are you warmed up though?”

 

“Yeah, I stretched in the car.”

 

Rehearsal was tiring and she wasn’t as warmed up as she thought she was. Luckily, they had time for breaks. Marie sat on the floor outside the main studio, drinking from a water bottle. She was stretching out her legs in a split when Paris sat down on the bench behind her. "Hey, are you sure you're okay?" Marie nodded. "Are you really sure?"

 

"Yeah, I'm sure. Why do you think something's wrong?"

 

"I don't know, you're just acting a little off. I wouldn't be asking if I wasn't worried."

 

"I'm fine, really. It's just I've been having this… uneasy feeling all day. It's probably nothing, though." Marie closed her water bottle. "Well, I think that you should trust your intuition. While it’s not entirely proven, studies do say that trusting your gut can lead to more effective decision-making.”

 

“Paris, seriously, it’s nothing. I’m fine, just tired probably.”

 

“If you think it's nothing, and you are sure that it's nothing, then I guess it's not important." Paris shrugged as she got up from the bench. "I'm going to the corner store after rehearsal, you want anything?" She closed her dance bag after setting her water bottle back inside. "Yeah, get me a bag of donuts."

 

 

——

 

 

She walked off the bus and passed the bus stop, eating a bag of donuts. After a short walk from the stop to her apartment, she got to the complex she lived in. She began heading up the steel stairs with an old black railing, whose paint had long since begun to peel off, to the third floor, where her room was. As she took out her keys, she looked down at the sidewalk.

 

She saw it again. That guy again. The one with the white hair. The uneasy feeling returned once again. What's going on? She blinked. He was gone. Again... "What?" She stared for a moment, her eyes tracing around the area for where he could’ve gone. Nothing. With a shaky breath, she shrugged it off and unlocked the door, entering her apartment. She made sure to lock the door and hung her keys on the hook next to the door.

 

She went into her room and grabbed her towel, then headed to the bathroom for a quick shower. After that, she sat at her desk and blow-dried her hair, then greased her scalp and braids, then put her hair mousse in. She styled her braids into a high ponytail and then put on her outfit for the day. Grabbing her bag, phone, and laptop, she headed out the door again.

 

Her college campus wasn’t far from her apartment building. That’s part of why she chose it. She moved in around two months ago, when the computer science department moved to a different building. She was already planning on moving out of her last apartment with her roommate, Nelly, or Nonni, or whatever her name was. The timing was just perfect really. Samuel was much nicer, and everything worked out. For now at least.

 

In her class, she stood in front of her desk. The class was on their computer architecture unit for the semester, so they were examining the hardware of the school’s computers. It wasn’t anything she hadn’t learned before, most people learned at least a little bit in high school. Her attention was draining rapidly. Well, until something weird happened.

 

“Alright everyone, can I have all of your eyes please?” She looked up at the professor who was now standing at the front of the room. “Hey, I’m aware this isn’t grade school, and you aren’t kids anymore, but I was requested to do this, so bear with me, alright?” She tilted her head a bit, but then, she saw two people entering the room.

 

One was a girl, with light brown skin, and she had sky blue, big, curly, voluminous hair, along with a pair of bright green eyes. The other was a guy, tanned with freckles, brown hair, and pink eyes. Definitely not what she was expecting.

 

"We have two exchange students who will be joining us for the year. So, this is Diaval and Furcus? Did I say that correctly?" The two students nod. "Great. They are from Norway, specifically the district of Stjørdalen." He turned his attention to the two students once again. "Sit wherever you like. I’ll brief you on our current unit in a minute." The students nod again, and walk over to open seats, talking to other people in the class. Her eyes followed them as they walked. Something just wasn’t right.

 

The rest of the class goes accordingly, nothing out of the ordinary. Yet she still has that odd, uneasy feeling. What is happening? After her class had ended, Marie went back to her apartment. She stood in the middle of her room, pacing back and forth. Something’s going on, she didn’t know what, or how, or why. But something isn’t right. She thought it must be something wrong with her, maybe it's nerves? Maybe some tea and a quick nap would help?

 

She left her room and went into one of the cabinets, taking out a box of tea bags. She went into another cabinet and took out an orange glass mug with a smiley face on it. A couple of minutes later, she sat on her bed with the mug, sipping the tea. She set the empty mug on the dresser next to her bed.

 

She laid down, trying to fall asleep. But the uneasy feeling wouldn't let her. Marie tossed and turned, desperately trying to sleep. She's never had trouble sleeping, at least until she had that dream for the first time. When she first arrived at this apartment, she had that dream. Though it was less vivid, it was just less in comparison. The uneasy feeling wasn't even there. But then it happened again, a day after. And then she kept having it for a whole week. Then it went away, she thought for good. But now it's back. More odd and unsettling than it was before.

 

It could almost be compared to one of those vague, analog horror stories that show their story with quick flashes and glitchy text with secrets hidden in audio and images. They were scary, but it didn't matter that they were, it was fictional. But whatever is happening to her isn't, whatever it is, it's real.

 

Eventually, she finally started drifting off to sleep.

 

 

——

 

 

Marie, they will be here soon.

 

There was nothing but darkness and that voice again.

 

They will need—

 

Who are you?

 

He is intercepting. But I must stress that this is important…

 

What's going on? Who is "he"?

 

Her voice keeps going in and out, like a bad radio signal.

 

He is a problem. But who you must really look out for is O—

 

O?

 

Oly—

 

Who is Oly? What do I have to look out for? Who are you?

 

Their sister—

 

Whose sister? What is your name?

 

There was that girl again, the one with the wings.

 

They are here…

 

She woke up abruptly again. Her heart was pounding in her chest, and she was kind of sweaty. It looked like the sun was going down. She checked the time. 6:54, and she had a battery percentage of three percent. Great. The uneasy feeling was back, but way worse now. The nap didn't help at all. "Who is here?..." She said, thinking about the dream. She sat there in her bed for a moment, and then she heard something. A door opening. Sam doesn't get off work until seven o’clock. She could hear the floor creaking outside of her room. Someone was definitely here. She got out of bed, slid on some slides, and locked her bedroom door.

 

She sat at her desk, opening her laptop to check the ring camera feed. Though, as she looked through it, she couldn’t see anything. The door was cracked open, but she couldn’t see anyone entering. “What?” She whispered, rechecking the footage. It was the same result though. She knew someone was inside, that was impossible. Then she heard another sound. There way no way someone hadn’t entered, absolutely no way. She went under her bed. Turning on her phone, she dialed 911.

 

"Hello, this is 911. What's your emergency?" She was shaking a little as she whispered on the phone. "Someone just broke into my apartment, I don't know what to do or what's going on." She heard another sound from outside her door. "I can't talk anymore, I think they're outside my room..."

 

"Okay hon, just stay on the line, we will find your location." She forced herself to breathe, pulling the blanket slightly off the bed to cover her. "Please hurry..."

 

"Don't worry, this won't take—" Her phone turned off with an image of a low battery. She sighed as she crossed her fingers, begging and praying she would be okay.

 

The door opened. She could see the shadow of someone walking in, but their footsteps were incredibly quiet. The person's shoes were black, slightly heeled boots. They also had a black, faded-into-turquoise, almost luminescent tail. This isn’t a normal person. It couldn’t be. Was everything that happened today warning her?

 

They are here.

 

Her eyes gravitated down towards the floor. How did the girl in her dream know? Dozens of thoughts were jumbled in her mind. Was she gonna die? Who is this person? What is this person? So many thoughts. Not enough time. If this were the end, she wouldn’t be able to say goodbye to anyone. Not Sam, not Paris, not anybody.

 

Suddenly, her eyes snapped back up from the floor. The person was gone… Where were they? Where did they go? She looked around for their shoes or that strange tail, but saw nothing. They were nowhere to be found, or at least not around the bed anymore. They could still be in the apartment. Just stay under the bed until the police possibly get here, is what she told herself.

 

Minutes passed, it was oddly quiet. She heard nothing, it was completely silent. The only thing she could hear was her own breathing. It’s been a while, maybe they left. But if they didn’t, they could find her any second. What would be the best course of action? What should she do?

 

She thought about it for a moment, trying to force herself to think rationally. The police would be here soon, all she had to do was wait. But what if the call couldn’t be traced? What if they can’t get here fast enough? What if they’re too late?

 

She thought some more. She had to leave. There was a possibility no one would come to her aid, and if she stayed they could find her, if they’re still here. It was a hard choice, but she had to make a decision. She had to make one fast. What do I do? Is what played in her head, over and over, then she heard something.

 

The bathroom light switch. Was it turned on or off? They were still in the apartment. The creaking door, was it closing or opening? It had to be closing, she would’ve heard the creaking already. It was closing, they were in the bathroom, with the lights on, and the door was closed. If she were to escape, this would be her best, possibly only, chance.

 

She thought again.

 

Fuck it.

 

She thought, crawling from under the bed, slowly walking out of her room. The bathroom door was shut, and she could see the light from under the door, she was right. The front door was still cracked open. She took off her slides and quickly sprinted towards the front door. Her heart pounded in her chest for what felt like eternity, despite only being for a couple of seconds, as she made it outside. There were people lingering near the bottom of the steel stairs.

 

She slid her slides back on, quickly going down the stairs. Halfway down the stairs, she looked out towards the sidewalk.

 

The white-haired man was back… Why was he everywhere?... Everything went sort of quiet as she stared at the white-haired man. It was like her body couldn’t move. There were flashes again, various images, all unexplainable. Then, the white-haired man looked at her. He was staring right into her eyes.

 

She looked around, and all the people were gone. Except for the man. The only person left was the white-haired man, or at least that’s what she thought. She looked back at where she had seen the man, he was gone. Gone, again… What is happening? Then that feeling returned, again.

 

There was nothing but silence.

 

It was loud.

 

Suddenly a hand was clasped over her mouth, and then everything went black.

 

Help. I need you.

 

He is more—

 

The stairs…

 

Problem than I—

 

Help me…

 

Don’t trust him!…

Notes:

Chapters will most likely come out randomly.

I also just wanted to clarify that Marie/MC is NOT an insert for the reader! She is an original character or OC for short. However, if you would like to envision Marie as yourself that is perfectly fine!

PLEASE LEAVE FEEDBACK!!! It’s very helpful, and I need to know what you guys think about the series so far. It would mean a lot to me, to hear your opinions on it, whether you liked the chapter or not. I don’t care if it’s just a short comment or a detailed essay, just please leave some type of feedback! Also, if you come across any spelling mistakes or grammatical errors please let me know so I can make it more bearable to read! Thank you for reading!

Chapter 2: Welcome to the Devildom

Notes:

Chapter was slightly rewritten

"How long has she been out for?"

 

"A while, I would’ve expected her to have awoken by now.”

 

There were voices, going in and out. Like a bad radio signal. The voices were quiet, whispers? The voices continued talking, sounding like muffled mumbles rather than an actual conversation. She blinked, looking around the room. She couldn’t see anything, and she couldn’t tell what they were saying at all. Her eyes shut again, and what felt like eternities later, they finally opened again.

 

The room soon became visible, yet blurry. Her eyelids felt heavy, as if they’d been dipped in honey. She could see a couple of silhouettes, specifically the two standing closest. One very tall and burly, in a distinct, red, uniform-like outfit. The other, a couple of inches shorter, in much darker clothes. Things got dark again. Then suddenly, as she opened her eyes, everything was clear.

 

The man in the red clothes was now standing directly in front of her. It took her a second to become aware of her surroundings, she was tied up in a chair, in a large and dark room.

 

“Hello, Marie. Wel—” He was cut off by her loud voice. “Where am I?! What do you want from me?!” Her voice was shaky as memories from what happened, who knows how long before, flooded her brain. “Oh, I suppose I should start with an explanation. I am Diavolo, otherwise known as Lord Diavolo. We have chosen you for an exchange program here at RAD.”

 

“An exchange program?! What the hell is this?!”

 

“So you see—“

 

“I was abducted for an exchange program, at… RAD?!… What the hell?!” The man, named Diavolo, apparently, just laughed. “I suppose I shall take this slower. You see, you and three others have been brought here, to this world, while four of our own were sent to your worlds, The Human Realm, and another, The Celestial Realm. I am the ruler and soon-to-be king of the Devildom.” She furrowed her brows confused. “Realms? I’m in a different realm? Is this some sort of joke?”

 

“No, far from that actually.” The man in the dark clothes said, stepping forward a bit. “Marie, this is Lucifer, the Avatar of Pride.” Avatar of pride? “Pride? Like as in one of the seven deadly sins?” Both Lord Diavolo and Lucifer nod. “Then I’m in hell? Did I get kidnapped and killed and go to hell?”

 

The bigger man just laughed again. “You’re very funny.” Lucifer chimed in though. “You are not dead. The Devildom, Celestial Realm, and Human Realm are all connected, just separate dimensions in a sense. You are not in hell, there’s no such thing, but I suppose this is the closest you’ll get to it.”

 

“So, if I’m basically in hell, then you are demons?”

 

“Correct. You’re getting the gist of things surprisingly quickly, I’m very impressed. Let me introduce you to Lucifer’s brothers.” He turned around, facing the three demons sitting in a line of seats behind him. Though most of the seats were empty.

 

“That is Satan, Avatar of Wrath. Asmodeus, Avatar of Lust. Beelzebub, Avatar of Gluttony.” He gestured for them to come down. The demons exited their seats and stood next to Lucifer. “Since it’s the seven deadly sins, there are others too, right? Where are they?”

 

“Mammon is greed, he’s running late, Levi is envy, and he leaves his room like once a week, and—” The shortest one, Asmodeus, was cut off by Lucifer, as he held a finger in front of his mouth. “The youngest… Sloth, is currently not here due to the exchange program. You may not get a chance to meet him, at least for now.” Something about the way it was said rubbed her the wrong way. It was sort of odd. She just shrugged it off though. Everything was so strange, she was convinced she was dreaming.

 

“I almost forgot, Marie this is Barbatos.” Another demon, slim with dark greenish hair with a single longer, teal, and luminescent-like strand, stepped forward. It was almost like he appeared from the shadows. The colors of his hair looked familiar, and his ability to blend into the background so well was making her think about the night before.

 

“It was you who kidnapped me, wasn’t it?” Barbatos waved a little. “Kidnapped is a bit of a crude way to put it.” His voice and face were rather jaded, but kind. “By definition, that was kidnapping, but I guess if there was no other to get me here…” She said, a little wary.

 

“Barbatos, untie her.” He approached the chair she was sitting in and tugged at the ropes around her. It fell off about his third tug. “How does that work?” Barbatos just shrugged as she stretched her arms, feeling and hearing her bones crack. Diavolo stepped forward once again and extended his hand to her. As she took his hand and stood up, he walked her over to two doors.

 

He opened them, giving her a full view of a balcony. She walked out onto it, Diavolo following closely behind, the sky was dark, cloudy, but you could see the moon. Below there were many lights, being illuminated from houses. Far into the distance, surrounded by trees, she could see a castle-like structure. Despite technically being in actual Hell, the sight was beautiful.

 

“Welcome to The Devildom, Marie.”

 

 

——

 

 

She sat in a seat, next to Asmodeus and Satan. Asmodeus spoke to her quietly as Diavolo, Lucifer, and Barbatos, stood to the side, talking about something that was inaudible to her. She was tinkering with a device Diavolo had given to her, that resembled an iPhone. He said it was called a D.D.D. The Devildom must’ve been somewhat technologically advanced to have phones. She would’ve thought hell would be more ancient. The architecture was still more reminiscent of ancient Greece, or Romania, but more gothic.

 

She just sat there, listening to Asmodeus talk, giving her the rundown of sorts. “We’re basically second in command, and considered the seven rulers of hell alongside Diavolo.

 

"So, what’s up with RAD?"

 

“It’s short for the Royal Academy of Diavolo. We helped found it a couple thousand years ago, and now we’re on the student council. More just like council in general.” Asmodeus seemed as if he was about to continue but he was once again interrupted. "She asked about RAD, not your life story, Asmo." Satan said, lowering a book so he could see his face.

 

"I'm giving her an explanation. I haven’t even said that much." Satan rolled his eyes, looking down at the book. "Not a very good one.” Asmo rolled his eyes, shoving him with a slight smile. “Shut up. You’re just a jerk.”

 

“Can't you be quiet for just a second? Like Beel." Marie looked over at Beelzebub, she had almost forgotten he was there. He hasn't said a single word at all. "Why hasn't he said anything?" She whispered to Asmodeus. "He’s non-verbal, he just doesn’t talk for the most part." Marie nodded as she looked back at Beelzebub. He was just staring blankly at the wall, then his gaze redirected towards her. They held eye contact for a moment, then Lucifer walked over.

 

"Apologies for how long you have been here, you were supposed to be escorted to the House of Lamentation much sooner. Mammon should finally be here shortly." Satan and Asmodeus both suddenly look in his direction. "I'm sorry, Mammon? Mammon is her escort?" A look of disbelief spread across Satan’s face. "You're kidding?" Lucifer sighed and shook his head. "Lord Diavolo, Barbatos, and I, all agreed that Mammon would be best suited for the job. He had complaints but he eventually agreed."

 

"Lucifer, you can't actually trust him to make sure that she stays safe. He would let her get eaten the second they walk into RAD." Lucifer sighs and punches the bridge of his nose. "Eaten? Eaten?…  That happens?" They all seemed to have ignored her as Barbatos spoke up. "Since you seem to have a lot of complaints why don't you do it instead?"

 

"I don't want to do it, however, it's still hilariously dumb that the three of you collectively came to the decision that Mammon of all people, would be responsible for the life of a vulnerable human."

 

"It took a lot of consideration but Mammon is the best choice. Maybe you would withhold your judgment if you looked at the facts instead of your personal interpretation of your brother." Satan was about to say something but Diavolo interrupts him. "This is not a debate, nor a subject we should linger on. He will be here shortly." As if on cue, the door swung open. A man with dark skin and white hair began walking in. "And there he is."

 

"I'm here! Where is she?" She stood up from her chair, extending her hand. "You must be Mammon." He looked down at her hand, an almost smug look on his face.

 

"The one and only, and it’s ‘The Great Mammon’ to you.” She tilted her head a bit. "Yuh huh, right…”

 

“You must be Mary.”

 

“Actually, it’s Marie.”

 

"Tomato, potato." Her brows furrowed as he finally shook her hand. "Alright. Now that Mammon is here, he will take you to where you will be staying. I will be there later to help with the tour." Marie and Mammon nodded. "In the meantime, show her to her room."

 

"Yeah, yeah. I got it. Let's go, Human." They began out of the student council office.

 

“You know, the phrase is actually toe-may-toe, toe-mah-toe, right?…”

 

“I! Don’t care.”

 

 

——

 

 

"So where do you guys live anyway?" She said as they walked down a pathway. "It's like a mansion. It’s pretty spacey, but it’s supposedly haunted."

 

"Like the one from Disney?"

 

"You’re asking as if I even know what that is." She looked out towards the path in front of her. The sky was gray and dark, and they were currently walking through a wooded area, with dead trees and grass all around. It would’ve been scarier if she weren’t walking with a guy who literally said “tomato-potato” earlier. The area they walked through to get here also seemed pretty urban, and had shops and such. It was kind of like whiplash to go from there to here.

 

"Are there ghosts?"

 

"We've never seen any. The house was built in the Human Realm, and the story says that a family of humans was murdered in the house, and now they haunt it."

 

"That's an overused story. Is it true?" He just shrugged and took his hands out of his pocket. They continued walking until they approached a large house, with a couple of dead trees all around it and a graveyard. “And here we are. Human, this is none other than the House of Lamentation!” The gate opened with a creak as they approached the front door. “Looks spooky.”

 

“Trust me, looks way better on the inside.” He opened the door, revealing a nicely lit room along with a long carpet in between two stairs, two pillars with a dragon-like creature on them, and of course furniture. “Welcome to where you’ll be staying for the year. It ain’t too shabby.”

 

“Whoa, I was expecting House Beneviento from the outside.”

 

“Am I supposed to know what that is?”

 

“Game reference, don’t worry about it.”

 

“Humans got some weird references, Levi would like you. He loves Human Realm stuff.” They walked down the carpet into a living room area then through another door into a hallway. They continued walking for a little while until they reached a door. “This is your room.” He turned the knob dramatically, opening the door very slowly. “Voilà!”

 

Her mouth parted as she looked at the room, it was beautiful. “Wow, this is surprisingly really nice!” He stretched a little as she looked around the room, tracing her finger over the table. “Hey, if you think this is nice, you should see Asmo’s room.” The room was bigger than any room she had ever been in, in her entire life. It looked and felt magical. Like something she would have dreamed about when she was younger.

 

“Is this a real tree?” She said, hugging the tree, looking up in wonder and awe. He shrugged his shoulders, leaning on the wall, just watching her. “Okay, this is actually fucking awesome!” She sat down on the bed. “Get comfy or whatever, Luci’s gonna be here in a lil’ bit. Don’t go wandering anywhere! I’ll eat ya!” With that he exited the room, closing the door behind him. This wasn’t too bad actually. Not bad at all.

 

She could get used to this.

Notes:

PLEASE LEAVE FEEDBACK!!! It’s very helpful, and I need to know what you guys think about the series so far. It would mean a lot to me, to hear your opinions on it, whether you liked the chapter or not. I don’t care if it’s just a short comment or a detailed essay, just please leave some type of feedback! Also, if you come across any spelling mistakes or grammatical errors please let me know so I can make it more bearable to read! Thank you for reading!

Chapter 3: I am up here

She sat on her bed, reading a random book from the shelf. There wasn't much else for her to do as she waited. It was like she was there for hours, just waiting. She looked at the time on her D.D.D. It's only been 15 minutes? "I swear it's been longer..." She opened the device, looking at the many apps. Then suddenly, her door opened.

 

"Sorry for the wait, things are quite busy. However, I am here now so we are free to take the tour." Lucifer made a gesture at Mammon, waiting for him to do something. He dug in his pocket, pulling out a paper. "Got you a map, places that we're gonna look at and stuff like that." He handed it to her, and she unfolded the paper. It of course was a map, of the layout, of the house.

 

"You guys have a planetarium?"

 

"Yes, it is a quite gorgeous room. I’m sure you will like it." They walked her out of the room, into the hallway. "Alrighty, where we looking at first, Luci?"

 

"Lucifer," He corrected. "and we might as well start with the Living Room." Mammon flashed a thumbs up and they walk into the Living Room, Marie following shortly behind. "Marie, this is the Living Room. And that area is the main entrance, which I assume is where you walked in at." She nodded. "Now down this way is the music room and the planetarium." They walked her into the room. She marveled looking at the rooms, especially the planetarium. "Wow, I didn't think this place could get any better." She said, as she stuck her hand into the water, flowing out the fountain.

 

"How come it looks so blue outside?"

 

"Diavolo may have had a hand in making this house feel a bit more... welcoming. Lets move on, shall we?"

 

 

——

 

 

They walked through more rooms, including the kitchen, a cozy looking common room, a nice library, full of book, and a beautiful garden, with many flowers and plants all over. Eventually, they reached the second floor. As the three of them arrived on the second floor, they passed a spiral staircase. She felt this surge of eeriness. Like something was wrong, like something strange was up those stairs. She brushed it off though.

 

"Down this hallway is Asmodeus's room. Would you like to take a look?" She turned her attention towards a long hallway, with a red carpet. A long red carpet with gold detailing. "Sure, will he mind?" Lucifer shook his head as they walked down the hallway. He opened the door, revealing a nicely lit room, with flowers and pink everywhere. It reminded her of Sleeping Beauty's room, in a way. It was gorgeous. Asmodeus was sitting in a chair in front of a vanity.

 

"You were right, this is really nice."

 

"Well of course it is, darling." He said, turning around in his chair. "I wouldn't have expected a demon to have a room this pretty."

 

"...Demons can like pretty things, not all of us like the dark and souls of the innocent, and stuff like that." It didn't quite sound like it, but it felt as if there was a pause before he spoke. Odd. "Oh, and before I forget again," There was a sudden hint of malice in his voice. "you owe me 100 grimm, Mammon."

 

"Okay! Time to go, chop chop!" Mammon pushed them two out the door. "Get me my money, asshole!" He speeds down the hallway, presumably towards another room. Lucifer sighs and shuts Asmo's door. "Does this happen often?"

 

"Yes unfortunately... Let's continue."

 

They walk back down the hallway and turned. "This is the restroom, if there is any problems with the one in your room, feel free to use this one." They continue to walk, stopping at another door. "This is Satan's room, stand away from the doorway please." She tilted her head and backed away, to the side of door. He opened it and a single book came flying out. "I would work on my aim if I were you." The two of them move to stand in the doorway.

 

"I would work on my aim if I were you." Satan mocked, making another book fly towards them. Lucifer caught it by the spine, which was kind of impressive. "How did you do that?" Lucifer shrugged. "Reflexes." She turned her attention back towards Satan. "And how did you, do that?"

 

"Simple levitation spell." Then she looked back at Lucifer. "Spells? Like magic? There's magic too?" Lucifer nodded and Satan huffed. "You really had to pick the most clueless one you could find, didn't you?" Lucifer sighed again. "Let's keep moving." He shut the door, and the two continued down the path of the hallway.

 

They approached a room, it sounded like RPG music? "This is Leviathan's room." He gently knocked on the door. "Levi? Can I come in?" It was quiet. "Leviathan?" It remained quiet. "I guess not." Then the door opened and a bag full of water bottles fell into the hallway. Then the door shut, just as fast as it opened. Lucifer leaned down and picked up the bag. "Well, at least he's drinking water."

 

"Right..." He started walking once again, she followed closely behind. "This is Mammon's room and mine is that one down the hall." He opened the door to Mammon's room. He was sitting on one of the two coaches. "See you've finally made it here." She nodded. "You have a projector and a pool table? That's fucking sick!" She said excitedly, walking further into the room. "Is that a real car?"

 

"Nah, it's just a model. But it's still pretty freaking awesome. You can go on with your tour, big bro." The two of them exit the room, yet again. "Now for the final room," they walked up the hall, going to another door on the opposite side of the hallway. "we have, the twins room." He opened the door. The room was spilt in the middle, one side being warm tones and the other cool. Behind the beds there was a sun, and the other a moon. Umbrella's were hung from the ceiling, fake rain also dangling. Beel was sitting on the floor, next to the purple bed.

 

"This is pretty." He turned to them, standing in the doorway. "Hi Beelzebub." He waved. "Dinner will be soon, make sure you come down on time today, okay?" Lucifer said backing out the room. He nodded. With that, they fully left the room. "And that's the tour."

 

They walk back down, and around the hall, to the stairs they came up from. "If you have any questions, or need anything call or send me a message."

 

"Okay, I got it. Thank you." She was about to go down the stairs before she turned her attention to the spiral staircase. There was that eerie feeling again. Something was wrong. It felt like...

 

It was calling her... She stared at it.

 

Then she heard it.

 

Marie…

 

…Don’t…

 

Those two voices again.

 

Marie, help me…

 

One was completely drowned out.

 

I am up here…

 

Who are you?...

 

"Marie? Are you alright?" She was snapped back to reality, once again. "Um, yeah. Uh, where do those stairs go?" He looked at the stairs. Then there was this subtle change in his expression. "These are the stairs to the attic."

 

"Are we going to look up there?"

 

It got quiet, just for a second, the atmosphere feeling dark and cold, before Lucifer spoke up again.

 

"Marie, I have one rule for you. Do not, under any circumstances, go up those stairs. Do you understand?" She furrowed her brows. "What's up there?" He sighed. "I'm afraid it isn't an area that is... safe for a human. Please, for your own good, don't go snooping in places where you don't belong. Understand?"

