Riles' apartment stank of artistry, and that was by no means an insult. As soon as Cobalt crossed the threshold, he was overcome by the smells of paint and pottery. Sketches and drawings of every shape and size crowded the walls, and as Riles led them further into the apartment, the disguised Incubus began to notice a fair amount of smashed pottery littering the floor.

"Ah, don't mind all that. There was, um... an accident," they said, kicking aside a broken pot with their foot.

"What happened?" Alison asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Kiln mishap?"

The main room of the apartment appeared to be an artist's studio first and a living space second. It contained several easals, a pottery wheel, a corkboard covered in drawings and even a seamster's mannequin, but what it didn't seem to have was anything resembling a chair or a couch.

"Sorry, I had to sell my furniture a while ago. The floor's sorta comfortable, though. H- Here, give me a minute," Riles stammered, quickly darting into the kitchen area.

As they flustered about with cups and saucers, both Cobalt and Alison exchanged glances and sat cross-legged on the floor.

"Are they alright?" the disguised Incubus asked.

"Couldn't tell you. It's been a long time since I last saw them. Probably just a little overwhelmed."

"I suppose that's reasonable, given your miraculous return from the dead."

"Think I could convince them I'm a ghost or something?"

"Don't be mean."

Riles eventually returned carrying a trio of mugs, each wildly different in appearance and appearing to be handcrafted. They handed two to their houseguests before sitting down beside them, cradling the third in their own hands. For a moment, no-one spoke as they drank their tea, with Cobalt merely pretending to drink it.

"... Where have you been?" Riles quietly asked, glancing at their sister over the rims of their glasses.

Alison laughed, but it sounded forced.

"Ah, well... That's kind of the thing, you know?"

"Please, Alison. Everyone... I mean... There was a funeral for you and everything."

"Look, do you remember the experiments I was performing? The ones I told you about?"

Riles looked her up and down.

"The ones they were gonna expel you over?" they ventured nervously.

"That's them. Let's just say I hit the mark big time."

Her sibling stared at her with wide, blank eyes.

"So... where were you?"

"Hell."

With a sigh, Riles shook her head and drank deep from her tea.

"Seriously, enough joking around. Where have you been all this time?"

"I'm not kidding. I was in Hell."

"Wh- What?"

"Tell her, bluebell."

Cobalt flinched at being suddenly called upon, nearly spilling his tea all over himself. Clearing his throat, he readjusted himself and tried to give Riles a reassuring smile.

"Alison isn't lying. I know it's hard to believe, but... well... Hell is real. And your sister may be the first human to travel there by herself," he explained in a calm, collected voice.

"Kid, this isn't a good idea," Lilith warned, but he quickly blotted her voice out.

Riles stared at him with a bewildered expression, their lips thinning as they stared at the floor. Shaking their head, they glanced from one of their guests to the other.

"That... That doesn't make sense. You're just messing with me."

"I assure you, we're completely serious. Alison and I-"

"Bluebell," the scientist interrupted, "take your charm thingy off."

"What?!" Cobalt exclaimed, whipping around to face her.

Unfortunately, that was just what she wanted. Taking advantage of his shock, she lashed out and undid the clasp of his Cloaking Charm in one surprisingly dexterous movement, causing the pendant to slip from his neck. As soon as the black gemstone struck the floor, the disguise shimmered and vanished, returning Cobalt to his Incubus form. As his wings and tails popped back into existence, Riles gave an alarmed shriek and dropped their mug. It smashed to the floor, spilling tea everywhere as they struggled to get away from the demon in their midst.

"Riles! Riles, calm down!" Alison cried, rushing to their aid.

"What the fuck is that?!" they cried, cowering in the kitchen doorway.

"That's still Cobalt! He's still a friend, see?"

She gave the Incubus a desperate look, urging him to awkwardly wave at the startled artist. He did his best to appear nonthreatening, but these days that seemed like a futile effort.

"H- He's blue!" Riles stuttered, pointing a shaking finger at him.

Alison grinned and patted their sibling's back.

"He sure is. Fits the name, don't you think?"

"Sorry," Cobalt mumbled, glaring at the scientist.

