Magical energy began to crackle and spark around the convulsing form of Quinn Redtile, pushing Cobalt's already-frayed nerves to the absolute limit. He took a step back, remembering what happened the last time he was right next to an outbursting demon. As the Imp's uncovered eye began to glow a violent red, the Incubus took cover behind one of the rocky spikes left undamaged from his spat with the Sandlady, pressing his back up against the rough stone as he braced for impact. At least there was nobody around to get caught in the aftermath; the last thing Cobalt needed was another public scandal.
Right as he thought that, a violent explosion of magic energy rocked the very foundations of the entrance chamber, spraying red vapour everywhere. Crimson spores hung in the air, and the air began to smell like freshly-cut grass. Steadying his exhausted nerves, the Incubus peeked out from behind his cover.
The sudden influx of phytomantic magic had caused the hard-packed earthen floor to sprout all manner of colourful weeds and mosses, forming a circle of plant life around Quinn's twitching body. She looked to be more or less unharmed, but as he tentatively approached, he noticed to some alarm that patches of sleek black feathers had sprouted from her skin, ruffling in the cold wind that blustered in from the open doorways. A few crimson vines and creepers coiled around her limbs, and the force of the detonation had blown her hat clean off her head. Erring on the side of caution, Cobalt cleared his throat, still keeping his distance.
"Quinn?" he called.
She looked panicked whenever she landed in. If this outburst was triggered by fear or some form of paranoia, then it was highly unlikely that she would be thinking clearly.
"Agh..." the Imp groaned, her voice sounding unusually hoarse.
Baring her teeth in a pained wince, Quinn held a hand to her chest. Her fingernails had gone dark and were extended like talons, and her teeth looked unnaturally sharp.
The Incubus frowned and instinctively ran his tongue along his own teeth. He wasn't one to talk.
"What...? Where...?"
Cobalt took a step back as she unsteadily climbed to her feet. Her malformed feathers ruffled as she coughed into her hands, her voice sounding like a choked raven's cry. Quinn's uninjured eyelid peeled open, revealing the yellowed eye of a bird of prey. A look of alarm flashed across her face.
"Lottie?! Where is she?!" the Imp muttered to herself, hyperventilating as she looked around in a blind panic.
"Quinn?" Cobalt repeated, holding up his hands.
She flinched and arched her back like a scared animal, shaking all over as she stared at the Incubus. There was no recognition in her eye, only pure instinct. The Imp stared at Cobalt's bloodied hands, glaring at the jagged teeth extending from his flesh.
"I know this looks bad, but you have to calm down," he said, trying to keep his voice as low and calm as possible.
If she flew all the way from Brimstone in the form of a raven, then it was likely that her brain was confusing her sapient thoughts with the instincts of an animal. Fight or flight was in full effect here; he had to show he was no threat.
Hissing like a feral cat, Quinn dropped down into a combat stance, clutching the straps of her bag defensively.
"Easy, there..." the Incubus murmured, taking a slow step forward.
Noticing the Imp's beaten flat cap lying by his foot, he slowly stooped down and picked it up.
"She's lost it," Lilith grumbled.
"She's having an outburst," Cobalt corrected, maintaining eye contact with his student as he corrected the Devil.
"We don't have time for this bullshit."
"Enough of out you. It's dangerous to leave an outbursting demon by themselves, and I'm not about to abandon my student."
"'My students' this, 'my students' that! Do you even hear yourself sometimes, kid?!"
"Lilith, I said that's enou-!"
Distracted by Lilith's constant complaining, Cobalt looked away for the briefest of moments. Spurred into action, Quinn closed the gap almost immediately, swinging her backpack at him with full force. Whatever it contained, it was much heavier than it looked, knocking the Incubus back a few feet.
"What's going on, what's going on, what's going on...?!" the Imp chanted breathlessly, rummaging through the bag as he recoiled from her attack.
Holding a hand to his face, Cobalt staggered upright and held a hand out to Quinn, only for her to flinch at the sight of the teeth.
