To Hell With You! (SSoDI-N)

[ParamountKeymaster]

Scott just looked around the cavernous space with a flat frown. He wasn't particularly irritated by the echoing laughter; it was more like the frown of someone who simply didn't find a joke funny. He held this expression as Hercules started pacing around him, though he did nod at the demon's positive appraisal of Lark.

Hearing that Hercules's fellow demons were free and on a quest for vengeance against the angels, though... he hid it well, but it was a bit unsettling to Scott. "You'd get along with my brother's girlfriend. She's proving to have quite the violent streak against angels."

He briefly tapped his chin, contemplating what had been told to him thus far. "But... you say your kind was imprisoned by the angels. And now you're free. When did this occur? ...Is that what Imago's doing here?"

[DanteMGalileo]

"I'm going to have to meet this girlfriend you keep referring to..."

Hercules continued to lead these humans down the cavern, now approaching what appeared to be a room illuminated by magma. "We were imprisoned over ten thousand years ago, scapegoated for the actions of just one demon... Mara..." The tiger-like demon growled at the name. "Sometimes, the seal would weaken and allow one demon to pass. Imago was the last chosen, and he was entrusted by Queen Malebolge to find Caladrius's blood-bonded descendant. She said it would be a two-metre Fircaan bodybuilder... or a scrawny git. Of course it was the scrawny git."

Entering the room at the end, Hercules brightened his stripes, casting a green glow around his body. "Stay close to me if you want to keep seeing things. I understand that the children of the day have little to no night vision."

Another demon ran up to Hercules, a bipedal ape-like creature with a canine head covered in dark green fur except around its muzzle and chest, exposing black skin and a gaping mouth of fangs. "Hercules. The queen and captain are en route. ... Who are these things?" It added, glancing at the two humans.

"These two are humans against the angels. Now, if you will be on your way, Inugami." The other demon shot the two humans a quick glance, before saluting Hercules and lumbering away. Once he was gone, the tiger demon looked up, catching a red-clad figure... "You! Here!"

The figure in red began to make his way over towards the group. "L-Leanne? What're you... doing... here...?"

"What, no flowers?"

[ParamountKeymaster]

Scott had nothing to say as they were ushered through the volcanic landscape. He simply absorbed everything Hercules told him, every detail in the environment, the demon that briefly appeared to report to Hercules, all without betraying the look of calm stoicism on his face. He was starting to theorize what exactly had led up to this point, and he was dreading the possibility of his first instinct being correct.

And then there he was. The scruffy-haired kid that Paul had befriended, now host solely to a demonic soul. Scott nodded to Imago as he approached, remaining professional but at least somewhat amicable. No sense in making himself look unreasonable.

"So... Imago... good to see you." Scott stuck a hand in his pocket, donning a somewhat casual pose. "Would've appreciated an explanation for your departure from the group, but I'm willing to accept that as not your fault. Leanne, though... after this morning's incident..." He trailed off, then he sighed. Again, trying not to be too assertive. "Still, now that we are here, maybe you could explain why?"

[DanteMGalileo]

"Ah, so it's the girl you want..." Imago remarked. First no flowers, and now he was being casually cast aside? Ah humans, never change. "What am I, chopped-"

"That girl you speak of is my sister, Imago." Quite frankly, despite the demon now wearing the face of his best friend, Will's patience was already wearing thin. He came to find Leanne before she could get hurt or worse, not to have a rude conversation with Imago. The young man began to walk by Imago, to be stopped when he felt a hand on his shoulder. "Hey! What gives?!"

"Ssh. They're consulting the oracle." With that statement, Imago gestured towards a portion of the room, where a human figure stood, surrounded by a ring of red runes. A crowd of demons was gathered around the figure, kneeling before them. Curious, Will brushed Imago's hand off him, slowly approaching the figure-

"Leanne?! What... What're you doing?!"



A small, red-clad human with pink hair in braids stood at the centre of the circle, eyes closed. "Tonight... innocent blood shall be shed... brother shall kill brother..." Another voice spoke over her's, not quite dominating the girl's, but not allowing her complete freedom either. Will turned to Hercules, then Imago.

"... What did she say"

"Tonight... Aquarius's blood shall be spilled by Aries... Pisces will swear vengeance... the brother of Scorpio has already passed... And now... Sagittarius will join us..." At the end of that, Leanne's eyes snapped open, cloudy red orbs looking directly at Will and Scott. "... Ah... that was... grim..."

