Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Chapter 1:

Hell:

The ground of Goetia Manor were quiet that night. 

Well relatively, when compared with the blaring soundscape of the Ring of Pride.

The only sounds that emanated from the grounds were the shuffling of the few guards on duty near the gates, the rustling and occasional hissing of the living plants which inhabited the massive greenhouse and the slightly obnoxious snoring (and soft hooting) of the building's two remaining occupants.

Prince Stolas Goetia was sleeping soundly in his bed alongside his (loudly) snoring lover Blitzo. They were curled up together after a long and pleasurable marathon of activity (which consisted of Blitzo playing Spririt:Stallion of the Cimarron on their home movie system and then acting out almost every scene in full horse cosplay while drunk and singing the My Little Hellsie theme song. Meanwhile, Stolas watched the entire event while innocently eating popcorn and not so innocently swooning at Blitzo's "anatomically correct" outfit.)

As both demons slept they began to dream. Stolas dreamed of the day he and Blitzo would finally be married, with him envisioning a lavish ceremony where his daughter and the employees of I.M.P were the only guests as he didn't really care for the opinions of Hell's "proper" society. He dreamed of Blitzo carrying him down the aisle bridal style while in a long white wedding dress. He softly cooed in his sleep at the mere thought. 

Meanwhile, Blitzo was dreaming of stealing Striker's horse Bombproof and riding it, alongside Stolas, into the sunset while trampling everyone he hated, which was a fairly large amount, while his employees cheered him and shouted how he was the greatest boss ever and how they would name all of their children Blitzo if they had any. He whisper yelled "Fuck yeah" while he slept. 

The peaceful atmosphere ended at roughly that exact moment, when something crashed down from the sky right next to the greenhouse with a loud THUD!!!

This quickly awoke both demons as they quickly threw some clothes on and looked bewilderd out the window at the new crater which had formed. Upon their approach to the crater with Stolas drawing on his magic in case of an attack, while Blitzo drew his gun at the ready, they peered inside and saw what had caused it.

The only logical response came from Blitzo:

"What the fuck was that?!!" 

Their confusion was valid as this event was the first of its kind, after all, as this was the first time that an angel had literally fallen from Heaven into Hell. 

Stolas then thought, with an exasperated feeling, "This is going to be a long night." 

Chapter Text

• The time frame of the story is set roughly over a year from the current state of Helluva Boss.
• Stolas and Blitzo are living together though aren't married yet, while Loona and Octavia are unofficial sisters. Stella left after a confrontation with Stolas, Blitzo and Octavia after Striker tried to kill Stolas but ended up nearly killing Octavia. This caused some regret in Stella but near limitless fury from Stolas and Blitzo. This also caused Octavia to lose what little respect she had in her mother.
• Stella then left the Manor, but has sworn to leave the lives of the characters for the most part, although she did promise to be involved in Octavia's wedding preparations no matter what anyone said.
• The public reacted to these events with mixture of mockery and anger, primarily from the higher society of Goetia. They occasionally send assassins to kill either Stolas or Blitzo, either out of class "duty" to prevent embarrassment or just to steal the Grimoire.
• Loona and Ocatvia are currently away from the Manor at the start of the story due to following a tour of the band Fuck U Dad. Their relationship is very positive as they are basically each others' first ever real friend. 
• Moxxie and Millie and Blitzo still run their company although less frequently going to Earth due to Blitzo wanting to spend more time with Stolas. He also still acts awkward around Octavia.
• Octavia attends a rich preppy college called Hell U (unoriginal I know). She is a great student, but doesn't have any friends due to everyone else being a Mean Girl cliche, a jock cliche, a rich jerk cliche or an abominable fusion of all of them. All the students either resent her for being associated with Blitzo and Loona or just because she doesn't act like a rich spoiled douchebag. 

Chapter Text

The two demons were, usually, very composed people in the face of the many strange and intense situations that their lives would bring. However, while they were staring at the literal fallen angel, they were both pacing and internally panicking.

Blitzo said, while midly hyperventilating, "What are we gonna do? This angelic asshole just smashed onto your garden through those fancy magic barriers you set up! HOW IS THAT FUCKING POSSIBLE?!"

"The barriers are meant to prevent any entry from any person, demon or Angel, with any ill intent, be it being to harm us, steal from us or spy on us! You even added a spell to prevent doot to door salesmen from annoying us!" 

Blitzo then added, in a lower, slightly fearful tone, "So what do you think he is? Some scout for a full invasion? An assassin? Someone trying to grab the book?" 

Stolas paced around for a few seconds before responding, "Whoever this is, he seems to either have no ill intent (which may be unlikely), or he may not have specifically wanted to land here."

Both demons then fell silent for a minute, pondering what their next move would be. They then decided to take a closer look at the intruder to get a better understanding of what to do next.

He had what seemed to be wearing a casual white suit (which Stolas knew was the primary clothing article of angels), casual shoes and what looked like a backpack containing some unknown items.

His physical features were similar to almost every other angel, with snow white skin and circles on his cheeks. These were coloured as a light yellow. An odd detail was how the skin around his eyes, which had remained closed, was lightly red and had what seemed like tear stains down them. His arms and legs were at slightly odd angles, likely due to being broken or injured from the sheer impact of hitting the ground. They seemed to be slowly healing and realigning due to the healing factor all angels possessed, but it would take a while before they would be fully healed.

Overall, this angel seemed pretty unremarkable and wasn't one that Stolas would have recognised. This led to Stolas comparing this angel's appearance to that of Hell's ruler Lucifer and then realising that the mere presence of an angel here when it's not Extermination Day would surely be noticed by him.

This caused Stolas to guess that Lucifer would likely arrive to the Manor soon to inspect the situation. This would include asking the angel, if he was able, about his potential purpose in Hell and whether he was a potential threat to his rule.

This made Stolas decide that the angel needed to be healed to a state were he would able to answer Lucifer's questions. He then started to use his magic to levitate him out of the crater.

Blitzo, who was surprised by this action, exclaimed "What the fuck are you doing?!!"

Stolas then clamly repsonded, "I need to move him into the Manor so he can be healed enough to be able to tell us what is going on."

Blitzo, anxious but trusting Stolas' judgment, then stated, "Fine. But we are not letting him recover and bleed on our bed! That shit takes 5 hours to be ready once it's cleaned."

As both demons then moved back inside with their "guest" in tow, a card fell to the ground from the angel's suit. Blitzo then picked it up and read it:

ID: Matthew Rankin, son of General Nathaniel Rankin

MEDICAL RECORDS:REDACTED

SERVICE RECORD:REDACTED

DISCIPLINARY HISTORY: REDACTED

CURRENT STATUS: REDACTED

Well, Blitzo thought, this just got a bit more complicated. 

Chapter Text

Stolas was bringing in their levitating “guest”, who Blitzo now knew to be named Matthew, towards an unused guest room within the many hallways of the Manor. The servants doing their shifts, while suprised and mildly terrified of an angel being present within the building, quickly and quietly moved to continue their work (albeit a far bit of distance from the room he would be residing in).

Stolas let the spell dissipate slowly, both to prevent anymore injury and to manoeuvre his descent into the bed. This was due to his wings still being somewhat outstretched, which kept bumping into and knocking over things until he was finally laid out on the bed, where Stolas began the healing spell.

The awkward silence which was festering was broken by Blitzo dramatically coughing and passing Stolas the ID card he picked up. Stolas, after reading it, flashed a look of worry. He then stated, slowly, “This could complicate matters.”

Blitzo responded, “No shit. This is bad if those assholes up there don’t want us to know who this guy is or what he can do. What if he’s one of those deniable black ops killer guys we saw in those action movies I borrowed from Loona?”

Stolas, with his fingers holding the bridge of his nose, stated in exasperated tone “No, from what I know about angel society these ID cards are only meant to be read by other angels. These ID cards are magically connected to their official records department. That would mean they entirely redacted his records except for the most bare essential, which is his name.”

”This,” he said while pacing the room, “would mean that he may have done something that is either very embarrassing to the established society in Heaven or something very ,very bad to someone, and it would have had to have been a near cataclysmically bad thing based on how most angels in Heaven either fully enjoy or just ignore the terrible things angels do to our kind during Extermination Day.”

Blitzo, still nervous but feeling emboldened to try and theorise about the situation, piped in, “Yeah, this guy may have been sent down as a Fallen Angel. Maybe he’s just like Lucifer and he may have really pissed off God or something.”

”I don’t thinks that’s likely. Look at his wings, they’re still white. If he had become Fallen, they would have turned black like Lucifer’s.”

Just then, the ornate chime of the doorbell rang through the Manor.

Both demons quickly turned their heads to the sound and both instinctively yelled, “Shit!”

This outburst was then followed by the unconscious angel briefly twitching and letting out a small moan.

Both demons then whisper yelled “Double shit!”

Blitzo then whispered, in case the nearby potential threat could hear them, “Who the fuck do you think it could be?”

Stolas, while nervously tugging at the neck of his sleep robe, whispered back, “I don’t know. Maybe it’s one of Lucifer’s people coming to check on the situation, or… what if it’s Via and Loona back early?!”

This caused both demons to internally panic. There was always a possibility that the angel present could attack, injure or even kill them , but the idea that their precious daughters could be in the potential crossfire was almost too much for them to bear.

They then both checked their daughters’ Voxtagram to see where they were, with Blitzo breathing a sigh of relief when he saw on Loona’s page a photo of them enjoying their concert that was dated as being 5 minutes old and being located several miles away. This caused an immediate relaxation between them and feelings of gratitude for the fact that they wouldn’t return for at least a week. They hoped that the situation would be resolved at least by then.

This still left the identity of the person who rang the doorbell a mystery, so both demons made their way out of the room. Stolas also quickly activated a spell to keep the angel in his motionless until they returned, just in case the healing process finished before they returned to the room and he woke up.

They reached the door and hesitantly opened it, to reveal a dark cloaked figure holding a letter. On the letter, Stolas saw the mark of Lucifer, which confirmed his earlier suspicions. The figure then stated in a low but neutral tone, “Lucifer saw the event that occurred earlier tonight and recommends that everyone in the Manor, especially those who witnessed the… individual involved, are to remain in the building until the time stated in the letter, which will also contain further instructions. Have a.. good evening Prince Stolas.” At that point the figure disappeared in a cloud of dark mist. This caused Bltizo to cough and remark, “No need for a dramatic entrance if you’re trying to be incognito. Dick.”

Stolas, after briefly snorting at his lover’s remark, opened the letter pensively and read its contents:

Dear Prince Stolas of the Ars Goetia,

Sorry for the short notice on these instructions and being involved in this incident, but I dare say that this may be one of the most unique events to ever occur here in Hell.

The first ever angel to appear in Hell, completely unannounced or forewarned by Heaven! (At least not since yours truly entered the picture!) This is some of the most exciting developments to occur in decades! Haven’t had this much fun since those nobles attempted a coup a few years ago thinking I had gone soft for allowing my daughter to continue her, admittedly foolish, attempts at rehabilitating demons. No matter how much I hated her idea, I still wasn’t letting those rich assholes threaten me or her. Ah, the sounds from the torture room that night still put a smile on my face. I even recorded them and put on a playlist I listen too whenever I’m bored! Reminds me  of the good old days when you and me happily tortured all those wannabe “revolutionaries” who wanted to wipe out all the lower class demons in order to make Hell “pure.” Even I found that level of genocide distasteful.

Anyway, back to the matter at hand. I do hope you haven’t killed that angel yet. I would understand if you had, considering he crashed into your garden (how are your giant Venus flytraps coming along might I add?). However, I would prefer if they were in a state where they could answer some of my questions, such as who they are and what their purpose is being in Hell. So I have been decided to venture down to your manor myself in the morning in order to figure out this situation. Feel free to ask them any questions you may have, just make sure they’re still able to speak once you’re done.

It does go without saying that I want this kept on the down-low. Don’t want to cause an unnecessary panic now would we.
XO
Lucifer Magne

PS: Hope you remembered to stock apple juice in case I visited. I like to stay on brand.

Stolas closed the letter, feeling just as anxious, slightly annoyed and thankful he still had some apple juice left in the fridge.

Blitzo, who was waiting for Stolas to finish reading, asked, “So, what did the letter say?”

“We have another guest coming tomorrow.”

Stolas then gave the letter to Blitzo for him to read, who followed him while he moved back towards the guest room. The healing spell had completed, as evidenced by the angel’s limbs being in pretty much the proper shape. This was followed by him slowly opening his eyes and seeing Stolas, with a background of dark energy behind him.

”Okay,” he said in a low, intimidating voice, “now we can have a discussion about what is going on.”

Chapter Text

Matthew POV:

Darkness. Yelling. Gunshots. Explosions. Screaming. Crying. Blood. Dripping. Black. Black

Black. Red. Red. Red. ReDredREDREDREDREDREDREDREDREDREDREDREDRED

Light.

Matthew’s eyes shot open. His arms felt loose, yet he couldn’t move them. The same for his legs and his wings. He couldn’t move them an inch. All he could do was move his head. His blue eyes meet (four?) red, pupil-less eyes. They belonged to a tall owl being with dark feathers and what looked like a red bed robe. What stood out was the seeming growing amount of dark, moving shadows around this being. This caused it to click in his head that he was looking at a demon, which meant he was in Hell. It’s what you deserve. No no no no.

This train of thought was interrupted by the demons stating, menacingly, ”Okay, now we can have a discussion about what is going on.”

Matthew, being paralysed and about to be potentially tortured for information, which would be a difficult task to give, did the rational response and released a fairly shrill scream of fright. 

“Geez! Take it down an octave, asshole!” This was stated by what seemed like an imp with large white and black horns and dressed in just his underwear, who also seemed very annoyed with that showcase of fear.

The bird demon, who didn't visibly react stated "Now that the obligatory screaming has been completed, I would like an answer to why you are here in hell and why you landed near my home."

The demon advanced closer to Matthew's quivering face, shadows licking around them both as his voice grew lower and more demonic. "We know your name is Matthew from your ID card, but apart from that we know absolutely nothing about you. That information is what concerns me, as I need to know whether or not you threaten the very safety of those I love and cherish. You better start answering me before I lose my temper. Oh and don't think once you answer me that you're safe. Lucifer himself wants to do this with you in the morning as well, so you better not put me in a bad mood by not giving me answers. That may rub off on him, and you must know how creative he can be with people he doesn't like."

Once the owl demon was done speaking and the shadows moved back, both Matthew and the imp demon were both staring wide-eyed. The imp had a gaze that seemed disturbingly awestruck and lustful towards the owl demon for his display of intimidation.

Matthew on the other hand still had a look of terror. Tears started to form around his eyes as his breathing started to quicken. The noise in the room started to bleed together into a cacophony of screaming, yelling and crying within his head as he rocked it back and forth.

Stop the noise, stop the noise I will do anything jsut please make it stop make it stop make it stop stop stop stop stop stop

"Make it stop..."

Stolas POV:

Well that was unexpected.

Most of Stolas' experience with the customs and behaviours of angels came from what Lucifer told him (either in strategy meetings back when they were fighting against the waves of them back before Heaven set up the Extermination Day system to reduce the overall bloodshed on both sides or when he complained about how uptight and boring they were when Lucifer took him to a bar), was limited but he did pick up a few key traits.

They were annoying (always trying to make him "repent" for his actions and lifestyle despite the fact that a few seconds prior they were willing to try and kill him).

They were self-righteous and borderline narcissists (who usually believed that their actions, no matter how brutal and violent, were justified simply because they were born in Heaven despite never actually working to be a "good" person. Stolas always hated people, angel or demon, who thought just because they were born into comfort that they worked for their status and that those below them were essentially not worthy of living. Those people always made his blood boil).

They rarely, if ever, gave useful information when tortured (not through any willpower or loyalty, but from dying easily, killing themselves out of fear any real kind of pain and delusionally thinking that God would simply free them due to them believing they were "important").

To put it simply, Stolas really didn't like angels and thought they were all the same (for a while he was sure that they were actually all clones due to them having the same obnoxious personality, terrible and hypocritical morals and even worse hairstyles and clothes).

But this angel, who was named Matthew, likely after one of the most prominent angels ever, was.. odd.

He was genuinely afraid (thanks to his expert intimidation display which also, luckily, seemed to have really revved up Blitzo. They were so going to enjoy themselves later, once this matter had been attended to.). He wasn't insulting either of them yet. He didn't put on that cheesy bravado he loathed so much.

He didn't act like any other angel he had encountered before. He was just rocking his head back and forth (the only body movements he was able to do thanks to the spell) and was seemingly starting to cry. He just kept repeating "Make it stop." He hadn't even started the torture yet!

Stolas knew better than to show a potential threat mercy simply based of this. But, it seemed odd. So, he decided, with a puzzled look on his face, to see what was making this angel so worked up.

Stolas cast a certain spell to summon the Grimoire, and checked to see if there was a spell to look into the mind of the angel. Now, by this point in his millenia of life he had memorised every miniscule detail of this book and knew he couldn't actually read minds and enter their memories. It would have likely made torture for information obselete. However, he did remember a spell that allowed the user to hear the current emotions and some basic thoughts of the target. This would likely allow Stolas to get a grip on the situation.

As he was about to cast it, Stolas looked back at Blitzo, who wore a look of concern at the apparent need for him to risk himself using a mind affecting spell. Blitzo and Stolas both knew that this type of spell required a fair amount of power and had the possibility of backfiring on the user. So Stolas assured him, "I'm just checking his emotions to get a grip on what he may know. It will only last a second."

This seems to calm Blitzo, but only slightly. "Be careful in that asshole's noggin. Don't know what may be lurking there."

Stolas then, with the yellow glow of the magic surrounding his hand, touched the forehead of the angel.

Just one second.

Hate. Rage. Failure. Freak. Nobody. Killer. Killer. Killer. KILLER. PAIN. PAIN PAIN PAIN 

One thought flashed through both their minds.

"You are nothing but a monster."

Stolas leaped back. He was panting and Blitzo ran to his side to check if anything went wrong, as Matthew kept repeating over and over "Make it stop." He then briefly stopped, looked up with tears running down his face, and whispered

"I'm sorry."

He then resumed his earlier motions. 

Both Stolas and Blitzo were stunned. Not at the fact that he had managed to make Stolas break the mental connection through sheer force of emotion. They were shocked because in the entirety of Hell and Heaven's never ending violence and wars, an angel had never shown any guilt. Over anything. 

Stolas then realised what Matthew wanted to stop.

"His mind. It's like an echo chamber of noise. Near constant noise of self hatred and anger."

"He.. He just wants the noise to stop." 

Chapter Text

Not many things can surprise a demon, especially one as old as Stolas,  but the admittance of guilt from this angel over... something had done so.

Now, this wouldn't change the fact that Stolas still wanted the reasons for why Matthew had entered Hell and he wasn't going to free him from the immobility spell.

However, based on the emotions Stolas knew he was feeling... he didn't feel like he sympathized with the angel's experience, but he did feel.. Pity?

Stolas got up from the ground, dusted himself off, and looked at Blitzo. "What do you think we should do? He likely won't talk due to the "noise" overwhelming him, so how do you think we can mitigate it? "

Blitzo, who looked at Stolas quite incredulously, stated "You're not actually thinking about helping this angelic asshole, right? This guy could have been sent here to kill us and you want to help his mental issues?"

"Blitzy, I'm not suggesting that for no reason. I just.... I don't want to have to torture him in this state. He would break too easily and likely die and we will get nothing about why he was here and whether there may be more of him. Not to mention it would probably piss off Lucifer if he dies before he arrives to ask his own questions."

Blitzo pondered about this for a few seconds and responded "Fine, but how do you think we can do that?"

Both demons thought about this for a minute before remembering that the angel had landed with a backpack on him, which was now sitting in a chair next to the bed.

"Huh, I totally forgot about that." Blitzo stated simply.

He then proceeded to, cautiously, make his way to the bag. He wasn't entirely sure if the bag was booby trapped or not, even though Stolas had cast a quick spell to check and it found nothing. He wasn't going to rely solely on what magic had said to determine whether something was safe or not. The angel falling through their barriers was a good example of magic not always being reliable.

Blitzo, carefully, opening the bag as both demons held their breaths. They sighed with relief when the bag was opened and nothing had exploded.

The contents of the bag were.. unusual for an angel. Their military backpacks usually just held more weapons and ammo, and maybe a cheap store bought Bible.

This bag contained a few books (one of the titles read Heart of Darkness), some superhero comics (one of them had a man with a skull on his shirt on the cover and was titled The Punisher), a loose video game controller, a USB stick with an infinity symbol on its and a music player with headphones attached.

Both demons thought that the contents of this bag were odd, primarily due to the lack of any kind of offensive weapons. The USB stick did cause concern, as they were unsure if it was meant to extract information or plant a virus, but other than that none of the objects present proposed any threat.

Blitzo then reached into the bag and fished out the music player. At that point Matthew stopped mumbling and just stared at him. His eyes were pleading, almost as if they were saying, "Please don't take that."

Blitzo, feeling uncomfortable, but wanting to actually make progress in figuring out what was going on, simply moved toward the bed.

Matthew's eyes were following him and he pulled his head back, wanting to avoid any violence the imp would inflict upon him. He closed his eyes and braced himself.

Nothing happened.

After a few seconds Matthew opened his eyes and saw the imp, who the owl demon had called Blitzy, holding his music player out to him.

"Here," he said, sounding fairly annoyed, "put these on and calm down for 5 fucking minutes so we can actually get some answers."

Matthew couldn't understand why he was doing this. No-one ever.. gave him his music player. They always took it away. Said he should never block them out and he had to listen to what they were saying. Even if they were screaming at him....

He looked up and simply nodded his head and said, "Thank you."

This made Blitzo pause. Did an angel just thank him? That was kind of embarrassing. Moxxie or Loona would probably make fun of him if they ever heard about this.

He then said, "Just play some music so we can be done with this shit!"

Blitzo then took off the headphones and played the first song on the shuffle.

Both demons could agree that the music was surprisingly good. It was very orchestral, epic and yet somewhat calming.

As it played Matthew stopped rocking his head back and forth, he started to stop crying and actually seemed to form a very small smile.

Once the music ended, Stolas paused the player and said, in his normal voice but still no less serious, "Now that you've calmed down, I would like to resume my questions. If you wouldn't mind."

Chapter Text

Matthew POV

This was wrong. They didn’t hurt him. Why didn’t they hurt him? They should have hurt him, that was the whole philosophical point of Hell to punish people for what they had done. Why didn’t they punish him for what he did?

Yet, they didn’t do that. They threatened and restrained him, sure, but they didn’t touch him. One of them gave him his music back. They didn’t make fun of him, they didn’t insult him, they just asked for why he landed here.

He couldn’t tell them. He just couldn’t.. articulate what happened.

He also was meeting Lucifer soon. That thought made his mind race with possible scenarios of being tortured by the literal original fallen angel. 

He knew he couldn’t lie about or withhold why he fell from him. That man was the literal the Prince of Lies!

If he told them right now… would they believe him? No, no they wouldn’t. It was too… out there. Too unlikely.

Then he had an idea on what to say to put them at some ease.

Stolas POV

He was thinking about his answer. Stolas could tell by the look of concentration on his face. He must have been weighing his odds of survival if he talks, remains silent or try to escape. All were pretty low.

He finally stuttered out, “I don’t know if I can.. explain what happened effectively or in.. in a way you will believe. B….But if you want to know if i’m a threat to you s…sir or your f…family, I can assure y..you I’m n…not.”

Stolas, who remained composed, replied, “And why, pray tell, should I believe that?”

”Because it w..would be stupid to lie in this s..situation when I k..know that Lucifer himself was c..coming. I know I c..can’t lie to him. He would s..see right through them.”

Matthew then looked at Stolas in all of his four eyes and stated, with as much conviction as he could muster, “I don’t want to hurt a..anyone here. I don’t want to k..kill anyone here. I’m not a spy or an a..assassin. I am a nobody.”

Stolas, slightly taken aback, just stared. This angel seemed to genuinely mean his words. He would have expected a sense of false bravado and inflated ego to come through, maybe state how important and special he was due to the influence of his potentially powerful and important father. That was what he thought Matthew would say based on what little info he gleamed from the ID card.

He truly didn’t know what to ask next. The angel kept surprising him.

He quickly composed himself and continued his line of questioning, “Okay, here’s my next question. Do you know who I am and where you are within Hell?”

Matthew simply replied, “No sir, I d..do not know your name or the specific p..place we are in.”

Stolas then added, “Well, what do you know?”

”I uh, know we are in the Ring of P…Pride, that I’m currently in a g..guest room based on the m…minimal decorations and furnishings and I..I know I landed in a garden of some sort, if so I’m s..sorry if I squashed any plants you were g..growing.”

He then added, “If I may, I would like to s..suggest that we c..could continue this i..interrogation after a good n..nights sleep. I w..would assume Lucifer must be coming in the m..morning, and I would a..assume that my arrival woke both of you from sleeping. It would likely be in our b..best interests that we all sleep on this and awake r…refreshed and allow you to be fully able to question m..me and for me to be able to answer them. You could put me t..to sleep with a spell and lock the d..door if you want to.”

Stolas thought, for an angel under interrogation and recovering from literally smashing onto the grounds of Hell from who knows how high up, he seemed surprisingly eloquent and coherent. He also had a point, as he noticed Blitzo was startling to sway and nod off. All the adrenaline from the discovery of the crash must have worn off, and he even is own eyelids were starting to get heavy.

”Fine,” he said, “this shall continue in the morning when Lucifer has arrived. I would recommend you mentally prepare yourself while you sleep in case he decides to get … creative in his methods to get you to talk.”

”T..thank you, sir.”

At that point, Stolas then cast a spell which radiated purple energy, which cause Matthew’s head to roll back and light snoring followed suit.

Both demons, feeling a sense of temporary relief, then went to return to their bed. They locked the guest room door (while also magically reinforcing it) and went up to their shared room.

As they both laid down and went into fitful sleep, anxious about rising early to prepare themselves and the angel for Lucifer’s arrival. As they did so, they began to think over the limited information they now knew.

Blitzo thought about how the angel didn’t look on him in disgust, like most other nobles in Hell, as well as thinking about what he would do to him if he became a threat to him, Stolas or their kids.

Stolas thought about why Matthew kept calling him “sir” despite having no reason to, as well as thinking about what questions Lucifer would ask in the morning.

And Matthew……

Matthew thought about the way both demons had treated him. They didn’t try to kill him, they didn’t hurt him, they actually seemed to believe what he had said and didn’t admonish him.

They didn’t mess around with his possessions, they didn’t yell at him or each other, they weren’t monsters out to destroy him. They just seemed… relatively normal and even.. slightly.. nice.

Why? Why did they act like that around him?

No one ever acted like that around him before.

Chapter Text

Something felt..off.

Octavia could feel it in her bones. Like an aching feeling that foretold some unknown event that would ripple out and affect her whole life.

She didn’t fully believe in destiny or fate. She didn’t like the idea that everyone has a pre-determined path in life, as it would make her free will pointless. 

She did, however, believe in fixed events in time. She believed this due to her research in her father’s Grimoire on spells to get brief limited glimpses into the future. These major events are meant to happen in every timeline (e.g. the creation of Hell, Mount Vesuvius erupting in Pompeii etc.). They way she believed it, these events would always affect people and cause them to make the choices that would determine their future, but it wasn’t always set in stone. Those choices could always go one or another.

One of the choices Octavia felt glad she made, as she walked from the chair in the hotel room to look out the window at the concert venue still playing, was becoming friends with Loona when their dads became “official.” (Although she still shudders in disgust whenever her dad and Blitzo are flirting with each other, she was happy that her father had found someone who genuinely made him happy).

Her first interactions with Loona were a little awkward, considering the huge gap in wealth between them and their own lack of experience in making friends, but they eventually became each other’s first ever friend.

They both enjoyed music (Loona was more into punk rock, while Octavia enjoys more alternative music), they both enjoyed shopping at Stylish Occult, they both enjoyed reading and they both agreed that they cared for their fathers (although they both agreed that they were also horny embarrassing idiots most of the time).

They both grew really comfortable with each other, and they weren’t bothered when anyone saw how they acted together and mistook them for sisters. They actually enjoyed that observation and took it as a compliment.

Octavia was glad to reminisce on all the good times she had with Loona in the relatively short time they’ve known each other.

It helpfully distracted her from Loona’s incessant snoring as she lay sprawled over the covers of the bed.

Yeah, she had passed out an hour or two ago from all the free tiny booze bottles that were handed out to the crowd after the main music act, Fuck U Dad, had finished their set. She had hoarded a whole bunch of them and drank them all once they reached the hotel room. She managed to wish Octavia goodnight and to set up a vomit bucket before passing out.

The fact that Octavia had any friend at all still made her slightly giddy inside (though she’d never show it), which was a welcome change from her experiences in school.

From an early age Octavia did not really..click with any of the high society children that she encountered, either meeting them in school (where they didn’t like her anyway for not acting like a snobby douche canoe), forced “play dates” that were set up by her mother as a way to network (never mind actually trying to form emotional connections) or from wannabe suitors trying to either ask her or trick her into becoming engaged to them in order to raise their own social status.

That last example stung a little more than the others for some reason.

All of those wannabe boyfriends all acted roughly the same: narcissistic, pompous, spoilt brats who coasted off their parents’ wealth and influence, oblivious to others’ feelings and would sometimes completely ignore the meaning of the words “Fuck off and leave me alone!”

The instances where that happened were honestly uncomfortable, but they were always stopped from going too far thanks to her father. An cheerful goofball he may seem to most of Hell’s nobility, but the sheer mention of the word “boy” near Octavia would turn his expressions dark and foreboding. Many of those wannabe suitors were scared off by the mere mention of him getting involved. Some of the more persistent ones simply disappeared, though she did occasionally find her father wiping blood of his talons while cheerfully humming to himself. Honestly, it was one of the reasons she both respected her father and was thankful that she didn’t go through any extreme rebellious phase with him.

Octavia continued to stare out the window, listening to the faint roar of the bands currently playing. She enjoyed it, reminding herself of putting her headphones on and blaring her music to block out the sounds of her parents arguing almost everyday (more so her mother arguing and Stolas just dodging objects she kept throwing at him). She didn’t miss the fighting one bit, but she did feel nostalgic of getting lost in her music and acting like it separated her from reality.

She hoped her father and Blitzo were ok with them being gone so long from the Manor. They hadn’t texted her all night asking  if she was fine and whether she had made it back to the hotel room with Loona. She thought they were probably exhausted from their planned “marathon.” She shuddered at the implications as to what that concerned. She then yawned and walked back to the bed, ready to try and go to sleep.

The last thought that drifted through her head before she fell asleep was, “I’m sure nothing big’s gonna happen tomorrow. Might just sleep in.”

She was wrong.

Meanwhile in the main Palace of Pride (Trademark owned by Lucifer Magne):

Lucifer POV

Lucifer Magne was lounging on his throne switching through channels on his gigantic TV he had hung on chains made of bones. His staff actually said they were easier to clean than metal chains because they didn’t rust.

He was simultaneously bored with all the drivel on TV (especially that bitch Katie Killjoy on 666 News for insulting and fighting his daughter. If only she wasn’t so high ranking he could have shoved her precious pen down her throat and out the other end!) and also giddy with excitement for the entertainment in the morning when he questioned that angel. Oh what fun he will have verbally destroying and ripping apart all his self worth before he actually starts ripping him apart. It was so novel to have an unexpected angelic guest in Hell. All the other times an angel has entered has either been during Extermination Day on masse or in specific visits from stuck up dignitaries that had several messages sent before hand to grandly announce their entrance. All official entry into Hell from Heaven was strictly monitored and regulated on both sides.

It was possible he was an assassin sent to kill either himself or Stolas. Either option would have been saddening if it occurred, no matter how unlikely that seemingly lonesome angel could actually hurt them, let alone kill them.

Based on the lack of any disturbances being reported from the Manor it would seem that he was still restrained and contained, as well as still under the radar. Best to prevent undue panic or attempts to kill the angel by vengeful members of the public.

“Sir! Sir!”

One of his informants in Heaven who feed him information must have gotten back to him, based on the ravings of his servant who was rushing toward him.

”Hi,” Lucifer beamed, “Do you have any juicy dirt on who this angel might be?”

”Well, uh sir, the informant who sent this works in the Heavenly Host Newspaper on one of the outskirts of Heaven, you know, one of the fancier areas where the nobles and generals live? Which also I located almost exactly above Goetia Manor?”

This caused Lucifer to raise his eyebrow. “Oh?”

”The information is an unpublished paper that was supposed to be released today, but there was an enforced media blackout in that area since this morning. Military decree.”

This further piqued his interest.

”Would you please hand me that now so I can understand what lovely scandal those goody two shoes are trying to hide?”

”Of course,” said the servant, still panting.

Lucifer picked up the paper, simply read the headline, and his eyebrows shot up in shock and surprise.

As he read the article, his eyes glued to the print, his face remained neutral. Until he reached the end. Whereupon he looked back up at his servant and grinned in excitement.

”Now this,” as he pointed to the headline, “This is a very, very interesting development.”

He leaned back, already formulating the questions he would ask in the morning and thought, “Well, Matthew Rankin. You just became very intriguing and very important. I’m going to have so much FUN in the morning!”

Chapter Text

Stolas POV
Stolas calmly opened his four eyes as he woke up, squinting at the influx of light before rubbing them. He slowly sat up and looked fondly at Bltizo. He was currently sprawled across the bed and snoring obnoxiously. Stolas was sure Octavia had said Loona sleeps in a similar way. He must have passed some of his habits to her after he had adopted her.

Pleasant and nostalgic thoughts about his lover and their daughters quickly reminded him of the current situation and why he was so thankful they wouldn’t have to be involved in this.

Stolas got up and stretched out his arms, then casting a small spell to move his clothes over towards himself. As he was readying to put them on, he stopped and thought about whether the interrogation would lead into torture and if the ensuing mess would ruin his…

"You are nothing but a monster.”

That damned thought kept repeating in his head. Why? Stolas knew he wasn’t a monster. He may have done some morally “questionable” acts but he didn’t outright enjoy doing them or seeking them out. They were all done when there were no other options. An angel like Matthew probably never really worked for his comfort a day in his life, probably parasitically latching on to the legacy of his, seemingly, important father. They had no self-awareness of their own actions and no guilt for what they did to the denizens of Hell every year. That’s what almost every single angel Stolas has every met was like. So, why did someone (likely another angel) call him a monster? What did Matthew do?

He seemed remorseful over whatever he did. He was surprisingly respectful, oddly..helpful when he suggested they got to bed for the rest of the night in preparation for Lucifer’s arrival and even accommodating by accepting being both knocked out by a spell and locked in the guest room.

His behaviour also seemed strange. He stuttered (probably due to fear) yet remained somewhat eloquent. His gaze kept shifting around the room. It seemed he kept trying to instinctually move his hands around despite knowing the spell immobilised everything but his head. He seemed protective over his music player based on the look he gave Blitzo.

It also seemed like he wanted to say what actually happened that got him landing in the garden, but he was probably either stalling for time or thinking about how to best explain the situation

He would probably ask him, either before or during the actual questioning, more about himself to get better context about the situation as a whole when it gets explained.

As Stolas rubbed the last bit of sleep from his eyes, he wondered, “When is Blitzy going to wake up? I hope he doesn’t miss breakfast. I don’t want him cranky during the interrogation because he forgot to eat his My Little Hellsie brand cereal.”

Blitzo POV

Blitzo groggily opened his eyes, internally cursing the light briefly blinding his vision and ruining his dream (Which involved Stolas in the form of a horse. You can put the pieces together on what the rest of the dream entailed). He rolled over, glimpsing Stolas starting to get dressed for the day. His good mood at watching his lover get all dressed up and fancy was soured when he remembered the important event that was going to happen and potentially ruin the rest of their day. Or week depending on how long Lucifer was gonna torture the poor schmuck downstairs.

That guy…. He seemed to not be a complete and utter dickhead. He didn’t threaten or insult him for being a “lowly” imp (unlike some people..cough..almost every member of Hell’s nobility…cough), he didn’t threaten or try to demean Stolas, he seemed suprisingly co-operative with the whole being restrained and questioned thing and he really seemed to be pleading for  them not to take away his music.

He almost felt sorry for him. Almost. He still could be a potential threat, and let Bltizo, questionable businessman and competent assassin, never be said to allow some asshole to hurt the people he loved.

Still.. he did feel kinda shitty in general. Maybe it was cause he felt a little bad to allow Lucifer to torture the guy. Or maybe he was just cranky before eating his cereal. Either option was likely.

Octavia POV

Octavia wasn’t a morning person. Likely due to years of having to wake up and the first sounds she heard being her mother screaming obscenities at her father while smashing things. That type of routine unintentionally conditioned her to wake up expecting to hear loud yells about infidelity.

Hypocritical much mother, since didn’t you sleep with nearly every other married noble while you were tearing dad apart for daring to sleep with someone who actually seemed to care about his feelings? Satan, my views on relationships was sure soured by you, mother. Thanks a lot.

She looked to the other bed and saw Loona, awake, but still sprawled out on the bed and nursing a hangover. She was probably cursing the names and bloodlines of the people who made the brand of shot drinks she downed last night.

”Uggggghhhhhh.” That summed up Loona’s thought process as she awoke.

Octavia sighed and moved to the bathroom get dressed for the day. She thought about what shops they would visit before the  next concert started later that night. She thought about how her dad and Blitzo were probably awake by now and that she should send them a text to let them know she and Loona were alright.

”Hangovers suck asssssss!”

Well, relatively alright.

She took her phone and sent a quick message:

hey dad. Me and Loona had a fun time last night. Currently back in the hotel. Wanted to check in and see how you and Blitzo are doing. U guys had..fun last night? (DON’T GO INTO EVERY DETAIL!)

Octavia proceeded to get dressed, and after a few minutes she saw her dad’s reply:

Hi via. Everything is..alright. Some business has come up. Nothing to worry about but it may prevent me and Blitzo from chatting with u and Loona for a while. Just wanted to say I love you and I hope you and Loona will have a fun time.

That..was odd. Dad shouldn’t be “busy” with anything. He specifically fulfilled all of his immediate duties early to make room for his ugh “alone time” with Blitzo. She quickly replied:

Are you guys OK? What type of business?

A minute passed.

I’m sorry Via. It’s a very clandestine matter. I can’t reveal it to anyone outside the Manor. I just need u and Loona to remain safe and happy until we can figure this out.

This worried Octavia immensely. One thing you can count on with Stolas was that he always tried to be honest with his daughter. This was very concerning.

As she thought about this new information, she decided she would tell Loona about the situation but that they would continue their planned activities. Even if the circumstances were slightly concerning, they couldn’t really do anything at this point.

She closed her eyes, hoping that her dad and Blitzo would be able to handle the situation by themselves.

Lucifer POV

Lucifer Magne, ruler of Hell and its legions, was sleeping in his bed, wearing pyjamas, a nightcap and a sleep blindfold. As soon as his alarm sounded, he jumped up comically, tearing off the blindfold and standing up on his bed.

As you can tell, Lucifer likes to be as dramatic as possible. He loves every second of it.

”David,” he called to his personal assistant, “I’m going out today on that special business. Reschedule my meeting with the Overlords in case that drags on due to to extensive torture!”

He then proceeded to his gargantuan wardrobe and got out his suit, hat and cane. He then proceeded to get dressed, going over the set of questions he would ask Matthew, hopeful that this would be enough to get all the answers he wanted.

After all, it would be wasteful to stain his suit with his blood if he refused to co-operate. The cleaning requirements for his outfits were (literally) murder.

Matthew POV 

Light. He was awake. Still immobilised and still in the room. He wasn’t sure if he was the first to wake up. He was still in what he assumed was a noble’s house and he was still waiting for Lucifer to eventually arrive and eventually torture him to death.

You deserve it

He then heard small footsteps coming towards the door. He tensed as he saw the door open after a few seconds as he saw the imp from before, still in his underwear and eating what looked like horse shaped cereal.

Well, he thought, at least my last memory of a morning before my likely death is slightly comical. Should dull the existential fear of dying a little bit.

Chapter Text

Matthew POV

The imp, whose name is either Blitz or Blitzy (not that he was going to risk calling him by the wrong name), was standing in the doorway. He was eating the horse cereal and looked oddly puzzled as he chomped down.

”Hey,” he said, “do you want some grub before the likely bloodbath you’re gonna be a part of? Cause you’re likely gonna need some energy in order to spill all the shit you know about this whole fuckin’ mess.”

Matthew, somewhat taken aback by a combination of his bluntness, the oddly kind offer of food and the looming dread of his likely death, stared for a few seconds before softly replying, “Y..yes, thank you for the offer S..sir.”

The imp then stared back at him, with a puzzled look on his face. “Yeah.. sure whatever. I’ll just get you ready to be moved in a minute.” With that, he left the room, dripping milk from his spoon along the floor.

Matthew kept thinking about his interactions with the two demons. For people who were willing to torture him for information, they seemed fairly reasonable They even acted almost..cordial.

Why? Why? Why why why why why why why why wh

Stop. Don’t overthink this. Don’t let the noise take hold. You don’t deserve to be coddled. You’re a terrible person. Accept. It.

After a minute of calming himself down, he heard more footsteps and saw both the imp and the bird demon. Holding what looked like a pillow case.

They put it on his head and levitated him out of the room.

”It’s fine. I t..totally understand. You don’t want m..me to see the layout of the b..building. I get it.”

He was then dropped onto a chair, with the restraint spell changing and allow him to sit upright. The bag was then taken off his head, allowing him to see he was in a fairly roomy kitchen. There was an open fridge (which contained what looked like plastic covered frozen mice, likely food for the owl demon), a giant, seemingly sentient plant that was staring at him with worrying look of hunger and a large portrait of the owl demon, what looked like his wife and possibly his daughter at what seemed to be a theme park.

The owl demon and the imp were both looking at him from across the table, with looks that seemed to be a mix of concern, suspicion and awkwardness. They had both gotten dressed. The bird demon was wearing a fairly fancy set of clothing, just like what he was wearing in the portrait. The imp was dressed in what looked like a weird black business suit.

The owl demon spoke first, in a surprisingly calm voice, “Well. Do you.. want anything to eat before this whole debacle starts?”

Matthew, feeling oddly more nervous about this situation than the interrogation of the previous night, stated, “Um, maybe some cereal? Maybe the brand your f..friend is eating?”

The imp, clutching his bowl protectively, exclaimed, “You can have any brand other than this one! This is my horse shit!”

The owl demon then ordered one his servants to fetch a bowl of generic cereal, which looked like what humans would call “Coco Pops.”

Once the bowl was placed in front of Matthew, he looked towards both demons with a look of uncertainty. “C..can I use my hands in order to eat from this?”

The owl demon then waved his hands, in turn allowed Matthew’s hands the freedom to move and grasp the spoon.

As he began to eat, feeling both relief at having the first bit of food in nearly 24 hours while also savouring the cereal as much as could due to the likelihood this was his last meal, he shakily said, “You d..didn't have to do this. Thank you, very much.”

This caused the owl demon to flash another look of worry, while the imp finished off the last of breakfast, belching slightly obnoxiously. “Fuck, that hit the spot. Gotta love whoever was the corporate asshole that had the coke fuelled idea to design horse shaped cereal.”

The imp then proceeded to look at Matthew for a few seconds, then looking downwards, likely in thought, before stating, “Well, do you, uh, feel like giving us more info on what the fuck is going on before the big asshole in charge figuratively or literally tears it out of you?” The owl demon also concurred, “Yes, it would likely help all of us involved figure out the best questions to answer to get a handle on the situation.”

Disturbing mental image of Lucifer tearing him apart aside, Matthew kept thinking about what to say.

What should I tell them? They’ll probably only believe me when Lucifer forces out the truth and then they know it’s the truth. What if I tell them and they.. hate me? Why should I care if they hate me? Not only do i deserve it, they have every reason too since my kind kills theirs once a year and why do I.. care what they think? I’ve only known them for under 12 hours. Why?

Wait, they saw my ID card. Shouldn’t they know more about me than just my name and…father? Unless… did they disavow me? No wonder there’s that suspicion, they must think I’m a sleeper agent killer like Mason from COD Black Ops.

He began to ask, “If I could ask, um, did you my ID card just say my name? Nothing else?”

The owl demon, slightly surprised at the angel’s lack of knowledge of this took at the card and showed it to him.

There it was. Just his face, his name and the mention of his..father.

He doesn’t deserve to be called that….

Everything else was blacked out.

”Oh, now I can understand some of your suspicion. I can see why you may think I’m some disavowed, deniable assassin g..guy.”

”But you were part of Heaven’s armies, right? You were at least involved in the exterminations right?” The bird demon, still staring at him with a twinge of harsh suspicion and justified anger over the yearly threats on his family.

Matthew just stared down at the bowl. He then looked up with a look of..shame on his face. Both demons seemed unprepared for that reaction.

He then muttered something to himself over and over, with the imp moving closer to make out what he was saying.

”I didn’t mean to hurt anyone. I didn’t mean to hurt anyone. I didn’t mean to hurt anyone.”

He was holding his head in his hands as he repeated those words, his hands clenched hard as his head rocked back and forth.

The imp, remembering the previous night, then moved towards the guest room. He returned a few seconds later holding the music player. He placed it in front of Matthew, saying, “Hey, you want the music to calm down again?”

Matthew stopped muttering and looked up, tears staring to form. He then nodded and pressed on a song to calm down.

This song, unlike the song played the previous night, seemed almost like a song both demons believed were made by angels. It was ethereal, soothing and seemed a little like a religious song. However, it didn’t seem like the self aggrandisement that most angels likely searched for and wanted.

The song helped Matthew calm down, and by the time it was over he back to simply staring at the bird demon with the same look of shame as before. 

The imp, wanting to break the awkward silence, stated, “So, that song. Is it like a popular one up above?”

Matthew looked at him, slightly confused, “It’s not popular in Heaven. All the entertainment they make is…self promoting, pompous and insincere… poop.” He spat out the last word like a swear, which made both demons quietly chuckle. “It was made on Earth by humans for a video game I enjoy. All the music in it is great and thematically relevant to the story and..” 

He stared at both demons, who were looking at him with.. interest? “Sorry for annoying you w..with my rambling,” he meekly said.

”Oh,” the bird demon said, “we weren’t annoyed. We were just..surprised an angel doesn’t like something about Heaven. Isn’t it supposed to be, an admittedly sanctimonious, paradise?”

Matthew stared at both of them for a few seconds, thinking about what his life in Heaven had been like. He replied in a low, angry voice, “I hate that place.”

This visibly shocked both demons. They probably thought all angels were happily frolicking up there 24/7 when they weren’t coming to Hell and killing them in “God’s name.”

They looked at each other, with genuinely concerned looks on their faces. The bird demon then asked, “W..what do you mean?”

Matthew shook his head, clasping and unclamping his hands. “I t..think I..I’ll tell Lucifer when he gets h..here. He’ll p.probably relate more on that subject.”

The awkward silence continued, before the imp interrupted it yet again. “So, uh , that music you picked was..pretty neat.”

This caused Matthew to stare wide-eyed at him. “W..what?”

”Yeah, your music taste is surprisingly good and not some shitty loud gospel chants on how God is perfect or some other crap.”

This cause Matthew to tear up a little again, but with the ghost of a smile on his face. He then said, in a quiet voice,“No..No-one ever complimented me like that before.”

Why are they being nice to me? I don’t deserve it. I’m nothing, I don’t matter, I’m a terrible person. Why? Why? Why?

That look of concern flashed on both demons’ faces once more, with the bird demon shaking his head in what seemed like disbelief. The imp looked at Matthew with that same concern, but with what seemed like a feeling of..familiarity to what Matthew had said.

Just then, music started playing.

All the occupants of the room were surprised by this. It wasn’t coming through the music player, but Matthew seemed to recognise the song. It was emanating from the hallway.

Matthew and the bird demon, both seemingly realised who was playing the music, and both lightly groaned.

Only this guy would have that song as his intro music.

The main doors were heard being opened by a servant, as Lucifer Magne himself strutted into the kitchen as one of his servants was holding up a boom box that was playing the song.

The king of Hell beamed brightly as he said, with untold smugness, “It’s moments like these were I really love my job.”

The fallen angel then saw the other angel, looking downtrodden at a half finished cereal bowl, introduced himself.

”Matthew Rankin, pleasure to meet you. My name is Lucifer Magne, Prince of Lies and ruler of Hell.”

He then grabbed his hand, pulled him closer and flashed a very intimidating grin.

”We have sooo much to talk about.”

Chapter Text

Stolas POV

It was undeniable. Stolas Goetia was feeling bad for an angel. Most demons would be calling him weak and traitorous for doing so but he couldn’t help it. The look of pure shame and self hatred on the angel’s face. The way he spat out how he hated the place he was born and raised. The fact he seemingly has never been complimented before in any way. The way his mind seemed to be filled with noise made up of self hating comments. It somehow made Stolas’ heart slightly ache every time he sees him cry, in a much more diminished form of how he feels when he sees Octavia crying. It was just so..odd.

Blitzo had a similar look on his face, potentially by comparing Matthew’s experiences with that of Loona. He didn’t know all the details, but Blitzo had said that Loona had an incredibly rough childhood before being adopted by him.

Luicfer seemed all too pleased with himself as he grabbed and intimidated Matthew, who looked just as broken as before, but mixed with a feeling of understandable fear.

Lucifer then let go, before turning towards Stolas and Blitzo. “Well, my fellow soon to be interrogators, why don’t we let this poor sod stew on his own for a few minutes while we collect all our knowledge about this situation together, shall we?”

Stolas, suddenly slightly apprehensive about potentially torturing Matthew, moved along with Lucifer and Blitzo into the next room, while leaving Matthew in the kitchen with a few guards. He briefly looked back and saw Matthew staring at him with a sad look and giving a small wave.

As the three demons entered the nearby study, Blitzo took Stolas’ hand and held it comfortingly. This put his mind a little more at ease. Lucifer then proceeded to dramatically drop a fairly small file, which was labelled as Matthew Rankin.

”This, gentlemen, is all the written information my informants up in Heaven have sent down to me. It contains a fairly..intriguing picture on who your houseguest may be. Honestly, if this turns out to be true then this fellow may be one of the most interesting angels I have ever met. That’s not saying much but still…”

Stolas then cleared his throat and said, “Will we be able to see this information before the..questioning begins?”

Lucifer looked up at him with a grin that matched that of the Cheshire Cat, “Oh, is that a twinge of regret in your voice? Wouldn’t have expected you, Stolas Goetia, slayer of many a wannabe angel assassin, to feel any form of sympathy for the current occupant of your kitchen.”

”It’s not that sir, it’s just…he seems surprisingly co-operative with all of this. He even suggested us knocking him out with a sleep spell so we could all sleep last night.”

”Hmm. That seems relevant. What other behaviours has he shown? Also, to answer your earlier question, no. Only I shall look in this file before the questioning begins. I would love seeing other people’s reactions to this piece of juicy information.”

Both Blitzo and Stolas then, reluctantly told Lucifer about Matthew’s behaviour and mannerisms they had witnessed up to that point. Lucifer simply looked on, growing increasingly intrigued, especially about the parts where he seemed guilty over something.

Bltizo gave the USB stick that they found in the backpack to him explaining, “We found this. We didn’t want to use it on our computers in case it has a hacker virus or some shit.”

Lucifer inspected it, then laughed. He chortled out, “Oh, this isn’t some virus meant to steal our secrets. It’s simply a universal media device, idiotically called an Infinitum. It’s basically used to stream any form of entertainment from Heaven, Hell or Earth. These are very rare though, since if this was in mass production, the entire home media market would crash and burn. Oh, that’s a good idea for a scheme, David! Write that shit down as plan to do when I’m bored! Anyway, if that angel has it, he must have very rich parents.”

Blitzo, looking increasingly annoyed at Lucifer’ flippant attitude for the whole situation, then stated, “Yeah, his dad must be some hot shit! Seems he was a general in Heaven’s asshole murder brigade.” He then passed the ID card to Lucifer.

”Oh this just gets better and better! Not only is this guy the son of one of the oldest generals in Heaven, he also is the first one ever to have their entire file redacted! Ha ha! They didn’t even redact all the shit I did, probably to set an example. This guy must have done some serious shit that the Archangels in charge don’t want their precious public knowing about. Most of the information in the file was meant to be redacted and destroyed by military decree.”

This surprised both Stolas and Blitzo. What exactly did Matthew do? Was it so bad that even the immensely hypocritical higher ups in Heaven disavowed it?

Stolas then spoke, “Now that we have discussed and shared all the information about the situation, so you think it is time to…begin, Sir?” Blitzo then chimes in, “Yeah, can we get this shit over with and get our house back in time for our kids to come home?”

Lucifer, straightening his suit and wiping away some errant hairs from it, then jovially stated, “Alright! Let’s get this party started!”

Lucifer then picked up the file, and all three demons returned to the kitchen. Matthew was still restrained in the chair, looking both sad, yet more determined than his previous moods. It was similar to his mood when he said that he was no threat to Stolas’ family.

Lucifer took a chair, turned it backwards, sat on it and was face to face with Matthew.

“So,” Lucifer began, “should you go first or I go first?”

Matthew, trying to stare back at him despite his eyes darting around to Stolas and Blitzo, replied, “I will s..start by saying to you, that I wasn’t sent here in any form by Heaven to harm anyone in this realm. I am not an assassin, spy or anarchist. I’m simply a nobody.”

”Well…,” Lucifer retorted, “I know you’re not lying about that. It’s not just because I can tell when someone is lying, which we both know you’re not.” Both Stolas and Blitzo internally breathed a sigh of relief at this confirmation that themselves and their family weren’t in immediate danger.

”However, I do already know how you got here.”

This caused Matthew to freeze, a look of intense sadness visible on his once again. Nonononononono.

”Oh, do you not want your hosts to know about that? Do you care about what they view of you? Well, that just makes you more of an Angel after my own heart, not doing what every stuck up Angel up there wants you to do?”

Blitzo, overcome with curiosity, interrupted, “What the fuck are you talking about?”

”Oh, did I forget to show you the headline in the paper that involves our fine compatriot here? Let me show it to you all.”

Lucifer then reached into the file and showed the headline to them all.

Stolas let out a gasp, while Blitzo stared almost slack jawed at it.

“Our dear friend here landed in your garden, in this realm by an honestly simple method.”

The paper then landed on the table, revealing it to Matthew, who had a look of untold sadness at the reminder of what happened.

BREKAING NEWS! FIRST EVER INCIDENT OF SUICIDE IN HEAVEN!

”He jumped.”

Chapter Text

Stolas POV

Stolas Goetia was not known as being easily shocked. Living in one of the most chaotic realms in existence will do that to a person. However, the simple fact that an angel, born in one of the most decadent and seemingly perfect places in all existence, tried to kill himself, shocked Stolas to the core. Why? What could have happened that would lead to this? Wasn’t suicide considered a cardinal sin by them?

Blitzo’s expression mirrored that of Stolas, with a similarly increased level of concern for Matthew written on his face.

Matthew, on the other hand, looked straight at Stolas and Blitzo, with a look of untold sadness and shame, like a child who disappointed their parents. Wait… his parents. His father is, apparently, an important general. He would likely be able to issue a military order to suppress the information of the event.

Stolas thought about this possibility, with a bitter thought about how his father likely did this to avoid any potential “embarrassment” from his higher ups. This reminded Stolas of what his own father, and even Stella potentially would have done, in similar situations, just to maintain their “friendships” with other nobles.

Lucifer, seeing all three of their reactions, turned to them all and said, “Oh, now this is entertainment! The looks on your faces! Ha ha!”

He then wiped a fake tear from his eye, as he continued, “And this isn’t even the whole story.”

Both Stolas and Blitzo then looked more worried. Blitzo then asked, “What the fuck do you mean?”

”Well, based on some more information I received, the whole disavowed thing this fellow has went through happened around 2 weeks ago. Whatever he did is related both to that event, and if my intel is still correct, as well as the last Extermination Day, which we all know was around 3 months ago. So, my (literally) fallen friend, what exactly happened that drove you to jump off?”

Matthew kept staring at Blitzo and Stolas, with that same pleading look. He was starting to mumble again.

I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt anyone. I didn’t mean to hurt anyone. I didn’t mean to hurt anyone.

Blitzo, realising what was happening, went to the music player to help Matthew calm down. Lucifer, simply laid back on his chair and said, “Oh, it’s fine. I can wait for him to calm down. Can’t get the answers I want when he’s having a nervous breakdown, now can I?”

Blitzo, becoming increasingly annoyed with Lucifer’s antics, snapped back, “Well, why the fuck are we still doing this interrogation shit?! We know now he isn’t a threat to you or us, so why are we still doing this?”

”Well, my impish subject, I want to know why all of this is happening. What could drive a goody two shoes angel to jump off? What could he have done that was so bad that those psychotic hypocrites would disavow him? Those questions would burn me up inside if I can’t find the answers to them. Besides, all these shocking revelations and your gobsmacked reactions are just priceless! Ha Ha!”

“Fuckin’ prick.” Blitzo muttered, before looking back at Matthew and showing him his music options.

Matthew looked up at Blitzo, let out a little whimper and picked a song.

The music Matthew chose, unlike his previous choices, was much more dark, intense and a little unsettling. The results was still the same however, with Matthew calming down and stopping his muttering, although his expression still remaining dour.

Lucifer, intrigued, asked, “Well, that’s not the usually music those up top listen to while they prance about. Their music is pretty much harps, trumpets and self aggrandising gospel choirs. I respect a man who refuses to conform to the norm. Oh, that’s a nice little rhyme. David! Write that down as a potential joke during my toasts at noble weddings!”

Lucifer, slightly chuckling to himself, took the music player from Bltizo, causing Matthew to stare at him and meekly stated, “Please don’t m..mess with th..that s..sir.”

”Oh don’t be a baby, I’m just checking something here.” As Lucifer scrolled through the music lists, Blitzo became slightly agitated, “Hey, don’t mess with this guy’s shit OK? Don’t want him going into a muttering spell again.”

Lucifer, after a minute or two, then put down the device, to the relief of Matthew, Blitzo and Stolas, whereupon Lucifer stated, “Well isn’t this interesting? All of that content on that device, connected by one common element. They’re all from Earth. There’s nothing from Heaven in here, and I would guess that’s the same in the Infinitum USB stick found in your backpack.” Matthew responded by weakly nodding. “Thought so. So, Matthew Rankin, would you be willing to try and tell us the events on the last Extermination Day, the event two weeks prior and yesterday when you jumped off? It would also help to have a little bit of background knowledge beforehand of your life in order to contextualise them.”

Matthew, still with a dour expression, looked at Blitzo, who was giving a look of worried encouragement, which mirrored the look Stolas was also giving him. These feelings of consideration by them seemed to overwhelm Matthew briefly, before he breathed in and answered, “Okay. I’ll try to tell you what happened.”

Lucifer clapped his hands together repeatedly and responded, “Goody! Let’s begin, David! Bring in the projector.”

The assistant in what looked like a flesh covered film projector, with a fairly long, and worryingly moist, cable attached to it.

Stolas worriedly piped in, “What is that? I know almost every major demonic artefact and I’ve never seen anything like that before.”

Luicfer responded, “Oh it’s very rare. So rare it doesn’t have a real designated name. I like to call it the Flashback Projector. It was made with the explicit purpose to showcase a view of past events from someone’s memory. It would be used more often except for its one major quirk. It can only be used on someone who explicitly wants their memories shown through it.”

He then picked up the cable, revealing very small teeth in the end of it. “This baby works by attaching the cable onto the back of the neck and funnelling the memories into the projector. Oh and don’t worry you three, the process is non-lethal, the memories stay intact and the only pain occurs when it’s being inserted. Everything will be fine. Just try not to wriggle around.”

Stolas and Blitzo both looked at each other, worry etched on their faces. They then turned to Matthew, with Stolas asking, “Are you sure you’re okay with this?”

”I’m sure,” he replied, though his eyes did widen as the cable’s teeth came closer into his view, “ I just want to ask, Lucfier s..sir, after you peruse through my memories, what will h..happen to me then?”

”Well, I don’t know. I haven’t made up my mind yet. I was initially planning on killing you, being an intruder on my realm and all, but all this drama and the potential juicy scandals in Heaven you may show us have increased your survival chances immensely. Although, the specifics about your future will be discussed afterwards.”

Matthew, still looking nervous, stated, “Alright. Jack me in.”

Luicfer looked slightly confused at that statement.

”Sorry, Cyberpunk reference.” Matthew replied sheepishly.

”Alrighty then, in you go!” Lucifer then pushed the cable into the base of Matthew’s neck, which cause him to jerk around briefly before his eyes took on a yellow glow.

The projector, which was facing an empty wall, began to whirl to life.

Lucifer then motioned to Stolas and Blitzo, “Gentlemen! Take a seat, grab some popcorn and sit back and enjoy the show!”

Chapter Text

Matthew POV (1st person)

Chapter Text

Matthew POV (1st person)

His face. His tears. His pleading. His blood.

Blackblackblackblackblack

The noise was getting louder and louder every day. I would wake up, sweat and tears running down my face.

I was alone. I had gotten away from them. I was free.

The mental anguish kept me from enjoying that freedom.

The apartment I was staying in was bare. I had purchased it with some of the money I was saving up so I wouldn’t have to rely on father’s ,quite literal, blood money. I had just moved in, but there wasn’t anything to decorate or personalise the space. All that I owned was in my backpack.

I didn’t even have a bed. I didn’t deserve one.

It wasn’t stopping. I tried to block it out. The music wasn’t helping. It kept getting louder, bashing around my head like a rising, never ending drum beat…..

That gave me an idea.

I looked through the selection on the music player and I found it. I pressed play.

Doctor Who Series 1 and 2 Opening Theme:

The pulsing score calmed me down. For a time. It gave me an opportunity to ponder what I would do now that I was “free” from those horrible people I had to call my family.

I never made any plans or considered any real careers. All I had been doing since I left was watching movies, playing video games and blaring my music to drown out the noise in my head. I thought about maybe becoming a musician, considering how I used music to relax, but the likely outcome would be that I would have to conform to Heaven’s “standards” for music and throw away any creativity or desire for experimentation with my work if I wanted anyone to be actually able to listen to it.

I could have gotten a service job, for a time, but that would likely be impossible to keep once they figure out which family I’m from, which would lead to an onslaught of paparazzi. That is, if my father wouldn’t threaten the owners to fire me out of spite.

There were basically no real options for me for a job or purpose in life.

It was taken from me.

By THEM.

The armour and spear were still there, lying in the corner of the room where I dumped them the moment I entered the apartment. In all the wallowing, crying and occasional vomiting, I had forgotten all about them. Now that my head was (relatively) clear, I could focus on that damned armour and that spear. The one still marked with dried black blood.

That got me thinking. The armour was fitted with a magical equivalent of a body-cam. They record everything, probably so that the psychopaths could create compilation videos of their favourite tortures.

That meant that it recorded the….event. It recorded the outburst at the hangar. The footage wasn’t confiscated because the magic that would have been used to do so required the physical armour to be near.

That meant I could release it to anyone who would listen. I knew it definitely wasn’t going to stop the Exterminations, but I hoped it would ruin my father’s career climbing. If it could be seen by people higher up the power structure than Father, the threats to have me killed, the physical violence and the evidence confiscation, not to mention me revealing his aspirations to basically take over the place, those actions would get him fired, or at least demoted. He wouldn’t lead those dammed Exterminations every year. He would lose all power and status, as the organisation and co-ordination of those events are literally the only thing he has any skill at.

Then at least I would have changed something for the better.

You came here because you wanted to feel like something you’re not. A hero.

Gentlemen. Welcome to Dubai.

If you were a better person, you wouldn’t be here.

Those types of quotes kept cropping up in my head. They came from the same story. A story about violence, destruction and delusions of heroism.

Seemed appropriate.

On the way to the hangar, dressed in full armour in order to mask my identity to an extent, I kept trying to think of who I would show the footage to.

Not the news stations, Father would have either sent another military notice to stop its release or simply shut the whole thing down without an explanation. Not the other nobles or military leaders, those hypocrites would fully agree with all of what’s Father was doing. There were probably some angels or Humans who made it into Heaven who would object to the principles of Extermination Day, but I wouldn’t know where to look for them.

That left…..

I wouldn’t even know how to physically get to him, let alone how to present the footage without the other military and political leaders from seeing it and potentially discrediting or destroying it. There were always the confessional booths, but it would be lost in sea of other messages like it.

I don’t…..I don’t hate God for the Exterminations. I understand why there is a system in place to prevent overpopulation in Hell. I know that the current system is basically the Purge movies on steroids (complete with the subtext of the upper class having the lower class killed off, now that I think about it). I know that the system is wrong on every moral level.

I just…I can’t understand why God hasn’t figured out some better solution. He’s probably too busy with, you know, organising the whole universe on a macro scale to notice the smaller, but still important details.

I can see the problem. I can see the horrible consequences of letting a system of violence and (ironically) dehumanisation of both sides continue. I just….I just can’t do a thing to change it.