"Dammit...!" he muttered, pulling his arms in.
Try as he might, he couldn't get them to retract. He grasped his wrists and flexed his hands, but all that did was make them throb painfully. Hunger pains tore through his stomach, forcing a groan of pain from his throat as the fire flared deep down.
"Kid, don't take your eyes off her!" Lilith suddenly cried, forcing him to whirl back around.
He faced Quinn just in time to see her run up to him, a can of hairspray clutched in one hand and a lighter clasped in the other.
"Quinn, wait-!"
With a shriek tinged with equal parts confusion, anger and fear, the Imp sprayed the can into the lighter flame, causing a gout of fire to blaze forth. It singed the Incubus' coat and almost grazed the side of his face, forcing him back as she wildly swung the fiery plume this way and that.
It was no use. She had chosen fight.
With her mind reduced to animalistic instinct, it was kill or be killed. Swallowing a painful lump in his throat, Cobalt back up against the wall and painfully smashed his fist against it, clenching his teeth as the teeth splintered and broke away in a shower of blood and enamel.
"Sorry, Quinn...!" he breathed, shielding his eyes as he rushed forward.
Ducking beneath her makeshift flamethrower, the Incubus closed the gap and punched her in the stomach, hard enough to wind her, but hopefully not hard enough to do any lasting damage. The Imp cried out as she dropped the hairspray, but before Cobalt could pulled his arm back, she latched on tight with both hands.
"GYEARGH~!" she screeched, spittle flying from her mouth.
With frightening agility, the diminutive demon kicked off the ground and wrapped her legs around his arm, throwing him to the ground as she violently pulled his arm out of socket.
"I'm not gonna die! Not until I find her!" she nattered incoherently, rolling back in order to follow up with a downwards stomp.
Spasms of pain shot through Cobalt's body, but his blood still hadn't cooled from his previous confrontation. Grabbing Quinn's boot with his good hand, he shoved her back, buying him enough time to run for the door.
"Kid, what the Hell are you doing?!" Lilith cried, sounding pained despite her indignation.
"Can't think...!" he hissed, rushing out into the snow.
With his arm hanging limply by his side, Cobalt rushed out into the icy streets of the Sunmos Sect monastery. There weren't many people outside, and what few monks he did pass were swiftly making their way towards the temple upon the hill.
"Stop being such a coward and-!"
"Shut up, Lilith! For once, just shut the fuck up!" the Incubus snapped, veins flashing violently as anger surged through them.
Taking cover behind a potter's shed, he gasped for breath and tried to calm down, struggling to wrestle control of the fire within him. His head hurt, his stomach hurt, his arm hurt... So much was going on that he could barely form a single coherent thought.
Quinn was acting irrationally. She couldn't help it; whatever had happened to her, her bestimorpic magic had run rampant and taken over her thoughts. It wasn't her fault she was acting this way.
So why was he so damn mad?!
"Just trying to keep you breathing," Lilith spat as the wind picked up.
"Why, so you can keep using me as a fu-"
He bit his tongue.
"- as a bloody meat shield?!"
"Precisely. Now fix your damn arm already."
Hearing the resounding cry of a raven screeching from somewhere behind him, Cobalt flattened himself against the wall, prompting Lilith to sigh.
"For the love of- I'll do it!"
Once again, he lost control of his limbs as the Devil took over. Grabbing his wrist with his good hand, she forcefully pulled his arm straight forward. With a disconcerting cracking noise and a spasm of pain, she shoved the ball of his shoulder back into socket. Gasping for breath, Cobalt clutched the joint as his blood heated up, the pain already dulling as his body set about healing itself.
"Agh..." he guttered, sweating profusely despite the snow.
"You're welcome, now get back into the fight before things go from bad to worse."
"I'm not trying to fight her," Cobalt mumbled, cautiously peering around the street.
It had gone quiet. Suspiciously so.
"Bit late for that."
The Incubus swallowed hard. Indeed; once again, he was forced to solve his problems violently. It was like he wasn't even trying anymore.