 

"...Yes, I understand."

 

"Good, then we shouldn't have any problems." Lucifer turned around and walked back down the hall. That was another odd thing. A part of her didn't buy it. What could possibly be so dangerous in the attic? She went down the stairs and the atmosphere felt normal again.

 

What is going on here?

 

 

——

 

 

Marie… You know something is wrong… Help me… Help…

 

Help…

 

…Wake…

 

Help...

 

…Wake up…

 

Help me…

 

"Wake up, Human!"

 

She jolted awake, breathing heavily as Mammon stumbled back a little. "You having night terrors or somethin?" She looked around, her breathing and heart rate slowing. "Are you hearing that?" He tilted his head and furrowed his brows. "Hearing what?"

 

"That voice... Calling for help."

 

"I'm pretty sure you ain't supposed to be hearing voices. You need a doctor or something?" She rolled her eyes and sat up. "No, I don't need a doctor."

 

"Anyways, you gotta get up. It's your first day at RAD." RAD? Oh right, RAD. "Okay." She got up, out of bed and stretched a little. "Your uniforms on the table, and hurry up!" He left the room as she walked over to the table, picking up the uniform, getting a good look at it. "This looks very complicated to put on..." She said quietly, to herself. Though, eventually she was able to get it on correctly.

How bad could RAD be?

 

 

——

 

 

It's cold and dark up here, it always is. The even colder chains didn't make it any more bearable. I can't move my hands. There's the footsteps, his footsteps. He walks in, holding that tray again. It must be feeding day. He set the tray down and took off a plate. Why does he keep trying? He kneeled down in front of me, picking up some food from the plate. "Open."

 

Does he think I work like a dog? Does he think I'm just gonna follow his orders like a domesticated pet? It's infuriating. He is infuriating. He sighed. "Please, eat." I refuse to let him feed me like a baby. I refuse. "You're making this more difficult than it has to be. Eat."

 

He sighed and set the tray aside. "I'm not gonna bother with this if you won't eat."

 

"Then leave." He sighed again. Standing up, and heading down the stairs, leaving the tray there.

 

Who does he think he is? He has the nerve to do this to me, then call me difficult. There's this sense of anger, this crippling anger. It's getting stronger every second. Every second I get angrier, more exhausted because of him. Because of Diavolo. Because of the people who took her away from us. Because of the world that took her away. I will make him pay. I will make them all pay.

 

I will bury them all.

 

 

——

 

 

"So what kind of classes do they have here at RAD?" Marie walked with Mammon through the hallways at RAD. "Eh, it's mostly stuff to help demons be better people. It's been here for a bunch a years. Me, and my brothers, and of course Diavolo, are the founders."

 

"Okay, that's interesting." She looked around the at the other demons around. There were a bunch of eyes on her, whispers and death stares. "Why are they staring like that?" Mammon shrugged. "They probably wanna eat you, but you don't gotta worry about that. The good ol' Great Mammon, is here to protect ya."

 

She looked around again, then there was the white haired guy again. Why is he everywhere?... A couple demons walked by and he was gone, again. Who is that guy?

 

"Well hello there!"

 

Both, Marie and Mammon, jump screaming. "What the hell?!" It was the white haired guy. He giggled softly. "Sorry, did I startle you two?" They stare in surprise, blinking, trying to process what's happening. "I'll take that as yes. You are Marie, correct?" They both calm down a bit and she nods. "And you are?"

 

"I am Solomon, the other Human exchange student. Very nice to finally meet you." He extended his hand and she took it, shaking it slowly. "You're not funny, Solomon." Asmo says, walking up behind him. "Personally, I think I'm very funny." He rolled his eyes. "Keep dreaming, wizard." Asmodeus patted his shoulder, teasing him. "You are so…"

 

"I’m so what?" They continued talking as they walked away, leaving Mammon and Marie where they stood. "Okay... That was weird. He said his name was Solomon?"

 

"Yeah, he's this powerful, yet sketchy sorcerer, or whatever. Diavolo and Barbatos had him helping out with getting your ass here." So that's what was going on... But something still felt so strange.

 

They walked until they reached a classroom. "Well here is your first class. Let's go." The two of them walk into the class. There were many people, standing around. Mammon took her hand and led her over to a man, he had dark skin, and very dark brown hair. "Oh, hey Mammon." Mammon did a little wave, letting go of her hand. "Wanted you to meet the other Human student."

 

"Hi, I'm Marie."

 

"Hello, I'm Simeon."

 

"You are the Angel?"

 

"Yes, I don't think it would be that hard to tell." He laughed a little. "You're right. There is another Angel, right?" Simeon nodded "Mhm. Marie," He stepped aside a little, revealing a short, chubby Angel, with blonde, curly hair, hiding behind his leg.

 

"this is Luke."

 

Notes:

PLEASE LEAVE FEEDBACK!!! It’s very helpful, and I need to know what you guys think about the series so far. It would mean a lot to me, to hear your opinions on it, whether you liked the chapter or not. I don’t care if it’s just a short comment or a detailed essay, just please leave some type of feedback! Also, if you come across any spelling mistakes or grammatical errors please let me know so I can make it more bearable to read! Thank you for reading!

Chapter 4: The Little Angel

before you go to sleep
say a little prayer
every day, and every way
It’s getting better and better

 

beautiful, beautiful, beautiful
beautiful boy

 

thats the song my mom sung to me when I was a baby. that’s the one thing I remember about her. It’s also one of the two things simeon told me about her. I appreciate him telling me, but I already knew. he also said that the necklace I wear was from her. he won’t tell me anything else though. he won’t even tell me what happened to her. but if she was still around, she would have sung this today. I was chosen to go to a bad place. at least thats what some people call it. simeon will find me soon, and we’ll have to see michael. I don’t want to go. but I have no choice.

 

-Luke

 

"Luke? Where are you, Luke?" He didn't want to go. He really didn't want to go. It was stupid, but he hoped if Simeon couldn't find him, he wouldn't make him go. But he knew that obviously wouldn't happen. He was going to have to go, no matter what. "Luke? There you are! I've been looking everywhere- Luke..." He reached out to him, wiping tears off his face. "What's wrong?" He sniffled.

 

"Do... do I have to go?"

 

"Oh..." He gently pulled him closer. "Luke, everything will be okay. I'm sure of it."

 

"But they're demons, what if they hurt us?" Simeon frowned a bit, running his finger though Luke's hair. "They wouldn't. And if they did, which they 100% won't, I will protect you. Okay?" He looked up at him, wiping his eyes. "Promise?"

 

"I promise. Now c'mon, Michael is waiting for us." He took Luke's hand, pulling him up. "Do you want to bring this with you?" He said, looking at the journal Luke was writing in. He nodded. "I'll put it with your stuff then."

 

They walked together, towards the throne room. Inside there was Michael waiting, and Raphael close by. "Simeon! Just on time. Hello Luke, how are you feeling?" He just smiled softly at him, sadly it wasn't a real smile. "Wonderful, I will miss having your pastries everyday. Go stand over with Raphael, I must speak with your father for a moment."

 

He walked over to where Raphael was standing, looking down at the floor. He glanced down at him. "Keep your head up. I understand your fear, but don't let it be seen." Raphael looked down at him, tilting up Luke's head up by his chin. They stood together for a small while. He patted him on the shoulder as Simeon and Michael walked over. It was apparent to Luke that it was time to go.

 

They boarded the carriage with their luggage, and Luke watched as they got further and further away from the only place he knew. Soon, the carriage approached a gate. The gate. Michael exited with Raphael not far behind him. He removed a key from his pocket. It was golden, but a little rusted. It was an Victorian era style with a strange symbol on the base of the key. Michael walked up to the gate and inserted the key in. Turning it until there was a click. With a push, the gate opened. It was bright, he couldn’t see anything past the gate.

 

“Well, this is it. I expect to hear some nice things when you get back. I’ll see you in a year.” With that the carriage continued on, going through the gate. It’s only a year. He just had to hold on, for a year.

 

 

——

 

 

The Devildom was much darker than Simeon would’ve expected, it definitely would take a while to adjust to it. He felt a sense of nervousness knowing the people he would see when they arrived. It’s been a very long time. Though he hid his unease. Soon they arrived at a dark, creepy looking building, with hedges and well grown plants, this had to be RAD. The exterior was fancy, though nothing like how it was in Celestial Realm.

 

Simeon was taken out of his thoughts when the little angel grabbed his hand. “It’s alright, Luke. You’ll be alright.” He squeezed his hand, reaching out to push the door open with the other. As it opened, he heard a voice. He didn’t see where it was coming from. “Down here!” Luke let out a tiny gasp as the two angels looked towards the ground, seeing a small, round, shadowy, weird, yet kind of cute, demon…? Was it a demon? “Oh, hello… I’m Simeon.”

 

“I know who you are! I know who you are too! Follow me, Lord Diavolo is awaiting!” It was clear that both of them were quite taken aback by the energy of this creature. It was almost like it was high on caffeine. They followed the creature to a room, the words ‘student council’ on a sign above the door. The door opened, revealing 8 chairs. One above the rest. Though one face was completely unfamiliar.

 

“Thank you, Number 2.” Lord Diavolo cleared his throat with a small cough. “Simeon, Luke, welcome to the Devildom.”

 

He couldn’t focus on what Lord Diavolo was saying, he was too focused on the death stare he was receiving from someone he once considered a brother, or at least a close friend. Lucifer. He expected it of course, but it still felt strange. A couple seats away, the blonde, unfamiliar demon was eyeing him in a similar way.

 

“And that’s all! I’ll have somebody escort you two, to where you’ll be staying. I’ll go find him now. If you have any questions, feel free to ask the brothers.” With that, Lord Diavolo exited his seat and the room. “So, long time no see, huh?…”

 

“Yeah… You could say that.” It was awkward, enough to be uncomfortable.

 

A little while passes, the brothers were no longer in their seats. He was glad they were at least acting casual around him. Though the only one who was talking to him was Asmodeus.

 

“If you don’t mind me asking, who’s the blonde guy?”

 

“Oh, that’s our brother, Satan.”

 

Brother?

 

“Brother?”

 

“Yeah, the story’s kind of hard to explain. It happened when Lucifer arrived though… He’s just been with us ever since.”

 

“Ah, okay.” Diavolo re-entered the room, with somebody behind him as well. “I’ve returned! Simeon, I’m sure you’ve heard of Barbatos.” He stepped aside, a demon, much shorter compared to Diavolo, known as Barbatos now in his view. He didn’t know what, but something about him just…

 

…Made his stomach feel funny.

 

“Hello.” Was the only word he managed to get out. “Hello, it’s a pleasure to meet you. And of course, you as well, Luke.” He reached out his gloved hand, Simeon shook it slowly. He must’ve looked ridiculous, but he couldn’t help but be mesmerized by the demon.

 

“I look forward to what I hope is an eventful year! I’ll see you two at RAD very soon. Barbatos, take them to their accommodations, please.” Barbatos did a small bow before leading the pair out the room. As he left, Simeon caught a glance of Lucifer. Still giving him a death stare.

 

 

——

 

 

He’s been very quiet since they arrived here. Whether it was out of fear, or some other reason, he hasn’t said a word to anyone yet. The two angels and Barbatos arrived at the place they would be staying, the Purgatory Halls, after a short walk. It surprisingly reminded Luke of the Celestial Realm. It was most likely modified to cater to them more.

 

“So, how do you like it?” Barbatos said, closing the door behind him. “It’s very nice, I wasn’t expecting this at all to be honest.” Simeon said back to him, chuckling a bit. “What do you think, Luke?”

 

“It’s good.”

 

“That’s wonderful to hear.” The room suddenly filled with an odd smell, a look on Barbatos’s face proved that couldn’t be good. “I’ll be right back!” He walked past them, disappearing into the kitchen. There was some noise and then he exited with a taller man. He had white hair, blue eyes, wore a cloak. He looked sort of odd to Luke. He looked up at Simeon, confused.

 

“This is your roommate, Solomon. He is one of the Human exchange students.”

 

“I’ve heard a lot about you, Solomon.”

 

“Likewise.” He squatted in front of Luke. “Hello child, want a peppermint?” He closed his hand into a fist. As it opened, a peppermint candy suddenly appeared in his hand. “Uh, no thanks…”

 

“Bummer.” The peppermint disappeared from his hand as he stood up straight. “Well, I must take my leave now, it’s been wonderful meeting you two.” He headed towards the door, but before he did he whispered something in Simeon’s ear. Luckily, Luke was able to hear it. “For your, and everyone else’s good, I recommend keeping Solomon as far away from the kitchen as possible.”

 

“Is it really that bad?”

 

“It’s enough to kill you just by inhaling the scent.”

 

Barbatos opened the door. “Solomon, why don’t you come with? We have matters to discuss, I believe.”

 

“Ah, yes. I suppose I must take my leave as well! Toodles!” With that the two of the them left the room, closing the door behind themselves.

 

The pair of Angels began unpacking, getting settled fairly quickly. Luke sat on his bed, holding his journal.

 

maybe it won’t be so bad here. I don’t know yet though. barbatos is really nice at least. simeon mentioned he was the best pastry chef in the devildom, maybe all the three realms. maybe I could talk to him about that. I’m not sure how I feel about this anymore. maybe I’ll write about it later.

 

-Luke

 

Notes:

Just to explain the part about the gate, it’s one of the only ways of transportation between the realms. Only very important figures have a key to access the gate. The gate also isn’t actually separating the realms. It transports you to the realm through magic, I’ll get more into as the story progresses. It’s pretty confusing (like the rest of the lore.)

PLEASE LEAVE FEEDBACK!!! It’s very helpful, and I need to know what you guys think about the series so far. It would mean a lot to me, to hear your opinions on it, whether you liked the chapter or not. I don’t care if it’s just a short comment or a detailed essay, just please leave some type of feedback! Also, if you come across any spelling mistakes or grammatical errors please let me know so I can make it more bearable to read! Thank you for reading!

Chapter 5: Do you hear it too?

"This is Luke."

 

"Hey, Luke." She bent down, holding out her hand. The little Angel shook it slowly. "You don't have to bend down like that, it's rude." She stood straight. "My bad."

 

"Don't worry about him, he has a bit of a temper." Simeon looked at Luke, ruffling his hair a bit. The child pouted crossed his arms. "Well, I've seen you've met my roommates!" Solomon appeared out of nowhere yet again, behind Simeon and Luke. How does he keep doing that?

 

"How are you doing that?"

 

"Magic!" He said with a flare and jazz hands, with sparkles floating around his hands for dramatics. Guess that explains it. "Okay... Roommates you say?" Simeon nodded. "We've been put in a room together at the Purgatory Halls."

 

"Ah, okay."

 

"Consider yourself lucky." Luke said, giving a nasty side eye to the sorcerer. "Living with Demons can't be as bad as living with this weirdo." Mammon wheezed behind her as she suppressed her own chuckle.  "Remember what I said about talking about people like that?" Simeon said, mumbling something after. Solomon shrugged.

 

As she finally gave in and chuckled, her eyes gravitated towards the necklace Luke was wearing. There was a strange aura around it. It looked as if it was glowing...

 

"I'll be off now! Asmodeus and Satan await my return. We're playing cards!"

 

"Cards?!"

 

"Yep! moneys involved too."

 

"Count me in!" Mammon walked off with Solomon, leaving the two angels with Marie. "Isn't he supposed to be staying with you?"

 

"Oh. Yeah, he hasn't exactly been good at his job so far." Marie shrugged as Simeon chuckled a little. "Alright, I have to go find where this little one is supposed to be! It's been nice meeting you, Marie." Marie waved as they left and took a seat somewhere. A minute or two after, a large demon took a seat next to her. She looked up at them. "Hi, Beelzebub."

 

He gave a small wave before writing something down on a paper. "just beel"

 

"Okay, hi Beel." He waved again, a small smile forming on his face. They both face the front. It felt silent, though it wasn't. She started to space out, her mind completely blank. So many things were so odd. Something was wrong here. There had to be more to it...

 

Then she was snapped out of her daze when Beel tapped her shoulder. "you ok??"

 

"Yeah, I'm good. Thank you, Beel." He flashed a thumbs up, turning back towards the front. She couldn't get her mind off the thought that something was wrong here.

 

Something is definitely odd about this place.

 

And something or somebody was watching her.

 

 

——

 

 

Lucifer sat in his chair in the student council room. Diavolo, Barbatos, and Mephistopheles were also in the room. "Can we get back to the subject at hand?" Barbatos said, crossing his arms. "Right. How would we go about fitting the entirety of the Devildom, The Sorcerer's Guild, and the Celestial Realm all in one ball room?"

 

"I think you're forgetting how big that ballroom really is, Mephistopheles."

 

"What about safety precautions?"

 

"Lucifer and I established safety precautions, but I doubt anything will actually go wrong. Lucifer doesn't either." Mephistopheles sighed and rolled his eyes. "Do you base your opinions around Lucifer? Or did he base his around yours?"

 

"No, we just happen to agree on this."

 

"Well you happen to agree on everything."

 

He sounded like a dog that wouldn't stop yapping to Lucifer. He and Mephistopheles never quite got along, especially when they first met many years ago. Mephistopheles always seemed to have this deep, un-called for hatred for him. He wouldn't be the first, and most likely wouldn't be the last.

 

"We'll definitely need Diaval and Belphegor back for it."

 

"Mhm, write them a letter for me, Lucifer."

 

"Are you sure you're ready to see my brother after what happened?..." Diavolo nodded. "Alright then." Lucifer began writing. Just hearing the mention of his brothers name made him nervous. He felt horrible.

 

"I wasn't aware Belphegor's name started with an F?" Lucifer stopped. "It doesn't. My mistake."

 

"What a surprise, I didn't think the mighty Lucifer would almost misspell someone's name so drastically." Lucifer huffed, crumbling up the paper. "Barbatos, could you fetch me another paper?" He nodded, getting up from his seat.

 

Not long after, Barbatos came back with a couple papers. "Thank you, Barbatos." He nodded once again before turning towards Diavolo. "Please excuse me for a moment." Diavolo excused him and he exited the room. Lucifer wondered what that was about, but he had his own problem to worry about.

 

He had no idea how he would keep this up for an entire year.

 

 

——

 

 

Barbatos walked down the hall at a moderate pace. The clack of his heels could be heard if you were close enough. This wasn't a normal thing, he normally wouldn't be so lost in thought. Something was wrong, he could sense it. Lucifer was also acting strange.

 

Perhaps it could be his proximity to his once brother-like friend. Or maybe it was the disaster of the day that was delivering Belphegor and Diaval to the Human Realm. Whatever it was, Lucifer seemed to be very on edge.

 

He didn't mean to nosy or invasive, but he couldn't help but notice. It honestly worried him a bit. Not to mention all the over odd things.

 

He snapped out of his thoughts when he collided with a taller, muscular figure. "Are you alright?" He looked up at the person, Simeon. "Oh, I'm okay. My apologies, I wasn't paying attention."

 

"No, no, it's my fault!" The Angel extended his hand and he took it. He gently pulled him off the floor. "Thank you." Barbatos quickly bowed, dusting himself off. "Where are you coming from?"

 

"I was dropping Luke off at his class, it took me a while to find it..." He chuckled and rubbed his neck a bit awkwardly. "Ah, I'm sorry I wasn't there to help. Do you know your way back?" It took a second, but he shook his head. "I can walk you back, that is if you want?"

 

"Are you sure? You're not busy?"

 

"No, it's fine. Come with me."

 

The butler started walking, looking over his shoulder occasionally. He couldn't help but show a soft smile at the Angel who followed closely behind him. He couldn't quite describe what he was feeling, he didn't know what he was feeling at all.

 

What a peculiar feeling.

 

 

——

 

 

simeon took me to a classroom, it makes sense that there would be a class for younger demons at RAD. that doesn’t mean I like it any better. the angels say they are chaotic, dangerous creatures. they say they aren’t capable of feeling emotions.

 

Luke sat in a seat. No one was beside him currently, he was glad. He didn't want to be in a class full of demon children, it was scary. But a thought was in his mind. they were just children. Children like him. They couldn't have been as violent as the Angels in the Celestial Realm.

 

It would be foolish to doubt what the angels say, especially michael. michael’s words are always the wisest.

 

-Luke

 

He closed his book as another child sat beside him. They were slightly taller, his skin a beige color with dark and fluffy hair, mid-way down his neck. Luke couldn't help but side-eye him. Angels always say to be untrusting of demons, no matter how nice they seem. But then again, like he thought earlier. They were just a child. Like him.

 

"Do you often watch people like that?"

 

"Oh, no. Sorry." He looked away, fidgeting with his necklace. "It's okay." It was silent for a moment. Then the other child looked at him again. "You’re not a demon, are you?"

 

Luke shook his head. "Angel?" He nodded. "Wow, how could you tell?" He said sarcastically. The other child laughed quietly, looking amused. "What's your name, Angel?" He thought for a second, should he give this stranger his name? It wouldn't hurt to...

 

"I'm Luke..."

 

"Hi Luke. I'm... Dolion."

 

 

——

 

 

The day at RAD wasn't too bad actually. Better than college at least. Mammon was escorting her back to the House of Lamentation. "So why don't you tell me something about yourself?" She said, sort of out of the blue. "Why would I do that?" Mammon shot back, looking down at his D.D.D. "Well this entire thing is to unite the realms. What better way to do that then getting to know each other?" He shrugged. "You've gotta point."

 

"Right, so you tell me something about yourself, and then I'll tell you something about myself! Sound good?" He shrugged again. "I'll take that as a yes."

 

"Whatever, the sin I rep is greed."

 

"I already know that."

 

"And? You ain't say we can't use stuff that the other person already knows." She huffed, putting her hands on her hips. "How about you expand on that? What does it mean to represent the sin of greed?"

 

"...I'm greedy...?"

 

"Shocker." He rolled his eyes at her comment. "Why don't you take your turn now? I already went, Human."

 

"My name isn't Human."

 

"Yuh huh. I currently don't remember your actual name so that is what you'll be known as for now on!" She rolled her eyes. Jeez, there's a lot of eye rolling. It may have been annoying in the moment, but she has to admit she likes the banter in a way. It's different for sure. But it's not a bad difference. "Go on, it's your turn."

 

"Well for one my name is Marie, since you claim to not know that. And I do dance, all types of styles."

 

"I thought ya were only supposed to say one thing."

 

"I made the rules so I get to bend them." Mammon let out a quiet chuckle, nudging her shoulder. "That definitely ain't fair." She shrugged, walking a bit ahead of him. "I don't think someone who represents a deadly sin gets to decide what's fair or not."

 

"You know what, Human?"

 

"What?"

 

They walked through the gate and into the House of Lamentation. They walked through the living room to the stairs, soon arriving in Mammon's room after a brief trip. They stayed in there together for a while. She surprisingly enjoyed it, despite the mess in his room. She was even allowed to clean up a bit. At some point Asmo came into the room, dragging Satan with him. The four of them sat on Mammon's two couches.

 

"Okay, okay. Mammon, would you rather be set on fire, or hit by a semi-truck?"

 

"Hit by a truck, would be way less painful then being set on fire."

 

"Wanna test that theory?" Satan said. His hand made a couple sparks before it was fully engulfed in green flames. "Woah, was that magic?"

 

"Technically no, demon powers don't count as any type of magic." The fire disappeared from his hand. "Demon powers as a whole are called दानव शक्ति (Daanav Shakti)." Asmo added. "Nerds." Satan rolled his eyes at Mammon's comment. “Sounds like Hindi."

 

”It is Hindi, a lot of Human language was derived from us and the Celestial Realm.”

 

"Interesting. So do all demons have demon powers?" The three demons nodded. "Yeah, there is a wide range of powers demons can get. Some have more then others, and some are more powerful than others."

 

"Us and our brothers in particular have an extra power associated with our sin. I for example, have my charm.”

 

“Your charm?” Asmodeus nodded. “He can basically take control of your mind by lookin’ into your eyes and sweet talking to ya. He’s hypnotizin’ you basically.”

 

“That’s the gist of it. But there’s a lot more to it! May I have assistance?” Satan scooted over, away from him. “Alright, Mammon it is!” Mammon huffed as he faced Asmo. Marie watched closely. “So, this is how it works.” Asmodeus looked Mammon in the eye and started explaining in an almost sultry voice.

 

“Firstly, I have to maintain eye contact to be able to activate it.” She saw Mammon’s pupils dilate while Asmo’s thinned out, his eyes almost snake-like. “Once it’s activated I can make you do whatever I want. Mammon, sweetie, stand up for me.” Mammon’s body obeyed, he stood up from his seat. “Though you would still be fully conscious. So if you were to resist my charm enough you could break free of it. How strong my hold on you is dictates aspects of it.” Asmo and Mammon’s eyes both went back to normal. “And that’s how it works!” His voice went back to being in his normal bubbly tone.

 

Mammon blinked and rubbed his eyes as he sat back down. “I will never get use to that.”

 

“Do you have to use that voice when you do it?” Asmo shrugged. “Not necessarily, but it’s stronger when I do.” Marie nodded and looked at Satan. “What about you? What’s your sin power?”

 

“I can reawaken dead bodies by possessing and controlling the anger left behind from their souls. I call it corpse possession.”

 

“Interesting…” Her words trailed off as she heard something. A voice. That voice…

 

Marie… I know you can hear me… I need…

 

Don’t listen to him! Listen to…

 

Both of those voices.

 

I need help… Help me…

 

Marie…

 

Save me, go up the…

 

“Marie? Are you okay, honey?”

 

“Do… do you hear that too?” The three demons looked at her. They were looking at her like she was strange. “Hear what? I on’t hear anything…”

 

“That voice. Do you hear the voice?” Mammon, Satan, and Asmo all looked concerned in their own way. “Okay, so she really is crazy.” She shushed him, listening to see if she hears it again. Nothing. She stood up looking around, looking for a person, or a speaker, or anything that could be talking to her. “Human, what’s the matter with ya?”

 

“Uh, I’ll be right back…” She went towards the door and opened it, walking out. She walked towards Beels room, looking around for anyone who could be talking to her through the walls or something. She came to a halt at the cracked open door, she peeked in, seeing Beel sitting on the floor next to the bed with all the purple. He was looking at a picture. She shrugged it off as she went past, opening Lucifer’s door.

 

There was no one in there. She closed the door and went back the other way, passing Beels room again, also walking past Mammon’s. She walked down the hall, walking to Satan’s room. Then a door opened. She was grabbed and dragged into the room. She almost screamed but her mouth was covered by a hand. The room was very blue, then she made eye contact with the person who dragged her in.

 

“Do you hear it too?”

 

Notes:

PLEASE LEAVE FEEDBACK!!! It’s very helpful, and I need to know what you guys think about the series so far. It would mean a lot to me, to hear your opinions on it, whether you liked the chapter or not. I don’t care if it’s just a short comment or a detailed essay, just please leave some type of feedback! Also, if you come across any spelling mistakes or grammatical errors please let me know so I can make it more bearable to read! Thank you for reading!

Chapter 6: When She Reached the Top Step

Notes:

Merry Christmas to everyone reading who celebrates it! By some Christmas miracle I was able to get this episode finished and out today! Sorry about the brief hiatus, I’ve been very busy lately. I hope you all enjoy the episode!

"Are you sure you're alright?"

 

"Yes Dia, I'm completely fine." Diavolo huffed, spinning around in his swivel chair. They were at the Demon Lord’s Castle, and Lucifer was assisting him with his work. He was frustrated. Lucifer was always a bit secretive, but not to this extent. He seemed more stressed then usual, more closed off, more on edge. Even more jumpy. It's something Diavolo's never seen before. Not from his Lucifer.