I thought with the footage I could at least mitigate some of the horrors. 

I reached the hangar, quickly heading towards the lockers to "acquire" a spare mask to cover my face, since I lost the one I was given back when my moronic brothers jumped me. 

I got in easily enough. One of the ways Heaven differentiates from both Heaven and Hell is that, while the external security around Heaven is incredibly intense, internal security is pretty lax. There is basically no real motive to steal anything due to most, if not all, denizens being somewhat wealthy and the persistent tension of not wanting to be banished to either Earth or Hell for committing a sin. The closest thing to security that occurs in the hangar is the checkout system for high-grade weapons and personnel files.

(Lucifer, still engrossed in the story being told, motioned for his assistant to write that last statement down. He kept thinking how this kid was both giving him an extremely interesting story on Heaven’s current social structure, while also unintentionally pointing out holes in their own security. He was so glad he didn’t torture him earlier. That activity would have been nowhere near as interesting to him as this slideshow of suffering.)

As I made my way towards the section of the hangar that housed the instructions on how to extract the footage, I overheard several, incredibly whiny, conversations.

”That information embargo is still active? I really wanted to post the selfie I took with the cake before it got thrown out. That freak’s rant stopped anyone form actually eating any of it!”

“The new spear I bought finally came yesterday. I missed out using it during the Extermination because the bloody thing was delayed due to a shipping error!”

“Where do you think the freak went after his dad slapped him? He basically threw away any chance to have a proper social standing, and for what? He was sad about slaughtering an imp?! That loser called us all psychopaths! What would make him think that? We’re angels. We’re the gold standard for all existence.”

(Those types of comments kept boiling the blood of all three demons viewing, with Lucifer being all too familiar with the whiny self-righteousness that most angels carried themselves with.)

The spell book was easy to withdraw fro, the library. The spell was easy to find and understand. The bathroom stall was an acceptable location to cast it, although there was a time pressure to complete it before anyone came in. The only issue was deciding where to store the extracted video. I landed, with some reluctance, on transferring it to my Infinitum USB. I wasn’t happy about risking the main source of all my media entertainment as the storage space. The stories it contains… is one of the few genuinely happy things in my life.

I then pondered, as I walked down the halls, how I would try and get the footage to God.

I should have been paying attention.

I should have noticed the security camera, watching me leave the restroom.

I should have noticed how everyone there was getting quiet as I walked past them.

What I finally did notice, was the row of angels, spears drawn, blocking my path.

Leading the charge, with an extravagant (and impractical) cape and one of the most malicious sneers I’ve ever seen…was General Rankin.

”Hello again, son.”

Chapter Text

He was standing there, pompous and grinning, behind the line of angels that blocked my path. Likely done so that he wouldn’t be in any actual danger if I went after him directly. Typical of him. I’d call him a rat but that would be unfair to rats. At least their excuse for cowardice is that they’re generally smaller than their predators.

My brothers were there, at both his sides. Their gaudy decals on their armour, depicting skulls, flames and dead denizens of Hell, enhancing their already massive levels of douchebaggery.

”You’re setting a very bad example. Disobeying a direct order from not only your glorious general but also your own father? Shame on you.” He then added, with a heaping of smugness, “Here’s a tip for infiltration. Never infiltrate a building whilst stained with disgusting demon blood.”

I just stared at him, my fists starting to clench hard enough that a little blood started to drip down.

THEIR FAULTTHEIRFAULTTHEIRFAULTTHEIRFAULT….

”I held onto the belief that you finally come to your senses, return to our ranks with that footage and follow my perfect example for once in your wretched life. But alas, you had to betray us.”

”People need to see this,” I said, eyes starting to shed small tears, “They need to know what kind of monsters you, those gormless goons next to you, and the rest of these psychopaths are. You especially.”

The line of angels, while still mainly carrying steely yet smug faces, had some members who were starting to look…conflicted and had started to murmur amongst themselves. Similarly to last time, a few of them looked like they didn’t entirely agree with or know about my father’s actions.

”Irrelevant. I ordered all video record of that event to be confiscated and so it shall be. Now hand over that armour and prepare for your punishment.”

He didn’t know. He didn’t know I already transferred the footage. If he was watching me wouldn’t he have noticed me taking out a book to extract the footage? Idiot.

I wasn’t moving. I wasn’t running, I wasn’t scared, I was angry.

THEIR FAULTTHEIRFAULTTHEIRFAULTTHEIRFAULT…

MURDERERSMURDERERS…

Abraham, eyeing me up and down with a widening grin, stated, “Well, he’s not complying. Therefore he’s resisting arrest and lethal action can now be taken. Right, General?”

”Why, yes indeed. Make it quick though, we don’t want any other officials to walk into this…altercation and disagree with that story, now would we?”

Abraham walked forward, laughing, with his spear lazily pointing to my head.

”I’ve been wanting to do this since you were born you little…”

Those were the last words he said before he couldn’t speak anymore. He couldn’t even breath.

That’s because I grabbed him by his throat and lifted him up into the air.

I didn’t say a word. I just stared at one of the people who terrorised me throughout my entire life and forced me to kill someone for no. Damned. Reason.

I squeezed. Hard.

A squelching sound was heard. His throat fell to the floor.

The dark energy was back. It was starting to pulsate out of me.

I..I don’t know what it is. I don’t know what it can do. It only started happening back at the “party.”

(All three demons stared at the images before them. Stolas and Blitzo were both shocked at the sight of an angel killing another angel, even if it was one that definitely deserved it. Lucifer, while sharing even stronger feelings of shock, considering he himself used to be an angel, was getting increasingly interested in the dark energy that seemed to be cropping up more and more in Matthew’s memories.)

His body then dropped to the floor. A look of shock etched on his face, as red blood started to pool out of his neck.

Father, Michael and the other angels had a similar look of shock on their faces. They then stared at the body for a few moments.

He should have been resurrected by then. Angels are always resurrected in Heaven if they're killed by means that don’t involve angelic weapons. The process usually takes a day or two if it occurs outside of Heaven itself. If it occurs in Heaven it takes a few minutes.

He wasn’t coming back.

The line of angels had looks of shock on them, mixed with a fair amount of fear due to now having actual deadly consequences if they mess up. Two of them just flat out dropped their spears and ran away. Michael looked like he was going to pee his pants.

Father had a look of rage, bewilderment and an increasing level of cowardice. He was likely shocked and terrified that I would be able to actually hurt or even permanently kill him. What would have frightened him more than death itself would be the blow to his legacy that would occur if the “freak” of his family being the one to actually kill the so-called legendary warrior.

I didn’t feel any of that. I looked down at the corpse of my brother, looked back up toward the line of slowly advancing angels and…

(Author’s Note:

I don’t know how best to describe this. I can think of a fight scene that would best encapsulate what happened, involving a character I can…relate to on some level.)

There I was. Staring down my father and brother, covered in blood. At the closed doorway behind them, the few angels who made the smart choice to run away were cowering.

The funny thing about angels, especially those in the Exterminators, is the fact that they think they’re the most perfect fighting force in the universe.

Truth be told, they’re not. Their attacks are lazy and unco-ordinated (which further highlights how utterly useless my father is at being in a position of power, which in turn further adds to his overall terribleness in wanting to maintain his “glorious reputation and legacy.”), the only reason they had any success was due to their massive numbers and the fact that angelic weapons were rarely able to used against them due to their rarity in Hell.

Almost all of the angels I was forced to train with, including my brothers, barely put in any effort in combat training, due to believing that having basic competence with angelic spears was all they needed to murder demons. They also never paid any attention in ranged weapons training. They probably thought it was more fun and “nobler” to use melee weapons to torture and mutilate.

The difference between their training and my training. They never had to excel. They were never forced to go over those drills again and again, attaining the highest marks possible, in order to, in my father’s words, “learn to enjoy and accept this glorious task you little mongrel!”

I keep thinking to myself, when I would stab the training dummy, that it wasn’t real. It wasn’t real. It wasn’t real. It will never be real.

Fat lot of good that did me.

Michael looked like he was about to pee himself. He must have been thinking how all these years I could have utterly destroyed him and Abraham several times over if I was as sadistic as they were.

Father, still showing blustering rage and cowardice, pushed Michael towards me, shouting, “Stop him, you useless idiot! Wipe this filth off my path to my true glory!”

I stood still, staring blankly as Michael slowly approached, his spear shakily raised towards me.

When he got close enough, he suddenly stabbed forward, hoping to spear my head before I could react.

He thought it would be easy. He thought it would be like the last time. He thought he was faster than me.

He was wrong.

I want to say, that throughout all this, that I felt regret. That I hated taking more lives. That I was disgusted with myself.

I am now.

Back then…

I felt fucking great.

Chapter Text

Matthew POV

I could have blamed all I had done and was feeling on that energy which was pooling out of me. It was a tried and true excuse used in many of the stories that I love.

I could blame it all on an unknown power or personality controlling me.

It would have been easy.

It would have been a lie.

I was aware of everything I did and felt.

I don’t know if that makes it worse.

(By this point in time, Stolas, Blitzo and Lucifer were starting to feel worried and unsettled. Both at the sight of angels being permanently killed without angelic weaponry and the….darker view of Matthew’s actions. Lucifer himself, was starting to get a little unnerved. Every single fallen angel to arrive in Hell, without exception, all went to attack him and his family in order to take his throne. It was actually saddening to him, as he always hoped to meet an angel who could sympathise or at least understand his reasons for opposing God. They always devolved into violent, power hungry assholes, which pretty much fell in line with most angels anyway. Lucifer, for a reason he couldn’t fully explain, kept hoping for Matthew to be different.

Blitzo and Stolas, on the other hand, were focused on the way Matthew seemed have demonstrated what he would do when he got angry or distressed. That level of violence, which would usually not phase either demon, unsettled them by how…dead inside Matthew looked while he was wreaking it. This contrasted with the polite and slightly passive version of him that both demons had known up to this point, which made them feel conflicted on some of their sympathy for him and his situation. They also began to worry about the potential danger towards themselves if they made him angry, due to the fact he could permanently kill them without angelic weapons.)

Michael was lying on the floor, coughing up blood and crying, after I had grabbed his spear mid-thrust and shoved it into his stomach. He was simultaneously begging for father to save him, while also insulting me. At least I’m pretty sure that’s what he was doing. At that point, all the sounds in the room were bleeding together into noisy static that was ringing through my ears.

I wanted the noise to stop.

So I shoved my foot down onto his face. Then I did it again. And again. And again and again againagainagainagainagain…

What was left was a red stain on the floor and my boot.

Father was staring at me, terror clear in his face, while also mixed with his trademark look of disgust. He was probably angrier than he had even been in his life prior, since I had just humiliated and killed his sycophantic sons who he would have been able to gain prestige through their military “victories” and who would have sung his praises for eternity, which would have likely kept increasing his reputation until he was able to gain the political position he always coveted.

How sad, now that will never happen.

He was standing a fair bit down the hallway. I wasn’t moving. I just stared back at him.

He started to monologue. Like before, I just heard static. It wouldn’t have mattered anyway. All the villain monologues boil down to whining about how the world would be sooo much better if they had total control over everything.

I didn’t care.

I rushed forward. He didn’t even have a spear ready. He was surprised that I actually went towards him. He was most likely used to laying on his ass his entire life while everyone else did his grisly work and gained all the attention.

He didn’t stand a chance.

It took about 3 seconds to pin him to the ground. With my spear. Though his left side.

The static was almost deafening at this point, the energy pooling out of my entire body. He was screaming and yelling, tears streaming down his face, blood spilling out of the wound, staining that ridiculous cape he was wearing.

I kept thinking to myself: Kill him. It would be a public service. I would actually make a difference, no matter how small or temporary.

But I couldn’t.

I know what you’re thinking: What is wrong with you? This guy is an abusive, power hungry psychopath. Is it because of the fact he’s my father? No. The fact was that if I killed him now, his legacy would be of the general who fought valiantly to protect the Extermination system from a rogue angel. His publicists would have a field day making his name an actual legend in Heaven. It would glamourise and further promote the slaughter of the denizens of Hell.

If he lived… he would have his reputation stained by the fact he was spared by his “freak” son and the fact he didn’t even land a blow on me. He would fear that more than death itself. The man lived on his ego.

It was a very hard choice.

I don’t know if I made the right one.

I leaned downward, and, in a low voice:

”Next time I see you… only one of us walks away.”

I ripped the spear out sideways, spraying the walls of the hallway with his blood. His screams seemed to reach a higher pitch underneath all the static in my head.

I walked past his screaming form, past the group of angels peeing their pants in fear while huddled near the exit door.

I walked out into the open air. I spread my wings, flew up and rocketed to an abandoned area that was designated for construction.

I took off the armour and threw down the spear.

The symbols of the system I hated with a raging passion.

I ripped them apart. The noise was still there, but unlike previously, I was screaming, yelling and crying as I destroyed them. All that rage was spent by the end, where nothing but dust remained. As well as a small crater created when I was smashing them. Probably that dark energy amping up the force of my blows.

I flew back to the apartment.

Once I was inside, I took a breather.

I remembered all the blood and death. I remembered all the death I caused, despite it being in self-defence and to expose the truth.

I started to cry again.

Becasue I realised….. I still had no clue how to get the footage to God. That, in turn, rendered all that death pointless.

The quotes from that story started to shriek inside my head.

There is no difference between what is right and what is necessary.

Freedom is what you do with what's been done to you.

I exist and I find it nauseating.

We cannot escape anguish. It is what we are.

The truth, Walker, is that you're here because you wanted to feel like something you're not: a hero.

I needed my music. I needed it to shut out the noise.

I pressed random. I got this:

The Origins of Murder Victim Jane Doe (Outlast 2 Soundtrack):

Why did it pick that?! It’s in a game about terrible people doing awful things to others in the “name of God.”

Why did it pick that? I was trying to get away from thoughts about them….

I almost threw the player against a wall. I stopped when I realised it was the closest thing to a friend I got.

That realisation led to the next five hours being spent crying, vomiting and smashing me head against a wall.

I was alone.

I am Alone

I WILL ALWAYS BE ALONE.

I DESERVE TO BE ALONE.

Chapter Text

Matthew POV:

The noise. It was deafening.

It kept getting louder.

For. Two. DAMN. WEEKS.

The movies. The games. The music.

It.didn’t.WORK.

They couldn’t find me. I used a fake name when renting the apartment.

All the screaming and death kept smashing around in my head while I slept.

His face. The face of the demon I killed. He was everywhere I looked.

You would expect my brothers’ faces to haunt me a little, but they didn’t. I actually regretted killing the nameless angels more. Shows how little I actually cared about those blood hungry morons.

There was no news alerts about my escape from the hangar. Probably due to father suppressing the information again. That was basically the only political move he can actually achieve in order to make himself look anywhere near competent at his job.

He probably thought he had won anyway, since I destroyed the armour, so he probably thought the footage was lost too.

It’s highly likely he still ignored or didn’t notice the spell book I used in the bathroom to take out the footage.

Idiot.

But he wouldn’t stop. He wouldn’t rest until I was dead. His ego couldn’t handle anyone being alive who bested him.

(Lucifer, Stolas and Blitzo, while still worried for, and becoming slightly scared of, Matthew, were beginning to think of the potential ramifications of his father still being alive and probably working tirelessly to kill him. Lucifer, especially, was thinking over potential incursions from that idiot of general. If he really was half as power-hungry, spiteful and stupid as Matthew was describing him, then the possibility of him entering Hell to gain some petty form of revenge was becoming increasingly likely. The moron would either gather an armed company of angels to accompany him, due to his status and unwarranted prestige in the armed forces of Heaven, or go alone, which was unlikely since it seemed he had other people do all the work for him throughout his entire life due to being a lazy coward.

Either result, however, would be disastrous for both Heaven and Hell. An obvious armed incursion, no matter how small, from Heaven could potentially jeopardise the fragile “peace” between the two realms. The Exterminations, no matter how brutal, were vastly preferable to a return to an all-out war between them. It would ruin Hell, thrust it back into the dark ages. Lucifer knew he couldn’t let that happen, especially if it would be caused by a small, petty moron on a pointless quest for “retribution.”

Just as he was thinking this, a knock was heard at the front door of the Manor. All three demons turned their heads towards the sudden noise.

Blitzo, while still engrossed in Matthew’s backstory, yelled out, “Who the fuck is that?! Aren’t we the only ones who should know about Matthew being here?!”

Lucifer’s personal assistant, David, cautiously left the kitchen and opened the front door. A few seconds later, he returned, wearing a slightly puzzled look and a letter in his hand. “I have no idea how this got here. All the guards posted outside didn’t see anyone arrive.”

”Ah,” said Lucifer, with surprisingly serious tone, “This could be… an issue.”

The letter was coloured white.

It was sent for Lucifer Magne.

It had a warning.

DO NOT OPEN UNTIL YOU HAVE FINISHED WATCHING.)

The noise kept taunting me. All the scenes and lines where someone is telling someone else how much of a monster they are were screaming in my head.

One stuck out to me.

If you were a better person, you wouldn’t be here.

I wouldn’t be here.

I shouldn’t be here.

That thought kept repeating in my head.

I don’t know how to describe what I felt. I just….I knew I didn’t deserve to just move on.

I am a monster. A terrible person among even worse people.

There had to be…some good people in Heaven, right?

I couldn’t find them. I couldn’t stop the Exterminations. I didn’t even know if God would even bother looking at the footage of it managed to reach him.

I…I had to try. Even though I’m a terrible person. I had to at least try before….before….

I….packed all my books, comics and the Infinitum into my bag. They were the only things I owned that mattered to me in the slightest. They were coming with me.

I left the apartment. I knew I wasn’t coming back.

I headed towards the confessional on the street. Their functions and designs are basically like phone boxes (or the TARDIS but nowhere near as amazing). They record video messages someone in Heaven wants God to see. These usually take the form of wanting an expensive or elusive tacky item, wishing for fame and even more wealth or just bragging about how “holy” they are.

God has probably never even seen 99% of them. All of them are sorted by an archangel at the end of each day with the most important or interesting ones (as few as they were) being sent to God to actually watch over on one of the minuscule amount of times where he stops working in maintaining all of creation.

At least…that’s what I was told. He has seemingly never responded directly to any of the messages sent.

I hope it was true. But it’s just as likely that my attempt to do some good was pointless. Like always.

I entered the booth, shaking and jittery…knowing what I was going to do soon.

There was a camera set up in the booth, a bench to sit on, a computer and desktop and several buttons on a panel underneath it. These were done to categorise the types of messages that would be sent, probably to quickly section off the idiotic and vain messages from being sent off.

DECLARATION

REQUEST

GIFT

BLESSINGS

REDEMPTION

That last button had a thin layer of dust over it. No one in Heaven probably thinks that they need any redemption or self improvement, since they’re already in “paradise.”

I pressed it and looked at the camera.

My eyes were bloodshot and my face was red and streaked from crying.

”Hello, God. You..you don’t know who I am. Why would you? On the grand scale of things I don’t matter. For almost my entire life I’ve done nothing that would matter to you. Until…a few weeks ago. I don’t know if you’re even aware of that, since my father likely sent another decree to hush it up. But…that’s not the main thing that I….want to make right.”

I closed my eyes, choking out the next words as tears were welling up again.

”I..I killed someone. A demon. During the last Extermination. I didn’t want to do it. He was helpless. I…please forgive me…I tried to make it quick…*hic*….. My psychotic father ordered my brothers to force me to do it, but I know I’m still the one who took his life. I…I can’t get past this. My mind……is screaming at me…..I’m a monster.”

I opened my eyes again, tears now streaming down my cheeks once more.

”I…I hate this system. It’s a way for murder to be made acceptable and even……commendable. I…I’ve hated nearly everyone I’ve ever met up here. They’ve always hated me for no…good..reason. They think they’re perfect simply because they were born here and that everyone who wasn’t don’t deserve anything but death. I….I don’t hate you. I just can’t be a part of this anymore. I’d..forgive me…*hic*….but……I’d burn this whole place to ashes if…there wasn’t some good people up here. There…there has to be right?”

The shaking became worse.

”I can’t do anything to stop this system, to make life better, to make a damned difference. I…..I shouldn’t still be here. I have to try though…just to pretend I could be redeemed for the lives I’ve took, good and bad. The footage of what I’m talking about it is going to be copied and sent with this video. You…you probably will never see it. I just need.. to try.

I took out the USB and inserted it into the computer.

I started to laugh, the flow of tears still not ending.

“It’s…it’s messed up to think this but…what…I’m about to do once the video ends…reminds me of something. Some music I played just after the…last incident. It was from a story. A story about terrible people doing awful things in..your name. Sadly relevant, I know. But…. There’s this one character. A true monster….someone even worse than me. His last words. They…they always stuck with me.

They..they seem relevant to what I’m…about to do….

I know God don’t hear dead men, but I expect he answers them.”

Chapter Text

Matthew POV

The edge.

The edge of what all angels wish was the only thing in existence.

The edge of “perfection.”

I…I didn’t want to just hang myself or something like that, although that would have probably worked anyway since….I apparently can just kill angels without angelic weapons.

I needed to be punished. For what I had done. Hell was a place of punishment. For those who deserved it and for those who don’t.

The impact would have killed me or I’d be ripped apart by those below. Justifiably so, when I think about it.

There wasn’t that high a gate to block it off. It was in a residential area and mainly there so no kids fell off if they were left on their own. The reason it was so low at that point in the defences around Heaven was so it didn’t “ruin the view for the wealthy residents.” All the other angels had the common sense not to mess around near it.

I stared at that gate from a fair distance away.

The noise was still rattling around my head.

I…I didn’t want that to be the last thing I heard.

I…..wanted to listen to something…nice before……

I took out the music player. I held it in my hand for a solid minute. Thinking.

If this is my…last song…then everyone should hear it.

I..I didn’t want to drop it on the way…down. It was one of the few things that gave my waste of a life meaning. Pathetic, I know.

I set up the song. Turned up the volume and put the player in the bag.

I started walking to the gate.

When the music started…I began to sing.

Let The Water Wash Away Your Sins (Far Cry 5: Into the Flames Soundtrack)

Chapter Text

Stolas POV

The wailing and tears lasted for around 15 minutes, with Blitzo constantly trying to soothe and comfort the crying angel.

Eventually, the wailing turned into sniffling, with Matthew removing his head from Blitzo’s shoulders, his eyes heavily bloodshot, his face red and streaked from tears, with snot dripping from his nose. Stolas, while still in a state of shock from viewing Matthew’s memories, noted how he would likely need Blitzo’s suit cleaned afterwards.

Matthew, while still sniffling and shaking, choked out hoarsely, “W….why?”

Blitzo, with a surprisingly serious expression, stated, “Look kid… from what we saw on that thing, I don’t think you’re some psycho douchebag like those pus stain brothers of yours. You’re…….you’re not a hero. I don’t think you would like being called that.”

Blitzo then rested his hand on Matthew’s shoulder, “But you’re not a monster. You’re not a freak. You’re a…complicated person who didn’t deserve half the shit you’ve been given for what seems like your whole life. You feel guilt. You look back on what you’ve done and at least try to be better. That makes you at least a hundred times better than all those stuck up pricks up there, as well as a fair amount of people down here!”

“You….you deserved better, is all I’m saying.”

Matthew was staring at him, eyes wide and tears still flowing, his face betraying a look of shock.

He then pulled his knees up to his chest, burying his head in his knees, the sniffling still continuing.

Stolas, wanting to try and comfort the angel as well, went to pick up the nearby music player and presented it to Matthew.

”D..Do you want another song on? To calm down a little?”

Matthew then looked up to meet his gaze, wiped his eyes briefly and, in a hushed tone, “T…thank you.”

He then pressed the shuffle button.

The music, like some of his previous choices, was eerie, slightly unsettling, yet had an almost…serene feeling to it.

This helped Matthew calm down enough to move his legs back down, while still looking at the ground with an achingly sad expression.

Stolas then attempted to console the angel by patting his back (which was met with a brief jump of surprise from Matthew from further physical contact) and saying, “Don’t worry. Everything is going to be okay.”

Matthew….didn’t seem to think so, as he then stated, “W..what about that l..letter Lu….Lucifer is holding? H..He didn’t have that w…when we started r…right?”

Stolas and Blitzo then exchanged worried looks with each other and then turned their attention towards Lucifer.

Lucifer POV

Lucifer Magne. Ruler of Hell, Prince of Lies and connoisseur of torture and punishment, was feeling uncomfortable.

The goofy grin that was plastered in his face 24/7 had dropped down to a neutral, almost…concerned expression.

Most demons would see that as a sign of the end times.

He looked at the two demons who were staring at him. Two people who were trying to comfort a near total stranger simply out of almost parental concern.

He then looked at Matthew.

His demeanour at the moment, just looking at the ground and having just curled himself up and crying……felt familiar.

It reminded him of the first few days he spent in Hell after he tore himself away from Heaven and…Him.

The paranoia. The uncertainty. The fear that…he made a mistake that he could never take back.

But he also felt…relieved?

He knew Matthew, at least at the moment, wasn’t a threat and didn’t want to hurt him or his family.

He was just like a scared kid, trying to block out all the bad things running through his head.

He then remembered he was still holding the letter.

Well, better get this over with.

Lucifer, with an amount of careful consideration most people thought he lacked, slowly opened the envelope. He made sure to not crumple or disturb the contents of the envelope, just in case anyone set up any “surprises.”

Everyone in the room, and the neighbouring rooms, held their breaths.

The letter was written on simple white paper, with a golden crest just above the start of the message.

Lucifer recognised that symbol immediately.

”Well…..This just made things more interesting,” Lucifer breathed out, “It seems my….brother….Gabriel….sent this.”

Chapter Text

Matthew POV

All of the occupants of the kitchen, apart from Lucifer, dropped their jaws in utter shock.

Gabriel?!

Lucifer’s brother.

An Archangel.

One of the highest ranking officials in all of Heaven.

He knows what’s happening?!!

Matthew’s head was spiralling further and further into a growing anxiety over what could happen with such a powerful figure knowing about his current whereabouts, as well as possibly endangering the two demons who were next to him.

Matthew didn’t want them getting hurt! They were nice to him! The first people who even bothered to try…..

Lucifer, conveying an uncharacteristic amount of nervousness in his expression, slowly read out loud through the contents of the letter.

Dear Lucifer:

It has come to my attention about an incident involving an angel jumping off the edges of Heaven, the identity of whom is currently known to us, and likely by now, to you. This angel was sighted falling all the way down to the Ring of Pride, and within the grounds of the location known as Goetia Manor, where you were sighted entering this morning, while possessing an extremely rare artefact. This artefact is known to project the memories of an individual. This has helped us conclude that the angel which landed in your domain is currently still alive, and has presumably given an explanation for his actions, both for the previously mentioned event and prior incidents.

This letter is meant to inform you, once you have gleamed whatever information you wanted from said angel, that a meeting must occur to resolve this situation.

A delegation of angels, including myself, shall enter your realm in a week from today. This shall be done discreetly, as to not cause a panic among the populace of Hell.

In attendance shall be myself, our brother Uriel, a small armed escort (you can bring an escort of your own if you so wish) and General Nathaniel Rankin.

At the mere mention of his name, Matthew started to tense up, fear clear on his face.

Why? Why is he coming down here? I was trying to get away he’s coming he’s going to kill me and these nice demons itsallmyfaultallmyfaulallmyfault

At the sight of Matthew staring to curl up and hyperventilate, Lucifer, in a (comforting?) voice said, “Wait, wait! It’s…OK. I read a little ahead and I don’t think he’s going to be able to do anything.”

Matthew, while still visibly uncomfortable with the idea of encountering his terrible father again, seemed to lose some of the visible tension.

Lucifer, satisfied, continued to read aloud.

General Rankin, while a high standing general in our armed forces, seems to have a…different view on how he should use his authority than we do. He kept claiming that, since he sent out military decrees to suppress information on the events which involved the angel who jumped, that we should let him handle it with no oversight.

We disagreed on that manner.

His actions and destruction of evidence, not to mention he constant posturing and almost delusional views of his own authority and importance have greatly hampered our attempts to resolve this situation.

In all honesty, brother, the man is a complete bore.

Lucifer smiled to himself, glad that even his own stuck-up, stick in the mud brother found that general to be an asshole.

The General will be under constant surveillance before and during the meeting. He is currently unaware of these developments.

I must stress how the angel must be alive and able to communicate with us in order to resolve this situation. I know it must be challenging for you to not torture or injure an angel who appears in your realm outside of Extermination Day, considering how most of them are Fallen angels who wish to usurp you and attack your family. However, in order to gain reliable information about this situation, we need this angel alive.

More details will be sent to you over the following days.

I await your reply in order to further co-ordinate our efforts.

Sincerely,

Your brother, Gabriel.

Chapter Text

All four residents of the kitchen were, once again, in an atmosphere of almost suffocating silence.

Understandable, considering they were being ordered to meet with some of the highest authorities in Heaven in a risky meeting that involved a selfish egomaniacal moron who could destroy the very tenuous relations between Heaven and Hell, while also trying to figure out the future for a PTSD riddled and emotionally fragile angel.

No pressure then.

Stolas was fidgeting in his seat while trying to think of how to help resolve the situation, while also minimising any potential harm from happening to his family.

Blitzo was busy trying to figure out how to comfort the angel currently having an internal emotional crisis in his kitchen, once again.

Lucifer was pondering what he would actually do in the meeting, since not only would he have to carefully make his way through a political powder keg, he would also have to figure out what he would say to his brothers, who he had barely spoken to, much less seen, in decades. All of the other times he had met angel dignitaries they had been just the generals within Heaven’s armed forces. It also made more and more sense why he never had the displeasure of meeting General Rankin before now, since even the other angels think this guy is a grade-A asshole.

Matthew POV:

Matthew…..kept thinking about his life up in Heaven. His home. His…..”family.”

He wasn’t going back.

No matter what anyone said or demanded…..

He will never go back to that mansion. That cold, desolate place filled with horrible memories.

He would probably burn it down to ashes if he was forced to go back up there.

He…He liked it down here. Insane as that would sound.

He thought the two demons were….nice. Kind.

He kept thinking that…they probably acted more like actual good parents to him in a few hours than an entire lifetime with his birth “family.”

(Maybe due to the fact that based off the painting he saw, the owl demon, at least, was also an actual parent.)

The imp gave him his music back. He complimented him. He…..gave him a hug.

He…..couldn’t remember the last time anyone had done that.

The owl demon, while understandably trying to scare him at first, was also kind to him.

He didn’t want them to get hurt because of him. They seemed to have families of their own. He couldn’t ruin them too!

That psychopath of a father he has would kill them!! Out of hatred, anger or just to be an asshole!

He would not. Let. That. HAPPEN.

Matthew kept looking around the room, at the other occupants. They all seemed, understandably, tense and stressed.

Maybe….he could finally do something to help them for once.

He took out the music player, scrolled through, and pressed play.

I’m Big (Pain and Gain Soundtrack)

Stolas POV:

Matthew had put on music. This wasn’t unusual, as Stolas and Blitzo had come to now associating this….quirk as a way for him to relax and clear his head.

What was odd, however, was the fact that he had pressed play by himself and while not in the middle of a visible anxiety attack. He seemed to have done it almost randomly.

The music was soothing, yet, like a lot of his music, had a slightly disturbing undertone.

Stolas, while listening, felt the stress on his mind caused by this whole situation start to lessen. He looked around and Blitzo and Lucifer were also seeming to visibly de-stress.

Once it had finished, everyone in the room felt calmer. Stolas thought to himself, “Now I get why he uses this to calm down. It seems like a…very soothing activity.”

Lucifer, whose visible concentration on his face (which unnerved Stolas to his core more than any eldritch abomination that he has encountered during his long lifetime) softened to somewhere closer to his jolly default expression, looked towards Matthew and stated, "Might I ask why you did that, Matthew? You seem to usually be in... significant visible distress whenever you use your music, yet right now you seem, relatively, calm." 

Matthew, scratching the back of his head while looking downwards replied, “W..well, I just wanted t…to help y…you guys reduce s..some of the s..stress I keep giving y..you. I wanted to h..help the situation for the f….first time to…today.”

”Nonsense,” Lucifer retorted, “all of the…stress and unpleasantness of this situation is not your fault. It’s the fault of that dip-shit father of yours and the giant murder party that is the Extermination system.

You are a…..ugh it’s so exhausting being honest for this long in a conversation……a genuinely interesting and…..from what I’ve seen and heard…..gentle person at heart. You are not causing any harm or stress to us.”

“Too right,” concurred Stolas.

”Yeah, kid, you’re not causing the mess we’re in,” said Blitzo, “we just need to think about how we can get out of it…then we can all think about what’s gonna happen with you, alright?”

Matthew, while still looking unsure whether to believe those words, looked up and muttered, “O..Okay if you say s…so.”

Lucifer, now standing up from his chair, stated, “Well, now that the musical interlude is over, I shall now send a reply to my brother who I’ve not had a full conversation with in decades in order to negotiate a satisfactory end to a highly volatile political situation that could threaten the lives of every being currently residing here in Hell.

No pressure.”

Chapter Text

Lucifer POV

Lucifer, with his trademark sense of flair (which is actually trademarked. Always have to be careful with Mammon always trying to rip off literally anything in order to gain a profit boost.), opened up his phone and dialled the number of his brother’s intermediary/personal assistant for situations such as this.

Everyone in the room held their breaths as the dial tone rang.

Ring.

Ring.

Rin….

“Hello, this is the assistant of Archangel Gabriel, how may I help you?”

”This is the one, the only, Lucifer Magne!! I’m just calling to inform my brother that I received his letter. Tell him that I wish to talk with him about a private political matter.”

”…and…..OK your message has been sent to Archangel Gabriel. Please wait a few moments before your call gets forwarded to him.”

Obnoxious elevator music begins to emanate from the phone.

”Ugh, this is torturrrrrrre! Literally. I have an entire section of the Greed Ring set up as a torture expo about all the new and inventive ways to torture people with elevator music.

Ironically enough, the actual elevator rides up to the expo itself has, instead of music, just a mega mixtape of all the torture victims. Everyone agrees it’s much less annoying.”

Matthew, uncharacteristically, snorted at that gag. For some reason that action seemed to elicit…a feeling in Lucifer’s chest. A unique sense of….satisfaction? For getting this guy to laugh? He rarely felt this type of feeling. The last time he remembered he did was……when he was back up above. Among his brothers in arms.

He would never publicly admit it but…..he missed those days a little.

Before he realised that his views on matters were diametrically opposed to that of God.

Back then….he could enjoy his brothers’ company. Make them laugh. Not having to worry about getting the advantage in any situation. True, he was very good at doing that…but it’s exhausting having to keep that up for centuries.

He was broken out of his thoughts by the grating music cutting out.

A few seconds later, a voice emanated from the phone.

”Hello, Lucifer. It has been….a long time since we last had a chat.”

”Why hello, Gabriel! I truly has been an age since we last talked to each other, pity it couldn’t be under less…delicate circumstances.”

”Indeed, while I wish we could…chat, I must insist we swiftly get the details for the meeting set up in order to get this done as quickly and effectively as possible. The most pressing detail, I must ask, is if the angel, identified as Matthew Rankin, is still alive.”

”Oh, he’s right here! I’ll put him on now to say Hi!”

He then held out his phone towards Matthew, who looked extremely nervous over having to talk to, most likely, one of the people he was taught to revere with the upmost respect (unless his shitty father also went the extra mile to disbarrage them out of the public eye.)

Both Stolas and Blitzo gave Matthew encouraging looks, which seemed to embolden him enough to shakily grab the phone and nervously state, “H…hello? This is M…Matthew. I’m still alive.”

”Well, that’s a relief! I honestly thought you would have been tortured either to death or beyond the point of coherency at this point. This will surely help our investigation into these matters.”

Lucifer (likely alongside Stolas and Blitzo) had the strange sudden urge to shout at Gabriel’s words for seemingly placing more importance on the situation rather than the actual feelings and wellbeing of the person most personally involved in it. Probably would have to file that thought away to figure it out later.

“Now,” Gabriel continued, “while normally I would simply ask you what your side of the story is concerning this…mess, I must insist that it should be done at the meeting point in roughly one week’s time. Partly, because both sides need to gather as much remaining evidence as possible on their respective ends and organise their questions and answers accordingly. The main reason, however, is based around the unreliability related to Lucifer’s end. While I would hope that he would tell the truth involving this matter, there is the high probability he would lie, manipulate or omit facts for his own ends. Either out of some Grand machination or just to be an annoying nuisance. No offence.”

"None taken. My 'Prince of Lies' title, while awesome, does hinder my credibility on the rare occasions I need to actually speak the truth." 

"So, in order to effectively prepare....countermeasures against lying on either side of the investigation, the meeting shall take place a week from today. In the meantime, have living quarters been provided for the angel for the interim period?" 

Ah...... 

It seemed no one here had thought of that yet. 

"Uh...," Matthew started, "M....maybe I could s...stay were I am? The people here are a...actually n......nice to me. Also it w....would reduce the r....risk of me being exposed to the public if I'm moved."

"Splendid! Now Lucifer, once you return to your residence I shall contact you again to further plan out the arrangements."

Lucifer, still holding out the phone, placed it back to his ear. "Sure thing, brother. And uh... It was good hearing from you?" he said, feeling weirdly uncomfortable saying it out loud. 

"Oh. It's um... always a suprise whenever I hear from you Lucifer. Let's hope this whole mess gets sorted out soon. Farewell."

The dial tone was then heard.

"So.....," said Blitzo, "What the fuck do we do now?" 

Chapter Text

Matthew POV

The noise. It wasn’t deafening anymore.

It was still there, right at edges of his senses, but he could actually say that….things were quiet.

He hadn’t truly experienced that for nearly four months. So now he could really appreciate….the awkward silence which had once again enveloped the room.

Lucifer was in the centre of the kitchen, pacing up and down, thinking over his answer to the imp’s question.

“Hmmmmm……… It’s likely that I should return to my palace soon, you know, to get all the evidence and information we have in this matter all organised. In the meantime, until the meeting occurs, it would be wise that Matthew remain on the grounds of the manor at all times. That should keep him safe from being exposed to the public. Can’t have a mob of pissed off demons wrecking the kid before we can fix this mess, now can we?”

The owl demon, while nodding in agreement, piped in, “Excuse me, but what should we tell our daughters? I would hope we would at least have the chance to speak with them about this matter, since it involves both us and the usage of our home. I understand if you want a complete lack of communication in order to stop any potential security leaks, but should….the worst come to pass during this meeting…we want to at least have the chance to talk with them.”

Lucifer closed his eyes in thought for a few moments.

Matthew looked down at his feet in shame and regret for putting these nice demons at risk because of him, as well as potentially causing them to be ripped from their children.

The imp seemed to notice his discomfort and started to pat him gently on the back.

At that moment, Lucifer came to his decision. He announced it by jumping on the table and declaring, dramatically (as seemingly always), “Sure thing! I’ll allow you two to contact your daughters about this situation. The amount of information you wish to give them shall be at your discretion.

I won’t need to worry about them accidentally babbling about all this. Your kids are actually among the very few children of nobles that I can tolerate. They’re relatively quiet and they don’t make complete asses of themselves every five minutes for idiotic cries for attention. (I still shudder when I remember the von Eldritch twins’ “yacht incident.”)

However, the means of communication must be utterly secure. It goes without saying that phone calls will simply not cut it.”

The bird demon, breathing a sigh of relief, stated, “Thank you, sir. I’ll set up a conversation with a spell I know. It involves communication through mirrors, like what other demons used in the old days to communicate with humans.”

“Good man. Now, with that taken care of, and my meeting times about to collide with each other like a pair of runaway trains, I’m off!”

Lucifer went towards the door, his entourage of assistants and guards following him (with some of them giving off muffled thanks to the staff who gave them some food on their way out, as well as one quiet grumble of having to lug around the boom box), the Flashback Projector being towed behind them. As all of his subordinates left the Manor, Lucifer remained by the open door.

He shouted back to the occupants of the kitchen, “Have a, relatively, nice time everyone. I’ll contact you guys if any new developments come up. Keep safe until this whole mess is sorted out!

And Matthew…….”

He looked right at Matthew, wearing that same look of concern that internally confused both former residents of Heaven.

”Everything will be…fine. Just…..try and have some fun while you stay here, OK?”

Matthew, still confused by both his words and that…look he’s been given all day, replied in a low voice, “OK.”

And with that, Lucifer Magne left the Manor.

Leaving Matthew and the two demons alone in the kitchen.

“So,” said the imp, “anyone want some coffee?”

Lucifer POV:

Well that was an emotionally draining, yet engaging experience.

Lucifer was rubbing his temples in thought in his limo on the way back to his palace.

This particular powder keg was gonna eat into a lot of his precious time set aside for meeting with Overlords, financiers and other nobles. Those last ones really get pissed off when he blows off their meetings. It truly bursts their bubbles of pompous ness and self importance.

This rescheduling should cause some really fun times down the line. Assuming the meeting with his brothers and that moronic general went well and didn’t kick off another brutal near endless war.

Speaking of which, he better check on his phone to see if Gabriel got back to him with any……….

Oh.

The phone showed a single text message.

From Gabriel.

Dear Brother,

I know you must be busy at the moment, preparing for our meeting after all, however I must inform you of a surprising development in this investigation.

It seems, for some reason that eludes me, that Father seems both aware and invested in how this investigation turns out. His full attention seems placed on our efforts. He even instructed me to share this information with you!

Not only that, and I do not say this lightly, it appears that he may wish to be personally and physically involved in matters should the need arises.

Just thought you should know,

Gabriel.

Chapter Text

Matthew POV

The offer of coffee hung in the air.

The owl demon, after a few seconds, humorously stated, “Well, after today I think I’ve had enough awkward silences to last a lifetime, which is saying a lot considering my life span encompasses several centuries.”

Matthew, once again, snorted a little at that joke.

The owl demon and the imp had a look on their faces when he did that. He couldn’t really tell how they felt. They didn’t seem mad, like most people were when he did that. They kind of had the same expression Lucifer had when we snorted earlier. They were smiling…..but their eyes. They looked both happy and sad? He honestly couldn’t tell. 

He replied to the offer of coffee, while looking down at the table, with a low “No, thank you.”

”Do you want anything to drink?” His tone bled with concern.

Don’t be a leech.

“I could take some w….water, please?”

“OK, I’m gonna head to the cupboards, chug some coffee like it’s beer at Oktoberfest, then get you some water.”

With that, the imp jumped down from his seat and walked towards the nearby cupboards.

While he was busy rummaging around, the owl demon scooted over towards Matthew.

“So….,” the owl demon asked, “do you have any ideas on what you could do while you’re staying here for the week?”

Matthew thought about it, not wanting to bother the demons that were allowing him to stay in their home.

”I have a c…couple ideas, and they mostly involve me s…staying in the g…guest room so I w….won’t be a bother to you while I s…stay here, s..sir.”

“First of all, don’t worry. You won’t be a bother to either of us. Secondly….while I can understand you may need some time alone to process all…..this happening around you,” he said while waving his hands around to emphasise his point, “but if you want to talk with us or do activities with us then that’s fine.”

”Yeah,” the imp interjected, between gulps of coffee while holding a glass of water in his other hand, “you can talk to us if you…gulp….need to get some shit off your chest. It would probably be…gulp…best if you got through…..gulp…your emotional baggage…gulp……in a healthy….gulp…way…..(BURP!). Fuck, that hit the spot!”

Matthew, hesitatingly, took the glass and replied, “T…Thank you, sir.”

”Don’t worry kid, you can call me…….oh shit! I just remembered that we haven’t told this kid our names.”

”Y…You don’t have to! It’s okay!”

”No, no,” interjected the owl demon, “it would help all of us in this situation if we all knew each other’s names.

My name is Prince Stolas of the Ars Goetia, but you can just call me Stolas.”

Great. I’m leeching off the generosity of someone in one of the most prestigious royal families in all of Hell. At least, I think so. It’s kind of hard to judge how accurate all those lessons on Hell’s hierarchy were, considering they were pretty much set up so those psychopaths could have more bragging rights if, by some stroke of immense dumb luck, they managed to kill one of them.

“And my name is Blitzo, the o is silent!”

What “o?” Also kind of odd for him to not say his surname. 

“Um…..t…thank you for s..sharing that information.”

Matthew then proceeded to drink the glass of water in one gulp, at which point he started to stand up from the table.

“Thank y…you again for the water. I’m g…going to try and s…stay in another room so you b….both can discuss what you want to d….do with me and that c…call you want to m…make.”

With that, Matthew left the kitchen, vaguely overhearing the imp….no…Blitz(o?) speaking.

”You know what I just realised? Even after all the emotionally draining shit we’ve done so far today? It’s not even fucking past Noon yet.”

Chapter Text

Loona POV

Well, today started off kinda shitty, and also weird.

Firstly, the shitty parts began when she had to wake up with a fucking annoying hangover (Note to self: murder the producers of Satan Brew brand beer).

Secondly, Octavia was low key worried all morning since their dumb-ass dads apparently got roped into some important and potentially dangerous shit on what was supposed to be a relaxing week for all of them. At least, that’s what they both knew at the moment.

They were both probably fine, right? Blitzo, despite being a horse obsessed dork who dotes on the both of them in the most embarrassing ways possible, was a genuinely good fighter and assassin (although she’ll never admit it in public). Stolas, despite somehow being an even bigger dork than Blitzo, was basically a being of immense and intimidating eldritch power (to such an extent it made her genuinely tense up whenever he got genuniely mad at someone, rare as that may be.)

Stolas’ message was vague on the specifics. It likely was due to some bullshit need for secrecy on whatever the fuck was going on. While Loona did understand those two wanting to keep them safe from potential repercussions caused by that information leaking, it still wasn’t worth seeing Octavia this tense and worried all morning. She had been fidgeting and checking her phone basically every minute to check if any news came in.

She hated seeing the girl who was practically her sister at this point anxious like this, so she tried to take both their minds off this by taking a trip to a bookstore Octavia liked before grabbing some lunch back at the hotel.

The weird stuff happened just after Noon.

They were back in their room, trying to watch some music documentary to kill some time, when she received a text.

From Blitzo.

On the one hand, it could contain the needed info to resolve both of their worries.

On the other hand, it could cause their anxiety to skyrocket by revealing some world threatening information.

The tricky part of discerning which type of news it was had been the fact that Blitzo was the one who sent the news. He couldn’t spell anything correctly if his life depended on it. Which it often did when he tried sending texts during jobs gone bad.  The message was in his usual garbled style as she showed it to Octavia.

Hilunnyandveea! Sooperrrseecrt meatng tayme! Yousss spell calld Gronitus Reflectae. Veea cn doo it.

Loona could barely make out what he wanted to tell them, but Octavia seemed to pick up on something.

”Look,” she said, “those words are a spell. I haven’t actually used the spell outside of the one or two lessons Dad taught me about them, but it’s basically like a video call but through two separate mirrors.”

”Yeah,” Loona concurred, “they probably want to tell us something and not risk the call being recorded or traced. Surprisingly smart move from the both of them.”

“Yes, that is surprising. Let’s set it up in the bathroom. The mirror is big enough and it should allow more privacy.”

Both girls then headed towards the bathroom, locked the door and started work on setting up the spell. That comprised of Octavia drawing a weird symbol on the mirror, using some complimentary toothpaste to draw it out, while chanting in Latin or something. She explained that the toothpaste would stay in its shape more efficiently than blood or other substances. Loona was often in mild awe of what Octavia could do with magic. Sure, she knew a few spells here and there, but Octavia was like a savant when it came to that stuff. The whole “having your dad be a being of raw magical power” thing probably helped in that regard.

After about a minute, the mirror glowed purple and the image on it changed to that of their dads, with expressions of relief on their faces, in what looked like the main hallway bathroom (Fuck, their house had a ton of bathrooms.).

“Oh Via and Loony!,” Stolas exclaimed, “I’m so glad to see your faces! It has been…..a very draining morning.”

”Yeah,” Blitzo piped in, “I’m so glad to see our girls having fun and being besties, but we do have to to tell you gals some…important shit.”

Yeah, Loona and Octavia were prepared, as well as they could have been, for whatever news they expected to be given.

Maybe someone had stolen the Grimoire of Worlds? Maybe some other nobles were trying to start some shit like a rebellion against Lucifer? Maybe some apocalyptic prophecy no heard about before that involves their dads from some bullshit reason?

They weren’t prepared for, or expecting, the answer they received.

Chapter Text

Octavia POV:

She couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

An angel? A fucking angel crashed into their home? Who is still there for some reason?!!! All this happened over fucking breakfast?!!!

What. The. Fuck?!

Octavia honestly expected some type of “end of the world” shit to be happening…..but nothing like this!

“Why the fuck is he staying there?! Doesn’t this guy need to be in….I don’t know….some secret bunker while he’s still alive for some reason?”

“Yeah,” Loona piped in, “I’m pretty sure that angelic asshole should be in someplace other than our fucking home, since, I don’t know, maybe the dozens of paparazzi which try to spy on us pretty much 24/7 might have seen him crash into our fucking garden like a meteor, who, based on the types of these people we’ve run into before, I don’t think would really care about the consequences about revealing what they would have seen to the masses!

They could cause a riot that would crash right through our home and burn in to the ground!”

“Don’t worry, Loony,” Blitzo replies, trying to sound reassuring, “even if anyone saw Matthew crashing down they won’t be able to do a thing. They would have to get through Lucifer’s spies and legal teams to reveal anything, at least, that’s what Stolas told me.”

Both Octavia and Loona visibly paled at Blitzo’s statement.

”Um, are you two alright? Was it something I said? Do I have something in my teeth? I can’t tell since you’re taking up the whole mirror so…”

“Blitzo…,” Octavia nervously stated, “you kind of just dropped a two very worrying points there. Firstly, Lucifer is involved in this? And….when you said an angel named Matthew crashed into our home….”

”Oh,” he said while slapping his head in a “duh” moment of realisation, “sorry, not that Matthew.”

”Phew….that’s somewhat of a relief. But….. there’s still the issue of Lucifer being involved. I mean…..if he was involved in all this, wouldn’t he have taken that angel with him? You know, to make a sure a potential security threat is under his direct watch?”

”Well, um….,” Stolas answered, “I think the reasons he allowed him to remain here include wanting to reduce the risk of him being discovered while being moved to a new location, as well as…Matthew seeming, relatively, at ease here.”

At ease? Why would they care about whether an angel was fucking comfortable? Maybe to stop him from getting pissed off and trying to attack them, but still…..

Loona also seemed to be thinking the same, as she then stated, “Why would you want that guy to feel fucking “at ease?” It’s an angel that could be planning to murder us all while we sleep or something. Did you guys actually interrogate him to find out what the fuck he wants?”

”We know why he landed here. When Lucifer arrived he brought a device that projected out Matthew’s memories for us to see. What we saw and discovered…..I…don’t feel fully comfortable sharing all of the details….but we learned that Matthew has no ill-intentions towards any of us. He’s not a spy, thief or an assassin.”

”Then why the fuck is he down here in the first place and why did he land in our garden?!”

“Well….again, I’m not sure I should disclose all the details on what he has done…and what was done to him.”

”Yeah,” Blitzo interjected, looking and sounding weirdly serious for once, “what we saw on that thing……I just feel bad for the kid.”

Octavia was confused and concerned by this information. Not just at the fact that Lucifer had a device that can “project” someone’s memories, but by the fact that both her dad and Blitzo were feeling sympathy for an angel! She couldn’t fathom why they would feel that way.

Her thoughts also began to take on a more worrying notion when she realised that they were also made uncomfortable by what they saw on this guy’s memories. If he could unsettle a hardened assassin and a primordial being that’s been alive for centuries……

What did they see? What did he do?

Loona…..looked uncomfortable. She was looking at the mirror, with an expression of….familiarity? Octavia couldn’t really tell, but she would probably ask Loona about it once the call was done. She didn’t like seeing her only real friend looking so….glum for some reason.

Loona then asked, her expression returning to its prior state of being slightly annoyed, “So….why the fuck is he still there? You, apparently, know he isn’t a threat and also, for some reason, don’t want to kill him. Why don’t you just hand him over to Lucifer to boot him back up to that cloudy shithole and be done with it?”

“It’s not that simple Loony Toony,” said Blitzo, in his typically caring but embarrassing tone of voice, “Lucifer, pompous dick that he is, is trying to negotiate with some of the Archangels about what to do with Matthew. They’re planning a meeting to discuss what’s gonna happen roughly a week from today. It’s probably gonna happen the day before you two come back from your concert tour fun time.”

“Why can’t we just come home?” Octavia interjected. “We could come back and figure all this shit out. Together.”

“No,” replied Stolas, firmly, “I want you and Loona to be safe and happy and away from all the risks of this situation. Especially the risks involving the meeting itself.”

”That’s right,” Blitzo added, “that meeting would involve me and Stolas tagging along to help talk shit out. It could go….badly. Especially with that shitstain general being there. Let’s just say that prick that’s gonna attend is probably the biggest, nastiest asshole I’ve ever seen. And I’ve worked with elephants at the circus.”

”Quite right,” concurred Stolas. “That shitheel will try and make this whole situation worse, no doubt.

I know you two want to help but it’s just too big of a risk. Rest assured, everything is going to work out fine.

I promise.”

Both Octavia and Loona looked at each other, eyes aching with worry.

It was as if they were talking to each other through the silence with their expressions alone.

We want to help. We should be there, together.

But it could put all of us in danger. They’ll be too busy worrying about us instead of fixing this shit.

You’re right. But I don’t like it.

“OK,” said Octavia, “we’ll stay here till this stuff is all figured out. We’ll stay out of trouble and take extra steps to avoid the media swarms more than usual. That won’t stop us from calling you idiots through this mirror to see how you’re doing, you know that right?”

“We wouldn’t have it any other way, my little Starfire.” replied Stolas, with a look of pride on his face.

All four members of this family placed their hands on the mirror, trying to touch the hands on the other side.

They didn’t physically succeed in that, but they did in spirit. At least, that’s what Octavia thought.

One thing she can say about this family, without a shadow of a doubt:

They would move Heaven and Hell to keep each other safe.

”Stay safe girls,” said Blitzo, “ and remember my one golden rule for a good time: anyone gives ya shit, punch em in the groin. Works every time to put a smile on my face and an asshole in the ER.”

The spell ended, the mirror shifting back into shaking the reflections of the owl and the hellhound.

”So……,” asked Loona, “You wanna order some lunch and watch a movie while we process this insane situation?”

”Yup,” replied Octavia, “but I’m totally downing a full litre bottle of Coke-a Kola while we watch and you can’t stop me.”

”That’s my girl!”

Chapter Text

Stolas POV:

The chat with Octavia and Loona did wonders to settle Stolas and Blitzo’s nerves. Their conversation also helped boost their confidence in sorting out this whole affair, in order to ensure their family’s continued safety.

That left them with one remaining issue……

What the fuck were they supposed to do while they wait for the meeting to take place?

They couldn’t really go outside the grounds of the Manor. They couldn’t risk inviting or calling anyone else (even though Blitzo complained about how he couldn’t gossip about all of this to his employees).

They could resume their movie marathon (primarily made up of horse centric movies for Blitzo and more space based movies for himself), but their selection may be limited since they had watched a lot of their available movies beforehand.

Where could they get……

Their attention was then diverted when they heard music emanating from Matthew’s guest room.

Ah yes, we also forgot about what we’re going to do about the PTSD riddled angel residing in our guest room.

The Cloverfield Paradox (The Cloverfield Paradox Soundtrack)

Both Stolas and Blitzo waited outside the closed door, listening to the music that was playing.

There seemed to be kind of a running theme in most of the music Matthew had been playing: orchestral, soothing, yet also somehow dark and ominous.

Stolas briefly thought to himself how Matthew blaring his music like that, presumably to drown out the “noise” in his head, reminded himself of how Octavia would play her music whenever he and Stella would get into arguments. It was a painful reminder of the times when her home life was from happy or healthy, despite his best efforts.

Once the music had finished, both demons entered the room. Matthew was laying on the bed, his knees once more curled up to his chest, his bag resting at his feet.

”H…Hello. Did the c…call go w..well?”

”Why, yes, it did.” replied Stolas, trying to look and sound reassuring. “We managed to inform our daughters about this….situation. So now we can all try and get through it. Together.”

”At the moment though,” Blitzo added, “we should all try and relax. Well, as much a we can, so we can clear our heads a bit so we can keep our collective shit together.

So, for the rest of the day, me and Stolas here are just gonna sit in the main lounge while we’re waiting for lunch and….I dunno…read a book? I just got the latest Guns N Ammo: Horseback Riders Edition and I’ve been itching to read that shit!

If you wanna join us, or just stay in here and do what you like, that’s fine. We can call for you when food’s ready, OK?”

Matthew replied, tapping his fingers nervously against his sides, “O..Okay. I’m j..just going to s…..stay here and r…read a book of my own, if that’s o…okay?”

”That’s totally fine kid.”

With that, both demons left the room, with Stolas giving a small reassuring wave on the way out.

In stark contrast to the rush of activity during Breakfast, the rest of the day went by at a brisk rate.

Lunch and dinner came and went without much drama. Or much conversation, as Matthew remained mostly quiet throughout both meals, only really communicating to say “t..thank you,” before retreating back to the guest room.

Stolas noticed that he seemed….better? He obviously hadn’t worked through his multitude of emotional issues and traumas over the course of a day….but he no longer looked utterly miserable. He just looked…..empty. There was still some tension in his motions while he was eating though. He was probably afraid to make any etiquette mistakes (probably another fear that was hammered into this boy by those pissbag parents of his.)

Once the night had finally come and the exhaustion caused by the day’s events had finally caught up with them, both Stolas and Blitzo made their way to their bedroom to pack it in for the night. Before they reached their room, they made a detour to Matthew’s guest room to check up on him one last time, for the day. There wasn’t any music playing. He was just sitting up on the bed, under the covers, still wearing his ripped suit.

(One oversight on their part was the lack of other clothing options for Matthew, since most of the clothes both demons wore were either too large or too comically small for him.)

Stolas stated, ”We’re heading off to bed now. We just wanted to see how you were doing and say good night. We have…..a very long week ahead of us.”

“Um…..okay,” Matthew replied with a murmur, “w….would it b….be too much to a…ask to be h..hit with a sl…..sleep spell again? I….I don’t know if I c……”

”Oh, it’s fine. I’ll cast it in a second.”

”Thank you,” Matthew breathed out, “I….It’s kind of w….weird…..hearing that….I c…can’t remember the l…last time someone w…wished me good n…night…”

Both Stolas and Blitzo were busy processing internally yet another soul crushing statement from this kid, while the spell was cast. Once again, it hit Matthew’s head, which in turn, hit the pillow.

”Why….,” Blitzo stated quietly, that look of concern etched onto his face once more, “why does every sentence out of that kid break my heart a little?”

Both demons contemplated that question as they, finally, made their way to their bed to get some damn sleep.

Matthew POV:

Matthew woke up in complete darkness. No bed. No room. Just an endless void.

Yep. Definitely in a nightmare.

Matthew wasn’t an idiot. This place was obviously a metaphor for….at least one of the many things wrong with him, that was set dressing made by his brain in order to be part of its nightly routine to mentally torture him before he awoke the next morning.

I’ve been through this shit for my entire life, especially after the last Extermination.

Yet….something was a little off.

He hadn’t ended up in a void before. He always started these nightmares right in the thick of things. Pools of blood (black or red), battlefields, actual torture rooms if his brain felt lazy when coming up with scenarios.

He always took it with silence (excluding all the gagging or crying, of course), since he didn’t really have much to say to himself about all of this. He already knew he was a terrible person.

But during this nightmare……blame it on the fact he went to sleep at a semi reasonable time. Blame it on having just relived his most horrific memories and actions in front of an audience. Blame it on the fact he was technically “free.” Blame it on the fact he had met and talked to people who actually made the effort to be nice to him for the first time in nearly two decades…..

He started to talk. More accurately, ranting and yelling at the void (which was pretty much just him yelling at himself).

”What are you waiting for?!!! You’re trying to be sophisticated all of a sudden in how you’re trying to torture me. Oh look, an empty void to represent my empty life. How bloody original!!!! Try something new for once!!

I get it!!!!! I’m not a hero. Not even close. I’m a monster. I’m a psychopath who lived with even worse psychopaths in a system that presented murder and mutilation as fucking “God’s Work!!”

I can’t fix any of that!! I can see what’s wrong and I can’t do shit about it!!!

So come on!!! Gimme your best shot!!

We both know I deserve it.”

Matthew would soon regret that tirade.

He felt his legs being suddenly tugged upon. He looked down…..and the ground was gone.

He fell….again.

The landing was somehow worse than his first.

There was suddenly a cage around him. Raw meat scattered around its floor. An outside the bars….a music box.

Nonononono….he remembers this place. He knows what’s coming.

Have to grab it! Take it before…..

A boot came down on his outstretched hand, while another hand picked up the music box.

He knew who it was. Only one person he knew wore a cape that gaudy…

When he spoke, it wasn’t his voice. It was someone else Matthew knew very well.

I replayed his part so many times…..but never in front of any of them. Couldn’t give them any ideas…

“Did you think you were free?”

He was holding the music box, starting to twist its lever.

”I told you…you’re not a hero. You are a tool. A tool who’s about to fulfil their purpose. You’ve known it from the start.”

Nononononononono….

It began to play.

…..only…you……….

Chapter Text

Matthew POV:

Red. The world was red. Screams of pain and howls echoed through the room.

Fight. Kill. Survive. Repeat.

Don't think. Act. Kill or be killed.

Voice echoed through the halls. Still not “father’s” voice.

”I cull the herd. It’s what I do.”

”The weak must be culled.”

Music bleeding through the soundscape into my head.

Only You (The Platters)

Angels popped up. Holding swords, spear….bats?

Couldn't stop. Move forward.

No.

Reach the End.

I know what’s at the end.

Wolves snarling and growling in my head,

I can’t stop it.

Cull the herd.

Sacrifice the weak.

Please nonononono…..

Last room.

Gunfire. Two shooters.

Cull the weak.

Don’t.

Blindfire. Shot from door.

Two shots. Cross threshold.

Time stops.

No.

nononononononononononononono

The two nice demons. Stolas and Blitzo.

Shot in the head. Falling back, blood spray frozen in place.

Myfaultmyfaultmyfault

Couldn’t move.

Myfaultmyfaultmyfault

He walks by. Whistling the tune….

”Only you….can make the darkness bright…. Only you……… Hey, it’s true. Only you could have gotten this close. Only you could have gained their trust. It was always only ever you.

Good job. You did it. You passed your test. You made your sacrifice.

But now, you’re alone. Now you’re weak.

And we both know what happens to the weak.”

He was gone.

They were still there.

MyfaultmyfaultmyfaultMYFAULTMYFAULT!!!!

Frozen.

MyfaultmyfaultmyfaultMYFAULTMYFAULT!!!!

Bleeding.

MyfaultmyfaultmyfaultMYFAULTMYFAULT!!!!

Dying.

MyfaultmyfaultmyfaultMYFAULTMYFAULT!!!!

He woke up with a scream.

It’s……..it’s fine. It wasn’t real.

Sweat and some tears dropped down his face, his breathing coming out ragged and panicked.

They’re okay.

You didn’t….do anything. They’re not dead because of you.

Yet.

That thought kept repeating around in his head, hammering into his brain.

They are going to die because of you.

You’re a psychopathic killer who pissed off an army of even worse psychopaths.

Either you’re going to kill these nice people and rip them away from their families because you’re a monster, or that douchebag father of yours will. Either by himself out of spite or stupidity, or by starting another fucking war with Hell because he’s that much of an idiot.

You’re not a good person.

You’re a time bomb. Waiting to go off.

Tick…Tick….Tick…..

Boom.

He……needed to drown it out. To make it stop. Like always.

Captain Marvel (Captain Marvel Soundtrack)

The song was epic. Grandiose. Pulse pounding…….

Heroic.

So very much unlike me.

Matthew then spent the next 15 minutes trying to go back to sleep, sniffling and shaking throughout it.

He was trying not to cry again.

He didn’t want to disturb either of them.

He felt it was the least he could do. To not be anymore of a bother.

Meanwhile…..

Octavia POV:

She was back in the manor. It was so dark, no lights on anywhere.

How’d she get here? Where is everyone?

”Dad! Loona! Blitzo!”

No, No! They should be here.

The walls of the manor seemed to stretch upwards, making the hallway seem monolithic in size, leaving her as just a speck within it.

Her cries for her family echoed endlessly throughout it.

She..she didn’t want to be alone. They promised….

She saw a light. In a room along the hallway.

Sounds were emanating from it. They sounded like…slicing and gurgling.

She ran, as fast and as hard as she could but the hallway stretched and contorted along, moving the door further and further….until the sounds stopped.

She rushed through the door……..

They were dead.

Cut apart. Black blood and guts splattered all across the room.

She was staring to gag in her own tears and cries of anguish when she saw him.

