This had all gone on long enough. Melody believed Luke that he wasn’t trying to steal the grimoire. He hadn’t been aware of the damage to her room, and couldn’t have known he would be in Beel’s room instead. Even if he had been there with malicious intent, he couldn’t have planned this. Melody also believed that Beel didn’t know that pushing Luke into the closet would have this result. What she did know was that it was HER that invited Luke inside, not Beel. Melody was the only one to blame. Despite the trembling in her legs, she stepped in front of Luke and Beel, her arms spreading out. She felt so pathetically small and weak facing off against Lucifer.

“Melody?!” Mammon was shocked. He knew his human was soft, but, he didn’t think she was quite that foolish. Or that brave.

“Out of the way, human!” Lucifer’s expression shifted from pure anger to a mix of disdain. “Or do you want to die here?!” It took everything Melody had not to run away.

“It’s my fault, not their’s,” she said with trembling voice. From behind and above her, she heard Beel’s voice, but it took her a moment to process what he was saying.

“Stop it, Melody…!”

“C’mon, this is serious! He’s gonna kill you for real!” Mammon was standing right there, but his voice sounded far away.

“A human risking so much to defend a demon and an angel…how very interesting.” Contrary to his words, Lucifer didn’t sound interested at all; he sounded more like he wished to squash Melody like a bug. “Well, if you want to be a hero, you’re going to have to choose one of them to save. Beelzebub or Luke. It’s one or the other. Make your choice!”

Melody’s vision narrowed to almost a pinpoint; she could barely see Lucifer’s face as he spoke, the black diamond in the center of his head seeming to loom out at her. That proud, cold face telling her to make an impossible choice. And she could feel herself failing already. It wasn’t her place to make that choice, but to choose would be to let someone else go… She couldn’t do that to Beel, and she couldn’t do that to Luke. She couldn’t even do that to Lucifer, who was the aggressor. He had already lost his youngest sister; loosing Beel as well to his anger…

“They don’t deserve to be punished; only I do,” Melody insisted, wishing she sounded brave instead of terrified and miserable.

“What’s that now? You want to save both…?” This seemed to enrage Lucifer even more. Melody could feel the air crackling with energy. “Do you actually think I’m going to allow a lowly human that choice?! That you can have whatever it is you want?! NO…!”

There was a surge of power and then… blackness.

“…Melody.” Melody woke up to the sound of her name being spoken. Her eyes were closed, her back against something soft. Carefully she opened her eyes and saw Beel staring down at her, expression concerned. The last thing she had seen was the full fury of Lucifer; she didn’t know how she was still alive.

“You’re awake.” Beel’s face broke into a relieved smile as soon as he realized that Melody was looking at him, but there was still worry behind his eyes. “I’ve been here watching you. I thought you might never wake up, since humans are so fragile and all. I’m really glad you’re awake again. Do you remember what happened?”

“No. Not past being yelled at,” Melody admitted, her mind foggily trying to grasp what the last thing she experienced was.

“You made Lucifer really mad when you stepped in to protect Luke and me. You almost got yourself killed. If Lord Diavolo hadn’t come running up, you’d be dead right now, you know. Lord Diavolo managed to stop Lucifer. You saw how Lucifer looked back then, and yet you stepped in front of me and spread your arms to block him. It was like you had a death wish. You need to go to Lord Diavolo and thank him for saving your life.”

“I was never so scared in my life,” Melody said, her stomach lurching at how close to death she had been. “But, it worked, right? You’re safe?”

“I wasn’t hurt at all.” Beel smiled, but it was short lived. “But is this really the time to be worrying about me? You almost died, you know. A human stepping in to shield a demon from harm. I’ve never even heard of anything like that before.”

“I didn’t even think about what you were when I did that…” Melody said quietly. “No matter what you’re called, you’re still a person.” She sighed. “How is everyone else?”

“As for Luke, Simeon came and took him back to Purgatory Hall. He was pretty shaken up after what he experienced.” Beel shook his head. “Luke didn’t do anything wrong. I’m the one to blame here. I’m the one who hid him in my room, I’m the reason he disappeared. I’m the one who failed to calm Lucifer down, and ended up putting you in danger… All of that was my fault. When you stepped in to shield me from Lucifer, I was pretty shocked. I mean, why would you go to those lengths? You’re not a demon or an angel, and you’re not even someone with powerful magic. You’re just a regular human. So why… why did you try to protect Luke and me?”

It was a good question. Melody herself couldn’t fully understand why she did it. She knew she wanted to protect them, but the hard part was figuring out why she thought she could make a difference. An angel and a demon were definitely in a better position to stop Lucifer than she ever could be, yet she had stepped in front of them. Why? Beel’s eyes were fixed on her, but he didn’t seem in a hurry to hear her answer. There was a certain patience on his face that helped Melody focus.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

“I suppose I really did think it was my fault. You said it was yours, but Luke asked me for shelter, not you. I made the decision to bring him in,” Melody said slowly. “And… Lucifer is your brother, not mine. Family shouldn’t turn on family like that. I’m sure that, after he calmed down, he would be very sorry if he had hurt you.” Then she shook her head. “But, to be honest, I didn’t think it through too much. I just…I didn’t want to feel guilty for not stepping in.” She felt her eyes tearing up again. “What you said about your own choice…” She rubbed her hand over her eyes impatiently. “And what you asked me… I didn’t want to lose anyone.”