She responded by sticking out her tongue. Riles just stared at him with frightened eyes for a moment, but upon realising that Cobalt wasn't a threat, they slowly began to approach, their curiosity overcoming their fear.

"You... You're a demon...? They're real?" they breathed, glancing back at Alison for confirmation.

"That they are, kiddo! Cobalt here's a demon of Lust!"

Upon seeing Riles' eyes widen, the Incubus was quick to interject.

"A demon's Sin is not always indicative of their personality."

"Says the man with like five-"

"Alison!"

Shaking their head, Riles plopped themselves back down on the floor. Pulling their glasses off, they rubbed their eyes and took a deep breath. Alison knelt down beside them and wrapped an arm around their shoulders.

"I know it's a lot to take in, but believe me; Hell is nothing like the fire and brimstone shit people keep banging on about. It's... better down there. A lot better," she said in a soft voice, all levity giving away to a gentle, loving tone.

Riles nestled their head into their sister's shoulder.

"What have you been doing all this time...?" they asked.

"Experimenting. Working on the theories Sorbonne never let leave the drawing board. Microsurgeons. Vertebral replacements. I've even made a lot of discoveries regarding demon biology thanks to Cobalt here. Hell's just full of new discoveries, kiddo. If I'm gonna help make the world a better place, then it's gonna be from there."

A small smile tugged at the corner of Riles' mouth, but there was a certain sadness to their eyes.

"You sound just like Jacques..." the young artist mumbled almost inaudibly.

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

Cobalt heard Alison's breath catch in her throat.

"Well... you know what he was like. Always looking to the horizon. Turns out he might have actually had a point."

Hugging Riles tight, she looked deep into their eyes.

"Riles, I want you to come back with me."

"Wh- What...?"

"Alison..." Cobalt said, feeling bad for her clearly-overwhelmed sibling.

"We can make a fresh start there. I'm already working on something that'll get us both a leg up."

"I- I..." Riles breathed.

They put their glasses back on after a moment's consideration. Nodding shakily, they turned to Alison.

"Could you help me pack?" they asked in a quiet voice.

"Of course."

They pointed a doorway on the far wall of the apartment.

"There's some bags in my closet. Could you just pack away the things in my room? There's not much."

"Right away, kiddo."

With a pat on their head, Alison quickly scuttled off into their sibling's bedroom. Left alone with Cobalt, Riles took a shaky breath and ran a hand through their dyed hair. They looked completely frazzled; their world having been turned upside-down in the span of a few minutes.

"For what it's worth, Alison has been working tirelessly. On what exactly I couldn't say, but I don't think I've ever seen her take an off day," Cobalt said in an effort to break the silence.

They nodded awkwardly and clambered to their feet.

"Is, um... Is Hell really better than here?" they asked, gathering up whatever belongings they could fit into their pockets.

Shrugging, Cobalt began to help them.

"That's rather subjective. If you were to ask me, I'd say it's just like Earth, if a little behind the times. The sky is red, though."

Their eyes lit up.

"Really?"

"The water too."

"Wow... And are all demons like you?"

"I, um... I'm actually something of an oddity. You'll have a hard time finding other blue demons, though there are plenty of others. Seven kinds in all."

Riles smiled, looking considerably more relaxed.

"One for every Deadly Sin?" they guessed.

"You catch on quick."

They laughed as they gathered a bunch of old paintbrushes out of an oil-stained mug, but before they could begin to speak again, a loud hammering at the door cut them off. Riles flinched and dropped the brushes.

"Oh, not now..." they breathed, their sallow skin growing paler.

"Riles? What's wrong?"

"Y- You have to hide! Now!"

Grabbing Cobalt's shirt, they dragged them over to the kitchen and shoved them inside, slamming the door shut before he could ask what was happened. A few moments passed before he heard them open the front door. Their voice murmured through the walls, alongside a second that Cobalt didn't recognise. It was coarse, deep and - most worryingly of all - aggressive. Unable to understand French, he cracked the kitchen door open and peered out through the tiny sliver of light.