The angel. In full Exterminator armour. Holding an spear dripping with black blood. That…unsettling glowing mask stained with viscera.

He looked at the corpses of her family, the people she loved the most in this entire universe, looked back at her….

And started to laugh.

Slowly at first, then more and more deranged and manic.

Then he stopped. And flew away.

Leaving her……

Alone.

Chapter Text

Octavia POV:

Octavia shot up from her bed, gasping and panicking.

Loona, easily hearing her distress, also quickly shot up. She jumped over to her bed, trying to calm her down while checking for any injuries on her and looking for any intruders.

“Via! Via! Are you OK? Are you hurt?! Did some asshole get in?”

“No, n…no I’m fine. It was….it was nothing.”

”Bullshit. You sound like you’re having a heart attack! You’re not having a heart attack, are you?!”

“No, it’s just……ugh this is embarassing…. I had a nightmare.”

Octavia, despite knowing how good of a friend Loona is, honestly expected some judgemental reaction to her having a bloody night terror, like a scared little kid….but she didn’t.

Instead, Loona just sat there, looked her in the eye, and asked, “Do you wanna talk about it?”

”Umm….I don’t know. It’s just…embarrassing, you know?” Said Octavia, rubbing the back of her head in embarrassment.

”No, it’s not embarrassing to have a fucking nightmare. You can talk to me.”

“….Fine,” Octavia said quietly, sitting up straighter, “It was….about that fucking angel staying in our home. In it, he…he killed you. And dad and Blitzo. He…He ripped you all apart and I couldn’t do shit about it. Then he laughed and flew away.

Then I was alone…….”

Tears were starting to fall as Octavia continued on, while Loona listened silently.

”I…I just felt so…..powerless. Useless.

I couldn’t save….any of you…and I just……can’t handle you and them being out of my life.

I’m so…bloody scared that……while we’re here at some fucking concert, some angelic douchebag could be killing our dads right as we speak and I can’t do shit to stop it!!!!”

At this point, Octavia was just crying, while Loona was embracing her in a hug, repeatedly assuring her, “It’s okay. It’s okay.”

After a few minutes, the crying had subsided into some dry heaves and the occasional sniffle, as Octavia slowly gained back some modicum of composure. Once Octavia was…somewhat calm, Loona placed her hands on her shoulders and looked her directly in the eyes.

“Listen to me, Via. Our dads are gonna be fine. Dorks that they are, they wouldn’t let that asshole get close enough to do anything to them or us if he’s fucking dumb enough to try.

I’ll admit, it’s a bit weird that they seem…concerned for that guys well-being for some fucking reason. That expression Blitzo had….. But they will be okay. We can check up on them in the morning with that magic mirror shit.

They’ll be OK. You’ll be OK.

We’re going to get through this shit.

Together.”

Octavia looked at the person in front of her, her only true friend in the world, with a look of slight awe and a growing feeling of calmness and determination.

“Okay,” she responded, her throat still hoarse from crying, “OK. I…I’ll be OK. Thanks. It’s still surprising to me that I actually have a friend now….especially one as awesome as you.”

”Likewise,” Loona responded, flashing a grin, “Now, let’s try and go back to sleep so we can be fresh faced and ready for whatever shit we have to deal with tomorrow.”

As both demons went back to their beds, Octavia kept thinking about the potential threat to her family and the panic that created, but that thought was getting smaller and smaller, as she was drifting off back to sleep.

Eventually, it was at the very back of her mind. It still made her, understandably, uneasy. But the train of thought that now dominated her mind was what she was pondering the previous night, about fixed, important moments in time.

An event like this…with an angel in their home….some meeting that could be cataclysmically dangerous and important…

It seemed like one of those times, where her actions, and the actions of her family, during some potentially world changing event will determine their fates going forward.

As she drifted off to a slightly restless sleep, she thought about what she would do to ensure her family’s safety in the face of all of this

She wasn’t going to lose anyone. They will be fine.

No matter what it takes.

Chapter Text

A dark alley.

Filth, garbage and the occasional bloodstain littered the darkened pavement. Graffiti etched along every wall.

A dark figure strolled down the empty street, briefcase in hand, occasionally glancing behind himself to make sure he wasn’t being tailed.

He eventually came to a stop at a flickering, dim lamppost that barely illuminated the area directly below the bulb. He leaned against the metal pole….and waited.

His buyer was late.

15 fucking minutes late.

He was putting his ass on the line here, doing a deal out on the streets, selling a product that, in all honesty, doesn’t even seem worth the risk…..

His buyer was arriving. Strolling up the street at a leisurely pace. The jangle of spurs loudly echoing through the empty place.

”Piece of advice,” the demon said in an annoyed tone, moving up off the pole and heading towards his buyer, “Don’t wear loud fucking cowboy boots during a shady back-alley deal. Have you even heard of subtlety?”

“I didn’t ask for your opinions on my fashion sense,” replied the buyer, stopping just ahead of him, his tail rattling like a snake, “Now, are we doing this or do I have to find someone else to give my hard earned cash to?”

“Yeah, yeah, not like I’ve heard that line eighty times before. Let’s just get this over with. Show me the cash and I’ll show you the item. We can both look over them to ensure their authenticity, do the exchange and then go our separate ways no worse for wear.”

The buyer, beginning to reach into his pocket, paused, flash a look of suspicion and wariness, and asked, “You’re not hiking up the price, are you?”

”What do you take me for, some kind of moron? The price is still the same! We’re in fucking Hell, dishonesty in business is all well and good for tricking some poor schmuck who’s unprepared and doesn’t know better. But down here, everyone expects it and is able and willing to murder people who try to screw them over!

I don’t want to be murdered for some extra cash. So, the way I see it, I need to conduct my business with some sense of fairness so no-one gets angry about getting a bum deal and goes on a revenge spree against me.”

”…..Fair enough,” came the reply, “Here’s the cash. Now….show me.”

The demon opened the briefcase, showing the buyer the runic technology, faintly glowing purple in the low light.

The buyer flashed a grin, his golden tooth reflecting the purple light emanating from the case.

”Perfect.”

The cash was handed off. The case was handed over.

Both demons carefully checked their new items, making sure no foul play had occurred.

”Well…the case ain’t boobytrapped.”

”And your money is both real and in the correct amount.”

”You know…I honestly expected some backstabbing during all this. But you may have actually upped my faith in customer service.”

”Same to you in not trying to skimp payment by murdering me.”

”Yeah…,” replied the buyer, swishing his tail around in thought and seeming anticipation to use that new tech, “I honestly just didn’t want to deal with havin’ to chop up and dump your body afterward. This jacket doesn’t exactly need anymore bloodstains than there already is.”

“Well. On that cheerful mental image of my corpse being chopped into pieces….. Time to head off. Hope to never see you again.”

“Likewise,” the buyer stated, tipping his large hat forward. 

As both demons headed off in their opposite directions, the buyer took another look at the new piece of tech he had just acquired.

A runic attachment. Pretty much useless on its own and only having very limited uses. Very low risk on anyone’s list of potentially dangerous items…..

It can imbue an object with a magic dampening field, just strong enough to take out….say….a personal forcefield.

It’s usage is all limited by the fact that only a very small item can be imbued with this property.

Like….for example…a sniper round.

“OK, little guy,” Striker mused to himself, heading to ward his flaming horse Bombproof, his reins tied to a lamppost, “I’d say it’ll be pretty soon when you’ll help me kill a certain annoying rich bird bitch and a pathetic little owlfucker.”

Striker readied his horse and rode down the streets of Imp City, bobbing and weaving through cars locked in gridlock.

His destination:

Goetia Manor.

Chapter Text

Matthew POV:

A new day dawns.

A fitful and futile attempt at sleep had finally ended with Matthew blearily opening his eyes.

”Good morning constant pain that surrounds my existence,” muttered the angel as he wiped the sleep from his eyes.

He sat up in the bed, stretching the stiffness out of his arms.

He got up, rubbed the creases and wrinkles out of the suit he was still wearing, (Note to self: ask about deodorant and if they allow its usage. Going to use a lot of it this week to compensate for wearing the same article of clothing during that stretch of time. Especially before the meeting.)

Once he was up, Matthew looked at the room's clock, saw that it was around 6 AM, and remembering that the nice demons Stolas and Blitzo woke him up at 8 AM the previous day, figured he should wait the remaining 2 hours before trying to leave the room.

You don’t want to be rude to your hosts who were being nice to you for no discernible reason considering you’re a monster and all….

Trying to shake that last thought out his head, he went to open his bag and took out his Infinitum USB. He figured he could kill some time by watching a movie or a show.

Might as well binge something, since it’s likely my last week alive and I won’t be able to see or enjoy anything else when I reach……..

Where would I go?

It’s weird seeing human media where they question where would they go when they die. Most angels and likely most demons would laugh at that uncertainty.

But when an angel or demons is erased…….No-one really has any clue. It could be just….nothing. Just your consciousness floating in an empty void…..forever.

With that pleasant thought now present in his mind instead, he inserted the USB into the small TV, and pressed the tab for Human made TV shows. 

While searching through the vast options of shows at his disposal for nearly half an hour, once again plagued by the eternal dilemma of having too many options for entertainment, he reached an answer that he has reached many times before:

Screw it. I’ll just binge watch Punisher again.

An hour and a half later…

Blitzo POV:

When Blitzo and Stolas awoke, they honestly expected….something to have happened while they slept.

Considering the rollercoaster that was the last two days, it was understandable for them to expect another insane twist of their fates to occur once more.

But no. No wolrd shattering events had happened while they were sleeping.

”Thank fuck,” Blitzo stated, stretching himself out on the bed like cat, “at least we had some respite from this fucking insane shit that’s happening to us.”

“Quite right,” replied his lover, heading towards their wardrobe to get dressed.

”We should probably go check on the kid before we start breakfast, see how he slept last night.”

”That would be best. I’m pretty sure I heard him loudly gasp awake at some point. I hope whatever nightmare he had wasn’t too bad….”

Both demons were saddened at the thought of Matthew going through such an ordeal, but weren’t too surprised. It would take more than just a day for all of his trauma and insecurities to have been come to terms with.

After both demons got dressed, they made their way down the halls to the guest room, faintly hearing what sounded like the TV emanating from behind the door. 

Blitzo tentatively knocked a few times on the door, before announcing,”Um..Kid? We’re up. Could we come in to see how you’re doing?”

The sounds abruptly stopped, and after a couple seconds passed, a tentative, “Y…Yeah. That’s f…fine.”

When Blitzo went to open the door, he couldn’t budge the lock, no matter how hard and dramatically he yanked at it.

”Oh! Sorry Blitzy, I completely forgot I used a locking spell on the door last night,” Stolas piped in, face slightly red with embarrassment, “It’s set up so no-one can enter the room, but Matthew could open it from his end.”

“Kind of weird, lockin’ a door only from the outside. Kinda defeats some of the purpose of keeping the kid safe in the room.”

”Well, I set it up that way mainly because I wanted him to feel less…..oppressed by our measures to keep him safe.  I wanted him to be able to come and go as he wishes, so he could come to us for  any help he needs. 

Also…you know….he would need to door unlocked so he could use the bathroom, right?”

”Firstly, I agree with and respect your choices to allow the kid some options while he’s here.

Secondly, like every time you’re all caring and shit, it makes you even more fucking hot.

Finally……do angels need to take a shit? Are they physically able to?”

Both demons pondered that strange question, when they entered the room to find Matthew sitting up on the bed, fidgeting with the TV remote in his hands. His eyes were flitting between the two demons and the TV screen.

”H..Hello, sirs.”

“Hi, Matthew. Did you…sleep OK?”

”…….It was…..fine.” Both demons quickly shot another look of concern at each other over the angel’s statement.

Matthew took notice of it and seemingly tried to deflect their attention on it.

“I..I hope your sleep was n…nice.”

“It was quite nice, wasn’t it Blitzy?”

“Fuck yeah it was. I had a fucking great dream. It was another one where everyone is a horse, Stolas. Everyone! The horse version of you….(whistle).What I would have given to make that shit happen, if you hadn’t told me the spell to make that a reality was too “mystically unstable,” or some shit….”

“Oh Blitzy…,” Stolas cooed, taking Blitzo up into his arms, “While we can’t do the spell…we can always use your Spirit costume…”

“You always know what to say babe…..,” Blitzo replied, pressing their faces close together while stroking Stolas’ chin.

After about 15 seconds of unbroken, heated romantic tension that would have most definitely resulted in a tongue-filled display of passion….

They remembered the other person in the room.

Who looked….uncomfortable with their displays of affection.

Blitzo was quickly, but safely, dropped to the ground, as both demons coughed into their hands.

”So…..,” Stolas awkwardly breathed out, “Breakfast anyone?”

Chapter Text

Stolas POV:

He didn’t know why he cared about how Matthew saw his relationship with his darling Blitzy.

Both he and Blitzo understood why most people were…put off by their showcases of affection towards each other. Their intensity was very noticeable and, admittedly, quite distracting to a fair amount of people. 

But both of them were fine to let most people be turned away by their actions. Their love for each other makes them feel complete, in ways both couldn’t truly articulate with words. Stolas tried to use words at the start of their relationship…..Blitzo and his phones couldn’t really handle it.

For the both of them, it could only be truly expressed through action!! 

Heated, loud and repetitive action. 

Oh, all the amazing nights they spent together……

And days…..and weeks……

2 weeks. Their record. That’s all he’s gonna say.

He knew what his daughter thought of their interactions. He knew she was happy with the both of them being together…but her reactions to their passion was a mixture of annoyance and overdramatic disgust. He knew she approved of his darling Blitzy, despite the time it took for her to accept their relationship. Especially considering….Stella’s reactions.

Loona’s reactions were quite similar to Octavia’s, albeit with louder protestations against him and Blitzo making out on the table during breakfast.

He understood and accepted how they saw his relationship.

Apart from Octavia and Loona, he didn’t really care for anyone else’s opinions of his relationship anyway. The other Goetia royalty? Screw them and their backwards, elitist snobbery! The media (especially that bitch Katie Killjoy)? Screw them and their desperate attempts to stir up controversy!

Matthew?…..He wasn’t quite sure.

Stolas, for whatever reason, wanted him to be positive, or at least understanding of his feelings for his darling little imp.

Maybe he was taught to despise the lower class mingling with the upper class? (could be possible, considering how his parents seemed like somehow even more insufferable snobs than the other nobility in Hell.)

Maybe he was taught that unmarried sex is an abomination? (Could also be possible…or angels may be iffy on sex as a whole. He couldn’t really be sure on that.)

Maybe he was taught…..he wasn’t really sure if it was actually considered a sin, but……No. No, that isn’t the case. Right?

Stolas pushed those thoughts aside as he, Blitzo and Matthew made their way to the kitchen for breakfast, Matthew staying behind the two of them. He probably needed to follow them since he didn’t really know the layout yet.

As all three of them sat down, two servants came and presented the breakfasts for that morning.

They were usually very professional, but having to serve an angel was, understandably, making them nervous and mildly terrified.

Their fears seemed to have been eased somewhat when Matthew shakily took his bowl of cereal and replied with low “Thank you,” and then proceeding to slowly eat away at the cereal.

After about two minutes of awkward silence, Stolas, wishing to end these stretches that seemed to be cropping up more and more frequently, spoke up.

”Well, Matthew…are you enjoying your breakfast this morning?”

”Y…Yes, sir…um….S..Stolas. Once again, thank you and your…..um…..partner?…for your k….kindness d…during…..all of th…this mess I’m c…causing.”

“You’re welcome, and like we said yesterday this…situation is not your fault.”

”Yeah,” piped in Blitzo, “all the potentially dangerous shit that could happen ain’t gonna be caused by you. Ten bucks says your douchebag dad will throw a near apocalyptic hissy fit before we can figure all this out.”

Matthew didn’t verbally respond to that. He instead just made a tilting motion with his head which Stolas, thanks to having to raise a teenager, understood as meaning “I still blame myself for this situation no matter what you say to reassure and comfort me but I appreciate the effort.”

Breakfast continued after that in a somewhat comfortable silence, broken up by Blitzo gulping down the milk in his bowl on one long gulp and the accompanying belch.

The conversation picked up again when Matthew, his foot rapidly tapping on the floor, nervously asked, “Um…C…Can I ask y..you a q…question, S…Stolas?”

”Oh. Okay. What do you want to ask?”

“I’m a little c….confused about the s….specifics of y…your r….relationship with B…Blitzo. I..I don’t want to p….pry into any private m…matters, I’m j…just a little c…curious and also so I d….don’t mislabel y…your re….relationship w….when we t….talk with each o…other. That’s why I said y…you w…were p…partners, as t…that’s a pretty g…general term.”

Both demons were internally relieved to an extent at Matthew’s lack of visible hostility to their relationship, and understood his curiosity….but they were both drawing a blank on how to succinctly define their complicated past and their slightly less complicated present state in a specific “term.”

“Well, uh,” Stolas stammered, “my relationship and history with Blitzo is…complicated but to put it in a simple term, We are…..”

Both demons racked their brains for about twenty seconds before they both answered at the same time:

”Boyfriends.”

”Fuck buddies who emotionally support each other.”

Chapter Text

Stolas POV:

Stolas loves Blitzo. He really, really does.

But there are times when his darling little imp says some of the strangest or dumbest things he has ever heard. Or both. And this is coming from a being of strange, unfathomable eldritch power and knowledge.

Stolas was currently half heartedly glaring at Blitzo for his answer, while Blitzo himself had a completely straight face.

Matthew had a look of surprise, discomfort and confusion all rolled into one.

Stolas, in a slightly embarrassed tone, stated, “While I believe the term Blitzo used is accurate, in a way, of describing our relationship, I think my wording of it is more…appropriate.”

“Y..Yes. I think it’s more a…appropriate as w…well. Mainly b..because it has no chance of c…coming off as ac….accidentally d…derogatory, unlike the….o…other option.”

”Yeah, that’s fair kid,” replied Blitzo, “so…you’re totally cool with…..us?” He accentuated his question by gesturing his hands back and forth between himself and Stolas.

”Y..Yes. I don’t want to j…judge people or m…make them feel b..bad about their r…relationships. If I s…seem uncomfortable, it’s m…mainly b…because I haven’t r…really in…interacted with an af…affectionate c…couple like you t..two before.”

“What do you mean?” Asked Stolas, confused and only slightly worried at his phrasing.

“W…What I mean is, I h…haven’t really s…seen a relationship as af….affectionate as yours up in H..Heaven. All the ones i s…saw were just snooty rich people barely having any visible sense of care towards their partners while only seeming to care about their relationships gaining them more status and influence. I can’t even remember the last time my…..parents…..actually bothered to hug each other. I suppose their relationship is relatively healthy, considering they’re  pretty much perfectly synchronised in their decisions. Too bad those decisions were to be the absolute worst.”

Both Stolas and Blitzo were slightly surprised at Matthew’s openness on his views on the relationships he grew up witnessing, but they weren’t really surprised that wealthy, pompous nobles in Heaven acted pretty much the same in their relations with each other as the ones down on Hell and, likely, Earth.

His descriptions dredged up Stolas’ memories of how the relationship between him and Stella, and even his own parents, were. The lack of any real, evident physical affection for each other, the quick, professional kisses on the cheek during formal events and the fairly stilted pleasantries that were exchanged with earshot of guests to showcase their “strength.”

“Huh,” Matthew said suddenly, breaking Stolas out of his thoughts, his tone conveying a sense of realisation.

“I j…just picked up on s…something.

I st…stop stuttering when I’m talking about…them. When I’m angry. When all I can think about is what I did wrong.”

That realisation caused the room to be uncomfortably silent once more.

Matthew’s expression was once again fairly dour, his foot tapping on the marble floors, his breathing, while initially low, was starting to slowly pick up in speed.

Blitzo, sensing another panic attack about to occur, suggested, “Hey, Kid. Maybe you should put on some of your tunes? It might calm you down again, OK?”

”T…Thanks,” came the quiet reply.

A Hole in the World: Intro (Dishonored: Death of the Outsider Soundtrack)

The music, in comparison to the others, was much shorter but seemed quite atmospheric.

Its effect was, however, the same as the other music choices, as Matthew’s breathing returned to normal and his expression became somewhat more positive.

”S…So….do you t…two have any p….plans for today?”

“Why yes, we do,” Stolas answered, “Blitzo and I are going to send another message to our daughters in a few minutes. Then, I’m going to head to the greenhouse to check on my plants. Can’t let them get too thirsty or hungry. The last time that happened….how many house were destroyed during the rampage, again?”

”Twelve,” replied Blitzo, in a deadpan tone.

”Ah yes, twelve. Our lawyers were not happy on that one, let me tell you.”

By the way Matthew was nervously laughing at that statement, he probably thought it was joke.

It was probably best to keep it that way. For his own peace of mind.

Chapter Text

Blitzo POV:

Blitzo loved seeing Stolas like this. Giddy and clapping his hands at the thought of doing something he loves. That usually was attending his garden, stargazing or hanging out with Octavia. The only time Blitzo didn’t really appreciate Stolas being excited about something, it was when he was watching that shitty Hell-a Novella show at max volume.

Speaking of Octavia, both demons were heading to the bathroom to use that weird mirror video call thing to tell their daughters that they were alright. They were probably still freaking out over the fact Matthew was still in the house overnight. That would be an understandable reaction, based on the amount of information they knew….but Blitzo just didn’t feel confident not only in properly conveying what he learned about Matthew’s past, but also dealing with those weird conflicting feelings that slammed into his head every time he talked with the kid. Those weirdly…..familiar feelings….

Blitzo shook his head to get that shit off his mind, he was trying to focus on talking with his kids and trying to keep them calm during a truly fucked up situation, damnit. They strode along the hallway to the bathroom where the spell was set up, Blitzo clambering onto the step they had installed so he could reach sink height. One of the few downsides to moving in with Stolas was having to figure out some adjustments like this due to most of the furnitures and amenities in the manor being designed to be “giant owl noble” height.

Stolas tapped on the circle still present on the mirror, causing it to glow purple interrmitingly. This was done so the circle in the hotel room would glow the same to notify the girls that they were ready to talk. After about a minute the mirror shifted, like before, and showed them the image of their beloved daughters. Blitzo still couldn’t fully express how much joy came from the fact that Loona had an actual friend! All the fun times and emotional support she can have! And the best part…

Her first friend isn’t a boy! No need for Blitzo to fear some douchebag trying to take advantage of his precious Looney Toony!

Blitzo was pulled from his thoughts by Octavia beginning the conversation with a panicked, “Are you guys OK? Are you alright? Did that asshole try to pull anything?”

”We’re alright, Via. Nothing bad happened.”, soothed Stolas. 

"Whew. Thank fuck for that.", came the collective response from a now much more calm looking Octavia and Loona.

“Yeah, we had a good rest last night. Breakfast was fine too....apart from when the kid got sad again.. I still feel bad for him."

”Why the hell are you’re feeling sad for that guy,” asked Loona incredulously, “and why do you keep calling him kid?”

”Oh. Must have forgot to mention it, but Matthew’s about Via’s age.”

That seemed to cause a reaction. Both Octavia and Loona had a look of surprise on their faces. They probably expected someone older, probably an ageless being like Stolas. It was likely they didn’t expect someone who was practically still a teenager to crash into their house.

“My age….” Octavia said quietly, her face slowly growing more concerned about the situation. "Last night...you said some bad things happened to him....What exactly did you mean?" 

"Again, Via, I just don't think we can explain it well enough at the moment."

"OK... Just... I still find this whole situation so fucking weird."

"Us too, Via," added Stolas, "Us too." 

After a few more minutes of slightly strained pleasantries and assurances of each others' safety, their daughters said goodbye, and the mirror returned to normal. 

"So...," Blitzo awkwardly began, "What do you think we'll be doing today babe?" 

"Firstly," said Stolas, "I'm going to head out to the garden and tend to the plants. Can't let them get too unsettled now can we? The acid spewing lotuses most especially. In the meantime.... Would you mind staying with Matthew in the main room? Maybe keep him company and try to help him settle in a little for the week ahead?"

"Oh yeah, sure. That's fine. I can talk to the kid about.... I don't know... Maybe one of the shows he likes? Maybe I can tell him a few jokes about some of my weirder jobs to help him be at ease for a wh...... Ooooooo.." Blitzo trailed off as a concerned expression spread across his face. 

"Blitzy," Stolas worriedly asked, "what's wrong?" 

"Considering his whole 'being from Heaven deal' and probably having an intense emotional crisis over killing in general... I probably shouldn't tell him I'm an assassin, now should I?"

Chapter Text

Bltizo POV:

Yeah.... Blitzo had a problem. He hadn't really thought before about whether he would mention his work at I.M.P. to Matthew. The concern that was now festering and growing in his mind, however, had now made him realise the risks involved in telling him.

There was the obvious concern about telling someone from Heaven that he illegally travelled to Earth to kill humans for money. 6 days before entering a meeting with some of the head honchos of Heaven. The reason that him and his crew could keep doing their jobs was through the higher ups in all three realms not being involved. Lucifer probably knew, but he either enjoyed the sowing of (relatively) small scale chaos or just didn’t really give a shit. The human government probably didn’t know (especially since him and Stolas paid a return visit to the D.H.O.R.K.S. to get their footage destroyed and to “convince“ them to keep their mouths shut). But the higher ups in Heaven didn’t seem to notice them. He knew that cause if they ever did find out they’d strike them down the moment they next showed up on Earth. While Blitzo didn’t think Matthew was a full on stickler for all to Heaven’s rules, given his overall disdain for the place, it still could be a risk that he could blab about it to those pricks at the meeting. 

There was also the concern over how Matthew would react due to his thoughts on violence against others as a whole. Considering a lot of his trauma was based around being forced to kill someone for basically no good reason other due to the threats made by those scumbag brothers of his, Blitzo revealing himself as a hired killer who took out unarmed (mostly) humans on the behest of demon clients for the purpose of revenge... Could be a hard pill for the kid to swallow.

However, Blitzo was still somewhat hopeful that even if Matthew found out about his job he could be, while probably not fully accepting or supportive about the whole contract killing thing, at least understanding of how the conditions and standards of Hell are a shit load different that those of Heaven.

Yeah, he thought to himself, trying to push away those worrying thoughts, if he finds out he'll understand.

.....

Probably shouldn't just randomly announce it to him though. Better try and avoid that conversation for now and ease him onto the concept should it come up.

Once Blitzo had finished his thoughts he saw that Stolas had alreayd changed into his gardening gear: large yellow gloves, weird hat and all.

Blitzo, after over a year of being involved with the owl prince, still couldn't quite understand how Stolas can make any outfit look both hot and adorable at the same time. He wasn't complaining though...

After a few moments of staring at his lover's ass while making his way back to the kitchen, Blitzo turned his gaze away to where Matthew was sitting in the main room. The kid looked a little more calm than he usually did, although he was still fidgeting a little while waiting for their return.

"OK Matthew," announced Stolas, "I need to be out in the garden for a good portion of today to make sure all of the plants are happy, fed and in some cases, safely secured."

Noticing Matthew's expression turning a little worried at that last statement, Blitzo interjected, "Don't worry kid. Stolas here is a master with plants and flowers and all that gardening stuff. It's basically 50 percent of his job title. While he does his stuff in the garden... Is it OK if we can just...hang out here?"

Matthew seemed fairly shocked at the offer, probably surprised that he actually wanted to spend time with him, instead of just sending him to his room for the whole week.

"Y...Yeah that's f..fine."

"Excellent," said Stolas, as he clapped his hands in excitement, "I'll be heading out now. Bye Matthew. Have fun! See you soon Blitzy!!!!" With that, Stolas left the building and headed out to the gardens.

"So...," Blitzo said, moving back and forth on his heels. "How do you feel about horses?" 

Chapter Text

Matthew POV:

From all that Matthew had seen so far... Blitzo was a very weird person. Not that he had much personal experience with people who are considered "normal" since back up in Heaven he barely left his room unless he was forced to by his.... "family." He spent pretty much most of his time watching media in his darkened room, which is where he mostly formed his idea of what "normal behaviour" was.

Blitzo seemed weird, primarily in comparison to Stolas. He was louder, swore more and seemed obsessed with horses (based on how protective he was about his horse cereal and his possibly sexual admiration of them based on how he described his dream earlier in the morning). He seemed a lot more...casual around Matthew. Stolas seemed very nice as well but he thought there was an, understandable, layer of separation between them. Blitzo didn't seem to have that. He seemed a lot more personable.

Matthew still couldn't fully understand why they were both so nice to him, but he wasn't really complaining at this point.

His thoughts shifted back to Blitzo's question about his opinions on horses.

"I think h...horses are v...very n..neat and m....majestic."

"Fuck yeah they are!!" Blitzo was jumping up and down like a kid on a sugar rush. "What's you're favourite things about 'em?! Mine is how they can run free throughout life, as well as the fact they're so adorable and deserve all the love!!!"

Matthew thought about his answer. He couldn't really tell why he liked horses. He'd seen them in a lot of movies and games, but he'd never actually met one before.

"I d...don't really know ac..actually. I've never actually m..met one. I'm n..not sure there are an...any in H...Heaven now that I th..think about it."

Blitzo proceeded to gasp with a sound that Matthew couldn't tell whether it was genuinely horrified or completely over-exaggerated.

"No way!! If I thought any creature would actually get into Heaven, filled with dickheads that it is, it would be all of the horses! That's a bummer."

Now look what you've done, you idiot. You've made him sad about something he really loves.

Blitzo's expression then shifted from sadness to weirdly curious almost instantly. He couldn't really understand how his mood seems to be able to change so quickly.

"Would you like to ride a horse one day? They have a ton of them down in Wrath, but there's a whole legal clusterfuck about transferring them up here to Pride. Maybe you could come down there sometime, once this whole mess is figured out."

Matthew then breathed out a short, humourless laugh. "I w..wouldn't get m..my hopes up f...for that. With h...how I think the m...meeting will probably g...go, I'm either being sent back up to face some 'd...divine justice' or I'm just g...gonna end up d...dead. Just to save everyone the trouble."

The uncomfortable silence which defined most of the previous day had now returned and settled within that room.

Matthew was just staring at his feet, his breathing slowly but surely starting to quicken. He was going to have another panic attack and make Blitzo sad again why can't you just act normal for five fucking minutes you.......

For the second time, Blitzo gave Matthew a hug. Unlike last time, Matthew didn't cry. He just sat there, taking it all in. The only real sounds that could be heard was Matthew's shuddering breaths as he tried to recompose himself. After a few minutes Blitzo broke off the contact. Matthew couldn't help but wish it lasted a little longer. Blitzo then looked Matthew directly in his eyes.

"I've said it before and I'll say it again, everything is gonna go fine during that meeting. We can all figure out what happens after when we get to it, OK?"

Matthew, while still looking tense, slowly nodded in agreement.

"Good. Now...Do you wanna watch something while Stolas is out doing his thing? Maybe what you were watching when we interrupted ya earlier?"

"O...OK. Maybe w..we can start the s..season off at the s..start so you won't be l..lost?"

"Don't ya want to keep watching from were you stopped?"

"It's OK. I've w..watched this so many t..times I can play it all out w...word for w...word."

Chapter Text

Blitzo POV:

Blitzo honestly didn't expect Matthew to be into a show like this. The show was called the Punisher, and it was probably based on one of the comics he saw in his bag. It was apparently part of something called the MCU, which Matthew got nearly starry-eyed trying to explain it, with the main character and a few side characters appearing in another show entirely called Daredevil. It filled Blitzo with a warm feeling to see the kid actually seem fully excited and almost…happy about something, chatting away on stuff they took from the comics with an actual smile on his face. 

The show itself was fairly violent and action heavy, with the main character being a tormented ex-army guy getting revenge on the people involved in killing his family. Blitzo honestly imagined that he would do pretty much the same thing if anyone took away his family like that..... Kind of messed up to think about, and he's pretty sure the show recognises that Frank being like that is messed up too. He really felt bad for Frank, while still feeling pumped when he wrecked some chumps.

Also, it went without saying that the music in the show fucking slapped. At the start of every episode both Blitzo and Matthew banged their heads at the opening theme.

They were probably halfway through the first season when Stolas came back in, finished with the plants for today and dusting off mud and grass from his gloves.

"Hello Blitzy," Stolas beamed, "Hello Matthew. I hope you two had a fun time while I was gone."

"Yeah, we had a great time. Matthew here just put me onto this kickass show and we've been binging it for the last few hours. Did your time with the plants go well? Did the Venusian Fly Traps try to start a coup in the greenhouse again?"

"No. They learned the hard way the last time they tried. They're still whispering insults whenever they think I'm not in earshot, though. Idiots, they forget I'm literally an owl. I can hear them from a mile away. But enough about my day. How about we all have some dinner soon, shall we? I'll get changed in the meantime while the servants set up the table. See you both soon."

As Stolas walked away to their room, Blitzo called out, "Keep that gardening outfit out in case we can use it for our fun time tonight, babe!"

"Will dooooo!" came the sing-song reply.

Fuck, did Blitzo love that man. Blitzo then looked over at Matthew and said, "Do you think we can keep watchin' this after dinner? It's so good and I wanna find out what brutal way Frank wrecks the assholes in charge of this whole conspiracy shit.”

”Y..Yeah totally. It’s so weird watching it with another person. I can actually talk about all my thoughts and theories and ways it references the comics, like the “Welcome back, Frank,” line Micro said being the title for a seminal run of the character in the year 2000 by Garth Ennis and…..”

“Woah, Kid. Remember to breathe,” Blitzo chuckled, as Matthew’s monologue kept gaining more and more speed.

”S..Sorry if I was b..being r…rude or annoying with my r…rambling. I’m such a n..nerd. It’s j…just that I’ve never r…really had anyone t…to talk to about my interests and they can just spurt out like m…mouth diarrhoea.”

”Kind of gross analogy aside, I don’t find you talking about your interests like that annoying or rude. I kinda admire how much info on stuff like that you can keep in that noggin of yours. And trust me, the biggest nerd in this house is the tall owl I’m banging, let me tell you that guy has literally galaxies of knowledge of stars, plants and magic in that hot head of his.”

Matthew chuckled at that, filling Blitzo’s chest with that warm feeling again. Reminds him of the first time he got Looney to laugh.

They both soon had dinner with Stolas, Blitzo regaling him on the events in the show he saw so far, while Matthew seemed…almost calm. He seemed less fidgety and nervous today, which was a very good thing. The poor kid needed a break after all the shit he’s been put through.

Once dinner was finished, and another episode watched, all three began heading towards their rooms, Blitzo pulled Matthew aside at the guest room’s door and said, “Quick bit of warning before you clock in for the night, but me and Stolas are probably gonna do some…activities tonight. Really…intimate activities which may get…loud. Now Stolas has set up a silencing spell around our room that’ll block our most of the sounds, but there’s a chance you may hear some…impacts. I’m just giving you a heads up so you don’t think we’re under attack or anything. So, keep that in mind, have a goodnight’s sleep and sorry in advance if the spell fails.”

With that warning given Blitzo then walked away to his bedroom, leaving Matthew alone, looking both confused and a little concerned.

Chapter Text

Striker POV:

The sniper’s nest. Ironic wording, considering he was gonna wreck an annoying bird's nest from here pretty soon...

The building overlooking that gaudy Manor was pretty much a shell of a building, not one lived in except by squatters and paparazzi camping out trying to get some long range pics of any scandals. Probably a ton them happening behind closed doors, royal shit stain. Now that he thought about it....when he was casing the area for a prime spot, all of the usual mass of trashy reporters and cameramen were gone. He looked into it just to be thorough and apparently some rumour about the Von Eldritch Family which led them all the way to the opposite side of the city. Probably spread by informants from that wimp Prince or someone else to throw them off the scent of something else happening. Apparently Lucifer himself came around about 2 days ago. That might have something to do it, but he didn't really care about the details.

All he needed was one opportunity....and he'll become a legend. Respected. Powerful. Like he always should have been, surrounded by weak and worthless imps who should grovel at his feet. These royals...always demanding respect despite never working a day in their lives for it. He worked for it. He killed so many people: imps, sinners, succubi and so much more.... all to get the power and respect he deserved, that should have been his the moment he was born. He wasn't just some two bit hired gun with a horse. He was Striker, the imp who could, and would, kill the un-killable.

Speaking of his horse, Bombproof was tied to a lamp-post behind the building, couldn't let that bird fucking, horse obsessed shit-bag catch a glimpse of her and ruin his element of surprise. That horse always was unreliable when he needed her the most: not going fast enough when he needed a quick getaway, neighing and whinnying loudly when she was supposed to lay low and crapping all over the place. Nothing a few kicks and spur marks can't fix, but still.

He was currently scoping out the Manor, looking for any windows or openings for his bullets to punch through. He had to be very careful about this hit. Not only would he need a good vantage point, he had to make sure he could fire more than one shot in order to fully take down that star gazing dork and get that owl fucker as quickly as possible afterwards.

Blitzo.....He had potential to be such a great partner (not as great as Striker, no that would never stand) and Striker would've enjoyed having a chance having a ride on that ass...But he threw all that potential away, thinking he was in love with that bird bitch. It's almost a shame Striker has to end his little "family" once he's done here. Partly to prevent them from hunting him down after this hit. Mainly because it's fun.

That weakling Moxxie still had his original angel rifle that bitch Stella gave him when she wanted her husband dead. He still couldn't believe her gall when she cancelled the contract on him. So what if her kid got shot? It was her fault for getting in the way. What did he do wrong here? Oh, ho, ho, he was so gonna bash her head in when he gets the chance.

Moxxie and that feral bitch of wife of his would likely track him down to get payback, but he'll be waiting for them...Should he bring along another person for that job? He couldn't really decide which one of the two he would torture in front of the other so he thought about getting another set of hands to do both of them at the same time. Eh, he'll figure out the details later.

That left the owl girl he almost killed before and that hellhound chick...He'll probably just shoot them in the head. They probably won't be too much of a threat and besides, they'll be blubbering messes over their "dads" being dead so that would be torture enough. He wasn't totally heartless.

Everything about this hit has been expertly planned, with no chance of him being traced beforehand. All the components needed to power up the rifle without it being innately angelic were all carefully sourced so the purchases wouldn't tip anyone off. They would work together to power up the shots to both pass through the forcefield surrounding the place and the smaller one surrounding that asshole Prince. All of that energy would be focused around protecting his head, and it's likely the shot wouldn't get through on the first hit, so he would have to shoot at his arm to incapacitate him, weaken the shield and stop him from preforming magic and then shooting him in the brain. He would have to be quick about doing that and shooting Blitzo. The power needed for this shot to work means he couldn't add a silencer to mask his presence when he fired the first shot, so his position would be given away when he starts firing. Shouldn't be that hard, but he still needs to time it just right. When their guard is at their lowest, before they can even fully comprehend what he had done...

There was one little unknown factor in all of this...

That new guy.

Striker had no idea who the fuck that new guy was who was walking around the manor since he got here. He couldn't tell since he was always inside, the windows blurring his image and the forcefield itself also distorting it further, probably as a way for stopping paparazzi from looking in easily with their cameras. He didn't know why he ate with his targets or seemed to be getting hugs from Blitzo. An affair maybe? All Striker knew was that this guy was walking around the Manor and he could be a problem.

Striker wasn't sure whether he should shoot him or not. Since Lucifer came around recently, maybe he was one of his guys? Striker may be an amazing assassin and deserving of all the fame and glory that entails...but he wasn't dumb enough to directly piss off the ruler of Hell itself. Probably should just keep an eye on him. Who knows? Maybe this guy could be the witness who tells all of Hell what's gonna happen, and spread the advice all demons should heed:

Striker's the best.

Striker's the deadliest.

Striker can kill the fucking un-killable.

So you best do what Striker says.

Lest he put some lead between your eyes.

Chapter Text

Matthew:

Stolas:

Blitzo:

(This track can also apply to Matthew).

Lucifer:

Archangels:

Nathaniel Rankin:

Exterminators:

Octavia:

Loona:

Octavia and Matthew:

Goetia Family and Matthew:

Chapter Text

Stolas POV:

Stolas was starting to get worried....

He kept hearing whimpering and quiet sobbing from Matthew's room during the night. He must have been having a nightmare again. Stolas didn't know what to do. When Octavia had nightmares when she was younger he would go into her room and sing to her, reassuring her that she'll be OK. He always cherished those moments, making sure his little owlet know she was safe and loved. It would have helped even more if Stella had actually bothered to check on their daughter instead of just sleeping on as if nothing happened..but still.

Whenever Blitzy had a nightmare, rare as it was, it usually involved him thinking everyone who cared about him would despise him and leave him (Stolas, Loona, Octavia and those nice employees of his). Stolas would always just hold him close as he whimpered in his sleep, whispering soothing reassurances that no-one would be leaving him and that they loved him.

Whenever Stolas himself has a nightmare.......It doesn't matter, the point he was trying to make is that he didn't know how to attempt to comfort the poor boy sleeping in his guest room. He couldn't think of a way to help him when he was having those haunting dreams, since he couldn't truly understand what it was like to be abused and isolated for pretty much his entire life. Sure, being married to Stella for a couple of centuries gave him a vague idea about that, but to be subject to that seemingly constantly for no real reason...he still couldn't fully fathom it.

Stolas, trying to find any solution to at least ease Matthew's turmoil, decided to do some more activities with him today. Hopefully it will help cheer him up, as well as helping Stolas to get to know Matthew better. Thanks to their prior exchanges, that frankly depressing view into his memories and Blitzo's spirited retellings of their binge watching together, he knew a seemingly fair amount about his interests. He hoped that would be enough to help him bond with Matthew over them. It reminded him of the times he went to those music concerts Octavia loved. The music wasn't always to his taste, but those memories were cherished for the looks of happiness that would spread across his daughter's face.

He would try to start by watching that show Blitzy was excitedly talking about once they had finished their roleplay late during the night. The Punisher, was it? Sounded interesting enough.

5 Hours Later:

Well.....that was an experience. A very good experience mind you, but still....that was a lot. Stolas honestly didn't expect at first how Matthew would be into a violent show like this, considering his likely complicated views on and feelings towards its usage throughout his life. He could definitely see why Blitzo was really into the show though. Lots of violence, explosions and the main character.....

Emotionally complex, badass, hitting a little close to home with his motivations being tied to the loss of his family and is, objectively, extremely hot.

The best moment he saw was when the villain, a prick named Billy Russo, who was obsessed with being  "pretty and clean" and shoving away all accountability despite the reprehensible things he has done, having his face shot through, being stabbed in the gut, his arm broken and his face being shredded further by having it shoved through broken glass (that part was a tiny bit wince-inducing though). He wasn't killed though...he had to live with what he had done and suffer through that memory.

Matthew seemed so absorbed by the show, as he saw by how enraptured he looked while watching the events unfold, his subtle mouthing out of a fair amount of the dialogue and his spirited recap of the events and context of the show itself. Blitzo seemed to get a little lost when Matthew went on his spiel, but Stolas managed to keep up with his train of thought for the most part. It warmed his heart seeing Matthew light up and go off on how the themes of the show were so impactful to him (understandable) and how the performances of the actors helped push that across.

"...and Jon Bernthal. Oh man Jon Bernthal is so amazing in the role with his acting, his physicality..."

"Fuck yeah his physicality rocked," interjected Blitzo, "that hot piece of ass ticked off a lot of my boxes: Ripped, Agile, Surprisingly emotional and often covered in blood. I mean...using a guy's head as a grenade? Fucking brilliant!"

"I must also admit to finding the main actor to be quite...alluring," added Stolas, "while no-one can outclass my darling Blitzy, he does come fairly close. I mean, that voice alone...."

"It's like if death had a gravelly, southern accent," sighed Matthew absentmindedly, before flashing a small look of embarrassment. He then added, sheepishly, "I k..kind of have a man-crush on his a..actor due to how well he did in this r..role."

"I know what that's like, kid. I actually dated a celebrity for a while!" he exclaimed briefly, before his expression changed to a more wistful and saddened one. "We were really happy for a while...til I fucked it up."

Stolas, knowing this part of Blitzo's past and how he felt remorse for his actions, began slowly patting his back in order to help soothe him. 

"I got scared and messed it all up. She hated my guts for a long time. At least we managed to patch things up a while back so we don't hate each other anymore. She still gives me shit about what I did, though, Heh heh heh...."

The awkward mood only lasted for about a minute, before Stolas steered the topic of conversation back to the Punisher. "So, Matthew, is there another season of this show?"

"Yeah," Matthew added nervously, probably wanting to make the mood lighter after the last exchange, "there's another season, but then the show got cancelled, along with the other Netflix MCU shows. I was so mad, but they started adding their characters into other MCU shows and movies and I can't wait for when Frank comes ba....Oh." Matthew stopped talking, his face becoming just as saddened as Blitzo's was a few moments prior.

"I just realised...I probably won't be able to see that, or any new MCU movies or anything from the franchises I enjoy."

"It'll be alright Matthew," Stolas soothed, "No matter what happens we'll make sure nothing bad happens to you or us."

"I...I know you both will tr....try to make sure everything turns our all r..right, but should the w..worst happen....you can keep the in..infinitum stick to use should...something happen. At least with that I c..can say I left something of value behind once I'm gone."

Stolas' heart once again ached seeing Matthew put himself down over and over again, knowing he truly didn't know what the fuck he could do to help. He then had an idea. It probably wasn't the best idea, but he felt he had to at least do something.

"Um, Matthew? Maybe after lunch maybe we could....listen to some music for a while? You know, to help clear our heads for the days ahead. Does that sound like a good idea to you?"

Matthew expression softened, his eyes lighting up like it did previously when he was rattling off all the connections the Punisher show had to the original comic source.

"Y... Yeah that sounds like a good idea."

Chapter Text

Matthew:

Stolas:

Octavia

Octavia and Matthew:

Chapter Text

Matthew POV:

He still couldn't fully believe Stolas and Blitzo actually wanted to enjoy some music with him. It still felt so unreal to him that anyone wanted to spend time with him for anything, but here he was...

Unreal.....

No, No, No push that thought away. Enjoy the moment for once.

Matthew, shaking his thoughts back into focus, fetched his music player and the Infinitum Stick and headed to the room where Stolas had said contained the home media system. On his way, he bumped into a servant who was carrying some snacks on a plate, presumably also heading towards the same room. As the plate fell to the floor, Matthew panicked and hastily started picking up the fallen items, hastily stating. "S....Sorry sir!"

The servant, who Matthew was pretty sure was an imp like Blitzo (though a little smaller. Blitzo probably was taller due to his horns). He seemed to have a frazzled expression and was visibly shaking. He also wasn't really speaking, just letting out a terrified squeak.

Matthew, still picking up food, noticed this. He didn't want to scare the poor guy anymore than he already has with his presence alone, not to mention how he might have overheard or seen what he was capable of when the projector was showing. 

With as reassuring of a look as he could muster, Matthew tried to calm him down by saying, "It...It's okay. I'm sorry that m..my presence is causing you and ev....everyone else working here so much distress Mr...?"

"P...Pringle," was the squeaked out response.

"Right. Mr. Pringle, I have no intention of h..harming anyone here. I hope that h...helps ease some of your c...concerns."

At that point Matthew finished picking up all of the snacks and semi-hurriedly moved towards the media room.

Once he entered the room he saw a fairly large film screen, a computer monitor on a table near a projector and around 8 to 10 comfortable looking seats. Blitzo and Stolas were in the front row, waving at him and happy to see him.

Whole lot of firsts for him this week, huh?

Matthew walked towards the both of them, placing the snacks on the table, stating, "Here's the snacks. S...Sorry, I kind of bumped into the p..person bringing them in, Pringle. He's fine though."

"It's alright Matthew," Stolas soothed, reaching for a bag of what seemed to be vacuumed sealed mice.

"Yeah, don't sweat it," Blitzo added, taking some cheese and putting what looked like ketchup on it.

Matthew, in comparison, took a fairly simple pack of chocolate buttons and inserted the Infinitum to the computer, at which point he began setting up the device to project on the screen and connect to the sound system. 

"OK. It's set up. So.... Are we going to j...just listen to music or s...sing?"

"You can do either if you want kid," Blitzo said, muffled by the food in his mouth, while moving towards the computer to set up a song, "but I'm singing a fucking bop that I've wanted to blast through this fancy-ass sound system for a long time."

Blitzo then proceeded to get up in front of the screen, the music beginning to play and Stolas giddily clapping his hands in anticipation.

The song choice was...interesting, to say the least.

Mustang Dong

Once the song had finished Blitzo jumping around excitedly, while flashing devil horn signs (kind of funny when you think about it). Stolas meanwhile, was hooting happily at Blitzo's performance and then went to scoop him up into his arms.

"Oh Blitzy, that was wonderful! Your performance could put all of those stuffy operas Stella used to drag me to shame!"

"Hell yeah I'm that good! Though you probably shouldn't say that around Moxxie. That guy would probably have a aneurysm."

Blitzo then turned to Matthew and asked, "What did you think, Kid?"

"Well...I thought your enthusiasm and performance was p...pretty good, though the l...lyrics of the song aren't r...really my thing."

Truth be told, Matthew thought Blitzo's singing was pretty off, but he did really enjoy how happy Blitzo seemed while singing.

"Thanks kid, pretty big compliment coming from a music nut like yourself." That compliment caused Matthew to feel weird again.

Huh. Still feels odd getting compliments from someone.

Stolas, after placing Blitzo back in his seat, went to the computer to set up his own song.

"Now I shall regale the both of you with a song I heard on Earth when I visited during the 70s. I hope you both enjoy it."

Life On Mars (David Bowie)

The song itself was a classic Matthew had heard a couple times before, but the way Stolas was singing it seemed to elevate it with his voice alone. Blitzo also seemed impressed, as he was practically drooling at Stolas' motions while singing. Once the song finished Blitzo burst into thunderous applause and then jumped onto Stolas.

"That was incredible babe!!! I would probably be banging you on the floor right now if the kid wasn't here, but we can do that later."

 Matthew, wanting to be polite, didn't visibly react to that last statement as he made his way to the computer.

"That was a really good p...performance Stolas. I'm just going to start a song to sing. As a n...note the song kind of needs some v...visual aids to help its c...context so I'm connecting a music v..video to to project onto the screen. Is that o...okay?"

"Oh it's quite alright. Thank you for the compliment and I hope you have as much fun as we did."

Matthew smiled at that, and, as the video began to play, he began to sing.

Undead Lullaby (JT Music)

Once the song had finished Matthew looked at both Stolas and Blitzo to gauge their reactions. This was pretty much the first time he sung in front of other people, if you don't count...the fall.

Both demons had wide eyes and slightly open mouths. Blitzo was the first to speak.

"That....That..."

Did they hate it? Did you mess up? 

"That fucking rocked, kid!!!"

"I must also say that your performance there was truly amazing!" concurred Stolas, giving Matthew a thumbs up. "I was already pretty sure of your abilities when we.....saw your memories, but you were really good here. A fine job indeed."

"Oh. Um..Thanks." Matthew replied sheepishly.

It feels nice.....having someone like me. I wish it would last.

Chapter Text

Matthew POV:

Today was nice. After the karaoke all three of them went about their day, had a fairly nice dinner (though it was a little unnerving seeing Stolas eat a mouse) and then went to their rooms for the night, though Matthew had to use the bathroom beforehand. In response, Blitzo seemed to let out a mildly surprised, "Huh." He then pointed Matthew in the direction of where the nearest bathroom was.

Once he had found the bathroom and done his business, Matthew looked at the mirror in front of him while washing his hands. He noticed what looked like a weird symbol drawn on the the mirror with toothpaste. It looked...like it was faintly glowing purple.

Matthew didn't risk touching it. He didn't know how to do any magic, except that tiny spell to extract the footage from his armour, and didn't want to mess up anything Stolas and Blitzo were doing. His douchebag father never bothered to teach him any magic, which he was pretty sure most angels are taught at least the basics.

Probably didn’t let me learn anything about magic so I wouldn’t be able to set him on fire with the snap of my fingers. Which I would have done so fast, so long ago.

Those gnawing thoughts kept creeping back into Matthew's head, his anger that had been festering for the last 18 years of his life was bubbling up again. His breathing quickened, his fists clenched. All he could hear was the god. Dammed. Noise!!!!

Stop putting these nice people in danger.

Stop acting like you deserve a second chance.

Stop thinking you can be anything except a bringer of death.

Stop thinking you can be normal.

ShutupshutupshutupshutupSHUTTHEFUCKUP

He didn’t even notice he was about to punch the mirror until he was two inches away from connecting. He was lucky he didn't smash the mirror and cause even more trouble for his hosts.

Idiot. 

That's when he noticed.....his hand.

It was covered in the black energy. It was swirling around his arm, encasing it in near complete blackness. He shook his hand around, dispelling the swirling energy.

This is bad. Oh god this is bad. This shit is back and it will put everyone in danger and it's all your fault you moron. 

N..No. That's not g....gonna happen. I'm in control. For once in my life I'm in. Fucking. Control.

With that inner declaration made, Matthew made his way back to his room to attempt to get some sleep.

It wasn't very successful.

A few hours later, Matthew had returned to his normal routine of fitful, restless sleep while dealing with the usual horrific nightmares.

This was interrupted when Matthew heard shuffling within the guest room. This, coupled with his extremely tenuous relationship with sleep, caused to jump awake. This also seemed to startle the person causing the noise...Stolas.

"Oh sorry I woke you," replied the owl prince, looking worried, "I just heard your....distress while you were sleeping and I thought....I thought I could help."

"It....It's okay. It's just a s...stupid n...nightmare. No n...need to w...worry."

Stolas seemed to look saddened by that answer. "I don't think it's stupid to have nightmares. You've been through so much throughout your life, of course you'll feel troubled by it. Even I have...nightmares myself from time to time. I...I don't know exactly how I can help, but I want you to know....You're not alone."

Not alone....That statement...Matthew couldn't fully articulate how that made him feel....

"Is..Is it o...okay to ask for a h...hug?" Matthew asked in a quiet voice, his eyes starting to slowly well up.

"Of course," came the soft reply.

Getting a hug from Stolas felt different than getting a hug from Blitzo. His hugs were nice and comforting, but small and probably kind of funny looking. Stolas' hugs were softer, probably due to his feathers. Matthew simply melted into the hug, whimpering softly as Stolas tried soothing him. He went to sleep after a few minutes, with Stolas placing him back onto the bed.

Matthew didn't have a nightmare for the rest of the night. He didn't dream at all. In his head, there was complete, utter, oddly soothing darkness.

Chapter Text

Matthew POV:

When Matthew woke up, he felt....calm. Which was a rarity throughout his life. The conversation with Stolas and the ensuing hug helped calm some of the more….troubling thoughts in his head. They were still there, but more muted. Just ticking away at the back of his mind.

He didn’t really know what he would do to show his gratitude for Stolas comforting him like that. Maybe he could let Stolas pick the next show or movie they could all watch later. That would be fun and the least he could do.

Matthew then proceeded to the dining room, where Blitzo and Stolas were. He didn’t really need to follow them to find out how to get there anymore. He knew at least that much of the sprawling layout. It felt familiar, routine, like….

This is not your home. You don’t have one because you don’t deserve anything like that, you insignificant, little nobody. You are, and always will be, alone.

Shut up. I may be a nobody, but I am not alone. For the first time in my entire fucking life there are people who actually give a shit about me.

Yeah. We’ll see how long that lasts…..

Once his head cleared up, he had reached the table. A bowl of cereal was then placed down in front of him by….Pringle, right? Yeah..He looked a little less scared than the previous day, although his eyes still betrayed a sense of nervousness.

Matthew proceeded to sit down, give his thanks to Pringle and began to eat. He could vaguely hear Pringle breathe a quiet sigh of relief as he walked back to the kitchen.

Blitzo and Stolas were already at the table, with Blitzo chugging down some coffee while Stolas was reading a book. It seemed to be titled Imp in the Sheets. Under the title, Matthew could make out the words...Volume 12?

Yeah, he wasn't really going to unpack that.

He noticed he was reading very intensely and surprisingly quickly.

Having four eyes probably helps you read quickly, I guess.

"You feeling okay, kid?" asked Blitzo, wiping the considerable amount of coffee than spilled onto his face. "Stolas said you had a rough time sleeping last night, though you did calm down a bit after you both talked for a bit. Did you sleep better after your chat?

"Y..yes I did," Matthew replied, "Thank y...you again, Stolas. The hug was v...very nice."

"Oh you're most welcome Matthew," beamed Stolas, "I have experience with calming down people having a nightmare. I used to help my darling Octavia go back to sleep by singing to her. Ahhh...Precious memor...."

BANG!!!!!!! CRASH!!!!!

Blitzo POV:

Time seemed to slow. He was seeing Stolas. Dorky, powerful, horny, loving Stolas. Quite possibly the brightest spot within his turbulent and fucked-up life. Clutching his right arm in shock and anguish, black blood seeping between his talons. The wound lightly...glowing. Shit. Heavenly round.

Blitzo acted quickly and decisively jumping over the table and throwing his body into Stolas to push him against a wall. Should stop the shooter from shooting through more windows.

As both demons were mid-air, Blitzo began going over the situation:

Shooter. Likely a sniper. Nearby paparazzi spots likely sniper nest.

No laser sight, so both skilled and wanted no chance to avoid shot. No silencer, so shot needs extra punch and far away enough to limit response to source of shot.

Shot was to the arm, not the head. Probably knows of Stolas' extra forcefield protection around his head and vitals.

Both demons then had crashed into the wall, causing Stolas to yelp out in pain. It kept breaking Blitzo's heart to see him in such pain. He had to keep Stolas upright due to the bleeding, but the wall should prevent the bullets from reaching until the healing spell he was trying to remember would start to work.

It was that moment when Blitzo remembered the teenaged angel still at the table.

Shit! The kid must be freaking the fuck out!

Looking back at Matthew, he looked......blank.

What's going through this guy's head?

Matthew POV:

GUNSHOT. WINDOW. BLOOD. BLACKBLACKBLACK

PAIN. YELLING. HE'S GOING TO DIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIE

WINDOW. TURN HEAD.

GLINT. SNIPER SCOPE. 14TH FLOOR.

STOP. KILLKILLKILL

PROTECT.

Blitzo POV:

The kid looked at the window, then let out what seemed like a mix between a rage-filled shout and a screech. His wings then popped out and he surged out through the broken window within a split-second.

After another split-second....he was back.

Holding that fucking rifle and throwing the shooter onto the table. Getting a good look, Blitzo realised it was the cowboy asshole Striker.

The dick who tried to kill his employees/best friends/only friends. The asshole who tried to kill Stolas multiple times. The monster who almost killed Octavia.

His blood began to boil, but his attention was still focused on trying to pull off the healing spell to stop Stolas from bleeding out.

That focus was then broken when both him and Stolas realised that Matthew was covered, head to toe, in that swirling black energy he saw on the projector. It swirled and enveloped every part of him, even his wings, and the only features they could see on his face was two white dots for his eyes and a white line for his mouth.

Matthew then, without saying a word, took the rifle and tried to smash  it into Striker's skull. The fucker was slippery though, ducking out of the way and kicking at Matthew's leg to get away. Blitzo then saw him brandish....

Fuck, he has some more angelic guns.

Matthew then rushed forward, grabbing Striker by the throat and tossing him away from them. He then slunk away down a hallway, panting and running down the halls.

Matthew then turned towards Blitzo and Stolas. Blitzo couldn't fully tell, without his facial features being present, but he thought he looked concerned at Stolas' wounded state.

"It's fine kid," Blitzo states, trying to keep pressure on the wound, "Go find that asshole."

Matthew then nodded and when moving towards the hallway, let out an animalistic and angered grunt. He then surged down the halls.

Blitzo was pretty sure both himself and Stolas had the same thought at that moment, apart from trying to work out how to stop the bleeding:

What the fuck just happened?!

Chapter Text

Striker POV:

Shit! Shit! Shit!

Who the fuck was this guy? One second, the job's going great! That bird bitch took a shot in the arm, bleeding all over the place. Fucking beautiful. There was the rub of that rodeo clown ducking them both behind a wall, limiting his angles. But that was something he could handle and adapt to.

What he couldn't adapt to was that mystery douche, who he hadn't bothered keeping an eye on at the table, somehow appearing right in front of him and dragging him and his rifle into that fucking Manor in a split second. How the fuck can he do that?!!! 

Once he was taken inside, he got....sort of a good look at him: from what he saw from the window, he had blonde hair, a white suit and pale white skin. Seeing him now...he couldn't even see his fucking face. Just consumed in some swirling black, probably magical shit. He seemed to have wings now and the only feature he could see were two white dots for his eyes and a long white line for his mouth.

The fucker didn't say a word as he tried to smash Striker's head in with his own gun. Luckily, he managed to kick at his legs to give him enough room to duck out of the way and pull out one of his two angelic revolvers he had left over from when that bitch Stella equipped him. 

That little threat kept that fucker at a distance while he managed to wriggle away and book it down a hallway. He needed to rethink how he was gonna finish the job, kill this mystery dickhead, and escape the guards who were probably on their way to figure out what has happened.

Right now, all Striker could do was run to a room to hide and think of a game plan to take out this new threat and kill those other two assholes. Luckily all the doors in the hallway were closed, so when he rushed to the furthest one down the hall he could see, the fact all the doors would be shut would limit that jerk's chances of finding him quickly. 

It tuend out to be some empty bedroom. No markers of anyone having slept in it so it was likely unused and therefore low in priority on the minds of everyone here. 

He hid under the bed, adding to his element of surprise, aiming the revolver at the door to catch this asshole unawares. 

After a few seconds, he could faintly hear footsteps coming from where he enter entered the hallway. 

Another few seconds passed. Why hadn't this prick started opening doors yet, Striker thought impatiently.

Then...he heard some music start to play. 

It sounded like some shit from the 30s, it was a little eerie, and...that mystery asshole seemed to be gleefully singing along with it. 

The Hide and Seek Song (Ready or Not Soundtrack)

Who wants to play a game?
It's time to play hide and seek

Run, run, run
Time to run and hide
Run, run, run
And now I'm going to find
You scurry off into the darkness
Hurry, I'm behind you
Don't you speak
Hide and seek

This dickhead was playing a game with all this. It sounded like he was slowly throwing open doors along the hall, getting closer and closer... 

Tiptoe through the cellar or crawl under your bed

That line made Striker suddenly nervous. What if he already knows he's under the bed. It's like the most obvious hiding spot. Where would he go? He didn't have a fucking exit plan and the guards were likely combing the grounds by now. 

Anywhere you've fled
I am going to find you
Stay inside the shadows
All you girls and boys
Don't you make noise
Or I am going to find you

No, no it's just the lyrics. He doesn't know where you are. You're smarter than him. You're better than him. Don't puss out of this now. 

Run, run, run
Creep up on my prey
Run, run, run
Stalk the night away
Scuttle off into the night
But what'll be behind you?
Don't you speak
Hide and seek

This asshole was just messing with him at this point. He was slowing down. Taking his time. Fuck, he was close. 

Like a frog inside a skillet, a lobster in a pan
You don't understand
That I am going to find you
Be still as a mountain and quiet as a mouse
'Cause any little sound
And I will surely find you

Tick tick tock
Are you ready or not?
Tick tick tock
Listen to the clock
Hasten off into the night
Don't waste another heartbeat
Don't you peek
Hide and seek

Striker's aim on the revolver was starting to jitter. Who was this fucking guy?! What sick fuck would just play something so, so fucking weird when he should be scared? Scared of Striker, the imp who could and would kill the un. Fucking. Killable!!! 

Let the countdown begin
Ten!
Nine!
Eight!
Seven! 

Come on asshole. You won't know what hit ya until a bullet smashes your skull. 
Six!
Five!
Four!
Three!

Come on one more step.... 
Two!
One!

The fucker was outside the door. 
Ready or not, here I come!
Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha

The song was over. The door was swung open...

He wasn't there.

Striker couldn't understand it. Where the fuck was he? He slowly moved forward, gun still drawn as he went further out from under the bed.

That's when he noticed the weight on the bed.

Striker stopped, hearing slow, almost rage-filled breaths.

He tried to quickly turned around to shoot. He wasn't quick enough to stop the blow to his face, causing his world to turn black.

Chapter Text

Striker POV:

Striker slowly and groggily woke up. His vision was slowly returning to him as he checked his situation.

He was in a bare room, probably used just for torture and extracting information. He was tied to a chair by his hands and feet. His fucking tail was weighed down. That dick even broke his nose!

Once his vision had finally cleared up, he saw who was sitting in front of him.

The asshole who knocked him out.

That black energy stuff was gone, so he could get a good look at his face.

Holy shit this asshole was a fucking angel!!

He'd never actually met an angel, either exterminator or Fallen, but he knew what Lucifer looked like and this guy had most of the same features. Those cheek circles were the biggest giveaway. The white suit this jackass was wearing was torn in a couple places, and had several red dried-in bloodstains.

Why the fuck was he here?! This caused a sense of panic to start building up within Striker.

The asshole was just sitting there, with an infuriatingly calm look on his face. He was probably just waiting for him to wake up to start.

