To Hell With You! (SSoDI-N)

[DanteMGalileo]

"... The next time Lark offers to send us somewhere..." Will inhaled, surprised to not get a mouthful of smoke, although the heat was already getting to him. "Remind me to ask for a brochure before heat resistance." This was truly a hellish sight, a pit of fire and magma, filled with thick smoke. His little ember, his brittle and very much flammable human body... he was no match for this display of nature's worst.

And yet, somehow, it felt right. After a few seconds, the sensation of feeling hot passed over, and this hell suddenly felt like a pleasant spring day, well minus the smoke of course. "So..." Will shuffled a bit where he stood, accidentally kicking a pebble into the magma. "Lark said Leanne was here... and Imago, too..."

No flashes of pink meant Leanne wasn't in their immediate area. Even with her red clothes, the hair would make his little sister stick out. As for Imago... well, if he still looked like Percy, he'd be pretty camouflaged here. "My eyesight is terrible, if the fact that I wear glasses didn't make it obvious. No, really, look." Will held his glasses up to Scott, allowing the other man to see for himself. "I guess... just watch out for pink? And hope we're not being watched?"

[ParamountKeymaster]

"I... don't... doubt the level of impairment to your vision, thank you..." Scott muttered, awkwardly leaning back as Will's glasses were shoved in his face and subtly motioning the younger man away. From there, Scott stared out at the inferno surrounding them with a hard frown. In the brief moment that he felt the heat before Lark's shield really kicked in, he could tell that he should've already been cooked alive. He wasn't going to question it, though. If this mission was going to operate on video game logic where he would be fine as long as he didn't touch the glowing red stuff, fine by him.

No, what irked him more than the imminent danger was how monotonous everything was. Scott could tell that it was going to be a pain navigating through this fiery labyrinth, let alone trying to find Leanne and Imago. Lark seriously couldn't have dropped him and Will off in the same spot as them?

Oh well. He was just wasting time standing there and complaining internally. With a low grunt and a shrug, Scott surveyed his surroundings through the smoke before deciding on what seemed to be the least precarious path, his angel magic-infused gun at the ready, eyes on the lookout for tricky footing or sentient threats. "Roger that. Let's get started."

As the two began their trek through the blazing landscape, Scott was quick to speak up again, "Any theories in mind regarding why these two are even down here?"

[DanteMGalileo]

"... I..." Will scratched the back of his head. "Imago? Maybe he felt homesick?" Yeah. Imago. Totally homesick. Not like he'd ever tell Will where he actually came from. "As for Leanne..." He bit his lip, trying to hold back the anxiety. "... Fuck. Shit. Fucking shit." He pulled at the ends of his hair. "I'm gonna be honest. I don't know. I've hold her to stay out of places like this. Don't go where you don't know the exit..."

Two pairs of eyes, glowing orange, appeared on the wall, quickly vanishing before their owner could be seen.

Will found himself walking forward for a lack of things to do, and perhaps keep himself from thinking too much on this shit. "... Look... Leanne's had some... weird episodes... Jordan can vouch for you, although... and I'm so sorry for this... your profession just might keep him from telling you anything..." Talking was keeping him from having an attack of some kind, why fight it? "Anyways, Leanne... she's... been having episodes since she was like four... which was... when mom d... when mom was killed..."

The eyes reappeared on the ceiling, curious as to what this human was saying.

"... S-Sorry..." Will sheepishly added. "Got the chills for a moment..."

[ParamountKeymaster]

"Hm..." Scott had little to no reason to be convinced by Will's tone. He might not have known much about Leanne or Imago, but the simple pairing of a fire mage and a demon in a place like this easily rubbed him the wrong way.

His eyes flicked towards the wall. The orange glow that caught his attention immediately faded, but he already knew. Someone was watching them.

Continuing onward at a steady pace, listening to Will ramble on about his family, Scott's eyebrow raised a good centimeter while his gaze remained forward. "Why? What does Jordan do that I would be concerned about?

He looked up at the ceiling, narrowing his eyes, trigger finger subtly twitching.

[DanteMGalileo]

"I, uh... I actually don't know the full details..." Will admitted, looking off to the side. "But, uh, for a lack of better words, Jordan does some shady things when he thinks I'm not paying attention." Let's be honest here, he's not sure if he even wants to know the full details. "Things like... how do I put it... he won't come home at night but show up the next day with suspicious, ah, 'cold sores' on him. Some days he will come back at night, but he'll have a strange smell on him."