For Melody, it had never been about defying Lucifer. It hadn’t even been about being brave, or a hero, as he said. She had felt the weight of Beel’s decision, and she knew she couldn’t carry that burden. To her it wasn’t brave, it was cowardly. She was afraid of living with that kind of weight on her own shoulders. She felt so small and frail, not because she had been knocked out, but because she made choices with her heart, not her head. Beel continued to stare at her for a little while, his expression showing he was considering her words carefully. Although Beel didn’t come across as the most intelligent of his brothers, Melody suspected it was because he was a deep thinker rather than a quick one. He was smart, but it was an honest and forthright intelligence rather than a crafty or clever one.

“I see. So that’s simply the sort of person you are, then.” Beel tilted his head to the side as he looked down at Melody. “As I watched you there sleeping, as I looked at your face, I couldn’t help wondering… If the situation had been reversed, would I have stepped in to defend you?”

“I think you would have,” said Melody, nodding her head. “Even if the reason had nothing to do with me personally.”

“Still, I want to do something to make it up to you— to thank you for saving me. So, is there anything I can do?” Beel sounded so earnest about it that Melody’s heart warmed.

“You asked yourself if you would have defended me, so, I want you to turn that answer into a yes,” Melody says with a quiet resolve. She felt that he had a protective personality; she didn’t want to ask him of anything that he couldn’t, or wouldn’t want, to give. “I just want us to keep standing up for each other.”

“But I haven’t stood up for you yet,” Beel pointed out, looking a bit downcast. Then he smiled suddenly. “If it’s okay with you… we can make a pact,” he suggested. “I know you don’t like them, but…”

“It’s not that I don’t like them,” Melody replied. “I mean, I didn’t at first, but, I don’t seem to have come to any harm from them, and neither has Mammon or Levi,” she went on to say. “Unless you count a little bit of teasing,” she amended with a wry expression. Satan and Asmo were sure to get a few shots in, though they seemed less prone to picking on Beel compared to the older brothers.

“We’re all used to getting teased,” Beel pointed out. Melody could easily believe it. She doubted that the teasing had started upon her arrival. It likely had been going on for a long time before she got there, and would likely continue for a long time after she was gone. For some reason, however, the second part of that equation made her feel sad.

“I kind of got that impression,” Melody agreed with a faint laugh. She felt like it was a bit misplaced, considering how serious things were, but it seemed to make Beel relax a little too, so perhaps it wasn’t such a bad thing. “Alright; if you’re sure you want to do this, then I would like to make the pact too.”

And that agreement was all it took; both of them felt the surge of power that bound them together. By now the bit of euphoria Melody could feel wasn’t followed by the same sinking feeling of failure. Probably because both Levi’s pact, and now Beel’s, were more on their terms, rather than being forced. She still felt bad about Mammon’s pact. With a third one now, she felt she should go back and talk to Mammon, sort things out between them. But that would have to wait; after what just happened, she didn’t feel quite like getting up.

It was then that she realized she was in Beel’s bed. When she first woke up, she’d been so alarmed from her last memory that she didn’t even stop to consider where she was. Now that she knew, she tried to sit up hastily, but felt dizzy and had to slow down. Beel, looking concerned, just shook his head.

“Don’t rush to get up Melody; it’s still a ways before bedtime,” Beel said, gesturing for Melody to lie back down. Gratefully, she did so, with a little sigh.

“I guess I’m still recovering,” she said. “I’m sor…”

“No, don’t apologize,” Beel interrupted. “I still feel like it’s not quite enough, just to be in a pact with you. When you feel better, we should go out to eat, my treat.” Being taken out to eat was a nice enough thing on its own, but being treated by Beel was a rare occurrence; food was something he took very seriously. But, apparently being saved was just as serious a matter.

“I think I would like that,” said Melody, feeling a bit shy again.

“For now, you should just keep resting. I’ll let everyone know you’re okay.” Beel stuffed his hands in his pockets and went to talk to the others. Mammon and Levi had both been concerned about Melody’s wellbeing, but he had insisted that too many people when she woke up would be a bad thing. That was true, but he was grateful for the opportunity to talk to her without an audience. Not that he was ashamed or embarrassed by anything, but he knew his brothers wouldn’t be able to resist chiming in with their two cents.

Of course, neither of them would openly admit to being concerned for Melody’s health, but that’s just who they were. Beel didn’t try to get either of them to confess to it, not when it was something this serious. All of them were set in their ways, and Beel knew he wasn’t excluded from this. Whether it was because they were broken, or because they were fallen, or because they were demons, he didn’t know. Perhaps a combination of all of the above.

As expected, the relief in Mammon’s and Levi’s eyes told more than their words ever did. Mammon insisted that he didn’t care about the human at all; he was just glad that he wasn’t going to lose his credit card. Levi claimed he wouldn’t worry about some 3D girl; he was just relieved he didn’t lose a trading partner in his game. Beel just nodded and accepted their answers. The fact that the three of them had pacts with Melody made them allies of sorts, even among the brothers. At least, that’s how it felt in his mind.

During all this, Melody had fallen back asleep, too exhausted from her trials to worry overly much about the fact she was sleeping in Beel’s bed. As she dozed off she realized she felt a little like Goldilocks. Except she was living with six demons instead of three bears. It was kind of a funny thought, yet wholesome, and it helped her drift fully back into a deep sleep.