Satan, July 8th

Satan's eyes slowly opened. His blurry vision cleared. He was in a small room with brown wooden walls and floors. A turned off tv lay in front of him.

'Am I dead? Is this Heaven? This is certainly not any Hell afterlife I've been to...' Satan thought briefly.

Beeping interrupted his thoughts. He turned to his left and noticed a heart monitor screen. He didn't even realize the heart monitor that was attached to his chest.

'Fuck, fuck, fuck. Nobody was supposed to know. I'd deal with it. Now, I'll probably have to go to the psych ward. But I can't do that! I'm Satan fucking Satanel, I don't belong in a psych ward! There's still a fucking war going on!'

A shifting doorknob interrupted his thoughts as Satan tensed up. In came Araya in nursing scrubs and carrying around her pole.

"Oh thank god, you're alive." Araya said, while walking over to the chair on the left of Satan's hospital bed.

"Alive? What happened?"

"To put it bluntly, that golden knife almost killed you. I healed Queen Angelica as soon as you teleported me to that closet-"

"I put you in the closet? Shit, I could've sworn I put you guys in some empty bedroom."

"Ah, don't worry about it. Anyway, I healed her, so that it was like it never happened. We teleported back and saw you falling while getting stabbed. Nico, Kairangi and Lucifer were already unconscious when I got there. I didn't even have time to sit and heal you, so I teleported us all away. I didn't want to waste time trying to get other healers to help me, so I just took you all straight to the emergency room. Nico was in the worst condition and I'm bad at healing multiple people at once, so I tried to close up some of his stab wounds. Then, they finally got you all in beds. I was more focused on Nico, so I helped those doctors out while the other doctors did surgery on you. Can't say I'm surprised though. I know this hospital and they have a tiny healing team. Lucifer and Kairangi just needed some air really, so they ended up being discharged as quickly as we admitted them. Nico has yet to wake up though, but I don't doubt he'll be up and at it in a few."

"What about the war?"

"Well... they took Heaven. The Resistance has been arguing with each other on their next move. It's possible they might disband. You'll have to see what Lucifer and Kairangi say in specifics, I've been helping at the hospital while I waited on you and Nico."

"Oh Diablo, am I gonna have to step in the day I get home from the hospital?"

"I can't allow you to do that, sorry. Oh, and uh," Araya inched closer to Satan, "the doctors said that while they were putting your heart monitor on they noticed a bunch of self harm scars, plus how you're underweight and tired. Are you okay? Because they were thinking of sending you to the psych ward."

Satan's stomach dropped. "I was just stressed about the war. I've been using my diary whenever I felt the urge, but I've stopped. It's fine. I've been sleeping and eating more though, don't worry, I guess I haven't been able to regain my lost weight yet," Satan lied while thinking; 'Please don't be mad if you find out I'm lying. Please.'

"Really?"

"Yeah!" Satan faked a smile.

"Alright, good. I'll go check on Nico and get started on these discharge papers. Be back soon."

Araya rose from her chair and opened the door. She jumped when she saw Arsene and Arista in the doorway. She let them in as she scurried down the hospital hallway. They entered, but it wasn't just the two. In Arista's hand was Arete.

"Wow, I get to see all the Mendoza sisters today."

"I know." Arista said as she sat in the chair.

"No baby today?"

"I left him with Lucifer. Trust me, you don't want to hear the baby screaming. Neither does the rest of the hospital."

"Wow, even after him being in the hospital?"

"He told me he was fine, I trust him. I know you need his help with this war, but these are the things that worry me."

"Well, I don't know my next move, but he doesn't need to help anymore. There's more than enough people and deities in the resistance."

"Really? Thank Indiana." Arista put a hand to her chest.

"So, Arete, been awhile. Uh... how's school?"

"Over."

"Oh. Right. How's Phoenix?"

"He's been enjoying the summer and playing out a lot. He misses you a lot though. Phoenix wanted to come see you but-"

"Actually, can he not? He's the last person I want to see me like this. I promise I'll call him when I'm discharged."