 

"Are you sure?"

 

"For the umpteenth time, yes I'm fine." He didn't believe that. Even Barbatos seemed to think that Lucifer's behavior was odd. He was worried. "I don't believe that. What's wrong?" Lucifer rolled his eyes as he put the pen he was holding down. "Tell me. Tell me what's wrong."

 

"Nothing is wrong." Lucifer stood up from his seat at the desk, walking away from it. "Where are you going?"

 

"I need to take a breather." He walked in long strides towards the door. Diavolo swiftly grabbed his wrist pulling him back towards himself. "Luci, tell me! What's the matter? Everyone knows something is wrong. If Barbatos thinks something is wrong then something is definitely wrong!"

 

He  sighed. "For starters, Luci is not my name, and nothing is wrong." Diavolo sighed right back at him as he brought him closer. He chuckled and let his head down. "You don't tell me anything do you?"

 

"Well I'm not obligated to." Lucifer cupped his face and lifted it back up. "How's your eye doing?"

 

"Well I'm now permanently blind in my left eye, but it's healing..."

 

"Good."

 

"Is that what you're so stressed about? The incident?"

 

"Let it go, Dia."

 

"Dia isn't my name," He smirked at him. "that's how you sound." Lucifer rolled his eyes and turned away from him. "Very funny." He said in a very sarcastic tone. Clearly Lucifer didn't find this very amusing. "I know." Lucifer rolled his eyes again. "You really like rolling your eyes don't you?" Lucifer sighed... again. Seemingly annoyed.  "You like sighing too?"

 

"I need to go."

 

"Why so soon?"

 

"I need to make sure my brothers aren't getting into trouble." He started walking towards the door once again. "Why so suddenly?"

 

"You must love asking questions. Is that the only thing you're good at?"

 

"Is avoiding questions the only thing you are good at?" He opened the door, exiting out at a fast pace while Barbatos entered on the opposite side of the door with a tray. "A goodbye would suffice!" Not a word came from his mouth. He simply stuck his gloved middle finger up as he continued down the hall. How pleasant.

 

"Well he doesn't look very pleased."

 

"Yeah, what a shocker."

 

"What is the issue now?" He moved the papers aside and set a tea cup down on the desk. "He doesn't want to open up. It's nothing new... He doesn't have to of course, I just wish he would trust me. Especially with all the history we have." Barbatos picked up the tea pot, pouring a cup of tea. "He doesn't remember any of what you told me. It seems nobody does."

 

He sipped the hot tea. "Does Luke have a baking lesson today?" Barbatos looked like he thinking for a moment. "Ah, he does." He looked over at the clock on the wall. "Shit, he should be here any second. Would you like me to leave the tea here?" Diavolo nodded. "Wonderful, I must be on my way now. Toodles!" Barbatos exited the room with a quick pace, with the same elegance he walked in with.

 

Diavolo continued sipping on his tea.

 

 

——

 

 

"Hear what too?..."

 

"The voice? Do you hear it?"

 

Her breathing calmed down a bit. Someone else heard it. She wasn't crazy. "Uh, w-wait. You..." She thought for a second. She's met Lucifer, Mammon, Satan, Asmodeus, and Beelzebub. And Belphegor was in the Human Realm. "You're Leviathan?"

 

"Yes but that isn't important! Do you hear it?"

 

"Well yeah I hear a voice. Two voices actually. What exactly do you hear?" She looked around a bit. The room had a nice vibe, very aquatic. There was a PC with several monitors along with a lot of figurines on shelves, along with video game discs and posters. Not to mention the lack of bed, but there was a bath tub?... Interesting for sure. "There's this one muffled voice, it sounds like it calling for somebody... What is that you hear?"

 

"Same as you, but without the muffled part."

 

"So it's clear? What does it sound like?"

 

"One is a whisper, the other sounds feminine, sometimes... panicked? I thought it was all in my head." Levi pulled on his hoodie strings a little bit. "I think it is, I don't know... I can pick up telepathic signals."

 

"Oh, cool." She walked closer to a shelf leaning over a little, looking at the figures. "So you like Anime? The Magical Girl ones?"  He nodded, starting to look a bit embarrassed. "Don't touch them, or anything for that matter. They costed a lot of Grimm..."

 

"I can tell, this stuff ain't cheap in the Human Realm either." She looked down at some of the books and games on the shelves below. "The Tales of the Seven Lords... I feel like i heard of that somewhere. Is that a book series?" He nodded again. "Yeah, it's really popular amongst people from the Devildom... I would've thought it was well known in the Human Realm too. It's a really good series too! It can really appeal to anyone, I remember I lended it to Satan once. He said it was great! There's theatrical releases, animated shows, feature films, even games based on it too! I have all 138 volumes! The author Christopher Peugeot Is a genius and an incredible writer and- Wait, I'm rambling, aren't I?..."

 

His face flushed and he started fidgeting with his hoodie strings. That must be something he does frequently, she thought. "Sorry, you probably don't want to hear about nerd stuff..."

 

"It's fine, I was in college for computer science and technology. I'm a bit of a nerd myself."

 

"Oh, that's pretty cool... I wouldn't have expected that."

 

"Well, many people have said expect the unexpected."

 

 

——

 

 

Barbatos blended the ingredients in the bowl to make the custard. Luke had requested they make a Human Realm style flan. "Now what's the next step?" Luke said as he turned towards Barbatos. "You strain the custard through the sieve then we pour it over the caramel." He jotted that down in his recipe book. "Would you like to do the honors?" Luke nodded and Barbatos handed the bowl to him.

 

"Be very careful, we wouldn't want to make a mess. I'll bring the foil and the roasting pan." The child looks back at the bowl as he strains the custard through the sieve as Barbatos instructed, then pouring it into the pan, over the caramel layer.  "Perfect." Barbatos smiled. "Barbatos picked up the pan, placing it inside the larger pot. "Now we place it inside the oven."

 

"Can I do it?"

 

"Are you sure?"

 

"Yeah!"

 

"Alright, let me get the oven mitts." Barbatos retrieved the oven mitts of the rack, placing them on Luke's hands. The small angel picked up the pot heading towards the oven. "Careful now, the oven is hot-"

 

"I know what i'm doing!"

 

"Alright, alright." He chuckled a little. "I think you're very capable. I just want to insure you're safe, your dad is very..." Simeon began to walk into the room, leaning on the door frame. "...wonderful."

 

"Luke, why don't you go talk to Lord Diavolo for a minute?"

 

"Do I have to?"

 

"C'mon, go say hello. Why wouldn't you?" Luke huffed as he walked closer to Simeon and whispered. "He's a demon, what if he eats me or something?"

 

"You'll be okay. Go." Luke huffed again as he left the room. Simeon crossed his arms, walking closer to Barbatos. "Are you bad mouthing me to my son?" He said jokingly. "Of course not." The timer was set to 70 minutes, then he closed the oven with his hip, then he took off his apron. "You need help with the clean up?"

 

"No thank you. I'm alright." Barbatos wiped off the table with a sponge. "Sorry about Luke, by the way. He can be hot headed sometimes." He quietly chuckled. "I'm very aware, I do have a question though."

 

"Mhm?"

 

"I'm sure you aren't ignorant to the issue, but Luke seems very... prejudiced, against demons."

 

"Yeah... I've noticed. I have no idea what the actual source is, but I assume it came from the other children in the Celestial Realm. Unfortunately a lot of Angels spread prejudice bull shit. Especially those who's been around for a while. I've been wanting to talk to him about it." It was quiet for a moment. "It's gonna take a while for him to adjust. He'll warm up to us, as in us demons." Barbatos gave a soft smile. "The flan will need to bake for a while, then it will need to refrigerate for a couple hours. Would you like to stick around in the meantime?"

 

"Sure, I'll stay. If Luke wants to leave i'll just call Solomon."

 

"Perfect."

 

 

——

 

 

The house was quiet, a little too quiet for Lucifer as he walked in. Something was wrong... He was already mini-panicking. "Mammon?" He called up the stairs. And no answer. "Asmo? Satan? Any of you?" Still no answer... What is going on? Suddenly Mammon came running down the stairs. "What's going on? Is everything okay?"

 

"Uh, no. Not really. The human was goin' nuts earlier and now we can't find her." Lucifer's brows furrowed, then Asmodeus came down the stairs. "Don't say it like that! Marie was saying she was hearing a voice earlier and when she walked out of Mammon's room she disappeared."

 

"She disappeared? In what direction?"

 

"After she turned the double corner between Mammon and Levi's rooms, so the only places she could've gone is Satans room, down these stairs, the bathroom, my room, the attic, or down the other stairs." Lucifer's eyes widened. She didn't go into the attic, did she?... He walked up the stairs, speed-walking. "Where are you going?" He didn't answer as he reached the top step. She better not have went up those stairs... He started walking down the hall.

 

"Lucifer? What are you doing?" He turned around, seeing Marie walking towards him from the opposite end of the hall. "Where were you?!"

 

"Oh, I was just talking to Leviathan." Mammon and Asmo came back up the stairs. "You talked to Levi?!" Lucifer breathing slowed a bit, calming himself down. He has to admit he freaked out a little, he just took a couple breaths, before heading back towards the stairs. He drowned out the talking as he took deep breaths. Just keep breathing. Just keep deep breathing.

 

"Dinner will be ready soon, make sure you're all downstairs before then."

 

Just continue breathing.

 

 

——

 

 

It was her first night eating dinner with the demon brothers, what was their dinner like? Usually she sat at her desk eating something random like soup and crackers. It's been a long time since she's sat at a table and eaten with people. It was a little awkward, there wasn't much talking around the table. Lucifer soon came out the kitchen, bringing out a couple plates with steak on them.

 

"Dinner looks good." Lucifer flashed a forced looking smile as he set the plates down. From across the table Mammon spoke up. "Levi ain't down yet."

 

"Then I guess I'm taking his food up again-" Just as Lucifer began walking towards the walkway, Levi began walking in. "Or not. Nice of you to come join us." Levi didn't say anything back, taking a seat next to Asmodeus. It was quiet for a moment before someone else decided to speak up. "Wow, look at us! All together in what? A thousand years?" Marie picked up a glance from Satan, looking at her before he glared at Lucifer.

 

"Except we aren't all here. There's someone missing." There were groans all around the table. "C'mon Satan..."

 

"No, don't 'c'mon' me. I'm pointing out the obvious." Lucifer sighed as he put his fork down. "Would you stop it?" Marie felt awkward, this was definitely family business that she shouldn't be a part of. She couldn't do anything but watch the conversation turn into an argument. Geez, it's been less than 5 minutes of eating and there was already an argument! Did this happen often? "Why should I stop it? You just let them send him away, me and Belphie aren't even that close but it seems like I'm the only one mad about it! You're acting so weird about it as well." It looked like Lucifer's face changed a little.

 

"Well he ain't wrong bout' that."

 

"Mammon, don't encourage it. You're supposed to be responsible." Levi rolled his eyes. "Oh please, you know Mammon's never been responsible. Ever."

 

"Well look who's talking, mister 'I'm in my room all day, jerkin' off to anime girls'."

 

"Ew, can we not talk about that in front of my food!"

 

"Your food can't talk or hear!"

 

"That's not what that statement means, dumbass!"

 

"We're going off topic!"

 

"What was the topic to begin with?!"

 

"Would you all stop?!"

 

"Oh, would you shut up?! You're the reason we're all fucking here in the first place!"

 

"Satan, please not in front of her-"

 

"We all made a choice to follow em', we all get the blame. Stop picking on my big bro."

 

"Why are you defending him?! He treats everyone around him like trash! Including you!"

 

"I've been treated way worse, not like you would've known that." It was quiet for a moment, everyone at the table looked down. "He got her killed."

 

"...You didn’t even know her." She heard a slight hitch in Mammon's voice as he said that. Who were they talking about? Suddenly Beelzebub stood up from the table, holding his plate. "Beel, please don't go..." He was already out the room. "Beel!" Asmo said as he stood up from the table as well. He flashed an angry look at the other people at the table, jogging to catch up to Beel.

 

"I knew I shouldn't have came down here." Levi said as he stood up. So everyone was leaving, huh?... "I second that." Satan got up like the others, then after a minute or two Lucifer stood up without a single word. Another minute or two? "Who is-" Mammon interrupted her with a huff as he stood up from the table as well. "None of your business." He walked away, leaving her alone at the table. It was weirdly quiet, so she sat with her thoughts for a moment.

 

She went to her room after a little while, lying down on her bed, looking up at the lantern filled tree above her bed as she drifted off.

 

 

——

 

 

Marie… Wake up, come find me…

 

She stirred awake, yawning as she sat up in the bed. That voice again... "Hello?" As she stood up from the bed the words of the voice echoed throughout her head.

 

I need your help… You can help me, right?…

 

"How... How do I do that?"

 

Just follow my voice…

 

She did as it said, opening the door to her room. Then she walked through the living room to the staircase leading up. As she reached the top step she walked down the hall a bit, stopping at the attic steps. That's where the voice led her. "I can't go up here, Lucifer told me not to." She whispered, looking up the spiral staircase.

 

Lucifer doesn’t matter! I need your help from him… You’re doing them all a favor if you come up here… You are my only hope…

 

She sighed as her foot touched the first step, then the next, then the next. When she reached the top step it felt like the energy changed. It was dark and eerie. Like she was in a place she shouldn’t be, and that was true. She isn’t supposed to be here.

 

There was just a wall, a wall with nice, golden embroidery. It certainly matched the rest of the house. She put her hand on the wall, then it vanished right before her eyes, it made them widen. The wall was gone now, revealing a a rusty black gate door. Like everything else in this house, it had incredibly intricate details. She couldn’t see anything past the gate, it was just a dark room. She inspected closer, squinting to find a shape in the darkness.

 

Nothing… Until it opened it’s eyes. She gasped as person with a pair of purple eyes with a pink undertone grabbed the bars of the gate. Their fingers, or claws in this particular situation, were black and glassy.

 

“Who are you?”

 

Notes:

PLEASE LEAVE FEEDBACK!!! It’s very helpful, and I need to know what you guys think about the series so far. It would mean a lot to me, to hear your opinions on it, whether you liked the chapter or not. I don’t care if it’s just a short comment or a detailed essay, just please leave some type of feedback! Also, if you come across any spelling mistakes or grammatical errors please let me know so I can make it more bearable to read! Thank you for reading!

Chapter 7: What is she hiding?

"Who are you? Oh- or better yet, what are you?

 

"Sorry, I must look terrifying..." Their claws slowly morphed into human-like fingers as he leaned closer to the gate. She could see his face better now, he looked like Lucifer with softer features and different eyes. Something about his face looked so innocent, vulnerable, almost childish in a way. Something about it gave her an uneasy feeling. "You didn't answer my question."

 

"Right... My name's Belphegor, I'm sure he told you I was the Human Realm, didn't he?" It took a second for that to register in her head. "Wait, so- You're Belphegor? Their brother and... what did they call it? Avatar of Sloth?"

 

"That's me."

 

"Well, what are you doing up here?" She pulled on the gate a little. It was locked. As she stepped back a bit she noticed the chains around his wrists. "You're locked up in here... What's going on?"

 

"I will explain everything I know, but I need you to do something for me first. You need to find two keys in Lucifer's room, the one for the gate is black with details that match it on the base, and the other is silver with a hollow circle base. You'll know it when you see it." Okay, a black key, details that match the gate, and a silver key, circle base. That's easy to remember. "When you find it, unlock the gate and the chains, we'll talk and you'll return the keys exactly back to where they were, got it?" How was she going to sneak into Lucifer's room and steal things without him noticing then sneak in again to return the items she stole back to the exact spot she took it from?

 

"Okay, got it..."

 

"You have to go now, nobody can know you were up here and especially not that I'm up here. Mention this to no one, especially not Lucifer or Diavolo." Okay, okay. Find the keys and don't tell anyone, should be easy enough...

 

She turned around and retreated back down the stairs, looking out into the hallway. Coast is clear. She began to walk towards the stairs when she heard the floor creak behind her. It gave her a feeling of dread, has she been caught? "Hey..." She said as she turned around, seeing Beelzebub standing further down the hall. "Oh hey Beel! What are you doing up this late?" she said, feeling her palms get sweaty. She's not an amazing actor, at least not when she doesn’t really know what’s going on herself. Beel pointed towards the bathroom, before flashing her a look, she knew exactly what it meant.

 

"Oh, I was just coming from the bathroom. Yeah, the one in my room actually got clogged earlier and I didn't want to tell Lucifer about it during dinner since, you know, who wants to hear about toilets when they're eating? And after that disaster I completely forgot about it, soooo I just used the one up here like he said to do!" She chuckled awkwardly. Hopefully that was convincing enough... "Well, goodnight!"

 

She speed-walked down the steps, walking back around to her room. She flopped down onto the bed, thinking about everything Belphegor told her to do.

 

How was she gonna do this?

 

 

——

 

 

"I'm just saying you didn't have to bring him up yesterday, and you definitely didn't need to bring up her. I mean you upset everybody."

 

"I know." Satan knew what he did the night before. He couldn't say he was proud of it. "I know you can't control your anger, especially towards Lucifer, but it was really uncalled for. Okay?" Satan sighed as he looked at himself through Asmo's vanity mirror. "Okay." Asmo leaned over his shoulder, smiling softly. "You have her eyes, you know..."

 

"I... I do?"

 

"Yeah, you do..."

 

Satan suddenly stood up. "Hurry up with getting dressed or i'll leave without you."

 

"Tan-Tan, I wasn't done brushing your hair!"

 

"Don't care." As he opened Asmo's door and walked down the small hallway, he saw Levi walking past and Mammon walking closing behind. "C'mon, hurry it up Human!" Their voices were annoying in the moment for some reason. The sound of their shoes clacking against the floor was almost overwhelming. "Hold on a minute!" Satan could hear the fast, slightly different clacks of the human's shoes. Though it weirded him because it got quieter. Where is she going?

 

He started walking around the corner, then another corner, then another, until he walked past Levi's room. He peeked around the wall a bit, what confused him even more was her opening Lucifer's bedroom door. Lucifer wasn't home, he always left early in the morning. If she was looking for him he wasn't in there. 2 seconds turned into 3, 3 turned into 4, 4 turned into 5, etcetera. She was in there for longer than a minute. Satan didn't stick around for too long, but whatever she was doing definitely wasn't normal. What is she hiding?

 

 

——

 

 

I never expected there to be a class called “moral ethics” in the devildom. there’s a similar one in the celestial realm, I guess I just assumed demons wouldn’t care about morality. especially not enough to teach it in classes. but I guess lord diavolo cares about being nice more than I was told. maybe not everything

 

Luke slightly smudged his handwriting as he closed his book, watching Simeon walk into his room. "Jeez, care to knock?"

 

"C'mon, what's with the sass? I want to talk to you." Luke set his book into his bag, and picked it up. He walked into the living room and sat his bag on the love seat, stationed beside the couch, to retrieve his boots. "Luke can you stay still for just a second-" Simeon was cut off by the sounds of pots and pans from the kitchen. "Fu- I mean shi- I mean- Solomon!" Simeon rushed into the kitchen. Luke could hear the slightly muffled yelling as he put his boots on. Something about a rattle snake?...

 

He rolled his eyes as he picked up his bag, he stood up and opened the front door, walking out into the hallway. As he entered the hallway his eyes locked with a familiar face.

 

"Dolion..."

 

 

——

 

 

"Wait, why don't you eat avi- ava- what is it called? aiv-e-cado or whatever?"

 

"The word you're looking for is avocado."

 

"Whatever, you humans got some weird ass words." She chuckled as she rolled her eyes. "Correction, the english language has some weird ass words. You know, it's more country and language based for fruits, actually. Mexican Spanish calls them aguacate, while most South American Spanish countries call them palta."

 

"Is everythin' this complicated? Like, why's there two America's?"

 

"That would be a good question to ask Google, well if you had Google." She took out her D.D.D. "It's like the most perfectly chaotic mix of modern and ancient here. You just go from watching a cooking tutorial to walking in a hallway that looks like it's from ancient Rome. It can be really jarring, like whiplash." Mammon shrugged as he looked behind him at Leviathan, Satan, and Asmodeus trailing a little behind them. "I guess it just has that effect on ya. Demons evolved a lot from what they used to be, it's like they're just humans with a slight edge."

 

"And a couple cool powers, not to mention the natural, unnatural hair colors."

 

"Aight, that too I guess. But things weren't even close to being this modern in the Celestial Realm." Suddenly Mammon's face changed. It was like he said something he wasn't supposed to. "Like- like they're always wearing those big capes with all those jingle, jangly's. I on't know how they manage it, it looks heavy..."

 

"...It does." It got a little quiet, aside from the talking of the three who were slightly ahead them. A second later, Asmo turned around towards Mammon and Marie. "Hey, you guys wanna come to the purgatory halls with me?"

 

"Hell no, ever since you made a pact with that sketchy sorcerer you've been obsessed with him."

 

"I have not!"

 

"Have to." Levi said from the front. "See, Levi thinks it too! And he ain't even around that much. You both go to RAD, you don't need to go to the guy's house everyday."

 

"I can go visit my dearest friend anytime I want. Anyways, any of you wanna come?"

 

"Can I go?" Marie said, leaning forward a little. "Nuh uh, absolutely not. I don't trust you with him." Asmodeus rolled his eyes and put his hands on Mammon's shoulders. He squeezed a little bit. "C'mon, i'll take good care of her. We won't even be away for long! Plus, Solomon and Simeon will be there." Mammon narrowed his eyes, giving Asmo a certain look. It was weird. Like something in that sentence ticked him off.

 

"Please?..." Mammon groaned as he pushed Marie forward a little, towards Asmodeus. "You better not lose her or anything, ya hear me?"

 

"I'm a person, not a doll. It'll be very hard to lose me."

 

"Whatever, my point still stands." Asmo made a little squealing noise as he linked his arms with hers. They walked for a little while. Then, a thought circulated in her mind, Mammon mentioned something called a pact. What is a pact?

 

"Hey, Asmodeus? What's a pact?"

 

"Oh, you've never heard of it- Oh wait, you're a normal human. Um, a pact is basically a bond between a demon and a human. The gist of it is human can basically control the demon. But there are other things too. For example, they can telepathically send signals to each other if one is in distress or needs company." Marie nods as she was given an answer. "Wow, there must be a lot of trust involved."

 

"There is! I really trust Solomon with my life, so does Barbatos."

 

"Barbatos has a pact with Solomon too?" He nodded. "Did you ever second guess anything?" He shook his head. "Nope, not once. That's how much I trust him." They continued walking until they reached the purgatory halls.

 

Marie had never been in this building, it resembled RAD, for sure, but it certainly had a more cozy vibe while still having the beautiful architecture. They walked down a hallways until they saw Luke sitting on the floor with another child next to a door.

 

"Luke! Aww, who's your friend here?" Asmo leaned down in front of them. "Uh, this is Dolion... I see you brought her." Marie gave a small wave to the young angel. Once again, her eyes gravitated to the necklace around the child's neck, it seemed like it started to glow the more she looked at it. "Where's-"

 

"In the dorm, I wouldn't recommend you go in there though." Marie furrowed her brows. “Why?” The child looked at the door and back at her as there was a crashing sound from inside along with muffled yelling. “Somebody got into the kitchen.”

 

“Huh?” There was another bang from inside. God, what is going on in there? Asmo turned the knob of the door. As soon as it opened a ball of blue fire flew past Asmo’s face and hit the wall behind him. Marie stares blankly at the wall, processing what she just saw. “Oh hello Asmodeus, and fellow human. We’re kind of busy at the moment.”

 

“I can tell- What the hell is that!?” A flying snake-like creature flew out the door. “Breakfast apparently!” Simeon said as he quickly walked out of the room, holding a pot by its handle and the lid. The creature zipped up to Marie. “Watch out-” She felt a sharp pain in her ankle suddenly. They watched as she collapsed onto the floor.

 

“Oh dear, is she dead?”

 

Notes:

Yes, that is a reference at the end. Iykyk ;)

PLEASE LEAVE FEEDBACK!!! It’s very helpful, and I need to know what you guys think about the series so far. It would mean a lot to me, to hear your opinions on it, whether you liked the chapter or not. I don’t care if it’s just a short comment or a detailed essay, just please leave some type of feedback! Also, if you come across any spelling mistakes or grammatical errors please let me know so I can make it more bearable to read! Thank you for reading!

Chapter 8: Who is Lillith?

She saw nothing but darkness, like she was sitting in a void. It was deafeningly quiet and empty. Though she felt a presence, or presences, like there was someone there with her. "Hello?..." The dreams she's had before felt similar but they never felt this vivid. Was this a dream? She couldn't remember where she was before this, she tried to think and failed. "Hello? Mammon? Lucifer? Diavolo? Anyone?" Nothing.

 

She stood up from her knees, she couldn't even tell what she was standing on, there was no floor. Her eyes zipped around the dark void like she was searching for a way out. One foot in front of the other, she slowly walked into more nothingness, where there only was herself.

 

Until there wasn't. She heard something slightly crunch under the weight of her shoe. Moving her foot quickly, she saw an arrow on the ground. It looked like the exact one from her dreams. What's going on? Why is this happening? She kneeled down and picked up the arrow. It was brown with gold embroidery down the shaft, matching the gold of the point and the nock, with white feathers as the fletching part. As she inspected it she felt a strange breeze. She looked up, seeing the lady with wings from her dream again. Her hair was a reddish auburn, her skin was pale. Her clothes honestly reminded Marie of the stuff Simeon and Luke wore, having blue and cyan colored clothes with the same gold embellishes, including the five diamond shaped emblem with the sharp point at the bottom.

 

"Hello?..." Suddenly, she squeezed her eyes shut as everything became brighter and loud noises could be heard. She fell backwards onto a pile of glass on the ground. Wincing as she opened her eyes and looked up, she saw wasn't in that dark void anymore. She wasn't in the Devildom either. Not even the Human Realm. No, this place was different. She looked around at the destruction around her and the many people with swords, spears, and bows and arrows.

 

Through the rubble she could see similar looking dark blue hair with white streaks in it. She saw white wings and a crossed halo above their head, adorned by very life like looking eyes. It was honestly very disturbing, but what confused her most is who she saw. Belphegor, that had to be Belphegor. But he was a Demon, and this was clearly an Angel. Unless?...

 

Her thoughts were cut short as she saw an arrow hurdling towards Belphegor, and then an angel from a different direction, Beelzebub... As she watch Beel get him out of the way of the arrow nothing would prepare her the gut curdling scream that erupted.

 

"LILLITH!"

 

Then it all stopped. She was back in the darkness, seeing nothing but the back of Belphegors head.

 

“Who is Lillith?”

 

 

——

 

 

It was about the time right before the students started coming in. It was also about time they wrapped up their daily student council meeting. Barbatos, who of course wasn't actually in the student council, stood to the side during most of it, just assisting Lord Diavolo with whatever he could. But there were very few moments when he was needed. So he just observed most of the time, it was one of the many things he was good at.

 

During meetings he would observe the behaviors of the people at the table. Like how Leviathan would often pick at the skin around his fingernails, and how Beelzebub rarely blinks, and how Lucifer always rubbed the skin of his left hand's ring finger, like something was meant to be there. As long as he's been around, he’s always been good at knowing his surroundings from observations.

 

It made him slightly antsy how no one seemed to notice Asmodeus' absence from the table. He would've said something a while ago, he however didn't want to interrupt.