"Say the word, and I can give you something to put her down," Lilith suggested.
"No! If I have to subdue Quinn... I'll do it my way!"
"I don't think-"
"I don't care what you think, you damn Devil! Maybe you don't care about the lives of us 'lower demons', but I do!"
He heard the Devil go quiet for a moment.
"... then you're not much of an Incubus now, are you..?" she muttered spitefully.
Frustrated by Lilith's constant jabbering, Cobalt peeked out once more from his hiding spot, only to be alerted by the sound of flapping wings from high above. Looking up, he saw a single raven heading towards him in a terminal dive, crimson magic hissing from its wings.
"Son of a-!"
He threw himself out of the way right as Quinn crash-landed right where he was standing, transforming mid-flight. Wasting no time, the Imp produced her lighter once more.
"What's with all the damn party tricks with this girl?!" Lilith cried as Cobalt staggered out into the street.
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
"She never was one for traditionalism...!" the Incubus retorted, readying himself for another gout of flame.
Lighting something in her other hand, Quinn abruptly tossed a handful of hissing fireworks at the Incubus. Before he could react, they violently exploded.
Specks of burning plastic peppered his skin as a wave of heat washed over his body. Blinded and deafened by the bright flashes and cacophonous bursts, he could do little to defend himself from the Imp's right hook. Blood sprayed from Cobalt's mouth as Quinn kicked him squarely in the chest, knocking him down a set of cut-stone stairs.
"Gah!" he cried, feeling another rib buckle from the impact.
Lying splayed-out on the snow-covered pathway, he clutched his chest and shuffled away from Quinn as she rummaged through her bag for something else to arm herself with. A few Golem bystanders watched on in horror, but they looked as though they weren't about to step in.
"I'll defend what's mine... What's ours...!" hissed Quinn, producing something from the backpack.
A stungun, undoubtedly handmade by the Imp herself.
"No, no, no...!" Cobalt cried, holding out his hand protectively.
Her eye narrowed at the sight of the jagged teeth. With a howl of fury, Quinn leaped towards Cobalt, ready to jam the taser right into his throat. Panicking, he splayed his hand as his blood rose to a fever pitch. His body heat rose. The snow melted around him. His veins burned bright through his skin.
Like an explosion of searing crimson and jagged ivory, the teeth lining Cobalt's hand detached themselves with violent force, striking Quinn like a wall of biological buckshot. She screamed in pain as the teeth pierced her skin and the blood scorched her clothes, forcing the Imp to drop her weapon and stagger back.
"AAAGH! OCOV ET! AMRA ILOBAAAIIID~!"
Tearing off her jacket before the Incubus' blood could eat through the leather, the Imp invoked her weapon, causing red vines to form a jagged holster upon her thigh. Producing her Lead Revolver with a flourish, she bared her teeth and aimed it right at Cobalt.
He didn't notice, as he was too busy staring at his hand, horrified at what he had managed to do.
"DIE~!"
She pulled the trigger.
Cobalt had been shot before. It was something he never wished to experience again.
But there he lay, feeling that familiar searing pain in his gut as a patch of red soaked through the woolen coat that Lottie had gifted him. What few Golems watched on screamed and fled the scene as he held a hand to his stomach, the breath long since gone from his lungs.
She fired again. And again.
With another five shots, Quinn hit Cobalt right in the centre mass, throwing him onto his back as a pool of steaming blood slowly formed beneath him. Eyes wide and twitching, he could only limply gutter and gasp as she lurched towards him, her eagle's eye bloodshot and shaking.
Without another word, Quinn Redtile slammed her foot down on Cobalt's head.
~~~~~
Cobalt stood in the mansion atrium, his bare feet touching cold stone tiles as he stared at the dead roses on the wall. They looked oddly beautiful in the pale light from the barred windows. Blinking a couple of times, he glanced around, once again finding himself in his Deepest Refuge.
"What...?" he murmured, rubbing his eyes.
"Another near-death experience, is it?" yawned a bored-sounding voice, paradoxically soothing and grating.