One of the higher eyes raised at this, as if the owner of those eyes was seriously questioning Will's intelligence.

"He, uh, thinks I'm oblivious, but I know he's up to something he doesn't want to tell, or at least tell me." Sigh. "Leanne might know, but he's always been closer to her than me." Will made an awkward chuckle. "W-Well, I am gone a lot, so... yeah... I can't blame their distance from me..." And now Scott was staring at the ceiling? What for? "H-Hey, I'm sorry I bored ya, but- HOLY FRIG WE'RE BEING WATCHED!!" And out came the sword.

"Glad to know humans never change," said a voice from above. "Always violence first, and never diplomacy... not like I have a right to talk."

[ParamountKeymaster]

"Well... maybe it's something you and him should have an intervention about." That was about all Scott had to say on the matter, deciding it best not to stick his nose in absolutely everyone's business, keeping his gaze on the glow that was tracing their moves from the ceiling. He kept his gun lowered, but ever at the ready for the first sign of aggression. Even when Will summoned his sword and their stalker finally spoke up, Scott remained calm and took care not to look imminently hostile. Just because it was a demon or otherwise inhuman creature didn't automatically mean it had malicious intent.

"I would prefer to avoid violence if and whenever possible," Scott firmly but coolly responded. "But in a place like this, can't really be blamed for taking precautions, can I? Now perhaps if you wouldn't mind coming down and telling us who you are...?"

[DanteMGalileo]

"... Put away your weapons, and I will not draw mine," said the voice on the ceiling. Well, they didn't have wings. And their skin wasn't court-ordered urine sample yellow, suspicious cold sore red, bulimia green, or even pregnancy test blue. Will muttered something to himself, before putting his sword away. Once the blonde had done that, the eyes disappeared, and a shadow slowly slunk down the walls...

The shadow came to a halt on the floor of the cavern, stopping just before Will and Scott. "Do try not to crap your pants. I have that effect on the weak-hearted." And then, the voice's owner began to emerge from the darkness. Its head was the first thing to escape, revealing a feline face with ear-like horns. A long red mane ran down its back, forming into a bushy tail. Green stripes glowed along its body and head, limbs thick and muscular. All four feet ended in two hooves. Finally, its eyes opened, revealing four, all with black sclerae and brown irises. When the creature stopped emerging from the shadows, its shoulder was only slightly below Will's. "And what brings you here, humans?"

"I, uh..." Will suddenly found himself lacking words. There it was, an actual, honest-to-whatever-higher-powers-that-may-exist demon, not a demon possessing a human. That this thing looked like it could easily tear him apart wasn't helping. "We, uh, we were..."

"Don't finish that statement." The demon's eyes shot Will an annoyed look at his inability to get coherent thoughts out, before turning to Scott. "You. You seem more to the point. Answer my question."

[ParamountKeymaster]

When prompted, Scott slowly clicked his pistol's safety on and slipped it back into its holster. He remained ever alert, but he refused to be the one to start a fight. He meant what he said about avoiding violence.

At a slow, steady pace, the demon made itself visible, easily reaching the officer's eye level. Scott took a few steps back simply to grant himself a bit of breathing room, but otherwise, he remained adequately braced for the beast's appearance. His face and his stance betrayed no signs of fear. He just stared back at the demon calmly and unwaveringly, as if waiting for it to blink first. Was he a little put off? Sure he was, but you wouldn't know that by looking at the stone-faced man.

The demon was asking him, specifically him, what they were doing there. Scott was quick to answer, not a stutter or crack in his voice to be heard. "We were sent here to find his sister and the demon possessing his friend's body, as well as hopefully ascertain their purpose for being here."

[DanteMGalileo]

"... Hmm." Hercules placed a claw to his chin in thought. "I did see a human and a demon in human skin earlier," he responded to Scott's inquiry.

"W-Wait, that sounds like who we're looking for! Uh, a human and a demon in human skin, that is..." Once he was confident that the demon wasn't going to attack them, Will seemed more willing to converse. "So, uh... could you perhaps lead us to them? We-"

That statement was cut off by a quick glare from Hercules. "Hold up. I need to confirm your identities. Make sure you're not here for some... less than savory purposes..." Several eyes, arranged in various numbers and in different hues, glowed along the wall for a brief moment. "Your name. Your real name. My name is Hercules. And your names, humans?"