"Oh, okay. He'll be disappointed though. He thought he could be home soon."

'Geez kid...' Satan thought as he imagined Phoenix's disappointment.

Silence washed over them. Satan scanned the room and let his gaze rest on Arsene. She frowned at the floor with crossed arms. Although the headband covered her eyes as they'd been for the past few months, , Satan knew she was looking right into his eyes. Satan frowned with her, cocking his head to the side and raising his eyebrows as if to say 'You okay?'

Arsene sighed and her head dropped, like she was saying, 'No.'

The door burst open and slammed the wall, making everyone jump and scream. In the open door was Araya.

"Sorry. I got too excited. Nico's awake." Araya said.

Arista immediately got up, and everyone began rushing out the door down the hallway. Araya stood by the door as she ushered everyone outside.

"Am I ready to leave or-" Satan stood up from his hospital bed.

"Uh, uh, uh, nope. If you try to leave now and tear off your heart monitor, you're gonna alert every nearby doctor, nurse and healer. I got your papers though." Araya walked over to hand him his discharge papers and a pen.

Satan filled out the paperwork at a rapid pace and adjusted his long side ponytail before walking out the hallway.

"You're leading me there, right?" Satan said as he walked behind her.

"Duh. Plus it's a maze in here, only the people that work here can navigate it." Araya looked at Satan.

They finally neared Nico's room after the most confusing five-minute walk known to man. They entered the door and saw Arsene and Nico embracing and Arista standing awkwardly to the side with Arete.

"Oh, Satan. How are you holding up?" Nico sat up while continuing to embrace Arsene, who was sobbing audibly, albeit a little muffled.

"Good, woke up not too long before you did. I'm discharged now too."

"That's nice, I think I may have to stay in the hospital a little longer. Is that right Araya?"

"Yeah, since your injuries were so severe they want to monitor you for an extra day."

"That's what I thought."

"Well, I think maybe you two should be alone for a bit. Let's go." Araya pulled Satan, Arista and Arete out of the room.

Arista and Arete walked in front of them while Satan and Araya lagged a bit. Satan looked at Araya dumbfounded.

"What was that for?"

"I think they need some alone time. You know how close they are with each other."

"Yeah..."

"Oh, and before I forget, I told the resistance that you are taking a break for a couple days."

"But-"

"No, no buts or anything. You had an injury, and you still have the stitches after all. It's necessary to take the time to heal. You need at least a week. If you are fine after they take your stitches out, then by all means, go plan stuff with the resistance, but you need to take it easy." Araya raised a finger to Satan's mouth as they walked out the entrance. Satan didn't even think they were still in the caves of Hell Sector, but they were. He glanced at the grey and murkiness of it all, his eyes falling on the palace where one of the few areas of natural sunlight poured in.

"Yes, ma'am."

"Now go to your apartment, I still have stuff to do. I'll stay out here as you teleport away, just wanna make sure your magic is fine. Oh, and don't go into the palace! There's a puppet ruler in Hell Sector and I think they'd been searching for you."

"Already? Alright, see you later Araya. Arista and Arete, I'll see you even later."

And Satan was off.

As soon as Satan made it to his apartment, he booked it towards his room. He flung himself on the bed. It bounced. He closed his eyes. He rested for five minutes, then got back up.

Satan made his way into the bathroom, looking at himself in the mirror. He didn't have eye bags anymore, and he looked less like a skeleton. He even looked at his bare arms as well, and they were the same. Less bony, more like how they used to look.

'I guess this looks fine.'

Satan made his way back to his phone and went to the chair in his tv room. He would not be falling asleep on this call.

He called Artemios, and his heart began pounding.

'Why am I so nervous?' Satan thought.

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

The screen showed Artemios sitting on the couch. He had a calm gaze and slight smile as he leaned his head on his hand.

"Hey, been awhile. You alright?"

"Yeah, a lot of stuff happened that's too long to even summarize but I'm fine. The hospital discharged me like a few minutes ago and I'm being forced to have a break for a week."