It took Will all of five seconds to cross the distance, pulling Leanne into a hug, sobbing into her shoulder. "D-D-Don't dis-disappear again! W-W-W-We were so worried...!!"

[ParamountKeymaster]

Again, Scott did not speak or interfere as Will snapped at Imago. He just watched in observant silence. He did follow Will as the young man approached a ring of demons, ever cautious, quickly growing more and more uncomfortable with this setup.

And there she was...

"Leanne? An oracle?" Scott narrowed his eyes at the scene, then slowly began to nod. "I suppose that could sort of explain a few things..."

He gave Will the time he needed to ensure his sister was okay. In the meantime, Scott turned to Imago with a serious but still inquisitive expression. "Did you bring her here?"

[DanteMGalileo]

"I don't appreciate that tone of your's, human," Imago coolly responded to Scott's inquiry. "I don't expect you to kiss my ass and address me as the ruler of the nine realms and fifty hells, but I will expect that you address me by name so long as you are among my kind." He didn't care how Scott responded to that. "Anyways, no, I did not bring her here," he explained, glancing at Leanne, who Will was refusing to let go of even as the ape-dog demon from earlier went up to them. "She beat us to the hellhole."

"Excuse me? I believe I have the right to be with my own sister, especially if she was comatose for days."

So much has changed during my long slumber.

"Oh, don't give me that look. You heard my brother," Imago said, motioning to Hercules, now escorting Will and Leanne away from the crowd and back to Scott's vicinity. "We're against the feathery hypocrites, too. We're using this place as a base. The queen and captain are en route... And what have we here?" Another demon, this one resembling a bull with spider legs, handed Imago a slip of paper, covered in runes. The red-eyed demon nodded, slipping the paper into his coat.

"And for your own safety slash sanity, you are all to remain here until further notice."

"... Wait, WHAT!?"

"The death of Aquarius and the attempted murder of the reincarnated dragon at the hands of Aries will set off the one bonded with he who must not be seen."

[ParamountKeymaster]

"It was just a question," Scott mumbled under his breath, shooting a flat frown off to the side. He analyzed Leanne from where he stood, contemplating Imago's answer. "So now it's just a matter of why she came here of her own volition. And if it was even a conscious decision on her part. Wouldn't surprise me if something else was behind this."

Scott nodded to Imago, offered Will a quick glance as he, Leanne and Hercules approached, then looked around at their surroundings again. "Well, I won't question your choice in locale. From a practical standpoint, there's a good chance no one will come looking for you here. Whatever the case, any help combating the angels is appreciated, given that I'm starting to feel more and more useless here with each passing second."

He was one second away from asking what the demons intended to do about the angelic threat when a message arrived for Imago. And when that message was made public, Scott's initial concerns were promptly switched. "Excuse me?"

"Ohhhhh, hmmmmm, yeaaaaah, that won't do at all."

Unseen by all, Tri lay flat on his stomach on the hot stone floor, his chin in his hand and a cutesy smile on his face as he scrutinized the many naive creatures standing around him. He'd been willing to stand idly by and observe ever since Leanne wandered into this little pocket of hell. If he was being honest with himself, he wasn't sure he liked it here –reminded him a little too much of his youth spent in the service of "Ol' Lucy-Boy" as Tri liked to call him– but it was nonetheless an interesting change of pace, even if said change of pace was brought about by a telling-off from his partner.

This, though... this, he could not abide. Tri couldn't care less what happened to the bumbling bounty hunter. His partner's boyfriend's brother, though...

Scott glared coldly at Imago, so much so that one could almost swear the infernal temperature had dropped ever so slightly. "There better be a good reason for keeping us down here, Imago. I still have matters to attend to back in the city."

"Uh, yeah, he's not wrong." Tri hovered off the ground and over to Leanne, leaning into her ear, letting the Mark of the Master work its magic in her head. "Yeah, can you tell 'em that Officer Pole-*ss can't stay here? He's got more important things to do."

[DanteMGalileo]

Who are you? You must be a creature like me, to be able to interact with my oracle... Whether this way or by entering her soul...

"...?" Leanne looked around. Was... was this what being an oracle meant? Hearing the voices of many things beyond her comprehension and relaying them? Shucks. She shoulda just stayed a witch. "... Uh... you again?"

You won't be here for much longer, especially from the perspective of our kind. Soon, your partner will summon you.