 

"Is it just me or does it feel weirdly quiet and less flamboyant in here?..." Levi said, looking around, counting the chairs. His comment raised a confused look from most of the participants. "What the hell does that mean?"

 

"As weird as that comment was, he's right. Something's missing." It was piercing silence for a second, before it instantly clicked in everyone's head. "Where is Asmo?" Lucifer said, groaning and putting his head in his hands. "Except for Beelzebub and Lucifer, don't you all come here together?" Diavolo looked concerned, crossing his arms.

 

"Well yeah, but he went to the Purgatory Halls with the human- Oh shit. The human..."

 

As if on cue, Barbatos felt a tingling sensation, a signal. Levi flinched for a second, turning his attention towards Barbatos who sighed. "I must excuse myself."

 

 

——

 

 

"Is she okay?" The little angel said, looking down at Marie, who they moved onto the couch. "Yes, she's fine, Luke... Do us a favor and go in your room for a little bit, okay? And bring your friend with you." Luke sighed as he stood up and started walking to his room, Dolion not far behind him. He opened the door and went inside. "It's nice in here."

 

"Really? I didn't think Demons found stuff like this appealing."

 

"...Everyone has different preferences."

 

"That's true, I guess..." Luke sat down on his bed, folding his hands in his lap and looking down at the floor. It was silent for a moment. "You know she's probably not actually fine, right?" Luke huffed. "Of course I know, I'm not as stupid as my father seems to think I am. He doesn't tell me anything."

 

"Why not? I think you're old enough to know that someone clearly isn't doing well. I'm pretty sure you've reached Human Realm adolescence, unless you're younger than you look."

 

"I don't know why, he just doesn't trust me."

 

"What about your mom? Or do you not..." Luke looked away for a second, then letting his blue eyes meet with Dolion's orange ones. "I'm sorry..."

 

"It's alright. It's not like I knew her anyway. She died when I was still a baby, Simeon doesn't talk about her. He only told me two things, that she used to sing me a lullaby, and that she gave me this." He held the necklace in hand, Dolion leaning in a little to look at it. "I always ask to hear more about her, he never says anything new. It's like he thinks I'm not capable of handling basic information about my own mother."

 

Dolion walked closer to him, looking down at the necklace for a second then back up at Luke's eyes. "If it's worth something, I think you're capable of a lot more than he thinks." A soft smile spread across Luke's face. "...Thank you." The moment felt short and sweet, it almost felt special. Though the moment ended when Luke heard slightly muffled talking from outside his room. He slightly cracked the door open and looked out at Barbatos and Simeon, they were both standing in front of the couch.

 

"I assume you haven't talked to him yet, have you?"

 

"No, but it's been attempted... It really shouldn't be this hard to talk to the kid i've raised, but it's honestly so hard. There's a lot of stuff i've kept from him." Barbatos looked at him we a small smile, with a look of pity. "I'm not trying to tell you how to parent, as I've never been one, but you have to fill him in eventually. You can't leave him or anyone else in the dark about important things." Luke huffed and shut the door. sitting back down on his bed.

 

 

——

 

 

Lucifer folded his hands together in annoyance, listening to how Asmodeus explained the story of how the human exchange student got hurt. "-and plus how was I supposed to know Solomon was doing something stupid?!"

 

"He's Solomon! Why would he not be?! Not to mention she wasn't supposed to be with you in the first place." Lucifer said, turning his head towards Mammon. "Hey! What was I supposed to do?" Satan scoffed from the corner. "Tell her no, dipshit."

 

"She a grown human, and all of y'all, expect Lucifer and Beel were there too, don't go blamin' this all on me!"

 

"Okay, enough!" Diavolo said, loud enough for everyone in the room to hear. "Barbatos will be back and he'll tell us if she's okay, or not. Until then, please remain calm. Okay?" Mumbles and small nods are all that the other people in the room responded with. Lucifer however, walked out, onto the balcony. Diavolo joined him after a minute.

 

"If you're gonna ask me what's going on again, don't even bother." Diavolo huffed as he leaned on the railing. "You are impossible. I just want to help you. Is it Simeon? I know you guys have a rocky history and-"

 

"No, it's not Simeon. It's not-"

 

"Is it your brother?" Lucifer tensed, his fingers tightened around the railing. "Nothing is wrong! You are frustrating beyond belief!" Diavolo was many things, but stupid wasn't one of them. He knew something was up. Lucifer was never good at hiding things from him or anyone. Everyone knew something was up, and Diavolo felt like he knew what was bothering him.

 

Notes:

PLEASE LEAVE FEEDBACK!!! It’s very helpful, and I need to know what you guys think about the series so far. It would mean a lot to me, to hear your opinions on it, whether you liked the chapter or not. I don’t care if it’s just a short comment or a detailed essay, just please leave some type of feedback! Also, if you come across any spelling mistakes or grammatical errors please let me know so I can make it more bearable to read! Thank you for reading!

Chapter 9: Answers

It was quiet in the House of Lamentation, everyone must've been asleep already. Marie sat on her bed with an ice pack over her swelled up leg, after clogging her toilet with an entire roll of toilet paper, to avoid inconsistencies in her lies. She could still walk on it and such, but it was painful. Lucifer told her Barbatos had done some magical healing trick or whatever to avoid further complications. It confused her but she'd rather not know all the details. In her hand, she held the two keys she stole from Lucifer's room that morning. She hoped he wouldn't notice they were gone soon.

 

Looking at them made her think about what she saw earlier. What was that?... A dream? It didn't feel like a dream, it felt real. Very real. The name Lillith stuck in her mind. Who is Lillith? What happened to her? Why did she see Belphegor as an angel? She had so many questions, yet no answers. She stood up from the bed, opening her door, she peeked outside quickly, making sure the coast was clear. No one was around, good to go. But not yet.

 

She pulled a chair out from the table, standing on it and grabbing a lantern from the tree above her bed. Now it’s good to go. She made sure not to step on any floor squeaky boards, getting to the spiral staircase to the attic. She looked around the corner, checking to see of Asmo was in the hall, and praying no one was around the other corner.

 

She slowly descended up the stairs once again, arriving in the room, holding out the lantern to the gate, pulling the out the key and putting it into the gate’s keyhole. Click. Belphegor’s head turned towards the gate, he was sitting beside a bed, on the floor. It was as if the energy changed as she slowly opened the gate. She heard the sound of chains rattling as us moved closer to the open gate. “You went through with it… You found the key…”

 

“Yeah, I found both.” She walked closer, slowly to not startle him. He looked shaken up, pasty, pale skin that she couldn’t see as well in the dark. Like a sick victorian child. He lifted up his wrists, the chains dangling down a bit. She inserted the key, turning it until the chains clicked off. She heard a breathy laugh come from Belphegor, looking up at him, who had a smile forming on his face. His hands grasped his wrists, feeling them.

 

“So, you said you’d tell me everything you know after I bring the keys. I need answers.”

 

“Right, where do I begin?… You know why you’re here in the Devildom, right?” She nodded. “Well they intended to send me to the Human Realm. You know that already. Well things didn’t go according to plan to put it simply… After that, Lucifer locked me up here and lied to everyone, including Diavolo.” She looked down. Wow, it felt strange. Why would Lucifer do that? She had so many questions. How was he able-

 

“Don’t talk in your head, as long as there’s something in there trying to communicate with you, you’re sending telepathic signals. Levi can somewhat hear it, this room is right above Levi’s and the closer we are the more he can hear.”

 

“Right… He mentioned that, I think. Wait, what do you mean by that?”

 

“I was able to talk to you through your head, that’s why you heard me calling for help. That’s one of the things I can do, it’s directly connected to one of the other powers I have. Though unlike most, your brain was easy to infiltrate, yet hard to get your attention fully. Like there was already something, or something’s, in there.” That’s a lot of information her brain can’t comprehend all at once. “What power does it connect to?”

 

“I’d rather not demonstrate.”

 

“Okay…?” Her mind went back to what she saw earlier that day. “You were in my head earlier today. So was a girl. Do you know who Lillith is?” His face changed, subtlety, but drastic enough to be noticed. It was like his eyes dulled and his soft features looked a bit sharp for a moment. “Not important.”

 

Her mind went a little further back. “The day I came up here, at dinner, Satan said ‘he got her killed’. Was he talking about Lillith? Who is she- Who was she?”

 

“I said she’s not important!” His eyes flashed an orange color, for just a second. She flinched as spiked flew out of the walls, it looked like crystals, glowing a little. “Did you-”

 

She heard a soft, almost nervous laugh. “I’m sorry... I just got a little heated for a second.” The spikes slowly retreated into the walls. “Sorry.” He said again. “It’s alright… I understand, this must be a sensitive topic. I do have another question though.”

 

“Marie, you ask a lot of questions.”

 

“Why can’t I tell anyone about this? Don’t you want to get out of here?” He exhaled softly. “Do you know how angry Lucifer would be if he found out you went up here? He would kill you, maybe even me too. I would never make it out of here. The only way is to keep it a secret for now, Lucifer’s the only one who can break the spell for me to leave.”

 

“So how do we get him to do that?”

 

“I don’t know… But we’ll figure it out, won’t we?”

 

“Yeah… We will, you can count on it. I’ll get you out of here. How do I keep Lucifer from finding out I’ve been up here? He’ll know sooner or later, especially if I have these keys.”

 

“Break the lock on the gate, he’ll think he did it himself.” He picked up the chains. “Hold these, please.” She took them and held them as he slid his wrists back into them. “Hold them closed, don’t actually close it though.” She folded them in, leaving a gap. The crystal like material spread along the gap closing it. “As long as it’s like this he’ll never notice it was off. He has quite bad eyes. But despite that, make sure you put these keys exactly where you found them.”

 

“I got that the last time I was here.” She wandered around the room, setting the latern down and looking into a random cardboard box. “What’s this over here?”

 

“Human Realm trinkets, they did tell you this used to be a house in the Human Realm.”

 

“Yeah, Mammon said it’s haunted because a bunch of people died here. Is that true?” Belphegor just laughed a little. “Unlike many things you are finding out to be true here, no, ghosts aren’t real. Souls are however. Several people have different theories, but what’s known as factual to everyone is that they exist within the Reaper’s Cave along with their corpses and can’t escape.”

 

“That sounds interesting, do you think it’s like the Reaper’s Lair from Skyrim?” Belphegor furrowed his brows. “Sorry, you probably wouldn’t understand that reference.” She looked deeper into the cardboard box. She reached in and pulled out a circular, metal thingy, it had a red light, glowing through the transparent glass cap over it. She had never seen anything like it, she dropped it back into the box that was full of it and looked over into another box.

 

“Perfect…” She took a screw driver out of another box in the room, how convenient. She was lucky that they had so many random things laying around the attic. She walked over to the gate and started to unscrew the cap of the lock mechanism that is attached to the gate. “I hope you know what you’re doing with that.”

 

“Not really, but I’ve done similar things with electronic hardware. Can’t be too different. And plus, I’ve watched my roommate fix the door handle a billion times.” She held the lantern up to the lock, looking inside the mechanism. “Locks work because of the springs on the inside. If you take a spring out,” She pulls the spring out of the mechanism. “it won’t work anymore.” She smiled at Belphegor. “It’s not much, but it’ll do the trick.” She took a deep breath really quickly, feeling her leg start to ache a little.

 

“Perfect. You’ve been here for a while. You should get going before anyone notices. And because of… well, that.” He gestured to her leg. “I’ll be seeing you soon, I hope.” She nods, turning around and pulling the gate closed. She went back down the stairs. As soon as he got to the bottom, she clutched her leg. “Damnit…” She grunted, looking at the swelling on her leg. She set the lantern down beside her, sitting down on the floor, looking at the redness on her dark skin.

 

Then she heard footsteps behind her.

 

“…Are you okay?”

 

Notes:

PLEASE LEAVE FEEDBACK!!! It’s very helpful, and I need to know what you guys think about the series so far. It would mean a lot to me, to hear your opinions on it, whether you liked the chapter or not. I don’t care if it’s just a short comment or a detailed essay, just please leave some type of feedback! Also, if you come across any spelling mistakes or grammatical errors please let me know so I can make it more bearable to read! Thank you for reading!

Chapter 10: Beelzebub’s Lament

"...Are you okay?"

 

She whipped her head around to see Beelzebub standing behind her. "You- You spoke..." He nodded. "I can talk, it's... it's just a selective thing."

 

"Oh, okay. I didn't know that." Strange, how did she manage to run into Beel again at this time of night? "What are you doing out here?" I mean, what are the chances of this happening more than once? Especially not twice in a row. "I go to the observatory every night." Ah, that makes a lot more sense. "I see. Well, I'm fine. Just a little sore." She rubbed her leg. "What are you doing up here?"

 

She thought about telling the truth for a second, but she couldn't. She had to lie for Belphegor, it was the only way. "Oh, bathroom again. I... I tried to tell Lucifer about the clogged toilet this morning. He wasn't here, as you know since you leave with him in the morning, and I forgot to mention it when I had the chance earlier..." She flashed a quick grin. "Do you need help?" 

 

"Yeah, I could use some help. Can I ask a question though?" Beelzebub nodded as he helped her up, picking up her lantern as well. "Why do you go to the observatory every night?"

 

"Me and Belphie used to go... Uh, Belphegor. But he's gone so I just go by myself." In understanding, she nods, walking slowly down the stairs with Beelzebub. "I haven't got to see the observatory since the tour, maybe I could go with you, if you want?" They reached the bottom step, walking down the hall. "Are you sure? You need to rest your leg."

 

"I'll be alright, my leg's fine." He gave her an unsure look. "C'mon, please?" He sighed as he nods, helping her to the observatory through the music room. She stood on one foot as Beel brought a chair a couple feet away from the huge window. He sat beside her on the floor. The stars shone in the blue sky, it was beautiful. "Hey, why don't you tell me some stuff about Belphegor, or Belphie? What was he like?" Beel looked down, fidgeting with his fingers.

 

"He's changed a lot... He used to the sweetest person in the world, he was so compassionate and understanding. But the last time I saw him, he was angry... and violent. It wasn't like him at all..."

 

"When was the last time you saw him?..."

 

 

——

 

 

Today was the day. The day Belphie had to go away. The entire student council was at RAD, including Barbatos, as well as Mephistopheles, who was writing a paper for the RAD Newspaper Club at the time. Diaval and Belphegor were standing in front of Diavolo, listening to him give a speech. Belphegor wasn't listening, looking on in pure rage and spite.

 

How dare they. How dare they dare do this to him. Sending to the land that he believed was responsible for her death. It made him feel sick, it made him feel angry. Wrath wasn't his thing, it wasn't something that looked good on him. Not that it was a good thing on anyone, but it looked especially out of place for Belphegor.

 

Diavolo's voice was drowned out, he was feeling things change within him. Something vengeful, something full of hate and power. His eyes flashed orange, for just a second.

 

"Well, Belphegor and I are honored to have been chosen for this cause, your dedication is truly beautiful, my Lord." Diaval put her hand on Belphegor's shoulder, patting it. Diavolo gave her a toothy grin.

 

"Don't speak for me." He said, suddenly and not looking up. Eyes were on him now. Diaval opened her mouth to say something, Belphegor cut her off however. "You heard me, don't speak for me. I'm not honored to be chosen for this complete bullshit. This is completely against my will!" He looked up finally, locking eyes with Diavolo. He almost chuckled when he heard Lucifer's iconic sigh. "Would you please at least have some manners?"

 

He scowled, clenching his fists together, and in a spur of the moment rage he lunged towards Diavolo. Mammon and Diaval grabbed him, holding him back from going forward. His breathing was heavy, and his heart rate skyrocketed. It was like his body acted without a second thought.

 

A stake shot out from the wall. It pierced right through Diavolo's left eye.

 

 

——

 

 

"I couldn't even do anything, I was just... frozen. He was restrained and sedated for the rest of the day, to cool off I guess. After that Lucifer told Diavolo he would handle the rest of it privately. And the day after, he and Diaval went to Human Realm. He's thousands of miles away, and yet, he still feels so close though."

 

Things were starting to line up a bit better in her head. Belphegor was chosen for the exchange program, he refused and freaked out the day they were supposed to go, so when he was sedated he was locked in the attic and was replaced with someone else who went to the Human Realm with Diaval. "So, this is Diaval, and Furcus? Did I say that correctly?" She thought, going back to the day she was taken here. Furcus. How did she not notice before?

 

"I see... You said he changed, when do you think this change happened?" Beelzebub looked down at his lap. "After the Celestial War. After our sister... Lillith died." Lillith. Lillith. The girl was Lillith, the thing she saw... That must've been the Celestial War, that was the day Lillith died... They were in the Celestial Realm, that's why they looked like Angels. "You were Angels... You were Angels?"

 

"Yeah, we were... We fell." Fallen angels. 

 

Feathers falling. Her vision started to get blurry. Then she heard the voice again, the girl. Lillith. Her eyes closed shut.

 

 

——

 

 

He shook her unconscious body, trying to wake her up. After a minute he sighed and lifted her up. He didn’t know what caused her to pass out so suddenly, he just assumed it had something to do with her leg, but he wasn’t so sure. He walked through the living room and into Marie’s bedroom. He set her down onto the bed, setting the ice pack back onto her leg.

 

Up the stairs he went, walking around to the end of the hall and opening the door. He used to never be alone in here, but now he was. He sat down on the floor, his back against what was Belphegor’s bed. It was only a year, but a year was a long time. A part of him felt like it wasn’t just gonna be a year, he knew that wasn’t true, but he couldn’t help it. He closed his eyes, seeing memories that he’s long since repressed.

 

The brightness was a stark contrast to the darkness of the Devildom. He saw the moment over and over again, the chain of events that led them here. The things he saw but never could compel himself to say, the things he never fully processed. First he saw Asmodeus, and then Raphael, Belphegor, the arrow that almost hit him, then Lillith, and what became of her, how he couldn’t save her. And then he remembered how he looked up, who he saw. Simeon. He remembered seeing him standing over her corpse. He remembered the blood soaked sword.

 

He remembered how Lucifer fell out the sky with a single set of wings detached from his body. He remembered how Michael raised his arms, banishing them all from the sky…

 

He opened his eyes, looking down as he looked at a photograph he had of himself and Belphie. It was from the Celestial Realm, old and crinkled. He held it close to his himself, bringing his knees up to his chest, putting his head down. He couldn’t say it, but he thought it. I’m sorry.

 

Notes:

After this chapter, I’ll be going back into previous chapters and editing mistakes i’ve found, and the overall formatting will also be edited. It’s nothing big of course. Things will look a little different going forward. And just so there’s no confusion, I’m not changing anything but mistakes so you won’t have to reread chapters or anything.

PLEASE LEAVE FEEDBACK!!! It’s very helpful, and I need to know what you guys think about the series so far. It would mean a lot to me, to hear your opinions on it, whether you liked the chapter or not. I don’t care if it’s just a short comment or a detailed essay, just please leave some type of feedback! Also, if you come across any spelling mistakes or grammatical errors please let me know so I can make it more bearable to read! Thank you for reading!

Chapter 11: It was nice talking to you

Summary:

Satan finds out that Lucifer has cursed the attic and that Marie may know something they don't. Mammon lets Marie in on a few more details on their past. Following this, Marie and Luke have a conversation regarding his feelings towards demons. The mention of a certain name reawakens past trauma, and incites a heartfelt conversation between Lucifer and Simeon.

Notes:

I know y’all have been waiting a while, I’m sorry this took so long to come out. I’ve been in procrastination station for months while writing this. I’ll lock in and get quicker at writing this, as it’s been over a year since I’ve started this, and there’s still under 20 chapters…

This is the longest chapter I’ve ever written, it’s over 4,000 words so you’re all eating good. Again, sorry for disappearing for months. I will try not to do it again :D

Please be aware, this chapter contains:
Brief Mentions of real-life racism, prejudice, and racial stereotypes
Implied emotional manipulation and abuse
Implied grooming
Implied child-abuse

Early in the morning, Satan woke up. It was surely after Lucifer left in the morning. He exited his room, walking down the hall. He stopped at the bathroom door, his eyes gravitating towards the attic steps.

 

Why was Lucifer suddenly so cautious about it towards the human? They've been up there before, not like there was anything dangerous to her up there. It used to be a house in the Human Realm. Not even one for sorcerer's or witches, just regular humans. And please, who actually buys that stupid horror story about it being haunted?

 

Satan walked towards the steps, stopping when he was in front of it. Fire formed in his hand as he held it up, illuminating the steps. As he moved it closer, he felt resistance, as if there was something stopping him from going too far. He looked down at his hand, seeing air around his hand slightly gain color as it shaped around his hand like saran wrap. A barrier.

 

He moved his hand back, then in again, pushing his hand into it. It wouldn't go through, and his hand would only go so far before it couldn't anymore. "It's cursed... Why would...?" He looked up towards the spiral staircase in disbelief. He flinched when he heard a noise from the bottom of the steps. He dashed back to the bathroom, going through the doorway. He looked out into the hallway, seeing Marie walking with a slight limp down the hall.

 

She walked past the bathroom, he slowly walked out, watching her walk around the corner, past his own room, then Levi's, then Mammon's, then the twin's, then right into Lucifer's. This wasn't the first time either. He walked into down the hall, standing in front of the door and listening. She was very quiet, silent even, it became apparent to Satan that she knew what she was doing. There was no doubt in his mind.

 

But why?... Why? He thought. What could possibly be her reasoning for this? There was no excuse, unless... she knows something they don't. He stood outside the door, almost grabbing to handle to open it. The door shot open, and the human jumped a bit, not expecting him to be standing there. "Oh! Hey, Satan."

 

"What are you doing?"

 

"I was going to talk to Lucifer, but I just missed him again."

 

"Again?" The girl nodded. "Yeah, yesterday I tried to let him know about my clogged toilet, but he was already gone. So I was gonna try again today, but you know... He isn't here. Uh, again. So I'm just gonna head back to my room, see you later." She walked past him with a slight limp, heading back towards the stairs. "Marie?" She turned her head back towards him. "How stupid do you think I am?" There was this look that appeared on her face, but just for a second, then she playfully laughed.

 

"Do you think I'm lying? You can come check the toilet yourself." He gave her a glare and crossed his arms. "Sorry... Listen, I- I know you guys don't have the best past, but there's no reason to be paranoid about me. I wouldn't do anything to hurt you guys." She sounded convincing, but Satan felt there was something she was leaving out. Whatever she was doing, she was being smart about it.

 

"Alright... I'm going back to my room." Satan walked past her, going down the hall into his room. He sat down on his bed and pulled several spell books towards himself, books about witchery and sorcery. He looked through shelves and piles, gathering whatever books he could find about barriers and force fields. He was determined to find out what Lucifer was hiding. It was so obvious, how did he not realize before? He'd been acting so odd for a while, this had to be why. But what is he hiding? What could he possibly have to hide that he would put a spell on the attic? What could be so important that he hid it from everyone? And what did that girl know?

 

 

——

 

 

"You never said what exactly we should bring with us, you know."

 

"Well, I dunno what she wants. We're just taking things back." The three, Mammon, Leviathan, and Asmodeus stood in the human's apartment, a large chest in the middle of her room floor, gathering the stuff they thought she would like to have with her. "What about these?" Asmo said, holding up a pair of tap shoes.

 

"Not very useful currently, but whatever, just throw em' in." He set the shoes in the chest. "Oh, this is sick, she has a copy of the original Resident Evil 3." Levi said in a slightly excited voice. "The remake was just awful, nothing compared to the originals or even the other remakes. I don't even know how they fumbled so hard. What they did to the Nemesis was definitely the worst of it. It's like they didn't even try at all!"

 

"Wow, it's been like a thousand years since i've heard you talk this much."

 

"Sorry, I'll stop." Asmo chuckled. "No, it's fine. Keep talking. I like hearing you guys talk." Levi blushed in embarrassment, looking away. "Now I'm aware that I'm ranting and how my voice sounds! I don't want to anymore."

 

"Now he's freakin' out, nice goin' Asmo. C'mon, we've got a job to do!"

 

"I'm not even freaking out!" Asmo threw a couple more things into the chest. "You two are so immature."

 

"Says the one who threw a tantrum when his earring broke."

 

"I did not throw a tantrum! And even if I did it would justified, those earrings were expensive!" A red laser shone into the room from the window, blinking a message.

 

SOMEONE IS COMING.

 

They all ducked, hiding in whatever nook and cranny they could get in. The front door opened, they could hear it from Marie's room. Someone was home. What was his name? Lucifer had mentioned it back when they had been scoping out the human. Sal? Sage? Sam... It was Sam, Samuel.

 

The man walked into the apartment, closing the door behind him. The guy looked like he automatically knew something was up. He looked around, making his way to Marie's room.

 

The three exchange looks from their hidden positions as he walked through the doorway. Samuel looked into the chest, "Ah, you're back. Not very stealthy at all." The brother's, again, exchange looks. "I figured you would at least try to be. You're hiding, aren't you?" The man walked towards the bed. Asmodeus, who was under a desk, slowly crawled out, sneaking behind him. "Asmo, wait-"

 

It was too late before Asmodeus stabbed the guy in his back with his thumb nail. He fell over onto the floor, unconscious. "Oh fuck. Go, just go!" They quickly threw a couple more items into the chest, then dragged it out of the apartment. Barbatos was waiting for them in the parking lot, standing next to a car. "He never came out of the apartment, why are you here?"

 

"Asmo hit em' with his weird ass thumb stingers." Barbatos just sighed. "You three will never cease to amaze me with how absolutely ridiculous you are."

 

"Well what was I supposed to do? He knew we were there somehow and was actively looking for us!" He said with a pout appearing on his face. "And don't lump me in with these two, I'd rather be tied to train tracks."

 

"What's that supposed to mean?" Asmodeus gave Levi a look, insinuating nothing that could be good. "Alright, enough. We are already behind schedule. We must get moving."

 

 

——

 

 

Not having much to do, Marie colored in a random coloring book she found on one of the shelves. The library's seats were surprisingly comfortable. If Satan wasn't so into books she would've assumed he was always down here for the seats.

 

She's never been this bored in her life, and she's had to sit through critiques during rehearsal. Surprisingly, from all her years of dancing she's never had an injury that hindered her ability to walk, as common as those are.

 

She looked up upon hearing someone enter the room. "Oh, hey Mammon. What are you doing here? I didn't think you read, let alone could read." She said teasingly with a chuckle. "Haha, smartass. I was looking for ya. What're doing outside your room?"

 

"I was bored just sitting in my bed."

 

"Well you ain't gonna be any less bored in the library. You gotta stop walking on that leg, it's gonna take longer to heal."

 

"Why couldn't they just cast a spell that'll automatically heal me?"

 

"I don't know, I don't got sorcerer's magic. C'mon, we brought you some stuff." Without another word she glanced down at her leg. "Right, the leg." Mammon thought for a moment, before leaning down and lifting her up as one would do to their bride. "Chivalrous I see." He just rolled his eyes, not even being able to help smiling a bit. He brought her back to her room, dropping her on the bed. behind the chest of items. "Knock yourself out."

 

She dug through the chest, looking through the various items. "Wow, my room must be looking very bare bones right now. My roommate's definitely gonna notice, you basically just robbed me."

 

"We kind of knocked him out, by the way."

 

"What?"

 

"What?" She blinked at him, tilting her head a bit. "Nevermind that, just look in the chest." She just shrugged, reaching her hand into the chest. She gasped with a giggle as she pulled a plush from the chest. "My Angelina Ballerina plushie, aww. I had this since I was 6."