He then flashed a grin and began to speak:

"Did I ever tell you what the definition of insanity is? Insanity is doing the exact... same fucking thing... over and over again expecting... shit to change... That. Is. Crazy. The first time somebody told me that, I dunno, I thought they were bullshitting me, so, boom, I shot him."

He accentuated that point by making a finger gun gesture towards his head.

"The thing is... He was right. And then I started seeing, everywhere I looked, everywhere I looked all these fucking pricks, everywhere I looked, doing the exact same fucking thing... over and over and over and over again thinking 'this time is gonna be different' no, no, no please... This time is gonna be different, I'm sorry, I don't like... The way..."

He then suddenly punched away the chair he was sitting on, looking like he was a few seconds away from going utterly off the deep end.

"... you are looking at me... Okay, Do you have a fucking problem in your head, do you think I am bullshitting you, do you think I am lying? Fuck you! Okay? Fuck you!... It's okay, man. I'm gonna chill, hermano. I'm gonna chill...

The thing is... Alright, the thing is I tried to kill you once already... and it's not like I am fucking crazy. It's okay... It's like water under the bridge."

At that point his expression went calm once more, almost like that psychotic speech never happened. He then looked at Striker directly in the eyes, almost as if he was scrutinising his soul, Striker himself beginning to sweat with fear.

"Did I ever tell you the definition... of insanity?"

With that, the angel smirked, put the chair he knocked over back up and left the room. Once he had left, Striker let out a very audible sigh of relief being away from that crazy fuck.

Stolas POV:

Today had not been great, Stolas thought to himself as Matthew returned to the hallway.

Firstly, he got shot. He'd never actually been shot before, shot at plenty of times sure, but they never connected before. The personal forcefield he had used and tweaked over the last hundred or so years didn't stop this seemingly angelic bullet. He'd need to tinker it to avoid a repeat of this event once he had healed enough. 

Secondly, that douchebag Striker was the one who did it. The same monster who almost killed his precious starfire almost as a fucking afterthought!!! Just the thought of that prick running around made his anger rise. 

Thirdly....he was worried about Matthew...The boy had basically been covered head to toe in that swirling black energy and went after Striker despite knowing he had an angelic weapon that could kill him. Stolas still couldn't fully fathom why Matthew would risk his life for them like that. He was given some relief when that black energy dispelled, though it only happened after he had dragged Striker into an empty room for interrogation on where he got that strange, patchworked gun, who, if anyone, hired him and whether he or anyone else knew about Matthew (they already knew he was working alone, at least. Partially due to the confirmation of his sniper nest's condition by the palace guards who entered the building he was using. Mainly because both he and Blitzo knew Striker was too much of a narcissistic prick to have an actual partner). At that point he walked up to both him and Blitzo and seemingly looked at them to see if they were alright, and after seeing they were relatively alright, since Stolas was using a glowing sling on his left arm to help speed up the healing spell process, the energy dissipated.

He was also starting to worry about the way Matthew was acting during the interrogation, since both he and Blitzo were watching what was happening through a viewing spell (mostly thanks to Blitzy using the Grimoire. That bullet was still messing with some of his magic). He went on what seemed like a psychotic rant just to intimidate and mess with Striker, which wouldn't be so bad, except....Stolas noticed how...genuinely excited Matthew seemed to be while doing it.

Once Matthew was in the hallway, there was a fairly big (and concerning) grin plastered on his face.

"Whoo! Now that....was so cathartic," Matthew said, enthusiastically, "I mean this whole interrogation is basically the perfect way to vent out all the simmering rage and anger that has been building up for my entire fucking life in a somewhat constructive and useful way. Also, that was like, the only opportunity I could ever do Vaas' Far Cry 3 insanity speech to someone to scare the shit out of them, and I took it."

"Well that's a bit of relief," Stolas breathed, "For a moment there, I was worried that you had actually went on a psychotic rant."

"Yeah, that's the power of great villain dialogue. Now, what do you want me to ask this guy?"

Chapter Text

Striker POV:

Those assholes were probably talking about what information they wanted to grill him over. They were likely sending in that angelic prick due to the fact they had a microscopically better chance of getting semi-reliable information out of him using that guy since he would have a stronger incentive to lie and mislead them.

Smart and understandable play. Too bad that even if this prick actually manages to get some info out of him, he'll lie through his teeth. Just to fuck with them. Striker still had the lingering fear, though, of what an angel can do to him. He still didn't understand why the fuck he was working with these assholes. Maybe he could use that....Gain an edge over this prick. Doing that is basically his only real chance of getting out of this fucking manor alive, since the two fuckers living here would almost definitely kill him once they're done.

Said prick, after about 3 minutes outside, came back in and resumed his seating.

They both remained staring at each other for the next 5 minutes, sizing each other up, Striker trying to maintain his poker face. The angel's face was calm, almost lifeless, until he spoke.

"I'm not gonna lie... You're going to get hurt today. Even if you answer all of my questions as honestly as you can, though I think we both know honestly is likely not your strong suit, you are still going to experience some retribution from the residents of this house before the day is done. I just wanted to let you know that."

"Yeah, I figured."

"So...Since that's out of the way, let's start with an easy question...How did you get that sniper rifle?"

"Bought it," Striker snarked.

"OK, I'm gonna need a little more detail than that if you have the slimmest chance of making it to tomorrow. How did you manage to get that gun cobbled together with all those magical and likely illegal parts? It would take some impressive effort and skill to get that done."

"Wasn't hard. Just needed to pay an engineer nerd to draw up the blueprints while I gathered the parts. All hush-hush of course." Striker couldn't help but smile and feel very pleased with himself at his genius strategy to making a makeshift angelic gun. So long as he didn't spill the more important info, he could  still show off just how amazingly cunning he was. "Had to slice up that nerd after so he wouldn't blab, but hey, that's the way this business works: Strong crushing the weak and all that."

"Well, that is a very generic motivation for, likely, all of your actions throughout your life if that's the case."

"What the fuck did you just say?" Striker asked incredulously.

"Yeah, that type of thinking is basic and moronic, yet it somehow allows people like you to justify causing suffering to other people, good or bad, based on the dumbass principle: Because I can. Honestly I am pretty fucking sick of dealing with people like that throughout my entire life."

"Good or bad, huh? What makes you think those pricks you're shacking up with are good? This is fucking Hell, remember. What the fuck have they done for you to make you think that? Why the fuck did you even save those douchebags anyway?" Striker knew what he was doing, trying to get this guy riled up enough to make a mistake and blab important info he can use.

Instead, the angelic jerk snorted at his questions.

"I'm not going to monologue about what I know about Blitzo and Stolas or why I'm here to you since, A: There's a fair amount of 'hush-hush' info and B: I know that doing so is part of your plans to get out of this situation unscathed."

Fuck, Striker thought, this asshat isn't as much of a moron to be baited so easy...What else can he do to get an edge?

"Besides, I'm not enough of an idiot to make snap judgements based on the limited information I know, on a claim given by an assassin who was fine with trying to kill me and the other people in this house."

Gotcha.

"Why don'tcha ask that rodeo clown outside," Striker drawled, a very pleased look plastered on his face, "what he does for a livin'? Why don'tcha ask that prick why he works as an assassin, just like me. No, he's worse. He fucking kills humans, thanks to that Goetia prick giving him access to the Human Realm. So I ask you...Who's the real fucking villain here?"

The angel didn't respond....his fists were clenching and unclenching.

Now to reel him in....

Chapter Text

Matthew:

(This song has been stuck in my head for at least a decade.)

Loona:

Octavia:

Chapter Text

Striker POV:

Oh yeah, he had this prick right where he wants him. The angel was clenching and unclenching his hands, while pacing the room. He still had his eyes trained on Striker though, that creepily still look on his face again.

Time to give his pitch before this guy storms out to confront those assholes.  Need to get him on side so he can break free, kill those losers outside, backstab this angel when his guard is down, escape the grounds and guards and then get the recognition he deserves for being the imp who not only killed a Goetia, but one who killed a fucking angel!

Striker then began, flashing his most hypnotic stare in order to make this chump hang on to his every word. Need to prey on this guy's "morals" to reel him in.

"Now that I've got your attention, I'll state my offer. You can let me out of this fucking chair. You can let me leave this room and blow away those evil pricks outside. Fuck, you can even do the honours. I know you can do it thanks to your little speech before and the ass-kicking you gave me. You have those morons' trust, apparently, so it shouldn't be too hard. We can stop these evil fucks, and who knows? We could cash in on their bounties and get all the wealth and prestige that comes with those pricks' deaths. Come on...Don't ya want to make a difference here, wiping out some of the scumbags that keep the native species of this realm downtrodden and weak? Don't you want to be a legend?

Don't you want to be a hero?"

It was that last line that made the angel react, rushing forward and getting up and close to Striker's face, grabbing him by his shirt. He stared into his eyes with an almost burning fury.

"I. AM. NOT A. FUCKING. HERO!!!!!!"

Woah, Striker thought between moments of panic at the prospect of this asshole offing him in his anger, must've struck a nerve there.

The prick then started.... Striker couldn't tell if he was laughing or crying. It looked and sounded really unsettling, until he eventually stopped. He then said, while still holding Striker, "Did I ever tell you..."

"What?!" Striker snarked, pissed off that this chump didn't jump on his offer. "You gonna tell me the "definition of insanity" again or some shit?!"

"...Did I ever tell you about the last time someone asked me that question? No?

It was two years ago, the first time my asshole father forced me to take part in an Extermination. I got suited up, kicked down to this realm, saw the horrors my species causes on an annual basis firsthand and threw up in my mask. I then sat on top of a skyscraper, trying my best to drown out the horrific noise of....everything happening. Then once the Extermination had ended I shot back up to…..just get away from all of that.

The problem was….or at least they thought the problem was that I didn’t kill anyone. No black blood and gore stains on my armour. So, my moronic brothers kicked my shit in. Now that was just the usual for them to do that if I made them mad or more often, just because they were bored, but here’s where things….got worse. Which is already saying something.

After the aforementioned shit kicking, they both held me down as my douchebag father watched on. Then, Michael brought out a long metal needle. Now this thing was long, I mean it was longer than his head and sharp as a knife, don’t ask me where the fuck they found that thing.

It was at that point….they stared to push it in between my ribs. This needle, luckily, wasn’t angelically enhanced so it wouldn’t permanently kill me thanks to the healing factor angels have, but they kept pushing it further and further along until…..

POP!

They burst my left lung. Since angels can heal fairly fast, you’d think there’d be no real problem, right? Right? Ha ha…You’d be wrong.

You see, the healing process isn’t instantaneous so I have to try and keep breathing with one lung, while the other one is being painfully stitched back together, while choking on all the blood being expelled out during said healing process, while also having to deal with the jeering from those dumbasses:

"All you had to do was fall in line, why be difficult? Why are you making things worse freak?!"

"We're just killing demons, what's the big problem? We're the heroes here."

"Yeah, freak. Don't you want to be a hero?"

That torture lasted about....5 to 6 minutes, until my lung healed up and all three of them just left me there in a puddle of my own blood as they walked away, like nothing even happened.

Do you understand what I'm telling you, you Red Dead Redemption wannabe shithead? I had to experience that treatment for my entire life. My. ENTIRE. LIFE.

The last few days I've been here...Stolas and Blitzo are the first people I have ever met that treat me like a normal person. They want to try and help me get better, they give me hugs and don't hate me even though they have actual logical reasons to hate me. Do you really think one little speech, which could be a lie, from the poster-boy for generic backstabbing, manipulating villains would turn me against them in an instant? I gotta tell ya, you're not as persuasive as you think."

The angel ended his story with a sad smile.

"Oh cry me a fucking river. " Striker spat out. 

The angel didn't really respond to that.

He just sat up and called out, "Hey, guys. You can come in now."

Chapter Text

Stolas POV:

Things seem to have...taken a turn.

Striker, the asshole, tried to manipulate Matthew into letting him go and killing both himself and his darling Blitzy! The nerve of this douche!! What worried him most though, is that Striker revealed to Matthew about Blitzo's business of assassinating humans. This was a major problem, not just for the potential risk if he reveals that information to the Archangels at the meeting but what Matthew would think of the both of them for this. Would he hate them for killing humans?! Oh no no no what were they going to do?!!

Blitzo was similarly nervous, pacing around while they both watched Matthew seemingly have a mini breakdown and reveal yet another terrible story of his asshole family torturing him. Every time they learned something new about Matthew they always felt more and more bad for him and wanted to comfort the poor boy, while also feeling their hated of his father rising further and further. Once that was over, and Matthew seemingly rejected Striker's offer, he called for the both of them to enter the room. Despite both demons being nervous about the situation, they both steeled the resolves and entered the room.

Striker was still, thankfully, confined to his chair, while Matthew was standing over him with an expression Stolas couldn't fully decipher.

"Hello birdbrain." Striker mockingly spat out, "Hello 'Blitzy.' Heh."

"Why hello yourself, you honky tonk chode," Blitzo retorted, anger clear on his face, "How's the nose treating ya?" This caused Striker to mumble some threat under his breath.

Matthew then turned to both Blitzo and Stolas, with that same expression that seemed to be a mixture of sadness and fear. He then asked, in a quiet and slightly shaky voice, "I..Is it true? Is...Is your jobs to g...go to Earth and ki....kill h...humans?"

Blitzo and Stolas then looked at each other, both unsure of how to answer that question. If they lied, then Matthew would possibly have his suspicions fester into anger and possible hatred towards them that could turn violent. If they told the truth, they couldn't predict what his reaction would be.

After few seconds of silent deliberation, Stolas spoke:

"It...It's true Matthew. I allow Blitzo entry to the human realm, where he runs his....business. I..I'm sorry."

Matthew's expression remained the same, his breathing becoming more pronounced and his hands currently clenched.

"D...Do you u...use angelic we...weapons?"

Blitzo flashed a slightly confused look. "No, kid. We, uh, just use normal weapons. People we..ice just die and go either down here or up there."

Thankfully, that response seemed to have made Matthew relax enough to unclench his hands and have his expression brighten slightly. "OK. W..We can talk about it later, when we've finished dealing with this prick," motioning to Striker.

"Alright", Stolas breathed out, slightly relieved,  "For now...Let us focus on dealing with this pest."

All eyes turned to Striker, who seemed to be trying to maintain some measure of "cool." Time to change that...

Stolas strode towards Striker, a cold anger visible in his red, glowing eyes. He proceeded to kneel down and glare at the would-be assassin.

"People have been trying to kill me for centuries. Almost from the moment I hatched I was a target from people much smarter and deadlier than you, people who came even closer than you did today. They all failed. Your so-called "superiority" is hardly noteworthy.

Yet....You almost killed my daughter."

Shadows began to twist and extend across the room, as what magic Stolas could still use at the moment flowed out from his uninjured arm.

"She was bleeding out in my arms, her heartbeat slowing down as I tried to heal her wound from your fucking bullet.

Do you know what that feels like? Let me show you..."

Stolas then clenched his uninjured fist, causing Striker to jerk in his chair. Striker convulsed and choked for a good minute, as the spell painfully slowed his heartbeat, beat by beat.

Stolas stopped when Striker's heart was just about to fully stop. The assassin then gasped and heaved as his heartbeat began to compensate for the damage.

Stolas then stood up and walked away. He then turned to Blitzo and said, "That's all I had to say. Do what you will Blitzo."

Chapter Text

Blitzo:

Matthew:

Matthew and Loona:

Matthew and Stolas:

Matthew and Octavia:

Chapter Text

Blitzo POV:

Blitzo strode towards the bound Striker, pulling along the chair to set up in front of him. Striker, despite still recovering from Stolas' magic, managed to form a smug grin.

"What the fuck do you have to say to me, "Bitzy?" Another weak ass rationalisation to yourself for being this bitch's plaything and lowering yourself with working with that weakling and his psycho bitch wife?! All that fucking potential! Down the damn drain, and for what?! Love?! Don't make me laugh!!"

".....Do you want to know one of the most shameful moments in my life? Trust me, there's a fuck ton of them to pick from, but the absolute worst has to be when you tried to shoot Stolas at that Harvest Festival. When you locked up my employees and fucked up Millie's leg. When you tried the same shitty manipulation to me you just tried to pull on the kid."

"How the fuck did you hear that?!"

"Yeah, it's a little thing called anticipating your whole manipulation schtick and using a spell to hear into the room. I knew to do that since you tried pretty much the same song and dance to get me to join up with you. Betraying my family...Killing Stolas. As you can recall, I let you do your shitty speech about killing all the royalty and being "legends" to stall you for time so Moxxie and I could kick your ass before you slipped away...But for half a second......" Blitzo's hands were shaking slightly as he tried to speak, a look of regret and shame on his face. "I agreed with you. Just for half a second, barely a heartbeat's length. That moment will haunt me for the rest of my fucking life. Looking back on that moment makes me sick to my stomach about how fucking pathetic I was to even considering joining up with you.

Back then, I couldn't fathom anyone actually caring about me in any way. I was so fucking scared of getting close to anyone, in case they got hurt cause of me being a self destructive, selfish piece of shit. And due to that, they were hurt anyway. I kept trying to prove I was special, that I wasn't just an imp with no real future. Ignoring all the people actually gave a shit and cared about me despite all my flaws. My family, Stolas.... I only realised later, just how much I needed them and what I needed to do to be truly happy for the first time in fucking years.

I can honestly say, I could have ended up just like you, a lonely, rage-filled, pathetic creep who can only gain some validation and value for his life by killing people. Yeah, I kill people too, but it doesn't define all I am."

At that point Blitzo stood up, before dramatically pointing at Striker, stating, "You're also a shitheel for hurting Bombproof! That horse is a majestic beast and deserves a better rider than you!!!! Dickhead."

He then strutted off towards Stolas, feeling pretty pleased with himself after getting all that off his chest. Striker maintained his smug and self-satisfied demeanour, despite it all. He's that much of a total prick.

"Well, both you fucksticks said your peace, but that ain't getting you any info out of me. This has been a pretty piss-poor interrogation."

At that statement, Matthew started to laugh. "Ha! Took you long enough to notice. If this whole ordeal has taught me anything, is that you're both more of a total douchebag than I thought, as well as not as smart as you think. Did you honestly think we would have trusted any info you would have given us? Based on what has been said both outside and inside this room, you are so blatantly manipulative and untrustworthy that anything you gave us would either be a lie or a lead-in to a trap. So, outside, we talked briefly about who you were and what you might do....and that got us thinking....we don't need to interrogate you."

"What?" Striker breathed out, confusion clear on his face, and likely started to feel fear creep back into his mind.

"You see," Stolas said, a very pleased grin appearing on his face, "we can guess you have been scoping us out for at least 2-3 days, right?" Striker slowly nodded. "So you wouldn't have seen Matthew's....arrival, otherwise you wouldn't have risked taking a shot at us. But you have been spying on us, so you must know who our last guest was, don't you?"

Striker seemed to rack his brains for a few seconds, before his eyes went wide with fear. He went as white as a sheet and seemed to be trembling. Weirdly satisfying to see such a "legendary" person look scared out of his fucking mind. "Oh fuck..." Striker whispered in a very small voice.

"Yeah asshole," Blitzo stated, "The head honcho of Hell himself is not gonna be happy with a security breach like you seeing the kid over there or trying to kill a noble he, probably, likes with an non-angelic gun. Kinda hard to tell with him, but hey, that's pretty par for the course with that guy. So, he'll probably have a lot of questions on where you got those parts and if anyone hired you. He will probably also want to torture you for shits and giggles anyway, so I'm very excited to see him drag you off and do things that even we aren't capable of, and trust me, we're capable of a lot."

Striker was full-on shaking with utter terror, eyes darting around the room, trying to find any avenue of escape. He eyes rested on Matthew.

"Hey! Kid!" Striker yelled out, desperation and fear oozing from each rapid breath, "You gotta talk these guys outta shipping me off to Lucifer!!! I can tell ya anything ya want to know! Honest!!!! Just don't send me to that psycho!!!!"

Matthew calmly walked up to the bound assassin, crouching down to his eye level.

"You should count yourself lucky we're sending you to Lucifer. Think about it...as soon as we're finished our interrogation, Stolas and Blitzo are likely going to brutally kill you the instant you don't have any use to them." Both demons nodded in agreement with that statement. " This way, with Lucifer, the torture is likely going to be astronomically worse, but there's the tiniest, microscopic chance you'll live and end up imprisoned. Or escape, who knows how you're story's gonna play out. Heh, this reminds me of a trope in a lot of the media I enjoy.

The points in the story where an antagonist is truly beaten and humbled, most often times imprisoned by the protagonists, and has the chance for self-reflection and possibly redemption. Hell, a whole bunch of those stories have them end up teaming up with the protagonists and becoming full-on heroes themselves!

But you see....I'm pretty sure this isn't that kind of story. All of your character I've seen and heard about tells me you don't "do" introspection or have any real guilt for your actions. You have a serious obsession with killing this family. I also know some stories have the jailed antagonist doubling down, escaping and inflicting terrible consequences on the heroes. When those stories occur, I usually find the heroes kind of stupid to just assume the villain's gonna stay locked up forever, just like that. 

I am a lot things, Striker. But I'm fairly sure I'm not an idiot and I will not let you hurt this family ever again. And I know how to ensure that....."

"H....How?" Striker asked, his nerves likely shredded with dread and worry.

" This." At that point, the black energy enveloped Matthew's hands, and in one swift motion, he crushed both of Striker's hands. This caused Striker to scream and cry out at the sight of his mangled digits.

"WHAT THE FUCK?!!!!!"

"Just making sure you can't pull a trigger anytime soon, and heads up, those hands? Aren't gonna heal anytime soon. Or ever. Blitzo? Want to help me prove my point?"

Both Blitzo and Stolas were still in a state of shock at Matthew's actions, before Blitzo shook himself out of it and went over to check if Matthew's hand crushing was permanent. He cast the healing spell using the Grimoire, but when it reached Striker's hands...nothing happened.

As Blitzo was doing this, Matthew walked behind Striker's chair. Once it was confirmed that the damage he inflicted was permanent, he responded with a slightly surprised "Huh. Neat."

He then proceeded to stomp his foot down on Striker's tail multiple times, completely crushing it in a truly painful display that basically left Striker and sobbing miserable wreck.

Blitzo and Stolas were stating to get a little worried about how much Matthew seemed to be enjoying this, when  he turned towards them and said, with slight shrug:

"I just want to be thorough."

Chapter Text

Lucifer POV:

Today had gone off to a weird start, Lucifer thought, as he stood in the main hall of Goetia Manor. He could see the manor's guards patrolling around, his own guards co-ordinating with them, servants and workers cleaning up the mess from the gunshots and repairing the window. He could also see the three current residents of the home, Stolas, Blitzo and Matthew, standing in front of him.

"So, let me get this straight..." Lucifer began, "That assassin, Striker? The guy who looks like a shitty cowboy cosplayer, used a weapon made up of cobbled together pieces of magic based technology so it can act like an angelic rifle without actually being from Heaven to try and kill both you and Blitzo?"

"Yes, " Stolas answered, still clutching his injured arm, "That asshole managed to hit me in the arm before he was stopped."

"He was stopped, yes, and if I'm understanding this it was Matthew who stopped him? Flying out of the building within a split-second, covered in that black, swirling energy we all saw on the projector."

"It...It's true, L...Lucifer sir. I'm s...sorry I left the b..building."

"It's alright. You did so to save it occupants. It's fine. So when you reached Striker, why did you bring him back in here?"

"I think it was m...mainly so I could r...reduce any possible exposure, as well as to s...stop him in an area I s...somewhat knew."

Lucifer cast a slightly impressed smile. "Hm. Smart play. Once you had incapacitated him, you three then proceeded to interrogate him, correct?"

"Yeah," Blitzo answered, "We tied that asshole to a chair. Then Matthew went and scared the shit out of him with a speech from a video game before we reconvened and thought about our next moves. We figured we didn't actually need to question Striker, both cause you're probably gonna interrogate and torture him yourself due to that gun he had and the fact Striker would probably lie or try to lead us into a trap. He actually tried to manipulate the kid into freeing him and to try and kill us! Matthew didn't fall for that shit, though. Damn proud of him for not falling for that shithead's sales pitch." Blitzo punctuated that last statement by patting Matthew on the back. A normal gesture for most, but considering this being probably the first anyone ever said they were proud of Matthew likely explained his nervous and stunned reaction.

Lucifer noticed their reactions when he asked what Striker’s attempted manipulation was, out of professional curiosity. A professional liar is always interested in learning the tricks of other liars. All the better to use against them as well be protected from said tricks. The three people standing before him deflected the question, nervousness clear on their faces. But also….some form of sadness. The deflection wasn’t desperate or rehearsed, it felt awkward. So the information being withheld was likely personal to them rather than important to him. Given the stresses they were all experiencing, and that weird feeling of… relatability he gets around Matthew, Lucifer decided not to pry into it. Besides, if he got curious about it later he could alway have a little “chat” with Striker about it.

Speaking of which, the assassin was at that moment being dragged out by the Manor’s guard to the transport vehicle. He looked almost completely broken. Metaphorically, with his face carrying a lost and vacant expression, while still crying and quietly whining. Physically, with both of his hands mangled and broken, as well as his tail being similarly mangled up.

“Nice torture technique,” Lucifer stated brightly, “What methods did you guys use on that prick? I want to see if I need to take any notes on how you made someone completely broken within half an hour.”

”I…I was the one who c…caused t...that,” Matthew sheepishly answered. " I used that b...black energy to permanently break his h..hands and tail."

Lucifer blinked at that response. “You…You did that?” Lucifer asked, genuinely surprised (which is something this kid seems to have a habit of doing). "May I ask why you did so?" Lucifer wouldn't have thought Matthew would be so gung-ho into directly torturing someone, considering from what he knew of his upbringing by that dickhead he had for a father. That said, considering how close he seemed to be getting to Blitzo and Stolas, he seemed to have gotten justifiably pissed off at Striker for trying to kill them. It was also slightly worrying that the black energy that showed up in Matthew's memories had now resurfaced, seemingly caused by the aforementioned rage.

"I w...wanted to be thorough, and to make sure he couldn't hurt Blitzo, Stolas or their family ever again. I may have also done it as a way to basically remove all his bravado and ego by removing his abilities as an assassin. Which, based on what I've learned about him, is pretty much the only way he measures his self-worth as a person. He was also being a total prick, Sir."

"Well I must say....Good job! Not only on protecting yourself and others from any half-assed revenge plan he would have thought up of, but you also managed to psychologically break him with only two or so blows thereby making the risk of reprisal almost non-existent. I’ve got to hand it you kid, you are shockingly great at this. Kudos!” Lucifer punctuated that praise with an almost comical thumbs up gesture.

Matthew's expression seemed to be a mixture of apprehension, slight shame and a ghost of an awkward smile at being complimented. It felt....weirdly good seeing the kid smile at all.

"Well, if there's nothing else, I'll be making my exit. Time to have an in-depth convo with that asshole. Your guards will comb the areas for a while longer to see if there's any ""suprises." See you all in a few days. Toodles!"

With that, Lucifer and his entourage left the Manor and headed back to his Palace, noting a group of Stolas' guards returning to the Manor as they began to drive away.

Whatever they had brought with them seemed to have caused a big reaction, as they, and likely all of the surrounding block, heard a scream of excitement that made their ears almost bleed.

Chapter Text

Matthew POV:

Both Matthew and Stolas honestly should have expected Blitzo to scream with such high pitched excitement that some of the replacement window panes had become slightly cracked.

After all, what the guards had just brought to the Manor was a horse. A skeletal-like horse, with fire burning within it and forming its mane. To Matthew, it both looked majestic and terrifying at the same time. The terror is probably due to the fact that this was the first time Matthew had seen a horse in person.

The flaming mane probably added to that, though.

To Blitzo, based on his scream of joy and his awestruck expression, this horse was likely the greatest thing he has even seen.

"BOMBPROOF!!! Look guys!!! Possibly the coolest horsie I've ever met is in front of our fucking house!!!!" Blitzo seemed to be almost squealing with joy, hopping up and down on the spot like he was on a sugar rush.

"We found her tied to a lamppost sir, nearby to the assassin's sniper nest," said the guard who was holding Bombproof's reins, "We brought her back here since it seemed to be no threat, as well as Master Blitzo's.....evident fondness for horses."

"Can we keep her?!?!? Can we keep her, Stolas?!?" Bltizo was pleading in a fairly comical way, almost like a puppy wanting to go out for a walk.

"Well...considering Striker illegally brought her up to the Pride Ring, and there's no real regulations against owning a Wrath Ring horse without transporting it ourselves....Sure thing, Blitzy."

"FUCK YES!!!!!! I knew it wasn’t a waste to pre install a stable on the grounds. I'm gonna dote on this fucking majestic beast, then we can go ride around the grounds on her and treat her and watch Spirit with her!!! I’m so fucking pumped!!!”

At that declaration he rushed over to Bombproof and got onto her saddle, surprisingly gently considering his level of excitement and intensity. The horse seemed a little shocked when Blitzo proceeded to hug her.

Bltizo then slowly cantered around the grounds on Bombproof, looking like he was going to explode with happiness.

While this was going on, Stolas turned towards to Matthew and asked, “Are you okay, Matthew?”

"Y...Yes, I'm fine. Why d...do you a...ask?"

"I just wanted to check. You did just foil an attempted assassination, interrogated and tortured someone, learned some.....complicated information, and just saw a horse for the first time, which was also on fire. I'd think anyone would feel a little overwhelmed after all that. On that note though..."

At that point, Stolas embraced Matthew in a very strong hug. Well, as strong as it can be with only one uninjured arm.

"Thank you. Thank you for saving me and Blitzy. Thank you for protecting our family from that ruffian. Thank you so so much."

Matthew felt...overwhelmed by the contact. All the confusing thoughts crashing together. The Noise was getting louder and louder very quickly.

Why is Stolas thanking you? You're still going to get them hurt by going to that fucking meeting.

You protected them. You kept them safe.

They take part in killing humans as assassins. Why would you keep them safe?! 

You tortured someone and permanently broke his hands. Psychopath. NonononononononoShutupShutupShutup

Matthew couldn't hear anything else at that point, but he could vaguely hear Stolas saying he was going to call his and Blitzo's daughters to tell them they're safe. Stolas gave Matthew one last hug before walking off to the bathroom.

Matthew was then left alone in the main hall. He needed to get to the guest room. He needed to drown out the Noise, he needed it to fucking stop.

Once he was back in the room he jammed his headphones in and pressed play at max volume. Anything to drown it all out.

You Spin me Round (Like a Record) (Guns Akimbo Soundtrack)

It took a few repeats of the song, but eventually the Noise subsided. As Matthew laid on the bed, he had only one thought on his mind:

"That asshole Striker didn't even let us finish breakfast."

Chapter Text

Octavia POV:

Something was wrong.

Her dad and Blitzo hadn't checked in yet on the mirror call.

Octavia was starting to get worried. Loona was too, but she did a better job of hiding it from most people. Octavia could tell though. She noticed her tail lightly wagging a lot more frequently when she was worried or nervous.

When the call finally came, about two hours after it was supposed to, both girls nearly scrambled over the furniture and each other to answer the message.

What Octavia saw when the mirror shifted, was her dad with his arm in a sling. Alarm bells exploded in her mind at the sight of that. Her father is one of the most powerful beings in Hell, with some of the greatest magical power ever witnessed The fact that his arm hadn’t immediately healed from whatever the fuck hurt him made her internally and externally panic.

"Dad!!! Are you okay?!!! What the fuck happened?!!! Is Blitzo okay?!"

"Yeah, Stolas," Loona piped in anxiously, "Where the fuck is Blitzo?!!!!! What the fuck happened to your arm?!"

"Everything's alright, girls. Everything is fine. Both me and Blitzy are fine." Both Octavia and Loona breathed a heavy sigh of relief. "Today's breakfast...had a complication. There was an assassination attempt against us by... Striker."

Striker. Striker Striker, nonononononono... Why the fuck was he back?! Octavia's breathing began to quicken, as the sounds of Loona and her dad's voices started to bleed together.

What the fuck was happening whycouldn’tshehearanything whydidshefeelsocold???

Her mind drifted back, back to her eighteenth birthday. The day of the party.

Mother was furious that Dad had allowed Blitzo and the rest of I.M.P. to join the party. They were pretty much the only guests other than uncle Andrealphus, who had left early after dropping off his present and consuming the event’s entire wine supply. None of her asshole classmates from Hell U and the other spoilt children of nobility showed up. She didn't personally invite any of them due to the mutual feelings of not giving too shits about each others' lives. Even the wannabe suitors her Mother usually invited to parties like this were absent. Maybe she had given up trying since they were all snobby douchebags, or maybe she just wanted to give her a break for once on that front. The hall itself wasn't decorated lavishly, which she was fine with. Just a few banners, a couple of star balloons and a stand for her present from her Dad: a life sized Cerberus beast taxidermy statue.

Octavia remembered talking with Loona, in one of their first interactions. She thought Loona was cooler than she first thought, probably due to the cringe inducing antics of her adopted father Blitzo, who was currently rattling off a long-winded speech on how awesome it would be if he was a horse. That speech caused his employee Moxxie to cover his ears, while Millie listened intently. Octavia's dad was also listening, albeit much more intensely, as shown by all four of eyes following Blitzo's wild movements while emphasising his points. Namely near his rear. Gross. 

Octavia excused herself from conversing with Loona, which had felt like the first normal and actually fun conversation she ever really had with anyone other than her dad in a long time, and headed to refill her drink near the back of the event hall. As she was filling her cup with one of the two types of soft drinks that were allowed at the party (thanks to Mother barely compromising on having two drinks that weren't some brand of terrible, "high-class" drinks Mother kept guzzling.) her Dad was walking up to her. Probably to see how her conversation with Loona went. He was always suggesting setting up a "playdate" with her, which would likely entail her and Loona hanging out somewhere while their fathers were in another room doing...stuff.

That "fun" thought was the last thing to cross her mind before she heard the shot ring out. The gasps of shock from everyone. The bullet blasting through her back and out her chest.

She felt so cold, as she fell backwards, catching a glimpse of...him. The asshole who shot her just to try and kill her dad. He was running out the back entrance where he came in. She could vaguely see Blitzo, Moxxie and Millie chasing after him. Blitzo was saying something to Loona before leaving. She couldn't hear anything. She could see her dad, tears in his eyes and pure panic on his face as he tried to do a spell on her wound. She could feel her blood leaving through the wounds and why was it so fucking cold? Loona was next to her. Probably so nothing else could hurt them.

And Mother.....She could see her mother a few steps away. She seemed frozen with shock. Octavia could have sworn she saw a tear rolling down her face. She couldn't hear what anyone was saying, but she could guess what they were mouthing.

Her mother kept saying, over and over: "This wasn't the plan."

Her vision was darkening. Passing out due to shock. As the darkness clouded her vision, she could hear a little better.

"Via?! Via?!"

Her eyes shot back  open.

She was back in the hotel bathroom. She had curled up into a ball on the floor. Loona was patting her back, trying to help calm her down.

After about 2 minutes, she uncurled herself. Fuck, that was embarrassing.

"S...Sorry about that," Octavia mumbled, "I just...that asshole isn't loose again, is he?" That question was laced with unease, and a little bit of fear.

"You won't have to worry about that prick anymore Via," her dad soothed, "he's currently on route to being tortured for information by Lucifer himself. He won't be able to harm us even if he somehow escapes since his hands and tail are now permanently broken. They won't heal, so he can't hurt any of us ever again."

That statement relieved, shocked and confused Loona and Octavia all the same time. 

"Wait, how did you permanently break his hands and tail, Dad?" 

"Well, you see...Matthew was the one who did that. He interrogated Striker after he saved us both from the assassination. I was a little worried about how much he...got into it."

The response to that somewhat casual answer was about as you would expect.

"What the fuck?! Not only did that angel save you and Blitzo from Striker, but he also is able to permanently injure someone like that?!"

Octavia still couldn't grasp the fact that an angel was still staying in her house, even if he apparently is around her age. It's likely he may have been some kind of soldier or Exterminator, and one that may be very skilled, since he was able to beat someone that Blitzo couldn't fully defeat. Blitzo, dorky horse enthusiast that he is, can be kind of terrifying when he gets mad. Never at her or Loona mind you, but to anyone who even thought about hurting them. The thought of this Matthew guy being able to stop Striker and hurt him in a way magic couldn't fix? That was a worrying one.

"Yes. Matthew did help save us, and yes, he did break Striker's hands. Thanks to him all that asshole was able to do was injure my arm,  which should be healed up in about 2 days. Lucifer took away Striker since he both wanted info out of him, while also likely wanting to reduce any potential risks of him spilling the fact Matthew is currently staying here."

"I'm still not comfortable with an angel in the house, " Loona stated, "but at least that guy made himself useful. How's Blitzo holding up?"

"Oh Blitzy is doing wonderfully. He managed to gain possession of Striker's horse, Bombproof! He looked so happy riding her around the garden!"

"So he finally owns an actual horse? Huh." Loona sounded both surprised and a little impressed. "Blitzo had already pretty much set up a fan club for that horse since he met her in Wrath. You do know this runs the risk of him spending more time playing around with that horse than the interacting with the rest of us combined, right?"

Octavia couldn't help but chuckle at her dad's expression turn from happy, to contemplative, to almost comically terrified.

"Relax Stolas," Loona soothed, "I was just joking. Kinda. Anyway, do you or Blitzo need us to do anything? Keep a better watch out in case anyone comes after us?"

"I'm fairly certain he was working alone like the last few times, but I'll send a few extra guards to the hotel just to be safe. I'm sorry if this event made everything even more complicated for you both."

"It's okay," Octavia said, "Sure things are a little...overwhelming at the moment. But we'll be fine. Just stay safe while your arm heals and that Matthew guy is still around, okay?"

"We'll be alright Via."

After goodbyes were exchanged (and Loona gave orders to Stolas to make sure Bltizo would sleep at night and not sneak out to pay with Bombproof.) the mirror call disappated and both Loona and Octavia fell back onto their beds.

"So...." Loona said, "Do you feel like talking about how this whole new complication that now makes this insane as shit situation even crazier makes you feel?"

"No."

"Will you talk about it when things are a bit calmer?"

"Maybe."

"Do you wanna distract yourself from thinking about that stuff today by going to that arcade near the hotel and making all those nerds cry when we beat their high scores on Dance Dance Revolution?"

"You know me so well." 

Chapter Text

Blitzo POV:

Yesterday rocked!! Well, not counting the breakfast attack and the interrogation, but apart from that the day was great! Why? Because he now owns the coolest horse he has ever met, Bombproof! This glorious beast is now free from that shit-heel Striker, who's now being tortured by Lucifer and won't be able to hurt him or his family ever again. He can't wait for that meeting in two days to be fucking over, so he can go and ride Bombproof on the open plains. Maybe down in Wrath. With the other horses!!!

Blitzo, while greatly enjoying his time riding, stroking and pampering Bombproof, did eventually leave her in the very expensive and comfy stables he had the staff install on the grounds 2 months ago. One of the perks of being in a relationship with a hot, sweet, dorky owl prince. Blitzo, Stolas and Matthew all had lunch and dinner together. It was fairly uneventful, especially compared to how breakfast had been interrupted, but there was still an atmosphere of tension. It was partly due to Stolas still nursing his arm in a sling while it was still healing. He said it would be healed by the day before the meeting, but that wasn't going to stop Blitzo from watching him like a hawk to make sure he was safe and comfy while it healed. It was also due to Matthew being…a little more reserved. Not as much as when he first arrived mind you, but the ease that had somewhat been built up between them over the two to three days seemed to have lessened. The kid wasn’t talking as much, kept fidgeting and…looking at him. He couldn’t fully describe what he saw in that kid’s eyes when he looked at him like that. This lasted all the way until they went to their rooms for the night.

Blitzo knew why. It was the fact that Striker told Matthew about his business of going to Earth and assassinating humans, before he had gotten the chance to explain the situation. The look of sadness on his face when he heard that would stick with Blitzo for a while. His mood did seem to lift a little when he told him that he didn't use angelic weapons. He probably has some complex moral code thing about all that, since he watched a lot of human media and probably thought a lot about stuff like that on his own. Fuck, that must have been depressing, having no-one to talk to and just sitting alone. Just him and his thoughts. Festering and swirling in his head. No wonder he has so much Noise in his head. Blitzo was fairly sure that Matthew wouldn't tell the Archangels at the meeting, but there was still that risk.

Blitzo was wondering, as he slept beside Stolas, arms curled around him protectively, what he would try to do to help the kid relax again. They could watch season 2 of The Punisher, but maybe they should watch something less violent. The kid had said he had a lot of series he knew about to choose to watch. So many, he said, during the previous night when they tried to make some awkward conversation, that it would probably take an hour or so to just list the titles of all of them down. So maybe they could binge a show together, while they let Stolas rest up and heal from the gunshot wound. Then, he could talk with the kid and try to calmly and rationally explain his whole human assassination gig. That should also help him cool down after the attack and what he did during the interrogation.

Once they had all woken up, servants delivered each of their breakfasts in bed since the dining room windows were still being repaired and reinforced. Once breakfast was finished, Blitzo explained to Stolas what his plan for the day would be. Stolas agreed with him, while also stating that he would try and rest for today in bed while his arm was still healing. Blitzo got dressed, kissed Stolas passionately for about 4 minutes straight and went to leave the room. He saw Stolas pick up that book from the Imp in The Sheets series. Good read. He then saw Stolas head off to the bathroom to probably message Loona and Octavia. Or take a shit. It is the bathroom after all.

Blitzo made his way to Matthew's room, knocking the door. After a few seconds, the door opened. Matthew was standing there, that uncomfortable look from the previous day still present on his face in a slightly lesser form.

"H...Hi, B...Blitzo. Did you and S...Stolas sleep well?"

"Yeah, kid, we slept pretty good....Look, I know yesterday was fairly...fucked up for all of us. So, I thought you and me could just watch another show or something while Stolas rests up and heals. Maybe something a little less violent, so we can all calm down a bit? Does that sound OK?"

"Y...Yeah, that sounds f...fine." 

Blitzo and Matthew then headed to the main room, where the Infinitum was set up.

"So, what would you suggest?"

"Um...Maybe we could watch a cartoon I like called Centaurworld. It's kind of weird, emotionally complex, funny, dark and pretty much everything is somehow part horse.."

Matthew didn't even finish his sentence before Blitzo rushed to couch and sat there, jittering with excitement.

"What are we waitin' for?! Let's start this shit!!! Woohoo!!!"

Chapter Text

Blitzo POV:

Blitzo had to hand it to Matthew, based on his entertainment choices so far, the kid had some pretty kickass taste. The show was awesome, emotional and full of amazing part horse creatures! The main character was a horse, called Horse! They should totally start the second season, after he finished memorising all of the songs so far of course....Oh. Blitzo almost forgot of the limited time frame he could be having fun with Matthew due to that fucking meeting getting closer and closer. That whole shitty ordeal in the making was looming over all over the actually enjoyable stuff they've been trying to do this week. 

Matthew seemed to have eased up a fair bit, though the understandable tension was still present. Blitzo was starting to get really fed up with dealing with this awkwardness and apprehension for the last couple of days. It wasn’t the kid’s fault, but the whole situation they were all stuck was beginning to get exhausting trying to navigate. Especially with the added worries of having to explain his reasons for running a human assassination business.

Wanting to get the ball rolling, Blitzo steeled himself and asked, “Hey, Matthew…Do you wanna talk now about…You know..?”

“Um…O…OK,” Matthew nervously answered. 

Blitzo turned to face Matthew, repeating to himself in his head, Be articulate, calm and clear. No tangents. Keep the reasoning understandable. And whatever you do, don’t get nervous and freak out, it’ll freak the kid out too

“You know from yesterday that I run an assassination business that goes up to the Human Realm. I just want to explain as best I can about that whole situation to help you calm down and understand why I...take part in a business like that.

The business is called the Immediate Murder Professionals or I.M.P. for short…”

“Nice wordplay,” Matthew quietly stated. Finally someone gets the acronym, Blitzo thought.

”Thanks, kid. Anyway, I run it with my two employees and my kid, Loona. She usually stays in the office, since I want her to be safe and she's often the one who helps us get to and from the Human Realm. I started it a few years back and ran it own my own for a while. I chose that line of business since, well it's one of the few things that I'm both good at and could pay the bills. Imps like me aren't exactly swimming in options for well paying jobs. That's how I met Stolas actually, trying to seduce him so I can use his fancy book to actually get to the Human Realm for free.

My relationship with Stolas didn’t start out too healthy. It was very transactional: he gave me the book if I rocked his world every full moon. I regret the form it started as, but I’m so fucking glad I met that dork. He’s basically the light of my life. 

I wanted... I wanted to prove with my business that I could do something no-one thought an imp could do. To make myself feel important and, I don't know, worthy? Worthy of being loved? My life before I started up the company was pretty much shit. I kept antagonising and letting down everyone I knew. Pretty much everyone who cared about me ended up hating my guts. For good reason.

My life is much better though, living with Stola and all and trying to be a less shitty person. I don’t really need to keep going with the business to pay the bills, but I'm mainly still doing it since, well, I enjoy it, to keep my employees close and to get them money to live on. (Stupid tax laws stopping me from just giving some of my boyfriend’s nearly bottomless amount of wealth so my best friends don’t have to worry about their bills every month.) At least I can afford to be more selective of my targets nowadays and can narrow them down to completely shitty humans. Evil scumbags always have the best challenges and the highest bounties on em.

Sorry, got a bit off topic. The main thing is, kid, that my job? I know it’s messy, slightly illegal and not a completely moral business. You’re well within your rights to be disgusted by it. I just wanted you to know why I do it so you can come to your own conclusions about it.”

Blitzo finished his statement by looking at Matthew, hoping his reactions wasn’t hostile.

Matthew just…sat there. Not speaking for two full minutes. His eyes kept moving around and he looked clearly to be in deep thought. Then he spoke:

"I want to say thank you for taking the time to explain some of the context behind your choice of profession, Blitzo. It has helped me come to the conclusion that...despite the violent nature of your company, I understand why you do it and I don't really have any objections about you partaking in it."

Blitzo let out a huge sigh of relief. "Phew! Thanks for understanding kid, that's one major stress about you possibly hating me and Stolas for being part of a violent business that is fairly illegal and possibly bringing it up in front of the Archangels at that meeting that I can get off my mind."

"It's OK. I'm not really in a position to pass judgement on your business or Hell's business practices in general, considering I'm an unwanted guest in your realm. Plus I wouldn't even need to tell the Archangels anyway. They likely already know."

That last nonchalant statement made Blitzo's mind scream with alarm bells and his eyes widened in panic and surprise. "Wait! Why would you think they would already know?! They would've fucking killed me and my family a fucking long time ago if they knew, wouldn't they?!?!"

"I wouldn't think so. That military academy up in Heaven I was forced to slog through taught me that the Archangels have an array of magical sensors around Earth to detect even the smallest portal opening from Hell. I honestly don't know why specifically, but they likely haven't attacked your or your employees either because your activities don't cause large scale chaos, or some other unknown political reason."

That lessened the panic for Blitzo, but his nervous state seemed to have stressed out Matthew again. "S..Sorry I caused you to panic there. I wasn't f..fully thinking when I said that."

Geez, Blitzo thought, even when I managed to calm him down, I still managed to make his self-confidence drop. Nice going.

"It's fine, kid. You pointed out a fact that clarifies that me and Stolas' actions on Earth won't be a major risk for messing up the meeting.  We're both a little stressed at the moment. Let's find something fun to do again..."

Blitzo had an idea. Why hadn't he thought about it sooner? It always cheered him up.

"What do you say we hang out with Bombproof for a while?"

Chapter Text

Blitzo POV:

Bombproof was a truly magnificent creature. Tall, majestic, with flames flowing along her mane and body. The only imperfections where some faint marks left by Striker's spurs. Those made Blitzo wish he had cut Striker's dick off during the interrogation, how dare he be such a scumbag to a horse, especially one as cool as Bombproof?!! Eh, he can always ask Lucifer at some point if he can head down to wherever he had that asshole locked up to start cutting.

Bombproof was currently in the stable, eating the breakfast the servants had laid out for her: several pieces of fresh meat. It was probably not the best idea in hindsight, since when Blitzo and Matthew had went out to the stable, Matthew's nerves about interacting with a horse for the first time were compounded by the sight of Bombproof messily finishing off the meats, with blood sprayed across her mouth.

While Blitzo thought that made her look more fierce and awesome, it seemed that Matthew was a little freaked out by the blood, as well as the flames flowing as her mane and raging within her body.

"It's OK, Kid," Blitzo soothed not wanting Matthew or Bombproof to spook each other. "It's fine. Bombproof and her species only eat dead meat. Sorry about the blood, she's a bit of a messy eater. Aren't you girl? Aren't you? Who's a pretty beast with a messy face?" He accentuated his words by stroking Bombproof's neck and fiery mane. Matthew seemed slightly confused about that action. "Oh, it's alright. Flaming hell-horse manes don't actually hurt anyone unless they're directly attacking someone. It's totally safe to pet her."

Slowly, Matthew approached Bombproof, his trembling hand was outstretched to tentatively pet her. Bombproof looked at him, her expression was calm and a little curious. Probably since she likely had never seen an angel before. 

As Matthew slowly and nervously moved closer and closer, Blitzo was starting to worry about how this would go: it could go really well and be both absolutely adorable and help the kid calm down and feel good about himself for a bit, or it could end badly with them both freaking out and possibly hurting each other by accident.

He got his answer when Matthew's open hand finally touched Bombproof's neck. Both Bombproof and Matthew stared at each other for about a minute. Blitzo honestly couldn't tell what the both of them were thinking or feeling. The looks on their faces....it was inscrutable.

The minute passed, and Bombproof nuzzled against Matthew's arm, whinnying happily. Matthew's eyes widened with surprise and wonder, while Blitzo was jittering with happiness at seeing a sight that adorable. "Awwwwww! That is fucking adorable!!! The only bad thing about this is that I can't risk taking a photo of this amazing moment on my phone for security purposes but I'm still gonna enjoy the moment!! You can keep stroking her, I'm gonna go tell Stolas about this awesomeness!!"

Blitzo then jumped up and proceeded to walk to his and Stolas' bedroom, looking back several times just to soak in the adorable sight some more.....

Huh?

Blitzo blinked. Then rubbed his eyes.

He noticed something...odd.

Bombproof's flames....They were orange earlier, right? They seemed to have...changed. Not drastically, but they seemed to take on a more...reddish colour. Maybe it was nothing, maybe it was the light...but it still made Blitzo wonder why it looked like that.

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Bombproof POV:

Today had been...odd. Old Master was gone, she was in stable within a strange garden, and she felt....strange. She couldn't quite understand it.

She did understand that she felt relieved that Old Master was gone, even if she didn't get to see how or why he was gone. He was, admittedly, quite skilled at riding. However, he was cruel, loud and utterly full of himself. He would hit her if she messed up during a getaway or if she made too much noise when he was "laying low." She still felt the sting from his spurs from time to time.

She last saw him when he went into that tall building with that long gun. He had tied her to a lamp-post, not even bothering to leave her some food. She had been left there for a day or two. She heard the gunshots from the tall building. She saw the thing that crashed in and out of there in blinding speed, barely making out Old Master being dragged by it. 

After many minutes, what looked like armed guards came and calmly untied her from the post. She didn't resist much, since they seemed surprisingly gentle when handling her. She was lead to the big open gates, where she saw a couple vehicles leaving. She then heard a loud squeal of what seemed like joy. She turned her head, seeing three people in front of the big house.

She saw the Red One, who likely made the squeal. She remembered him from almost a year prior. The festival and the farmhouse. He kept doting on her, giving her treats and staring at her with utter awe. She saw him rush over and place himself on her saddle. She was surprised by how gently he was riding her, not like Old Master. He wasn't pushing her to run or jump over things constantly, just letting her slowly trot around the garden. It was very pleasant.

She could see the Tall One. He had four eyes, and an arm that seemed to be injured and glowing. Old Master must have been the one who hurt his arm. That thought made her sad. She couldn't see him around anywhere, so she assumed the three people there had disposed of him. This thought made her happy again.

New Master....was odd.

When she first saw him, she didn't know what to think about him. His skin was white like paper, his hair blond, and deep blue eyes. He seemed fidgety and a little intimidated by her.

She didn't think much of him at the time. That changed the next day.

The stable that the Red One led her to was very comfy. Soft hay, a fairly large amount of room and several ready meals of deceased, delicious meat. She enjoyed her first night there, calmly sleeping, surrounded by all those weird soft toys the Red One had given her.

It was in the morning when she saw New Master again. The Red One was leading him towards her. His expression showed his nerves, as she ate her meal. The Red One was moving towards her, petting her and seemingly admiring the way she was eating.

New Master kept inching closer and closer. She was genuinely curious about him. She'd never seen any being quite like him before.

Then his hand touched her neck.

She couldn't fully describe what she felt at that moment, as she locked eyes with for about a minute. She could feel something....primal and powerful flow through her.

The minute passed. And she knew.

She knew who her new rider would be. She couldn't entirely explain why...but she knew. She let him pet her some more. She let him gently and still nervously climb onto her saddle. She trotted around the garden. It felt really nice.

She saw him smile. She couldn't figure out why she felt so happy seeing him be happy. It felt nice though.

Chapter Text

Matthew:

Bombproof:

????

Lucifer:

Chapter Text

Stolas POV:

Stolas woke up, feeling refreshed and relaxed. The rest he took the day prior really helped him heal up from the bullet wound, although not completely. It should be fine by tomorrow....the day before that Satan-damned meeting would begin. That worrying thought was pretty much the only negative thing to enter his mind the previous day, which he mainly spent reading in bed, eating some mice and happily listening to his darling Blitzy recounting the highly adorable event of Matthew bonding with the flaming steed, Bombproof. It truly filled him with joy to hear about how Matthew overcame his fear and came out feeling good about himself. They both knew that boy needed to feel that more often. Matthew had hung out with Bombproof for nearly two hours straight before returning inside. He had told them that he really enjoyed his time out there, and asked if he could do that the next day as well. Stolas was so glad to hear him talk with such enthusiasm once more. However, there was that odd moment when Blitzy informed him that Bombproof's mane had seemingly changed colour from orange to red. Stolas didn't know how or why her mane would have changed colour like that, the parts of the thousands of books and grimoires he has read over the centuries that involve hell-born horses that he could remember didn't mention anything of that kind occurring before. Both Matthew and Bombproof seemed perfectly fine though, almost giddily energetic at times, so it didn’t seem to be a problem. 

When the next morning came, all three of them were refreshed and much calmer than when the previous day started, although Stolas still had his arm in a sling just to make sure the healing continued without a hitch. He then began to gather his equipment for the day to tend to his plants. They could handle not being attended to for a day or two, but at this point any further delays could have dire consequences for the plants’ health (and in the case of some of the more dangerous ones, the health of pretty much everyone). He had just finished off breakfast while dressed in full gardening gear when he realised that he had forgotten his specialised compost he had to feed to the Lillies of Leng within the greenhouse. They can get pretty bitey when they haven't eaten.

As Stolas got up, Matthew inquired curiously, "What do you have p...planned for today Stolas?" "Oh nothing much," Stolas replied, "I'm just going out to tend to the plants outside. I just need to grab that fertiliser then I'm good to go..." 

"I can get it for y...you," Matthew suggested, "I think you c...could use the help, considering your in...injury." Stolas, while a little surprised, was happy that Matthew wanted to help.

"Why thank you, Matthew. That would be a great help. The fertilizer is down the third hallway, behind the sixth door on the right. Or is it the seventh? It's okay if you mix up the doors when heading down there, there's no inherent dangers there. The fertilizer I need is in the middle of the room and already opened. You can't miss it." 

Matthew then headed down the hallway, with Stolas noting how he seemed a little nervous after hearing about the potential dangers behind some of the doors within the Manor. Once he had disappeared down the hallway, Stolas asked Pringle if he could follow him to help him if he got lost or opened a door that could open a portal to the darkest reaches of space. They had lost a couple of servant that way a few years back.

Matthew POV:

Matthew was making his way down the hallway, passing door after door, hoping he went the right way.

He wanted to help Stolas with his endeavours despite his injury. It was the least he could do.

Matthew found himself in-front of two identical doors, which didn't seem to have any locks (physical or magical in nature). 

He didn't know which door to choose.

Left? Right? Left? Right? Left? Right?

He opened the door on the left first. It was shrouded in darkness, as Matthew's hand fumbled for the light-switch. He heard a click, and fluorescent lights buzzed to life. 

The now illuminated room contained a truly staggering amount of weaponry. Racks and racks of guns, crossbows and RPGs. He could even see a literal barrel full of swords of various styles (Won't they get dulled, being left like that?). 

"Woah," Matthew mused out loud, "I guess the guards here are really well-equipped."

"This isn't the guards' armory."

"GAH!" Matthew jumped, hearing the shaky voice behind him. It was the servant he ran into three nights ago. He's....Pringle, right? Yeah that's his name.

Pringle looked similarly nervous, shaking as he explained, "This is Blitzo's armoury from his work. He placed it next-door to the Prince's gardening room so they could, and pardon my language, 'enjoy their fun shit together.' I'm s...sorry I startled you."

"It's f...fine. Thanks for clarifying the gardening r...room is next door." This seemed to lessen Pringle's nerves.

Matthew then left the room after turning off the light. He entered the room on the right. It was filled with a large amount of gardening equipment. The types of which ranged from mundane to the almost magical. Or at least, Matthew assumed there were mundane equipment present, since due to both being basically the 'family embarrassment' and not really caring for going out since he would be just right back in his room alone anyway, he never really entered the garden or saw its maintenance. He could though, confidently say that Stolas' garden made his parents' garden look like complete shit in comparison. It made him smile to think about how his mother would be utterly green with jealousy and choking on that stupid brand of tea she chugged constantly like water.

With that somewhat pleasant thought on his mind, Matthew picked up the fairly heavy bag of fertiliser and started to make his way out to the garden.

Chapter Text

Matthew:

Stolas:

Gabriel:

Octavia:

Lucifer:

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Matthew POV:

Gardening, as it turns out, is lot more stressful and life threatening than Matthew first thought. At least, that's what the experience was when he helped Stolas around the garden and greenhouse. All the strange flora that grew around every space often looked very beautiful...but most of them either spat acid, tried to bite, breathe poison or all three at the same time. He dodged and ducked potential plant hazards around the greenhouse as he carried a variety of tools: trowels, shovels and several bags of heavy fertiliser (Thank you, enhanced angel biology for helping me not break my back lifting and carrying these things around.)

Stolas seemed to be having the time of his life, feeding the plants with fertilizers and meat (that process was considerably more messy when it involved the latter), watering them and seemingly singing lullabies to the more...rowdy of them. Hopefully calming them down. Those daffodils that can shoot out fire came too close for comfort.

Despite all the danger and nerves, Matthew found that he enjoyed his time out there. Mainly, it was seeing Stolas so happy and care-free. It was the least he could do to help alleviate even the tiniest amount of stress his arrival that plagued him and Blitzo. 

Matthew could see, just over the walls of the garden, some of the buildings and houses that neighboured them. He always wondered what Hell looked like when his own people weren’t setting it ablaze. It would likely still be slightly on fire, but definitely not as much. He looked up at the red sky. It felt weird living under that red glow, unsure if it was day or night. All the neon signs and lights being constantly on didn't really help alleviating that. He wasn't even sure Helll had an equivalent for a sun or moon.

It was about two hours after they had started, when Stolas brushed off the red grass from his gloves and stated, "Right. We're just about finished for the day. I just need to give them all a little enhanced sunshine.”

He then stood up and called out, in a sing-song voice, “Oh Blitzy!”

”Yeah, babe?!” came the yelled reply. 

"I'm just about finished up down here. I just need to give the plants some sunshine! Could you be a dear and..."

"Say no more! I'm on it!" 

About a minute passed, when Stolas looked upwards. Matthew, following suit, saw Blitzo holding a large book out from a window directly above them. He then proceeded to let it drop down, with its rapid descent being halted by Stolas' magic. The book then slowly drifted down towards them.

"Thank you, my darling Blitzy! Now is the time to let the plants have their chloro.. Fill. Oh that's hilarious! Why haven't I used that joke the last two hundred years?! I'm so going to tell that to Via when she gets back. It'll be a hoot!" 

Matthew honestly found it odd how Stolas could be giddily laughing about a joke while basically ripping a portal in space to let what looked like a red sun shine over all of the plants.

An act like that would bring untold awe to most people, yet he seemed to be treating it like a normal event. That showed how much power he wields. Matthew thought that realisation was both cool and kind of intimidating.

“Wow…,” Matthew breathed out, “That may be the coolest thing I’ve ever seen. Or will see. Do you just open portals like that all the time?”

“Quite often, yes. It’s how I do my jobs as the patron demon of Astrology and Gardening. Opening portals to space, creating plant life never before seen…All thanks to this book: The Grimoire of Worlds.”

”Woah…that amount of power sounds cool, daunting and mysterious all at the same time. The only magic I was able to learn  was that spell to transfer that armour-cam footage.”

Stolas’ expression briefly turned sad when he mentioned that, but it slowly changed to….happy? Intrigued? Excited?

”Would you like to learn some more magic, Matthew?”

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Matthew POV:

“Huh?” Matthew asked, very surprised, “Why w…would you offer me th…that?”

”I don’t see the harm in it. Learning magic is quite a fun experience. Octavia and Loona can attest to that when I’m teaching them.” (Matthew noted that Stolas had now mentioned both of the names of his and Blitzo’s daughters. It felt weird to Matthew putting names to the people Blitzo and Stolas seemed to cherish above all others. He could deduce through the comments made and that painting he saw in the kitchen that the daughter which had been shot by that douchebag Striker was Octavia. He felt bad for her considering she literally got shot in the back by someone who didn’t even care for collateral damage. Matthew couldn’t imagine how Stolas must have felt trying to save her life like that, just holding her while tying to stop her from bleeding out. That thought diminished any lingering guilt in Matthew's mind over what he did to Striker).

"Anyway," Stolas continued, "I thought it might be fun to use magic to harness your...unique energy into something less...destructive. It could also help you gain more control of it, and therefore, hopefully feel less nervous about its presence.

So... What do you say? It's perfectly fine if you decline."

Matthew thought about it for a good 2 minutes. He was interested in what he could do with that weird energy that didn't involve tearing people apart. It could actually be fun for once, learning skills that he could actually use in a somewhat normal setting. 

On the other hand..... Huh. Matthew couldn't really think of an actual downside. The closest he could think of would be the risk of expelling his energy in a dangerous way, but it didn't seem like that big of a risk, especially since Stolas woukd likely help him regain control if that happened.

"O...OK," Matthew finally answered, "We c...can do that."

"Splendid!" exclaimed Stolas, happily clapping his hands together, "You can head inside while I tidy up and we can start when I come back in with the book."

At that, Matthew walked out of the garden and headed inside, wiping off the dirt and mud from the gardening clothes he had put on. He was fairly sure Stolas was finishing off the gardening by locking away all of the more dangerous plants. That was probably why the process took about 5 minutes, after which Stolas had re-entered the building. He was rubbing more dirt and what seemed to be green goo from his clothes. The grimoire was floating slightly behind him

”Alright, Matthew. Since that business has now been attended to, we can begin. Let's head to the room where we can safely practice magic." With that, Stolas briskly walked down the hallways, Matthew following close behind him trying not to lose track of him nd get lost. 

They eventually reached a door with a symbol carved into it. Stolas proceeded to quietly chant something and press the symbol within its center. 

The door then seemed to melt away, revealing a fairly large and spacious room. The walls were lined with books and tomes. Candles encircled the middle of the room, with another symbol having been drawn on the floor with what seemed like chalk. Stars and galaxies seemed to swirl across the ceiling. Matthew couldn't help but think it looked....well, magical. Like a bunch of magical places just like it in the movies and shows he loved to watch, only he was actually in one. It made him feel giddy inside.

Stolas took the Grimoire, placed it on a pedestal and opened its pages. Blue light emanated from it, as the stars on the ceiling swirled ever faster.

”Shall we begin?”

Chapter Text

Matthew POV:

“Y…Yes, let’s b…begin,” Matthew answered.

At that, Stolas waved his hand. It glowed a faint green, as did the air around the edge of the symbol in the centre of the room.

“This barrier,” Stolas calmly explained, “should keep any discharges of spells or your black energy from damaging anything outside of this circle.”

This helped calm any lingering fears Matthew had of destroying things or hurting people with his power if it went out of his or Stolas’ control.

”Now,” Stolas began, “you can decide what type of magic you wish to cast. You can look through parts of the grimoire on the pedestal to find any that my interest you.” As he finished, Matthew made his way to the pedestal where the glowing book was propped up. Matthew gently lifted the grimoire and began to look though it. He noticed, though, that a bunch of the pages at different points were all stuck together. As if the pages were glued to each other.

”Why are these p…pages stuck together?” Matthew asked, concerned. “Is s…something wrong with this book?”