"You heard the oracle. The gist of it is this," Imago replied, giving Scott a deadpan frown. "Your brother's girlfriend is going to be pushed into summoning her archdemon. Which, if you value your mind." He shot the older human a quick look. "That is something you should never, ever witness, unless the prospect of being reduced to a psychological wreck that can only speak in spoonerisms and broken phrases appeals to you, then knock yourself out."

"Uh, Leanne, you look like you're dying to say something...?" Will noted, seeing the expression on his sister's face-

"No. Let him go. That, uh, is what the oracle commands," Leanne blurt out, trying to sound as, er, mystical as she could without being in her trance. "By he, the oracle means the officer. The oracle's brother can stay with her if he so desires... The oracle also recommends that the officer avoid looking at the sky when he returns."

...

"Uh... what's that supposed to mean?"

...

"... Well, you heard the oracle," Imago said after a pause. "You can go."

[ParamountKeymaster]

"Err... Kinda? Pretty sure we met before back in the soulscape, right?" Tri scratched behind his horn. "Y'know, Tri? The Disgraced Noble? The f*ck-mothering archdemon? Looked like a dude version of Lele here? Heheh... Who am I kiddin'? Everyone forgets about me."

He hovered in place Indian-style and rested his chin in his hand again, listening with amusement as Imago argued the case for Will and Scott remaining underground with the demons. He knew he should've been worried about the events about to take place, but apathy and laziness were traits that he had a hard time dropping. "Been a while since that girl's been pushed hard enough to pull out the summoning card. I should probably go find her and put a preemptive stop to it before she gives the whole island schizophrenia, but... she did tell me to leave. Gotta figure out how much she needs me one way or another."

"Wait, wait, what?" Hearing what Imago was describing made Scott much more apprehensive than frustrated. Just hearing the mere suggestion of summoning an archdemon created a pretty decent picture in his mind, and he was already reeling from the consequences. "Kelsey's going to...? Oh my Lord..."

Well, Leanne did just give Scott leeway to return to the surface, even if that permission came with one severe understatement of a warning. Scott paced back and forth, mulling over how likely his chances were of stopping that subhuman maniac from calling forth an embodiment of madness. Honestly, he didn't like the odds. As far as he could tell, Kelsey didn't seem like the kind of person to accept negotiations. "I don't know... Maybe I should just wait out the storm down here."

"NO! GO BACK TO VOID CITY RIGHT NOW OR YOU'RE FIRED!"

"I appreciate the invitation, but knowing Paul's girlfriend, I don't think I wanna risk the migraine."

"F*ckin'...!" Tri reeled back, then threw himself at Scott, diving into the man's chest and melding their astral bodies. Before he could reach the soulscape, however, some unseen power booted Tri out at full force, slamming the invisible demon to the ground. "Gahhh...! WHY DOES THAT KEEP HAPPENING WITH THIS BASTARD?!"

Scott blinked in mild confusion. It felt like something had lightly bumped into him.

[DanteMGalileo]

I would not interact with that one. That one, for being a simple human, has an extraordinarily strong will. Even beings such as you and I would be hard-pressed to control him.

"... Ah..." Leanne's eyes were closed, as if she was entering a trance state. "You... you may be able to resist the archdemon's call, if what I just foresaw is any indication." The voice in her head said something about a horned man trying and failing to enter Scott. "It may be safe for you, so long as you avoid direct contact with the disjointed constellation of eyes..."

Mirrors. I can sense those who visit...

"... You may want to procure a mirror," Leanne continued, opening her eyes, the red orbs glassy. "Hostile visitors... the mirror will reveal them..." She brought a hand to her head, as if wiping off non-existent sweat. "I... I'm sorry... I'm going to have to stay here... I can't risk it... Sleepy... getting very sl... eep... y..." And with that, Leanne's eyes shut, and she fell into Will's arms.

"L-Leanne...!!" A quick check revealed normal breathing, and a normal pulse. "Oh, thank fuck..." Will let out a sigh of relief. "She's just asleep... Hey, Scott?" He looked at the other man. "I... I'm gonna stay down here with Leanne until she decides she wants to leave. Imago, is that alright?"

The demon rolled his eyes and turned to face the other demons. There was a quick conversation in a guttural language, and Imago turned back. "Fine. You can stay. Just don't get in the way of our preparations, chucklenuts. As for the child..."

"I'll escort him to the surface, if he wishes to be inflicted with insanity."

[ParamountKeymaster]

"You sure about that?" Scott brushed his chest off –not that he knew what exactly he was brushing off– and glanced back at Leanne with a bit of skepticism.