The cat sat on the ground next to him, idly batting at a loose book page with a black-furred paw.
Cobalt pulled a face, unwilling to converse with the cryptic feline again.
"That... she shot me. Quinn shot me."
"And cracked your skull, yes. I saw."
"That's not a 'near-death' experience. That-"
"Should have killed you. Again, I am aware."
Baring his teeth, he glared down at the the cat. It stared back at him with shining green eyes, looking impossibly smug despite never once moving its face.
"Don't you understand how off-putting this is?!" the Incubus snapped, balling his fists.
"There's no need to shout, Cobalt. I understand you're processing a lot right now."
He tutted and returned his attention to the dead rose vines on the wall, following them with his eyes as they snaked around once of the faceless busts.
"Good doggy," the cat abruptly said.
Immediately, Cobalt lunged for it, lashing out with a foot in an effort to kick it across the hall. Nimbly dancing out of the way, it leaped up onto the banister of one of the spiral staircases, its eyes never leaving him.
"Don't call me that!" he yelled.
"Why not?" it retorted, cocking its head.
"Because-!"
The Incubus cut himself off, once again finding no answer to that question. The cat lolled its head, calmly bathing itself as its tail flicked back and forth.
"Do me a favour and look around, Cobalt. Tell me what you see," it asked, it's eyes never leaving him.
Fuming with indignation, the Incubus glanced around the entrance hall. Just like before, he could see a number of doors on this floor and the next, all held shut by locks and chains.
"... Doors," he murmured sullenly, glaring back at the feline.
"Mm. And many, many chains besides. For a man who claims to hate being fettered, there sure are a lot of restraints in here."
"What the Hell are you trying to say?!"
"Of course, you didn't put them there. Someone else did."
His anger was quickly replaced by confusion as he glanced at one of the locks.
"What...?"
"Years ago, of course. Links rust and tumblers degrade, however," it continued, hopping off the banister.
"Stop talking like that!" the Incubus growled.
Turning its head to face him, the cat sat down in front of one of the doors.
"Though the question still remains, Cobalt; are they here to keep someone out, or are they here to keep someone in?" it asked in a cold, sinister voice.
"What the-?!"
"KID!" yelled a voice from behind the Incubus, startling him.
Eyes wide, he whipped around to see Lilith standing in the doorway to the hall leading towards the study, where he had woken up many times before. Like him, the Devil was dressed in ethereal grey robes, and she looked infuriated.
She was here too?
"You better start explaining, fast!" she snapped, pointing a grey finger at him.
"Explain what?!" he asked.
"This!" Lilith cried, gesturing to their surroundings.
Swallowing hard, he looked around. He could just say that its his Deepest Refuge, but he couldn't expect a non-Lust demon to understand the implications of such a concept.
"J- Just ask the cat, alright?! I don't have time to explain!" he sighed, clutching his temples.
She raising an eyebrow, her other eye firmly remaining shut.
"What cat? What the fuck are you talking about?"
Now equally as confused, Cobalt turned back around to face his dark-furred tormentor, only to find that it had seemingly vanished into thin air. Gritting his teeth, he looked at Lilith and took a deep breath.
"Look, you're in my head."
"I know."
"No, I mean you're in real deep. Somewhere Lust demons go when their body starts to die. I don't expect you to understand, but this isn't the first time I've been here," he explained breathlessly, feeling panicked.
He could tell by Lilith's strained expression that his explanation was far from satisfactory, but she just sighed and folded her arms.
"... So you're dead?" she asked, tapping her bare foot.
"No. Kind of. I don't know."
"You're not filling me with confidence here, kid..."
"Just give me a second to think!"
Clasping his hands, the Incubus paced back and forth, chewing over what the cat just told him.
"... There's usually a way out. One I have to look for," he murmured, more to himself than to Lilith.
"What?" she asked, folding and unfolding her wings.
"It's got this messed-up idea that I'm not right in the head or something! First it made me think about stuff I really didn't wanna think about, and now it's starting to mess with my memories! I know it!"