“Oh it’s fine,” Stolas replied, “It’s just a spell I put on the book that seals up any of the more dangerous, forbidden or lethal spells, as well as the spells that cna only be performed using demonic magic. It’s just for safety’s sake considering the almighty power within this book. I set up a similar spell for Blitzy when he’s using this book for his job, after an incident when he nearly opened a black hole by mistake. His building's superintendent was not happy that day, let me tell you.”

Matthew made a mental note to never drop or cause rips in the pages of the book he was now holding with as much care as he could possibly muster.

”Speaking of Blitzo’s profession,” Stolas continued, slightly awkwardly, “I just wanted to say thank you for understanding the…complex nature of his profession and usage of my Grimoire. I genuinely appreciate that.”

”It’s fine, S…Stolas,” Matthew answered, sheepishly, “I just s...said that I can't really judge his b....business practices since I'm not from this r...realm and I don't have much context on all the moral situations and values involved to make rash judgements. Also his victims being humans allows them have a second chance at life in either Heaven or Hell and, well...it would be kind of hyp...hypoctritical to denounce him for being an assassin when one of my favourite franchises is literally called Assassin's Creed." Throughout this exchange, Matthew was still looking through the grimoire pages.

"Well, I just want to say I'm glad to hear it and I'm glad you aren't feeling as uncomfortable about being here anymore."

After about a minute, with Matthew still scrolling though the book (It's a deceptively long book), Stolas asked "I'm actually a little curious about what types of media you enjoy, since you seem to know a lot about a wide variety of them." 

Matthew looked up from the book and answered, “Yes, I do watch, read and play a lot of different genres of entertainment. I just enjoy a bit of everything: Sci-fi, biopics, thrillers, a lot of superheroes, fantasy (I’m a bit inclined to see how humans interpret angels and demons and I like it when they don’t always follow the binary good and evil descriptions).”

“Those all sound very intriguing,” Stolas stated (Matthew still wasn’t used to people actually showing an interest in what he was talking about. It felt nice), “What would you say fascinates you the most? I myself am a fan of romantic literature.”

“I could say that the ones that fascinate me the most might be horror and post apocalyptic fiction. It’s just…fascinating to watch people acting, without the veneer of normality or in the latter’s case society, and see who they really are when under extreme circumstances. Fight or flight. Selfless or selfish. That always interested me for some reason….maybe because there’s a metric tonne of post apocalyptic games, films and tv shows that talk about this type of stuff, especially if it involves zombies, so there’s a lot to choose from.”

The conversation continued on like that until Matthew found a spell he wanted to try out with Stolas’ help. His first real magic spell.

He didn’t tell Stolas what he planned for his second spell to be.

He decided against that when he memorised the symbols needed to cast it on its own.

Chapter Text

Matthew POV:

The spell Matthew chose to perform in front of Stolas was something he wanted to remember. Something that couldn’t hurt anyone. If he pulled it off correctly that is.

Stolas was different than the other teachers he had growing up. They all used to fall into two categories: lazy jerks who barley paid any attention and intermittently gave hollow words of encouragement when they bothered to look up from their phones or books, or perfectionist jerks who yelled, screamed and “disciplined” him for the slightest error, be it academic or physical, and never gave any praise or real acknowledgement of success. They simply replied with some variation of “doing well doesn’t matter, always strive for some unrealistic fucking goal and any deviation from the goal is pure and utter failure you piece of shit freak!!” Again, a variation of that phrasing. They didn’t swear.

Stolas was, by contrast, much better than any of them. His immense knowledge of and enthusiasm for magic, as well as his kind attitude stood him apart. When Matthew messed up the shape of the symbol while drawing it out, Stolas didn’t yell or made his displeasure clear. He just calmly explained where Matthew had went wrong and how to fix the drawing. He told Matthew how the symbol was important to complete that spell, since once it was completed the caster could cast the spell at will anytime after the initial spell.

Stolas helped Matthew to begin expelling the black energy in a controlled manner.

”Deep breaths. Let the energy flow through you. Feel it coursing though your body. Focus that feeling. Let it travel down to your arms, then to your hands, then to your fingers.”

Following Stolas’ instruction, Matthew felt the energy flow down to his fingers, coating them in that swirling energy.

Stolas responded, with joyful clapping of his hands, ”Very good, Matthew! Good job!” 

That praise made Matthew feel warm inside. It felt nice to have actual encouragement and appreciation in his life for once.

Knowing what he had to do next, Matthew touched the centre of the symbol he drew.

The lines within it began to glow yellow, before merging together into a sphere of light that began to rise upwards.

Both Matthew and Stolas beamed with joy at this.

”I just did magic,” Matthew exclaimed, “I actually did real, fucking Magic!! Ha Ha!! YES!”

“Oh huzzah, Matthew! I’m so proud of you right now! Performing a light spell on your first attempt. That’s quite impressive don’t….you…know?”

Stolas’ congratulations tapered off into confusion, as both occupants of the room looked up at the orb of light. The colour had changed from a bright yellow, to pitch black darkness like Matthew’s energy. However it still seemed to by casting a bright light regardless. It was hard to understand or put into words….Matthew thought it looked…mesmerising?

”Well,” Stolas stated, dissipating the orb with a flick of his wrist, likely for safety’s sake, “That was a little…odd. But what about this past week hasn’t been, am I right?” He ended with a laugh trying to lighten the mood. It didn’t. He didn’t mean to….but he just gave Matthew a devastating reminder:

The week is almost over. The fun is almost over. Soon you’ll have to go back up there. And see him.

Matthew didn’t let that apprehension appear on his face, he just smiled.

It made his purpose more clear:

KEEPTHEMSAFE.

After the spell session was over, and they both told Blitzo of the events that occurred (Blitzo jumped onto Matthew with a hug congratulating him), Matthew excused himself to the bathroom.

To perform his second spell.

He hated having to keep a secret from Stolas and Blitzo. They were kind. They cared about him. That’s why he couldn’t tell them……

After ten minutes he left the bathroom. Successful. He wouldn’t need to draw a spell circle at the meeting and he knew it would work. He tested it out on himself after all. He went back down the hallway to have dinner with Blitzo and Stolas. 

Nothing was amiss in the bathroom when one of the cleaning staff came to clean it later on….Matthew had cleaned up well.

Chapter Text

Prisoner:

Outcast:

Hunter:

You know his name:

Group:

Matthew:

Octavia:

Chapter Text

Matthew POV:

Dinner was uneventful. Blitzo and Stolas were talking, saying how proud they were of Matthew performing real magic for the first time and how they were going to think of what to do for the next day, since it was the last day before the meeting is supposed to take place.

Matthew wasn’t fully listening. The Noise was back, drumming away on his brain.

You’re keeping a secret from them.

Ungrateful worm.

What do you honestly think will happen, if by some miracle, you and them both survive this fucking meeting without a new war between Heaven and Hell being ignited by your moron of a father?

Do you think those in charge will actually let you stay with Blitzo and Stolas, if they don’t just lock you up for all the angels you killed?

Worthless. Psychopath. Freak.

It wasn’t as all consuming as before….but it still was drowning out a lot of the sounds around him. Matthew didn’t want to worry Blitzo or Stolas anymore than they already had.

It took about a half hour before dinner was finished, at which point Matthew excused himself.

He needed to clear his head, to feel somewhat normal, if just for five minutes. He couldn’t just keep isolating himself in his room to blare music. He needed to…..

He got an idea.

He went outside to the stable. He saw Bombproof there, resting peacefully against a giant red horse plushy Blitzo had placed there. Matthew could swear he was placing more and more of those things in the stable each day.

Matthew couldn’t quite understand why being near Bombproof made him feel…calm? Safe?

It might be due to the fact she’s an adorable beast he keeps wanting to hug. He went towards her and gently patted her head. She briefly looked up at him, whinnied happily and returned to her resting position.

Then, he carefully laid down against Bombproof’s side, looking up at the sky.

Matthew thought he may have now noticed when it’s night-time in Hell, since he could faintly make out the darkness underneath all the light pollution. He could even see a few stars…..and the sphere that was Heaven.

The Noise made him focus on that detail and all the ways the day after tomorrow could turn horrific.

Just for one night, he didn’t want to think about that.

Octavia POV:

She couldn’t stop thinking about it. Octavia was sitting up in her bed, her mind racing with all the ways this whole meeting business with her dad and Blitzo could go wrong. 

She saw Loona in her own bed, snoring. Octavia was glad she could spend time with Loona and have fun with her to keep her mind off all the stress they were under, but those stresses came back tenfold when she tried to get some damned sleep.

The main focus of that stress was on the fucking angel currently residing in their home. She honestly still didn’t feel comfortable with him being there, but she had to admit he seemed to have lessened that stress, just a little bit, by stopping Striker and seemingly breaking his hands permanently. She wondered if that fact would lessen the chances of her having more nightmares about that asshole shooting her after he was supplied by her own fucking mother with angelic fucking weaponry….Yeah, that nightmare is going to linger for a while.

At least until she actually goes to therapy. She kept putting off visiting the one Blitzo uses, who he recommended to her. She just…..didn’t want to talk about it to a stranger. She could and did talk with Loona about most of her feelings on the absolute insanity that was her life and the shit show that was her current feelings towards Mot….Stella…. But while Loona is pretty much the closet thing she’ll ever have to a sister, Octavia couldn’t fully understand why she wouldn’t tell her every one of her problems. It was…weird.

Her brain just kept firing off her worries through that little mental tangent, though. She just couldn’t stop thinking about all the terrible ways things could go wrong in the near future……

That gave her an idea.

One she would later regret.

It seemed so obvious when she thought about it, she wondered why she hadn’t tried it days ago. She could use her magic to gaze into a possible future. Get some peace of mind. Most days she wouldn’t bother since she had already seen a few possible, and kind of predictable, futures when she completed her training with the spell and there wasn’t any major turning points in her life since those times. An angel crashing into their garden, which would lead to the prevention of possibly nearly successful assassination attempt on her dad and Blitzo and a meeting which could possibly cause Angel and Demon relations to worsen and possibly lead to another full-blown war, certainly qualifies as such an event.

She could cast the spell easy enough in the privacy of the bathroom.

Granted, there were a few issues with this plan. Firstly, while she had performed the spell a few times before, she was always guided during the process by her dad. She could still perform it easy enough, but there’s always that sense of risk. Secondly, whatever view she got of the future would only last about 2-3 minutes, with the details of the surroundings not always being clear. It was probably a defence mechanism of the timeline so anyone who peered into the future wouldn’t get an unfair advantage on everyone else. Thirdly, the experience would be a possible future. No-one can see their ultimate future that’s set in stone. All the choices they make with the knowledge they gain from the vision would undoubtably cause changes to said future. For some the changes are minor. For others the changes cause drastic twists and turns.

She knew the risks. She knew it would be a quick look.

She wasn’t prepared for what she would see.

She set up for the spell, with her sitting on her legs, crossed together on the closed toilet. She set up the three candles at the specific positions necessary, closed her eyes, concentrated and chanted “Tempus Infinitae.”

Her mind felt as if it was falling into an ocean of sights and sounds. They were chaotic, yet at the same time almost calming.

She opened her eyes and looked down.

She was on a hill, covered in green grass. Was she in the Human Realm?

She looked around her. She couldn’t see anyone for miles. Was that screaming she was hearing?

She followed the sound and looked up. The sight made her jaw drop and her blood run cold.

She couldn’t quite describe or comprehend the insanity before her eyes. It was almost as if Heaven, Hell and Earth were all smushed together in a whirlpool of fire and agony, based off the screaming.

She didn’t know what to do, what to think. How the fuck did this happen?! Can this happen?!?!

“You made it.” Those voices would stick with her for the rest of her life. They sounded monstrous, emotionless, sorrowful and smug all at the same time in a distorted, unsettling medley. They came from behind her, it was as if they just materialised there.

She turned around and saw them. The four of them. They were all covered in black shadows that moved and pulsated around them. She couldn’t quite make out any details. Two of them seemed around her size, one seemed slightly taller. The other one was much taller than her, almost to her dad’s height, with their limbs elongated, ragged and almost boney in their shapes.

They were staring right at her. Are they staring at a future version of me? Can they actually fucking see me right now? What the actual fuck is going on?!!

“We have heard your cries for help, and soon, we will answer.” came the collective response, almost like some fucked up sermon.

Curiosity overcame her fear and common-sense and caused Octavia to ask, “Wh…Who are you?”

 “Don't you recognise us?”  Oh fuck they can hear me!!! She couldn’t help but notice one of the voices….sounded sadder than the others when they said that.

They walked towards her, stepping in perfect unison. She took a step backwards, like that would actually help.

“We are not your friend.” said the monstrous voice.

“We are not your enemy.” said the emotionless voice.

“We are your….” said the smug voice, with all three of their sets of hands coming together.

The fourth one among them then shot forward, seemingly staring into her soul. She didn’t move. She just stared into where their eyes should be. Their hand moved slowly up to her face, placing their hand against her cheek. Despite the darkness now violently swirling around their body….the touch was soft. Almost….caring. Octavia wasn’t sure if she could breathe.

The sad voice then emanated from them. A single word:

“Salvation.”

Octavia’s eyes shot back open in the present, crying out in surprise as he fell forward off the toilet. She landed on the floor, gasping.

She sat back up, got her composure back and had only one thought in her mind:

What in the living fuck just happened?! 

Chapter Text

Matthew POV:

When Matthew woke up, he noticed he wasn’t in the guest room. He was still in the stable, lying against a sleeping Bombproof, but a blanket covered in horse related patterns seemed to have been draped over him while he slept. It was very comfortable, but Matthew decided it was time to get up. Bombproof’s side was comfy too, but laying against her any longer would wreak havoc on his back, healing factor be damned.

As he got up, Matthew gave a gentle stroke on Bombproof’s back. She was adorably snorting in her sleep.

Enjoy this while you can. This time tomorrow you’ll have to leave and likely never return.

If you even survive through that day.

Those thoughts again…..As traumatic (and correct) as they still are, Matthew couldn’t help but think they were starting to get a little repetitive. He wasn’t going to shout back at them to get creative out of frustration, though. He learned his lesson from last time.

He made his way to the kitchen, where Blitzo and Stolas were in the middle of eating breakfast. “Good morning,” came the cheerful welcome from Stolas, “Sorry we started without you, but you just looked so peaceful sleeping alongside Bombproof, we just couldn’t interrupt that.”

”It really was the most adorable shit I have ever seen, Kid,” Blitzo added, between gulps of his horse cereal, “I got the photos to prove it.” At that, he took out from his pocket a sizeable amount of photos. They all showed Matthew as he was resting against Bombproof. A couple of them had Blitzo leaning in to give a thumbs up. “And before you ask, I took them on an analogue camera. So there’s no chance that a hacker or some other dumb shit like that can somehow use them to find out that you’re here.”

Matthew chuckled a bit at that.

Breakfast continued on that good note. When it was finished, Stolas stood up. “Now that breakfast is finished, me and Blitzo will contact our daughters. It may take a while, considering the….importance of tomorrow. After that, we can all have a discussion on what fun things we can do with the time today we have left.”

Tomorrow……

And there was the internal torment and anxiety back once more. Just….great.

”That’s f…fine,” came the slightly strained response, “I can just r..relax in my r…..the guest room until you're both finished talking with y…your daughters.”

Once that was said, Blitzo and Stolas then began to make their way to have that conversation, while Matthew made his way to the guest room.

Your room? Do you actually think you belong here?

Once inside, Matthew laid back on the bed, thinking about what to do.

To Hell with it. If I’m likely gonna die tomorrow, I’m at least going to try and play a video game one last time.

After that declaration, Matthew was left with the same problem he had encountered on his third day within Hell: too many options for games, and a very limited window of time to enjoy them in.

”Fuck,” he breathed out.

Chapter Text

Octavia POV:

When Octavia saw the symbol on the bathroom mirror glow, she breathed a heavy sigh of relief.

Her thoughts for the past few hours had been the troubling theories and questions on how the presence of an angel in her home and a meeting with some of Heaven’s officials could possibly lead to that possible future she saw. She didn’t tell Loona all of the details, since she didn’t want to freak her out as much as she was, but she did confide that it seemed like an extremely dark future. She still couldn’t make sense of how that scenario could actually happen. Granted, it was still a possible future, not a definitive one, as well as the fact that she was given so little context for what she actually saw. For the past half hour, Loona was simply sitting next to her, hugging her while trying to maintain some form of calmness for their situation. Octavia could tell that, despite her efforts, Loona seemed just as worried as she was.

They just needed to talk with their dads again, to figure out how tomorrow is going to work, and how everything will be fine.

Everyone will be fine….Nothing bad is going to happen at a type of meeting that hasn’t occurred for several hundred years. A meeting that involves Archangels, some of the most powerful political figures ever. A meeting that would require caution, patience and fucking amazing luck in order to not fall into chaos and explode into a possible war……A meeting that’s going to involve Blitzo…..

We’re all screwed, aren’t we?

Octavia tried to push that thought from her head, as the mirror once more shifted to show her dad and Blitzo. They seemed to immediately notice their unease. “Via? Loona?” her dad asked, “Are you two alright?”

“We’re…alright, dad,” Octavia began, “I just….I used a spell to see a possible future. To try to get some peace of mind about tomorrow. It was…confusing….but definitely not a good outcome. I couldn’t get a full understanding of what actually led to it, but….It was like…all the realms got smushed together and set in fucking fire….” Both her dad and Blitzo were shocked at that possibility.

“Yeah,” Loona added, “Via’s been freaking out over that for a while now. It even got me feeling a little uneasy here…. Can you two tell us anything that can help us not freak the fuck out about tomorrow?”

Tomorrow…..

Once that word registered in her mind, all the sounds in the room started to bleed away, as she thought once more about all the ways the next day could go wrong.

Octavia could tell that they were probably trying to say something encouraging to snap her out of this. It felt like what happened three days ago, just less focused on any event that had actually happened. It was just the feeling of the pressure of all the horrible possibilities of what may come to pass.

This type of reaction kept happening….Fuck, this is always so fucking embarrassing. Why can’t I just stop curling up like a fucking baby when I think of something bad and act somewhat normal for a fucking change…

That internal dialogue was interrupted by the feeling of more arms wrapping around her. She realised her dad and Blitzo had opened a portal from the bathroom, security be damned, to wrap her and Loona into a comforting hug. She could feel all the stress start to fade away, as she held her father in a tight embrace. A small amount of tears escaped her eyes. She wasn’t sobbing. She was just….enjoying the feeling of her father giving her a hug and assuring her that they all will be okay. At least, that’s what she assumed he was saying. The weird phenomena of her hearing being shut off was still somewhat in effect. She could hear some things, but most of it was muffled. The hug still felt nice, though.

She turned her gaze to Loona, who was probably enjoying her hug with Blitzo as much as her (though she would too proud to admit it). Octavia noticed, however, that Loona was staring off behind Blitzo. Into the area where they casted the portal. Fuck, they had a ton of bathrooms. It was on the ground floor, right?

After a few minutes, the hug ended. The worries that had swirled around her mind, were now just hanging at the peripheries of her thoughts. Her hearing seemed to have returned to normal when her father stated, “It will be alright. There’s no power in Heaven or Hell that will stop us from seeing you two again and keeping you both safe.” She could feel herself smile at his words.

With that, the portal closed.

After about a minute of silence, Loona, who was still hugging Octavia, spoke up. Her voice dripped with concern. She was probably the only person who ever heard Loona’s voice like that.

”You feeling better?”

”Yeah,” came the quiet, yet somewhat calm reply.

“…Did you notice it too?”

”Notice what?”

”The smell. I think I smelled that angel guy, Matthew was it?”

That caught Octavia’s attention.

”How could you tell?”

”Mainly the fact that his smell is the only unfamiliar smell in that room. He must have used it.”

”Huh. Didn’t even know angels needed to take a crap once in a while.”

Loona snorted a little at that.

”Yeah, luckily I couldn’t pick up that. Mainly I just smelt sweat and deodorant. He probably has to pile that on since we probably don’t have any clothes that’ll fit him in the Manor. I did smell something…faintly salty. Maybe tears? Stolas and Blitzo did say he went through something.

There was…..something else though.”

Loona’s expression turned serious.

”I’m not a hundred percent sure…but I think I smelt some blood there. A type of blood I haven’t smelt before, so it may be from him. It was very faint, maybe just a few drops. And a lot of cleaning products on top of it.”

At those words, Octavia felt apprehensive again, albeit to a lesser degree than before.

”What the fuck did this guy go through?”

”I don’t know,” Loona shrugged, “but let’s hope he doesn’t do something reckless tomorrow…for our dads’ sakes.”

”And all the realms in case that meeting sparks another war.”

”Yeah,” Loona deadpanned, “That too.”

Chapter Text

Prisoner:

(This theme fits Prisoner’s character, but it could be used to describe how people view Outcast initially).

General Nathaniel Rankin:

(This reflects his villainy and psychopathy being barely hidden by class and sophistication).

Outcast:

Matthew:

Matthew and Outcast:

(I initially placed this as just a theme for Matthew, but I realised this would fit both of these characters very well).

Loona and Outcast:

Hunter:

Hunter and Prisoner:

Chapter Text

Stolas POV:

The anticipation was the worst part of this day. The anticipation that once this day had ended…nothing would be the same. All three of them would enter the neutral area that Lucifer and the Archangels set up and that damned meeting would start. An event that would change several lives forever, possibly the lives of everyone in both realms.

Stolas couldn’t help but worry that those anxieties had been too much for Octavia, as he and Blitzo closed the portal. It broke his heart when he saw his precious owlet curling up into herself with worry about a truly horrible sounding possible future she witnessed. He thanked Satan that she has Loona with her, to help comfort her. However, Stolas was also worrying about how the possibilities of tomorrow would weigh on Loona’s mind as well. He hoped that the hug he and Blitzy managed to give them through the portal and their words of encouragement he spoke would help ease their nerves a little. 

His thoughts then drifted over to what Matthew may be thinking about. If Octavia and Loona were a wreck of nerves at the moment, then Matthew would be a battlefield of nerves and worries over what his future could be decided as tomorrow. It truly saddened him thinking about how Matthew’s ability to chose any type of future for himself was basically taken away from him by that douche-hole father of his.

It bitterly reminded Stolas of how his own father, Paimon, had basically decided his future for him, be it his duties in possessing the Grimoire of Worlds or his centuries long arranged marriage to Stella, with it being entirely non-negotiable. It still caused his hands to slightly tremor with rage whenever he remembered all those nonchalant slaps his father gave and then proclaim how seemingly “good” he was at “daddying.” It was his neglectful actions that made Stolas swear to be the best and most loving parent he could be to Octavia. He wanted to make sure she could, unlike him, decide her own future. His main priority for tomorrow is to make sure Octavia, Loona, Blitzy, Matthew, everyone within Hell has a chance for a future. He wasn’t going to fail them.

Once a few minutes had passed, Stolas and Blitzo then proceeded to walk down the hall to check in on Matthew.

Stolas gently knocked on the guest roo….his room’s door. After a few seconds it opened.

”Hi. Did the c…call go well?”

Stolas and Blitzo briefly looked at each other before Stolas answered.

”It went…fine enough. Our daughters were a little worried but we have hopefully alleviated some of that.”

Stolas couldn’t help but notice how Matthew’s face briefly fell after hearing that. The poor boy must still feel responsible for all the stress this situation is causing. Stolas had the urge to just wrap him in a hug like he just did earlier, but he decided against it. It may surprise him and cause him to freak out a bit. Stolas and Blitzo hoped to help lift his spirits today with another few activities.

Looking around the room, they saw that he was seemingly about to start playing a video game.

“You playing something?” Blitzo asked, “Can we watch you play a bit?”

Matthew' face lit up with wonder and surprise. "R...Really?"

”Yeah, we got nothing better to do at the moment and besides….it’s our last stress free day before…the whole unpleasantness tomorrow, so we figure you can show us something cool. You seem to have a habit of doing that, kid.”

The compliment made Matthew beam with pride. The boy definitely needed to be complimented more often.

He motioned them towards the TV, which he had set up with the Infinitum stick and the controller they knew was in his bag.

”It took me a while to think of what to p…play and I knew I w….wouldn’t be able to play a full game with the l…limited time we have. So I just decided to re-experience one of the b…best openings to any game ever: Far Cry 5. It also s…seemed appropriate considering its themes, as well as the fact that two of the songs I played that you heard were from that games Including the one I s…sang before I…..jumped.”

The mood in the room turned awkward for a second before Matthew continued on with his description of the game. It was still as passionate, but the smile he had looked a little strained to Stolas.

”Anyway, it’s a pretty crazy action game s…set in Hope County, Montana, where a violent religious cult called the Project at Eden’s Gate have taken over. The character I play as is sent in to try and stop them by wiping out their leaders and saving civilians.”

”That sounds quite intriguing,” said Stolas, genuinely interested and hoping this activity would help lift Matthew’s spirits a bit.

At that, Matthew moved to the controller and started to play the game:

Once the opening had ended, Matthew looked at Blitzo and Stolas for their reactions. Both demons were surprised with the graphics of the game and how unsettling the whole situation was, especially with the chilling performance of the main villain, Joseph Seed.

“Well….,” Blitzo started, “That was an unsettling start to a story.”

”Indeed,” Stolas added, “It’s also kind of odd to see a cult that isn’t satanic in nature. I have a few up on Earth myself. Granted, they’re mainly a bunch of harmless idiots who think because they get high while stargazing and produce marijuana plants that they deserve access to this realm for their own moronic ends. There was one sect that attempted to summon me with a human sacrifice but I put a stop to that. Those idiots somehow didn’t put it together that I can just summon myself to Earth without needed someone to die every time. It was a pretty fun time ripping them apart before letting their captive go, though.” Stolas paused for a few seconds. “May I ask Matthew, since we probably won’t be able to see the rest of the story unfold, how does it pan out?”

”Well, the deputy character I play as escapes and has to save each member of the squad he was with from each of the lieutenants of the cult. They’re trapped in their bunkers within each of the three regions of the county. The main aim of the game is to complete activities around the game and create a resistance movement against the cult. But….as the story goes on, I realise something. The cult has a point. They’re still obviously the bad guys, but their goal is to basically save as many people as they can from the ‘Collapse’ that you heard about, by forcing them into bunkers and to make them unified in their beliefs to prevent infighting. It’s basically the end result of all the worst parts of humanity cumulating in nuclear war. The way the Seeds hurt people is due to their trauma. They’ve been hurt and abandoned so many times before. They don’t think they’re doing the wrong thing. They acknowledge that it’s brutal, but it’s still horrible and violent and causes more and more death.

And you know what? That’s the exact same situation with the Deputy.

My character is just letting vengeance and pride take over. The Deputy is doing to Eden’s Gate what they did to the people of Hope County. Violence begetting violence. No-one on either side can think of any other alternative method than violence. And in the end……no-one is saved. It doesn’t solve anything. It just continues the cycle of pain.”

Both Blitzo and Stolas were both enraptured in Matthew’s analysis of the story, while a little unnerved by the more dark subject matter and musings he was saying.

“How is….no-one saved, kid?” Blitzo asked.

”Because….this story….it’s basically about the Apocalypse. The end of everything in nuclear fire. And the Four Horsemen are the harbingers of it. Metaphorically, of course. They’re represented by characters in the story. The Seed family fits those roles, but it’s not just them…..

It’s the other law officers who came. Whose arrival caused the cult to go into overdrive and fully take over. Sheriff Whitehorse. And most importantly….

Me.

The player.

Stories like this have the main character bringing death and destruction to people under the belief that no matter what horrible, violent things they do, either to progress the plot or just for fun since there’s seemingly no consequence, it’s all for the right reasons…..Sound familiar?”

Matthew ended that seemingly unintentionally chilling monologue with an awkward cough and a nervous statement.

”At least that’s h….how I view it. I c….could be looking a little too much into th….that. Sorry for the r….rambling. And the kinda d…dark turn.”

Both Blitzo and Stolas were now fairly unsettled by that surprisingly deep and dark level of introspection on a freaking video game.

”It’s alright Matthew,” Stolas said, “There’s nothing to be sorry for. It’s quite impressive you can think that deeply about a story and its themes.”

”Th…Thanks,” Matthew said sheepishly.

 A few moments of silence passed. The silence was broken by Blitzo.

”Do you wanna go and take your mind off those kinda dark ruminations on humanity and morality, and just play around with Bombproof for a while, kid?”

”Sure!” Came the enthusiastic reply.

Chapter Text

Blitzo POV:

Tomorrow is going to be a long fucking day. All the anticipation they’ve been feeling seems to both make the days feel like they’re dragging on, yet moving so quickly that they couldn’t just sit back and enjoy the actually calm or happy moments. That feeling sucked donkey balls.

At least we can enjoy today, Blitzo thought, as he watched Matthew happily trot around the grounds on Bombproof. If there’s one thing Blitzo was undoubtably glad had happened over this last week, it was the fact that he could now hang out with one of the coolest horses ever!! Added onto the fact was that she was no longer under the harmful ownership of that honky tonk chode. Now Blitzo can just bask in her awesomeness anytime he wanted!! He could bring her to his office and hang out with her while he did his job!!! It would be his childhood dreams come true!!!

Blitzo was also grateful for Bombproof being there to cheer Matthew up when he was feeling down. It warmed his heart seeing the both of them look so content and happy. He is so going to give that horse even more treats for helping the kid feel better about himself by being so fucking awesome!!!

Stolas even tried to have a go. Blitzo loved that man, but his long legs were not built for horse riding. He was gentle with Bombproof, but his legs kept getting caught on the ground as they trotted along. Still, the both of them seemed to have had fun.

After a couple hours of this, they decided to head back inside. Blitzo and Stolas noticed, however, how Matthew kept silently hugging Bombproof for a good couple minutes before coming inside…..The poor kid must be thinking this could be the last time he can actually hang out with Bombproof.

Now, Blitzo wasn’t the most intelligent or diplomatic demon out there, but he swore that no matter what happens tomorrow, that kid would not have to lose the things that make him happy, be it hanging out with an awesome horse or listening to all that music he likes. The kid had lost so much time to actually form fond memories throughout his whole life so far, it felt good to Blitzo that they managed to give him at least a couple of them over this week.

Speaking of Matthew’s music, they had all come to an agreement to do a karaoke night for tonight. They enjoyed it so much the last time…..before Striker busted in the next morning and soured their moods for a while. Thanks again, Dickhead.

If this could possibly be the last night any of them could enjoy something together before their lives may be permanently changed forever, they might as well be something as fun as this.

Anyway, once they had settled into the media room, Stolas asked to go first.

”I hope my performance tonight can match the one I gave last time,” Stolas declared as he set up the song, “It really revved you up that night didn’t it, Blitzy?”

Blitzo nodded with pride at that statement, though he did notice Matthew awkwardly looking away.

“It’s another one I heard on a visit to the Human Realm during the 70s.”

The song began:

Don't Stop Me Now (Queen)

”If you keep getting as hot as you do when you sing and dance like that babe,” Blitzo breathed out, “we should try and do this karaoke thing more often.”

”That’s not a bad idea, Blitzy,” Stolas stated, still gasping a little for air, “We can even get Via and Loona to join in the singing. We can all have so much fun!!” He punctuated that statement by giddily clapping his hands.

Matthew walked over and started up his song, waiting for a few moments for Blitzo and Stolas to get up and find seats. 

Shepherd of This Flock (JT Music)

”Hey, Matthew? I just wanted to ask…..How did you get your voice to change so good for each of those songs we’ve heard you sing?”

”….I d…don’t know. Maybe it’s just innate s….since I play songs like that on r…repeat for a while.”

Blitzo found that answer to be good, so he went on with the activity, but some very small part of his mind kept nagging on that question.

He went up and put on a song he kept hearing new Sinners on the street playing a lot.

Do Ya Wanna Taste It? (Wig Wam)

Chapter Text

Within Hell…..

An Imp and an Owl hold each other. Keeping each other safe in their embrace.

A Princess and a Hellhound restlessly worry about the coming morning.

The Princess fears what she has seen of the future. She prays to whoever’s listening that it does not come to pass.

A king rests in his room. The logistics of the event to occur in the morning all planned out. His questions and behaviour all planned out, leaving no room for mistakes. Mistakes tomorrow could possibly mean destruction on a massive scale, after all. He is sure he and his realm will emerge unscathed from this encounter.

And yet…..He has a message prepared for his servants to deliver. Should the most extremely unlikely scenario occur. Should he not return.

It is for his Queen and his daughter.

It’s surprisingly simple.

It’s the most honest thing he has ever created (apart from Charlie, that is).

It tells them that he loves them. With all of his being.

An Angel does not sleep. Does not dream.

He simply waits for the morning to come.

Why?

In order to fulfil his purpose and his goal.

His purpose that has been rattling in his mind for days:

KEEPTHEMSAFE

His goal?

He has a promise to fulfil after all:

HEWILLNOTWALKAWAY

Within Heaven:

Well, it’s official. Metatron, Archangel and the “Eye of God,” is bored.

You’d think being tasked with being the overseer of all the security cameras and magical sensors of Heaven, as well as the more generalised system for the Human Realm, would be consistently interesting at the very least. But you’d be wrong. He once again silently thanks Father for not only all of his assistants to divide up some of the workload, but also his eyes being magically strengthened in their healing ability so the strain and the constant exposure to computer screens didn’t outpace the healing process and turn them into dust. Still, that didn’t stop them from being constantly bloodshot and sore.

Nothing interesting happens in Heaven, and there’s never a big enough scale of demonic activity in the Human Realm to warrant any major intervention.

It was a fairly standard day as Metatron’s eyes kept darting around all of the screens in front of him, as he drank more coffee (Caffeine, another creation of Father that he is eternally grateful for). No unusual activity spotted. No threats towards the daily operations of Heaven or the Human Realm. Not even any major bouts of unexpected violence from what little view he had of Hell’s Ring of Pride…..He was told to keep an eye out on there especially….

The only actually interesting event he’s gotten involved with in a while was when that angel who jumped off the edge of Heaven last week.

He didn’t even notice with his camera views until it was too late…..Something about that made an odd sensation brew when he thought about how he could have helped him. It was brief, but definitely present. The only specific details he had access to about that angel specifically was his appearance, his name being Matthew Rankin, his father being General Nathaniel Rankin, and the fact he was currently residing in a Manor within the Ring of Pride within Hell until a meeting the following can decide what is going to happen next.

You’d think Metatron would be the busiest out of all the Archangels involved, sifting through all the footage to get a full picture on why this angel jumped…..and there in lies the catch. There wasn’t much footage of this angel at all.

He looked through almost the entire amount of footage the system has on this kid (he was slightly grateful the angel was only 18 and he didn’t have to sort through hundreds of years of data and images), and they almost entirely showed a fairly incomplete picture of someone who never goes outside his house except when he’s transported to the military academy.

Metatron can’t help but notice how miserable he looks in all of the ones he’s seen.

There seemed to have been a major change after the last Extermination. This was where the trend of the footage being absent due to “military” decree by General Rankin before they could actually see the footage began. Metatron barely interacted with anyone outside of his brothers among the Archangels, but from what he’s seen of this General…..He’s a completely pompous windbag.

He kept preening and smirking with a smug grin during his questioning by Gabriel, kept prattling on about his “military career being evidence enough on his claims” and how “the footage is irrelevant.” Seemingly missing the problem of when you can’t corroborate your story without any actual evidence and trying to just use your own word and expecting everyone to just believe you without question. Gabriel seems to want to keep him placated and unaware of how they’re investigating the matter, while the General makes his…..preparations for the meeting tomorrow. It’s honestly the dumbest thing Metatron has ever witnessed and he has been alive since pretty much the dawn of time itself.

He knew Gabriel was working hard on getting any actual evidence of what the heck happened during all those incidents. He did see him on a few occasions reading a book on….autism, he thinks. Uriel, who’s also going to be involved in the meeting, was also similarly engrossed in the investigation, although he only seemed to ask for the browsing history data on an specific Infinitum Stick. He wasn’t sure how that would factor in, but hey, Metatron wasn’t the Patron Angel of the Arts, now was he?

His mind kept wandering back to the events of last week….then he had an idea. Nothing major was happening in any of the realms that would warrant concern….so it wouldn’t be that much if a distraction if he looked over some of the footage again to see if he can find anything that can help the situation, now would it?

He calmly rewound the available footage of that day, trying to trace Matthew’s path from wherever he was staying to the edge. He seemed to have been living in an apartment that was in an area that didn’t have many cameras operating in it, but Metatron could trace a rough path from what he could find…

Something caught his eyes.

He managed to access a security camera of a book store. It didn’t directly show Matthew’s apartment building, but it did catch on that day him entering a confessional booth.

Maybe he sent a message of some kind to Father. Or maybe he simply sat there, thinking about what he would do.

It wouldn’t hurt to check, but the assistants who sorted through those confessional messages usually deleted them by now, since most of them were fairly boring and or annoying. He would have to check the files on every one of them to see what they had saved from that day. It could take until morning…..maybe until halfway through the meeting…..it could be he gets the information too late or it could be useless.

Metatron pondered on what he should do.

He should at least inform Gabriel and have him prepare some way to receive any news from him should he find something useful.

This task was going to require a lot of coffee…..

Chapter Text

Matthew POV:

Matthew’s eyes shot open.

It’s here…

He slowly sat up in his….the guest room’s bed.

His childhood room had several books on shelves (mainly about military technique that he was “encouraged” to memorise and the few bits of human literature he was allowed to have to keep him quiet at home), a much larger, almost ornate bed and a wardrobe full of clothes (most of them being the exact same anyway).

The room he had slept in for the last week, was comparatively smaller, plainer and some would say boring.

He never felt more calm than when he slept in here. Though his level of calm wasn’t really saying much.

This is the day. When all the fun times end….

He looked at his few belongings, laying in the bag on the chair.

He would take his music player with him. Come here or high water, that thing is going with him to the end…..but the rest….

Stolas and Blitzo could use the Infinitum Stick. It’s pretty handy for watching anything they want.

The remaining things could stay here.

Maybe they can act as the one major thing that said “Matthew Rankin was here.” It’s as good a mark on the world as any.

He sniffed, smelling his suit and looked down at it. He needed a shower.

Wrinkled, from being slept in. Torn in places from the impact. Red blood stains. His blood. Black blood stains. Striker’s blood.

He couldn’t clean it and have it ready in time for the meeting. He needed a lot of deodorant to cover up the smell.

Matthew made his way out of the room. The hallway feels…odd as he walked to the bathroom. You’d expect Stolas and Blitzo, along with the staff, all running around in panic to prepare for this day. Matthew couldn’t hear any real activity.

He entered the bathroom. The water washed over his body, washing the sweat and dried bloodstains from his skin and hair.

After drying off, a wave of deodorant engulfed both Matthew and his suit. Once this was finished, he left the bathroom and heard some activity in the kitchen area. As he made his way there, he saw what seemed to be the majority of the staff and security standing to attention in front of Stolas. Their attention was mainly on him, while a few of their eyes landed on Matthew with surprise and some wariness. Stolas was dressed up in his full royal attire, with a serious expression on his face. 

“I have called you all hear to inform you that me, Blitzo and our guest of the last week are going attend a meeting this day, the specifics of which are strictly confidential. While I have the upmost confidence that things should run smoothly, this could very well result in our demises should the absolute worst occur. If that comes to pass and we don’t return……then you shall carry out my possibly final orders: ensure the safety of my daughter Octavia and Loona. Serve them well, as you have for me all these years. I trust you shall be able to meet this task. Am I understood?”

”Yes, sir,” came the collective, professional reply. They then returned to their posts to resume their duties.

Matthew looked on, taking that speech in.

Just another reminder of how you’re going to cause the two people who actually seem to give a shit about you to be ripped from their families forever. How does it feel? Knowing how all of this could’ve been avoided if you just. FUCKING. DI…

“Matthew? Are you alright?”

Stolas’ voice took Matthew of his headspace.

“It…It’s okay. Got l….lost in my head a b….bit there.”

Stolas looked concerned. He brought his hand to Matthew’s shoulder. "I know you’re stressed about today, Matthew. And I know it’s going to feel more and more stressful as it goes on, but understand this…We will do everything in our power to make sure the truth about what has happened to you is heard and that we can all go home safe and sound. Nothing bad will happen because will make it impossible for anyone to do what has been done to you ever again.”

Matthew wanted to believe Stolas’ words. A part of him still held on to the fear he has for their safety that’s been building and building.

What he said about the truth….he knew some of it would be told, at least. Why else did he perform that spell in the bathroom?

Matthew made his way out to the garden some time later, just outside the stable. Stolas was making some last minute preparation inside the Manor, but he did tell Matthew what Lucifer had told him about how they were getting to the meeting place.

It was in another plane of existence, likely Limbo, with a portal that was going to open in a couple of minutes being their mode of transport. Once they arrive, scanning technology and magic would be used on all participants to identify any weapons or concealed spells on their persons, any results from this would then be displayed and described to everyone involved.

He was waiting out there, playing with Bombproof for a good twenty minutes before Blitzo came out. He joined in with petting Bombproof before he spoke up.

”You doing OK, Matt?”

”Y…Yeah. As g…good as I can be.” A pause. “Is it nearly….time?”

”Yeah, Stolas will just be a few minutes. We sent Looney and Via a message on the mirror, then I sent a voicemail to my employees. It’ll only get sent out if we don’t make it back. I just…..needed to say all he things I should have said to them. They’re pretty much part of my family.” A wistful expression crossed Blitzo’s face.

Matthew remembered his own family, (or lacking thereof as of a few weeks ago). His expression turned forlorn.

”Yeah. Without family who the fuck are we?”

“Hey,” Blitzo soothed, “Don’t be like that. There are people who care about you, now. Me, Stolas, Bombproof.”

He accentuated that point by nuzzling Bombproof some more. “Who cares about Matthew? You do. Yes you do you beautiful beast.”

Matthew snorted a bit at that. He then heard Stolas approaching from the Manor.

”Matthew. Blitzy. It’s time.”

As if on cue, a white portal door opened nearby.

All three of them stared at it. Blitzo and Stolas looked at Matthew. “Are you ready?”

”Yeah. J…Just give me a minute.”

His attention turned to Bombproof. He enveloped her a soft embrace. 

“Goodbye….You’re a cool horsie. Thanks for making me feel less miserable.”

As he let go of her, Bombproof started to whinny and move around. She seemed…..distressed. She….knew somehow.

Matthew kept looking at her as he made his way to the door. They all stood in front of it for a moment.

They all took a breath…..and stepped in.

Just like that, the portal was gone.

Chapter Text

Matthew POV:

The sudden change from a fairly varied environment in Hell to the stark white near-nothingness was likely uncomfortable to Blitzo and Stolas. It wasn’t so much for Matthew. Spending your whole life in a place where the primary colour of nearly everything is either white, gold or light blue acclimates one’s vision to those types of colours.

It was like a blank canvas. With almost nothing around for miles in any direction. The only exceptions were themselves, the hazy sheet a few yards in front of them, and the even farther figures opposite them.

Among that haze are two of the Archangels. Two of the most powerful and important beings ever. Among them would a contingent of soldier Angels, likely.

Among them….would be HIM.

Matthew breathed out slowly, letting the anger subside for the moment. No use getting blinded by rage.

Not yet, anyway.

Blitzo and Stolas seemed fairly composed, but he saw them holding hands tightly, helping each other stay calm.

After a moment or two, Lucifer entered beside them, with a flash of light and a small amount of confetti, their bright colours making them stand out once they had fallen to the ground.

You can say a lot about the ruler of Hell, but you can never deny he loved to be theatrical. 

His ever present grin was still there, his presence oozing the confidence needed to head up a meeting like this and prevent it from descending into chaos.

He made his way in front of the three of them. His eyes seemed to quickly scan them over. Looking for nervousness? Hesitation? Fear? Determination? Anything about how they felt that could help or hinder their chances.

He seemed to have been satisfied with what he saw.

”Now then,” he began, “the ending to all of our collective headaches is about to begin. Don’t worry. If we do this right, everyone gets to go home, being little worse for wear.

Those sensor sheets a couple of feet ahead of us? We’re going to pass through them first, then Heaven’s representatives will follow suit. Both sides will be shown a projection of our bodies, with hotspots of magical energy and weapons being highlighted and listed out. Both sides are allowed to have weaponry, but neither side can hide them. Just to keep everyone more honest. Casting magic is still allowed, but there’s an energy field around here that slows the casting down and make the spells quite prominent and easy for those with magical knowledge to identify what spell it is.”

Lucifer made his way towards Matthew, putting a hand on his shoulder.

”I just need to give you a heads up in there, OK? There’s…an item they’re going to use on you to clear up some details on this whole mess, that I can’t reveal the specifics on ahead of time. It’s majorly classified, and the experience it will cause is not going to be pleasant. But I need to reassure it won’t physically harm anyone here. None of us are going to let anyone use that thing to hurt you.”

Matthew’s nerves started to creep back in,

“Just stay calm, speak the truth and everything will be fine. Hm. It’s honest sentences like that keep creating that…weird taste in my mouth.”

Matthew snorted a little, as did Blitzo. Lucifer’s smile seemed to grow slightly.

”So,” he said, punctuating it by clapping his hands together, “Let’s get things started!”

All four of them walked forward.

Their eyes scanned around them, making sure no surprises were in store.

They stopped in front of these “sheets.” They looked as if fog was trapped inside a thin rectangle. It glowed a faint purple.

Lucifer stepped through first. A faint sound like an airport security scan could be heard (at least what Matthew thought they would sound like based on the media that showed them), then what looked like a screen appeared in front of each of them, as well as the figures on the other side.

It had two images of Lucifer. One of him as he looked normally, and the other was almost like an X-Ray, with several swirling cloud-like images dotted around his body. There was also a long, thin dagger-like object above where his wrist is.

Lucifer Magne/Morningstar

Ruler of Hell

Magical Ability: Vast. Centuries of knowledge. Specialises in Illusions.

Weaponry: Minimal. 1 Dagger hidden in Left sleeve. Angelic in nature. Centuries of Combat Experience.

HIGH RISK

Stolas went next, with his screen showing purple clouds around his body. They were focused on his hands, chest and head. Matthew could barely make out what looked a book behind him.

Prince Stolas of the Ars Goetia

Patron Demon of Herbology and Astronomy

Magical Ability: Vast. Specialises in Portals and can turn people to stone with glare. Forcefield around head and vital organs, expanded coverage to arms.

Weaponry: No conventional weapons. Possesses Grimoire of Worlds. Currently hidden and intangible. This book amplifies magical prowess and contains many powerful spells.

HIGH RISK

Blitzo held Matthew’s hand for a minute, making sure he was calm about this, before he stepped through. His screen showed many, many guns, knives and other weapons around his body in ways Matthew didn’t think possible.

Blitzo

Imp. Owner of Assassination Business.

Magical Ability: Limited Knowledge. Possible usage of Grimoire of Worlds can counteract this.

Weaponry: 10 Pistols within coat, 1 collapsible knife in sleeve, 2 hidden blades in shoes, 3 extra ammo clips in pants, 1 Micro-Grenade up rectum. Experience with ranged and close combat.

MEDIUM RISK

That last statement made Matthew wince a little. Blitzo didn’t seem too bothered by that fact being revealed, though.

”What?” He cheekily remarked to the screen, “Gotta keep em somewhere. Least those angel guards they’re sending don’t have to do a cavity search, don’t want them fainting now would we?”

Stolas and Lucifer giggled at that, before turning their attention to Matthew.

He was taking deep breaths, preparing to pass the point of no return.

After a minute, he stepped through.

His screen flashed up…..and it almost glitched out trying to show whatever dark energy was swirling inside him.

Matthew Rankin

(Updated Personal Details from database unavailable due to Military Decree by General Nathaniel Rankin)

Last known Details provided by limited analogue filing system as of 3 weeks prior:

Exterminator, Private Rank. Three tours. Deserted training post as of 3 Months prior.

Magical Ability: Previously Limited Knowledge, potential of growth in interim time. Unknown potential due to UNKNOWN classification of magical energy. This energy is focused around the hands, feet, torso and throat (vocal cords specifically).

Weaponry: None on person. Potential risk of hand to hand combat due to extensive Exterminator military training.

HIGH RISK

All four of them felt saddened by how this system seemed to have labelled Matthew as still being an Exterminator.

That’s pretty much all you’re good at, isn’t it?

Shaking his head briefly to try and stave off the Noise, which was starting to louder the further he went along, Matthew almost didn’t notice Blitzo holding his hand again to help ground him. Blitzo briefly stopped, looked at Lucifer and asked, “Wait…Why is that energy focusing around his vocal cords?”

Lucifer shrugged his shoulders at that. “Another mystery about Matthew’s power we can hopefully uncover once this whole business is dealt with.”

They walked on for a few more minutes before Lucifer motioned them to stop.

Farther ahead, they could see the figures behind the other “screen” conversing.

Once that had finished, the first among them stepped through. His screen popped in front of them….

It was Archangel Gabriel.

Archangel Gabriel

Messenger of God. Meeting Leader.

Magical Ability: Vast. Centuries of Knowledge. Specialises in Combat Magic.

Weaponry: Angelic Spear. Centuries of Combat Experience.

He had a serious, but not harsh expression on his face as he walked forward. He was wearing a suit not to dissimilar in style to Matthew’s or Lucifer’s, although it’s colours were mainly of white with deep blue accents. He had several files in his left hand, several pencils and pens in his pockets, what seemed to be body armour peeking out from under his suit and a sword at his back. Stolas and Blitzo eyed that last item warily.

The next person to advance was the second Archangel, Uriel.

Archangel Uriel

Patron Angel of the Arts and Sciences.

Magical Ability: Vast. Centuries of Knowledge. Specialises in Fire Magic.

Weaponry: Angelic Sword, with flaming capabilities . Centuries of Combat Experience.

Uriel had a fairly similar appearance and expression to Gabriel, with a couple differences. His suit had more red accents, he had a pair glasses resting on his head and he had his famous flaming sword in a scabbard.

They were both poised and professional.

Behind them was another angel none of them had seen before.

Scribe Noah Prysen

Scribe of Magic and Official Witness to Meeting events.

Magical Ability: Limited Usage but Vast Knowledge. Utilising Recording Spell for cataloging purposes.

Weaponry: None. Minimal Combat training.

The scribe seemed a lot more visibly nervous than the Archangels. He was wearing a white robe and a glowing yellow orb was floating near his head as he walked forward.

Three angels in full armour, with weapons sheathed, entered after him in unison. They all had stern expressions, their eyes scanning all of the participants.

Three Guards (Identities Anonymous to all parties to prevent tainting of their judgement).

Magical ability: Limited. Primarily healing magic.

Weaponry: Extensive guard training. Each have Angelic swords. Middle Guard had Angelic Pistol. Leftmost Guard has 2 Angelic Daggers in Chest-piece.

Once all of the angels had entered, Matthew got a look at their faces.

Gabriel and Uriel were looking them over….but Matthew noticed that every few seconds they would look upwards for a moment. He didn’t know why. Then he looked over at Blitzo and Stolas. They were looking composed, professional (it was slightly odd seeing Blitzo like that). He then looked over at Lucifer. His eyes were doing the same thing. His smile was still present though.

The silence was tense.

It was broken by Lucifer.

”Greetings Gabriel. Uriel. Long time no see. Glad to see your still rocking the combat nerd look after all these years.”

“Greetings Lucifer,” came the professional, yet somewhat cheery response from Gabriel. “Sorry for the delay to the official proceedings. We have to wait on General Rankin due to….the one request we had to grant him so he would actually show up. I’m sorry in advance….,” he looked….almost pained saying these words. “It’s just…kind of embarrassing.”

As if almost on cue……

He arrived.

Chapter Text

Lucifer POV:

Lucifer loved his dramatic entrances. He literally wrote the book on how to do them effectively and with as much style as one can muster.

The entrance which that asshole General Nathaniel Rankin chose is quite possible the most horrendous travesty Lucifer has ever seen.

And he’s the literal Ruler of Hell.

The entrance mainly comprised of the General walking slowly towards them while extremely loud chants in Latin emanated from….somewhere, don’t ask him where. The lyrics of these chants were basically all variations on saying how “great” he was and how everyone else paled in comparison to him.

His movements were slow and uninteresting. His face kept that ugly, all too pleased with himself grin the entire time. The chanting was loud, off-key, repetitive and dull.

And this shit went on for 5. Fucking. Minutes!!

It was somehow extremely garish, overcompensating, unoriginal and just fucking boring all at the same time in some unholy fusion of everything terrible about this douchebag!

At least his brothers and their entourage were as unimpressed by this display as he was. Even the rookie scribe wasn’t falling for Rankin’s self congratulatory bullshit and was trying to look anywhere else.

Lucifer could barely hold back his face from shifting to a look of utter contempt for the asshole making his way toward them. And he has trained himself for centuries to not let his true opinions of a person come across through his expressions. That is how bad a person General Nathaniel Rankin is.

Blitzo and Stolas had looks of disgust, boredom and anger all fused together. Makes sense. They probably already had enough reasons to hate this guy.

Matthew…..was worrying him.

He didn’t have an expression that was filled with justified contempt towards his father. His expression was…..emotionless. Lifeless. As the General got closer, Matthew’s right eye started twitching. He kept clenching and unclenching his hands until he clenched until it seemed to start to bleed. The dark energy was staring to pool out of his eyes before Stolas stopped it by holding his unclenches hand.

I’m glad these two can keep him calm enough not to freak out and try to shank his terrible father. If this meeting didn’t require everyone to remain calm and civil, I would just let this kid rip him apart. It would probably start a war, but it would be  an interesting show at the very least. Especially if….He is still watching.

That comforting action stopped things from escalating for the moment, though the energy’s presence was noticed by some of the others. 

Stolas and Blitzo looked with concern.

Gabriel and Uriel had looked over and seemed unnerved by its presence.

General Rankin was too busy preening and showboating to notice. Fucking moron.

The chanting, thankfully, finally stopped as the General stood beside Uriel, who was, rightly, trying to subtly move away from this douche. Rankin didn't seem to notice as he looked around the area in that garish outfit of his, covered in all the medals he likely gave himself. Lucifer wouldn't be surprised if he ending up tripping over that ridiculously long cape of his.

Although Lucifer had to admit that he had at least one braincell in him realising “Hey. My son, who I abused for his entire life and has already killed his idiot brothers and grievously wounded me, is going to be face to face with me soon. I better stock up on a fuck ton of body armour so he can’t stab me again.” All the ridiculous amounts of padding and armour underneath his outfit made him look even more ridiculous.

Rankin’s smirk didn’t waver as he briefly looked upon the denizens of Hell in front of him, his eyes barely hiding a look of disgust, before turning his attention to Gabriel.

”Greetings. I apologise for the slight lateness of my arrival, but one cannot rush perfection.”

Fuck, his voice is even more intolerable than what it sounded like on the Flashback Projector.

Gabriel seemed unimpressed with that answer and didn’t respond to that moron, simply sighing and saying, “General Rankin. May I ask why your security screen hasn’t shown up?”

”Oh a simple method of magic my subordinates casted. Should give us an edge, should things….escalate. Can’t be too careful with this lot, now can we?” He was saying this in what he thought was a covert whisper, but was more akin to talking normally with his hand haphazardly shielding his lips.

“No. You must take down whatever magic that has somehow blocked that spell, now. And if you can’t, I will pat you down myself. This meeting can only work as intended if both sides have some fleeting amount of trust and you showing up while flagrantly disregarding the security measures is not conjunctive to that at all. From this moment on, you shall not make any action like that without express permission from me or Uriel. Am. I. Clear? ” Gabriel’s face was stern, with a glare that seemed to pierce through this moron’s thick skull. Kudos.

His expression looked as though he was about to throw a tantrum, but he held his arms up as he was told. Gabriel was patting him down, quickly and efficiently. Uriel stood beside him, eyes locked on Rankin.

Rankin’s eyes lazily wandered towards Matthew. Lucifer could tell he was afraid of his son by how they widened ever so slightly.

Good. Hope you piss yourself, you incompetent shit.

“Son,” came his fruitless attempt to appear civil and professional in front of his superiors in order to salvage any trust he thought they had in him.

“Asshole,” came the calm response from Matthew, the ghost of a smirk on his lips.

Chapter Text

Stolas POV:

The silence which ensued that reunions between Matthew and what Stolas could hardly call his father was tense.

Until that tension was broken by Lucifer almost collapsing in laughter.

”HAHAHAHAHAHA! Oh my word! That was Fucking hilarious!!! HAHA!”

The laughter continued until Lucifer was almost wheezing. That took about a good 2 minutes. The Archangels looked unimpressed. They had dealt with Lucifer before, after all. Gabriel only briefly paused, before returning to patting down Rankin.

Said General Rankin (aka General Shitstick as Blitzy would refer to him when they were planning how to deal with his lies) looked strangely confused, almost as if he wasn’t entirely sure if he should be pissed off at Lucifer’s antics. He probably thought better of it, since he didn't want Lucifer, the King of Hell, to be personally mad at him. 

Too late for that, asshat. He already hates your guts. You’re just going to dig a bigger hole for yourself. If there’s anything left to bury once everyone was through with him.

“Oh my….Heh heh heh. The timing and that delivery…HaHa!”

Eventually, Lucifer collected himself and stopped laughing, a big smile still present on his face.

”Ahhhhh…..I know this is a serious meeting with long term implications for the futures of all of us, but that moment just made this event somewhat enjoyable. Thank you Matthew.”

Matthew’s response to that compliment was a brief awkward smile and a somehow more awkward thumbs up gesture.

Stolas personally found the whole thing funny as well, but didn’t outwardly show it. He simply gave Matthew a comforting pat on the back.

Stolas could see Matthew’s eyes were darting between Gabriel and Uriel.

“Now then,” Lucifer began, “with that out of the way, has the General been throughly patted down yet?”

”Yes, he has,” stated Gabriel, standing up and turning towards his Fallen brother, “He has only two hidden weapons on him: an  Angelic knife hidden within his left glove and an Angelic automatic pistol strapped under his right pant leg.”

Rankin was trying to not let his displeasure come across at having his “surprises” ruined by his superiors. He just glared at the demons in front of him. They glared right back.

”With that little hiccup now dealt with, brother mine, shall we lay out our respective charges?” A file then materialised in Lucifer’s hands. Stolas noted how the spell was slowed down, like how Lucifer described would happen. a faint orange glow appearing on Lucifer’s hands for a few seconds. The angel scribe, Noah, looked at Lucifer’s hands when they started to glow. He then looked at Gabriel and gave a quick nod. This was likely the method used to determine what actions to take by the Archangels to any spells that were cast. Stolas wondered if he himself would be the method Lucifer would determine his actions by.

Gabriel nodded in response to Lucifer’s question, “Yes, we shall begin.” He then placed a file that he was carrying front and centre. His long wings then extended outwards. From what Stolas could remember, when the Archangels are present and discussing important matters, it’s a custom for Angels that are present to extend out their wings as a sign of respect.

Uriel was next, quickly followed by the scribe and the security detail, their wings being significantly smaller by comparison.

Matthew extended his out afterwards, the process seeming a little strained. He had been holding them in for a week, after all.

Lucifer’s wings also extended, their black feathers contrasting with the environment around them.

General Rankin was the last one to do so, with a reluctant expression on his face.

Gabriel proceeded to clear his throat before he opened the file and began to speak. “With this decree, let the charges be read out. On the authority of God and the Ruling Body of Heaven, Private Matthew Rankin has been charged by his father, General Nathaniel Rankin, with multiple counts of murder, with two counts of fratricide involving his brothers and additional charges of dereliction of duty, refusal to obey orders and destruction of military property.

To all that witness this, does the accuser agree that these are the charges they wish to pursue?”

Gabriel’s words carried no joy or vigour, this was just the procedure he had to follow.

“Yes,” came the smug answer by Rankin, “These are the charges I wish to pursue against my wayward son.”

It pained Stolas, Blitzo and even Lucifer to see Matthew cringe slightly as each of the bullshit charges were read out. Their blood boiled when Rankin kept yapping on.

”The charges have now been finalised,” Gabriel replied. Then, with a bit more enthusiasm on his part, “Furthermore, this meeting shall also have time dedicated to discovering the reasoning for the first ever recorded incident of an attempted suicide by an Angel.”

Rankin looked puzzled and a little nervous at that statement. You should be nervous, asshat.

“Lucifer? May you now proceed?”

“Certainly, Gabe,” came Lucifer’s response. Gabriel rolled his eyes at that nickname. A little annoyed, a little embarrassed, a little amused from what Stolas could see.

“The charges being brought forth by Matthew Rankin are against his father, General Nathaniel Rankin. The charges included attempted murder, both directly and by proxy, destruction and tampering of evidence relating to this investigation, political corruption and abuse of military power, status and resources.”

Rankin tried to maintain that politician stoic expression while the charges were laid out, but his expression grew more and more strained as he tried to desperately not come off as the insecure moron he truly is.

”Are those charges acceptable for you, Matthew?” Lucifer’s tone was surprisingly soft as he said those words.

Matthew’s expression was determined as he spoke, his voice ice cold with anger:

”Those charges are fine, with one addition…I charge General Nathaniel Rankin with 18 years of child abuse, both physical and emotional.”

Chapter Text

Gabriel POV:

This was….surprising. On multiple levels.

Gabriel was not used to being surprised. Being an Archangel, governing Heaven and doing so for centuries meant that nearly every crazy, insane or just plain weird phenomena that can occur has both happened to him or he at least had studied records of them. He would assume the same of Uriel, as well.

Seeing his Fallen brother Lucifer defer to someone in a conversation other than himself or his wife and daughter was certainly unexpected. At least, based off the intelligence Gabriel has reviewed over the years. He felt a small sting at the realisation that he has never actually seen or spoken with his niece. It would be interesting to know what it feels like to be an actual uncle to someone…

The charge itself being levelled against a general of Heaven's forces, no matter how full of himself he is, was unprecedented. 

The other major surprise.... Matthew's entire demeanour when saying those words.

Gabriel had a…complicated view on this angel.

Most of the footage they had managed to see thanks to the efforts of Metatron (Gabriel really needs to get him some more high grade coffee as a thank-you gift for his work), showed a quiet and honestly miserably looking boy. Gabriel was unsure how he missed any signs of that from what limited glances he had gotten of him whenever he had to attend those insufferable parties at General Rankin’s residence. He had never actually spoken with the boy, but he did notice him always at the sidelines. Hidden away. His own father never directly talked about Matthew at any point up till when Gabriel first questioned him.

The cherubim servants which worked for General Rankin on his grounds didn’t say much. They kept insisting they couldn’t under “military decree.” But what they did say, was that Matthew was a lonely but kind boy. He spent most of his days in his room, utterly alone. They also informed him that Matthew was autistic. Gabriel hadn’t heard that term before, so after some research on the subject was completed, he hoped he was prepared enough to converse with him in a way that wouldn’t seem offensive to him.

The sadness he had glimpsed on video was still present in Matthew’s face before him, but it was mixed with almost desperation and cold fury aimed at his father, his eyes burning with rage. Gabriel was pretty sure that anger was making him twitch here and there. He was glad that the two demons in front of him, the Goetic Prince Stolas and the imp Blitzo, seemed able to keep him somewhat calm. Gabriel really doesn’t want any violence to erupt that could be used by either side to escalate to outright conflict.

The scarily high scores shown during his training regimen as an Exterminator was unsettling. Footage of the training sessions showcased his proficiency. Then there was this “black” energy that was reported by the only one of the witnesses involved in the incident at the hallway in the Military compound to be almost pooling out of him. This may be what had caused Matthew to be able to permanently kill other angels without Angelic or Blessed weaponry. This power’s potential danger has grave implications, should this ability somehow be able to be shared to or shared by others.

It still shocked him that all this drama was centred around someone who was barely an adult. 18 years old….That seemed like such a brief time to Gabriel, who has lived through millennia.

Gabriel hoped that whatever the truth of this whole matter is will become apparent, and that proper justice can be dispensed.

Gabriel shook his head ever so slightly to recollect his thoughts. Lucifer seemed to be the only one who noticed. He was always good at reading people like that.

The meeting would continue on as planned.

”Very well,” Gabriel declared, “That charge has now been officially added. Are there anymore additions that anyone wishes to make?”

Silence. Well, apart from General Rankin tapping his foot impatiently.

Doesn’t he understand that there is proper procedure for this event and said procedure takes time? Oh wait, what am I saying? This is the same man who blatantly hid weapons on his person and expected everyone to be okay with him looking incredibly suspicious.

”With that, the charges have now been finalised. The opening statements pertaining to the primary incidents shall be read out by Archangel Uriel.

Uriel, shall you begin?”

”Yes, Archangel Gabriel,” came the stern and professional response form his brother, “the opening statement shall begin.”

He cleared his throat.