 

"Damn, I would've thought it be more dirty by now. I don't have anything from when I was 6. I mean, I guess it's different because it's been thousands of years, it's probably been less than twenty-five for ya, huh?" She chuckled a little, though she felt like she shouldn't laugh. She knew why he wouldn't have anything from when he was that age that didn't have anything to do with his lack of mortality. She knew more than one thing actually. She felt like she was wrong for hiding what she knew, and that she knew. "Yeah... It's been sixteen years. That's hard to register."

 

"I'm sure it is." She turned her head towards him. "This sounds like a good time to ask, how exactly do demons age?" Mammon hummed in thought for a second. "Well, we age like humans up until around 5 to 10. It ranges. We're basically stuck like that, maturity and looks wise for a while, then every 100 years or so you age up a figurative year. Then when you hit 15 to 20, the aging gets a longer time period, a thousand years or so. Then when you've hit about 70 in human years, you stop aging completely, so you look like that for the rest of yer years. And it's basically the same thing for Angels, with slight variation. It's kinda different for everybody. And time also works slightly different in the Celestial Realm and Devildom, a year in the Human Realm could be 100 here, that also varies. Sometimes there’s little pockets where time slows a bit, that’s how we’re able to do the exchange program with the same amount of time passing in all the worlds."

 

She nodded slowly, a slight confused look on her face. "That's very convoluted, don't you think?"

 

"Sure. But hey, not all things can be simple." She shrugged as she dug through the bin, pulling out another item. Her laptop. "Ah, my wonderful absolutely fried laptop. Would this even work here? Do I have to connect to some special wifi?"

 

"I... don't really know. Just do some experimenting or somethin'." She chuckled, setting it to the side. Mammon sat down next to her on the bed. "Hey, um, I also wanted to thank you for hangin' out with Beel. It was nice of you, I think someone other than us in the house really helped him a bit."

 

"How'd you know about that?"

 

"He talks sometimes, not very often, but he seemed more capable when I checked on him this morning."

 

"Well, that's good... That's great." Mammon just nodded. She smiled a bit, then remembered all the things Beelzebub had told her the night before. Of all the things she knew, this was something she could actually tell Mammon she knew. She might as well, right? "Beel told me something yesterday. A lot of things actually..."

 

"Yeah?"

 

"Yeah. I... I'm sorry about Lillith." Mammon sighed. crossing one leg over the other. "It was a long time ago, we've coped with it, I guess..." He sucked in a bit of air, looking over at her. "How exactly did it happen? If- if you want to talk about it, that is..."

 

"Considerate of ya." He said a little teasingly. "Well, I assume he told you about the Celestial War too. I ain't see it all, just a bit of it... All I remember is seeing Beel grabbin' our other brother, and then he screamed. It all happened so fast. I saw an arrow go right through her, and then I just saw black for a moment... But then a saw her moving, like there was still... I don't know, hope for her left. And I saw more darkness, and then a bloody sword. I didn't see who did it, and the next thing I knew I was falling. And that was it, now we're here..."

 

 

——

 

 

"She's doing okay, right?"

 

"Yeah, she's fine from what I hear. Lucifer and I actually sent Mammon, Asmodeus, and Leviathan to grab some of her items from the Human Realm. Hopefully that will keep her occupied for a while as she heals."

 

"That's nice. I am still so sorry about what happened. Solomon is definitely a handful. It's like I gained another child when we got here." Diavolo laughed a hearty chuckle. "I can't imagine what that would be like. Sounds lively." Lively was certainly a word for it. "I suppose it is. Frustratingly lively." He said with a short laugh.

 

From down the hall, Barbatos, along with Solomon approached. "Ah, hello Simeon." Barbatos said, a small smile on his face. "Barbatos, hello."

 

"I don't get a hello?"

 

"I've seen you all day, Solomon."

 

"That doesn't mean you can't say hello again."

 

"Fine. Hello, Solomon."

 

"See, was that so hard?" Barbatos chuckled softly, clearly finding this a bit amusing. "Where has Luke gone off to? I wanted to talk to him about a new recipe the two of us could try."

 

"Oh, that sounds nice. He's beaten me to Marie's room." Barbatos nodded. "I will talk to him later then, we are a bit busy at the moment anyways. Toodles."

 

Simeon smiled a bit more as Barbatos hurried along down the hall with Diavolo. He then turned towards Solomon. "So, did you pick that up from him, or vice versa?" "What?"

 

"You know, the toodles thing."

 

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Solomon said with a straight face. They started walking towards Marie's room, peeking through the doorway.

 

Luke was sitting next to Marie, along with Mammon who was standing beside the bed. "Hey! How are you feeling?" Simeon said. "I'm good. Thanks for the cupcakes."

 

"You're welcome, it was Luke's idea. And we made sure to keep, erm... someone out of the kitchen." Luke snickered. "It's okay, we can't all be gifted in the same things. If we all were it wouldn't be special anymore." Luke nodded thoughtfully, taking in her words. She was quite good at explaining things. Much better than Simeon could have explained it actually. "That is true. Who are we talking about again?"

 

"Don't worry about it, Solomon.." Simeon said with a slight chuckle. "Hey Marie, can I talk to you about something really quickly?" "Sure, Of course." Simeon helped her up and they walked over to the corner of her room. "Yeah?"

 

Simeon then began talking in a low whisper. "I assume you've noticed Luke's certain, um, feelings for demons."

 

"I think we all have honestly."

 

"Yeah, I figured. Well, you seem very good at explaining things in an age appropriate way. I've been struggling with explaining things to him in a way he'll understand correctly. I have to ask if you could have a talk with him about it..." Marie furrowed her brows, but nodded slowly. "I feel like you should be talking to him about that... But I'll do it, no problem."

 

"Thank you so much, I owe you one." He helps her back onto the bed, then patted Solomon on the shoulder and gestured to the door. Solomon, looking confused for a moment, just shrugged and stood up, walking out with him. He left the door cracked, leaning on the wall.

 

 

——

 

 

Good day, Lucifer and Lord Diavolo, I've received your letter, as well as Diaval. Speaking for us both, we are very glad to be invited back for the coronation. It's very exciting how close the day is. To Lord Diavolo, congratulations, and best of luck. My mother remembers when your father was crowned, and his mother, Queen Rose, before him. It's big shoes to fill, but I believe you will manage quite well, you already are.

 

As for our time here so far, things are going very well. We were provided dormitories, as well as basic essentials, and a fair bit of what the Human Realm calls dollar bills, curtesy of the Sorcerer's Guild. The food is a bit different, though very enjoyable. Diaval has taken quite a liking to a little marshmellow, stuffed in between chocolate and graham crackers. I think they are called s'mores or something like that.

 

Although we are enjoying our time here quite a bit, we've both noticed strange things. We've seen the same man around quite a bit, I actually think I saw him the day Barbatos, and a couple of your brothers were here gathering things from the human exchange student. I'm almost positive that he is the same man from that apartment. He keeps giving us strange looks. I'm not sure why. I also see this blonde woman around. She seems to be someone your exchange student knows. She seems a bit worried about her disappearance. Anyways, like I said, things have been very enjoyable for us here, and I am very excited for what else awaits us. I hope things are also going well in the Devildom.

 

Regards, Furcus

 

Lucifer looked over the letter he recently received, while Diavolo and Barbatos conversed from the other side of the desk. He rubbed his eyes underneath his glasses, refolding the letter. "I see the letters have been sent back. What do they say?" Diavolo said, with a curious smile. Without a word, Lucifer pushed over just Diaval's letter. As Diavolo looked over it, Lucifer opened his drawer, ready to store away the other letter. Though, as Lucifer somewhat anticipated, Diavolo lifted his head. "Can I see the other one as well? I'd like to know how Belphegor is doing as well."

 

"No need, they both of them wrote of similar things. He seems to be faring alright."

 

"Are you certain? They're very different individuals, I would've expected he write about something incomparable."

 

"It's not entirely the same, of course. It's just.. similar." Diavolo and Barbatos looked at him oddly before exchanging a look. "Lucifer, what is going on?" Lucifer looked again. "What?"

 

"I've asked you a million times, and you keep lying to me. I know something is bothering you, but you won't let me in. Why won't you let me in?" Lucifer sighed, standing up. "I- I am not lying! Why won't you stop asking?!"

 

Diavolo stood up as well. He looked concerned, extremely concerned. "Lucifer... What's in the letter that you don't want me to see?"

 

"Nothing! You have just been nagging me about it! I've told you, I am fine!"

 

"What am I supposed to think when you're acting like this?! What is so important that you insist on hiding it from me?!" Lucifer began walking to the door, Diavolo following shortly behind. "If you're gonna leave, at least put the letter down!"

 

Diavolo grabbed his wrist, and for a second, Lucifer saw a flash of someone he never wanted to see again. For a second, his breath felt heavier, and his body felt weightless, and Diavolo's grip felt tighter than it was. He pulled back with much more force than needed, falling onto the floor. The letter flew out of his hand, into the fireplace behind him. Diavolo looked shocked, as well as Barbatos behind him.

 

"Lucifer, are you hurt?.. I'm so sorry, are you alright? Tell me you're alright.." Diavolo said, kneeling down to Lucifer. His concerns were thrown aside as Lucifer stood up. "I will excuse myself for a moment." He quickly exited the room. Diavolo almost walked out after him but decided against it. Barbatos, stunned by the escalation of events, looked over at the letter in the fire.

 

Lucifer sped out of the room, into the library, and then the living, and then the hall. He wasn't sure where he was going. He was really just pacing around. Though he slowed as he saw Simeon standing against the wall right outside of Marie's room. "What a-"

 

He was immediately shushed by Simeon. Looking a bit dumb-founded, he peered into Marie's room. She was talking with Luke. About?... His mind couldn't compute it for a moment. He watched as the girl held her arm next to Luke's. "Do you see the difference of my skin color compared to yours?"

 

"Yeah.. You're darker."

 

"Mhm. In my world, I'm called a person of color. More specifically,  Black or African American. And in my world, there are people who don't like people like me just because of the color of my skin. That's called discrimination and prejudice."

 

"That's terrible..."

 

"I know. And sometimes, people who discriminate will come up unvalid and mean reasons to try and justify their hate for people of color. They'll make up things, like saying some people are violent, dirty, evil. Sometimes, it's more subtle, so it sounds less harmful when it's not. Those are called racial stereotypes. This is something we've all noticed, Luke. You tend to act like this towards Demons..."

 

"Oh.. I never really thought about it like that... Is it really like that?"

 

"Yeah.. I don't blame you, Luke. You're still very young and haven't been in the best environments. I just have to ask, who made you believe all that stuff about Demon's?"

 

"Well, I've heard it from a lot of Angel's.. But I guess what made it stick with me was hearing it from Michael."

 

Michael. Michael... That bastard. It was all coming back to him. All those thoughts in his head. All the talks... All the looks... All the touches... He couldn't remember it, not at all, but he felt it. He could feel it. He could feel him. And it was like he was still there. Suddenly, he wasn't in front of Marie's room. He was now sitting in the garden. Simeon in front of him. "Hey, are you okay?"

 

"I am fine." He said with a huff, avoiding eye contact with Simeon. "You don't seem okay.. I know we aren't as close as we used to be, but you can still talk to me if you need to. I don't like hearing that name either..." Lucifer looked down at his slightly shaky hands. "I've seen things I shouldn't have. Lucifer, I never thought to ask you this, but did he... did he hurt you?"

 

"Not necessarily... But we were so close in ways that should have never been allowed to happen. I don't remember it all, my mind just won't. I can't remember most things from that time.."

 

"I know. For someone with such bad memory problems you sure can hold a grudge." Simeon said with a slight chuckle. "I am not in the mood for snarky comments."

 

"Sorry, I was just joking. Thought that would lighten the mood a bit." He said, slight awkwardness in his voice as he sat down next to the demon. Lucifer shifted a bit, looking at Simeon through the corner of his eye. "We never spent that much time together growning up, did we?.."

 

"No, not really.."

 

"It was fun though."

 

"Was it?”

 

"Yeah. Do you remember the time when you almost choked on a wafer?"

 

"No."

 

"Really?- You know, I can see why you forgot that... How about the time Mammon grazed Leviathan in the foot with a sword during practice?"

 

"That I remember." Lucifer said with a chuckle. "And he said to me that he got stabbed, and then I freaked out. Only to discover he barely got scratched." Simeon laughed as well, looking over at Lucifer, who was now looking his way. It went quiet again, but only for a moment. "So.. You and Diavolo, huh?"

 

"What?" Simeon smirked, and chuckled again. "Are you two not a... thing?.. for lack of better word." The other man made a quiet noise, something between a scoff and a gasp as his face grew a reddish color. "Hold on- What? No... We- we are not a 'thing'." Simeon raised a brow at him. "Look, it- Things are a bit complicated between us right now.. I won't get into it."

 

"A bit of trouble in paradise, I see." Lucifer plucked him on the arm, glaring at him. "Sorry, sorry." He said, playfully snickering. Though he almost jumped as he felt a hand on his shoulder. It appears Luke and Marie were done with their talk. "Hey bud, you okay?"

 

"Yeah, can we go home now? I'm tired."

 

"Ah, okay. In a minute. Go find Solomon." The little angel ran off again, leaving them alone once again. Simeon stood up from where he sat. "Well, I have to go now. Just.. If you ever need to talk, I'm here..."

 

"Alright... It was actually.. nice talking to you today. I'll walk you out." Lucifer stood up as well. They walked back into the house, down the hall, and around to the front entrance. Solomon and Luke were sitting on the stairs, along with Diavolo. Lucifer stopped in the doorway as Simeon walked into the room. "Alright, you're ready to go?" The older angel said as he pulled Luke up to his feet by his arms. "Absolutely, I want to try out the spells in the book that Satan lent me. I was very surprised when I didn't recognize most of these."

 

"Ah, okay..." Simeon said., his face looking a little nervous. "Um, we'll be going, thanks for having us over. Tell Marie we hope she gets better soon." The three walked towards the door and began to exit the house. Diavolo waved, Lucifer did as well.

 

From across the room from each other, the two looked up at each other. Gazing into the other's eyes in a moment of silence.

 

Notes:

I’m saying this now as this feels like the best time to mention it. Since he’s talked about a bit in the chapter, I would like to say that my Michael is actually inspired by the ninjnerd_Anaklusmos’ Michael from their series, One Foot in Front of the Other. There is another inspiration that I took, but I unfortunately cannot find the work or the creator anywhere.

PLEASE LEAVE FEEDBACK!!! It’s very helpful, and I need to know what you guys think about the series so far. It would mean a lot to me, to hear your opinions on it, whether you liked the chapter or not. I don’t care if it’s just a short comment or a detailed essay, just please leave some type of feedback! Also, if you come across any spelling mistakes or grammatical errors please let me know so I can make it more bearable to read! Thank you for reading!

Chapter 12: The Scavenger Hunt

She sat on the attic floor, Belphegor in front of her, and her laptop in her lap. For the past weeks or so, she'd been tinkering around with the programming of the thing and actually got it to properly work in the Devildom, all while her leg healed. Getting up and down the attic stairs every now and then wasn't as hard as she thought it would be. Surprisingly, neither was getting into Lucifer's room. Though, there was one issue she hadn't thought about.

 

"A couple weeks ago, when I was putting the keys back, I finally saw the cameras he had around his room. Inconvenient, but there was no way to avoid them. I was able to access the footage from my laptop, but I'm not able to delete or tamper with it."

 

"I figured he would have something that would make this more difficult..." Belphegor said with a sigh. "It's not a problem yet. He hasn't said anything, so I guess he doesn't check it often. But the sooner I can get rid of it, the better. He must have a computer that stores all the footage that can be deleted if he wanted it gone. Do you have any idea where this computer could be?"

 

"I have an idea. This isn't a guarantee, but it's worth a shot.. In the library, Lucifer has a secret office. No one's been in there besides himself, Diavolo, and Barbatos. The shelf with the three birds above it is a secret door that opens."

 

"But how do I get in?"

 

"I'm not sure, but it has something to do with the crows hanging above the door. I'm sure of it." The crows above the door... Now she has to solve some riddle to get into an office where there might not even be a computer. She couldn't just disregard the possibility. She at least had to check first. And if it isn't in there, she'll figure out her her next move on the way. Whatever, it isn't the time to worry about that.

 

"Alright, i'll figure it out." She stood up, heading back towards the gate. Down the stairs she went, quietly traversing back to the bottom floor. She made sure she was completely silent as she went past the music room. Just in case Beel was inside. Though she didn't bother to check. She set her laptop and lantern down. Those crows did suspiciously look like they were a part of whatever puzzle she had to solve. If she could call it that.

 

She looked at the several objects in the room. There weren't many specific things she could do to make it open. If she was in a movie, a trial and error music montage would've already started playing. She felt a little stupid doing this, but she quite literally was kidnapped and brought to some fantasy world for an exchange program just a couple of weeks ago. Not to mention, she was only doing this because she's basically on a rescue mission. There was no point in questioning things now.

 

For the next couple minutes, she pulled all the books on the shelf. At least Lucifer didn't go for the cliché. That makes things harder for her, but she should've known Lucifer would be more clever than that. It was unfortunate that she didn't have any magic to make things simpler. What else could she try?

 

She looked around the room once more. Her eyes soon landed on the fireplace, and then the three items above the fireplace. It was very specific. They looked a bit out of place sitting next to each other. She walked over, looking at the items. There was an antique music box, a small grandfather clock, and a skull with an unlit candle in its head. An idea suddenly popped into her head.

 

She walked back to the table, opening the lantern and taking the lit candle out. A little bit of candle wax dripped and burned her hands, but she pulled through. She walked back to the fireplace, holding up the flame to the wick and lighting the candle. As it ignited, she heard a click. Her head turned to where the sound came from, the music box. She set the candle down and then opened the music box. There was a little black swan on the inside. A little tune played in piano. She recognized it. Swan Lake. It was a nice detail. The song played for about seven seconds before it stopped.

 

Seven seconds, that had to be intentional. She looked at the music box closer for anything she could mess with. Her eyes shifted to the side. There was a little hole. Something must go inside of it, but there was nothing around she could use. Of course, she would have to look around for what goes inside of it, but there was nothing around she could use. Of course. She would have to look around more. How does that man have the patience to do all this every time he wants to get in his office?

 

She looked around a bit again, going through all those books.. Again... She opened one book, and a metal thing felt out. After placing the book back, she grabbed the thing off the floor. It looked sort of like a lever. Something she could probably turn. She walked back over to the music box, looking at the hole again, before inserting the metal in the hole. Perfect fit. She turned it once. The music played as she winded it.

 

Seven seconds.

 

She stared for a moment. Then she started winding the lever. Five, six... seven. on her seventh turn, the small clock next to her chimed quietly. The hands turned wildly a couple of times. The long hand turned eight times, while the short one only turned four times. What could she do with that? She moved the long hand around a bit, then it clicked in place on the eight.. She tilted her head, moving her hand to the smaller one. She slowly moved it down. It stopped on the four.

 

Just like that, the hands began to spin again. As It stopped again, the bottom of the clock opened. A rock fell out. A rock? All that for a rock? "God damn.. What the hell am I supposed to do with this?" She whispered, looking around.

 

But it has something to do with the crows hanging above the door. I'm sure of it.

 

Her eyes trailed up to the black birds above the bookshelf, then back to the rock in her hand. She just might be crazy for this, but she held up her arm, aiming for the crow in the middle. She sucked in her breath, begging for her aim to not be shitty. With a bit of force, she threw the rock. It hit the bird, and there was silence for a second. But then she felt the floor shake a bit. Before her eyes, the bookshelf opened. A small hallway, the walls were brick. She walked through, hearing the shelf-door close behind her.

 

As soon as she walked into the room, and immediately she saw a big window behind the desk. The floor was shiny, and it was a bit warm in the room. Curtesy of the fireplace, probably. She looked around, her eyes looking for some sort of device, preferably a computer. Nothing. Maybe he had some sort of tablet or laptop? She walked over to the desk, opening the drawer. No tablet, but loose quills, some closed jars of ink, and a couple of unopened letters. She picked one up, looking at it. There was a name on the back, most likely of who it's from.

 

Michael. That same guy Luke talked to her about. She had very limited knowledge of the guy, but the thought of him sending letters to Lucifer rubbed her the wrong way. She set the letter back down, closing the drawer.

 

Of course, after she did all that, nothing would be in here. A dead end. She pushed the shelf door back open, exiting the room and gathering her stuff. She made her way back to her room as quietly as possible. With a sigh, she laid down. She had to figure this out. As quickly as possible.

 

 

——

 

 

She walked alongside Mammon and Leviathan that morning at RAD. The two were talking, a bit ahead of her. The older one occasionally looked back, just to check to see if she was still there. However, she had her mind set on something else entirely, just thinking. It felt like the gravity of what she was doing was just now setting in. It felt like she was thirty pounds heavier. She couldn't tell if her heart was pounding or if she was just making it up in her head.

 

Stop thinking so much.

 

The pounding faded away. As if she snapped back into reality, she looked up. Levi was looking at her strangely, and Mammon was facing her. "Ya okay back there? You don't look too good.." Mammon said, slowly coming to a stop. Levi and Marie stopped as well. "I'm alright, just... thinking a bit." Mammon tilted his head. "Actually, I have to go to the bathroom. I'll meet you in class!"

 

"Wait, what? Marie-" Leviathan's words were cut off as the human walked away with a quickness in her step. The two brothers looked at each other, confused faces.

 

Marie walked around, passing the bathroom and continuing down the hall. If Lucifer didn't have a computer in the House of Lamentation, then this was her next guess. If not here, where else? Hopefully, this would be the end of this witch hunt. Whenever she found a room it could be in at least. She continued her stroll, though her eyes traveled up to a room with a fancy looking door. She stopped in her tracks, looking up at the sign above the door.

 

RAD Newspaper Club. Huh... I didn't know they had a newspaper club..

 

She opened the door, looking inside the room. She did a quick scan. No one was in there. She walked in slowly. Her eyes panned around the area. There were a couple of computers around, some ink and quills, a couple of printers. Everything you would expect. Then she looked further into the room. There was a lone computer, away from the other's in a corner.

 

"Uh, can I help you?" She flinched as she turned around, looking at the man who had just entered the room. He had brown skin, purple hair, and held a cane. He was quite tall, taller than Lucifer, but shorter than Beelzebub. "Oh. Oh, hi! Um, sorry. I'm—"

 

The man huffed. "I know who you are, Marie. And that wasn't my question."

 

"Right. I'm fine, I was just wandering.. I didn't know RAD had a Newspaper club."

 

"Did they even tell you anything actually about the school you're attending? Don't answer that, I already know the answer. I suppose this is just what happens when you leave world peace up to the most incompetent demons imaginable."

 

"Oh... Um, okay... I see you guys use computers."

 

"Yes, it's more efficient than doing everything by hand like we used to. Diavolo suggested it a while ago. It wasn't a stupid idea."

 

"Right, right. Who exactly are you again?.." The man sighed, crossing his arms. "Mephistopheles, I'm the president of the Newspaper Club and one of Lord Diavolo's advisers. Not that he listens to what I advise anyway. He only listens to his wonderful, beautiful, perfect little boyfriend." He said, mock, and a bit of bitterness in his tone. Marie felt a bit uncomfortable, but this was good. He was talking about Lucifer, and that computer caught her eye.

 

"About computers,” She held out the word a little longer than necessary. “what about that one over there? Why's it so.. isolated?" With another scoff, Mephistopheles began talking again. "Lucifer's. It's the only room at RAD with computers, well besides the computer lab, so they gave him one in here."

 

Bingo.

 

"Ah, okay. I will, uh, be on my way now. Bye!" She walked at a fast pace out of the room. This was working out better than she thought. Way better, actually. She continued walking, and things got quiet. Deafeningly quiet. Along with her breathing, she heard a quiet ringing in her ears.

 

She felt a presence, like something was hovering just above her shoulder. It made her wonder. Those voices she was hearing... One was Belphegor, she knew that for sure now. But.. what about the other one?.. The girl... Was it her showing her those things she kept dreaming about? Why was she showing her those things?..

 

And who did she not want her to trust?

Notes:

PLEASE LEAVE FEEDBACK!!! It’s very helpful, and I need to know what you guys think about the series so far. It would mean a lot to me, to hear your opinions on it, whether you liked the chapter or not. I don’t care if it’s just a short comment or a detailed essay, just please leave some type of feedback! Also, if you come across any spelling mistakes or grammatical errors please let me know so I can make it more bearable to read! Thank you for reading!

Chapter 13: How strange it was

Notes:

The action is rising, I repeat, the action is rising ^w^

Mammon walked alongside Leviathan down the hall. He couldn't find that girl if it were to save his life. He hadn't really noticed it until now, but she was definitely acting a bit strange. And if Mammon noticed, something definitely was wrong. "Where do ya think she went?"

 

"I don't know, Mammon. Why don't you know where she could've gone? You know her better than I do."

 

"Can't you use echolocating or somethin'? 

 

"No, Mammon. I can hear when people send signals in their head, not the sounds they make externally... Only Diavolo can use echolocation." 

 

"Well, what's goin' on in her brain? Can you hear her?" Levi looked up for a moment, looking like he was listening for something. "Kind of."

 

"That means she can't be that far, right?" 

 

"Right."

 

"Then what are we waitin' for?!" 

 

"I don't know where she is based on her thoughts!"

 

"Just tell me when you can hear it better. That's when we're gettin' warmer. It'll be just like Marco Polo. C'mon." Mammon started walking, Levi followed after him. In truth, it was hard to focus while following Mammon around. "Uh, warmer." Mammon turned a corner. "No, colder." Mammon huffed, turning back around. "What is she even thinking about right now?" Levi shut his eyes.

 

"I don't know, it's kind of muttled.. I kind of hear the word trust, and who?... I don't know. I should've said something earlier."

 

"About?" Levi held Mammon's arm, making him stop. "I've been hearing weird things since she got here. There were these muffled voices.. When I first met her, we only talked because of what I was hearing... She could hear it too." Mammon furrowed his brows. "She said she could hear them more clear than I could. She said one was calling for help, and the other sounded panicked..."

 

"And that was the same day she started freakin' out about a voice the rest of us couldn't hear..." They stared at each other, just blinking. Mammon started walking down the hall again, pulling Leviathan along. "Mammon, do you know what this means?.." Mammon turned his head, not stopping his stride, though. "If she's hearing it, and I'm also hearing it, then she's not just hearing things... Someone's actually talking to her. And if I can hear her thoughts without there being something else there as much as I have been, whoever it is, is lingering in her conscience..."

 

"Shit. That ain't good, is it?" Levi shook his head. "Who do we tell about this?.."

 

"I would've gone to Lucifer... But he's not acting like he's in his right mind either. Do you think he knows something that we don't?" Mammon thought for a moment. Lucifer had been acting strange for a bit as well. It also began around the start of the exchange program... It was like alarm bells rang in his head. "Maybe we should keep it to ourselves for a lil' bit?.. Just until we know more..."

 

"Is that really the best thing to do?" Before Mammon could answer, he saw Marie walking down the hall. She looked lost and deep in thought. "Human! We were lookin' for ya!" Her head lifted, and she was snapped out of her daze as Mammon called out to her. "Oh, hey Mammon. I wasn't in the bathroom too long, was I?"

 

"Uh, nah... Anyways, we gotta get to class."

 

"Right, right. Let's go then." She began walking with them again, slightly ahead now. The two boys looked at each other. Continuing their walk to class.