Riles was slowly backing into the main room, their hands held out defensively as sweat dripped down their face. A man dressed in a shabby tracksuit was approaching them, dragging a bat behind him. The wood was dented and crudely repaired with tape in places; this was no sportsman's tool.

"J- Je ne l'ai pas! S'il te plaît, ne me fais pas de mal!" they pleaded in a quiet voice, backed up against the wall.

"Je t'ai donné plus qu'assez de temps. Où diable est mon argent?!" the man growled, pointing the bat threateningly at them.

The door to Riles' room slammed open. Alison, with a pair of suit cases in her arms, stormed out into the apartment. Dropping them to the floor, she planted herself protectively in front of her sibling, fists balled and shaking.

"You get the fuck away from them," she hissed, eyes ablaze.

The man scoffed.

"English, huh? Whatever. This stupid bitch owes me money. Where is it?!" he yelled in a language Cobalt could understand.

Tensing up, his grip on the kitchen doorhandle tightened.

"Don't, kid. Can't risk exposing yourself for the sake of a human. Let the egghead handle this," Lilith warned.

He bit his tongue. As much as he hated standing by and doing nothing, this was a human matter.

"They're not paying you a goddamn cent," she hissed, holding a hand out in front of Riles.

The man - some manner of debt collector, it seemed - scoffed and raised the bat to his shoulder.

"Fine."

No. To Hell with keeping his cover; Cobalt wasn't about to just stand idly by and watch his friend get her skull split open. Throwing the door open, he stormed out of the kitchen and made a grab for the bat. His blood ignited in his veins, causing his fingers to cleave straight through the wood. Both of the Sarrabat siblings watched on in amazement as it splintered to pieces in the Incubus' grasp.

As bits of broken wood rained down all over the floor of Riles' apartment, Cobalt roughly grabbed the man by the neck and pinned him to the wall, his claws nicking the flesh of his throat with every staggered breath he took.

"Wh- What the fuck-?!" he began, only to have his mouth covered by the Incubus' other hand.

"They owe you nothing, understand me? Any outstanding debts, any unpaid favours; considered them all settled as of right now," he threatened, tightening his grip on his neck.

Blood beaded beneath Cobalt's fingernails as the human struggled to breathe. It smelled so enticing, but he kept his nerve.

"Riles Sarrabat is under the protection of a demon now, and if you dare try to tell anyone about this, not only will they not believe you, but I will personally track you down and rip you apart. I already have your scent," the Incubus bluffed.

In order to compound his point, he allow his blood to flare once more, startling the debt collector with a frightening display of Incupsychotic power.

"Do we have an understanding?" he asked, slowly turning his head.

The man nodded shakily.

"Good. Go, and don't ever return."

He shoved him towards the apartment's front door. Scrambling to his feet, the man immediately sprinted out into the hall, not once daring to look back. Once he was gone, Cobalt's bravado just melted away as his stomach panged painfully; he'd be paying dearly for overexerting himself.

He glanced back at the remaining two humans, both of whom were staring at him with wide, stunned eyes.

"We... We should probably go now. Alison, do you remember the way back?" he breathed, wiping his brow.

Swallowing hard, she snapped herself out of it and nodded.

"Y- Yeah, of course. You ready?"

She in turn looked over at Riles, who quickly grabbed the suitcases off the floor.

"Y- Yeah. Yeah, I think I'm ready."

-----

The trip back to the abandoned warehouse was tense, but an altogether different kind of tension than Cobalt was used to. It was a good kind of apprehension, like the excitement felt on the day before a holiday. On the car ride out of Paris, Riles yammered on and on about their life in Alison's absence; how they tried to make a living selling their art, how they were forced to take on loans, and how they had spent much of the year living in fear of the collectors. Cobalt wasn't able to focus for much of it. His stomach was desperate for sustenance, and with Riles so close, he didn't want to risk exposing himself as...

As what exactly? A monster? Didn't he already do that when he threatened that man's life?

Thankfully, the rift was still open when they pulled into the old warehouse, though it was pulsing rather erratically, indicating that not much time was left before it collapsed entirely. Abandoning the car, the three sprinted headlong into it, with Alison clinging to Riles' hand in case their apprehension overcame them.