”The following primary incidents shall be investigated in relation to the various charges that are being presented:

10th of March, Extermination Day and 18th Birthday of Matthew Rankin at Main Entrance Hangar of Military Base Alpha. The details of this incident are unclear, due to unco-operative witnesses and video surveillance being destroyed under military orders by General Nathaniel Rankin. This event is relevant to the charges of dereliction of military duty towards Matthew and the charges of destruction of evidence and abuse of military powers towards General Rankin.

26th of May, at hallway between the Training Hangar and the Armoury Hanger of Military Base Alpha. The details of the incident are also unclear due to, again the destruction of surveillance footage, while also having unreliable witnesses, partly due to trauma. The details which are known is that of 14 Exterminator angels were killed during an altercation between the two main parties involved, with the brothers of Matthew Rankin, Abraham and Michael, being among the fatalities. An unknown power possessed by Matthew was seemingly involved in making their deaths permanent. This event is relevant to multiple murder charges against Matthew Rankin, as well as the aforementioned destruction of evidence by General Rankin.

10th of June, at edge of Heaven, in the Solarii District. The event is somewhat documented, with a military decree by General Rankin preventing the incident from becoming wildly known by the public. Matthew Rankin was seen heading towards the edge of Heaven, singing the song “Let The Water Wash Away Your Sins” from the video game Far Cry 5. He then proceeded to seemingly attempt suicide by jumping off the edge and falling towards Hell.

The truth of these matters shall be quite challenging to determine, due to the lack of solid witnesses, as well as the lack of much, if any video footage.

However, the Archangels have determined a method that should allow some of the truths of the matter to come forth.”

With that, Uriel used a spell to open up a small portal over his right hand, out of which dropped a canister.

Gabriel saw how Stolas and Blitzo’s eyes widened at what was written on the canister:

TRUTH BOMB.

Chapter Text

Blitzo POV:

We are so fucked, Blitzo thought, as he saw the canister in that Archangel's hand. He knew what that shit was and where it came from. It was that truth gas that caused him and Moxxie to have a truth filled acid trip when the D.H.O.R.K.S. captured them.

He hoped those jerks just kept all that shit locked up after he and Stolas came back to destroy their footage and scared the living piss out of them. Guess they hadn’t.

And now the Archangels have it and plan to use it on General Shitstick and the Kid.

So they know what it can do.

So they know Blitzo and his team fucked up and were almost exposed to the world by humans.

He already knew there was a chance that this meeting could get complicated by what he does for a living being exposed by the assholes in charge of Heaven. He just didn’t expect how it would be possibly vital to proving Matthew’s story over his dickhead father’s, since this shit forces people to spill their guts out.

It didn’t sit well with Blitzo that by the Archangels using this gas it may re-traumatise the kid by making him live through those events again, but he kept his mouth shut. No use making this situation any more stressful for everyone, especially Matthew.

”This is a chemical gas,” Uriel described, “created by a human government agency that compels those who inhale it to tell the truth when asked a question or in response to a statement in general. This concoction has been proven to work on non-human entities such as demons…”

That last statement sent fucking alarm bells through the heads of Blitzo and Stolas. They tried to keep their composure, but Uriel seemed to notice their efforts and glanced at them.

It didn’t seem like a glare of disgust or fury, though….just a glance at Blitzo and Stolas holding hands and he was back to speaking.

”and Angels alike. This effect of the gas occurs on initial contact, but longer term exposure, around 4 minutes, can result in vivid hallucinations involving the affected being confronted by deep personal truths. The nature of the location we are currently in allows onlookers to view said hallucinations, with them being unable to physically harm the affected or any onlookers. This method, while useful, is not a way to have complete objective truth on the events being investigated. The hallucinations showcase a person’s view on the truth of events. This can be altered by bias, the amount of information they have of events and personal trauma. Those affected can somewhat stop truths from being revealed in the early stages by refusing to speak, however that type of reactions will likely be perceived as highly suspicious.

The effects of the gas will be used to give an insight into the mindsets of the two parties involved in all of these events, helping us understand how they view these events and what their personal reasons for actions taken. Definitive evidence on these events are currently out of this investigation’s reach, which is why this method is being used.

The two parties, General Nathaniel Rankin and Matthew Rankin, each shall first give an account of these events. Then they will be asked again while under the effects of the Truth Bomb gas. The subsequent hallucinations may then be used to gain further understanding of these events, if some cannot be gained form either testimony.

Now, normally this type of action would be done covertly in order to gain a greater sense of honesty from both sides, but due to the hallucinations potentially harmful effects on the psyche of those affected, it was deemed prudent to give all parties a fair warning about its effects.

Any questions?”

A couple second passed before Blitzo raised his hand.

”Hey, Urinal!”

”It’s Uriel,” came the deadpan reply.

”Yeah, whatever, I just wanted to ask if you assholes have a way to stop the effects of this shit in case the acid trip it’s gonna cause gets too intense for the kid.”

He looked over at Matthew and gave him a reassuring smile, before his expression turned serious once more as he stared down at the Archangels, who had an expression of both mild surprise and bewilderment.

”Well, while the language of that question was….interesting, the sentiment of it is understood and appreciated. Scribe Noah has trained in the spells needed to cancel the effects of the gas should the hallucinations become too physiologically harmful.”

Blitzo was satisfied with that answer. At least these pricks aren’t complete idiots.

Of course the textbook example of an idiot opened his mouth soon after.

”Excuse me, Uriel. But why would you inform this….thing of our methods to gain information? And speaking of which, why was I not informed of such a concoction before this moment?”

Pretty much everyone on the Hell side of the area just made new plans to rip the General a new asshole for that dig he made at Blitzo (Stolas and Matthew, especially) while the Archangels simply looked mildly annoyed.

Uriel was the first to respond, in a level, yet intense tone.

”Firstly, Mr. Blitzo simply asked a logical question involving the gas’ impact on the mental well-being of an 18 year old boy that’s currently involved in an extremely high stress situation. And secondly….This is an investigation. Not just on Matthew, but on you. If we had more information and evidence about this whole situation, we likely wouldn’t need to use such methods, now would we?”

That shut up Rankin. For about a minute anyway. Fucking Christ, this shit smear won’t shut up.

“Now then,” Gabriel interjected ever so awkwardly, likely hoping to get everyone back on track, “Shall we start with the testimonies?”

Chapter Text

Matthew POV:

Say what you will about the Archangels They let this happen They at least didn’t seem to be taking any of the “great and glorious” General Rankin’s crap when he tried to circumvent their security measures or when he insulted Blitzo I’ll take his shins for that.

That was a good sign…..Right? Remember why you’re here.

He doesn’t walk away.

Showing them the truth would be nice.It won’t change anything, the slaughter will continue. You can’t stop it.

The Noise was pulsing around his head like usual….but it felt more cold, focused.

Geez, I wonder why? Oh! That’s right…He’s here, so we can make sure he doesn’t walk away.

Matthew put up a neutral expression, as his father stood up to give his “testimony” in front of the Archangels.

It still felt weird seeing them up close and actually talking to them. The only interaction he had with them was occasionally glimpsing them at those fucking parties his father would drag him out to in order to “maintain appearances,” while paradoxically shoving him to the sidelines to keep quiet while he schmoozed up to his superiors. They never looked particularly thrilled to be talking to his father, now that he thinks about it. They were always touted by everyone he knew as the “ultimate examples of greatness” for Angels. He wouldn't go that far in describing them they failed to stop him and he's going to weasel his way out of it and keep hurting people but he still felt weird to be in their presence. Then again, Matthew had just had several weirdly low stress conversations with the literal ruler of Hell, so maybe he shouldn't be as nervous. 

His nerves and irritation spiked back up when his father opened his fucking mouth.

”Let us begin this journey into the past to shine the truth on the sordid events that have impacted our glorious realm.

From my memory, I recall the events of the last Extermination. The operation went swimmingly, with my expert tactics and insight allowing for the optimum culling of Hell’s population for the good of Heaven. My other sons, bless their souls, were in their natural element. Deep in the heat of battle and fulfilling their duty with all the honour one would expect from the forces under my command….”

”Just get. To. The point,” Gabriel muttered, the annoyance he seemed to have felt began bleeding out into his words.

Rankin looked almost angry that his self congratulating rant was interrupted, but he didn’t vocalise it. One of the only smart moves you’ve every made.

“Anyway, the overall completion of the Extermination was a rousing success, but it was the celebration after it had concluded that began this chain of events. You see, not only was it Matthew’s 18th birthday, but it was also the celebration of his first kill as part of our armed forces. I always wished for him to finally conform to the standards we all must abide by, but alas, when he returned he ranted about some hatred he had for our whole society and left. Deserting his posting, while still retaining his Exterminator armour and weapon. I searched and worried for him in his absence, until his unannounced return to the hangar. A delegation of angels, myself and my other sons, Abraham and Michael, went to investigate. That’s when he went mad and butchered through my troops. He slaughtered his own brothers like it was nothing! A truly shameful moment, especially once he raised arms against his own glorious father!”

That statement seemed to cause him to hold the point where he was wounded by Matthew, as if some of the pain lingered after the healing. That made Matthew smile to himself, which briefly distracted his mind from the overwhelming disgust that enveloped it from listening to the bullshit his father was trying to peddle.

“Anyways, after he left, I picked up the pieces and submitted what was available to you to ensure true justice will be achieved.”

He ended that little speech with an obnoxious bow.

He’s going to have his legs cut off and stabbed through his fucking thick skull.

Chapter Text

Gabriel POV:

The statement may have lasted about 2-3 minutes but it felt as though it dragged on for hours.

Gabriel could honestly say that General Nathaniel Rankin has moved up from being an annoying bore who wouldn’t shut up about himself at meetings and gatherings, to a complete narcissist with little concept of reality.

What string of thoughts had crossed his mind that made him think it was acceptable to spend a good third of his statement boasting about himself, while given little to no elaborative details on the events in question and ignoring how he ordered the destruction of nearly every other piece of evidence that could possibly give them all a clear idea of what happened on those days?

Gabriel took a calming breath, before stating, in a slightly strained tone, “Well, that was certainly…..something. Now General Rankin, step aside so your son can give his statement.”

General Rankin looked almost offended by this order. “What? Wasn’t my testimony enough damning evidence against my son? Surely the word of a decorated general has the most sway in this hearing, doesn’t it?”

……Gabriel couldn’t believe that this moron said that with a straight face.

He could see his brother Uriel having an expression that likely mirrored his own: eyes wide with incredulity and disbelief and an almost disgusted expression. The scribe and the security detail looked similarly unimpressed by that comment, as did the residents of Hell in front of them, although their reactions had a sense of anger mixed in.

Matthew didn’t look surprised. He just kept staring at his father. Hatred seemed to fill his eyes.

Better defuse the situation quick.

“General Rankin…you seem to be under some illusion that your word alone should overrule findings made during a week long investigation and a complex meeting between realms which required extremely careful planning. I’m going to tell you something that, frankly, you should have been told much more frequently:

You’re not the most important person here. You’re in the presence of people who actually outrank you. You’re not in charge of this investigation. Your demands are not going to be catered to. You are supposed to actually follow someone else’s orders other than your own.

The investigation is not only analysing your son’s actions but yours as well and thus you shall be put under the same scrutiny as anyone else. You will follow our orders, as I told you not a few minutes ago when you flagrantly ignored security protocols.

You will shut up, stand aside and let someone else talk for a change.

This is not a discussion or a debate. We have run out of patience for your antics.

Now stand. Aside.”

There a silence after that. It was broken by Lucifer whistling, then stating, “Wow…Great “keeping lackey in line” speech. I never thought I’d say this to you again Gabriel, but…..Respect.”

Gabriel felt odd hearing Lucifer compliment him for the first time in centuries….but he didn’t let it show. He had to be as professional as one can be in this situation.

Rankin had finally shut up. It was funny how he seemed to love barking orders, but couldn’t handle anyone telling him what to do. We really should have kept more of an eye on him if he was like this throughout his career.

Gabriel took in a breath, and continued with the questioning, “Now…Private Matthew Rankin, may you please step forward to begin your statement?”

Matthew seemed to hesitate, but he resumed forward after some encouraging glances from Prince Stolas, Blitzo (why was there a silent O at the end?), and Lucifer surprisingly enough. Gabriel wasn’t sure whether to be proud of his brother for showing some level of care for someone other than his wife and daughter, or to tease him about going soft in his “old age”. The thought was amusing enough for him, though.

Matthew went up to the centre, paused for a moment, and began to speak. 

Chapter Text

Stolas POV:

There’s nothing to worry about, right? That was the thought going through Stolas’ head as he saw Matthew begin his statement to the Archangels.

He’ll be alright. There’s all those precautions to keep everyone safe, the Archangels aren’t taking General Shitstain seriously and Matthew seems calm enough to give his side of events clearly. Stolas had to keep reassuring himself of these points to maintain some form of calm.

”My father,” Matthew began, “for as long as I’ve known him, has been a psychopathic, lazy and moronic narcissist, whose only form of validation comes from lording his status over others and bragging about all those stupid military medals he awarded himself centuries ago.”

That last statement caused some mild surprise for those listening to it. “Wait a minute,” interrupted Blitzo, “this asshole didn’t even earn those bullshit awards? He just gave them to himself?! Wow, he just became even more of a fucking tool than he already was!”

Uriel looked almost embarrassed as he explained, “The military reward system was organised by Rankin near the end of the war. We didn’t feel that it needed much thought put into who received what medal at that time.”

Rankin looked offended that someone would question his achievements that now seemed even more meaningless than before, but a glare from Gabriel kept his mouth shut as he grimaced.

“Anyway,” Matthew continued, “thanks to whatever caused my father to have such an inferiority complex that any difference of opinion with him seems like a personal strike against him, the fact that I was grew up with my own fucking personality and didn’t revolve my life around his approval meant that he felt it was perfectly normal to beat that living shit out of me either himself or by ordering those morons I called my brothers. They thought it was fine since we all have fucking healing factors so the pain they inflicted didn’t matter to them. This went on for my entire. Fucking. Life. They couldn’t imagine a world where I did anything original so while still tormenting me they forced me to be a part of those fucking Exterminations against my will.

The first incident began when the two dumbasses forced me to….kill a demon. I….I still see his face when I close my eyes sometimes…..And when I ran back up to Heaven my father and brothers had the gall to throw a birthday party to celebrate the fact they forced me to kill someone. I snapped, called out their bullshit and I got smacked across the face by the “great” General over there. He then ordered all the footage of that day be destroyed since that’s pretty much the only political move he can actually do.

I ran away from that fucking place. I still had the damned armour on me. I stayed in an apartment I managed to rent thanks to saving money my asshole parents gave me so I could purchase things that would keep my distracted and quiet. After a few weeks, I couldn’t take the guilt anymore and got the idea of using a spell to get the video footage from the armour as evidence to stop my father and brothers, as well as trying to end this whole fucking system of yearly genocide everyone accepts as if that shit is normal! Sorry, I digress.

I got the spell book to show me how to access the footage, but guess who blocked my exit? The asshole who raised me and his two moronic spawn. They had a contingent of Exterminator Angels with them, ready to kill me.

That was when….that weird, black energy came out in full force. I killed my brothers and those other angels who tried to attack me….I stabbed that shitsmear General in the stomach before flying off back to where I was staying. That’s when I realised the futility of actually trying to make a change.

I couldn’t stop all the Noise that was smashing through my head until a week ago….That’s when I decided to….jump. I sent the footage on a Confessional video, but it probably got deleted before anyone saw it….

When I….fell, I landed in the garden of the nice demons you see in front of you, whose residence I remained in until today.

Thank you, for letting me say my piece. Sorry it wasn’t more interesting or believable. Where’s an Animus when you need one?”

”Yes, that would have been a useful tool for this investigation,” came a surprising reply from Uriel. This caused Matthew’s jaw to drop slightly.

Chapter Text

Uriel POV:

Well….that was an unsettling account.

The way this young man just recounted several haunting and possibly traumatising events like they were almost nothing…It truly unsettled Uriel. He was somewhat used to being unsettled to a lesser extent from the research he had done on this angel’s usage of an Infinitum stick for the past ten years, with some of the media he was consuming being somewhat disturbing with their imagery and themes. Oddly enough, all of the media Matthew has consumed was from Earth. There was nothing from the realm he has inhabited for his entire life.

The stories which seemed to be most common among them were violent stories that commented on the nature of violence itself, as well as its usage in both outright conflict and entertainment. The ones which seemed to have been viewed the most was TV Shows Doctor Who and The Punisher, the movies of the MCU, and the video games Spec Ops:The Line and Far Cry 5. That last one seemed to be of some extra significance to Matthew, considering the song he was singing before he jumped was from that game’s soundtrack. Its themes of religious zealotry, violence and the apocalypse raised some worries about Matthew’s mental state and beliefs. These may have been the root sources of his opinions on the Extermination system. Uriel knew that it is the only viable method available for control over Hell’s overpopulation despite its admitted brutality, but he could understand why people opposed it.

If what Matthew had said was the full truth…it would explain why it took so long to comb through only a fraction of the stories he had experienced. He may have had no other real choice for how to spend any of his time away from his father, who was fast moving up on Uriel’s list of the most annoying people he has ever encountered.

He could only guess that Gabriel was having similar thoughts when he gave the nod for Uriel to get the Truth Bomb canister ready. Uriel then cleared his throat before speaking.

”Now….with both statements having been given, the Truth Bomb gas shall now be dispersed among this entire area. This will be done to prevent egress to an area where the gas is not by any of the participants. The gas has been altered to only show the hallucinations of General Nathaniel Rankin and Private Matthew Rankin. The other participants will not hallucinate, but will still be compelled to be truthful.

With this forward warning, are there any objections before we continue?”

Silence persisted for a few seconds before Uriel released the gas. The green mist slowly but surely enveloped the entire area, the smell being slightly off-putting, before a mild headache occurred for a few seconds. The imp, Blitzo, seemed to not recoil as much when he inhaled it. He has experienced it before, after all.

“In the spirit of co-operation between all sides present,” Gabriel declared, “I ask that each of us reveal one secret we know. It can be as harmless as you want. I shall go first.

Uriel, I wish to admit to you that I was the one who covered your clothes in fire ants and spiders while you slept, as part of a prank centuries ago, not Lucifer. Although he was the one who supplied me with them."

Uriel was mildly surprised at that admission. He rembered that day quite vividly. One doesn't easily forget a day where you put on your clothes, find that they're covered in insects and you spend the rest of the day trying to manically swat them away with a flaming sword. Suffice to say those clothes ended up burned to crisp after a few swings.

“Well,” Uriel responded, slightly amused, “thank you for your somewhat forced honesty. It also makes it easier to tell that I was the one that accidentally started that “God’s Bugle Boy” nickname for you among the main governing body of Heaven after I heard the term in a Human Realm song back in the 1940s.”

Two seconds after that admission, Lucifer almost collapsed to the floor in giddy laughter.

”HAHAHAHA!! How the fuck haven’t I heard of that nickname for you?!! That’s fucking hilarious!!! It’s so weird to be giving multiple compliments to you lot nowadays, but I’ve got to give props to you there Uriel.”

Uriel couldn’t help but a crack a very small smile at his brother’s antics, before the smile become somewhat smug.

“Thank you for the compliment, but I’m now curious on what secret you wish to share with us to prove whether the gas affects you.”

Everyone turned to look at Lucifer. The laughing stopped, and a slightly uncomfortable grimace crossed his face.

This was the ultimate test to see if the Truth Bomb gas truly worked. To see if it could compel the Prince of Lies himself to reveal a secret.

After a couple seconds of Lucifer squirming slightly, he answered.

”There is one of my wife’s choices that I genuinely disagree with. That was her choice to revoke my banner privileges.”

All present in the area quirked an eyebrow in confusion, as Lucifer continued.

”I truly don’t understand what her thinking was on that. I mean, everyone loved the “My daughter got a Girlfriend” banner when I unfurled it after Charlie revealed her new girlfriend Vaggie. A much better partner than that Seviathan prick she used to go out with, let me tell you.

But when I learned that they had become intimate and unveiled the “My daughter got some” banner during dinner, suddenly I wasn’t allowed to make anymore banners. It’s so unfair!

Luckily any hostility towards my wife was wiped out when we had some great make up sex later that night…”

”Okay! Okay, Lucifer you don’t need to give us all the details on that one,” Gabriel cried out, face slightly red with embarrassment. Uriel’s face was also similarly red, but his thoughts were on both on how well the Truth Bomb has worked, and on how Lucifer’s wife, Lilith, seemed to be the only person he seemed to defer to.

She must be either very loving or very scary. Or both.

Chapter Text

Lucifer POV:

This was embarrassing. Spilling a secret like that in front of not just his brothers, but other angels and some of his subjects.

And yet…it felt fucking good to make his brothers smile, while also embarrassing them at the same time by mentioning having sex with his amazing wife.

I really need to work a way around this gas after this whole ordeal is finished. Can’t risk others using it against me. Plus the smell is so fucking annoying.

When his brothers had calmed down and regained their composure, they turned their attention towards the scribe, Noah. He seemed perpetually nervous, understandably so considering he’s the only present without any significant combat experience. “Scribe Noah,” Gabriel declared, “would you kindly continue this process with a secret of your own? While the fact that Lucifer was affected by the gas would attest to its effectiveness, it’s better to be safe than sorry in case someone is unaffected for some unknown reason.”

Smart play to cover all your bases. No wonder it was always so annoying trying to outmanoeuvre your combat strategies.

“Yes, of course, Sirs,” came the quiet reply, “The secret I shall reveal is…that I used to wet the bed until I was 6 years old.”

The lack of mocking at that admission seemed to temper the embarrassed blush present the scribe’s face, which encouraged the three guards present to divulge their secrets.

One of them admitted to setting off a stink bomb in his barracks during basic training.

Another admitted to sticking a “Kick Me” sign on the back of his old commanding officer’s uniform, which remained there for two days before the officer noticed.

The last one admitted to sneaking in to see a film without a ticket, but he felt guilty and later anonymously donated to the theatre.

Got to give credit that some angels seem to appreciate good pranks nowadays.

These somewhat humorous secrets helped keep the mood light, until it came for Nathaniel’s turn. He looked almost constipated as he tried to hold back whatever secret the gas was compelling him to tell.

Any hopes that it was related to the investigation were dashed when he spoke through gritted teeth.

”The first time I ingested wine, during the victory celebrations for the end of the war between Heaven and Hell, I ended up vomiting and defecating into a bush for thirty minutes.”

Fucking moron.

Pretty much everyone else present ended up chuckling at that admission. Matthew was the only exception, although Lucifer could see the kid crack a smile. Lucifer hoped the good mood would last until the hallucinations started.

The attentions of the groups present were then focused on Blitzo and Stolas. Blitzo took a deep breath and turned to his lover.

”Okay, Stolas…I have to confess…I think your dad is kind of hot.”

”What?!” Came the high pitched squawk of a reply.

”I’m sorry!! I know he was as pompous asshole to you for your entire life, but he only seems hot on those few portraits you’re forced to have to kept up of him. The only reason I find him hot is that he looks like an older version of you!”

Stolas breathed out an exasperated sigh. “Look, I’m not angry at you Blitzy. It’s fine. And since we have to reveal some uncomfortable secrets….I secretly placed a tracking spell on you while you slept in case you get kidnapped again.”

Blitzo didn’t seem visibly shocked by that revelation. “Okay…? That’s not really a big deal…..You care about me and my job is dangerous as shit. It makes sense you want to keep an eye on me.”

”Well….yes, but the more uncomfortable fact is where I placed the spell…”

”Where?”

Stolas’ four eyes slowly moved downwards. Blitzo quickly followed that gaze, his eyes widened and he quickly covered his crotch.

”Stolas, I love you, but you are going to move this tracking shit somewhere else ASAP. Go it?!”

Stolas vigorously nodded and waved his hand. A faint red glow appeared where Blitzo’s hands were covering and slowly moved to his chest.

Lucifer could see the apologetic and loving looks between Stolas and Blitzo. It reminded him of when he looks at his dear Queen Lilith.

That made him smile, as did the humorous nature of the secrets they shared.

He hopes the same can be said of the only person present who hadn’t revealed a secret yet:

Matthew.

Chapter Text

Matthew POV:

They were all looking at him…

What the fuck am I supposed to say? What secret should I say?

You know which one.

No, no, no! I can’t!!

What else are you gonna tell them? It won’t matter anyway. It won’t work. You have been, and always will be a weak, worthless piece of shit who is going to watch as everything goes to shit around you.

ShutupshutupSHUTUP!!!!

SAY IT!!

Say something else! Something pointless!!

“….Um….I…have celebrity man crushes on Jon Bernthal as the Punsiher, Michael Fassbender as Magneto, and slightly lesser one on John David Washington from Tenet.”

The sheepish answer seemed to be deemed acceptable by most of the people present, after Archangel Uriel seemed to give an approving nod. Geez, did his research on my viewing habits account for that, too? The only exception was, of course, the fucking “General”, a sneer of contempt clear on his face. Archangel Gabriel seemed to notice this and glared at him. This made his expression fall into an annoyed scowl.

Matthew internally breathed a sigh of relief. That was too fucking close…

It was at that moment the blank landscape around Matthew and General Rankin began to shift and change, their heads starting to spin as they seemed to zone in and out. Gabriel looked suddenly more alert as he hastily stated, “Oh! This is when the hallucinations are going to start. Okay, everyone remain calm and back away from the both of them. They shall need some space.”

At that instruction all the other participants took several steps back. Matthew could still see Stolas and Blitzo looking at him with all the care they showed him the last week, even as his vision began to swim.

”Before I forget,” Gabriel announced, “and while you’re both still compelled to tell the truth…Do either of you know the specific nature of the black energy seen emanating from Matthew, or how it originated?”

Matthew looked right at him, and answered in a slight monotone as his concentration seemed to be slipping ever so slightly. “I have no idea what this power is or where it came from.”

Gabriel then looked towards Matthew’s father for his answer.

”I also have no idea where that power came from. If I did know, I would have put it to use already…,” came the obnoxious and slightly ominous reply.

Those were the last words spoken before the hallucinations took full effect.

The area around Matthew seemed to swirl violently for a few seconds before settling down into black void. Looking down, he could see rubble, broken weaponry and blood, both black and red, staining the ground.

He could still see everyone else on the outskirts of it, with his father’s hallucination also being visible. The white background remained, but behind him was a giant golden statue of himself, posing like an all-powerful ruler. Why am I not fucking surprised.

The moment that thought passed his my mind….Matthew heard it. The Noise. It started off small, then kept growing louder and louder. He was almost used to it at this point, covering his ears to block some of it out. Not like that would a make a difference…but when he looked up, he saw everyone else covering their ears as well.

They….They can hear it too?!

“Well, Well, Well,” said a voice just behind him, “This is going to be a lot of fun…”

Matthew turned around and saw….himself.

Chapter Text

Blitzo POV:

It took less than 5 minutes for shit to start getting weirder.

First, all those secrets getting spilled to check if the fucking gas works. The stuff with the Archangels and Lucifer were pretty funny, thought nothing made him want to cackle like a loon more than when he learned General Shitstain shitted in a bush. That mental image alone almost made this whole mess worth it.

When Blitzo saw the fucking hallucinations begin, it took all of his self-control not to try and drag the kid to somewhere away from that gas so he wouldn’t have to go through the shit he endured. He knew that gas would re-traumatise him. Great fucking idea, you Archangel pricks. Let’s place a clearly traumatised person in a situation where their anxieties and perceptions of themselves and their actions are put on display for everyone to see. What could go wrong?

Blitzo was also angry with how that Gabriel prick seemed to scramble to ask the both of them a pretty vital question about how much they knew of that fucking black energy. That prick had a week to prepare. Moron. 

At least it seemed that General Shitstain didn’t know what it was either, so he didn’t have some long con set up involving it.

When the hallucinations began, Blitzo was both surprised by what he saw and not surprised at the same time. He wasn’t surprised when he saw a fucking statue of General Shitstain appear, because of course this prick would imagine himself worthy of an gaudy statue like that. (Admittedly, he knew Lucifer had a couple statues like that, but at least he somewhat earned them by actually governing a realm of near constant chaos somewhat successfully for fucking centuries, instead of just ordering a yearly mass genocide while sitting on his ass).

What surprised Blitzo was both the fact that he and everyone else could somehow hear the Noise that’s been plaguing this kids for the better part of a month, and that a fucking clone of Matthew who appeared behind the kid.

It looked like an exact double of him, but it was also a clear hallucination. His form was coloured weirdly, and seemed to glitch  slightly. It was like a video copy from a crappy old TV but in full scale.

The copy looked around at everyone present. He grinned. The way he did it felt wrong to see on Matthew’s face. It wasn’t the smile he gave when talking at length about something he loved. This was the grin of someone who couldn’t wait to cause pain and suffering to someone they hate. That grin is real fucking familiar.

“Oh, isn’t this just perfect?” This copy’s voice felt wrong as well. All the little stutters, the reserved nature, the little bits of a happy tone that broke through here and there the past week….They were all gone. All that was there was a gleeful tone, strained to the breaking point. It was like he was desparately trying to mask pure loathing and hatred with a grin. 

"The little boy who longed to be a nobody is the centre of fucking attention with some of the most powerful beings across two realms. The sweet, bitter IRONY!"

He turned to the Archangels and gave a very mocking salute. “Hi there, Gabriel and Uriel, sir. Hope you both are ready for the truth about the two shitstains in front of you, because it’s a doozy.”

The copy turned again to face Lucifer. “Lucifer! The head honcho of Hell itself. Hope you can get some entertainment from the shitshow that’s coming. Don’t worry….it is going to be spectacular!”

The last turn was towards General Rankin…..but the copy didn’t look at Blitzo or Stolas. Blitzo briefly saw the copy’s eyes dart in their direction, and they looked…sad? Uncomfortable? Ashamed?

”And then there’s YOU……” The copy strolled up to the general and just…stared at him. His expression was terrifyingly empty. Blitzo knew this as he could see General Shitstain clearly ready to piss himself already.

The copy then smiled that terrible grin. “I’ve hated you since I was 5. You remember when I was that age? You should.

It was the age when you first bashed my head in with a chair.”

Chapter Text

Blitzo POV:

Blitzo hated Nathaniel Rankin. For a fuck ton of reasons. When Blitzo first heard of him, he disliked him simply because he was angel and a general in their armed forces which took part in a yearly genocide on his realm. He hated him much more when he learned he abused Matthew, his own son, for pretty much his entire life for simply having a different opinion, as well as actual morals. He hated him even more when he saw his fucking horrendous entrance, his pompous attitude and his blatant stupidity. He actually managed to make Blitzo hate the fucking Archangels of Heaven slightly less, simply by the fact they seemed to think he was a dickhead as well.

But no matter the level of hate Blitzo could muster for this asshole, it was nothing compared to how much Matthew wants to rip this fucker apart. That was clear in the memories he saw, all the times he talked about him and now it was made much clearer with how this hallucination of the kid was relishing in how scared General Shitstain was getting.

Blitzo briefly looked away from this sight to check on how the real Matthew was doing.

He was curled up on on himself, but his eyes seemed transfixed on what was happening in front him. Blitzo could see little specks of the black energy start to rise up where the kid’s fingers were digging into his suit.

That could be an issue…

Blitzo didn’t know this yet…. but he was right.

The area around Matthew was changing again, the hallucination standing to the side at the area changed to what seemed to be the mansion where the Rankin family lived. Off to the side, a long dining table appeared. A bunch of figures materialised on its chairs, all with the same distortion as the copy of Matthew. The figures were copies of General Shitstain, his asshole wife, and those two fucking goons that used to be Matthew’s brothers. At least, until the kid ripped them apart.

The hallucination of Matthew, while this was happening, shifted his appearance to what he looked when he was 5. While he admittedly looked adorable, his expression seemed sad and confused as he walked to the head of the table. His hands were fidgeting and a low, nervous hum could be heard.

"F...Father?" Came the nervous, quiet reply.

”Yes? What do you want?” His tone was as irritable as usual. The two other dumbasses sitting at the table were too busy bragging to each other about whatever pointless expensive shit they just got. Matthew’s mother was just sitting reading a magazine.

“At….At school today, the teacher told us about the...Extermination.” That perked up the ears of everyone at that table.

The hallucination of General Shitstain even managed to crack a smile at that. “Oh? And what did that teacher tell you about that event?”

”He talked about how great he thinks it is as it stops there being too many demons in Hell, and that you’re the person mainly in charge of it…” The general preened at that mention of himself. “But…it’s all about killing lots of demons. That’s just wrong.”

Any positive emotions in this memory were vaporised at those words. Death glares from his brothers bore down on Matthew.

“And why is that….wrong?” The question had a strained calmness to it.

“Doesn’t it seem weird to be happy about killing people?”

“They’re not people, Matthew. They’re demons. Murderous monsters with little purpose than to fulfil their desires for chaos.”

“But isn’t the Extermination just a lot of murder? Why would we do that instead of something else?”

The hallucination paused for a moment, his eyes narrowing.

”That system is like this, and shall always be as such, so that those below us will know their place and those such as I will rise to the apex. After all, who else should be above all others than your father?” The smarminess of that sentence made Blitzo want to puke.

The copy of Matthew just stared at his father. Then, in a calm yet somewhat incredulous tone:

“That sounds really dumb.”

Four words. Four simple words. That’s all it took.

The copy of Ranknin didn’t say a word, his face completely neutral save for his left eye twitching slightly.

He was silent as he calmly lifted the ornate chair he was sitting on and bashed his 5 year old son across the head with it.

All who were viewing this event could hear the crunch as the chair broke open part of Matthew’s skull.

He fell down, bleeding across the floor, tears filling his eyes. Sickening sounds of further cracks draws attention to his healing factor slowly repairing the damage.

The hallucination of Rankin had no reaction to this. He simply put the chair back, sat down on it and continued to eat his meal.

The hallucination of present day Matthew reappeared behind his younger self. Fury clear on his face towards his father. The real Rankin was still near his fucking statue, fear returning to his face.

”The reactions to this always stuck with me. Your lack of one. That highlighted to me for the first time how much of a pile of shit you are.

My brothers laughing and pointing at my misery. That wasn’t as surprising, considering even before that they picked on me, stole my books and laughed at me for being different. For something as simple as tapping my fingers when I got nervous or when I spoke louder than I meant to or when I just couldn’t look anyone in the eye, and keep in mind they were supposed to be fucking adults, yet they tormented their 5 year old brother like fucking teenagers.”

The hallucination paused. His expression shifted. He looked more forlorn.

“My mother’s reaction….always puzzled me. Every time those shitheads beat me, humiliated me, literally tortured me…she never stopped it. She yelled at me for not being popular despite everyone already being basically told to hate my guts, she yelled when I got blood on her furniture. I’m fairly sure she wanted your whole rising through the ranks plan to succeed so she could have all the bragging rights of being on top.

But she never did anything to me. Not one half hearted slap. Not one chair to the skull. She was never around to see it happen except the first time. Always in a hurry when she knew it was coming. Her face….I don’t know if it was because of the concussion I had, but I swear I saw genuine shock and regret. Even for just a moment.

That moment of fleeting self awareness that she may have, that you lack, is the only reason why I don’t want to bash her skull in like I want to do to you. In all honesty, I just don’t give a shit about her anymore.”

The scene around them began to change once more. Blitzo took this chance to look at the Archangels.

Their expressions when it came to General Shitstain’s actions had changed quite a lot throughout this long-ass meeting.

It started off almost embarrassed. Then they turned annoyed. Then they grew shocked. It was now becoming clear with each passing word what they thought of him.

They looked angry.

Welcome to the club. Took you fucking long enough.

Chapter Text

Lucifer POV:

Lucifer knew how to lie. He loved to lie. He was the best at it. In any realm. So he was the de facto authority on whether someone is a good liar or not.

Nathaniel Rankin was a shit liar. Plain and simple.

Why?

Because he was dumb enough to lie to his superiors about his true asshole nature for likely centuries, yet when he knew there would be an in-depth investigation of his actions backed up with actual evidence, he expected his word and status alone to convince everyone.

Fucking idiot.

The only genuine talent this prick seemed to have was to be the biggest prick in the entire universe.

Lucifer saw more of Matthew's memories begin to show in increasingly rapid succession. They mostly consisted of Matthew's abuse by his brothers and father, all the training he was forced to excel in and moments that highlighted his isolation from people. One moment that stood out when when they popped one of his fucking lungs. (That image caused one of the guards to dry heave for a bit).

 The segments however seemed to have been altered slightly. As the progressed, the faces of Matthew's "family" seemed to glitch and distort, becoming more monstrous.

The Noise that plagued Matthew throughout those events also seemed to grow louder and louder. All those negative angry voices constantly blaring was really unsettling

No wonder this kid is so traumatised if he has to listen to this shit all the time.

Lucifer looked at his brothers. So far, they hadn’t said a word since Matthew started hallucinating. Lucifer could tell they were paying very close attention to it, with the occasional angry glance towards General Rankin. The scribe was also intently watching theses events, likely to aid the recording of them.

Then, the events which kick started this whole shit-show were shown.

The Extermination. Matthew being forced to kill. The crying. That fucking party. The hallway fight. The deaths of his asshole brothers.

Unlike the other memories being shown, there was no distortion at first. Likely due to Matthew likely playing these events over and over in his head a lot, as well as the fact he already had these moments shown to others before.

It felt…wrong to see those memories again. To have the kid go through all that trauma again…

Fuck. I’m going soft in my old age.…..Maybe I could give him a rubber duck when this is all over. They always make me feel better.

The distortions returned in the memories in-between these major events. When Matthew was alone with his thoughts. All the rage and self-loathing seemed to spill out in glitches of faces contorted in anger or agony.

There was even a moment on that last day where the entire scene seemed to change to an entirely different location for a few seconds. It looked like sand and fire merged together as it swept past Matthew.

Uriel seemed very interested in those moments. Maybe his research gave him some insight into what the fuck that meant.

That moment happened just before the memory of Matthew went out to...jump

They saw him head to the confessional booth, but the hallucination skipped over what he actually did in there. The Archangels both looked at each other when that happened. Gabriel muttered something involving Metatron. Hopefully they can get some evidence from him later if he hasn’t collapsed from exhaustion today already.

The memory show ended at the moment Matthew jumped off.

Everyone was silent. The only sound was the slight whimpering the real Matthew made for a few seconds, while his hallucination looked on at him with a derisive expression.

Gabriel was the first one to break the silence with an awkward clearing of his throat.

”Well….that account was… unsettling.”

“No shit,” came the simultaneous reply from the hallucination and Blitzo.

“Right. Matthew, I thank you for your consent for the showing of your memories. I apologise for any emotional hardship you may have endured through this process.”

No response.

”Alright then. Now,” Gabriel’s voice regaining its usual commanding edge he gained through practising in the bathroom over the centuries, “General Nathaniel Rankin, what is your response?”

Chapter Text

Gabriel POV:

General Rankin was quiet.

That was both relieving and worrying at the same time.

It was relieving in that everybody wasn't constantly subjected to his arrogant narcissism being spilled out through his mouth.

It was worrying in that this man loved to talk. So for him to be pretty much silent, especially in this type of situation, did not bode well.

What must he be planning? Based on what I know of the man and what I’ve just seen, it won’t be smart, but it won’t be good either.

Matthew was still curled up in on himself, his hallucination still sporting that worryingly angry expression as he stared down his father. And considering what Gabriel has just seen…if it is undoubtably the truth….he completely sympathises with that.

The demons, Prince Stolas and Blitzo, were standing as close as they could to Matthew. Almost as if they wish to hug the boy. At least some people want to help him.

Gabriel was at least glad that Lucifer wasn't completely derailing the proceedings with his antics and remarks. Good to know he can take some things seriously for once.

His attention returned to General Rankin. His expression was a mixture of anger, embarrassment and confusion, all being wrapped in a weak mask of indifference. His silence was still worrying.

”Well?” Said Lucifer, clearly wishing to progress this meeting along. “What do have anything to say for yourself, General?”

Silence persisted.

”What’s the matter,” came the mocking voice of Matthew’s hallucinations as “he” advanced toward the general, “cat got your tongue? This is truly the most surprising thing you’ve ever done, although it’s still painfully obvious.

You know this Truth Bomb shit will force you to be honest for the first time in centuries. So you know you have to clam up or be implicated in all the shit you’ve done, even though keeping quiet is still going to make you look guilty as shit.

That’s pretty much all you can do, isn’t it? Since you’re not smart enough to think of anything truly original or clever to do instead.”

A low chuckle emanated from the hallucination.

“Do you all know what the most infuriating thing about this fucker is?

The reasoning behind it all. The reasoning behind why my father seeks to rule over everyone in existence through sheer idiotic force of will.…..

Because he just wants to. He believes simply because of his ‘accomplishments’ which he awarded himself that he should rule in the place of God himself with no actual fucking plans on what to do if he manages to actually luck out and gain that position.”

The hallucination turned to General Rankin, rushing forward until they were inches apart.

“If you all want proof, let me ask this shithead a simple question.

Was what I just said a moment ago the truth or a lie? A yes or a no answer. And remember, staying silent won’t accomplish shit.

So…what will it be?”

All present saw the General, reluctantly, nod his head.

“That…..That’s it?!?!” yelled Gabriel incredulously, disbelief and rage clear within his voice. “You seriously wish to try and usurp God himself with no actual ideas or aspirations for what to do with such power….just because?!!”

The words that left the General’s mouth in response made everyone’s blood boil.

”Isn’t that enough?”

“No, it most certainly is not, you vainglorious buffoon!! What is actually wrong with you?!”

“A great many things. But that fact isn't the most pathetic part of this whole fucking ordeal.

It's Matthew.

For being afraid of a fucking moron and his even dumber sons and not stopping their fun time during the fucking yearly genocide, which by the way is extremely fucked up to be considered acceptable and normal to angels when humans who commit genocide get sent to Hell."

The hallucination seemed to fade in and out at the moment, as did the Noise that surrounded him. A smile came across his face.

"Huh. Guess my time is almost up. Well, if the nobody whose mind I crawled out of can do one thing right in his useless fucking existence.

That would be to keep the two promises he made down in Hell:"

The hallucination turned to look at Stolas and Blitzo, the first time he did so throughout his entire time present. The smile was still present, but he looked almost ashamed. Their expressions echoed with concern.

"Keep Them Safe."

He turned to General Rankin, hatred once again clear on his face. That same expression remained when he then turned towards the real Matthew who slowly uncurled himself and stood up. His expression was a mirror of the hallucination as its last words were spoken before it dissipated.

"He Doesn't Walk Away."

And with that declaration.....

Matthew lunged forward.

Chapter Text

Uriel POV:

The situation had escalated dramatically in under a second.

One moment, Matthew was recounting the reasoning behind General Rankin’s actions, with the General being forced by the gas to confirm it. Which may have been the dumbest reasoning Uriel had ever heard and as the patron Angel of the Arts, he has seen many, many dumb motives within stories throughout the centuries. Honestly, it took a lot of his self control not to just punch General Rankin in the mouth. 

The next moment, Uriel saw Matthew tackle his father in a rage. That black energy shot out of his body, briefly knocking back the Archangels and the contingent of guards. Uriel could see the furious blows that Matthew was beginning to plant on his father’s face. The pure rage contorting his face, almost as if it was potent enough to cause him pain.

This onslaught was stopped when General Rankin took the dagger he had concealed in his glove, and took a swipe at his son. It barley touched him, but it gave enough leeway for the General to scramble back. Uriel could see Lucifer holding back Stolas and Blitzo, who seemed to want to enter the fray. It was the right decision on Lucifer’s part. No matter how much those demons seem to want to help Matthew, it wasn’t worth the risk of the contingent from Hell attacking a General from Heaven being skewed as a declaration of war, no matter how much of an agitating moron he is.

Uriel and Gabriel collected their bearings and moved to try and de-escalate the situation. The contingent of guards moved behind Matthew, Uriel giving the signal for them to hang back.

Matthew was still advancing towards his father, almost growling with rage. General Rankin, on the other hand, looked almost ready to pee his pants right then and there. While that sight would be amusing to Uriel, he moved to put himself between the two of them.

”Okay, Matthew….Let’s all take a breath and calm down, all right?” Uriel took care to keep his tone calm, making sure to not reach for his sword. Don’t want to come off as too aggressive.

General Rankin did not have the same idea of what to do in this tense situation. He took out the angelic pistol he had moronically placed in his trousers. It looked he barely knew how to use it, since he was shaking it around wildly, causing many around him to duck out of the way in case the idiot accidentally fired. All except Matthew, naturally. The only real change was that Matthew’s eyes kept darting between that gun….and Uriel.

“Get. Out. Of. My. Way.” Matthew’s words were coated with a feeling of serene anger, barely held back by gritted teeth. The dark energy kept swirling around his body, making it difficult to determine where his next movement will be.

“What are you doing?!! Just kill him!! He attacked a General of the armed forces of Heaven!!” General Rankin’s voice somehow became more intolerably whiny as he continued to waive that blasted pistol around.

Uriel ignored that statement as he slowly closed the distance between himself and Matthew. It’s okay. I just need to calm this boy down and get this meeting back on track….

Uriel’s thoughts were sharply moved back to General Rankin when he impetuously shot two shots from his pistol into the air. This distracted Uriel long enough that Matthew grabbed at his flaming sword and ripped it out of its scabbard. 

This was not a good idea. Not just because Matthew had just forcefully taken a weapon belonging to an Archangel, but also because the sword’s magic flames acted as an built-in system to punish thieves.

Since anyone who touches it without Uriel’s permission would catch fire. The flames could also overwhelm an angelic healing factor.

This didn’t seem to matter to Matthew who, oddly, wasn’t using the sword to attack Uriel or the guards rapidly moving to subdue him. He seemed to be trying to use the sword to smack away the General’s gun, reaching out and thrusting the sword past Uriel’s left shoulder. It just barely missed the gun, before the General used his wings to fly back out of reach and began flying away from the whole situation.

When the guards reached Matthew, the flames started to take hold on his hands. However the black energy rapidly moved towards the flames and enveloped them. It was almost as if the magic was battling it out on Matthew’s hands, and based on Matthew’s expression and grunts, he still felt the burning pain.

The guards jumped forward, likely trying to overwhelm Matthew. They clearly forgot the insane amount of combat training this angel had. He kept hold of the sword as he used the flat side of the blades to knock away one of the guards mid-jump. He then proceed to jump upward himself, kicking the second guard in the face. This made the guard drop his weapon, right before Matthew put him in a chokehold. He used this to keep the third guard and Uriel at bay. Once the guard lost consciousness, Matthew threw him at the last guard, knocking him down and allowing Matthew the opportunity to also knock him out cold with punch to the face.

As serious and tense as the situation was, Uriel couldn’t help but be impressed by how Matthew managed to defeat three soldiers both single-handedly and non-lethally while holding a long flaming sword. He had to admire the skill.

However, at that moment, the flames began to slowly creep up Matthew’s arm, as he rushed forward to try and catch up to his father. He began to yell out in pain as he flew, yet he kept going. All the remaining conscious people began to chase after him as well, with the Archangels and Lucifer using their wings to gain an advantage.

”Hey, Matthew,” the demon Blitzo called out as he ran in a worried tone, “drop the fucking sword before you burn up!! You don’t need to do this shit!!”

Those words seemed to reach him, as he briefly stopped flying and threw the sword a great distance away from everyone else.

The momentary relief felt by most present at both the fact that Matthew wouldn’t catch on fire and the fact that he no longer held a powerful mystical weapon was cut short when the black energy moved back down to Matthew’s hands. Matthew looked about as shocked as the rest of them, as the energy began to ripple and take shape.

It was a sword. Just like Uriel’s. Black flames engulfing the blade.

This event was summed up by Uriel’s response, as his eyes widened.

It was just two words.

”Oh shit.”

Chapter Text

Lucifer POV:

Well….things have fucking escalated.

That thought perfectly summed up how Lucifer viewed the events of the last few minutes.

The meeting had been going…somewhat well, with the truth of events being recounted to his brothers.

The initial major downside was all of the vapid, arrogant lies General Rankin tried to peddle. Luckily on that front, his brothers didn’t seem to buy any of it once Matthew recount the events.

The current downside was the fact all of the repressed anger and trauma seemed to have snapped Matthew into a murderous rage against his father. While under any other circumstances he would have been happy to watch those events with some popcorn, while also recording it to show Lilith later, Lucifer knew the ramifications if Matthew actually killed him before the proceedings of this meeting were finished. He knew that Gabriel and Uriel could be forced by law to execute him, if it was the worst case scenario. Being the leaders of opposing realms aside, he truly didn’t want his brothers to deal with the guilt of having to kill a traumatised 18 year old in order to follow their laws to the letter.

There was also the problem of the General’s followers and associates, who for some fucking reason were willing to follow this idiot’s orders and would likely spin Matthew killing him as an excuse to restart the war between Heaven and Hell.

There was also the issue of Matthew stealing Uriel’s sword and now being able to seemingly make a perfect copy of it with the dark energy he has. That caused everyone’s jaws to drop, even General Rankin, who remained still while slack jawed. Dumb move, stopping to look on in awe when you were just running away like a bitch.

The situation is so dire at that moment, Lucifer couldn’t even enjoy hearing Uriel swear for the first time ever! If they survive this whole ordeal he is so going to tease him about it for the rest of eternity.

The only good to come out the events so far was the knowledge that Matthew wasn’t letting his rage make him attack everyone, since he took down the guards non-lethally (in a surprisingly cool manner), as well as the fact that he still seemed to somewhat listen to Blitzo at least.

The issue remained, however, that Matthew had a fucking flaming sword. He was turning it around in his hands.

His expression still had the rage he has against his father, but it was mixed with surprise and curiosity over what he just accomplished.

The only word to pass his lips were:

”Huh. Neat.”

And with that he surged forward, grabbed his father by all that body armour he had stuffed under his clothes and threw him with tremendous force back into the middle of the group.

Lucifer could see Matthew, now having landed on the ground and advancing towards his father, sword in hand. Blitzo and Stolas were moving toward him, hopefully to calm him down. Gabriel was moving to try and put himself between the two of them. Uriel was moving to retrieve his sword, while keeping his eyes on the situation. The scribe, Noah, was a fair bit away from all of this, nervously observing and recording these events.

And then there was General Jackass. He was looking piss-terrified, his eyes focused on his son advancing forward with the intent of chopping his fucking head off. Then…his gaze shifted to Blitzo and Stolas. Then back to Matthew.

Lucifer could tell what little brain cells he had in that empty head if his formed an idea. A terrible, stupid idea.

His pistol was no longer aimed at Matthew.

He swung it around towards the two demons and fired off three shots in quick succession as he began to scamper away.

Time seemed to slow to a crawl.

Lucifer raised his hand, hoping to stop the bullets quickly. However, the security measures for the meeting would slow that spell down from activating for a few seconds. Seconds which he needed.

Gabriel, with a look of shock and anger on his face, was lunging towards General Rankin, who was trying to scurry away again. Uriel was also lunging forward, his sword in one hand and another slowed down spell in the other. The magic wouldn’t stop the bullets in time.

Blitzo and Stolas were attempting to duck out of the way as the bullets came forward. They wouldn’t be fast enough.

Matthew, however, seemingly was.

Lucifer saw his expression shift in an instant to one of pure desperation. He was jumping toward the bullets’ pathway, his sword still in hand.

The crawl ended.

The bullets didn’t hit Blitzo or Stolas, who were checking each other for any wounds.

Matthew hit the floor hard, coughing harshly. The dark energy still swirled around his body, thought it seemed much more concentrated around his chest.

General Rankin screamed in pain, as Gabriel took the arm he was using to hold the pistol and calmly broke it. He kept hold of the broken limb, as the screaming continued and the pistol falling from his grasp.

Uriel had reclaimed his weapon as was heading back towards the group.

Matthew then slowly stood up, his breathing slightly more laboured, as Lucifer saw the three bullets, lightly tipped with blood, fall from the swirling energy to the ground. He then began to resume his advance towards his father, albeit slightly slower than before.

Blitzo and Stolas, seeing this quickly sprang forward towards the angel.

”Matthew, please, you can’t do this,” Stolas begged as he tried to block Matthew’s path, while Blitzo somewhat humorously tried to drag Matthew backwards with little effect, “if you kill him the Archangels willl be forced by law to execute you! It’s not worth it!”

“I need to do this,” came the unnervingly calm reply from Matthew as he continued forward, “He will just weasel out of punishment. He won’t walk away. My life doesn’t matter anyway….what the fuck else do I have?”

”You have us, kid!”

It was shocking what happened next. That one of the most profound and emotional talks of this whole ordeal was given by Blitzo.

”Look…I’m a psychopath. I’m a fucking assassin. There’s entire fucking cemeteries where my name is listed as the cause of death. I’ve hurt the people closest to me and pushed them away.

And yet, I got a happy ending. I have a boyfriend who truly loves me, a family who actually cares about me despite all the shit I pull, even the people I’ve hurt before don’t hate my fucking guts anymore.

I don’t even believe I deserve all of that, but I still got it.

And you, Matthew, you’re a good person. You have morals and shit. With all the trauma and abuse you suffered, the fact you’re not just wiping out people while strolling down the street is a fucking miracle. And remember there are people now who care about you kid: me, Stolas, Bombproof, Lucifer I think….

For fuck’s sake, Matthew…

You deserve to be fucking happy.”

And with those words, Matthew stopped in his tracks.

Chapter Text

Gabriel POV:

Fear. It is an emotion that one becomes numb to in order to help govern an entire realm of existence. It’s still always present in the minds of the Archangels, but just muted enough so it doesn’t prevent necessary actions from being taken in defending Heaven and its denizens.

At this moment, however, Gabriel knew three different forms of fear:

Firstly, the quite rational fear of a dangerous threat which could kill him and everyone else present was felt. The black energy which was currently still enveloping Matthew and what it could allow him to do was making the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.

Secondly, the fear of what Gabriel and his brother would be forced to do was also creeping into his mind. Now, as an Archangel, Gabriel has made many decisions over the centuries that would be considered morally dubious. The implications of them, both intentional or unintentional, were always considered before going forward with them. However, Gabriel couldn’t fully accept he would have to kill an incredibly traumatised 18 year old boy who was expressing his pain through rage in order to uphold the laws he helped maintain. It was an extremely upsetting feeling.

Finally….there was another, stranger fear creeping into his mind. It wasn’t as obvious or extreme as the other fears Gabriel was experiencing, but it was still there. Gnawing at the back of his senses…

The fear of what might be.

Since the beginning of this whole ordeal, there was a worrying thought in Gabriel’s head. It festered and gained more presence as he saw Matthew’s memories. When Matthew began trying to kill his father. When he copied Uriel’s flaming sword.

The thought was of what Gabriel believed that strange black energy might be….

And what it might be….made his blood run cold….

Those thoughts however, were put on hold as he saw Matthew stop his advance after that surprisingly poignant speech from Blitzo.

Matthew was just standing there. His body was shaking slightly, his hands clenched, his eyes wide. His breathing was starting to pick up speed. This lasted for about 30 seconds before it all stopped.

He was stock still. Then a whimper emanated from him. Tears started to stream down his face as he fell to the ground sobbing.

Blitzo and Stolas wasted no time in rushing to the boy and embracing him in a hug. He was bawling his eyes out into Stolas’ chest, all while letting out small murmurs of apologies.

In all honesty, the sight of two demons comforting an angel, with one them being significantly smaller than the other and was basically wrapping his whole body in the hug, was almost kind of funny to Gabriel as he sighed in relief that the immediate threat was over.

”What the hell are you all doi….ARGHHH!”

As usual, General Rankin had to ruin the mood. Though it was slightly more understandable since Gabriel was still holding his broken arm in a grip, as he continued to squirm, bleed and complain.

Chapter Text

Stolas POV:

Nathaniel Rankin is a complete fucking moron. That was the thought that dominated Stolas’ mind when the General opened his mouth to spew more whiny bullshit while he and Blitzo were comforting Matthew, who was now sobbing into Stolas’ chest.

The feelings of relief that had just been created had been swiftly destroyed by the General’s whining, which itself was thankfully cut short thanks to Gabriel still holding the asshole’s broken arm in a firm grip.

”What is wrong with you Gabriel?!! I was attacked by my wayward spawn, I had to defend myself!”

Gabriel’s tone was cold and precise as he continued to keep his hold on the broken limb.

”General Rankin…you seem to be under the impression that me, Uriel, Lucifer, Scribe Noah and whoever watches the recording of these events are as short-sighted and moronic as you are. We all clearly saw you attempt to shoot the two demons present at this meeting in order to save your own hide, which not only wouldn’t have actually worked, but also risked a potential restart to the war between our realms.

Your son, on the other hand, while he did attempt to kill you in a trauma infused rage….the important word there is attempt. He did not kill you, and even when confronted with the armed contingent he took efforts to subdue them non-lethally. He has shown more thought and restraint in the last 5 minutes than you have in possibly your entire life.

With your actions now taken into account alongside the testimony and memories of Matthew, as well as your refusal to give access to your memories under the effects of the Truth Bomb gas, it seems your judgment shall soon be decided upon.”

At that statement, General Rankin reacted like a rat realising it was caught in a trap. He squirmed and writhed trying to get out of Gabriel’s grasp. Stolas also felt Matthew stopping his sobbing, simply sniffling and hugging Stolas tighter.

Stolas could see Uriel helping the other Angel guards as they regained consciousness. General Shitstick must be realising he will soon be even more hopelessly outnumbered soon.

”Wait!! You can’t do this to me!! I….I…I deny all allegations made against my actions and character and will be seeking legal aid once we have returned to Heaven!”

…..

Uriel’s response to that was both appropriate and oddly funny.

”Did you not listen to a word he just fucking said?”

The humorous surprise of Uriel swearing once more was sadly overpowered by the depressingly stupid rant General Rankin began to spew.

”Any information you may or may not have gained from this meeting shall be placed under extreme scrutiny by my legal team who will surely absolve me of your accusations!”

”Why would you think that will work,” shouted Blitzo, clearly fed up with the General’s bullshit, “the Archangels saw you try to shoot me and my boyfriend, Matthew’s memories showed how much of a shitbag you are, you wouldn’t even give any information about what you did thanks to the truth gas being able to expose your lies, you admitted you wanted to carry out a stupid takeover against God and in case you forget again all this shit is being recorded you fuckbucket!!

How the fuck do you think you can worm your way out of this?”

Stolas loved seeing Blitzo verbally destroy someone while protecting someone he cares about. It is extremely attractive.

”The simple fact, vile creature, is that my lawyers will deny anything brought up here in this meeting and keep this whole mess in legal limbo for decades!!! I can say the recording was altered, that the truth gas is unreliable, that you and your paramour manipulated my son’s memories for your own gain, that the Archangels are being controlled by Lucifer and they will readily believe it!!!

They either understand that my ascent to glory will raise their stations as well, or are in fear of being ejected from Heaven under my authority!! I don’t even have that authority and yet they will still believe it since they’re petrified of being anywhere else!! I can and will do whatever I wish to achieve my goals because I deserve it, plain and simple!!

Heaven itself needs me!! My work keeps the Exterminators inspired and willing to perform the yearly cleansing because it is the only method we have to control the population of Hell!!”

”Well……”

That interruption from Lucifer drew everyone’s attention.

”That’s not…entirely correct….”

”Lucifer….,” Gabriel began, his tone both wary and curious, “what other method do you mean?”

“It’s not really a simple or complete method, and there’s a high likelihood it won’t work, but……you both remember my daughter, Charlotte, right?”

Chapter Text

Gabriel POV:

Gabriel had been subjected to many surprises throughout this meeting. Not least of which was the realisation that him and his fellow Archangels had failed to stop a power hungry idiot with military clearance from both abusing his son and trying to enact an incredibly dangerous, yet moronic plan to overthrow God himself.

But this new development, that Lucifer’s daughter, Princess Charlotte, was seemingly involved in a possible method of population control other than the yearly Extermination? That ranked at the top, as the most potentially important information gained from this whole debacle.

Gabriel’s response to his brother’s rhetorical question was measured, not breathing his now burning curiosity.

”Yes, I do remember your daughter, Lucifer. What does she have to do with what you’re implying is a new method to stop the problems of Hell’s overpopulation?”

“You see,” Lucifer almost nervously began, which was both surprising and possibly worrying, “she decided to open a hotel within the Pride Ring where sinners would enter and attempt to redeem themselves. She called it the Happy Hotel, although that name was changed to the Hazbin Hotel due to the insistence of a….backer of the establishment. They haven’t redeemed anyone as of yet….though there are a few patients currently residing there.”

Gabriel and Uriel both blinked at that information. Gabriel then cleared his throat and asked, in a firm tone, “Now, Lucifer. May I ask why you didn’t inform us of this potentially astonishing opportunity to deal with Hell’s overpopulation without a yearly slaughter?”

”Mainly…..I’m not sure if it will work. Me and Charlie argue about it a lot.

I know my daughter will try everything within her power to redeem those in her care but I just don’t think anyone will make the effort to try and redeem themselves. They either won’t care, will try to take advantage of her bottomless kindness or won’t believe they deserve redemption.

Wait…Now that I think about it…how come you didn’t know about her endeavour? She told me she tried to appeal to some Exterminators at the last Extermination Day for aid in developing or protecting the project. How come they didn’t tell you about it?”

We really should monitor the Exterminators more after all this. It’s getting almost embarrassing at this point.

“None of us were informed of this. Any Exterminator who she contacted should have informed us. Do you know the names of any of them, Lucifer?”

”Yeah, Adam. You know, Head Exterminator, the prick who keeps trying to serenade my wife every time he enters Hell. That dickhole.”

“Yes, I’ve had the displeasure to interact with him somewhat frequently. He will be questioned on his decision to not inform us of that development.

Thank you, Lucifer, for sharing this potentially monumental information. We shall likely have discussion about this redemption program after this whole mess has been....”

“EXCUSE ME!!!!”

The conversation had stopped when General Rankin interrupted everyone once again with his whiny yell, as he continued to wriggle his left arm weakly in Gabriel’s iron-grip,

This man has a true gift for raising people’s blood pressure.

“What has this nonsense got to do with this farce of a meeting?!! You all still have no inscrutable proof of what you claim I’ve done!! You have nothing!!”

“Now you demand proof?” Came the quiet response to the General’s rant. “You’re going to regret that.”

It was Matthew, slowly removing himself from his position of hugging Stolas. All eyes were on him as he stood up, tear marks still staining his face.

His expression was calm. The black energy nowhere in sight.

His eyes burned with anger and resolve, as he raised his right hand.

The glow of a spell visible to all present.

Chapter Text

Stolas POV:

Stolas was initially puzzled by Matthew’s action to cast a spell, since he only taught him the light spell, which wouldn’t be of much use in their current situation.

He got more clarification when Matthew turned to look at him with sadness clear in his eyes.

”I’m sorry,” Those words were laced with sadness and shame, as Matthew looked at Stolas “I learned another spell from the Grimoire without telling you….I’m so fucking sorry I broke your trust, I needed to find a way to get proof….something he couldn’t talk his way out of…..I know you and Blitzo would try to stop me if I asked about it…”

Stolas, while feeling very conflicted over Matthew’s admission of secretly learning another spell, cautiously asked, “Why would we have stopped it? What spell did you learn?”

“It….It won’t kill anyone…but it will hurt me. It will hurt a lot. I didn’t tell you both about it because…..you both care. I don’t know why but you both actually give a crap about me and I could not let you two stop me from exposing this prick.

The spell…..is Penitentae Tempra.”

Stolas vaguely recognised the name of that spell. He knew it wasn’t in the potentially dangerous sections of the Grimoire he cordoned off, but he couldn’t quite remember what it did.

His thoughts were interrupted by the angel scribe, Noah, nervously clearing his throat.

”Matthew is correct. That spell he’s casting is the Penitentae Tempra. It’s an incredibly niche spell, primarily used thousands of years ago in the early days of the war between Heaven and Hell by both sides.

It’s function is to link two people together and for them both to have any wounds they inflicted on each other to come to the forefront, even if they were healed or done by proxy. It can also be used on one’s self to show self inflicted injuries.

It was initially created by magic users in Heaven as a way for Sinners to view the consequences of their actions in full view. However the method was determine to be needlessly cruel on both parties and so it fell out of use. If it was within the Grimoire of Worlds, it was likely used as an ancient form of torture within Hell.

The injuries shown will instil the same amount of pain as when they were first inflicted, but the spell has a fail safe that prevents any massive or many injuries from causing those affected to die.”

All present took that surprising information in. Except for Matthew, who already knew how this spell worked, and General Rankin, who was trying and failing to renew his efforts in squirming out of Gabriel’s grip.

Gabriel was silent for a moment, he then cautiously spoke, “So, Matthew. Do you wish to use this spell to provide more….physical evidence for the charges you’ve laid out?”

”Yes. I didn’t….know at the start of this fucking meeting if it would make a difference. But now…I know it can help.

I tested the spell on myself in the bathroom a few days ago. It brought back the head injury I gave myself when I bashed my head after my first…..kill.

I..uh…cleaned up the blood that dripped down. Sorry if I used up any cleaning products you both needed.”