 

 

——

 

 

After a long day, there was nothing that Lucifer liked more than a little quiet and alone time. Diavolo knew that better than anyone. Though, with everything that had been happening, and with how odd Lucifer had been behaving, he couldn't help but want to keep a closer eye on him. He knew Lucifer wasn't fragile by any means, but this was honestly scaring him a bit...

 

He stood in the corner, watching Lucifer tend to his 'baby'. And by baby, he means ginamornous threeheaded dog. Cerberus was probably the only creature Lucifer had a soft spot for. It was always quite endearing to Diavolo.

 

He chuckled quietly, causing Lucifer to turn his head in his direction, still petting the dog on his head. "What?" Diavolo looked down, clearing his throat. "Nothing. Nothing at all." 

 

"Do not play coy with me, Diavolo."

 

"That's Lord Diavolo, to you." Lucifer shot a look at him. Diavolo almost couldn't tell if it was playful or not at first. "You should know, I am very busy today. I do not have the time for your games, Lord Diavolo." He snickered, noticing the slight smile on Lucifer's face. "How about a little break?"

 

"I have no time for that." Lucifer said, exiting the tomb, Diavolo behind him. "One little break won't hurt... Come on." Diavolo took Lucifer's arm, dragging him along. They ended up in the music room. "Diavolo-"

 

"It's alright. You can rest now... Just for a minute." Lucifer rolled his eyes, but Diavolo saw the faint smile on his face. He always did. "Just for a minute..." Diavolo backed to the small table, replacing one record with another, starting the player. He pulled Lucifer closer, his hand on his upper back. The smaller man sighed as his slimmer hand was taken into Diavolo's.

 

"C'mon, you know you want to..." Lucifer couldn't hide his smile anymore, putting his other hand on Diavolo's shoulder. It had been a while since they had waltzed together. Diavolo wasn't even sure Lucifer remembered the first time they did. His memory seemed to only go so far back. 

 

Diavolo took a step forward, leading as he did many times before. He could feel like the coldness and rough texure of Lucifer's hand. As they moved across the floor together, the warm feeling he felt in his chest was all too familiar. It was as if the music faded away, and Lucifer was the only thing he could see, and hear, and feel. He couldn't help but gaze longingly into his eyes. His blood red eyes, they always looked like they were hiding something deep within them. 

 

Diavolo spun him around before lifting him up. Lucifer made a quiet noise of surprise. "You weren't expecting that, were you?" 

 

"No, not at all." Diavolo set him back onto the floor as the music slowly came to a halt. Diavolo held his gaze for a second longer, and then the other man removed his hands from his shoulders. "I need to return to my work now.."

 

"Really?"

 

"Yes, really." Lucifer said with a chuckle. "Fine, but don't expect me to not bother you while you're doing it." With an eyeroll, Lucifer exited the room, Diavolo not far behind him. They entered the library, walking over to the fireplace. As they made it there, however, Lucifer looked like he noticed something.

 

He leaned in closely, looking at something beside the small clock. Diavolo looked over his shoulder. There was a small burn mark and a little wax stuck to the surface. It looked like someone just let a lit candle drip onto it.

 

"How did this happen?"

 

"Maybe it's from that candle?" Diavolo said, pointing to the candle that sat atop the skull. "It would've been closer to the books if it was... How strange..." Lucifer's darted around the room, as if he was looking for anything else that was out of place. "Let's not worry about now. You are busy, correct?"

 

Lucifer sighed. "Yes.. I suppose I'll leave it for now..." Diavolo's eyes zeroed in on the small burn mark for a moment. 

 

How strange it was...

 

 

——

 

 

Asmodeus stood outside of exchange students dorm room, holding a bag of random items Solomon asked him to bring for a spell he was trying from the book Satan lent him. Though, instead of asking for the help of someone already somewhat experienced in spellcasting, like Satan or Barbatos, he asked Asmo. He probably wouldn't say it out loud, but he couldn't help but believe Solomon just asked to spend more time with him. He would never be able to prove it though. The sorcerer was just too secretive. And there was always the chance that the demon was also just being a tad bit delusional. 

 

He knocked, swaying back and forth as he waited for the door to open. It finally opened, Solomon peering his head out at him. "Ah, Asmodeus. I expect you brought everything I asked for?"

 

"Yeah. It took me a while to find some stuff since they're mostly Human Realm ingredients, sooo you're welcome."

 

"Thank you very much, Asmo." Solomon said, taking the bag out of his hand. "There's no flying snakes in there, is it?" The demon said teasingly. Solomon chuckled, shaking his head in response. "No flying snakes."

 

"Good." Asmodeus walked into the room, taking a seat on the couch. The spell book was already floating above the cauldron the sorcerer set up. He could hear something boiling in the kitchen. He leaned in a bit, reading what spell Solomon was trying out. He read what it said on the book, an awareness spell?

 

After a moment, Solomon came into the room with whatever was boiling on the stove, pouring it into the cauldron. "What’s an awareness spell?"

 

"Well, this specific spell reads more as insight than awareness. It says if we do it correctly, it will cast a projection, showing you snippets of the going on around you that you weren't aware of." He paused for a moment. "When I put it like that, it does sound more like an awareness spell. Anyways, can you cut these for me? Your assistance is deeply appreciated." Solomon tossed over an orange, some lemongrass plants, and a jar. "Okay, got it."

 

Asmodeus got up, walking into the kitchen. He grabbed a knife and a cutting board, first cutting the orange open, then chopping up the lemongrass into small pieces, pouring it into the jar. Asmodeus came back into the living room, watching Solomon grind up chamomile. He sat down across from him. "Perfect. Alright, now I want you to sprinkle the lemongrass into the cauldron in a circular motion." Asmo held the jar above the cauldron, following Solomon's instructions. "Careful... Not that you aren't being careful. I just wanna make sure this goes well."

 

Asmo snorted, setting the jar back down. "Perfectionist much?"

 

"When it comes to my craft, absolutely. Now squeeze the oranges into the cauldron. Make sure you get all the juice out."

 

Asmo squeezed the oranges above the cauldron, the juice dripping in. "Can't you do most of this yourself and with magic?"

 

"Yeah, but where's the fun in that? Plus, in all honesty, I do enjoy having you around..." Asmodeus smiled a bit, squeezing the other orange into the cauldron. "Good to know..." Solomon chuckled, sprinkling the grinded up chamomile into the cauldron. A wooden ladle floated over, stirring the mixure. Asmo watched intently as Solomon poured a spoon full of honey into the cauldron as the ladle stirred. 

 

As everything was mixed, the contents inside the cauldron began to turn a very dark blue color, mimicking the look of a starry sky. Solomon smiled, laughing with a hearty breath. "It's working!" The two peered their heads into the cauldron, waiting for what the spell would show them. 

 

An image appeared. The first thing Asmo saw was the attic stairs of the House of Lamentation. He furrowed his brows, then almost flincing as the image flashed to something else. To Marie, then to Lucifer, then to what appeared to be Satan's hand looking through a spellbook, then to that necklace that Luke always wears. He didn't get a good look at anything the spell showed them. As various pictures flashed, one in particular caught his attention the most.

 

A pair of purple eyes with a pink undertone stared back at them. Asmo thinks, no, he knows he's seen them before. The twins have eyes that look like that... The eyes switched to an orange, then faded into the mixure. 

 

The demon and human looked at each other, both looking as confused as the other. "That was... weird..." The sorcerer nodded at his comment, looking like he was thinking. He suddenly stood up, grabbing his cloak. "Where are you going."

 

"We're going to the Demon Lord's Castle."

 

Notes:

PLEASE LEAVE FEEDBACK!!! It’s very helpful, and I need to know what you guys think about the series so far. It would mean a lot to me, to hear your opinions on it, whether you liked the chapter or not. I don’t care if it’s just a short comment or a detailed essay, just please leave some type of feedback! Also, if you come across any spelling mistakes or grammatical errors please let me know so I can make it more bearable to read! Thank you for reading!

Chapter 14: Something Is Wrong

Barbatos watched as Luke lightly dusted the powdered sugar on the cannolis while he wiped down the counters. Luke had been begging him to let him take the lead while baking, Barbatos decided to humor him. Just this once. The look of concentration on the boy's face was always quite cute. He couldn't help but feel a bit of care for the angel in the way a parent would. It was a nice distraction. His mind felt so full, much fuller than it had ever been, like a meadow turned to a forest. 

 

He wasn't sure, but something was bothering him deeply. Whether is was the overwhelming feeling he felt in his chest whenever that dark skinned angel was near, the way the Avatar of Pride had been behaving, his many duties, that slightly burnt letter he pulled out of the fireplace in Lucifer's office, or all of it and so much more.

 

He could hear the quiet snickers from Simeon, who was leaning against the doorway. He was clearly amused. Barbatos stopped his cleaning when Luke pushed the plate towards him. "They're finished! How do they look?" Barbatos smiled, looking at the cannolis. "Fantastic, nicely done, Luke. Would you put them in the refrigerator for now? I'll be back in a moment." Luke nodded, taking the plate to the refrigerator.

 

The butler walked over to the doorway, walking out of the room. Simeon moved off the wall, following behind him. "Where are you off to?" Simeon asked, a bit of curiousity in his voice. "I have some tasks I need to finish very quickly. I'll return in just a moment." 

 

"I'll come with you."

 

"Oh, there really is no need for that-"

 

"I insist." Barbatos looked over at the older angel, not hiding his small smile. "You're always very eager to assist."

 

"What can I say? I'm a man of service."

 

"It is a bit ironic to say that to a butler, no?" Simeon chuckled. "True." Barbatos looked ahead, stopping his stride for a moment. "I've noticed Luke's behavior has improved. I assume you've finally had a talk with him."

 

Simeon looked down at the floor, exhaling a bit. "I actually didn't talk to him, Marie did..."

 

"Marie- What?" 

 

"Don't make me repeat it, I already knew how you were going to react. Trust me, I know it wasn't the best choice."

 

"Simeon, what possessed you to even make that decision?" Simeon sighed. He could already feel the lecture coming. "You can not just ask somebody else to have such a sensitive conversation with your child."

 

"Barbatos, I know, but it is so hard-"

 

"You are a parent. It was never supposed to be easy. How can you expect him to come to you if you can not push yourself to have more delicate conversations with him?"

 

"Do not tell me how to do my job. You've never raised a kid."

 

"I don't need to have raised a child to know that what you did was a mistake. Do you not see how this is affecting your relationship with Luke? You have raised him from birth, and I have not heard him refer to you as his father once!" Simeon's eyes widened, and the butler covered his mouth with a gasp. "...I apologize. That was extremely out of line for me to say.. Please excuse me." Barbatos started walking away. "No, Barbatos... You're right- Please don't walk away from me." 

 

Barbatos stopped in his tracks when he felt that familiar tingling sensation. That sorcerer. "Hold on." He turned around, walking to the front entrance of the castle, Simeon still following closely behind. As he walked further into the hall,  he saw Solomon and Asmodeus already standing there. "Sorry, we let ourselves in. We need to talk."

 

"So suddenly? For what purpose?"

 

"I'll explain in a moment. We just need to go to your chambers now. Right now." Simeon looked at him with a concerned look. "And I mean right now, this is urgent. And you also need to be there." Solomon said, pointing at Simeon, then walking ahead, Barbatos immediately following after him. "What about Luke?"

 

"I can watch him for a little bit." Asmodeus said. "Wonderful, let me just tidy up things in there quickly." The demon's walked back into the kitchen, Luke looking up from his stance at the counter. "Oh, what are you doing here?" The angel said to Asmodeus. "Don't worry about that. Asmodeus will stay with you for a moment. I will be back as quickly as I can."

 

"Why? What's going on?"

 

"I'm not exactly sure. Just stay with Asmodeus for a minute." The small angel looked over at the door, seeing the anxious look on his father's face, accompanied by his roommate, looking to be in a more serious state than usual. "I- Okay..."

 

"Good." Barbatos walked out of the room, Solomon and Simeon following after him. They walked for a bit until they arrived at a room with a black, chamber-like door. Barbatos opened the door, the two exchange students following after. The room was dark, overgrown vines, and plant life taking up some space. There were lots of stairs, and a huge window. It wasn't the most comforting room to be in. "You have 5 minutes to explain what's going on."

 

"You remember that day at the House of Lamentation, correct? Well, that day Satan lended me a book of spells to try. Today, Asmodeus and I were trying a spell together. It was called an awareness spell. When it was casted, we saw some concerning things..."

 

"What is it that you saw?"

 

"There were a couple of images that it showed us. The attic staircase in the House of Lamentation, Marie, Lucifer, Satan looking through a spell book, Luke's necklace, and then there were purple eyes with a pink undertone, they just faded into an orange color. That is where it stopped. I don't know what it means, but I have to ask you if you could maybe look to see..."

 

"You know I do not use my abilities in that way..."

 

"C'mon, something is wrong here. I wouldn't be asking if I wasn't concerned."

 

"If you're so concerned, you have my pact. You can do it yourself."

 

"It doesn't work the same way. It would take way too much energy out of me to do something of your capabilities. Barbatos, please..." Barbatos sighed, clenching his fists and closing his eyes. "Fine, but this may take a little while." Barbatos walked up a flight of stairs. "May I ask, what is it that you're going to do?" The angel asked, following behind him in a voice of concern. "Quiet, I need to clear my head." Simeon closed his mouth

 

They made it to a door, and Barbatos opened it. They could barely make out anything. Nonetheless, Barbatos walked further into the room and then sat down on the floor. Solomon held Simeon a short distance away. The demon took an unnoticeable silver pocket watch off of  his belt. He set it on the floor and flipped it open. His eyes shut as he put his hand on the short hand, winding it backward.

 

Suddenly, an emblem of a clock glowed a green color underneath him, and his eyes opened once more. They were fully pitch black, so black they could see the glossiness in them. It seemed as if his hair illuminated and floated as well. A wind picked up in the room, swirling in a circle around Barbatos. Simeon moved Solomon's hand down, watching in awe.

 

After a moment, it all stopped. He heard an extremely sharp breath from Barbatos as his eyes closed and reopened again, returning back to their original form. Simeon rushed over, putting a hand on Barbatos' shoulder. "Are you alright?"

 

"Yes.. I... Something is wrong. I did not know what I was looking for, I just went as far back as Marie arriving in the Devildom and skimmed through miscellaneous points in time. I am not sure what it is I saw exactly."

 

"What do you mean? How are you not sure?"

 

"I... I do not know. I may need to speak with Diavolo about this." 

 

"Are you sure you're okay?"

 

"Yes, I just need to figure this out... Let me lead you out." Barbatos stood up from the floor, leading the angel and the sorcerer back to the halls of the castle. His head almost hurt at the possibilities he was thinking of. He's never been this puzzled before. How would he go about telling Lord Diavolo? His master already had enough on his plate recently. He felt nauseous at the thought of unnecessarily adding on some unknown thing to stress about. Though, when his instincts trigger, he can't just ignore it. 

 

The butler hoped he was just worrying over nothing or that it was just a small issue that would solve itself. He, however, knew that things never quite worked out like that. He could feel it in his chest. This feeling of anxiety that he's never felt before. This feeling that something was wrong. Very wrong.

 

Notes:

PLEASE LEAVE FEEDBACK!!! It’s very helpful, and I need to know what you guys think about the series so far. It would mean a lot to me, to hear your opinions on it, whether you liked the chapter or not. I don’t care if it’s just a short comment or a detailed essay, just please leave some type of feedback! Also, if you come across any spelling mistakes or grammatical errors please let me know so I can make it more bearable to read! Thank you for reading!

Chapter 15: Discoveries

Recently, almost everyone Satan knew had been acting strange in one way or another. Lucifer was quite obvious, and suspicion had been practically radiating off that human. However, for the past week, most of his brothers also were acting strangely. More on edge. It was odd. And in all honesty, he was also acting strange too. He hadn't been as open as one could be either. Especially for the past week.

 

He had found something. The spell he suspected Lucifer was using on the stairs in the first place. Along with that, he had been keeping a closer eye on the human. She was up to something, he wanted to know what. It wasn't like him to be so nosy normally. But a feeling deep in his gut pushed him to try and figure it out.

 

He walked the halls at RAD, he wasn't going anywhere in particular. Just kind of wandering with one goal in mind. RAD was a large building, he hadn't been around that much. He really only went to class, the student council room, and sometimes to the library. It just wasn't a space he wanted to spend a lot of time in. He walked further down the hall, reading whatever sign was above the doors he passed. It was a bit quiet, he only heard his own footsteps and faint chatter from other areas.

 

His stride came to a sudden stop as he heard a sound from inside a room he walked past. He turned his head, looking at the sign above the door. The RAD Newspaper Club. He reached out, slowly turning the handle. As he did so, the door opened quietly. He peeked his head in, his eyes falling on the human sitting at a computer far in the corner. That was strange... No, that was more than strange... That was evidence. He knew something was going on, and this is proof. Of what though?..

 

He pulled his D.D.D. out, holding it up at the scene, snapping a quick photo. Evidence can't be used as evidence without documentation after all. He crept into the room, getting as close as he could without her noticing. It looked like she was looking at some sort of footage. Security camera footage. He took another photo, retreating out of the room as quickly as possible. 

 

He treaded down the hall with wide strides, going up flights of stairs until he reached a door. The library. He entered, walking to the front desk. The librarian lifted her gaze towards him. "Oh. Hello, Satan. Looking for anything specific today?"

 

"Sophena, I'm looking for stuff about force fields and barriers. Anything of that sort. Whatever you can find, bring it all."

 

"...All of it?"

 

"All of it."

 

She stared for a moment, shrugging in response. Her fingers moved across the keyboard of the computer she was working on. "This is gonna take a minute." She walked away from the desk, pulling an empty cart along with her. Satan tapped his foot impatiently, crossing his arms as he waited. A couple of minutes later, Sophena returned with a cart full of books. "These are all due in the next two weeks."

 

"If I can ask, why are you researching this so.. intensely?"

 

"I'm just curious. Thank you."

 

 

 

——

 

 

 

He laid in his bed, tossing and turning as he tried to fall asleep. He's never had much trouble sleeping, probably because he never did sleep much anyway. Nonetheless, it was a bit annoying. Satan groaned, burying his face in the pillow, squeezing his eyes shut once again. He breathed deeply for a moment, keeping his eyes shut. His face slowly began to relax, his breath calming. He felt himself start to doze off.

 

It suddenly felt like he couldn't move. He couldn't hear anything but his breathing. It almost felt like he was sinking slowly into the bed. He hated it. His thoughts sounded louder all of a sudden. It sounded like it was echoing through his head.

 

Wake up...

 

There was a voice. A familiar one.

 

Wake up...

 

What?

 

Wake up...

 

I don't...

 

Wake up...

 

His eyes shot open, sitting up with frantic breaths. He coughed, his eyes darting to various spots around the room. His breathing slowly calmed as he processed what just happened. What was that?... He crawled out of bed, scrambling to the door. Something was just telling him to go to the attic stairs, like an uncontrollable thought. His legs were moving faster than his mind as he made it to the steps, looking up at the dark passage.

 

His eyes adjusted in at the darkness. What could possibly be up there that Lucifer had to hide? He had been asking himself this for weeks now. It was honestly fucking with him way more than he would admit. Why was whatever's up there so important? He needed to know. He didn't know why, but he needed to know. He just felt this was something important.

 

He suddenly heard a creak, he flinched, retreating around the corner. There were quiet footsteps, just loud enough for him to hear. He poked his head out, just enough to see around the corner. He squinted, trying to make out who it was in the dark. His eyes focused in on the figure, the silhouette becoming clearer. That human. Of course it was her. What was she doing up here this time? She looked around, her eyes moving as if she was scanning the room. She walked slowly down the hall, stopping at the staircase.

 

Satan's eyes widened, watching as her foot moved onto the first step, then the second, then the third. She was consumed by the darkness as she disappeared into the attic. It all clicked. That's what she knew. She knows what's up there. She knows what Lucifer's hiding.

 

Satan backed up, retreating to his room, his mind reeling a bit. He needed to find that spell quickly.

 

 

 

——

 

 

 

Satan sat in his usual seat at the table, poking at the food on his plate with a fork. There was a subtle tension around the table. Most of his brother's had slight nervous expressions. Their energy was extremely off. He wondered if they were catching on as much as he was. They weren't idiots, at least not most of the time. They had to have realized something...

 

Satan's eyes shifted to the human, she had a surprisingly good poker face. If you looked at her, you'd probably never be able to tell if she was telling the truth or not. How was she so good at keeping a secret like that? How has Lucifer not found out yet? It confused him to no end.

 

"Since we are all here, I have a question." Lucifer said, all eyes at the table shifting to him. "I found wax and a burn mark on the fire place. Are any of you aware of how it got there?" There was silence, followed by head shakes around the table. "Seriously? Not one of you know?"

 

"Isn't there a candle on the fireplace? Couldn't that have done it?" Asmodeus said. "The mark was too far away to be from that candle." There was more silence from around the table. It didn't look like anyone was hiding anything. However, Satan knew the girl must've had something to do with it. One of her hands were pressed over the other, like there was some sort of indication that she did it on her hand. "Alright then... I suppose I'll ask the Purgatory Hall residents when I see them next."

 

Satan stood up from his seat. "May I be excused?"

 

"What for?"

 

"I have to study..." Satan pushed his chair in, walking out of the room. He went up the steps, his eyes gravitated towards the attic stairs as he arrived on the second floor, but he forced his gaze away, continuing to his room.

 

He was so close, he was sure he found the spell Lucifer used to cast it, all he had to do now was find the counter spell. It wasn't uncommon for counter spells to be found in the same book as the other spell. This one however did not. It baffled him a bit, but it seemed the author of the book he found the spell was similar to the second eldest in their love of money. He was thankfully able to find a book fully about counter spells from the same author. He had to find something in there.

 

He didn't bother finding out what pages each section started on, he just flipped through the book. He had never been this dedicated to anything in his life, let alone so close to a discovery that'll change everything. It has to be something big. All of the signs had to mean something.

 

He stopped as his eyes fell on a page, he read the spell throughly, his eyes moved over the page, double checking, triple checking, hell, maybe even a fourth check. This was it. He found it. Finally, he found it. He blinked, almost in disbelief. He wasted no time though, quickly writing down the spell and the specifics to perform it correctly. His heart was racing a bit as he ripped that page out of his notebook, placing it neatly in his drawer.

 

He propped the book with the original curse, and the one with the counter spell. He couldn't go into this without at least knowing how to use to the spell. Magic was a bit dangerous when done wrong, he was lucky it was a spoken incantation instead of one he had to make some sort of remedy for.

 

He got in bed after a while, lying there for what felt like days. He heard the sounds of his brother's walking in the hall, going to their rooms and such. He waited hour after hour in anticipation. He wasn't able to fall sleep, even if he wanted to.

 

Then there was just silence. He got out of bed, looking outside his room, the hall was dark, everyone was most likely asleep. Perfect. He grabbed the paper from his drawer and a flashlight before wandering into the hall. He turned the corner, seeing that staircase from where he was standing. The distance looked much further than it actually was for whatever reason. He continued walking, finally arriving in front of the stairs. He held the paper up and placed his hand on the barrier. He could see it shaping around his hand like before, looking at the various colors that appeared when touched.

 

He spoke softly, pushing his hand in and moving it down. ".دعها تسقط (daeha tasqut)." He removed his hand, waiting for a moment as he watched the wall burn away. That eery feeling didn’t leave though. He felt a bit nauseous all of a sudden, but his body had a mind of its own at this point. His foot landed on the first step, then the next, he stopped as he reached the top of the stairs. He shined his light at the wall in front of him, there was never a wall in the attic like that before.

 

He put his hand on it watching it vanish like it had never been there to begin with. There was the usual entrance to the attic, with a gate, blocking off the room. He shined his flashlight through the gate, but he couldn’t see anything in particular. He looked down at the gate, it looked locked. Though after he barely touched it, the lock fell right off, breaking on the floor. He kicked it aside, pushing the gate open and walking in.

 

“You’re finally here…”

 

Satan turned his head to where he heard the voice, shining his flashlight at it. His eyes widened.

 

“Belphie?..”

Notes:

PLEASE LEAVE FEEDBACK!!! It’s very helpful, and I need to know what you guys think about the series so far. It would mean a lot to me, to hear your opinions on it, whether you liked the chapter or not. I don’t care if it’s just a short comment or a detailed essay, just please leave some type of feedback! Also, if you come across any spelling mistakes or grammatical errors please let me know so I can make it more bearable to read! Thank you for reading!

Chapter 16: How did you get up here?

"Belphie?... This can't be—" He paused. "This is a joke..."

 

"It's not, I'm afraid, didn't you recognize my voice?" His voice was soft, quiet, almost tired sounding. Satan thought back to the dream he had, how did he not realize then? "But... But the exchange program... You're supposed to be in the Human Realm."

 

"It didn't quite work out that way..."

 

"How did you get up here?..."

 

Where do I start?

 

...

 

We were sitting in the front row, the crowd behind us, Diavolo's voice was loud.

 

"Not just us Demons, but Angels, and Humans, sorcerer, witch, or whatever else, have spent too long loathing and attacking each other. Since I was young, I've witnessed the hatred we have shown to each other, and even then I knew that isn't the way we should live. What good does it bring? How does it benefit the people of our kingdoms? The truth is it doesn't. It's time for is to rise above the hate."

 

Applause followed his words, echoing through his the room.

 

"I would like to note, that I couldn't have made this a reality without the help of one of my most trusted advisors, Lucifer."

 

Diavolo nodded towards Lucifer in the crowd, before looking back towards the audience.

 

"As part of our efforts, we, along with the court of  the Celestial Realm, and the Sorcerer's Guild, have decided the first step on our path. It may sound small in scope of things, but the impact is what truly matters here. We have decided to host an exchange program."

 

I remember how I felt when he said my name. I remember how I thought of her. I remembered why all of that happened. Why everything changed. I remember the fight we had after that speech.

 

"How long have you known about this?!"

 

"Why does that matter?! I don't have time to watch you throw a temper tantrum, this is not up for debate!"

 

"I'm not going there!" Belphegor tried to walk away, but Lucifer grabbed his shoulder. "Can you be rational for at least a moment?!" He pushed the other Demon's hand away, scowling. "Why should I be?!"

 

"What is your problem?!" Disbelief flooded on Lucifer's face, watching as his brother rolled his eyes and continued to try and walk away. Truly, what was his problem? "Belphegor! Please listen to me..." Lucifer grabbed his arm, stopping him from going any further. "Get off of me."

 

"Not until you tell me what's going on. What is your problem?"

 

"I said get. off. of. me..."

 

"Why are you acting like this?!" The younger demon looked like he was going to explode, he was slightly shaking, and grinding his teeth together. "Answer me! What is your problem?!"

 

"It's their fault she's dead!" Lucifer froze, staring at Belphegor. "What are you talking about?..."

 

"I know what really happened to the apple..." Lucifer's eyes widened looking down at his brother. "I am not going there..."

 

And then the day I was supposed to go, the accident happened... I don't know what came over me.

 

I couldn't feel my arms and legs, but I could see and hear everything. I wasn't asleep though. I couldn't fall asleep. I still don't know why. Lucifer was in the room, he was talking to Barbatos.

 

"How is Diavolo doing?"

 

"He is alright. The puncture didn't go far past his eye, though it took a while to remove the shard without it shattering completely. He'll most likely be blind in his left eye from now on."

 

Lucifer sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "It's alright, I'll take care of the rest of this..."

 

"I'm not entirely sure, but he seems too unstable to safely send to the Human Realm..."