"Kid, you're sounding a little crazy here."
"Don't you think I know that, Lilith?!"
With an enraged cry, he wheeled around and kicked the locked door in frustration. One of the locks rattled in response, making a disturbing cracking noise. Perturbed by the sound, he narrowed his eyes and inspected it closer.
"Wait..."
The locks and the chains holding the door shut... They weren't made of metal. They were black and sleek, almost oily in appearance. Just like..."
"... umbramantic shadow...?" he breathed.
"What's with the locks?" Lilith asked, walking up next to him.
Shaking his head, Cobalt looked up into the Devil's one red eye.
"Could you get this open?" he asked, gesturing to it.
"Easy."
Raising her foot, Lilith effortlessly kicked the door right open. The chains snapped and scattered to the floor as the wood buckled inwards, fading away into wispy shadows as Cobalt stared on.
What the Hell was Lust demon magic doing in his head like this? He was well aware that he was one, but one couldn't case such spells like this on themselves, at least not without years of experience, and he was only a mediocre spellcaster at best.
"Hey, kid?"
If something had been cast on him, and it affected even his Deepest Refuge, then did that mean it was psychomantic magic? Why was it there? For what reason?
"Kid!"
"Wh- What?" Cobalt cheeped, glancing up at Lilith.
She was staring through the doorway. Noticing his gaze, she pointed forward, drawing his attention to what she was looking at.
The hallway beyond the locked door was...
Cobalt didn't know what it was. Wrong, maybe. Disturbing, more than likely. Terrifying, certainly.
It was almost an exact copy of the Undercroft passages, deep below his hometown. Cold stone tiles lining every surface. Heavy metal doors held shut by half a dozen locks apiece. Wheelchairs laden with restraints lying at the ready. All that different about the layout was the barred windows, bathing the asylum hallways in pale, sterile light.
But that wasn't all. The passageway had been completely trashed.
Thick claw marks had been gouged into nearly every surface, ripping out the tiles in some places and scattering their shattered fragments all over the floor. The doors were dented and lying half-open, some of them having been ripped off their hinges altogether. The wheelchairs were battered and splintered, broken beyond use. The ever-present roses were here too, but their dried petals were red in colour, and their thorns still looked razor-sharp.
"What...?" he breathed, eyes widening.
"Is the way out down here?" Lilith asked, glancing over at him.
Swallowing hard, Cobalt nodded slowly, though he desperately didn't want to.
"I- I think so..."
Nodding resolutely, the Devil clenched her fists and stepped into the hall, frowning as broken tiles crunched underfoot.
"Right. I'll take point. Don't lag behind, kid."
Before he could answer her, she pressed on, leaving him standing in the doorway. Cobalt was shaking like a spring leaf, but with a shallow gasp, he began to follow her. The hall was cold, chilling him to the bone and forcing him to hug his arms as he passed by one of the open doorways.
Peering inside, he blanched to find a simple cell lying within. It contained little more than a bed and a feeding trough, as well as a lot of broken restraints; collars, shackles, straitjacket straps...
... and chains.
"I told you things would get worse before they got better."
Flinching, Cobalt looked up to see the cat sitting upon the bed, staring at him intently.
"Why are you doing this to me...?" he breathed in a small, terrified voice.
"I've done nothing against you, Cobalt. These chains fettered your mind long before I was ever here. No, the fault lies elsewhere, but that is neither here nor there."
Its eyes glinted.
"So. Will you face a past uncovered with your new companion, or will you turn tail and live on in blissful ignorance?" it asked.
Cobalt shook his head and took a step back.
"Stop this. Please..." he pleaded, trying not to cry.
"Face uncomfortable truths, or soothing lies?"
"Stop! Just stop!"
Hopping off the bed, the cat approached him, eyes glinting dangerously.
"Do you wish to continue on as the lamb you think yourself to be?"
It smiled. The cat... it fucking smiled.
"Or finally live as the hound you've always been?"
"Enough!"