”No, that’s…fine Matthew,” came the concerned reply from Blitzo, “I get what your trying to do with that spell but…you shouldn’t have to get yourself hurt again.”

”He’s right , Matthew,” said Stolas, “You don’t need to put yourself through more suffering.”

”It’s….It’s the only way. General Jackass over there can’t disprove or discredit magic. This will prove what he did to me.

Just….brace yourselves for what you’re going to see.”

At that, Gabriel let go of General Rankin’s broken arm, taking care to take the Angelic knife hidden in his glove and crushing it. Likely to let his arm heal naturally so it doesn’t interfere with any injuries shown by the spell.

Rankin was pathetically whimpering on the floor, as the cracking of bones could be heard as his arm was healing.

”Very well,” came the reply from the Archangel, “You may proceed. I trust you remember that this whole event is still being recorded, and that your own potential injuries will be seen by those who review this footage.”

”I do understand. And I don’t very much care.”

As soon as General Rankin’s arm had fully healed, Matthew cast the spell forth.

The glow of the spell both stayed on Matthew’s hand and went forward and swept over Nathaniel Rankin.

Both angels collapsed to the floor, unsettling, pained sounds emanating from them both.

All present could then hear a disgusting tearing sounds, as the injury Matthew had inflicted on his father’s chest all those weeks ago at the military base opened itself back up. Blood oozed through the clothing and body armour that the General had on as he cried out in pain and anguish.

In any other situation, that would have been considered quite unsettling.

However, what was happening to Matthew made everyone sick to their stomachs.

They saw his left eye pop, blood spurting outwards.

They saw both of his arms twist and contort, a few of his fingers seemingly falling off.

They saw long, horrific cuts open up and down his torso, legs and head. They saw gaping wounds open on his feet.

They heard his jaw crack and saw it hang almost loose.

They saw the hole where his lung was popped.

They saw the part of his skull that was caved in.

They even saw what looked like burns form along his chest and hands.

All three of the Angelic guards were dry heaving at this point. Scribe Noah had actually puked a little. Gabriel and Uriel watched in stunned silence. Lucifer covered his mouth in shock.

Stolas and Blitzo were moving towards Matthew, hoping they could help without exacerbating his injuries.

Matthew wasn’t even crying anymore, simply making horrific gurgling noises. The pain must have been unimaginable.

This horrific process lasted about 1 minute.

1 agonising minute. After which Matthew swiped his hand, the glow of the spell appearing before all of the injuries shown vanished.

Matthew and his father both lay on the floor, gasping for air.

The horror of what had just transpired would stay with all those present.

It would not be the last shocking moment of this meeting. Nor the last horrific one.

Chapter Text

Stolas POV:

Only a moment’s hesitation preceded Stolas and Blitzo rushing to Matthew as he lay on the ground. He was coughing and groaning with residual pain from that spell. Stolas had half a mind to tear the page that contained that spell out of the Grimoire for all the pain it just caused Matthew.

Matthew’s clothes were stained further with the blood that had dripped from those wounds. He tensed up when Stolas and Blitzo both hugged him. He just let them hold him for a few minutes. Stolas could see General Rankin holding his hands up as Uriel and one the guards kept their swords trained on him. Scribe Noah had summoned a towel and was wiping up his puke.

Lucifer had his gaze trained still on the General, anger clear on his face. Stolas rarely saw the ruler of Hell visibly angry, but when he did, he knew someone was going to suffer a horrific, painful death.

Gabriel, on the other hand, looked almost ashamed. As you should. You couldn’t tell the son of one of your generals was being tortured to an insane extent for almost his entire life?

After some time had passed, Matthew looked up at Stolas and apologised once more.

”I’m sorry….Please…Please don’t hate me…”

Stolas, in response, held him tighter as he reassured him.

”Shhh….It’s alright, Matthew. We don’t hate you. We understand why you did that….but please….promise us you won’t ever do something like that again, okay? You shouldn’t punish yourself because of what that asshole did.”

A shaky breath emanated from Matthew before he responded, in a quiet voice.

”OK…I…I won’t do that spell ever again.”

”Everything is gonna be OK, kid,” Blitzo said, while still holding him, “No-one is gonna put you through that shit ever again. They’re gonna have to go through us first.”

Matthew’s breathing slowly calmed as the hug continued. The somewhat comfortable silence was disturbed by a surprising sound.

The ringing of a phone.

All eyes turned towards its source.

Gabriel.

He fished out a phone from one of his pockets and checked the caller ID.

”Oh. No need for alarm it’s just Metatron.”

”Tell him I said Hi,” Lucifer responded, somewhat humorously.

He answered the call and put the phone to his ear.

”Hello Metatron, how’s it going?…..Really?….I see…..Things on this end?….It has gone…sort of well…A couple complications but luckily there’s no fatalities…..Lucifer said Hi by the way….Look, can you send it down here or not?….Okay. That’s great….Tell the interns who helped you that they have my personal gratitude….What?….Of course you can take a nap after all this has been sorted….Oh, but after, call the rest of our brothers and tell them to convene for the phone conference so we can reach our verdict, as well as to discuss other important matters….OK?…Alright, Bye.”

The call ended, with Gabriel holding out his hand, a somewhat cheerful and ever so slightly smug grin on his face.

This confused Stolas for a moment, before a brief flash of light emanated from Gabriel’s hand. When the light faded, he held a USB stick.

”What is that? I demand to know what that is!!” General Rankin’s entitlement truly knows no bounds.

“This,” Gabriel calmly responded, “is the footage Matthew downloaded from his armour before he destroyed it. The footage he sent in the message he made in the Confessional booth. This alongside this disturbing spell that was cast, dear General, is irrefutable evidence of Matthew’s charges against you.”

Chapter Text

Lucifer POV:

Normally, Lucifer would have loved the dramatic timing of Metatron’s call and reveal of new evidence, and all the emional drama that would birth.

But at that moment, Lucifer was just completely drained by all the surprises, revelations and horrific trauma that had occurred over the last twenty or so minutes. He just wanted this shit over with.

Thankfully, the appearance of that USB stick would seem to speed up proceedings, as Gabriel continued to speak.

”Well..It seems like your judgement shall soon be passed, General Rankin. This USB stick, which has been copied for safety’s sake, contains the recorded footage from Matthew’s exterminator armour. This not only further proves your heinous physical abuse of you son, but it also further proves your involvement in systemic political corruption with several other military personnel and instructors.

This, combined with the horrific injuries shown by that spell, have been logged into evidence that shall be used to decide your fate.”

The slightly smug smile Gabriel was sporting as he said those words tipped off something to Lucifer.

He was enjoying making this asshat squirm. And he was going to enjoy bringing punishment down upon him.

Lucifer felt almost proud.

Those good feelings were lessened by, almost as a tradition at this point, the tantrum Nathaniel Rankin began to pull. It was pretty much all just verbal whining this time though, since he seemed to only have enough brains to not try and make any sudden movements when under armed watch by Uriel.

“You can’t do this to me!!!! My allies will not allow this! You shall all pay for this transgression against me!!!”

”Christ on a fucking stick, will you just shut up already, you shitbag!” Blitzo’s characteristic response failed to stop the General’s ranting.

”You vile creature!! You shall not disrespect my divine authority!!! As soon as I am able, I shall order my Exterminators to purge your existence from Hell itself!!”

This profoundly stupid threat greatly offended Stolas, as he took a break from comforting Matthew to glare at the General and threaten him in a low, dark tone.

”If you even think about hurting my Blitzy, I will rip your head off, mulch it and feed it to my plants.”

”You shall do no such thing, you joke of a noble! You shouldn’t have concerned yourself with these matters which are above your pitiful station!!”

Lucifer could see Matthew’s expression slowly turning angry once more, as his father kept insulting Stolas.

“You and your disgusting paramour shall pay dearly for your interference in my glorious ascent to power!!”

Matthew was slowly standing up, his hand shaking with rage once more. The dark energy wasn’t present though. Lucifer, Blitzo and Gabriel started to slowly advance towards him in case they needed to calm him down.

“My men will hunt down you and all those who you hold dear and rend the flesh from their bones!! Anytime, anywhere!!!”

That seemed to be the last straw for both Uriel and Matthew. Uriel showed his displeasure by heading towards General Rankin, likely to order him to shut the fuck up.

Matthew showed his displeasure much quicker, as the dark energy returned briefly as he shot forward to glare at his father face to face.

“Do. Not. Threaten. Them.”

The General’s face flashed to a look of fear, but his ego quickly overrode his survival instincts.

”You will do nothing, you pathetic, ungrateful, disobedient, broken piece of trash.”

Matthew’s hands were clenched once more, a low growl beginning to emanate from his throat.

Oh shit, not again.

General Rankin’s survival instinct were seemingly still absent, as his tone remained smug.

“You would not risk your useless life by harming me again. I shall do as I wish to those disgusting hellspawn who seem to think you are worth half a damn. You are a failure as a tool to progress my journey to glory.

As a matter of fact, I should have had you eliminated the moment you threw those tantrums when you were young when it was noisy. I would saved us all this bother if I discarded you the moment I knew you were defective.”

Matthew looked ready to rip Rankin apart. His arm raised about to strike. Both sides of this meeting preparing to rush in to stop him.

However, they didn’t have to.

Matthew had stopped. Stopped moving. He was just standing there.

His eyes glowed green. A vacant expression on his face, as slowly looked around.

General Rankin’s jaw dropped, his eyes widened with shock and fear.

The Archangels had similar expressions, only without the fear.

Lucifer on the other hand, had shock, apprehension, confusion and a tiny bit of fear all race through his mind.

That was because they all knew what was happening. All except Blitzo and Stolas, who seemed both confused and concerned.

”Matthew?” Stolas’ question was laced with hesitance and caution. “Are you alright?”

Lucifer decided to answer that question. His nerves unfortunately coming through in that answer.

”He’s..alright, Stolas. He’s not in any danger…at least not presently.”

“Then what the fuck is going on with him?! Why are his eyes glowing?” Blitzo’s worry for the kid was as present as ever.

”Well,” replied Luicfer, wringing his hands together, “the answer to that is a mixture of good news and possibly worrying news.

The good news is that, while Matthew is like this he won’t be able to lose his temper and attack his father.

The potentially worrying news is that…. while Matthew can still see what’s going on, someone else is seeing through his eyes and controlling his movements.

And the person doing that is…..well……

God.” 

Chapter Text

Blitzo POV:

God. Fucking God himself. He was looking at Blitzo through Matthew’s eyes. Controlling his movements, likely so he wouldn’t attack his father again.

Oh shit, the kid must be freaking out if he can’t control his body.

This thought was confirmed when Matthew’s expression turned worried. At least, Blitzo was pretty sure he looked worried. That green glow emanated in a way that Blitzo couldn’t fully see Matthew’s eyes.

“Hey, Matthew. Can you hear me? Try and stay calm, kid. Everything’s going to be fine.” Blitzo’s attempt at a soothing tone masked the fact he was piss-terrified that God was getting directly involved in all this shit.

Lucifer, probably feeling even more nervous, then tried to put Blitzo and Stolas at ease.

”Matthew can hear you, but so can God, so you may want to be careful what you say to him.”

“OK, but…What the fuck is going to happen now?”

Lucifer paused for a moment.

”I have no idea. I was told ahead of time that he would be watching these events and that he could possibly end up directly involved..I just never expected him to actually do it.

If I can hazard a guess, he may start to talk with Matthew. We won’t be able to hear what he’s saying, but we can hear anything Matthew says to him.”

As if on cue, Matthew’s expression turned blank once more. It stayed like that for a few moments, before it suddenly changed back to one of worry, as Matthew spoke in a quiet voice.

“H…Hello. I….I don’t know w…what’s happening. Why c….can’t I move?”

That last question, with a small amount of fear creeping into it, made Blitzo act. Every sensible thought in his head was screaming at him to not say any stupid shit. They didn’t make much of a difference.

”Hey! Big guy in the sky! You’re freaking out the kid. Just….Just let him be able to move around a bit.”

Matthew’s head then turned toward him, those glowing eyes aiming down right at him.

It was an odd and terrifying feeling to have God look directly at him. The main thought going the Blitzo’s head though, was how glad he was that he had enough self-restraint to not swear at God.

The expression shifted and Matthew’s voice returned.

”P..Please don’t hurt him. He was nice to m…me. He…he was the first person to ever give me a….a hug.”

…..

”Oh…Okay. That’s s…seems fair.”

The silence returned for a few seconds before Matthew’s movements became a lot more natural. It wasn’t relaxed but it seemed that God had actually listened to Blitzo’s suggestion. Which was an existentially terrifying thought to process that Blitzo was likely going to freak the fuck out in a bathroom once all this shit was finished.

Matthew looked around him at all present.

He turned to look at Blitzo and Stolas.

”They were kind to me. The first people who even tried. I’m not going to let anything happen to them.”

Then, he turned to look at Gabriel and Uriel.

”They’re trying to help now. They failed before, but they’re trying to do the right thing.”

A look of shame seemed to cross the faces of the two Archangels.

When Matthew looked at his father, who looked ready to actually piss his pants at any moment, he didn’t speak. He just let out what sounded like a roar. It sounded like all the rage, sadness and pain Matthew had experienced was made into a horrific sound.

He then turned to look at Lucifer. His usual confident demeanour was gone. Now he was just standing stock still, staring into those glowing eyes, his hands twitching slightly.

Blitzo knew that while he may have been terrified to have God looking straight at him, Lucifer must have been feeling even more freaked out since he was being stared down by his own father for the first time in likely centuries.

There was a pause as Matthew’s head tilted, seemingly in thought.

”I don’t know what to think of him. He didn’t hurt me. He was polite with me. He made jokes. I don’t know if he was pretending to be nice so I wouldn’t be a threat to him. I’d understand that if he did that, though.

Oh.. You want my opinion on that?

I think it could work. I don’t know much about it but….it’s at least worth a try for people in Hell. Even if they’re not fully redeemed…trying to be a better person is still a positive goal.”

There was a pause, as Matthew’s expression turned to one of confusion.

”…..Okay. I’ll tell him afterwards.”

This caused further confusion to all that were present as to what that meant.

Matthew’s expression turned sad, as looked at the ground.

”I’m sorry I killed people. I tried to not be like my fucking family. I just…I don’t want to be a part of this shit anymore. I can’t be a part of a system that thinks a yearly genocide is both necessary and morally upright.

I..I don’t hate you for not stopping this from happening. I know you’re not perfect. Perfection doesn’t exist.

I don’t know what this weird energy is about, or where it came from. It’s going to make me a fucking threat to everyone.

….What I would like to happen?….Justice. So that my shithead father doesn’t hurt anyone ever again. I honestly don’t know what should happen to me…..Just…..Please don’t hurt Blitzo and Stolas…..They’re good people. They have families….They shouldn’t have had to be involved in all this…..

It would be nice…..If I’m going to die because of what I did…..If they could at least give me a hug beforehand…” A faint, slightly resigned smile graced Matthew’s lips as he said those last words. All other present were silent, taking in all that was said.

The glow of Matthew’s eyes remained for about 2 minutes, as everyone remained still, unsure of what to do.

Then, the glow faded away. 

Chapter Text

Matthew POV:

It was a really fucking weird feeling having God talking in your head. But it seemed even weirder when he left. Like air leaving a balloon. That’s how Matthew felt. He stumbled for a moment, before softly dropping to his knees.

He saw Blitzo and Stolas rush over to comfort him again. There was no words spoken. Only deep breaths being taken, as Matthew slowly regained his composure. 

Everyone’s attention was then quickly caught by the sight of a letter falling from the sky. It floated down to land at Gabriel’s feet. He picked it up, with its golden seal becoming visible. Gabriel’s eyes widened in surprise for a brief moment as he read the letter’s contents, but what seemed like a concerned smile appeared on his face.

Gabriel proceeded to clear his throat and began to speak towards that glowing spell orb which had been recorded this long as shit meeting.

”As clearly seen, a Declaration from God has been sent down to us, concerning this situation. Its full contents will be shown in the official reports once this meeting has concluded. For the moment, this Declaration shall be viewed by myself and Archangel Uriel, while in contact with our fellow Archangels, in order to determine our judgment on the charges laid out in this meeting, as well as for other related matters which shall remain classified for the foreseeable future.

While this discussion occurs, a sound cancelling spell shall be cast for privacy’s sake. The armed contingent will monitor all of the other participants while this occurs. After an initial determination of the form our judgement will be, Lucifer shall join the discussion to bring his input into the decision. After which, the final judgements will be passed on the charges brought.

The aftermath of these judgements, as well as the additional business that will be decided upon afterwards, will still be recorded but shall only be seen by those with high level clearance. This may change in the future, however.”

With that, Uriel casted a spell that blanketed a nearby area in a blue light. He motioned for Gabriel to follow him.

As both Archangels entered this area, the armed guards stood at attention, their eyes scanning the whole area. However they were smartly focusing on General Rankin.

He was quiet. But it wasn’t in the worrying way like it was before. Now, it was as if some thought had actually occurred in that empty fucking brain of his, and he realised that God himself knows about his stupid fucking plan to take over Heaven. Matthew was honestly surprised that moron hadn’t voided his bowels already.

He could faintly make out Uriel and Gabriel talking, with a phone between them. Likely the other Archangels calling on speaker for the discussion. Matthew could also see Lucifer paying attention to what they might have been saying.

Silence reigned in the main area for around 10 minutes, before Gabriel came back out. He moved toward Lucifer and motioned for him to join the private discussion.

Lucifer nodded in agreement, and moved towards the isolated area. On his way there, he stopped by where Matthew was kneeling. He gave Matthew an awkward, but somewhat comforting pat on the head. “It….It’s going to be okay, kid.” 

Lucifer then entered the silenced area. They could see him talking with Uriel and Gabriel.

Everyone held their breaths.

It only took about 4 minutes before all three of them returned. Their expressions were neutral and professional.

Matthew was starting to shake with nerves as he realised his judgement would be coming in a moment.

General Rankin began to slowly back away before the tip of one of the guard’s weapons touched his back, forcing him to stay in place.

Matthew wanted to stay in the hug he was getting from Stolas and Blitzo. Just for a few moments more….

But he knew he couldn’t. So he gave one last comforting squeeze, before standing up and walking towards the Archangels.

Everyone was at attention. All eyes on Matthew and his father.

Gabriel took a step forward and began to speak out the verdict.

”May it be known by all present that the judgement over the charges brought up during this meeting shall be passed. These shall be meted out on the authority of the governing body of Archangels and under the view of God himself, with further permission by Lucifer Morningstar, Prince of Lies and Ruler of Hell.

General Nathaniel Rankin:

On the charges of attempted murder, both directly and by proxy, destruction and tampering of evidence relating to this investigation, political corruption, abuse of military power, status and resources and 18 years of child abuse, both physical and emotional…..

You are found guilty on all charges.

Your punishment for your heinous and idiotic crimes is immediate banishment from the kingdom of Heaven. You will be henceforth designated a Fallen Angel.

Private Matthew Rankin:

On the charges of multiple counts of murder, with two counts of fratricide involving his brothers and additional charges of dereliction of duty, refusal to obey orders and destruction of military property.…

Through the actions of self-defence, the understanding of your mental trauma and the knowledge of widespread corruption of the Exterminator forces…

You have been found not guilty.”

Chapter Text

Matthew POV:

Matthew couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

They found his father guilty. On everything he did.

He should have felt fucking ecstatic.

But he didn’t.

Because of what his own judgement was.

Not Guilty……..

No, no, no that isn’t right…I should be punished, right?

Stop thinking that.

You don’t deserve to live through thi…..

SHUT UP!

Matthew’s usual inner turmoil was silenced by that surprisingly loud thought of his, which made him look around. Lucifer and the Archangels looked fairly happy at what they just said. Blitzo and Stolas looked shocked, but smiling. His father…Look at that. He finally pissed his pants. Took him long enough. His face was contorted into a mortified visage, his breathing becoming panicky.

Gabriel broke the silence once more by addressing the still reeling Matthew.

“Now, Matthew. Due to your current emotional state, thoughts on our military system and possible social challenges you may face up in Heaven, we have decided to give you an….unusual choice.”

Matthew was baffled by that statement. “Wh…What choice?”

”The choice of where you wish to reside once this meeting has concluded. Either in Heaven..or Hell. 

Myself, Lucifer and the other Archangels did not make this decision lightly. We all understand that if you return to Heaven there will be several problems you may face. These would include anger being directed at you by those involved in the illicit activities your father carried out, as well as those familiar with the angels you killed in self-defence, the social stigma against you due to your actions and that mysterious energy you have possession of, and the fact your only living relative, your mother, may become emotionally hostile to you.

During your time in Hell, she was reported to have been involved in starting a rumour mill painting you as an unprovoked aggressor in a likely attempt to keep anyone from looking further into your father’s actions and to salvage her reputation. Those rumours seemed to have run wild. Some of the nobles seemed to refer to you when questioned as “Heaven’s Shadow.” Almost as if they want to turn you into a cautionary tale. A monster under the bed.

I am truly sorry we have failed to stop this attack on your character, among the other failures on our part.

The reason we have given you this choice is so you can choose to face those risks or the risks you will likely face as being an angel in Hell, Fallen or not. The prejudice against you and your likely lack of knowledge of the realm would be considerable hurdles for you should you choose to stay there.”

That was…a lot to take in.

Matthew honestly wasn’t surprised his mother would try to do that. Outside of her reputation she didn’t have any real skills or attributes that would make her valuable to people. It was almost funny since her efforts would mean shit anyway with her husband exposed and banished to Hell.

Hell…

“If….If I choose to live in Hell…where would I stay?”

It was Lucifer who answered this question, with a cheery smile on his face.

”I would assume Blitzo and Stolas would be fine with continuing to house you.”

Matthew looked behind him to see Stolas and Blitzo, with reassuring smiles on their faces.

”It would be no trouble, Matthew. We would be delighted to have you stay with us for the foreseeable future. If you choose so, that is.” Stolas’ statement made Matthew’s heart swell. They….They want me to stay. Even after all this shit has happened…

“Yeah, kid. We’d love to have you stay. We can do all kinds of fun shit. We can even organise fun days out with Loony and Via. And Bombproof!!” Blitzo’s enthusiasm was giddy and infectious as he hopped up and down.

Matthew had a smile briefly cross his face, before he turned back to face the Archangels.

Uriel was the next one to speak. “There will also be….some special circumstances…to discuss if you choose to reside in Hell. You would be classified as Fallen, but we will be in contact with you for certain..tasks, none of which requires you to kill anyone mind you, as well as to observe any changes to that dark energy you’ve been expelling.”

Matthew wasn’t sure what tasks he would be asked to do, but at least it seemed he wasn’t going to be used as mercenary working for either side. He nodded his head in understanding.

”Good,” Gabriel replied, “Now, where do you wish to reside? Take as much time as you need to….”

“Hell.”

Gabriel blinked in surprise at how quick that answer was

Matthew continued to speak, still not quite believing this opportunity was actually happening.

“Up in Heaven, I have nothing. No-one. They’d hate me without even thinking about what actually happened. At least down in Hell….I have people who care. A chance for a fresh start, and if people hate me down there too at least there’s some actual fucking reasons for it.

That’s all I have left to say.”

Gabriel nodded in response, as he spoke once more.

“Thank you for your candour on this subject, and we will honour this decision. Now are there any last words before the sentences are finalised?”

Matthew shook his head. His father was to terrified and flabbergasted to do anything but to open and close his mouth in dumbfounded shock.

At that, the judgment was rendered. A light glow filled the blank space around them all.

Once it faded, all present could hear and see what was happening to the two now Fallen angels.

The now unemployed Nathaniel Rankin was crying out in pain while writhing in the ground, his skin taking on a dark purple colour. His wings slowly turning black, his feathers darkening as he screamed in agony. Brown horns were painfully growing on his head. His hands elongating into almost claws.

As this continued for a good 30 seconds, he suddenly bent downwards and began to almost tear away at his body armour. Likely to rip it off in case his body changes in its demonic transformation to one that would damaged by all that padding.

All attention then turned to Matthew.

He didn’t feel a lot of pain. Maybe it wasn’t as much as his father was experiencing since he wasn’t entirely being cut off from Heaven. Maybe it was because he had to endure so much fucking pain over his life he just went numb to some of it.

All that could be seen of a reaction was Matthew closing his eyes and clenching his fists. His wings were turning black as well.

Once both sets of wings had turned entirely black, the transformations were complete. They had both become Fallen Angels.

Nathaniel Rankin looked almost completely different as he still laid down on the floor. The only noticeable remnant of his old appearance was his blonde hair. He looked entirely demonic, though in no way intimidating. He looked fairly ordinary when it came to the standards of Hell.

Matthew…didn’t seem to change at all at first, apart from the wings.

Then he opened his eyes.

His sclera….They weren’t white anymore. It was black. Not just black. It looked like that dark energy was swirling in his eyes. Constantly moving in spiral around his blue irises.

It looked a little unsettling.

Lucifer conjured a reflective spell for Matthew to see this unusual change.

All he could think about this odd change was: Well. That was kind of anticlimactic.

Nathaniel Rankin on the other hand, took one look at his new visage with his new green eyes and shouted out, “NO!!!”

At that point, Rankin suddenly flexed out his hand with a spell glow clearly visible. This caused everyone present to be on alert.

Scribe Noah was initially not nervous, as he pointed out that “It’s a simple teleportation spell. But it’s very small. He can’t pass through one that size.”

However his nerves must have came back fast when the spell simply opened a portal around Rankin’s hand….and an angelic pistol was pulled out from it.

Blitzo’s response to this was likely how everyone present felt about it.

”What are you trying to do you fucking idiot?! You already tried this shit like half an hour ago and you got your arm broken in half!”

Rankin, who as usual wasn’t listening to anything being said, was aiming the weapon erratically, landing on different targets constantly, fear and rage clear on his face. Until it was aimed at his son.

Matthew didn’t let his expression show any emotion. He simply picked his music player from his pocket, turned up the volume and pressed play.

Now He’s Our Father (Reinterpretation) (Far Cry 5: We Will Rise Again Soundtrack)

The music seemed to be oddly unsettling for the situation as Matthew stared down his father.

When Matthew spoke, his voice seemed serene, yet with an undercurrent of rage hiding just beneath the surface.

”You know….Not an hour ago I would have wanted nothing more than to rip you apart, no matter the consequences for me.”

He took in a shuddering breath, before speaking once more, staring at his father with unblinking eyes.

“But God is watching us. And He will judge us on what we choose in this moment. Where every slight… every injustice… where every choice reveals our sins. And where have those sins lead us? Where have those sins led you? Countless people have been killed, and it is your fault. Your world is on fire and it’s your fault. Was it worth it? Was it? When are you gonna realize that every problem cannot be solved with a bullet?

When you first tried to stop me, I gave you the choice to walk away. You chose not to. In the face of God I am making you that offer one last time…

Put down your gun. You leave me and my…friends…. and you go in peace.”

Rankin looked around at the armed contingent of angels, with their weapons out and aimed at him alone. He saw Gabriel and Uriel staring him down, weapons drawn. No chance to manipulate or stall them. He saw Blitzo and Stolas. The former with two pistols drawn, the latter with an ominous spell at the ready.

His gaze then turned to Lucifer, as Matthew concluded his ultimatum.

”Make your choice. And remember….”

Matthew looked up at the sky, the ghost of a smug smile gracing his lips as he looked back down.

“God is watching.”

Chapter Text

Lucifer POV:

The chilling words Matthew had said hung in the air, as Nathaniel Rankin kept his gun raised. He was twitching with the nerves he was clearly trying to suppress so they would all somehow forget how pathetic he is.

That silence ended when Nathaniel Rankin, now former General of the armed forces of Heaven, made an incredibly dumb choice. Which is saying something considering the caliber of stupidity he had previously established.

He looked straight at Lucifer, his gun still drawn but seemingly being purposely aimed at anyone but Lucifer, and shouted out his desperate plea.

“Lucifer!! Ruler of Hell!! I demand that you accept my offer of fealty and military information to you and your rule in exchange for protection in this moment!!”

Everyone else’s eyes widened in either shock, confusion, anger or just plain annoyance at that statement.

Then their gazes turned to Lucifer. They couldn’t read his expression at first, as the gears turned in his head to figure out the best response that plea/demand.

He figured it out and he gave his response.

”Are you….actually insane?”

Rankin looked both surprised and angry at that answer to his plea.

”What?!”

Lucifer continued to speak, ignoring Rankin’s indignation.

”Do you actually think I would just immediately protect a pathetic shit stain like you because you demanded that I protect you? The idiot who tried to shoot two bystanders in an attempt to save your sorry ass?”

”I have great value to you, as a likely candidate for your right hand subordinate! With information on how the military of Heaven works! What don’t you understand about this opportunity?!”

“Okay, there’s a couple of reasons why I will not even pretend to entertain that farce of an idea:

Firstly, you are a complete idiot. Any information you could give would either be outdated or just plain useless.

Second, your flagrant turncoat betrayal of your former superiors shows you to be totally untrustworthy, and would likely  attempt to usurp me in an idiotic coup attempt. Admittedly they’re fun to quash down, but overall a messy waste of time and resources.

Third, you do not demand anything of me.

Fourth…I really do not care for your parenting skills.”

This moment.

This moment is the crowning example of Nathaniel Rankin’s greatest attribute.

The ability to not read the fucking situation.

When he opened his stupid fucking mouth, while still flailing around that firearm.

”What do you mean?! Surely you don’t disagree with the need for some simple discipline! Don’t tell me you don’t do that to your own…”

He didn’t finish that sentence.

Lucifer snapped his fingers, a light orange glow emanating from them.

This was followed by Rankin’s gun catching fire. He hollered in pain as the weapon melted into slag in his hands.

Lucifer wasn’t smiling. His previous statements had at the very least a neutral expression bordering on annoyance. But now….he looked pissed.

He slowly walked up to where Rankin was once more on the ground in pain. Lucifer then grabbed him by the shirt and brought him up to see him face to face.

Cold rage burned in his eyes as he stared down this idiot. His voice was deep and raw and truly demonic.

”Don’t you DARE compare myself to you. You are a pathetic, lazy, moronic sociopath. I am nothing like you. Especially when it comes to raising a child.

I would NEVER. EVER. Lay a hand on my daughter. Me and her may disagree. But I wouldn’t even dream of hurting her just for having a different opinion.

You want to know what I think the real reason why you tortured your son for years? You lack any and all creativity. You couldn’t handle the concept of your flesh and blood not doing every single thing you ordered them to do and be. So, you took the easy way. You hurt him. You hurt him and isolated him all in the vain and idiotic hope he would turn out as rotten as you.

Well, you failed. He will live on. He will have a better life, with people who actually give a shit about him. He will move on and you will be consigned as a blip in his history. A footnote. Because when all is said and done you are nothing more than a pompous cliché who will be forgotten.

You also, might I add, suck at dramatic entrances.”

With that, Lucifer tossed Rankin to the ground. Once on the ground, Rankin tried crawling away from the Ruler of Hell, whose grin was returning in a truly sadistic way.

Rankin looked at Gabriel and Uriel, eyes pleading and filled with terror. Thankfully, they weren’t taking anymore of his shit.

”Don’t look at us,” Uriel remarked, smugness ever so slightly creeping into his voice, “as both a Fallen Angel and having your military post removed, you are, thankfully, not our problem.”

Rankin then looked back at Lucifer. His smile, while still sadistic, had regained some of its usual cheer.

”Oh, don’t worry. I won’t lay a hand on you.”

The momentary relief felt by Rankin was swiftly ended by the shock and pain of his legs turning to stone.

”The two of them on the other hand…..Well, hope you enjoyed having legs for the past few centuries.”

Ranknin was screaming once more in pain, as he saw the glowing red eyes of Prince Stolas. Tranquil fury clear in his demeanour. Rankin tried to scramble away, his arms dragging his now much heavier body to find some imagined safety.

This was stopped when Blitzo used his guns to blast apart the stone legs from Rankin’s body in a painful spurt of blood and gravel.

”Where do you think you’re going you fucking puss-stain? You need to pay for all the fucked up shit you did to the kid. I gotta tell you, me and Stolas have a fuck-ton of experience with shitty dads, but you have to take the fucking cake as the absolute worst. Now…You’re gonna face the consequences for being such an asshole.

Oh look. Here he is now..”

With that, Blitzo turned to gesture towards Matthew. Who was staring down his father. With no inter-dimensional red tape to stop him.

He slowly advanced on the pitiful form of his father, whose healing factor was slowly trying to regrow a full new set of legs.

It wouldn’t have the chance.

As Matthew knelt down to see his father, sobbing eye to unblinking eye.

Before he pressed play on his music player once more, Matthew said the last words his pathetic father would ever hear.

”This.

 This moment is what I’ve waited so long for. The look on your face when you realised….

No-one is coming to save you.”

Chapter Text

Lucifer POV:

Matthew pressed play on his music player once more, with another unsettling song being the backdrop to the actions he takes. Lucifer had to give props to the kid once again, he knew how to set a mood.

Frank’s Choice (The Punisher Season 1 Soundtrack)

Matthew did not prolong the buildup. As soon as those guitar strings began to reverberate inside this blank world, he threw a quick right hook to his father’s face. There was an audible crack as Rankin’s nose became powder almost instantly.

Rankin was crying at this attack, but he only had a reprieve for about two seconds, before a left hook cracked his cheekbones inwards.

Then another right hook.

Then a left.

Then a right.

Left.

Right.

Left.

Right.

Left.

Right.

Right.

Right.

Left.

Right.

As these strikes continued, moving from his face to his chest and back again, Matthew began to roar and grunt with utter rage and hatred as he continued his act of retribution. That dark energy was present, only in his hands as they destroyed his father’s newly demonic face, contrasted by the sizeable splashes of blood staining his now formerly white suit a dark red.

After this onslaught the only real signs of life in the mush that was one Rankin’s face were the gurgles emanating from his shattered mouth, the small pained movement of his eyes and the muted squelches and cracks as his healing factor tried and failed to work on repairing the damage.

Matthew’s expression had briefly returned to that unsettling blankness, as he looked around him at all present. There was a considerable amount of blood covering his face and coating his hair.

He looked down at the twitching form of his father. He took his hands and placed them around his father’s skull.

He then pushed his thumbs into his father’s eyes. The last sounds Nathaniel Rankin ever made was a pathetic whine of pain.

Matthew didn’t just smash out his father’s eyes. He pushed his thumbs further and further in. Lucifer could swear he heard a faint cracking sound after a few seconds. He must have a grip on his fucking skull.

Matthew kept a grip on the sides of Rankin’s head, as he pulled outwards. The sickening crunching sound rang out as Matthew slowly ripped his father’s head apart.

With one last guttural yell, Matthew was finished. The only sounds heard was the song belting out its last distorted notes.

Silence then reigned.

Blood, brain matter and embedded skull fragments were all over his hands by the end of it.

Lucifer could see that Matthew had a smile on his face. Not one of gleeful or sadistic delight. It seemed resigned. His expression portrayed one feeling that was currently overpowering all the other multitude of shit going on in that poor boy’s head…..Relief.

He stayed like that for about 2 minutes. Just soaking in what he had just done. Stolas and Blitzo had moved to either side of him as he kneeled on the ground. They had pushed the corpse away a bit so they could sit down. They weren’t hugging Matthew, but they were gently holding his shoulder and patting his back. There were no words needed.

Matthew only spoke after another 5 minutes of this. He spoke in a measured tone, mixed with what Lucifer would assume to be a mild sense of disbelief that what had occurred actually happened.

”This is the part where I’m supposed to say I feel empty, right? I’d be lying to myself. I finally feel awake….like I can breathe again.”

He then rested his head against Stolas’s shoulder, closing his eyes. Poor kid must be fucking exhausted.

Lucifer looked to see Gabriel and Uriel staring at this scene. Their eyes wide with shock, which was understandable considering the brutality they just witnessed, but their expressions showed concern being directed towards Matthew. Lucifer was glad they weren’t treating the kid like a monster. He was just….heavily traumatised.

Gabriel cleared his throat and asked Lucifer, “Could we speak to you in private for some…last minutes discussions on what will happen next?”

“Oh, that’s no problem. Stolas? Will you three be okay like that for a couple minutes while we discuss some things?”

Stolas simply nodded in response.

With that settled, Lucifer followed his brothers to the more private area once more….only to be surprised when Gabriel grabbed him by the collar, looked his straight in the eyes and almost yelled:

”What the fuck did Matthew do when he was in Hell?!”

Chapter Text

Lucifer POV:

Lucifer usually liked surprises. The succession of surprises he was subjected to over not just this last week but just the last hour or two were almost enough to make him fucking sick of them.

He couldn’t even enjoy the fact that he just heard Gabriel swear for the first fucking time ever. That was due to the clear worry in his eyes as he kept his grip on Lucifer.

Ugh. It’s exhausting having to be consistently responsible for this fucking long.

“Okay, first of all, props for finally swearing, Gabe. Bravo. As for what Matthew did while at Goetia Manor, which you probably have some idea of already, included: crying, having nightmares, getting hugged for the first time, eating cereal, foiling an assassination attempt on Stolas and Blitzo, interrogating said assassin and using that dark energy to permanently break his hands and tail, taking that assassin’s horse, going on rides with that horse, watching TV shows, doing some karaoke, learning some magic and aiding in some intensive gardening. Yeah, that’s about it.

Why are you so curious about that?”

Gabriel was still staring at him, dead in the eyes, as he slowly gave his answer.

”Lucifer…I want you to think really hard about what I have to say next. Which activity that you listed do you think I’m currently very worried about?”

Lucifer thought back to what he just listed. Trying to remember any changes in his brother’s expression. He remembered only one noticeable, but subtle change. A slight parting of his mouth in some mixture of dread and surprise….when he mentioned Matthew riding a horse.

Now why would he be worried about tha………Oooooooooh. No. No. It couldn’t be….

If it were possible for Lucifer to somehow look even paler, then he would be as white as the environment which surrounded him.

”Gabriel….You don’t mean to suggest that…..”

”I’m afraid so. Why do you think there are no horses in Heaven?

Based on Matthew’s actions, trauma, what I’ve seen of that dark energy as well as some admittedly vague information given by our Father…I’m fairly confident to say that I believe he may be one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

And I’m also fairly sure that he is, specifically….War. Trust me, I know what a scream of war fuelled anguish sounds like.”

All three siblings were deathly quiet about this realisation.

If Matthew truly was War….what would that mean for not only his future but the future of all realms? Would his presence cause the other Horsemen to surface? Would that kickstart Judgement Day?

All these possibilities rattled through Lucifer’s head until he composed his thoughts and slowly responded.

”So…What do you all think we should do about this? My idea is to maybe not immediately tell him what we think he may be.”

“Why would we withhold this possibility from him?” Uriel’s question was valid.

”Well, considering the fact Matthew is in an already somewhat precarious mental state, telling him he could possibly be a harbinger of the literal end times may push him onto a violent and self destructive path that may actually lead to the Apocalypse occurring. There’s also the issue of the possibility we may be mistaken. You can’t really take back that emotional damage by just saying we made a mistake after a while.

What I think we should do is to keep an extra close eye on him with both our networks of surveillance. On my side of things, I’ll look into confirming whether the kid is actually a Horseman, as well as look at other potential candidates. The appearance of one likely implies the arrival of the others as well. If it turns out he is a Horseman, then I’ll wait until he is in a more stable and calm mindset and then calmly explain my findings.”

”That sounds like a solid plan.” Lucifer felt relieved that his brothers were on the same page as him. He missed that feeling. 

“How do you intend to keep him in check and prevent his powers from inadvertently disestablishing your kingdom’s delicate power structure?”

“I’ll just talk any issues out with him that he can’t talk to Stolas and Blitzo about. Unlike most fallen angels who enter my realm, I actually like talking with the kid. Keeping him calm and mentally well won’t be a thing I have to do to, it’ll be a thing I want to do.”

A collective sigh of relief came from the two Archangels.

”Now, do we have any other business to discuss? Will what we just talked about affect what we decided on about Blitzo and Prince Stolas?”

”No,” came Gabriel’s reply, “Not really.”

With an acknowledging nod and the mental pick me up that was the realisation this whole fucking meeting will be finished soon, Lucifer and his brothers returned to the others.

They hadn’t moved. Their eyes were following the three of them with worried anticipation. Lucifer could see Matthew seemed less tense. It was still a little unsettling to see him be seemingly fine with having his clothes stained in his father’s blood and brain matter. What little brains Rankin had, that fucking idiot. At least I don’t have to listen to his aggravating voice anymore.

Uriel cleared his throat and began to speak.

”Now then. With the primary matter of this meeting now being finished, it is time to discuss the activities and responsibilities of Prince Stolas of the Ars Goetia and Blitzo, CEO of the assassination company known as I.M.P. We shall also discuss our response to said activities.”

Both Stolas and Blitzo shot up, shock and apprehension clear on their faces, yet they remained silent. Likely so as not to potentially make the situation more tense.

”Our Earth monitoring systems have recorded and observed the usage of the Grimoire of Worlds by Blitzo to enter the Human realm to target humans for assassination ordered by Sinners within Hell.

Under normal circumstances these actions would warrant immediate action, which would likely take the form of severe physical punishment.”

Lucifer could see Blitzo and Stolas holding hands, tightly. Almost as if something terrible would happen if they let go. Matthew was looking up and starting to look more anxious. He probably thinks something bad is going to happen to them.

“However, based on several factors that have come to our attention, both recently and over the last few months, we have decided to take a different approach.”

Chapter Text

Blitzo POV:

Blitzo was fucking nervous. After all the shit Matthew went through, now him and Stolas have to deal with whatever shit the Archangels would make them do. At least they aren’t immediately punishing us. Worst come to worst I’ll try and take full responsibility for all the shit the company has done. Stolas and M&M don’t need to suffer because of a business I started.

He kept his hand locked with Stolas’ hand. He wasn’t going to let the love of his life feel afraid in a time like this.

Archangel Uriel resumed his declaration as all present hung on his words.

”With several factors and events taken into account: your selfless care of Matthew Rankin during his stay in Hell, the fact most of your assassination targets were humans already doomed to be sent to Hell, the recent decline in the amount of incursions made and the lack of any motive to create large scale political chaos among the human populace…It has been decided that you can continue your…activities, albeit with some new guidelines laid out and enforced by us for you, your company and Prince Stolas.”

Well….that seemed more fucking  reasonable than I expected. At least they don’t seem to be punishing Stolas for all the messes I made up on Earth. He seems a little calmer now. Good, that’s good. 

Blitzo cautiously responded to this new information, his hand still entwined with Stolas’. “W…What type of guidelines?”

”Primarily, you will be required to report your potential targets to us. If they are doomed to enter Hell, if they are the worst of the worst, then you shall be allowed to eliminate them. The method by which you contact us will be discussed shortly. Secondly, you should be encouraged to further limit collateral damage. Extra care should be taken in this regard, as well as in your attempts to prevent humans from discovering your existence. We know how you managed to destroy those security tapes at that government agency, so that should be not that much of an adjustment frankly.”

Blitzo internally sighed with relief. Thank fuck we got those tapes smashed. Otherwise this shit might have gone sideways fast.

“The final guideline relates both to your company and Prince Stolas personally. It is requested that your company, Prince Stolas and Matthew, if he is able, provide assistance to the Happy/Hazbin Hotel run by Princess Charlotte Magne. I.M.P. and Matthew may support it through providing additional security should a significant threat be identified, while Prince Stolas may support it through financial aid should it be required.”

OK. Not as many fucking rules as I expected. At least I’m not gonna be forced to do some shady shit for these guys. Matthew may be okay with this rule. It’s not like it’s ordering him to kill people. Those moves he pulled on those guards proved that he can take down people without killing them.

“The method of communication I mentioned earlier relates to our final point.”

At that moment, Uriel’s hand glowed with a spell. Once the glow faded, a phone was now in his hand. He then handed it to Matthew.

The kid was surprised by this, as was Blitzo.

“We figured that Matthew would need a reliable method of communication, as well as to provide a relatively impartial witness to your business dealings. Matthew’s task would be to simply send us the target information provided by a prospective client, at which point we will promptly determine whether this target is approved or not.

The device also has other fairly innocuous features: video recording capabilities, media streaming, the SoulSearch app and some light magical protection to prevent breakage.

However as a measure of security any calls or texts made will be monitored by both the Archangels and Lucifer. I hope you understand.”

“Oh. I understand. That makes sense. Thank you.” Matthew’s voice was more quiet than usual as he spoke.

Matthew’s expression was cautious but curious as he held that phone. This must be the first phone he has ever owned. And now he knows people who he would actually want to call. Fuck that thought is depressing. At least with General Fuckstick finally dead, the kid can catch a fucking break.

After a few seconds, Gabriel clapped his hands together. “And with that, our business in this meeting has finally concluded. To all present I wish to thank you for your patience and co-operation and I deeply apologise for the threats to your safety that occurred under our watch. I hope this event can serve as a possible sign of future mutual co-operation between our two realms.”

Gabriel’s expression turned solemn as he made his way to Matthew and looked him right in the eyes.

”I am sorry we failed you. For so long. There is nothing we can do to undo the horrific treatment you’ve been subjected to, but we can act now. We will do all within our power to punish those within our realm who collaborated with your father’s idiotic plan and those who facilitated the abuse you suffered.

I hope one day we will have done enough to make up for our failure.”

Matthew didn’t speak in response to this. He simply nodded while keeping eye contact.

Gabriel took a breath and then went to Lucifer. He extended a hand to his brother.

”Farewell Lucifer. It was nice catching up. Tell your family I said hello. Hopefully we can do this again. Though preferably with less death involved.”

Lucifer stared at that outstretched hand, took it with his own, and suddenly pulled Gabriel into a hug. It only lasted a few seconds, but Blitzo could see Lucifer smile the realest smile he’s ever seen on the ruler of Hell.

As Lucifer broke off the hug, they both dusted themselves off and moved away from each other.

Uriel opened a portal for the contingent from Heaven. Stolas opened a portal for the contingent from Hell.

As both parties made their way to these gateways, Lucifer stopped Matthew briefly.

”Matthew…Didn’t you say earlier that my…..that God had a message you wanted to tell me?”

”Oh. He…..I don’t fully know what he meant specifically but….

He said he understands why you did what you did. He said he still disagrees with it, but he understands why you did it. He said he was glad you tried to be better for her than what he was to you. He’s…proud of you.”

Lucifer didn’t say anything, but everyone saw the ruler of Hell almost gasp out something. This lasted for a second before he composed himself.

”Th…Thank you, Matthew.” Blitzo could fucking swear a tear was trying to escape Lucifer’s eye.

Blitzo then moved toward Matthew and held the kid’s hand.

”You ready to go home?”

Matthew nodded, before breathing out one word. The last word heard in this barren plane of existence.

”Home…”

And with that, all present retuned to their realms.

Chapter Text

Matthew (War):

Frank’s Choice (The Punisher Season 1 Soundtrack)

Let The Water Wash Away Your Sins (Far Cry 5 Into The Flames Soundtrack)

Bell’s Theme (Call of Duty Black Ops Cold War Soundtrack)

Days Gone (Days Gone Soundtrack)

The Rookie (Halo ODST Soundtrack)

Leaving Earth (Mass Effect 3 Soundtrack)

Sankarin Tango (Control Soundtrack)

Shepherd of This Flock (JT Music)

Undead Lullaby (JT Music)

Forsake Me Now (Remastered) (JT Music)

Agent Murphy (Narcos Season 1 Soundtrack)

Moon Knight (Moon Knight Soundtrack)

Cali (Narcos Season 3 Soundtrack)

All the Strange Strange Creatures (Doctor Who Series 3 Soundtrack)

Now He’s Our Father (Reinterpretation) (Far Cry 5 We Will Rise Again Soundtrack)

Birthright (Far Cry 6 Vaas Insanity Soundtrack)

Trauma (Get Even Soundtrack)

Out of Time Man

The Punisher’s Job (Punisher season 2 Soundtrack)

Lasky’s Theme (Halo 4 Soundtrack vol 2)

Harbinger (DOOM Soundtrack)

Spider Man (Spider Man Game Soundtrack)

Icarus-Main Theme (Deus Ex Human Revolution Soundtrack)

San Diego Burning (Call of Duty Ghosts Soundtrack)

I Am Shay Patrick Cormac (Assassin’s Creed Rogue Soundtrack)

The Suite at the El Royale (Bad Times at the El Royale Soundtrack)

Connor’s Life (Assassin’s Creed 3 Soundtrack)

I’m Big (Pain and Gain Soundtrack)

Devestation (Battlefield 5 Soundtrack)

Revival (Far Cry 5: Inside Eden’s Gate Soundtrack)

New Bordeaux (Mafia 3 Soundtrack)

Haunted (Maniac Soundtrack)

Don Abandons Alice (28 Weeks Later Soundtrack)

The Electro Suite (Amazing Spider Man 2 Soundtrack)

Bathroom Dance (Joker Soundtrack)

The Batman (The Batman 2022 Soundtrack)

Behind the Mirror (Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain Soundtrack)

Dr. Michael Morbius (Morbius Soundtrack)

The Only Thing I Know For Real (Metal Gear Rising Revengeance Soundtrack)

Outsider No More (Cyberpunk 2077 Soundtrack)

We Have To Go (Transformers: The Last Knight Soundtrack)

Vanguard (Call of Duty Vanguard Soundtrack)

Paint it Black (Sebastian Böhm)

Reyes (Call of Duty Infinite Warfare Soundtrack)

One is the Loneliest Number (Baltic House Orchestra)

Cities in Dust (The Everlove)

 Beautiful Lie (Batman v Superman Soundtrack)

The Red Capes Are Coming (Batman v Superman Soundtrack)

Octavia:

I’m Cruella (Cruella Soundtrack)

Mind If I Cut In? (The Dark Knight Rises Soundtrack)

X-LGDP (Dark Phoenix Xperiments Soundtrack)

Downtown (Downtempo) (Last Night in Soho Soundtrack)

A Cup of Tea (Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness Soundtrack)

Andi’s Theme (Glass Onion Soundtrack)

Matthew and Octavia:

I Remember (Days Gone Soundtrack)

Forget Me Knots (Spider Man No Way Home Soundtrack)

Been Good to Know Ya (Cyberpunk 2077 Soundtrack)

The Doctor’s Theme Series 4 (Doctor Who Series 4 Soundtrack)

Mozart: Requiem: Lacrimosa (Re:scored)

Loona:

Snakes (Arcane Soundtrack)

Battlefield Hardline Main Theme (Battlefield Hardline Soundtrack)

Negotiation (Hi-Fi Rush Soundtrack)

Loona and Matthew:

Right Trigger Warning (Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus Soundtrack)

Sugaan Essena (The Hu)

Loona and Octavia:

Paint it Black (Hidden Citizens)

Stolas:

Bloodlines (Assassin’s Creed Syndicate Soundtrack)

Nocturne (Katana Zero Soundtrack)

Reckoning Main Theme (Kingdom of Amalur Reckoning Soundtrack)

Life in Mars (David Bowie)

Don’t Stop Me Now (Queen)

Stolas and Matthew:

Finding Your Way Home (The Evil Within 2 Soundtrack)

Words Win Wars (Doctor Who Series 5 Soundtrack)

Blitzo:

The Rifleman (Destiny 2: Forsaken Soundtrack)

The World’s End (The World’s End Soundtrack)

Do You Wanna Taste It? (Wig Wam)

Family (Matthew, Octavia, Loona, Blitzo, Stolas)

Ezio’s Family (Assassin’s Creed 2 Soundtrack)

Lucifer:

Carol of the Bells (Joker’s Theme) (Batman: Arkham Origins Soundtrack)

Royal Reception (Far Cry 4 Soundtrack)

Loki Green Theme (Loki Season 1 Soundtrack)

Nathaniel Rankin (Deceased):

Cesare Borgia (Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood Soundtrack)

Your Own House Turned To Ashes (Justice League Soundtrack)

Bombproof:

When The Morning Light Shines In (Far Cry 5 Soundtrack)

Exterminators:

The Daleks (Doctor Who Series 1 Soundtrack)

Archangels:

Beyond Light (Destiny 2: Beyond Light Soundtrack)

Gabriel:

Perseverance (Destiny 2: Beyond Light Soundtrack)

The Illusive Man (Mass Effect 2 Soundtrack)

God (You Know His Name):

Hymn (Destiny 2: The Witch Queen Soundtrack)

Death (Outcast):

Henry Daughtry (Infamous: Second Son Soundtrack)

Enlightened (Destiny 2: Beyond Light Soundtrack)

Mandus (Amnesia: A Machine For Pigs Soundtrack)

Scattered, Hunted, Defeated (Halo Infinite Soundtrack)

La Despedida (Bullet Train Soundtrack)

Waking Up (Lone Survivor Soundtrack)

Loona and Death:

Our Country Made a Promise (Far Cry 5 Soundtrack)

Matthew and Death:

Hope County (Far Cry New Dawn Soundtrack)

Project Phoenix (Call of Duty Vanguard Soundtrack)

Pestilence (Hunter):

Decepticons (Transformers Soundtrack)

Cordyceps (Last of Us Part 2 Soundtrack)

Salvation (Destiny 2: Shadowkeep Soundtrack)

The First Disciple (Destiny 2: The Witch Queen Soundtrack)

A Modern Plague (Bullet Train Soundtack)

Famine (Prisoner):

Postcard From The Edge (Venom: Let There Be Carnage Soundtrack)

Fiddlesticks, The Harbinger of Doom (League of Legends Soundtrack)

Zombie U (ZombiU Soundtrack)

The Fanatic (Destiny 2:Forsaken Soundtrack)

SATOR (Tenet Soundtrack)

Famine and Pestilence:

The Witness (Destiny 2: The Witch Queen Soundtrack)

Heralds (Group):

The Freakshow (Days Gone Soundtrack)

Salvation (Destiny 2: Shadowkeep Soundtrack)

Chapter Text

Matthew POV:

Hell. When Matthew crashed into this realm a week ago, he thought it would be where he would spend the rest of his life. Granted he expectedwanted the rest of his life to be about five minutes, but still.

Now after a week where people cared about him for the first time, and a long as shit meeting where he killed his father, met God and got a free phone….Matthew returned to Hell once more to hopefully spend the rest of his life there.

With Blitzo and Stolas….The two people who had opened their home to him. That home, whose grounds he had finally stepped back onto as the portal closed behind him.

He could hear the loud soundscape of Hell on the background. He could smell the compost of the grand garden nearby. He could see Bombproof perk up at their return. He could see the horse rushing towards him, neighing excitedly and soon she was nuzzling against him. He could see Stolas smiling at this exchange, as well as seeing Blitzo wide eyed with joy at the sight, who was already taking a dozen photos of it. 

It felt fucking great.

Then it hit Matthew.

”Free…..I’m free….”

He just stood there, as Stolas, Blitzo and Lucifer watched.

Then he started to laugh. It started out quiet and mixed with disbelief. As it went on it got louder and louder and ever so slightly deranged. The staff must have heard it as they slowly exited the Manor.

Bombproof stayed by his side as the laughter subsided after about 2 minutes. Once it was overit’sneverover, Matthew looked over at everyone present. Stolas, Blitzo and Lucifer all had slightly worried expressions at that manic display. The staff who had come out looked almost petrified.

Makes sense. I was just laughing hysterically while covered in both my blood, my father’s blood and his brain matter.

Lucifer’s reaction seemed….odd. Matthew couldn’t really tell why. He just noticed how Lucifer’s slightly unnerved gaze was focusing around where Bombproof was still nuzzling him. WeirdLikeyou’reonetotalk..

Matthew, wanting to shift attention to pretty much anything else, awkwardly cleared his throat and asked, “So……I can safely say we’re all glad that’s over with, r..right?”

“You’re right,” came Stolas’ relieved reply, “we are all happy now that this whole debacle is finished. At the very least we are once more in a place we can feel safe in. Not like that fucking white void we had to endure for a few hours.”

”Quite so,” concurred Lucifer, whose gaze was still shifting between Stolas and Bombproof, “Wait! I need to check if we’re still under the effect of that Truth Bomb gas and can’t lie.

I hate rubber ducks.

Oh yes!! The Prince of Lies is back in the game!! Yes, Yes!!”

The ruler of Hell punctuated that statement by excitedly punching the air in victory.

Matthew snorted a bit at that display. Once Lucifer was finished, he smoothed back his hair, and began to lay out what would happen next. “Well now, since we’re now back in Hell, we can now further address Matthew’s living situation down here.

Due to all the “excitement” we experienced over the last few hours, I believe it would be good for all of us to have a day of rest to decompress and get acclimated to these new circumstances.”

”Will we still have to keep Matthew’s existence a secret?” asked Stolas.

”Hmm…While it would still be in our best interest to keep Matthew’s presence here undetected for tonight, it isn’t as high of a priority due to his current status as a Fallen Angel. Tomorrow, once we’re all rested up, I intend to help Matthew reveal himself at a soon to be announced conference to the powerful figures of this region, you know, other Goetia nobility and Overlords. It should help him explain why he’s down here and it assuage any suspicions they might have of his intentions.

Stolas, you may also attend. It would be helpful for Matthew to have your moral support during that.

I’ll also be helping Matthew secure clothes for his time down here. The whole “covered in my father’s blood and brains look” may look cool at the moment, but trust me it will get sticky and smell awful in no time.”

“Soooo…,” came Blitzo’s reply, “What should we do for the rest of the day? Via and Looney are coming home soon and I was wondering what we could do together.”

That last statement shot feelings of fear and uncertainty through Matthew’s mind.

Via and Looney. Stolas and Blitzo’s daughters…

What the fuck are they going to think about this?

Chapter Text

Matthew POV:

Matthew was somewhat panicking internally.

He was realising he was going to live in a house with not only Blitzo and Stolas, but their two daughters, whose full names he didn’t fully know since all he heard was likely their nicknames. Two people who now had to live with a Fallen Angel who crashed into their home, who put their parents under undue risk, and who was now staying in their house without any say from them.

They are going to be fucking pissed.

Lucifer seemed to notice Matthew’s growing panic and quickly seemed to shift the conversation a bit.

”Oh, you can maybe sort out a movie night with everyone. While you’re thinking of ideas, I’ll be seeing if I can have a private conversation with Matthew here before I head out, that alright with everyone?”

Matthew, while still worried about what would happen soon, nodded, so did Blitzo and Stolas.

”That is perfectly fine, sir,” came Stolas’ reply, “While you and Matthew talk, Blitzo and I will try and contact our daughters to tell them the good news about our safe return.”

”Yeah, but…” Blitzo piped in somewhat nervously, “we may need to take a few minutes before doing that to freak the fuck out in the bathroom over the stresses of that fucking meeting, not least of which being the existential terror of me yelling a bit at God himself and him actually listening to me.”

”Fair enough. Have fun!” Lucifer’s tone was cheery as they all moved to re-enter the Manor.

Matthew noted how all the servants and other staff looked both relieved that they had all returned (probably more glad about Stolas’ return than anything) and backing away in terror from the presence of Lucifer, as he strolled along the halls, whistling a tune.

They made their way to the guest ro…My room…. It feels so weird to say that…

Matthew shook those thoughts away, turning his mind to how Lucifer would know where his room was. He never told him where it was, yet he was leading the way towards it.

Makes sense he may know where it is due to putting me under surveillance while I was here.

As the door to the room opened, Matthew could see his bag. It was still here, with what he thought would be the last indicators that he was ever here.

Lucifer looked around the room. “Hmm. Nice and quiet. This should do.”

While Matthew was pondering what exactly Lucifer meant by that, the ruler of Hell did something trust shocking.

He hugged him.

Lucifer was, somewhat awkwardly, giving Matthew a hug.

After having received hugs from both Blitzo and Stolas, Matthew could reasonably point out the differences between different types of hugs. The hugs Blitzo and Stolas have were soft, warm, almost practiced. Which made sense, since they likely gave a lot of hugs to each other and their daughters.

Lucifer’s hug was….odd. It was still nice, as well as being somewhat existentially terrifying for the the fact that he was being hugged by the Ruler of Hell.

It only lasted a few seconds before Lucifer broke it off, awkwardly coughing into his hand.

”Sorry for pulling that on you unexpectedly. I just….wanted to thank you. For giving me that message, as well as to maybe help calm you down, since you seemed to start panicking when Blitzo mentioned Loona and Octavia.”

So…their names are Loona and Octavia. That’s a start at least..

“Yeah..,” Matthew began, his fingers tapping at leg, “I am getting nervous about meeting and interacting with them. They have to live with me, a Fallen Angel who put their dads in danger and is now living here with them not having a say in the matter. What if they hate me? Why wouldn’t they hate me? What if they get mad at Blitzo and Stolas for helping me? I just… I just don’t know what to do…”

Lucifer seemed to ponder over what Matthew just said.

”While I understand your concerns, I do believe things will turn out alright. Yes, they will likely be a bit wary of you at first, but they will get to know you as the surprisingly interesting and kind person you are. Plus it would probably be a good thing for you to be able talk with people around you age anyway.”

Wait..They’re around my age? All the nicknames Stolas and Blitzo used made them seem a bit younger…

“Well, great….You can probably guess how successful my previous attempts at socialising with people my own age were. I don’t know what to say. Especially to ladies. They always ended up mocking me even more.”

Matthew’s tapping had been steadily increasing in pace as his worries grew.

Lucifer seemed to notice this, as he extended his hand forward. A dark form grew within his palm for a moment, before it took full shape. After a second, Matthew realised what it was:

A yellow rubber duck. With a tiny pentagram near its base.

Okay, that ranks up there as the oddest thing I’ve seen today, and that is an impressive feat.

“Here,” Lucifer motioned the duck, “take it. I hope you can enjoy this squeaky chap as much as I can.”

Cautiously, Matthew took the duck. He looked it over. It seemed perfectly normal.

He then gave it a squeak.

A pause.

Squeak Squeak.

A smile crossed Matthew’s face.

”Aww, I knew that would get you to smile,” Lucifer beamed proudly, “Rubber ducks always bring a smile to my face. The best thing about this little fellow is that he’s basically indestructible, so no matter how stressed you may become, you can always give him a squeeze to help you calm down.”

“Thanks.” A pause. “i just have to ask…does this duck act as a monitoring device so you can spy on me?”

An awkward silence filled the room for a few moments, before Lucifer broke it with an almost embarrassed reply.

”Yeah, kinda. It has a magic sensor implanted in it that will send readings of that dark energy if you use it. I’m sure you understand.”

”Oh, I do. I totally understand why you would out me under surveillance. It would actually be more weird if you didn’t do that.”

This whole conversation had been odd…but Matthew was enjoying it. He felt less stressed than when he entered the room.

The stress returned quickly though when he heard a thump out in the hallway.

Both Matthew and Lucifer looked out the door. The sound came from the bathroom where Blitzo and Stolas had entered.

Matthew could make out Blitzo and Stolas’ voices….and now two others.

Fuck! They’re already here!

Chapter Text

Blitzo POV:

Well, that’s that existential crisis done with. Five whole minutes of shaking each other in disbelief while whisper yelling “What the fuck!” 

At that point, in the bathroom, Blitzo and Stolas collected themselves. They needed to be calm, to assure their daughters that everything was fine. Which they were, even though Heaven was definitely going to be keeping an eye on them all and his business, and there was the situation of someone else living in their home for the foreseeable future without any notice beforehand…

It’ll be fine. We’re all going to get through this together.

Once they had fully calmed down, Blitzo took out his phone and typed a message for Loona’s phone:

Loony nd Veea!!! Wee R Bak!!! Thngs weHnt welll. Lehts doo a portaL Hug nd thn talck bout how Thngs R gonNna go wehn U boTh get Home!!

A thumbs up reply gave them the confirmation to open the portal.

As the portal rippled open, Blitzo went forwards, arms out, ready to embrace Loona and Octavia…Only to be hugged first, as Loona had lunged forward through to the portal, bringing Blitzo to the ground.

”Thank fuck you’re okay, Dad!” Loona exclaimed.

The hug was amazing, but Blitzo was confused to see her having her backpack on. He was similarly confused by Octavia tossing her bag through the portal before leaping to hug Stolas.

It always warmed Blitzo’s heart whenever he saw Stolas hugging Octavia. He loved how his lover would just beam with utter joy whenever he interacted with his daughter. After all the shit he had to deal with due to all those asshole Goetia nobles, Blitzo always felt relieved to see him happy.

”Looney!! You and Via are here! You didn’t have to jump us, you know. Why are your bags here?”

Loona’s reply was characteristically sarcastic.

“Did you really think we’d waste hours getting here by car when we have fucking portals? We needed to make sure you dorks weren’t in anymore shit involving Lucifer or Heaven or whatever the fuck else.”

“Yeah,” added Octavia, “So is it over? Is that angel finally gone?”

Stolas and Blitzo both looked at each other nervously.

”Well,” Stolas began, “You see…”

Matthew POV:

Breathe, Matthew. Breathe.

Matthew was thinking this to himself as he slowly and nervously made his way to the bathroom door. Lucifer was looking at his advance from his room’s doorway.

