Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

Nothing exciting happened between Cassandra and Jade after the concert. Jade dropped her off at home, and that was it. Two friends hanging out at a concert and nothing else. Cassandra still smiled despite it all.

“Why’re you so happy?” Alphonse asked her soul. The two were in their spots still, the excited high coming down now that Jade was gone. The realization, even for him, settled in. The most exciting, upbeat night was over. The monotonous, repetitive schedule would start again. “Aren’t you disappointed that you didn’t get to stick your tongue down Jade’s throat amidst all the euphoria of Ariana Grande?”

Cassandra’s soul laughed. It wasn’t her usual laugh. It was a bittersweet, exhausted laugh. “I didn’t expect that. I hoped for it, sure, but it’s only ever in my dreams,” she scoffed. “Jade’s still with Landon. What am I gonna do? Homewreck?”

“Yes,” Alphonse hissed gleefully, rubbing his hands together.

“No, Al. It’s not right. I want her happy. She seems happy.”

“You worry too much about others.” He said, redirecting his gaze to the eye-screen. She said nothing to that. Instead, she maneuvered the body back into the house.

Alphonse understood why she had an extensive ‘gaming keyboard’s style for her body’s controls.  He understood why they sat in gaming chairs, too. Darkness obscured her vision other than the dim lights from the windows. Antonio was at his friend’s, but her monster of a mother should be sound asleep.

“Trying not to make a sound,” she whispered.

“Left.”

“What?”

“Left. You’ll bump into the counter, and that plate will fall.

“You’re sure?”

“I have demon eyes, of course, I’m sure!”

“Shh! Don’t yell at me. I’m trying to focus!”

“Don’t yell at me, then!”

Victory surged through them as the body successfully made its way to the bedroom without waking monster mother. Alphonse was quick to leave the body in a whirl of disembodied smoke until it took his form again on the floor of her room. He faced Cassandra, who smiled up at him in the darkness.

“Well done,” he said. “I’ll be back then. Get some rest. I’d tell you to brush your teeth, but we just made it out of the secret tenth layer of hell—your house past midnight while trying not to wake your mom up.”

“So, there are nine layers? Interesting, tell me more,” she said in a whisper. Alphonse stood at the edge of her bed as she got into bed, then sat at the edge.

“Just read Dante’s Inferno. Possessed by a rebellious demon who was a human sympathizer. Wanted to give them a warning in case they ended up down there.”

“Sympathizing with humans that were bad enough to go to hell? That’s skewed.”

Alphonse let out a soft laugh. “I couldn’t agree more.” He took a deep breath and smiled at her. “I had fun.”

“Yeah, I know you did,” Cassandra said, giving him a smug yet tired expression. She yawned and closed her eyes. “Will you come back?”

He grinned. “’Course I will. I’m still gonna take control one day and kill you. Can’t let you win. It’ll hurt my pride.”

Cassandra snorted. “Yeah, yeah, whatever you say.” She took a deep breath and seemed to sink into the bed tiredly. “See ya, Al.”

“Sweet nightmares, Cass.”

“You fucking dick,” she said, giggling, before nuzzling into her pillow and drifting away into sleep.

The smile on his face took its time to fade, but it faded. His fingers wiggled as they itched to reach out to her. The covers weren’t wrapped around her properly. They loosely rested halfway down her torso. Now, what if she died from the cold? Then he wouldn’t have a human to come back to, and he’d have to find a new host to possess. Cassandra had to be well when he got back. The less damage, the better.

Or so he told himself.

Alphonse pulled the covers up to cover her shoulders and tucked them under her body. He frowned. Traction alopecia. The idiot girl didn’t remove her ponytail. He chewed on his smoky claws as he debated the best technique to assist her without disturbing her slumber. Interrupting her nightmares was not ideal.

Or so he told himself.

With deep regret, Alphonse’s claws closed around one loop of the hair tie, snapping it in half with minor effort.  It made it easier to pull the hair tie away. He smoothed her hair out, so the tension relaxed, and he sighed in relief. Then, out of panic that she would miss her hair tie, he set the contraption on fire in his palm.

After a few long minutes, Alphonse stole away to the outside of the house. He set himself on the lawn, right above the ground, and sank into it, leaving behind nothing but smoke, which evaporated into the air.

Hell wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. It was dark, hot, and a lot like an unbeatable, never-ending video game for the eternally damned souls.

The circles of hell were so nitpicky. With the way their requirements went, no human would ever go to heaven. Humans were so god damn imperfect. Most of them ended up here. It seemed pretty rigged. If God wanted such perfect humans in his Heavens, why’d he make them so imperfect?

Limbo was pointless and wasn’t even that bad. Lust was also not sin-worthy, unless its sexual activity was forced. Even Alphonse couldn’t get down with that. And Gluttony and Greed go hand in hand. A little of it wasn’t terrible. Sharing is caring. If it’s extensive, then that’s where shit hits the fan.

Well, what did he care? He was a demon. Maybe that’s why he disagreed with all the self-righteous bullshit from the heavens. Then again, it really didn’t concern him, so he didn’t care much, either.