He ran down the passageway as quickly as he could, tears streaming from his eyes as he slipped on the loose tiles and tripped on the gouges in the floor. Barging past Lilith, she yelled after him, but he didn't listen to her words. Cobalt just kept running, as fast and as far as he could.
The hallway ended with a large, metal door. It was still shut, the locks holding fast despite the destruction all around. Words were cut into the metal, scratched deep with something sharp.
RESENTMENT
Without thinking, Cobalt struck the door with all of his might, not caring for how much he damaged it or himself. The metal buckled from his first strike. Behind him, Lilith closed in, but he didn't care for whatever she was screaming; he just needed to get the Hell out. Again and again, he punched the door, bloodying his scarred knuckles as the steel gradually gave way. Right as Lilith made a grab for his shoulder, the Incubus released an unholy screech and kicked the door open.
It swung open and a bright light shone forth, blinding and enveloping them both.
~~~~~
"GRAAAGH~!"
Cobalt's eyes snapped open, both burst and bloodshot. Steam sprayed from the bullet holes in his front as heat rolled off him in waves, bright red tracts of light shining through the cloth of his clothes as his blood surged and boiled. Fresh fangs burst from his hands as his muscles spasmed and tensed. He felt like he was on fire. He felt like he was struck by lightning. And yet his body still pained him, unable to repair the damage from Quinn's revolver.
His stomach twinged. He was starving.
"K- Kid, what the Hell is happening?!"
He ignored the voice in his head.
Leaping up, he spotted the Imp just a few feet away, her gun still smoking. Crying out, she took a few shots at him, but he nimbly coiled out of the way of each bullet, his every muscle obeying his manic impulses.
And still he bled. And still he starved.
Fluid was filling his mouth. Hot and sticky, smooth and...
Tasty. Was it blood? His blood?
Cobalt had an idea.
"Answer me!"
He pulled at the sleeve of his coat, his arm's fangs snagging on the fibres. With a grunt, he tore the whole thing off, exposing his bare flesh.
"What the fuck are you doing?!"
Too hungry to think, Cobalt bit deep into his own arm, his mind flooding with endorphins as he felt the give of flesh beneath his teeth. A small, dull part of his mind told him not to rip it free, so he clamped his teeth down, allowing a deluge of blood to flood down his neck. It scorched the inside of his throat, bubbling and boiling as he greedily swallowed.
Someone was screaming in his head. He ignored them.
Strength swelled through his body like never before. A beautiful, intoxicating euphoria washed over him, intensifying with every desperate breath he took. Rose petals exploded from his wounds, dancing with the steam as the thorns swirled at the edge of his vision.
He couldn't be stopped. Not when it felt this good.
A gunshot. Quinn, still shooting at him.
Cobalt leaped towards her, staring the Imp down with red, bloodshot eyes. Her wild shots were in vain, as he easily leaped over her, grabbing both horns and dragging her down to the ground. Before she could struggle free, the Incubus pulled Quinn into a chokehold, his fangs threatening to nick the flesh of her throat.
She screamed and swore, baying for her Golem friend.
Cobalt held her there.
She wasn't strong enough.
Nobody was.
Not her.
Not Diate.
Not Durnall.
Not Harriet.
Not Cherry.
Not-
A sudden cold shock rocked through Cobalt's body. Those names... Who were they? Why did he know them? What... What the Hell was he doing...?
The bloodlust faded as his vision slowly returned to normal. His blood simmered down, his heartbeat slowed, his limbs weakened and numbed.
Blinking the mania from his eyes, Cobalt let go of Quinn's neck, going pale at the sight of the unconscious Imp as she lay passed-out on the ground. Blood was flowing freely from a deep bite mark in his arm, and a bitter, coppery taste lingered in his mouth. He tried to step back, but the Incubus' legs failed him.
With the energy sapped from his body, he felt the back of his head dully strike the stone pavement beneath him.
Cobalt tried desperately to cling to consciousness, but reality slipped too easily through his fingers. He weakly croaked a plea for help, but by the time he heard the voices of the Sunmos monks approaching, he had long since passed out.