It’s best to get introductions out of the way so they aren’t nervous or suspicious of what he was doing. Just smile as best you can, be polite, don’t stare, don’t come off as creepy, act fucking normal for once.

This thought repeated over and over in Matthew’s head as he raised his hand to knock on the door. 

Octavia POV:

Octavia couldn’t believe what she just heard her dad say. This Matthew guy is here?! He’s going to live here?!

“What the fuck?! He’s living here now?! And we didn’t get any say in this?!” Octavia and Loona were fucking pissed about this whole situation. They weren’t really mad at their dads over this, though. Just at the mystery asshole who just crashed into our lives. Literally.

“We’re sorry we couldn’t ask for your input on this choice,” her dad responded, clearly trying to soothe their anger and frustration, “but the decision was made while we were talking with the Archangels. We couldn’t risk any communications being leaked.

But don’t worry. Everything will be fine. Matthew not only belongs in our realm now that he is a Fallen Angel, but is a kind young man who I’m sure you can both get along with…eventually.”

At least he’s Fallen now, so we won’t be stuck housing a normal Angel here under the radar.

”Yeah,” Blitzo added, “the kid is surprisingly cool. He’s into a lot of different music, like you Via. Maybe you can talk with him about it, and do some karaoke with us. He really got us into the swing of that. You can have fun with him too, Looney. He’ll be around the office after all.”

Loona was confused by that statement. “Why would that Matthew guy be around the office?”

“Oh, I forgot to mention that the Archangels know about I.M.P. but they’ll allow us to keep killing folk topside so long as those we off are pieces of shit. That’s why Matthew’s gonna hang around the office, he’s the main communicator to check with the Archangels if we have the all clear to kill a target. He can even come up with us to help keep us safe.”

A moment of silence passed.

That is a lot to fucking take in.

That silence was ended with a quiet knock on the door.

Must be a servant checking in.

Octavia moved to open the door and tell the servant to give them a few minutes peace so they can wrap their heads around all this shit.

When she opened the bathroom door, Octavia was shocked to see Matthew, the now Fallen Angel, standing behind it, back straight and tense, with him seemingly vibrating with nerves. An extremely nervous smile on his face. His overall appearance was similar to Lucifer, who to her existential dread, was watching all this down the hallway. Matthew’s hair was the same blond colour, but more messy. His cheek circles were yellow. His face… she couldn’t fully describe it, but despite the fact his face looked near identical to Lucifer’s, she could tell he looked younger somehow.

His eyes were darting around between her and Loona….His eyes….Why was she focused on that? The irises were blue, but the rest was dark, and not just as a colour, it was shifting and swirling. They were staring back into her eyes.

This eye contact lasted only a few seconds, but it felt longer somehow. It ended when they both blinked.

Not quite what she expected the now Fallen Angel to look and act like. 

It was only at that moment she registered that his face and clothes were covered in red blood and brains. He must have also just realised this, as he hit his hand against his head, took a breath and began to speak, in a stuttering tone.

”H…Hello Princess O….Octavia and Princess L…Loona. My n…name is M…Matthew, not that Matthew. I’d shake y…your h…hand, but as you can s…see, I’m a little b…bloody at the m…moment. Heh heh hehhhhh. I just w…wish to say that I am t….truly sorry for all the w….worry and stress y….you have f….felt r…recently due to my a….arrival here. I hope w…we can at least have am…amicable interactions with each oth…other.”

A heavily awkward silence ensued, as Octavia and Loona gave him extremely confused and sceptical looks.

“S…sorry if I was r….rambling, I’m j…just incredibly n…nervous, terrified and em….embarrassed r…right now so I’m going to s…shut up now and head to the r….room I’m staying in and p..pass out both from exhaustion of the last f…few hours catching up to me and embrassment. Have a n…nice day.”

With that, Matthew walked down the hall, moved past Lucifer into a room and closed the door.

Octavia could vaguely hear a thud emanate from that room.

Huh, she thought, he actually did pass out.

Chapter Text

Loona POV:

Well….that was unexpected. That was the thought that crossed Loona’s mind as she saw the Fallen Angel, whose presence had caused her and Via so much fucking stress over the last week, freak out over a simple conversation, stutter and walk away to literally pass out from embarrassment.

Loona didn’t really know what to make of this guy. She thought he was at least not a complete asshole since he saved her dad and Stolas from Striker. The asshat who almost killed her sister……Grrrrrrr…If I see his ass again, I’m tearing out his throat.

After she heard Matthew pass out in a guest room with a distinct thunk, she turned to look at Octavia to gauge how she felt. She looked just as confused. Maybe more so since he seemed to stare into her eyes for a few seconds. She didn’t look uncomfortable from that though, so that’s good. He didn’t seem to be sneering or acting like a creep, since most of the time his eyes were just darting around everywhere.

Blitzo and Stolas were looking out at the guest room, their expressions were worried.

The silence which had fallen over them was broken by Loona asking another relevant question: “Why the fuck did he call me a princess?”

“Oh, I assume he wanted to be as respectful as possible, considering he doesn’t have significant knowledge of the whole social order here yet.”

This response came from Lucifer. The ruler of Hell itself. Who just popped into the bathroom, taking Loona by surprise and causing her to exclaim, in surprise and a tiny bit of fear, “What the fuck?!”

Loona didn’t know what to do once she calmed down. She was not mentally prepared to have any form of conversation with the head honcho of Hell itself.

Not that Lucifer seemed to care, who extended his hand out in greeting. His smile was unnerving as it oozed with confidence. Albeit somewhat earned through how powerful he is. She warily took his hand in a somewhat polite way. While this action contradicted Loona’s reputation of not giving a fuck about what people think, she wasn’t dumb enough to risk pissing off the guy who has ruled over an entire realm filled with chaos, violence and fire.

”Hello Loona. While I haven’t heard much about you, that which I have heard has been quite positive. I especially enjoyed hearing how you handled that paparazzi that tried to snag some pics of Octavia while she was recovering from being shot. I never knew that testicles could be kicked back up so high in the body. Kudos.”

Loona had no idea how to respond to that so she just nervously smiled.

Lucifer then turned his attention to Octavia, who seemed only slightly less tense than Loona. Makes sense, since she probably has interacted with or just seen him more during those rich people parties her mom forced her to attend.

“And speaking of Octavia, how are you doing young lady? I truly hope the events of this last week hasn’t caused you much undue stress.”

Octavia blinked, before replying in a not very convincing tone.

”Well, uhh..It was….fine. It was fine. No problem at all.”

Lucifer’s gaze didn’t break as it grew more intense. It looked like he was scanning Octavia.

His gaze then softened, as if he was satisfied with her response. Loona was fairly sure he wasn’t, but he must have just wanted to continue on anyway.

”Now then, with introductions being made between you two and your new housemate, I shall take my leave to prepare to introduce Matthew tomorrow to the public. I thank you all for your co-operation and patience throughout this whole fucking mess and I wish you all a pleasant rest of your day. Farewell and tell Matthew and Quackington I said goodbye.”

And with the lingering question of who the fuck was Quackington lingering in the air, Lucifer strode out into the hallway towards the front door. He briefly stopped to look at the door to the room Matthew was in, before continuing on his way.

Once Loona heard the main doors open and close, and everyone in the building unclenched a little, she turned towards Blitzo and Stolas.

”Okay, now that Lucifer’s gone, I want to make it clear that I really want to ask you both what this Matthew guy’s deal is, but I also really want to just take a fucking nap. So how do you want to do this?”

Blitzo and Stolas were thinking over their response, before Octavia chimed in.

”Hey, if you don’t know how give all the information or don’t feel comfortable saying it all, maybe you can give us the abridged version. Then we can ask Matthew about the whole story later.”

”That’s a good idea my starfire.” Stolas’ response was characteristically cheery and oozed affection for his daughter. There was a time almost a year ago when Loona would have snorted at how giddy Stolas acted whenever his daughter spoke to him. Nowadays she knew it was pretty much his default state when interacting with her. Like Blitzo was to her, but not as embarrassingly loud.

“So, if you gals wanna know the abridged version,” Blitzo started, “we can tell you both after you’re done unpacking your bags while we wait for Lunch to get made. Stolas will likely be a bit busy calling the guards you left behind at the hotel so they aren’t freaking the fuck out cause you both vanished.”

Crap. We forgot about that.

“Yeah, that sounds fair. See you both in a bit.”

With that Loona and Octavia moved to leave the bathroom. Loona stopped by the door, and called back to both Blitzo and Stolas: ”No matter how much stress this guy is gonna cause…..It’s good to be home.”

Chapter Text

Octavia POV:

Her room. The centre of her universe. All her books, all her taxidermy, her telescope, her music collection. They were all here. The things which helped shape her as a person. She sighed wistfully, as she finally emptied her bag.

She was home.

But home doesn’t feel like home anymore…you ruined it….

No, no, not thinking about those times again, they’re over and done with. Just be happy about something for once.

Octavia shook those thoughts away, as she made her way to Loona’s room. As she made her way down the hallway, she passed the room Matthew was currently passed out in. She paused in front of the door, wondering what must be going through this guy’s head.

Why did he land here? What did he say to Dad and Blitzo to convince them to let him stay? What did he do today that caused him to be classified as Fallen?

At that moment, Octavia heard shuffling come from within that room.

Crap, he’s awake.

Slowly, she resumed walking to Loona’s room.

Loona’s choice of decor was fairly different than Octavia’s. Octavia’s room was covered in star covered wallpaper, with various constellation dioramas hanging around, a large wardrobe and a large bookshelf.

Loona’s room, on the other hand, had a darker look overall, with dark red wallpaper being covered in many goth and metal band posters. A noticeably smaller wardrobe stood near the messy bed. There were about three speakers set up to blare her music when she was in a bad mood. Thank Satan for the noise cancelling spell around this room when that happens. She has great taste in music but I don’t need to hear it blaring everyday.

Something that always stuck out about this room to Octavia. Despite how sizeable the room is, most of its furniture was close together in one area near the bed.

Octavia could hazard a guess that it was due to Loona being used to sleeping in a cramped room.

She didn’t know the full story of Loona’s time in an orphanage (or pet store/prison as Loona sometimes described it), but she had spent time in Loona’s room at Blitzo’s apartment. She could still remember Loona’s shock when she saw the size of her current room after she and Blitzo moved in when him and Stolas became official……After the……birthday incident….

Cold. So fucking cold. Daddy was panicking but healing. Loona looking around so he wouldn’t come back back back bulletthroughback. Mother staringyourfaultyourfault. 

It took her a moment to focus back on what she was seeing. Loona was laying out the extra clothes she packed in case someone stained or puked on her other clothes at the concert. She quickly took notice of Octavia and asked, “Hey, you finished unpacking?”

”Yeah, just a minute ago. I didn’t forget anything back there at least.”

Octavia then moved closer to Loona and whispered, “I think I heard Matthew moving in the guest room. He might be awake.”

“Shit,” came Loona’s hushed response, “do you want to wait in here with me? See if he passes by? I don’t think we’re at the stage to be comfortable alone around him, right?”

Octavia nodded in agreement.

With that course of action agreed upon, they both sat down on the bed.

They waited and listened for any attempt he made to leave that room.

No attempt was made.

As they sat there, the seconds ticking by but feeling like they dragged on forever, Octavia laid on her back. Don’t want to get stiff.

She stared up at the currently in decorated ceiling. Coloured a light blue…..

Light blue ceiling lights passing by. Fading in and out. Hospital on gurney. Voices chattering screeching like the wheels. Daddy holding my hand Loona looking down worried scared socoldsocold Mother screaming at daddy at Loona calling her mutt want to scream want toyellmakethefightingstopstopstopstopSTOPSTOPSTOPSTOP…..

Octavia blinked. She was back in Loona’s room. Loona was looking down at her silently. Her expression was sad but not surprised. 

Fuck, why does this keep happening?

Octavia then took out her phone. I need some music. Should keep me alert and not like….that, if this Matthew guy tries something.

As she opened her phone, she cursed under her breath. She hadn’t set her Wi-Fi back onto the house’s hotspot so it auto requested the nearest hotspot.

The hotspot however, caused her to pause. She never saw that IP address before. It was barely even an address. It was just a simple infinity symbol.

Tilting her head, she saw a notification pop up.

Pairing request sent to Infinitum ID: 666SD “Matthew_Rankin” by gothchk17

Does this guy have a fucking Wi-Fi server with him?

A few seconds passed.

Infinitum ID: 666SD “Matthew_Rankin” user has accepted pairing request.

This caused Octavia’s eyes to widen with surprise.

Loona took notice of this, looked at her own phone and made a similar pairing request.

After another few seconds, her request was also approved by Matthew.

The Wi-Fi symbol in both their phones flickered and glitched briefly before turning into an infinity symbol.

Octavia and Loona both looked at each for a few moments, confusion and concern on their faces.

Slowly, they carefully placed their phones down on the bed and scooted away from them a little.

Well…Now we have another question to ask this guy:

What the fuck did he just do to our phones?

Chapter Text

Octavia POV:

The waiting. The mild paranoia. The boredom.

Those were the things Octavia felt gnawing at her mind as the minutes ticked by while her and Loona kept their eyes trained on the hallway.

Waiting for something….mostly lunch, since they were feeling a bit hungry.

They were just about to start moving to the dining room, when they saw Blitzo. He was moving down the hallway, before stopping in front of the guest room.

The both of them weren't sure if he noticed they were looking at the hallway.

They moved to the bedroom’s doorway, as the both of them saw Blitzo knock gently on the door, after which the door slowly opened a bit.

They could barely make out Matthew’s head popping out and looking at Blitzo.

”Hi B…Blitzo,” came the quiet greeting. He sounded less nervous. Kind of makes sense since he’s been around Blitzo for the last week. “Is everything okay?”

“Oh everything’s fine, kid. I just wanted to give you a heads up. Looney and Via are both a little unsure about you being here, so they asked if they can get an abridged version of your...story so they can understand why you're here. I'm sorry if someone else telling them about what you went through makes you feel uncomfortable, but I just wanted to ask if you’re okay with us doing that.”

A moment passed.

“It’s alright,” Matthew responded, “you can tell them as much as you feel necessary. Thank you for letting me know before you told them."

"Thanks. I also wanted to ask if you wanted to join us for lunch later. All the stressful shit we had to deal with this morning probably worked up an appetite in all of us."

"Yes....but I think I'll maybe eat it in another room. I just....don't want to cause more discomfort with my presence at the moment."

Blitzo's expression turned worried and a little disappointed, before an attempt at a reassuring smile crossed his face.

"Oh...Okay. It’s fine. You can try things at your own pace. Just...Just know that me and Stolas want you to feel safe here.

You’re one of us now.”

That last sentence brought a more genuine smile to Blitzo’s face as he started to walk further down to hallway. Probably to fetch Dad after his call for Lunch.

Octavia could barely make out Matthew’s expression, but somehow she could tell what it looked like: awe mixed with disbelief.

She knew this.....because she felt that way before when Blitzo spoke to her...

About a month after painhurtangeryelling, wound healed but still itchedhurtburned. Stella was gone. Striker in the windwatchingwaiting...

Blitzo and Loona had already moved in. Dad was happy. I was supposed to be happy.

Blitzo knocked on my door. Soft knocks, no furious banging. A quiet "Via?",  no yelling to get dressed and proper.

I opened the door. He talked about a birthday party for his employee, Moxxie. Had grand plans for a prank involving stink bombs and a pinata with said employee's face plastered on it.

Told him about plans already made with Loona to go to a movie.

Was ready to argue about wanting to go with her....ready for yelling about obligations and to do as your fucking told.....

None came. He just shrugged. Said it was fine and hoped we would have fun.

I just stood there, eyes wide in surprise, mouth slightly agape.

He looked puzzled. Asked if I was okay and if I needed anything.

Gave him a hug. It felt warm and safe despite being taller than him.

He hugged back. Dad was walking by and squealed with delight at the sight.

Got embarrassed. But it still felt nice.

Octavia blinked as that memory ended.

She was in the dining room with Loona, Dad and Blitzo. Loona was holding her gently. She could smell food being prepared.

Fuck, I spaced out again. This is getting ridiculous at this point.

Shaking her head, she spoke out, in an achingly awkward tone "So....Who wants to start?"

Chapter Text

Octavia POV:

Smooth, real smooth you fucking dumbass.

Octavia hoped they didn't comment on how cringe inducing her tone was when she asked who would start discussing the basics on their new houseguest.

Thankfully, they didn't comment on it, as her Dad began to speak.

"I think I'll be the one to start this discussion. I want you both to know beforehand that what I'm about to tell you is fairly...upsetting."

Octavia and Loona nodded in understanding, preparing themselves for what they will hear.

"Alright.

Matthew was the son of an idiot with high level military standing despite him being a colossal moron. He had to live with that jackass and his two moronic brothers, who abused and basically tortured him for pretty much his entire life. All because he opposed the slaughter of the yearly Exterminations his father was instrumental in organising."

"Yeah," Blitzo interjected, "that fucker was a complete tool! I think he even hated that Matthew is autistic, which while I don't know a lot about it, doesn't seem to make him much different than other people, so what the fuck?!"

Well, that didn't take long to get messed up. No wonder this guy's been so subdued and quiet.

Octavia didn't have much time to ruminate on that, as her father continued to speak.

"As part of the terrible treatment he had to endure, Matthew was forced to partake in the last three Exterminations. The first two of those happened, with Matthew refusing to kill anyone. The most recent Extermination....his brothers, under orders from their father, forced him to kill a demon.

And when he returned to Heaven....They threw him a party. To congratulate him on killing a random person.

Needless to say, Matthew was rightfully pissed off at his brothers and father for that and after verbally lashing out he ran away. After a few weeks, he decided to expose what his father had to him by using his armour's camera footage. He tried to leave the military compound with the footage, but his father, his brothers and a contingent of other Exterminator angels blocked his path.

Matthew, using a strange dark energy, which myself, Lucifer and the Archangels have very little information about, acted in self defence and killed his brothers and several other Exterminators. After injuring his father, he ran away once more. After dealing with all the guilt and trauma of his actions all on his own, he went out the edge of Heaven to....to...."

Octavia saw her dad trail off in telling this incredibly messed up story. He seemed to be unsure of what to say, so he looked to Blitzo.

Blitzo didn't say anything, looking just as unsure, but he did make a gesture: a finger gun pointed at his head.

Oh. Ohhhhh.....

That is fucking.....Just....Fuck...

Octavia could hardly wrap her head around what Matthew must have felt that would lead him to even consider doing what he did.

She looked over to Loona, who looked like, she shared Octavia’s shock and disbelief over this.

The telling of the story continued.

”After Matthew…landed here, and once Lucifer arrived and used a device to project Matthew’s memories for us to see, we started hosting him here for a week. You already know that he helped protect us from Striker’s assassination attempt.”

Octavia tried her best to not grind her teeth when hearing that asshole’s name being mentioned, when Blitzo interjected once again.

“Apart from that asshole trying to shoot us again, the last week was actually pretty fun with the kid. We watched some TV shows, did karaoke and even rode around in Bombproof!! I can’t wait for us all to hang out with that badass horse!!”

Seeing Blitzo suddenly go starry eyed when talking about that horse did dispel some of Octavia’s dread about what this story would feature next.

”Anyway” her dad piped up, “when we went to the meeting this morning, we were accompanied by Lucifer as we discussed our findings and provided Matthew’s testimony on the incidents he was involved in with two Archangels.

The process of showing evidence against his father, who was also present, was…draining, and there were some unforeseen occurrences..”

“I ended up kind of yelling at God so he wouldn’t freak out Matthew.”

All went silent at Blitzo’s declaration.

Loona was the first to respond.

”What the actual fuck, Dad?!! I know you act before you think all the damn time, but that is a whole other level!”

Loona’s tone, while laced with disbelief and annoyance, was not angry. She was just worried about her impulsive, embarrassing dad.

”It’s okay, Loonie. No one got smited or any of that shit. I just yelled a bit at him when he was looking at us through Matthew’s eyes about how him controlling his body would make him freak out. I was kinda respectful and I made sure not to swear at him. I’m not that dumb.”

There is so much to unpack from that statement alone….

“Rrrrgh…It’s fine, dad. Just….Just try to not doing something as risky as that again, if you can.”

Tension that had built up in their minds over the last few sentences had only lessened slightly at Blitzo’s reassurance.

”As I was saying,” she could hear her Dad continue, “once those…occurrences were all said and done, Matthew’s father was found guilty of all the heinous actions he committed. The Archangels also decided to give Matthew a choice of whether to return to Heaven or to live here in Hell. He chose Hell. Once they were both declared Fallen, Matthew’s father tried to threaten and barter his way out of trouble. Thankfully, the Archangels and Lucifer were not swayed by that moron, and it ended with Matthew…..killing him.

After that, there were some discussions with the Archangels about Matthew’s role here, as well as the continuation of Blitzo’s business. It was decided that Matthew would act as both a communicator with Heaven to gain approval on targets and as a protector/bodyguard for I.M.P. during jobs. We’ve also been instructed to give support of security and financial aid to Princess Charlotte’s Happy/Hazbin Hotel project.”

A few seconds of silence passed, which indicated that the story was over.

While Octavia and Loona were processing all that they had heard, they noticed a sound coming from the hallway.

They turned, and saw Matthew entering the dining room.

”H..Hello again.”

Chapter Text

Loona POV:

Loona felt that she usually had a decent intuition when it came to people. She had to develop that skill through the years she spent in that fucking shit-hole called an orphanage, knowing who to avoid and who she could fight back against.

After she got adopted by Blitzo she kept this skill honed. Always ready to identify any would-be threats to her, and later, any threats to Blitzo, Stolas and Octavia. Millie and Moxxie can handle themselves. Or at least Millie can handle it for the both of them. No-one was going to get a chance to hurt her or anyone she cared about.

It wasn’t a flawless skill. When Blitzo adopted her, at first she thought he was masking his intentions with an extremely loud and embarrassing mask of joy. She thought he must have had some shady motive for bringing her home to his cramped apartment. With one bed…But she was proven wrong when he happily declared it as hers while he jumped onto the couch where he declared he would sleep. He wasn’t some sinister creep, he was just an emotionally immature weirdo who desperately wanted healthy relationships with people. He wanted to not be alone.

It took her a while to warm up to him, to even consider calling him Dad. But eventually she did.

She thought she had this Matthew guy figured out when she first heard about him crashing into their fucking home. She thought he was probably some holier than thou douchebag running from pulling some shady shit up in Heaven, while tricking her dad and Stolas somehow into letting him stay. The nightmare Octavia had about what this asshole could have done further solidified that image she had of him.

Then it started getting complicated. First, she learned he was 18, around Octavia’s age. Not really a major revelation but it made it seem unlikely he would be as big of a threat as she previously feared.

Then, he saved her dad and Stolas from Striker. She was so angry that Striker had the moronic audacity to try and attack them again, that the mere mention of him almost made Octavia had a fucking panic attack, that she only realised after the call had ended what that showed her about Matthew: he was willing to put himself in danger to save them (which could have just been to ensure he wouldn’t be blamed if they ended up dead) and that he must have some serious skills to have been able to fully take down Striker when no-one else at I.M.P. had been able to.

Via’s disturbing vision of a possible future possibly relating to Matthew further complicated things. She didn’t tell Loona all the details, but she was certain this whole mess with him could lead to that.

Then, when she was back home, when everything should went back to relative normality, she was subjected to the proverbial kick in the ass that was the news that Matthew would be staying with them for the foreseeable future. She was ready to verbally or literally tear into this guy for inserting himself into their lives without any consent from her or Octavia. That was when Via opened the door of the bathroom.

There he was, covered in blood and brain matter, and shaking like a fucking leaf. He looked extremely nervous just to be in a room with anyone, let alone her and Octavia. His eyes kept darting around, not making eye contact with anyone except Octavia for a brief moment. The way he stared at her was really fucking confusing. She couldn’t quite determine why he did it or if he even knew it was happening. Then there was his whole stuttering introduction, complete with him giving her a title out of a lack of awareness and a seemingly desperate need to be polite.

Once he had left to pass out in the guest room, which may very well be his room at this point, and she had finished unpacking all her stuff, her and Octavia waited to see if this guy made a move to leave that room before they got at least part of the reason he was still here. Loona was getting concerned with how often Octavia was experiencing these panic attacks/flashbacks. Ever since coming home from the hospital she had been suffering from them on and off, but it seemed to be happening more and more often, especially today. All this stress caused by Matthew’s arrival must have kicked her anxieties into overdrive. I wish I could do more than just hold her while she gets her breathing and her thoughts back to normal. I’m not a fucking therapist. What the fuck can I do?

Then…..the story of why Matthew ended up here was told.

First of all….What the actual fuck!?!

Second of all….just….damn…

Loona knows how shitty people can be, but what this guy had to go through, with what little details she had of it, made her feel bad for the guy. For a bunch of reasons:

The fact that his father and brothers apparently abused and straight up fucking tortured him mainly for just having a different opinion on the yearly mass slaughter.

The fact they forced him to kill someone and expect him to be totally okay with it.

The fact he probably had to relive all this shit multiple times over this last week alone. Not to mention seemingly having his body controlled by fucking God himself for a time.

The fact it was so horrifically traumatising he was willing to….to…

Loona can say she’s been depressed before, mainly when she was wasting years of her life in that fucking orphanage alone, but she never once even considered doing anything like that. It truly boggled her mind.

Matthew also being abused for being autistic, which Loona didn’t know much if anything about, actually made his appearance at the bathroom make much more sense. He must be petrified of acting out of turn or impolitely, out of years of forcing whatever it was that made him different or odd down so it wouldn’t give anyone the excuse to ridicule or whale on him some more.

Loona couldn’t help but feel sorry for him…..while simultaneously being even more terrified of what he could be capable of.

That story proved that he is also lethal, highly trained and willing to kill his (admittedly horrific) family. The bloodstains and brain matter on his clothes? Likely his father’s who he may have killed not a few hours ago.

There was also the fact that…..he chose to live in Hell. He chose to live in this realm filled to the brim with violent assholes, who were guaranteed to hate his guts. Why? Does he have some fucking plans to use whatever weird powers he has to take power here? He seemed weirdly friendly with Lucifer of all fucking people.

Loona didn’t know what to think. Everything about Matthew was contradicting and confusing. Should she feel sorry for him?Hate him? Fear him? 

And here he was. Standing right in the doorway. Eyes darting around again. Fingers tapping his leg every so often. He at least had the foresight to wash off the blood from his face and hands beforehand. So that’s something.

Neither Loona or Octavia spoke in response to Matthew’s nervous greeting. Loona simply gave an awkward, vague wave of acknowledgement. Matthew’s shoulders seemed to lose some of their tension at that. Octavia just pulled the sides of her beanie down a bit.

A minute later, lunch was finally served. It tasted fucking great, but uncertainty hung in the air. Blitzo and Stolas talked a bit with Matthew, asking if he was okay. He simply nodded in response. He slowly and hesitantly ate further and further into his sandwich. It seemed very plain, just having ham in it.

Octavia kept trying not to stare at him and focus on her meal of mice on toast.

Loona however, simply waited for a moment to come, as she enjoyed her food.

That moment came when Stolas asked Octavia about the musical acts she and Loona watched perform. While the both of them and Blitzo were engrossed in that conversation, Loona leaned towards Matthew.

Her red eyes piercing into his weird, darkness swirling eyes. Her expression looking both conflicted, yet serious.

”Look. I don’t know you. You don’t know me. But what I’ve just heard about what you went through is the only reason I’m giving you a heads up about this, and not just kicking your ass to send this message. So I’m just telling you now:

If you try anything to hurt my family, I will fucking end you.

If you try and touch me or pull any creeper shit on me, I will rip your dick off.

If you try and touch Octavia, I’ll rip your dick off, shove it down your throat, crush your throat and let you choke on it as I disembowel you.

Any shady plans you might have for staying here with us ends right fucking now.

Am. I. Clear?”

Matthew…blinked at that. His expression didn’t change from its seemingly default state of nervousness. He just stared back at Loona.

”Okay.” He responded, in a quiet but steady voice. “That’s p…perfectly reasonable ma’am.”

And then he just went back to eating his sandwich. Like what she just said was completely fucking normal.

Loona leaned back in her seat, confusion apparent on her face.

What the fuck is up with this guy?

Whatever it is….Loona wasn’t going to let her guard down. She may have a skill at reading people, but she can’t just rely on that.

Time will tell what kind of person Matthew really is.

Chapter Text

Octavia POV:

Octavia couldn’t enjoy her meal. Not while this guy is just sitting there. Trying to act like him being here isn’t fucking weird.

While she was still extremely sceptical about him staying with them all…she was glad he was quiet. He wasn’t chatting away with her dad or Blitzo or ,Satan forbid, with her and Loona. He was just eating a sandwich, eyes darting around everywhere.

She could tell Loona threatened him while she was talking about how the concert went. Her growling is pretty distinctive. But…it was odd. Loona looked almost baffled after making whatever threat she said to him.

After what she heard he went through……..she didn’t know what to feel about him. He was so fucking confusing to her. And why do I keep looking at his weird-ass eyes?

Shaking her head, Octavia finished her food. She just sat there. Trying to not think about all the stressful shit that was crashing into her life right now. Her dad looked worried as she gripped her beanie tighter to her head, Blitzo looked similarly worried and her breathing quickened and why where they all staring why does she keep letting this happen whywhywhywhywhywhy….

Loona’s arm wrapping her into a hug broke her out of that spiral before it fully begun. Her breathing calmed as she looked at the person she would gladly call her sister. Loona’s face ached with concern, as did her father and Blitzo. They didn’t say anything. These….episodes keep fucking happening. They’re used to it. Fuck. They shouldn’t have to get used to this. Why can’t I stop this shit from happening?”

It was at that moment, she saw Matthew staring at her. She expected him to be dismissive or at a bit confused by what just happened….but he just stared. With a look Octavia couldn’t fully explain.

It was almost like the look of someone seeing something they’ve heard about before but never actually seen, and the curiosity that comes with it. That look was also, paradoxically, mixed with….understanding.

Octavia didn’t know what to feel, but she needed air she needed out of this room and out to somewhere she can fucking breathe….

Luckily, Loona seemed to pick up on what Octavia wanted to do. “Hey, what say we go outside for a bit? We kinda need some fresh air anyway. Plus, you desperately want an excuse for us to go outside and see Bombproof, don’t you Blitzo?”

”Fuck yeah.” Blitzo declared loudly, but not as loud as he usually is. He was still looking at Octavia, his expression only slightly less worried than before. Her dad had the same expression, but was trying to put on a soothing smile.

She then turned to Matthew. She was worried he may stir up some shit by opposing this idea…but instead, he simply nodded his head in agreement with Blitzo and said in a quiet voice “Th…That’s a good idea. I l…like playing with Bombproof.”

With that, they all sat up to head outside. Once they entered the garden, Octavia saw Bombproof.

She seemed to be resting outside the stable, which was now plastered in plush horse toys thanks to Blitzo. Speaking of which, Blitzo had already managed to somehow appear out of thin air behind Bombproof to envelop the horse in the hug. Bombproof didn’t seem to pay any mind.

Blitzo then beckoned Loona over to touch the horse. She gave Octavia a gentle pat on the arm before heading over to them.

Her dad then came up beside her and gave her a hug. After this last fucking week, hugs just feel so much better.

“Via,” her dad said, “I’m sorry that you’ve had to deal with all of this stress this last week. Everything will be okay.”

Her dad’s comforting words lightened her mood. Just a bit.

Octavia’s gaze them shifted back to Bombproof, where she saw Matthew…hugging the horse. It seemed gentle, and she could swear she saw the first smile she’s seen on this guy. He looked relaxed, probably for the first time today.

Why am I focusing on this?

It was then she noticed Bombproof had turned her head to look straight at her.

Oh fuck what do I do?!

Bombproof rose up, and started slowly walking towards her. Octavia’s nerves began to flare up as the horse came closer and closer. Should I stay still? Run? I’ve never even touched a horse before!

Bombproof stopped right in front of her. The horse was only slightly taller than her, but she still felt dwarfed a bit by her. It’s probably the neck that gave her the height.

Octavia froze up. Hoping that the horse wasn’t pissed off somehow.

Bombproof looked her over and then gently nuzzled the side of her face.

Octavia couldn’t explain it, like a lot of things lately, but that just made her feel calm. Really calm.

Carefully, she raised her hand and patted Bombproof’s head. Why does this feel so soothing?

After a few minutes of this, a humorous realisation occurred: I think I kind of understand Blitzo’s obsession now.

Speaking of Blitzo, Octavia could see him and her dad cooing with joy at this sight, with Blitzo taking dozens of photos.

Loona was looking on a little surprised, but with a fond smile on her face. She’s probably glad I’m looking even somewhat calm at this point.

And Matthew….he looked on. Curiosity clear on his face….and a very small smile.

Octavia didn’t know what to make of it, so she focused back on petting Bombproof, who would neigh happily every few minutes.

This day has been fucking weird…..but this is nice.

Chapter Text

Bombproof POV:

This day began stressfully, but now it is much better!

New Master, the Red One and the Tall One, alongside the Scary One all came into the garden this morning. New Master looked sad, said that I was a good horse and gave me a hug. He sounded so sad. I was worried, tried to warn him to come back and be safe.

But it didn’t help. They all disappeared.

It took hours of worry but they came back. I was so happy to see New Master was back and safe.

He seemed different. His eyes were different. After a minute he started laughing weirdly. When he stopped, the others looked at him funny. The Scary One stared at us both. It felt unnerving but he soon went into the building with the others.

After a while, with the Scary One having left, the rest came out with two others. The Red One appeared suddenly behind her and gave her a hug. He gave a lot of them. Much more than Old Master ever did….

The MoonWolf. I remember her from first meeting with the Red One, alongside the Small One and the Loud One. Those last two were always close with each other. Her fur was soft. It felt nice when she petted me.

New Master came up and hugged me again. It felt very nice.

I felt…something…. I’m not sure what it was…but I felt that New Master was sad. He was looking at Star Owl, who was next to the Tall One. He was sad that she was sad. Similar sadness.

That wouldn’t do.

I got up and went over to Star Owl. She looked scared. I nuzzled her face. She became happy and petted me.

Seeing Star Owl go from sad to happy made something stir in me. It felt extremely nice.

This caused much happiness in all around, noticeably in the Tall One smiling widely at what was occurring and the Red One grinning while using something that made clicking sounds.

New Master was made happy by Star Owl being happy. I’m proud that I made them both happy.

Octavia POV:

Eventually, they all had to go back inside. A couple hours of hanging out with a horse, as well as helping her dad with some of his gardening, had to end eventually.

That period of time really helped Octavia de-stress from all the crazy shit that happened over the last week.

She wasn’t as into gardening as much as her dad, but she did enjoy watering the less bitey plants. For some reason Matthew volunteered to help out, mainly by carrying those heavy compost bags around. He didn’t talk much, but he did give a small smile whenever her dad thanked him for his help.

Octavia was honestly surprised he could lift them so easily since they were heavy as shit.

It’s  weird though…Why do I keep focusing on his arms when he’s lifting them around?

Shaking that thought away, Octavia walked alongside Loona as they all went to the dining room for dinner. Matthew’s meal, like at lunch time, was fairly plain.

There wasn’t a lot said at first. There had been a tentative calm created since lunch, so this gave Octavia the nerve to actually talk to Matthew for the first time.

”H…Hey..I want to ask you something,..”

Matthew looked at her with those weird fucking eyes again, a somewhat nervous expression crossed his face.

”S…Sure. Want d…do you want t..to ask?”

Okay, here goes….

“I wanted to ask about that…weird wi-fi signal you set up. It affected my phone and Loona’s phone when we connected to it. What is it?”

“Oh. S…Sorry I didn’t inform you both straight away about th…this. The devices were synced onto the wi-fi signal from my Infinitum stick. It’s a device which I can use to access all the current and past media created and released in Heaven, Hell and the Human Realm. When I synced it up to your phones, it allowed them access to its functions for media streaming, as well as…basically providing free wi-fi for your phones…forever.”

Everyone was silent after that.

Octavia was baffled and confused by what Matthew just revealed.

”Okay, firstly, why the fuck would you just…allow us access to that when you hadn’t even had a full conversation with us yet?

And secondly, considering….what we heard about you whole…deal..I’m kind of shocked your parents actually gave you something like that.”

Matthew’s expression turned both puzzled and somewhat…sad.

Why did she feel bad seeing him like that?

Chapter Text

Octavia POV:

Fuck, why did I say that?

Octavia was feeling uncomfortable with what she had said.

Of course I couldn’t just ask about why he gave us free wi-fi, no…I had to bring up the shit he had to deal with his parents. Why the fuck am I even stressing about what this guy thinks? Stupidstupidstupid..

She shook those thoughts away in order to hastily backpedal the conversation.

”S..Sorry! I didn’t mean to bring up any uncomfortable stuff…”

”N..No it’s okay. You were just asking some..logical questions. It’s fine.” Matthew’s response seemed calm, but a mild sense of apprehension was still present in his voice.

“To answer your first question…I just…..I had no real reason not to. Simple as that.

As for your second question…I guess they just wanted to keep me quiet most of the time. Them giving me that stick is probably the closest thing to a positive parental act they ever made.”

His parents…

Octavia didn’t know why she felt conflicted when he mentioned them. From what little she was told, she knew they were both very shitty to him and that Matthew’s dad was an idiot who he killed today.

That left his..mother….

Is she like mine? Did she yell and scream at him when he didn’t follow her rules? Did she hit him like Stella hit Dad? Was she dumb enough to order an assassination against her spouse over a stupid fucking reason while being a fucking hypocrite who only showed any regret when it went wrong and jeopardised her stupid fuckinglegacysheexpectedmetofithateyouhateyouHATEYOUHATEYOU

As Octavia’s mental tirade against her mother continued, she noticed how everything seemed…out of focus.

Oh fuck. I’m spacing out again. This can’t keep happening!

Whenever this happens, she usually gets shaken out of it by Loona holding her after a while.

This time….it was different.

She could feel Loona holding her in a side hug. That was normal. But…whenever this happens, if she focuses enough, she can faintly hear whenever someone is talking.

However….she could hear one voice crystal clear.

“M..Miss Octavia? Are you okay?”

“….”

”Oh..S..Sorry Miss Loona.”

“….”

”Sorry again! I didn’t know. I also d…didn’t m…mean to cause any discomfort by giving you a t…tile out of the blue..”

”…”

”…”

“Is there an…any way I can help?”

“…” Octavia could faintly hear growling coming from next to her.

”Okay…I hope you b…both have a good rest of your night. Thank you, Stolas, Blitzo. For the meal.

I’ll h..head to my….room for the night.”

“….”

She could hear shuffling chairs, and she was suddenly, but slowly being lead somewhere.

It took a couple minutes after that, when she was sitting down, for everything to come back into focus.

Octavia could see that she was in her room. Loona was still holding her while they both sat on her bed.

Getting her breathing back to normal, Octavia looked over to Loona and awkwardly asked, “How long was I….like that?”

”About 20 minutes,” came the calm reply from Loona, whose expression of worry made Octavia feel more guilty about ruining dinner. “Everyone just kind of agreed to head out to their rooms for the rest of the night, probably so we can all just let all the shit that happened this morning finally settle in before we go to sleep. You feeling any better?”

A pause. “I think so. Why is this happening so much?”

“I..I don’t know. But if you feel like this may happen again, you call for me and I’ll come running. I’m not going to let you deal with all this confusing shit alone.”

Octavia smiled a little at that, giving Loona a hug in return. It’s the least I can do…..Maybe the only thing I can do…

After another 10 minutes of the two of them just sitting there together, Loona left to get ready for bed in her room.

The both of them, along with Stolas and Blitzo, believed that a good night’s sleep would help them all relax and finally put some of the stress of the last week’s events behind them.

Unfortunately, they were wrong.

Chapter Text

Octavia POV:

Octavia laid on her bed, having changed into her sleep wear. She had spent the last hour or so trying to maintain some form of calm after what happened at dinner. Her music had been blaring in her headphones for that hour, trying to keep her mind clear.

She heard footsteps moving in the hallway towards her door. She took her headphones off and opened the door. Her dad stood there, his dressing gown already on. Blitzo stood beside him, in sleepshorts and a T-shirt with the words “I Make Insomnia my Bitch” written on it.

They both looked both tired and concerned. They’re probably worried about me after that fucking scene at dinner. StupidStupidStupid…

Taking a breath, Octavia enveloped her dad in a hug. No words were spoken a for full two minutes.

She just….wanted this moment of calm to last.

”My precious starfire,” her dad breathed, “have a good night’s sleep. I’m…I’m so sorry you have to deal with all this new stress on top of what you’ve had to deal with so far.

I…I want you to remember that we are all here for you. We love you. So, so much.

If you feel too stressed or if you feel like what happened earlier is about to happen again, call for us or Loona and we’ll all come in here to help.”

Octavia thought for a moment on what to say.

“I want to ask…,” Octavia began, “what’s going to happen tomorrow?”

”Well, firstly Matthew will go with Lucifer in the morning to gain a proper wardrobe of clothing. I will then leave for the conference after lunch.

The actual event itself will likely be finished fairly quickly so I will probably only be out for an hour or two. Once it’s finished, we will both return here.”

Octavia could tell that her dad noticed her apprehension at the plan for tomorrow.

”Via. I’ll be just fine. Nothing bad is going to happen to me or the rest of us.“

He finished off by hugging her closer and nuzzling her head a little.

Blitzo joined in on the hug.

It helped….

But the nagging thoughts in her head kept going on.

She saw the both them move towards Loona’s room.

The door opened. Octavia couldn’t quite hear what they were saying, but she saw Blitzo jump up and hug her. Her dad followed suit.

Octavia could just sense how widely Loona was smiling due to the hug.

Then….They went to Matthew’s room.

The door opened as both Octavia and Loona watched. They tried to be inconspicuous as they did so.

There wasn’t any words said.

Octavia could see Matthew had a reserved smile on his face.

Then Blitzo jumped up and gave him a hug.

A low, protective growl emanated from Loona.

Matthew responded with a hug of his own. It was…awkward, but it looked really gentle. Loona’s growling lessened.

Octavia saw her dad simply smile and give Matthew a pat on the shoulder.

She didn’t know how to feel about that.

Once the hug was over, her dad and Blitzo finally went to their room.

Matthew was watching them leave..when he turned and saw Octavia.

His expression turned nervous, but he managed a smile somehow, waved his hand and stated, “G..Goodnight Miss O…Octavia.”

Octavia and Loona’s expressions were wary, but both were too tired for full aggression.

Octavia responded by awkwardly waving back and yawning.

I’m too fucking tired to deal with all this.

Closing her door, she turned off the lights and dropped onto her bed.

As she closed her eyes to shut herself off from all the shit she has to deal with and figure out, she hoped beyond hope that she would have some fucking peace and quiet in her mind for once.

She was wrong. Very wrong.

Even though her eyes were closed, she wasn’t asleep. Her thoughts kept racing on what could go wrong tomorrow.

I’m sure as shit not looking into the future again.

She thought about counting sheep, but that seemed too cliché. She instead focused on faintly tapping her finger on the bed.

Focus on that. Focus on that.

Tap Tap Tap Tap Tap Tap

Tap Beep Tap Tap Beep Beep Beep Beep 

Oh shit…

That was her last thought before she finally drifted off…..but not into a dream.

It wasn’t a dream. It wasn’t just a nightmare. It wasn’t just a memory.

It was worse.

Chapter Text

Octavia POV:

Why the fuck am I back here?!!

That was the thought running through Octavia’s head as she looked around to see where she was.

I know this is a dream. A fucking shitty dream all about one of the crappiest days of my life.

She was back in that fucking hospital bed. Her heart rate beeping away on her left side.

Her eyes were open, but no-one else seemed to notice. They were too busy yelling.

Her dad was standing on her right, his hand still holding hers.

Mothe…..Stella was on the opposite side, her fists clenched.

Blitzo was at the doorway, having just come in. He was panting from running here form where him and his employees lost Striker.

Loona was at the foot of her bed. She was growling at Stella.

The fucking holes in her chest and back had mostly sealed up but they still burned with a passion.

Her breathing was laboured, as the yelling continued.

“Why do you insist on allowing this fucking imp and his fucking mutt in here, you pathetic imp fucker?!!”

Stella’s voice screeched and grated against Octavia’s ears.

”Do you really think now of all times is a good time to get into another screaming match while our daughter is healing from a bullet fired by an assassin who, let me remind you, you hired to kill me during the middle of her fucking birthday party?!”

Octavia knew Stella tried to have her dad killed before. She wasn’t stupid. But…she never heard her mother directly say it to her face before now. She just overheard the loud screams whenever Stella thought she was being incognito when discussing it with Uncle Andrealphus over the phone, the dickhead. This happened whenever Octavia couldn’t drown out the noise with her music.

Octavia wished, in the very back of her mind, that Stella would have at least some actual reason behind her decision. She knew Stella was in the wrong. She would never want her dad dead. If he was…..then her life would just….stop in it’s tracks. But…

“It was for her own good!! She’ll never amount to anything with your behaviour embarrassing me and ruining our family name!!”

”What do you mean by that?”

All heads turned to look at Loona, whose response was surprisingly calm, but clear anger was present under the surface.

”Why the fuck are you even speaking, disgusting mutt?!”

“I’ll ask again. What exactly do you mean that it was “for her own good?” What do you think she has to be? Give me some fucking specifics. Explain your point and don’t just assume screaming out a vague statement justifying your actions will cut it.

I’m asking this because, if you can’t answer it, then you are even more of an asshole than I thought you were, and trust me, that bar was already pretty fucking high.”

Stella was shaking with rage…but she didn’t say a word.

The silence felt suffocating to Octavia. The fact that her mother had seemingly no solid justification for what she would have put her through…just in the name of fucking social status….

Her heart rate monitor beeped ever so slightly faster. No one seemed to notice.

Stella decided to make the situation worse.

She raised her hand to strike Loona.

Loona wasn’t afraid. I wish I was like her.

Dad was suddenly very afraid, as he rushed between the two of them.

A click was heard.

All heads turned to Blitzo. His gun was raised and aimed at Stella, rage clear on his face.

”All right, bitch…I’ve had a really stressful last couple of hours. Not only did I have to chase down an asshole who tried to kill Octavia and Stolas, making sure my employees weren’t killed by that cowboy piece of shit, all while searching for that fucker’s weapons caches, but now I have to stop you from hitting my fucking daughter!!

I know Goetia nobles can’t be killed by guns like this, but I’m pretty sure enough bullets fired fast enough can really fucking hurt, so I’m willing to bet you don’t want to experience that.”

He started to laugh a little under his breath.

“It’s funny…the first time I heard how much of a grating asshat you are to Stolas, thanks to all your screaming and smashing his plants…I thought about getting rid of you. Usually I kill people I don’t like for far less, and trust me you’re fucking high on the list of people I would like gone…but when I joked about it to Stolas, he shut that down immediately.

No jokes. No ambiguity. He made me swear right then and there to not do it. He stopped me from blowing out what few brains you have, so that your daughter wouldn’t be traumatised by the loss of a parent, as shitty a one you are.

Every night that I saw him…cry….it made me want to kill you even more.

The only reason you’re still breathing is the fact that Stolas is one of the strongest people I know to be able put up with your shit for so long just to try and keep his daughter happy.”

This both surprised Octavia, made her dad smile with a mixture of worry and sadness, and enraged Stella further.

“Oh please?! Like my worthless husband could ever be considered strong!! He doesn’t even have the nerve to defend himself when I’m disciplining him, the disrespectful ass!!!”

That made everyone else in the room stop.

Upon hearing it, her dad just started to….Octavia wasn’t sure it was trembling or crying, or both, as he started to curl in on himself. Was he ashamed? Why would he be?

Shehurthimhurtdaddywhywhywhy

The monitor beeped faster and faster.

Loona looked shocked.

Stella’s expression was smug….until she looked at Blitzo.

He looked shocked at first, but that quickly faded and morphed into rage, as his gun was aimed closer and closer to Stella’s head.

She should have been afraid. But not of him.

All the emotions rushing through Octavia’s head caused her to suddenly cough and move upright in the bed.

Everyone around her finally noticed she was awake now.

Stella wasted no time shoving Loona into Stolas and rushed to Octavia’s bedside.

Joy was written all over her face. She acted like she didn’t just admit to physically abuse her husband right in front of their daughter.

“Oh darling!! You’re awake! Now that you’re up we can finally leave this plebeian building and into one fit for a Goetia!!”

As Stella blathered on, Octavia’s glare was hardening with anger. Her fists clenched tighter and tighter, as a pink glow began to slowly to emanate from them.

The beeping of the monitor continued to quicken as Stella droned on.

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Blitzo and Loona cautiously move to the right side of the room, behind her dad, who was slowly advancing towards her bed. They all had concerned expressions.

Stella didn’t notice.

“Once you’re all healed up, we can start moving you to Andrealphus’ palace in Envy. Clearly your useless father can’t protect you from danger so I’ll clearly have to take full custody. Don’t worry, your uncle will sort out the boring paperwork, including the bits that gives us all assets wasted on your father. Since you’ll be moving in we’ll have to get of your old clothes, your disgusting music and all those stuffed dead things. You’ll have to shape up if you want the suitor I select to tolerate you. That reminds me, I need to check on my planner to see which of them are still available for….”

She didn’t finish her sentence as Octavia shot forward and smashed her into the wall. No one seemed to notice how the wall cracked slightly upon impact.

Octavia screamed with rage and pain, tears streaming down.

The tubes she was hooked up to being ripped out and the wounds on her back and chest was causing her body to burn with pain but she didn’t care.

needhertofeelitneedhertounderstand

She slammed her fist, now engulfed with pink fire, down onto Stella’s face. She screamed at the pain caused by the flames.

”AAGGHH!! What are you…..?!!!”

“SHUT THE FUCK UP!! WHAT KIND OF DELUSIONAL MORON ARE YOU TO THINK YOU CAN JUST ABUSE MY DAD, UPROOT MY LIFE, TAKE AWAY ALL THE THINGS THAT BRING ME SOME FLEETING FUCKING JOY IN THIS SHITHOLE, TO TRY AND FORCE ME TO BE EXACTLY LIKE YOU FOR NO OTHER REASON OTHER THAN “JUST BECAUSE” AND EXPECT ME TO BE ON BOARD WITH YOU HIRING SOMEONE  TO KILL DAD , WHO ALMOST KILLED ME, AND THINK THAT’S FUCKING NORMAL?!!?”

Octavia’s voice was deep, and dripping with anger and anguish.

LISTEN WELL, YOU HARPY! YOU ARE A DELUSIONAL, SPOILT, ABUSIVE, MORON WHO IS NOW COMPLETELY AND UTTERLY DEAD TO ME!! THE ONLY….REASON I’M NOT SETTING YOU ON FUCKING FIRE THIS SECOND IS THE FACT THAT YOU CRIED…WHEN I GOT SHOT YOU ACTUALLY CRIED. MAYBE IT WAS OUT OF WHAT TINY FLICKERS OF EMPATHY YOU HAVE OR MAYBE IT WAS THE FACT YOU HAD TO SUFFER NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCES FOR ONCE IN YOU LIFE.

EITHER WAY, YOU ARE NO LONGER MY MOTHER. YOU WILL GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE. I WILL NEVER SPEAK TO YOU AGAIN, AND DON’T EVEN THINK ABOUT TRYING TO HURT DAD OR EVERYONE ELSE HERE, BECAUSE IF YOU DO I WILL FIND YOU AND BURN YOU TO FUCKING ASH.

NOW GET OUT OF MY FUCKING SIGHT, STELLA.”

Stella, with tears of shame or, more likely outrage running down her face, finally gained some sense and ran out of the room.

That’s when it stopped being a memory.

Because everything just stopped.

Stella was halfway through the door, Blitzo and Loona were stuck mid-rush towards her and her dad had his arms almost around her already.

Then, everything started to….flicker and almost fold/melt away.

There she was. Lying on the ground which was now…snow?

Am I in Envy?

There were trees sprouting up all around her. Snow covered leaves and weirds lines of light pulsing down the trunks into the ground. She could hear bids cawing in the distance.

She looked up…and saw them.

She hadn’t cast the spell again, but they were back.

All four of them.

One voice perked up from among them.

The smug voice from before.

It’s tone was chilling, condescending and almost mocking.

”Do not be afraid.”

Chapter Text

Octavia POV:

Octavia couldn’t move.

All she could do was stare at those four fucking shadowy things in the middle of a creepy forest.

She wanted to run, to tell them to fuck off, to just leave her alone so she could have some peace for five fucking minutes…

But she couldn’t.

All four moved forward, but only one of them was talking.

The voice shifted and came from different speakers but it sounded the same. It seemed to be male, with a hint of condescension mixed in.

“I can guess what you’re thinking right now is along the lines of, “What the heck are you guys?”

A vague premonition of a possible future which somehow gained sentience?

Mental projections from some random person with mind control powers?

Some form of mental parasites feasting on your trauma filled mind?

Or you could very well be just losing your damn mind?

Well…I can’t really say whether or not any of that is true. Both because I can’t quite fully explain it myself and the fact that I don’t want you to know.

It’s nothing personal, but your purpose requires a little…compartmentalisation of information.

Speaking of which…”

Octavia saw one of the shadows raise their hand, and prepared to snap their fingers.

She was stuck in place, unable to stop whatever they were about to do.

“Your purpose….it’s one that’s necessary and unpleasant but at least it’s not that complicated.

What you need to do….

What you will do…

Is..”

Snap.

”Come and See…”

It was that moment when Octavia became bombarded with noise, cawing and voices scream that phrase over and over and overandoverandoverandover…

Overwhelmed, Octavia did the only thing she could do:

She screamed for it to stop.

Matthew POV:

Matthew woke up with a start.

Nightmare…Typical…Wasn’t anything special this time…Just the usual mental guilt trip while covered in blood…

Matthew rubbed his eyes. He took in the sights of what was now his room.

My room….Not my home…..Their home…I’m intruding.

I don’t belong here.

Shaking his head, he got off the bed, before looking down at his still bloody clothes.

Thank goodness I’m getting an actual wardrobe of clothes tomorrow and I can get this shithead’s blood off me.

With a sigh, Matthew looked around the room with the acceptance that insomnia had won this night.

He considered wandering around a bit to clear his head and to possibly help familiarise the layout to him…but he decided against that.

Octavia and Loona probably wouldn't like some weirdo walking around their home in the middle of the night.

Octavia and Loona...

Matthew cringed at the memory of his introduction to the both of them:

Covered in blood and brains.

Smacking his head.

Stuttering throughout.

At least he didn’t stare at them and made them uncomfortable…..

Except maybe at the start with Octavia…

Matthew didn’t know why he stared at her eyes like that.

Her eyes looked like…two pink supernovas, burning bright and fiery.

Why did I describe them like that?

She looked just as confused as he was when they both stopped staring.

Washing the blood off his hands and face did help, but lunch wasn’t much better.

He was glad Blitzo asked if it was okay before telling them the story of why he was down here.

They both knew what had happened to him, more or less. They didn’t ask questions at first.

Loona threatened him. It made sense. She seemed confused when he told her that.

Octavia looked sad. She seemed to hyperventilate a bit during lunch before they all went outside. He didn’t know why she felt like that, but she must have went through something bad.

He was happy to see Bombproof again, but he still felt bad for Octavia, who still looked worried.

When Bombproof went over to her and nuzzled her….Matthew couldn’t quite explain why, but seeing her smile…made him smile. Weird.

That moment of positive emotion didn’t last, when Octavia actually started a conversation with him about what the Infinitum stick. After Matthew responded, she started to have what seemed like a panic attack.

What did I say? Why did I cause her more distress? Stupidstupidstupid

Loona helped Octavia get to her room. With all that happening everyone else just decided to pretty much pack it in for the night.

After saying goodnight to Blitzo and Stolas….he saw Octavia looking from her doorway.

He hoped he was being polite by wishing her a good night. Her wave in response at least showed no outward hostility.

They should both be angry at me. It’s understandable. It makes sense.

Now that he was on his own, all the thoughts Matthew had about the last few hours swirled around his head as he tried to make sense of it all.

Only for them to be replaced with a new thought:

I need to use the bathroom.

With that declaration putting his mental turmoil on hold, Matthew opened his door and went to the bathroom.

After a few minutes, with Matthew hoping that any heightened smell ability Loona may have wouldn’t pick up what just occurred, he made his way back to his room.

Passing by Octavia’s room.

When he heard something coming from her room.

It was faint, but it almost sounded like…whimpering or crying.

Matthew wasn’t sure what to do.

He didn’t want to disturb Octavia and make her mad, as well as him being unsure on how to properly interact with a lady’s room.

But he also didn’t want to leave her in possible distress.

Moving closer to the door and pressing his ear against it, he could hear the whimpering sounds more clearly. They were definitely coming from Octavia.

Cautiously, Matthew knocked on the door.

”M..Miss Octavia? Are you okay?”

No response, but the whimpering seemed to get louder.

Great. I just made her more upset. Nice job, you moron.

It was when Matthew heard three words being said within the room that he decided what to do next.

Octavia’s voice was quiet and choked, but what she said was unmistakable:

”Make it stop….”

Hearing those words, Matthew didn’t hesitate.

He moved to the handle, prayed that Loona wouldn’t castrate him for doing this, and opened the door.

Chapter Text

Matthew:

Into the Light (Guardians of the Galaxy vol 3 Soundtrack)

Octavia:

Rachel (The Dark Pictures Anthology: House of Ashes Soundtrack)

Blitzo:

Call Me Manny (Babylon Soundtrack)

Famine and Pestilence:

Soul Clef XI (Red vs Blue Season 12 Soundtrack)

Chapter Text

Matthew POV:

Walking into Octavia’s room felt…weird. Not just because he was entering someone else's room for the first time, or because he didn't have permission but because it was a lady's room....

He felt like he was intruding. He looked around, trying to find Octavia in the darkened room.

He saw her sitting up on her bed.

Rocking back and forth, her hands pressed against her head.

They were pressed down hard.

Slowly, he walked towards her.

”Miss Octavia?” His question was quiet, hoping he wouldn’t somehow make whatever was happening worse.

Octavia didn’t speak in response. She simply stopped moving for a few moments, before resuming.

Moving closer, Matthew could see her eyes.

They still glowed and shone in the dark, but they seemed…cloudy. Out of focus.

It’s like she can’t see what’s in front of her. Like she’s somewhere else.

Matthew didn’t know what to do. He wasn’t even sure if Octavia knew he was there, let alone be able to explain what was wrong.

“Oc…Octavia? Can you hear me? Can you….tell me if you can hear me?”

No response, but she did seem to turn her head slightly to his direction….An idea popped into his head.

“Octavia…If you can hear me, tap your right foot twice.” His tone was as calm as he could manage.

A few moments passed.

Tap. Tap.

Great. Now we can communicate about…whatever is happening.

“Okay. Good. Now, do you know what’s happening?

Tap once for no. Tap twice for yes. Tap three times if you have an idea about what’s happening but you aren’t sure.”

Tap.

Her breathing started to become faster and more erratic.

Matthew see a purple or pink glow starting to emanate from Octavia’s hands still firmly pressing into her head.

Shit. I am not equipped to figure this out alone.

Think, Think…

“Do you want me to call anyone else in to help? Maybe your dad, Blitzo or Loona?

How about we have one tap for….”

”Loona….” Octavia’s response was quiet and hoarse, but Matthew could hear the conviction in her voice.

”Loona….Loona….”

Loona POV:

Loona couldn’t sleep.

It wasn’t easy going to sleep with a stranger sleeping in her home. All the worries she had about this whole mess and what it might be doing to Octavia kept racing through her head.

She already has enough shit to deal with.

Loona was trying to at least lie down on her bed as she listened outside.

She wasn’t going to let any more surprises happen today.

She heard Matthew open his door and head to the bathroom.

Thankfully she didn’t smell whatever happened in there, but she did hear the flushing afterwards.

She then heard him stop in the hallway.

In front of Octavia’s room.

Loona bolted upright and listened some more.

She heard him ask about Octavia’s wellbeing. She didn’t hear any reply.

The sound of Octavian’s door opening put her on edge.

Did she open it for him? Did he force his way in?

After a few minutes, with Loona ready to jump out to help Octavia if Matthew did anything sketchy, she heard a knock on her door.

It seemed a little frantic.

She rushed to the door and swung it open.

Standing in front of her was Matthew.

He looked nervous, his fingers tapping away against his legs.

”What do you want? Don’t you know what fucking time it is?”

Okay, that came out a bit more harsh than I intended.

….

Fuck it, I’m tired, stressed and worried about my sister. Of course I’m gonna sound pissed off.

“M..Miss Loona, there’s something bad happening with Miss O…Octavia…”

Matthew didn’t even finish his sentence before Loona burst out of her room.

She rushed down the hallway to Octavia’s room.

Please be okay, please be okay!!!

When she entered, she saw Octavia on her bed pressing her hands against her head incredibly hard.

While her hands were beginning to glow.

”Shit! Via? Via, are you okay? What’s happening?”

Octavia responded with whimpers and continued rocking back and forth, her eyes unfocused.

She’s been like this before, but never to this extent.

What the fuck should I do?

Loona tried to give Octavia a hug, carefully and slowly so as not to make her panic, but she still jerked away seemingly on reflex.

Loona then turned to Matthew.

“What is happening here? Why did you come in here?”

She was trying to keep her tone calm and level so as not to freak out Octavia. If she could still hear them, that is.

”I’m s….sorry I went in without permission, but I heard Octavia crying from in the hallway. She w…wanted something to stop. I came in and saw her like th…this.

I think she can h…hear us a bit, and she said your name when I asked if she wanted me to call anyone in about this.

What should we do?”

Loona thought it over for a moment.

”I…I don’t know, but we gotta get Octavia to at least take her hands off her head. Her magic is starting to build up within them and I don’t want her to cast a fire spell that close to her head.”

”Wait..Aren’t demons im…immune to most types of fire, as well the fact that most people who can cast fire usually have protection from the flames they create?”

”Look, I’m not fully sure about all that, but her casting that spell could really hurt her head with the force it expels alone. Not to mention the risk of everything else in the room catching fire.

We need something to help her calm down. She would sometimes listen to her music to calm down.”

Acting quickly, Loona picked up Octavia’s phone and found out it was out of charge.

”Fuck! It’s out of juice. I left my phone in my room, but I don’t want to leave her.”

Matthew, without a word, rummaged around his still bloodstained suit and fished out a music player.

Loona looked at it with some skepticism.

”You better not be suggesting we blast out some shitty choir music to help her.”

”No, no. It w…won’t be like that. I use m…music all the time when I need to calm down.”

He looked around the room before focusing in on Octavia’s sound system.

”You can plug it into that system. It should allow her to hear the music even with her hands and arms covering her ears.”

Loona was still a little hesitant about this idea.

Will it work or will it add even more to whatever Octavia’s going through?

Suddenly, Octavia let out a high pitched whine of pain. She clutched her head even harder and the energy in her hands started to glow even brighter.

Fuck. There’s no time.

Octavia then said something.

Something that made Loona ache with concern over whatever Octavia was dealing with.

”Please….Please make the noise stop.”

This also made something….shift in Matthew’s expression.

Up until now, the main expression that Loona saw on his face was that of nervousness.

Now….he looked deathly serious, with a hint of concern showing up in his eyes.

”Loona. Play it. Pump the music out. We need to drown out whatever she’s hearing in her head.

…

We have to help her.”

This wasn’t the nervous suggestions of a few minutes ago. This was an order.

One she would happy oblige to help Octavia.

She got the cable for the sound system, picked up the music player and saw the album image for whatever music he had queued up.

”What the…? Fuck it. Here we go.”

She pressed play.

Chapter Text

Octavia POV:

The screaming and crying and all that fucking noise kept pounding into her head.

Octavia was rolling on the snowy ground, those four weird shadowy things still staring her down.

”Make it fucking stop!!!!”

She could somehow hear that smug voice through all the noise, though it did nothing to drown the rest out.

"Sorry about all the discomfort you're going through.

I know, it sucks, but you need to be ready for when your role has to be fulfilled.

It could be a week, a month, maybe even years from now….but it’s coming. So you’ve got to be ready and hopefully willing."

His tone then changed. Just for a few moments. It went from condescending and smug to...oddly sombre.

"What you're going to help happen....It's going to be terrible. If you knew what it was, you'd probably fight against it with all your being.

I understand that. It would be understandable and reasonable why you would feel like that.

But it will be done. It has to be done. It should be done."

What the fuck are you talking about, you psycho?!

That surprisingly serious conversation ended, with the smug voice seemingly finding its feelings of self-assurance once more.

”Well, no use dwelling on that now. Hopefully it won’t be too long before…”

The smug voice trailed off, as the world around them shook. Not violently, like a hell quake, but more like a distortion.

Like a digital image glitching forwards and backwards.

While this continued to occur, Octavia heard something new cut through all the fucking noise in her head

Is that a….a fucking guitar?

Paint it Black (The Rolling Stones)