The trip back to Hell was no better than the first, but thankfully it didn't end with anyone throwing up. Once the three were safely standing back in the central chamber of Alison's lab, the makeshift Jump Gate gave an almighty groan and buckled in on itself. The bloodstone exploded in its chamber, the wires began to smoke, and after a few moments of shuddering, the rift finally sealed, plunging the lab into silence.

Alison cleared her throat, partly to break the silence, but mostly because of the smoke rising from the machine.

"Welcome to Hell, kiddo!" the scientist spluttered, staggering over to her desk.

With their bags tucked beneath their arms, Riles slowly walked around the lab, mouth hanging open and eyes nearly bugging out of their skull.

"This... You built all of this?" they breathed, marveling at the massive mechanical claw on the ceiling.

"Yup. Excavation was no easy thing. Just me and a pickaxe at first. Hiding the work from the locals was... tough."

Taking their hand, Alison sat Riles down in their computer chair and gently took their bags from them.

"Here, just sit down and collect your bearings, alright? I'll bring your stuff into my room; I still need to set up a spare room, so you can sleep on my couch for now."

"O- Okay. Thank you, Alison."

Tousling their hair, the intrepid scientist nodded at Cobalt, signaling for him to help her with the bags. Carrying a suitcase each, they headed down the hallway cut into the bedrock of the Brimstone Nature Park. Once inside Alison's bedroom, however, the human abruptly dropped the suitcase and hugged him, nearly knocking the pair of them to the floor.

"A- Alison! Are you alright?!" he cried, having to let go of Riles' bag in order to keep his balance.

She didn't answer, her grip only tightening.

After a few moments of the awkward embrace, Alison Titch began to cry. Soft, held-back tears at first, but they quickly grew into deep, meaningful sobs. Eyes widening, Cobalt held her up as her knees gave out and she buried her face into his shoulder, soaking his shirt with tears.

He didn't say anything. He didn't know what to say.

"... I'm sorry..." Alison eventually said, her voice muffled by his shirt.

"It's alright. Don't apologise," Cobalt answered softly, patting her back.

"I... They're the only family I have left."

"I know."

"And I abandoned them."

"You didn't."

"I focused on my work when I should have-"

"Alison," Cobalt said, pulling her away and looking into her eyes, "they're here now. That's what matters."

Her eyes were red and puffy, and both of her nostrils were streaming. Cobalt had never seen her like this. She must have been holding this in for a long time.

"Sorry," Alison breathing, wiping her nose on the sleeve of her lab coat.

"Again, don't be. Just sit down and take a breath, alright?"

Nodding, she staggered over to a small desk and sat down, holding her head in her hands.

"... I'm sorry..."

Cobalt sighed.

"Alison, please-"

"It's a neurotoxin."

His brow furrowed.

"I'm sorry?"

Opening a drawer in the desk, the human pulled out Cordelia Fesser's encrypted journal and slapped it down.

"The cure... It's toxic. That's why she never made it. Because there never was a cure to begin with. I'm so, so sorry."

Rummaging through the drawer, Alison shakily pulled out a plastic container and handed it to the Incubus. He carefully accepted it and opened the lid, revealing a single metal syringe encased in protective foam.

"I did everything that I could, but... this was all I could produce. Yeah, it technically eradicates Incupsychosis and reverses the mental degradation, but..."

She swallowed hard.

"It degrades the nervous system and triggers rapid atrophying in the muscles. I..."

Alison buried her head in her hands.

"I'm so fucking sorry..."

Slowly, Cobalt shut the lid on the box. Setting it aside, he stepped over to Alison and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"I know what this meant to you. I- I just didn't know how to-"

"It's alright," Cobalt breathed, feeling his heart sink, "it was a long shot anyway."

"But-"

"Alison. You did your best. That's all I can ask of you."

The pair went quiet.

"So what now?" the human asked, sounding uncharacteristically uncertain.

"You just focus on Riles for now, okay? Help them get settled. As for me..." he breathed.

Cobalt's gaze tracked over to the box sitting on her bed.

"... I'll think of something."