"Go figure..." Tri grunted, floating up off the ground again and fixing his hair. "There just had to be a wildcard in my partner's inner circle. Because I am the ultimate universal plaything, apparently."

Scott took a deep breath and once again pondered his options. He knew he could easily find himself regretting it later, but some part of him felt inclined to trust the intuition of a seer. The mirror suggestion didn't seem like a bad idea, and maybe if he outright avoided looking at the monster once it was summoned, he could spare himself a lot of trauma. Could he say the same about the rest of the island, though? It might've been worth his efforts to attempt some sort of damage control, not that he even knew where to begin.

Regardless, as Leanne fell asleep in Will's arms, the elder brother ensuring she was stable and offering to stay with her, Scott found himself nodding in agreement. "We do seem to have a better understanding of her condition now. Few people I would trust with her more than her own brother. If you feel safe enough, I'll head back up and see what kind of work I can accomplish in the meantime."

He turned around to face Hercules, nodding to the demon upon being offered an escort out of this hellhole. "I'd appreciate that. There's just one more thing I'd like to know before we leave..." Facing Imago again, Scott's expression took on a sort of... inquisitive concern. "Imago... what exactly happened to Percy? Will and I sort of left before Kelsey could come back and offer an explanation. I'm asking purely for knowledge's sake, not because I don't appreciate your help. Because believe me... what you're doing here could be major help."

[DanteMGalileo]

"... Heh." Imago's eyes shut, and he looked more like the boy for once. "That... is one of my greatest failures. _{Failing to kill Phausis was the other.} When... when we reverted back to this fleshy state," he explained, tone regretful. "I found myself unable to seize control of his body. Fearing the worst, Percy... intended to go into another world and take his own life."

Will looked up. What? Seriously? Suicide?

"... Kelsey attempted to stop him. She couldn't. We found a world identical to this, except everyone and everything was dead. Percy... was attacked." Imago pushed some of his hair aside, revealing an empty eye socket and the red light within. "He didn't fight back. I couldn't regain control in time. Then... then..." He inhaled to steel himself, biting his lip. "Something took his soul. With his restraints gone, I assumed full control of this body." The demon regarded his familiar yet foreign hands. "... Kelsey and I explored that world. We found another Percy, and the thing is... his corpse was the only one that actually smelled like death." Imago shook his head to rid himself of that image. "And now that I know what I know, I regret having ever set foot on that land..."

Will was silent for a minute, before clearing his throat. "S-So... something... something's got his soul? And... and we don't know who or what took it? And if there's even a chance it'll return?" Imago slowly nodded. "Oh, hell..."

"Scott." Imago addressed that human. "Now that I know what I do now, let me give you this warning. If you see it, they can hear you. If you hear it, they can see you. Never set foot on that land. If you do, they can touch you." With that warning, Imago turned away, vanishing into the shadows.

"... That would be our cue," Hercules addressed Scott, poking at the human's side. "Grab onto me. I can get us out faster than mere walking." The demon's claws were sinking into the shadows as he spoke...

[ParamountKeymaster]

"..........................."

Scott couldn't think of anything to say. Or at least, anything that wouldn't sound completely insensitive. He was a serious man, but he wasn't heartless. There was a clear amount of empathy in his face, mixed in with heavy doses of contemplation and determination, as he stared at the floor and mulled over what Imago had recounted.

So... Percy's soul had been stolen. In an identical, parallel, dead version of the island, apparently. Imago didn't seem to know what had attacked him and Percy, or what had caused the detestation of this alternate version of the island. As Will highlighted, there wasn't even a surefire way of knowing if Percy's soul could be retrieved. What was clear was that some greater, malevolent, unknowable force was out there somewhere, and simply knowing about it would evidently have severe consequences.

Unless...

Scott looked up at Imago with a simple, curt nod, offering no protest as the demon disappeared. Then he looked to Will. "I think I know what I need to do. Just take care of yourself, Will. And Leanne, of course. Once you're free to go, meet me at the club as soon as possible."

Then Scott turned to Hercules, taking the cue with another nod, his confidence faltering slightly when he was told to grab on. He took a deep breath and bucked back up with little issue, placing a hand on the demon's haunch. "Let's go."

Tri guffawed at the sight and leaned an elbow on Will's shoulder, not that the young man could detect the sensation. "You're outta yer mind, officer! I hope you know that! Just you wait! Reality as you know it is about to be shattered, and not just by my hand! And once you cross that threshold... things are gonna get CRAY-ZEY!"