"W-William Lowe," said the tall blonde in response. Was that already getting to him? Get it together, man! "Just call me Will. We're looking for Leanne Lowe, my little sister, and..." He gulped. "... Imago. He's using the body of my friend, Percy Worcester."

At the second name, Hercules's eyes lit up.

[ParamountKeymaster]

Scott glanced back at Will, the younger man responding positively to the demon's vague descriptions before he had a chance to offer his two cents. Then he turned back to the demon with little change to his expression besides a slightly raised eyebrow of intrigue. Being asked what their names were was a fairly appropriate request, but Hercules's reaction to hearing Imago's name certainly caught his interest.

"Scott Sellers." The officer nodded slowly, then cocked his head at the demon. "You familiar at all with this Imago fella?"

[DanteMGalileo]

"He is one of my brothers," Hercules responded. "The loyal brother, at least..." The demon turned to look at the ceiling, letting out a snarl. Once he had regained his composure, Hercules resumed his observation of the two humans, deeming them not a threat. "You two must be chucklenuts and the child." With an approximation of a smirk, he gestured to Will, then Scott.

"... Yep... that was definitely Imago..." One could just hear the annoyance in Will's voice at the nickname. "So, Imago is here... but what for...?" Eh, he can handle himself. "And... Leanne? Have you seen a girl with pink hair?"

Hercules turned around, and began walking down the cavern. "Come. I will show you."

After exchanging a look with Scott, Will began to follow the red-maned demon down the cavern. "What've we got to lose, right?"

[ParamountKeymaster]

"Child?" Scott lowered his chin and raised an eyebrow, but said nothing further on the matter. Hearing that Hercules was Imago's brother was certainly a lead, and even if Scott's instinctive unease on the matter hadn't waned, it seemed like the only one that they had.

Thus, as the tiger-like demon turned and started leading them away, Scott looked to Will with a sigh and a shrug. "I'd say there's quite a bit to lose here... but it's not like we have an abundance of options here." Then he faced forward again and started walking...

"So..." With his eyes warily continuing to scan the ceiling, Scott went out on a limb and drummed up a conversation. "Imago's your brother, huh?"

[DanteMGalileo]

"Imago is one of my brothers," Hercules corrected Scott's attempt at conversation. "The other is a traitor who defected to those feathery monsters when we needed all claws on deck." While he did not turn around, the demon's red mane stood on end for a moment. "I only wished Imago had finished the job."

"... Feathery monsters...?" Will looked up at the demon leading them down the cavern. "What do you mean by feathery monsters? Some other thing with feathers? Or... angels?"

The mention of angels caused Hercules to whip around, giving the two humans a glare. "What do you know about angels? Are you aligned with those things?" He began to walk towards Will and Scott, the eyes on the wall and ceiling illuminating and glaring. "Is this some clever trap? How did you get here? It's in your best interests if you start explaining everything now."

[ParamountKeymaster]

"The angels you're most likely familiar with have invaded the island we're currently occupying with intent of a hostile takeover and recruited a psychotic dragon to kill my brother, successfully killing a friend in the process. I think it's fair to say we're not overly fond of the guys," Scott stated calmly and plainly, barely flinching at Hercules's outburst. "As for how we got here, Leanne's mentor possesses a means of what is essentially portal transportation. He sent us here. Our only goal is to locate our allies. Now if you wouldn't mind, tempers aren't going to solve our problems here."

[DanteMGalileo]

...

...

"GWA HA HA HA HA!!" When Hercules laughed, the walls and ceiling laughed alongside him, shaking the cavern slightly and creating a disharmonious cacophony. When the laughter subsided, the tiger-striped demon walked up to Scott, producing a vaguely purr-like sound. "So, you've run into Lark... aye, he's a good man," he stated.

"Wait..." Just what did the demon mean by that? Was he implying what Will thought he was implying? "You... you know Leanne's creepy magic teacher?" Hercules grunted in Will's face for a moment, before returning to Scott's side.

"Indeed. He ended up in the infernal prison my kind was sealed into... as punishment for defending ourselves and our planet..." Hercules circled around Scott once, before returning to in front of the two humans. "Offered to see if he couldn't teleport us out... Didn't work, but it was the thought..." He glanced over his shoulder, motioning for them to follow. "But now, we're free... we're here for revenge... we all want to rip apart those damn things... oh, the horrors I would love to inflict on any children of their wretched king..."