 

"Don't worry about it, i'll handle it."

 

"If you're sure." Barbatos bowed his head, before leaving the room.

 

I remember how Lucifer looked down at me. I couldn't place what his expression meant. I should've known it meant nothing good for me though. That same afternoon, he was talking to Diaval.

 

"There's been a slight change of plans... I don't think I can send Belphegor to the Human Realm."

 

"Oh. I thought you'd be able to convince him after... you know, that happened..."

 

"I'm afraid it's a little more complicated than that. Instead, you will be going with someone else. I have a person in mind, I just need to rearrange a couple things."

 

"That's okay. If I may ask, could I know who it is?"

 

"His name is Furcus. You've heard of him, yes?" Diaval nodded. "Great. That makes things much easier. I just have to ask one more thing of you. Do not mention this to Diavolo."

 

"Okay, I understand. I wouldn't want to overwhelm him while he's recovering." Lucifer nodded.

 

"I'm glad you understand..."

 

I was confused. He didn't tell me any of that. It sounded too good to be true. Lucifer's never been the type to give in like that. It was obvious he was planning something just from the look in his eyes. I was confused. It didn't matter though, even if wanted to do something I couldn't. Plus, I would find out what he was planning by that night anyways.

 

When we got back to the house, he laid me down in his office. He paced around for a moment, just sort of wandering around the office, looking like a lost puppy. Then he started doing paperwork, working on documents. It was as if I was just left alone to my thoughts. I would've enjoyed it if he hadn't glanced my way every couple minutes. His look was puzzling. It made my stomach twist and sink in ways I haven't felt since the fall, it was like my body knew what was happening before my mind did. 

 

"Are you actually not sending me?..." He managed to muster up, his voice shaky and quiet. Lucifer looked over at him, sighing, and standing up from his seat. "I can't. Don't think this means you won. Do you even know what you've done?"

 

"I do."

 

"This is not a joke, Belphegor. You injured and visually impaired the technical ruler of the kingdom you live in. You're lucky Diavolo is much more merciful than our father was, otherwise you'd be behind bars. Or worse case scenario! Dead!"

 

"There's worse punishments than death out there."

 

"Don't get smart with me!" The younger demon went quiet again, his body beginning to turn as he compelled it up from the seat. "Why aren't you sending me?"

 

"I can't trust that you or anyone else would be safe. I can't risk it after that stunt you pulled today. You're a hazard."

 

"Is that what you're calling your brother now? A hazard?..."

 

"Is that not the truth at this point?!"

 

"Is that what you thought about her after she stole the apple? Was Lillith a hazard too?..." Belphegor pushed himself out of the seat, falling onto the floor with a grunt. "Don't bring her up."

 

"That doesn't answer my question!"

 

"Belphegor, you need to stop!" Lucifer picked something up from his desk. He couldn't see what it was from the floor. Pushing himself up, he began to feel that feeling again. That powerful, vengeful feeling. It made his body hurt, but it made him feel stronger. He stood up, his legs shaking beneath him. "Belphegor..."

 

"Don't pretend like you're doing this for me! You only do things to save your own ass! You don't, and you never did care!" Belphegor's eyes flashed orange for a moment, the room feeling colder, darker, and crystal like stakes growing from the walls. "That's enough!" Wings grew from Lucifer's back. Black feathers falling onto the floor. With a lift of the older demon's hand, a shock of electricity went through Belphegor making him collapse back onto the floor.

 

He walked up to me one last time that night and kneeled over my body, giving me another shot of whatever sedative he had. That was the last thing I remember from that day...

 

And then, I woke up here.

 

Notes:

PLEASE LEAVE FEEDBACK!!! It’s very helpful, and I need to know what you guys think about the series so far. It would mean a lot to me, to hear your opinions on it, whether you liked the chapter or not. I don’t care if it’s just a short comment or a detailed essay, just please leave some type of feedback! Also, if you come across any spelling mistakes or grammatical errors please let me know so I can make it more bearable to read! Thank you for reading!

Chapter 17: Trust

Summary:

Satan makes an important choice, while Barbatos convinces his lord that something odd is happening. Along with it, Marie discovers the mistakes she may be making and faces the warning she hadn’t paid much attention to.

"So you've just been up here all this time? And she knew?..." He was in disbelief, it was too much to process all at once. He had so many questions, it was overwhelming in all honesty. "Well, yes, she did."

 

"And she didn't... She didn't say anything?"

 

"I told her not to."

 

"Why? Why would you tell her that?" Belphegor looked at the floor, before looking back up. "She can't go around telling all of you that. Lucifer could find out so easily, and just like that, she'd be dead. I need her if I want this plan to work."

 

"Plan? What is— I don't get it..." Satan was having trouble gathering his thoughts, the information he learned throwing him for a loop. The other demon ran a hand through his disordered hair as he laughed quietly. It didn't sound like an actual, giddy laugh though.

 

"How do you think I got this far already? She's already played her part perfectly. Helping me out of here, and thankfully catching your radar. I only have one more use for her, and it's the most important part."

 

"What do you mean?"

 

"I want out of here, Satan. But I also want him to realize the mistake he's made. She may have good intentions, for now, at least. But I fear we may have to throw her under the bus to get what we want..." Satan's eyes widened a bit. His heart felt like it was racing. "We? I don't—"

 

"I've seen your dreams... Every one of them. I know what I want. Do you?" His eyes went to the floor, pondering for a moment. Did he know what he wanted? What is it that he wanted? "Don't feel too bad for her, humans aren't as innocent as they look. I doubt she is either. You know what you want... Don't you, Satan?" 

 

It all came flooding into his brain, that wrath that he hid underneath, he felt it in his chest for a moment. He knew what he wanted. He knew.

 

"I... Yes, I do. I know what I want."

 

"I know what we have to do to get what we want. What do you say, Satan?" He held out his hand, waiting for his brother to take it.

 

 

 

——

 

 

 

Something was wrong, extremely wrong. He had a feeling before, but this practically confirmed it. There was no denying that what he saw was strange, even if he didn't know exactly what it meant. It had been eating him alive. Nothing usually got under his skin this badly.

 

Barbatos walked down the hall, stopping in front of his lord's office door. He knocked gently. "May I come in?" There was a hum from the other side, most likely giving him permission. He entered the room, setting the tray of tea on a coffee table, and shutting the door behind him. 

 

"Thank you, Barbatos." The butler bowed his head. "You're quiet. Are you alright?"

 

"Yes." Diavolo raised an eyebrow. "Don't lie." Barbatos sucked in a breath, his voice shook for a moment. "Something is wrong here."

 

"What do you mean?"

 

"Solomon came here several days ago, he had seen something while trying a spell with Asmodeus. I looked into the past and I—"

 

"You looked into the past?"

 

"I know I am not supposed to, and I apologize for doing it, but he begged me to. And his purpose was concerning enough to warrant it."

 

"What exactly did you see?" Barbatos took another deep breath. "I wouldn't know how to describe it, I have barely comprehended it." 

 

"Just try to describe it for me."

 

"I saw Lucifer. He was standing at the bottom of the attic staircase in the House of Lamentation. He was doing some sort of spell." Diavolo seemed to tense a little at the mention of Lucifer. "I think you're overthinking it." Overthinking it? He had never overthought anything in his life. "I am not. I was confused, so I decided to look further. It only gave me more questions."

 

"Barbatos."

 

"I saw Belphegor." Barbatos slightly whispered as he spoke. "You're looking too deeply into this."

 

"Do not tell me you haven't noticed all the weird behavior since that day."

 

"You're being ridiculous, Barbatos." 

 

"Lucifer is hiding something." 

 

"Barbatos."

 

"It is most definitely about Belphegor."

 

"Barbatos!" Diavolo stood up from his seat, sighing and running a hand through his hair. "Please listen, I would not be telling you if I wasn't almost completely convinced." The butler didn't get a response from his lord. His stomach suddenly sunk in a way that was completely foreign to him. Diavolo's never been very hard to read. This time was not an exception. He could tell what he was thinking. "It is not that you don't believe me, is it?" 

 

Diavolo walked away from his desk. He rubbed his eyes with a quiet groan, opening the door, and leaving the room. Barbatos wouldn't let it go that easily though, he followed closely behind. "Answer me." There was no answer from the other man. "Diavolo, answer me." Diavolo stopped his stride, Barbatos finally able to catch up to him. "He wouldn't hide something from me, would he?"

 

His voice sounded a bit desperate as if he was hoping Barbatos would say the opposite of what he was thinking. Though, he knew Barbatos wasn't a liar. Diavolo turned his head to look at his butler. The desperation in his eyes was clear as day. "Please, tell me he wouldn't."

 

Barbatos didn't know what to say, so he didn't say anything. He just stared back at Diavolo, the look on his face told him everything he needed to know though. "First thing tomorrow, we're going to the House of Lamentation."

 

 

 

——

 

 

 

Everything had been stressing Simeon out, one way or another. Ever since that day at the Demon Lord's Castle, his nerves had been getting to him. Despite his somewhat collected behavior, he could tell it was the same for his roommate as well. The angel wouldn't want to disturb Luke or worry him. He just had to keep it together until they knew more about what was going on. Then everything would be alright. Right?

 

Simeon was sitting on the couch, just thinking really. That boy had come over again, it was nice Luke was able to make a friend, with a demon no less. The older angel hoped that meant the boy was seeing that they weren't as bad as he thought. However, something about that kid unsettled him. Maybe it was just the paranoia he felt from everything else going on, but he felt as if something was wrong.

 

The two boys were sitting on the floor, talking in quiet chatter and giggles. Simeon lifted his head, his eyes falling on the children. "Hey, I never got your name, kid."  Luke and his friend turned their attention to Simeon. "Oh, I'm Dolion. I live a couple doors down." 

 

"Do you live with your parents?"

 

"I actually live with my sister."

 

"Why are you interrogating him?" The younger angel whined. "I'm not, I'm not. I'm just curious." 

 

"It's okay, I really don't mind it." The other boy said with a quiet laugh. Simeon couldn't put his finger on it, but the boy looked a bit familiar. Those eyes. He felt like he'd seen them before. Those orange eyes. He was suddenly snapped out of his thoughts as he heard a knock on the door. With a quiet sigh, he stood up, walking over to the door. He didn't know exactly what he was expecting, but he wasn't expecting what he saw.

 

There was a girl, she had pin-straight black hair and an amber color to her skin. Her eyes were orange, much like the boy in the room. Simeon's heart felt like it dropped to the floor. It couldn't be... No, she was much too young. But the resemblance... She looked just like that woman. "Is Dolion here?"

 

"Oh, yeah... Yeah. He's right in there."  Simeon stepped back, looking into the living room. The boy stood up, saying something to Luke before walking over to the door. "It was nice having you over, Dolion. Uh, have a good rest of your day." Simeon closed the door as the two siblings walked away. He turned back to Luke, his eyes a bit wide, and his voice shaking a bit. "Don't hang out with that boy anymore."

 

"What? Why?"

 

"It's hard to explain. Just don't... Okay?" The little angel grumbled, rolling his eyes. "You never tell me anything." 

 

"C'mon, that's not true..."

 

"Then tell me why everyone's acting weird."

 

"That's complicated, and you shouldn't be worried about that."

 

"See, you don't tell me anything!" Luke stood up, storming away. "Hey! Luke!" The older angel tried to follow Luke, but he slammed the door in his face. Why'd everything have to be so difficult? 

 

 

 

——

 

 

 

Something felt weird today. She couldn't help but feel as if something was off. If someone was onto her. She'd gotten a couple of weird looks at the dinner table that night. It was eerily quiet as well. She couldn't lie, it was stressing her out a bit. She waited until late as she did several times before, just waiting for all sounds to stop. After what felt like hours, the sounds all stopped, everyone must've been asleep.

 

She got up from the bed, grabbed a lantern from the tree above her bed, and checked outside her room. No one. Good. She left the room, heading up the stairs. The floor creaked slightly under her feet, and she squeezed her eyes shut, hoping no one would hear. Luckily, the brother's rooms weren't right next to the attic stairs.

 

As her foot touched the first step, something felt off. She usually felt some sort of... energy whenever she went up the stairs, but it was completely gone. It was weird, nerve-wracking almost... She shook it off though, continuing her short journey up the stairs. Like many times before now, she was greeted with the sight of Belphegor sitting on the floor, with those chains around his wrist, his face looking tired, pale, innocent even. 

 

"Hey, I'm back..." Belphegor simply waved, seemingly waiting for her to speak. "Well, I found the computer, deleted the footage." She sat down on the floor with a quiet sigh. "I don't know where we go from here. Lucifer's so guarded it'd be impossible to trick him, and I think he knows something's going on. I don't know. I keep getting this feeling that something's wrong."

 

She thought back for a moment, of all the things she's done lately. "You told me that my head was easy to get into, but harder to get my full attention, like there was another person in there. I think you were right." Belphegor tilted his head slightly. "I've been hearing another voice, I think it's what's been showing me all the weird things I've been seeing. I just don't know why." She took a breath. "It told me not to trust someone."

 

"You can trust me, Marie." His words came out before she processed her own thoughts, her ears picked up a slight desperation. Something in the way he said it, rubbed her the wrong way. "I never said I couldn't." She suddenly felt her ears ringing to an almost painful degree. She could hear those words again. Don't trust. Don't trust. Over and over again. Don't trust him.

 

Their eyes met, his were a bit wide, shifting to something she didn't recognize. It looked like the demon in front of her could hear it too. "Marie..." Her breath picked up, her mind practically exploded with thoughts. Thoughts he could hear. 

 

They don't want me to trust you.

 

As quickly as she could, she stumbled to her feet. "No!" She heard from behind her. It suddenly got darker, crystal-like stakes shooting out of the walls. She ran to the gate, opening it as fast as she could. A spike shot out the wall right beside her, barely missing her arm. The loud squeal of the gate rang in her head as she passed through, running down the stairs. She tripped at the bottom, grasping her arm, and seeing the scratch that was now dripping with blood, the red spilling down her arm.

 

Her eyes gravitated back to the stairs, wide and glossy, her body trembling. She rose back up from the floor, quickly going down to the first floor, retreating into her room. As soon as the door closed behind her, she practically collapsed onto her bed.

 

Unbeknownst to her, up those stairs, and in the attic, Satan stood inside the gate, watching his brother, seething. 

 

"We can't wait any longer. Tomorrow. First thing tomorrow morning, show him."

Notes:

PLEASE LEAVE FEEDBACK!!! It’s very helpful, and I need to know what you guys think about the series so far. It would mean a lot to me, to hear your opinions on it, whether you liked the chapter or not. I don’t care if it’s just a short comment or a detailed essay, just please leave some type of feedback! Also, if you come across any spelling mistakes or grammatical errors please let me know so I can make it more bearable to read! Thank you for reading!

Chapter 18: The Truth Comes Out

Summary:

After all the lies, sneaking around, and discoveries, the truth comes out. It causes fights, sorrow, and sets one’s plan fully into action.

When she woke up that morning, it felt weird. Quiet. Had she dreamt that? With a groan, she pulled her arm up, checking it. She saw it. The scratch. It had been real. That actually happened. She sat up as her tired brain tried to piece together what had happened. The other person in her head had tried to warn her. It tried to warn her of Belphegor...

 

Belphegor. What was that about? Why did he do that? She didn't understand.

 

She pulled herself out of bed and went into her bathroom, she dug through the medicine cabinet, pulling out a couple of bandages and rubbing alcohol. That should be alright for now. As soon as she finished bandaging herself, she walked out of her room. The energy was immediately different. It was usually lively and bustling with energy, especially on days when they didn't have to go to RAD, or the weekends as they said in her realm. Was everyone still asleep? That wasn't like them at all.

 

She left her room, beginning to walk around. Her footsteps felt a bit heavy, something was just... off. It made goosebumps appear on her skin. What the hell was going on? Though, as she walked into the living room, she could finally hear some chatter. She followed the voices, leading into the library. The brothers were in the room. There was some yelling, and she found herself confused. However, the confusion shifted to fear, seeing the way the eldest brother's eyes slowly gravitated towards her.

 

They were practically glowing, full of rage. "You." He said. Marie's mouth went slightly agape as a ball of energy flew towards her face. She dropped down, as the second eldest pulled Lucifer back. "I gave you one rule! One!"

 

"I... What?"

 

"Don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about!" She looked over, seeing Satan, holding his phone, weirdly staring at her. He knew? How did he know? She had been so careful... At least, she thought she was. Or maybe that was Belphegor's plan. "Wait, you don't understand!"

 

"I believe I understand well enough! You are lucky I don't tear you limb from limb right here and now!"

 

"Hey, don't act like you're so innocent!" The brothers looked shocked that she even thought to raise her voice back at Lucifer. "Just who do you think you're talking to?..." Before she could respond, however, she heard heavy footsteps behind her. As she turned her head, Diavolo and Barbatos were standing at the door of the room. The butler already looked concerned, his eyebrows slightly raised.

 

"This is a really bad time."

 

"I came to talk, but it seems you're busy."

 

"Ya don't say..." The second born said under his breath with a sigh. "What is the meaning of this?" Lucifer's head tilted down a bit. "Did you know?" Asmodeus asked the king to be. "Did I know what?" Diavolo's eyes trailed over to Lucifer as if knowing what the slight shame in his eyes meant. "So you were hiding something from me…"

 

"From all of us actually." Satan said, shooting a side eye at the oldest brother. "Shut your mouth." Lucifer said back, his tone hostile, as he stormed out of the room. Diavolo and Barbatos followed after him. Marie was now just left in the room with the rest of the brothers, all staring at her.

 

"What the hell were ya thinking going behind Lucifer's back like that?!"

 

"What would you have done?!" The second oldest sighed, crossing his arms. " I dunno... Why didn't you at least say somethin'?" She knew why she didn't say anything, but how would that sound to them? It made her hesitate for a moment, only deepening the frown on Mammon's face. "I'm sorry."

 

"That's all you have to say? You're sorry?" Satan said from where he was standing. She furrowed her brows at him. "This isn't my fault."

 

"It’s not, sweetie. We just need a minute to talk about this.” Asmodeus said, his voice much softer than it usually was, the bubbly tone it had was almost gone. “What is there to talk about?”

 

“C’mon, don’t be an asshat, Satan.”

 

“I’m not. What is there to talk about? Lucifer lied to us all, our brother has been locked in the attic, and she knew about it and didn’t say anything.” Marie could hear the slight calculation in his voice. Despite it though, she could still hear that there were feelings behind it. At least there seemed to be.

 

“We need to talk about it.” Asmodeus said a bit more aggressively, grabbing Satan’s wrist and pulling him along. The others followed along after a moment. Beelzebub however, stood there for a moment, just looking at the floor. “Beel…” Marie said softly. He turned his head away though, following his brothers.

 

 

 

——

 

 

 

“So are you gonna tell me what the hell that was about?!” Lucifer didn’t answer. “Answer me!” The king to be grabbed his arm, stopping him from going any further. “Answer me.” With a sigh and choked breath, Lucifer finally let it out.

 

“I locked Belphegor in the attic. After the incident, I locked him up there and sent Furcus to the Human Realm with Diaval in his place.” Diavolo’s eyes widened, as well as Barbatos’. “I’m sorry…” Lucifer pulled away, continuing to walk away. “Hang on. We aren’t done talking about this! You did what?!”

 

“I am not repeating myself!” Diavolo didn’t even know how to feel. Lucifer lied to him about something as big as this. They were supposed to trust each other. They’ve known each other for years, and even if Lucifer doesn’t seem to remember some of it, Diavolo knew it happened. They were supposed to trust each other. “You lied to me.” He said, a bit softly.

 

“You lied to me… I trusted you! And you did this behind my back?!“ Lucifer slowed his stride, just looking down. “What were you even thinking?! Were you even thinking?!“

 

“I don’t know…”

 

“You didn’t think I was gonna find out about this eventually?!”

 

“I know I wasn’t thinking, alright?! I knew I couldn’t send him, but I didn’t know what you were going to say or do!”

 

“So you locked him in the attic?!”

 

“I couldn’t risk someone else getting hurt! Just look at yourself, you only have one operational eye!” Diavolo was about to respond, when Barbatos put a hand on his shoulder, shaking his head. “I’m sorry…”

 

“By tomorrow, he better be out of that attic. Do you understand?”

 

“…Yes.” Diavoloo turned around, walking away. The butler followed along.

 

 

 

——

 

 

 

“Look, I know that we just learned a lot of bad things, but we have to look at the bigger picture…” Asmodeus said softly. The brothers sat in the seats of the common room. It was a lot of information to process. Their own brother was locked in the attic by their oldest brother, they were lied to, the human knew about it, and everything felt like it was going to shit. “What bigger picture?!”

 

Satan was annoyed, really fucking annoyed. They seemed too calm about this, way too calm. Maybe he was being inconsiderate, but he just couldn’t fathom their reactions to this. “Just let me speak, Tan-Tan!” Mammon just put his face in his hands, and Leviathan leaned against the couch more, crossing his arms and avoiding locking eyes with anyone. Beelzebub was completely still, standing against the wall, his gaze downcast.

 

“We don’t have the full story, and I get it, I do. I am so mad and upset right now too. But I know Lucifer wouldn’t do this without a reason! Some reason, even if it’s dumb!”

 

“Why are you like this, Asmo?!” Asmodeus furrowed his brows at that, and Mammon slightly looked up. “Like what?!”

 

“You have this weird need to try to justify what people do, even if it’s wrong!”

 

“I don’t!”

 

“You do. Even Simeon, who literally betrayed you!”

 

“Maybe because I try to understand the people I love!”

 

“Well, that’s pretty fucking naive!”

 

“Well, maybe I am naive! Maybe I don’t know what I’m doing, or talking about! But he’s my family! Not like you would’ve known that anyway, you weren’t even there!” He took a breath, then continued.

 

“I know damn well I’ve done the same thing for you a million times! Fucking hypocrite!” Asmodeus finished, his breathing shaky and labored. He took a deep breath as he wiped his eyes, then stormed out of the room without another word.

 

Satan didn’t know why he freaked out like that, not truly why. But those words rang in his head over and over. And It made him angry. It made him really angry. He didn’t know why he was angry either. It wasn’t like it was a lie. He wasn’t there.

 

After a moment, he also left the room. He wasn’t quite sure where he was going, just wandering really. He reached the top of the stairs and was about to head to his room when he heard something. A creak from the stairs. The attic stairs.

 

He turned his head, watching Belphegor walk down the steps. He could see him better in the light of the hallway. The Avatar of Sloth was pale, skinny, and a bit sickly looking. He looked around as if he hadn’t seen this hall, or even light, in a long while. It hadn’t been that much time, had it? The exchange program felt like it just started, but it had already been several weeks to Satan’s realization.

 

“I did it. I told him.” Belphegor just smiled. Something about it seemed twisted, in a way. Maybe it was his eyes… They seemed like they lost the shine that was once there. And despite the more innocent look to his face, there was something else behind it. “And I have the spell.”

 

“Even better. Thank you, Satan… We have to hurry now.” Belphegor walked past him, continuing down the hall and turning the corner. Satan followed behind, and they went inside his room. Satan grabbed a piece of chalk he took home from RAD one day. It was an accident, and he intended it return it at some point, but he was glad he had put it off.

 

After moving some books out of the way, and making a clear space on the floor, he began drawing a circle. He wasn’t quite sure if the spell was going to work, but he didn’t have time to test it out. The plan wasn’t very well thought out in all honesty. He didn’t even have all the information about it. But he was willing to follow Belphegor if it meant he got what he wanted.

 

“After I say these words, you have to think of where you want to go. It’ll bring us there. You just have to focus.” Satan said, throwing the chalk aside. “Do you know where you want to go?” Belphegor nodded, holding onto Satan’s sleeve. “دعنا نغادر ، دعنا نسافر ، نأخذنا إلى أين هو المطلوب (daena narhala, daena nusafiru, daena nakhudhuna 'iilaa hayth hu matlubun).”

 

Just like that, the room was empty again.

Notes:

PLEASE LEAVE FEEDBACK!!! It’s very helpful, and I need to know what you guys think about the series so far. It would mean a lot to me, to hear your opinions on it, whether you liked the chapter or not. I don’t care if it’s just a short comment or a detailed essay, just please leave some type of feedback! Also, if you come across any spelling mistakes or grammatical errors please let me know so I can make it more bearable to read! Thank you for reading!

Chapter 19: He’s Gone?

It was a quiet night. Luke had probably gone to bed early, he’d been upset at something his father did since the previous day. And Simeon was always calm when he was tired, regardless of the stressful and confusing situation they were in, it was the perfect time for Solomon to work without any distractions. He always was a bit of a night owl. Most, if not all, sorcerers found it most enjoyable to work during night hours, when it was most quiet, and the moon was shining through the cracks of windows.

 

He hadn’t anticipated it, but of course, there was gonna be some sort of distraction. There was a knock at their door. No one usually came over this late. He ignored it for a moment, assuming Simeon would get it. After a minute or two though, the knocking didn’t stop. He sighed, leaving his room to open the door.

 

When he opened the door, Asmodeus was standing on the other side. Tears were rolling down his red face. Concern washed over him, he hadn’t expected to see this. “What happened? Are you hurt?” Asmo just walked past him, sitting down on the couch. Solomon shut the door, following. “Hey, are you gonna tell me what’s up?”

 

The Avatar of Lust looked like he was gonna say something, but he just started crying harder. The older angel must’ve heard it, as he peeked into the room a minute later. Solomon didn’t know what to say or do, he just shrugged at Simeon. With slight hesitation, he gently put a hand on Asmodeus’ shoulder. “What’s going on?”

 

“Belphegor’s been in the attic this entire time, Lucifer lied to us, Marie knew, Diavol is mad, I had a fight with Satan—“ Asmo said, not taking breaths between words. He was probably gonna continue if Solomon hadn’t shushed him. The sorcerer was shocked, but he knew as well as anybody that something was up. “Okay, it’s okay. You just need to calm down.”

 

“How am I supposed to calm down?!” Solomon wasn’t very experienced with comforting people. Let alone good at it. “I shouldn’t have said that. Uh…” He was cut off when the demon just leaned into his arms, burying his face in the sorcerer’s chest. As if on instinct, Solomon’s hand found Asmo’s back, and the other his hair.

 

“Sorry, there’s just a lot going on right now.” Asmodeus said, his voice more hushed than usual. “It’s okay, I’m here. Just tell me what’s happening.”

 

 

 

——

 

 

 

That night, Leviathan didn’t even bother going to dinner, like he usually did. It seemed no one else did either. He would’ve heard them leaving their rooms and such. He felt a horrible feeling in his stomach. A strange mix of guilt, surprise, anger, sadness, and anticipation. He didn’t know exactly what, but he knew something was happening. And it made his stomach queasy.

 

This situation had little to do with it in the first place, but deep down he felt like he was somehow responsible for how things played out, like he could’ve helped in some way. He knew something was up from the start. Since he started slightly hearing voices, he knew the human girl was hearing it too. Something about that just… didn’t feel right to him.

 

Why could she hear it? He knew now that the voice was most likely Belphie, which made sense why it was calling for help now. But it didn’t make sense to him why Belphie wanted Marie’s help specifically. Why’d he target her? Why not ask for his help? Or Mammon’s, or Satan’s, or especially Beel’s? They would’ve helped in a heartbeat. Especially Beel. Why her?

 

And why didn’t she tell them? You would think that was something she would want them to know. More importantly, something Belphie would want them to know. He would want them to know that, right?

 

He really couldn’t sleep. All the thoughts in his head were keeping him awake. Though, his running mind was soothed when he heard his door open. He heard someone walking in and shutting the door behind themself. “Levi? You up?”