Wrath was a mess. Disgusting and entertaining. “I’ll bet five hearts,” Alphonse told one of the head demons who handled bets for several of the fights taking place in the swampy muck. “for Randy in fight 39793.” Heated arguments and fistfights full of anger were so fun. It was better than Keeping Up With the Kardashians.

Randy always won. Darla’s comebacks were weak. They were a shit show.

Heresy annoyed the hell out of Alphonse. Who cared if people had other beliefs?

Some demons have thought of starting the hunger games in Violence, but Lucifer concluded how pointless it was if they’re all already dead. It wouldn’t be such bad entertainment with a new setting instead of a swamp and some firewalls.

Fraud and Treachery should be swapped, but Alphonse kept that to himself.

“Where’s dad?” Alphonse asked once he finally reached the center of hell.

Demons that took similar and different forms than him were torturing humans left and right. These were the worst of all the bunch, though Alphonse quietly disagreed. Every soul had a designated demon torturer.

A demon who looked more like a monster that came out of a child’s closet grunted at him, which was its way of speaking. Alphonse figured the demon was fashioned out of the classic troll above all else. Luckily, he was fluent in troll demon grunting.

I think he’s in his throne room.

“Thank you,” he said and glided along down an endless hall of tortured souls toward a castle made of rock and molten lava. The double doors were lit on fire, and Alphonse swept right through them.

Lucifer sat on his throne of human bones, eating a carcass. All with horns, big, black wings, and scales running up his skin, he looked a bit menacing. Although, when the myth, the man, the legend himself looked up at Alphonse, his red eyes were bright and his smile with pointed teeth was warmer than hell itself.

“Alphonse!” Lucifer called, waving him over.

“Dad!”

“Come share this feast with me.”

Alphonse hurried over and sat down beside Lucifer, floating in the air. A napkin around his smoky neck appeared, and luxurious silverware in both his hands. “Thanks.”

The two ate the carcass happily. It’d been a few thousand years since he’d seen his father. He only now realized how much he missed him.

Would his father be disappointed?

“Dad,” Alphonse said, swallowing hard. “I’m having a bit of difficulty with one of my victims for possession.”

Lucifer stopped eating and looked at him, frowning. “What do you mean?” He asked, taking a goblet of blood and drinking it.

“She literally won’t let me take control of her. Every time I try, she just stops me. I’ve never run into some kind of human with that amount of mental ability. It’s almost like she’s not human herself. You should’ve seen what happened the night I first possessed her.” He sighed and crossed his arms. “She pulverized me. I couldn’t do a thing to her.”

Lucifer growled deep in the back of his throat, then said something through gritted teeth. “Those damn demon tamers.”

Alphonse frowned, looking at him. He’d never heard of such a term, and the fact that his father was seemingly upset over it worried him. “What? Demon tamers?”

“It takes a special kind of demon to overtake a demon tamer. They’re humans that have power even they don’t understand.” His red eyes pierced into Alphonse’s with a determined gaze. “Do not fall victim to her ploys. She is not what she seems. If you ever begin caring for the girl, stop before it’s too late. You’ll lose yourself, and if that happens…” A sorrowful expression crossed Lucifer’s face. He exhaled and put a clawed hand on Alphonse’s shoulder. “I’m afraid you will be doomed. You will open up to your own humanity, ceasing your demonic ways.”

“I would never!” Alphonse told him, eyebrows furrowing. “I won’t let her change me. I’m a demon, and I can’t have any empathy for them. I don’t have an ounce of humanity to open up, anyway.” Lucifer grimaced and looked away. Alphonse stared and tilted his head. “Right?”

For a while, Lucifer was quiet. He pulled his hand away from Alphonse’s shoulder and looked down as if contemplating his entire existence. It was almost surprising when he finally spoke. “I would be lying if I said all demons were purely inhumane. There’s always a bit of humanity, just enough to understand how to hurt humans the most, emotionally and physically.”

The truth settled into Alphonse like a cold, jagged knife. He was vulnerable. Vulnerable to emotions only humans could feel. Although, some part of him already knew that the moment he met Cassandra and the more he knew her. He was ruining himself. How many more excuses would he tell himself before he had to face the truth?

“But someone has overcome a demon tamer?”

“Of course. Your older brother, Silas.”

Alphonse screamed and burst into flames in a fury. Silas was the bane of his existence. No matter how hard Alphonse tried, Silas somehow bested him. He was crueler, cleverer, quicker, and far more sadistic. He wasn’t the oldest demon, but with the devastating catastrophes he caused, one would think he was one of the first.

“You will be no son of mine if you fall victim to the demon tamer. Powerful against you as she might be, it is not impossible to possess her and destroy her.” Lucifer told him, his voice stern and cold. “Unless you wish to bring shame upon your brethren, you will not let this half-mortal being make you out to be a pitiful risen demon.”

A risen demon. The opposite of a fallen angel. It was a slur known throughout demons. It was the last thing a demon wished to become. The rank was so low that demons didn’t consider these individuals as demons anymore. They were shunned and banished. An omega in a wolf pack was more appealing.

Alphonse glared, determined at his father. “I will not fail you.”

And the devil smiled.