 

“Yeah.” He looked up, seeing Mammon. He sat down on the edge of Levi’s tub, looking back down at him. “Can’t sleep?” Levi asked. “Yeah.”

 

“Me neither…” Mammon motioned for Levi to move over, lying in the tub next to him. It wasn’t very spacious, but it was cozy. It reminded Levi of many years ago, when the two were closer, when they were younger.

 

“I just don’t get it.”

 

“Get what?”

 

“Why would he ask for her help and not ours? Everything is just so weird about this.”

 

“I don’t know why any of this is happenin’. Just- Look, all I know is that we’re gonna be fine by the end of it. Okay?”

 

“How do you know that?” Levi whispered, his voice slightly wavering. “We been through worse. And if there’s one thing I learned from all this, is that we’ll be okay as long as we got each other. All of us.”

 

“Even after what happened?”

 

“Yeah. I think Asmo might’ve had a point. We all family, and if we wanna make things right again, we gotta understand each other. At least try to, ya know?”

 

“Yeah. I know.”

 

 

 

——

 

 

 

She truly felt awful right now. She knew what happened was partially her fault at least. This was the last thing she wanted, and she couldn’t get the way they looked at her out of her mind. She made a mistake. A huge mistake. And she didn’t even know what to do about it.

 

Whatever Belphegor was planning, it wasn’t good. She was sure Satan had some sort of part in it, somehow. And whatever it was, she knew she couldn’t possibly handle it on her own.

 

She slowly went up the stairs to the second floor. It was early in the morning, and she wasn’t sure anyone would be awake. She had to try this anyway though, this was the only idea she had.

 

She stopped at his door, unsure if she even should knock. His face yesterday was just… It broke her heart to see it. She had to fix this. Somehow, she had to. Standing in front of his door made her stomach drop, but she knew she had to do this. It took a moment to find the courage to do it, but she slowly raised her fist, knocking on the door.

 

No answer. She knocked again… No answer.

 

He wasn’t going to answer, was he? With an exhale, she reached out, turning the knob. Unlocked. The door opened quietly, and she slowly entered.

 

Beelzebub was sitting on the floor next to the purple bed. She’d seen him sitting there before. That bed was Belphegor’s, it must’ve been. She just sat down next to him, letting the silence marinate. Beelzebub had a photo. It was of himself and Belphegor. It looked old, very old, and they were in Celestial Realm outfits.

 

“I’m sorry.” Marie started, looking at Beelzebub. “I messed up, bad. I should’ve said something. I know I should have. And I did it because he told me not to.” Beelzebub slightly lifted his head at that, his brows furrowing. “I should’ve seen the signs earlier. He was playing me, he’s playing all of us with this, and Satan’s in on it somehow. I don’t know what his plan is, but I know something is going on.”

 

She took a deep breath. “And I know it’s a lot to ask, but I need your help.” She waited for a response, a reaction, anything. There was nothing. “Please…” He finally fully turned his head to her, tears in his eyes. “Please say something. I know it’s hard, but I know you can. Please, Beel.”

 

He opened his mouth but no words came out for a moment. Doubt appeared in her mind, but only for a moment. Then she heard his voice. “Do… Do you know what he wants?”

 

“No, but that’s what I’m trying to find out.”

 

“How am I supposed to help you then?” There was hesitation on his face. Like he didn’t know whether to trust her or not. “I don’t know… But I do know that if there’s anyone he would listen to, it’s you, Beel.” The demon’s face fell, the tears from his eyes starting to spill over his face.

 

“I failed him. I failed again.”

 

“This isn’t your fault, it’s mine.”

 

“No, I could’ve done something. None of this would’ve happened if I had just done something.” His breath hitched as tears ran down his face. The sight made Marie’s heart clench. “You didn’t fail him.” She closed her eyes, continuing. ”You didn’t fail anyone. This isn’t your fault. None of what happened was your fault…” She put a hand on Beelzebub’s shoulder. It was comforting. He hadn’t felt comforted like this in a long while.

 

“Belphie needs you. We need you, Beel.” He wiped his eyes, sniffling and his breath coming out in huffs. She stood up, holding a hand out. “I need your help.” She waited, unsure if he would accept it or not. Her eyes pleaded. Almost begging. She then felt his hand in hers.

 

“Where would we even start?”

 

“Find out what he’s doing next. Maybe then we can stop this before anything happens.” Beelzebub rose to his feet. “Do you trust me?” She asked, her eyes sincere. There was a beat of silence, then he nodded.

 

She led him through the hall. She didn’t really have a plan, but she had no time to think of one. Though, she stopped as she saw Lucifer standing in front of the attic stairs.

 

 

 

——

 

 

 

This was a hard thing to do, to put it lightly. It wasn’t like he hadn’t had to make difficult decisions and face the possible consequences before. Though, this might be his biggest mistake yet.

 

With choked breaths, he kneeled in front of the steps. “Belphegor…” He said softer than he really wanted to. “I… I’m sorry the way things played out that day. I didn’t think I would have to do this, and looking back, I don’t think I needed to at all.”

 

Lucifer took a breath. He wasn’t used to this. To be open, saying everything he was thinking. He didn’t truly know why he felt he had to do this, he just did. He just let himself feel. “I thought I was protecting you somehow. But I was…” He cut himself off to take another breath.

 

“I was afraid. I saw a darkness in your eyes, and I still don’t know why you reacted the way you did. I shouldn’t have called you a hazard. And I should’ve helped, I should’ve tried to find out why. There are so many things I should’ve done.” He wiped his eyes. “I… I just panicked.“

 

His posture was different, his head down, and his back and shoulders slouched over. The usual expression of aloofness was also gone. Replaced by something more warm, but full of sorrow, full of regret. His entire demeanor was different than usual. “I was wrong, and it took a long time for me to admit it to myself. And I feel… I feel bad, that it took until someone else found out for me to admit it.”

 

He sniffled, making a quiet noise of frustration. It wasn’t a pretty sight. Neither was it a state you saw Lucifer in very often. “I’m sorry, and I hope you can find it in yourself to forgive me.”

 

He took one final deep breath, then stood up. Though, his next move was followed by confusion. He reached his hand out, but there was no barrier. It took a second for his brain to process that something was wrong. As soon as his mind caught up though, his heart rate shot up, his eyes widening. His spell was gone.

 

He ran up the stairs, stopping at the gate. “Belphie?!” The chains were empty, the cuffs were open, and they had a crystal-like substance on them. “Belphegor?!” He looked around the room frantically. But nothing came of it. Belphegor was gone.

 

“He’s gone… He’s gone?!”

Notes:

PLEASE LEAVE FEEDBACK!!! It’s very helpful, and I need to know what you guys think about the series so far. It would mean a lot to me, to hear your opinions on it, whether you liked the chapter or not. I don’t care if it’s just a short comment or a detailed essay, just please leave some type of feedback! Also, if you come across any spelling mistakes or grammatical errors please let me know so I can make it more bearable to read! Thank you for reading!

Chapter 20: Season Finale (PART 1)

Summary:

Our group of Demon’s, Human’s and Angel’s start to become aware of a growing issue, that they must come together to overcome.

Notes:

After two whole years, we have reached the first part of Together’s Season 1 finale. WOW TWO WHOLE YEARS, and only 20 chapters and a little over 40,000 words… :,)

On a serious note, this is nowhere close to the actual end of Together, and I have no idea how long it’ll take me to finish it in it’s entirety, (it’s part of a series that you should subscribe to if you aren’t to be alerted when season 2 and maybe other works come out, wink wink, nudge nudge.) but I hope everyone who enjoyed season 1 will stick around for the ride! I started Together when I was fairly young, way before it was actually an ao3 work, and I will probably make a full history of Together post at some point. (maybe)

Obviously it’s not perfect, even some of my favorite chapters have weird issues in the writing that is served by my inexperience, and not fully knowing how to get from point A to point B, as I know where the characters are supposed to end up, but not quite how to get there. On some earlier chapters, I have posted edited and rewritten versions of the chapter, and I plan to continue doing so until I’m fully satisfied with the product that is Together Season 1. Even after the season is finished I may still edit the chapters, so if you want to read the full, complete and definitive Season 1, come and reread when there’s a checkmark in the completed work box!

All this mumbo jumbo aside, thank you all so, so, SO much for reading and appreciating the series. Enjoy the chapter! <3

Satan didn’t know exactly where they were. It was a lot darker than the Demon Realm usually was, and Belphegor hadn’t spoken much since they got here. They were in the middle of a forest, and there wasn’t a path to follow. That meant it wasn’t a hiking trail or anything like that. No, they were just in a forest somewhere.

 

He would’ve thought someone as knowledgeable as himself would at least be able to tell what forest they were in, but he was completely lost at the moment. Part of him was worried the spell hadn’t worked like he wanted it to. He was almost sure that was what had happened. Belphegor, however, seemed sure of where he was going. Satan followed closely behind him, moving around and avoiding bumping into the various trees.

 

“Where exactly are we going?”

 

“You’ll see.”

 

That didn’t do much to relieve Satan’s confusion. He sucked his teeth though, keeping quiet. Most woodsy places in the Devildom were home to many dangerous creatures. He had read many books about it, and did tons of research to ease his curiosity. They hadn’t come across any of those creatures yet though. Maybe something about the place they were in repelled them. Satan had only read about one place in the Devildom that could do something like that though.

 

They stopped in front of a cave, and Satan’s suspicions were proven true. “The Reaper’s Cave? What are we doing here?” Belphegor just smiled, touching the rocky wall. “No time to waste, let’s go.” He said, wandering into the cave, Satan not far behind.

 

Satan had read many things about the Reapers' Cave, and Reapers in general. It was said that long ago, Reapers appeared out of nowhere, and since then, they have been the ones who guided the souls of Demons, Angels, and Humans alike to the afterlife. The Reapers' Cave was their resting place.

 

He followed Belphegor further into the cave, stopping at a bridge. It was long and looked a bit unstable. Neither of them could fly in their demon forms. “What’s across there?” Belphegor asked. “The cemetery. Not for the souls, just the corpses.”

 

“Perfect.” Belphegor stepped onto the bridge, and it wobbled under his feet. “Belphie, how’d you figure out how to get here?”

 

“The voice in my head told me.”

 

“The voice in your head? You’re hearing voices? I thought…”

 

“It’s my own voice, I don’t know how I know it though.”

 

“Oh?..” They reached the other side of the bridge. There was another opening, darker than the one they had entered the cave from. Satan created a small fire in his hands, illuminating their path. As they walked through the opening, they couldn’t see anything but empty space. “There’s nothing here.”

 

“No. You just can’t see it.”

 

“What?”

 

“We just need more light.” Reluctantly, Satan let the fire in his hands grow. Casting a green light over the room. His eyes widened. He could see it now. There were way past rotted corpses around, lying in piles upon piles. It would be gross, but it was the Reaper's Cave after all, it was their job to collect the bodies that couldn’t be buried as well as the souls. It all confused Satan though. It made him realize he didn’t know the full extent of the plan he was in on. “Belphie, what are we here for?”

 

“You’re going to wake them up.”

 

“But—“ Belphegor tilted his head, his lips forming into a straight line. “Is something wrong?”

 

“I just don’t understand…”

 

“You will.” Belphegor pushed him forward. “Wake them up. Then we’ll be on our way.” As Satan looked at Belphie, there was something in his eyes, something that wasn’t quite him. Something was different. Satan looked at the ground. “Are you sure?”

 

“Very.” Satan kneeled down, looking at the ground. He lowered his ignited hand down onto the ground, letting it spread down around them. As the fire ignited within the corpses, they began to toss and turn, making low, guttural, gasping noises as they were awoken. The ground shook as they stood. “Where to now?”

 

“RAD, but we have to take a detour first. There’s only one demon who’ll be able to stop us singlehandedly. We have to get to him first.” Belphegor said, showing Satan an object from his pocket. It was metal, and it had a red light on it. Satan recognized it, he’d read about it, like most things he knows. He couldn’t recall the actual name for it, but it was dubbed ‘the demon catcher’. A while ago, when humans and demons were more at odds with each other, the Sorcerer’s Guild created them to temporarily remove demons’ powers and weaken them as long as they wore them. When they first moved into the House of Lamentation they found boxes of them in the attic, they must’ve never been removed.

 

“Let’s hurry.”

 

 

 

——

 

 

 

From the bottom of the steps, Marie and Beelzebub could hear the loud yell of Lucifer. He’s gone? Belphegor’s gone? But how?… It didn’t make sense to her. How did he escape? He shouldn’t have been able to escape without Lucifer lifting the spell. Unless… someone else did. Satan. Her eyes widened as the realization flooded her mind.

 

Satan was onto her from the start, he knew something was up with her, and with Lucifer. And he is the smartest, no, the most studious of the brothers. He must’ve found the spell somehow and let Belphegor out himself. That’s how he’s in on it. With a quick pace, Marie walked away from the staircase, Beelzebub followed behind. She pushed open the door to Satan’s room. He wasn’t there.

 

There was a circle, and some sort of rune on the floor. Books were scattered around everywhere. “Teleportation spell.” Beelzebub said quietly, turning to her. But where are they now? Where would they have gone? She had no idea what they were going to do next. “We have to find them.” She walked out of the room. “Maybe they left some sort of clue around?”

 

They walked down the stairs, and into the library, looking around for anything that could hint at where Belphegor and Satan had gone. Nothing so far. “We aren’t getting anywhere with this. There has to be another way to find them.” She said, turning to him. His eyes went up as he thought. “A spell…”

 

“A spell.” She repeated. “There has to be some type of locator spell. Do you know any?” Beelzebub shook his head. “Then we have to find someone who does.”

 

“Solomon.”

 

“Solomon. Let’s go.” She said, almost running out of the room. Thankfully, the Purgatory Halls weren’t far. If they ran the entire way they could make it in five minutes or so. It seemed that years of stamina training finally paid off in something other than dance. As soon as they entered the building, they moved and weaved around several demons that resided there, and made a beeline for the stairs. They had no time to wait for the elevator after all.

 

After skipping several steps, and maybe almost tripping a couple of times, they made it to the other exchange students' dorm room. She lifted her fist, banging on the door. There was no answer. She banged on the door again. The door finally opened, and Asmodeus stood behind it. He had spent the night here after everything that happened yesterday. He looked to have gotten pretty comfortable, he was wearing a shirt that definitely wasn’t his.

 

“What is your problem?!— Oh it’s you guys, sorry, hi.” Asmo said, a little sheepishly. “Hey, no time to talk. Where’s Solomon?” They walked into the room, Asmo shutting the door behind them. “In his room, why? Did something else go wrong?…”

 

“Yeah, very wrong.”

 

“You called for me?” She jumped as she heard his voice from behind her. “You really have to stop doing that.” He just laughed, moving to stand in front of Marie and  Beelzebub. He seemed relaxed, but his expression shifted when he saw their expressions. “What’s going on?”

 

“You heard about what happened, right?…” He nodded. “Well, Belphegor’s gone.” The sorcerer tilted his head, his eyes widening a bit. “He’s gone?”

 

“Satan had something to do with it. They’re planning something, probably bad. We have to find them.”

 

“Okay, okay. Slow down. I’m sorry, he’s gone?”

 

“He’s gone, and we don’t have time. We need you to use a locator spell and find them before they do something rash.” Solomon just stared with wide eyes, along with Asmo, for a moment. “I have many questions.”

 

“No time for that. Can you help or not?”

 

“What kind of locator spell?”

 

“Whatever’s most efficient? I don’t know anything about sorcery.”

 

“Well, you came to the right place.” Solomon said, stroking his chin as if he were thinking. “I’m gonna need a bowl, a ladle, a labradorite gem, a pineapple, pomegranate seeds, dirt, a sage plant, a water to tie it all together. Also chalk. You can find these things in my room, and or the kitchen, and or outside.” They quickly parted ways, Marie heading to Solomon’s room, and Beelzebub outside. Asmodeus wasn’t quite sure of the situation, but he followed along and went to the kitchen. As Marie opened his door though, she heard Simeon’s voice.

 

“Marie? What are you doing here? It’s a bit early.” He said following her into the room. “Yeah, no time to explain. Just keep your guard up.” He tilted his head a bit, confused as he watched her gather the ingredients. “Is something wrong? What happened?”

 

She left the room, returning to the living room. Simeon continued to follow. “I’m sure you at least heard of what happened yesterday?”

 

“Yes, Asmo told us about it when he showed up.”

 

“So, long story short, Belphegor is now gone from the attic, Satan is to, they’re planning something bad, and we have to find them before that happens.”

 

“So this is a locater spell then?”

 

“Bingo.” Solomon said, as Asmo dropped the ingredients on the table. Solomon began sprinkling in dirt Beelzebub brought from outside into the bowl. The ingredients started floating and such, being cut open, ground up, and thrown into the bowl, all by magic. “What’s all this?” The little angel said from behind them.

 

“Nothing important, just come here.” The older angel said, motioning for Luke to come closer. He held him closely, but away from the cauldron. As different ingredients were thrown into the bowl, a ladle began to stir everything into a blue liquid.

 

“Stand back everyone.” Solomon took the piece of chalk and began drawing a circle with some sort of rune in the center. He picked up the bowl and began pouring the liquid into the circle. The circle began to glow as the liquid seeped into it. He did a strange motion with his hands above the circle, and a mist began to rise.

 

Marie watched in awe as it happened, and squinted at the mist. There was an image that began to become visible. She was barely able to process what she was seeing when she felt the ground start to shake.

 

The image disappeared and Solomon fell forward onto the floor. Simeon held Luke tightly, and Beelzebub took hold of Asmodeus and Marie and ducked. It felt like an eternity, but eventually the shaking stopped. All the lights had gone out though, leaving them in darkness. They all lifted from the floor, looking shaken and surprised.

 

“What was that?…” Asmo asked, still holding onto his brother.

 

Marie’s eyes widened as she thought of where the shake could’ve come from. “We’re too late.”

 

 

 

——

 

 

 

Lucifer paced back and forth in front of the staircase. He was gone. There’s no possible way this could’ve happened. How did this happen? What was he gonna tell Diavolo now? Was Belphegor okay? His brain was reeling, and he was honestly scared. He’d been standing there for what felt like hours. He didn’t know how long it had actually been.

 

He opened his D.D.D. and dialed in Diavolo as quickly as he could. The phone rang for a moment, his heart was racing, and he couldn’t stop himself from pacing around. Finally, he heard Diavolo’s voice on the other line. “Diavolo, something happened. Belphegor is gone from the attic, I don’t know what to do.” It was silent from the other side for a moment. Then he heard Diavolo’s voice.

 

“I’ll be on my way.” The line went dead as Diavolo hung up. Lucifer didn’t know what to do, his mind was pacing, hell, he was pacing in general. How did this happen? How did this happen? How did this happen? He thought over and over again. How could he let this happen? He was shaking, breathing heavily, and he couldn’t concentrate at all.

 

Before he knew it though, he heard footsteps behind him. “What do you mean he’s gone?” How long had he been pacing for? “He’s just gone. I went to undo the spell and let him out, but the spell was already broken. He was already gone.” Lucifer’s voice was shaky, his tone panicked.

 

“Alright, alright. Calm down, this isn’t a big deal. We can find him.”

 

“It is a big deal! He’s gone, and it’s my fault!” Diavolo didn’t respond to that, sighing as he grabbed Lucifer’s arm, making him stop pacing. Before he could say anything, Mammon and Leviathan came down the hall. “Hey. We have to talk.”

 

“No, not now.”

 

“C’mon, this is important! We have to make things right between everybody. After what happened, we gotta talk about it.” Lucifer sighed, running a hand through his hair. He knew Mammon was right, but they didn’t have time for that. Not right now.

 

“How did this happen?” Diavolo said quietly, looking like he was thinking to himself. Lucifer glanced at him then back at his brothers. “It can wait.” Leviathan looked like he was gonna say something, but suddenly stopped. “Wait, something isn’t right…”

 

“What’s—” Though he was cut off, and they were distracted when the ground suddenly started to shake. The bigger man grabbed Lucifer as they both went tumbling down onto the floor. They heard a scream and thuds from both Mammon and Leviathan.

 

Eventually, the shaking stopped and the lights in the house all cut out. Mammon came rushing over. “What the hell was that?!”

 

“Like I know.” Lucifer groaned, getting up off his knees. A portrait or two fell off the walls and cracked on the floor. Just another thing he had to worry about, he felt like he was going crazy. The shaking was more than odd, and he couldn’t afford to have something like that happen when his brother was mysteriously missing. “Whatever it is can’t be good. Where’s the rest of you?”

 

“Asmo’s at the purgatory halls.” Levi said quietly before continuing. “I don’t know where anyone else is though.”

 

“Then that’s where we’ll go first.” Lucifer was already walking before the rest could process what he said. “Hold on. We have no clue what’s going on and Belphegor is missing. We can’t walk blindly into this.”

 

“Wait, Belphie’s missing? I thought—“

 

“We don’t have time for this. Something could be wrong here.” Lucifer said, almost in a yell. Diavolo just sighed, crossing his arms as he walked faster to stand in front of Lucifer. “We have no plan or strategy, we have no knowledge, the power of the Devildom is out from the looks of it, you can’t just walk away.”

 

“We don’t have time.” Lucifer repeated. Diavolo just rolled his eyes, sighing. “Fine. You and Levi can go to the Purgatory Halls. I’ll take Mammon back to the castle with me. I’ll ask Barbatos to check for threats. And we’ll find a way to get the power back on. In the meantime, get a lantern.”

 

“Fine. Is that okay with everyone?” Levi and Mammon looked at each other for a moment, then nodded. As they exited the house, the two groups split off in different directions. As Lucifer walked alongside Leviathan, he started to speak.

 

“Lucifer, I think the shaking had something to do with Belphie.” Lucifer almost stopped, but the urgency in his head made him keep walking. “I heard him from the attic, talking to Marie for weeks… And I think he was up to something. There was another voice. It was telling her not to trust someone. I think it knew Belphie was leading her on somehow. I was thinking about it, and he must have some sort of plan.” Levi took a breath. “I just don’t know what.”

 

 

 

——

 

 

 

Barbatos cleaned around the kitchen as the little D’s did their daily chores and duties. Something was going very wrong. He had to distract himself from stressing and trying to find answers by cleaning and doing his usual duties. He was barely holding on though. Things were already bad enough before today, but Diavolo got a phone call saying Belphegor is gone somehow, and now they were having mysterious quakes.

 

He stood in the kitchen, forcing himself to stop his pacing by baking. There was no use for the cake, but it was distracting. One of the little D’s, Numbed 2, bounced around behind him, listening to Barbatos’ orders. “Keep a close eye on the castle, and if it comes to it, be prepared to put the kingdom on lockdown.” He truly wasn’t sure if it was that deep, but he’d rather be safe than sorry. “Make sure the others are keeping an eye out as well.”

 

“Will do, sir! Are you sure it’ll come down to that though, sir?”

 

“No, but I feel better that way in case it does. Thank you.”

 

“Alrighty!”

 

“Get to it then.” The creature hopped away quickly, off to prepare as Barbatos requested. He felt a bit better, but there was still something nagging at the back of Barbatos’s head. Something just wasn’t right. The things he saw in his vision were starting to make sense now, but something still wasn’t right. Even without being able to use his abilities, he found being able to predict things fairly easy, but now it was entirely different. For once, he had no clue what was going to happen next.

 

That was scarier than anything he had ever faced before.

 

He put the cake in the oven, but his anxiety spiked. He suddenly had nothing to distract himself with, and his body didn’t seem to like that just as much as his mind didn’t. He paced back and forth, contemplating what to do next. He’d already cleaned the castle three times over in less than ten minutes, and watered all the plants around, and every other job he could. Now he was forced to think, and he didn’t want to think right now. He wanted to do anything other than think.

 

His body stopped pacing, and he stood, dissociated in front of the oven, just staring at the cake slowly rising for a while. He slid down onto the floor, his back against the counter. Why did he feel like this? He’s never felt like this before. He didn’t usually worry, or even be so anxious, among other feelings he’s had since the exchange program started.

 

He opened his D.D.D. but it wouldn't work, the shaking had completely cut the Devildom’s power. He couldn’t contact his lord, or anyone else. Though as he sat on the floor doing nothing, like a shelf collecting dust, his stomach suddenly felt tight, and his head felt weird. Something was wrong.

 

His instincts were almost always heightened, it was part of his duty, so he knew for sure that something was wrong. Very wrong. He stood up from the floor, his eyes scanning the room, everything seemed normal. But something was still wrong. As he slowly walked away from the kitchen, he grabbed a knife the size of a dagger from the rack. It wouldn’t hurt to be prepared.

 

He made his way into the hall, as stealthy as an owl, which was one of his many skills. His footsteps could barely be heard as he crept down the hall. Something was telling him to go this way, but he didn’t know why. He stopped at the doors to the ballroom, the hair on the back of his neck standing up suddenly. He swung around to face behind him, his arm slamming the person behind him against the wall, and his knife stopping at their throat. His eyes widened as he saw Belphegor before him. He dropped his knife, his body still tense though.

 

“You have good reflexes.”

 

“Belphegor, what— Are you alright? They said you went missing. How did you get here?”

 

“Let’s just say I had a ride.”

 

“What are you doing here?” Barbatos slowly lowered his arm, but something still felt wrong. Something was wrong with Belphegor, he just couldn’t tell what.

 

“Well, I have to be here. You see, Barbatos, you are the most powerful demon I know.“ He didn’t know where the youngest brother was going with this, and he honestly wasn’t excited to find out. He was getting a terrible feeling, but he had to tread lightly.

 

“Is something bothering you? I know you just got out of the attic, are you scared? I can help you.”

 

“You for sure can.” Barbatos tilted his head, confused for a moment, before he felt a sharp pain spread through his body. He tensed, and dropped to the floor, grunting. He looked at his hands, his veins popping out and purple. His eyes gravitated up until his eyes locked with Belphegor’s, they down at the remote in his hands. He felt his neck, feeling something metal on his neck. It couldn’t be…

 

“Any other demons would’ve been out by now, even your lord. But you’re stronger, more resistant. This is why I have to do this. It’s nothing against you, really. But you’ll get in the way, and we can’t have that.” Barbatos slowly started rising from the floor, shaking as he tried to stand.

 

“You don’t have to do this…” He said, his breathing heavy as he struggled. Belphegor stared at him for a moment, then a smile spread across his face. An inhumane grin, it was unlike any expression he’d seen from him before. Belphegor wasn’t like this. He was somber, sometimes rude, but quiet, calm, docile even. He’d never seen such malice in his eyes. Not since the day he stabbed Diavolo’s eye out.

 

Belphegor’s eyes went orange for a moment. Orange? What a strange color. Belphegor's eyes were purple, with accents of a pink color. But orange? Orange wasn’t right. He knew something wasn’t right. “I know. But I want to.”

 

Another sharp pain spread throughout his body and he fell to the ground once again. But this time, he couldn’t find the strength to push himself up. His arms felt weak and heavy, and he could barely move his body at all. Then everything went black.

Notes:

PLEASE LEAVE FEEDBACK!!! It’s very helpful, and I need to know what you guys think about the series so far. It would mean a lot to me, to hear your opinions on it, whether you liked the chapter or not. I don’t care if it’s just a short comment or a detailed essay, just please leave some type of feedback! Also, if you come across any spelling mistakes or grammatical errors please let me know so I can make it more bearable to read! Thank you for reading!

Series this work belongs to:

• Part 1 of The Together Saga