"Oh, good. We're actually going on vacation tomorrow, would you wanna join us? We're going to the beach, the boardwalk, visiting my parents, that kinda thing. Assuming you're well enough to come."

"Hm... I don't really know. I need to think on that. I have stitches so I should be fine, I'm just hesitant. It feels kinda slimy for me to leave as soon as Takahiro and Katherina conquered Ayuzuma, you know?"

"I get it. Well, as much as I can get it. We're not leaving until like two in the afternoon so just let me know if you wanna come. Phoenix really misses you."

"I know, I know, Arete told me."

"Yes, I know. I'll hand him over to you now," Artemios looked down as he spoke. "Sorry, Phoenix wants his turn now. We can talk later."

Satan's screen showed Artemios handing the phone to Phoenix. He was beaming as usual, and his dark fuschia hair was longer, flowing past his shoulders by then. He wore a black sweater, one Artemios likely bought.

"Geez, your hair is so long. I missed you Fifi."

"I missed you too. I even started growing my hair out so it can be like yours!"

"Artemios said you're going on vacation. Are you excited?"

"Yes! And Arete's inviting her friends and I'm inviting mine! We're gonna have fun and play so much! Artemios also said you might come, are you?"

"Maybe. I got hurt and Araya told me to take a break, but I feel guilty leaving. I'm like a prince in the resistance, I have a lot of duties I'll need to do once I'm back."

"Does that mean I'll get to go home soon?" Phoenix inched closer to the camera and beamed brighter than before, somehow.

"No, Takahiro has all of Ayuzuma now and I don't really know our next move at this point. The other leaders in the resistance are supposedly arguing about what to do next."

"Oh..." Phoenix frowned.

"When I'm off my break though, I'm going to work extra hard to make everything alright again. Just for you. Okay? Some things are just not in my control but what is, I'll use it to my advantage."

"Okay!" Phoenix smiled again.

"Is there anything else interesting happening on Earth? Or anything else you wanna talk about?" Satan leaned his head against his hand.

"Not really."

"Alright then, I think I will let you go. As soon as I decide I'll let Artemios know if I'm coming or not. I'll see you soon. I love you."

"Bye daddy! Love you too!" Phoenix waved aggressively.

Satan waved back before he ended the call. He sat back in his chair. The post-Phoenix call emptiness was hitting harder that day.

A sudden ding made Satan jump. He quickly opened up his phone and saw another text from an unknown number.

And yet another image of gore and dead bodies. His stomach dropped. He would've turned off his phone immediately, but his eyes stopped at a message.

562 610 0517

were tired of this

were not kidding anymore

24 hours

surrender yourself over to us, kill yourself, or let us kill you and your family for you

i even went to the courtesy of making a timer that you dont fucking deserve

If we dont get an answer then we choose to kill you and your family for you

hell well get the kid too

12:10 PM

'Don't answer. Don't answer. Stop. What are you doing?' Satan thought as he went to answer her.

Satan Satanel

Is this all because you got a concussion?

Maybe you deserved it.

Maybe you should let go of your fucking grudge.

Yes, I feel guilty that I made Takahiro try kill himself.

Yes, I have regrets.

But don't pretend like you're the perfect one here.

You're just as messed up as all of us.

I miss Takahiro.

But I sure don't miss you screaming at me.

Bruising me, turning my one escape from the stresses of being a king into a nightmare.

Grow the fuck up.

12:11 PM

Satan panted. His skin shifted to pink. Anger threatened to spill over. He didn't even realize the tears that flowed from his eyes. He wiped away his tears and sniffled.

All those things Katherina sent and told him, and yet he glued his eyes to the screen. Waiting. Watching.

The bubble with three dots showed up. Satan's heart beat even faster than ever.

When she finally sent her response, it was another gory image.

Satan immediately flung his phone across the room. It cracked on impact. Ignoring it, he made his way to his bedroom. He opened his diary and started writing for the first time in a while. He poured out his heart and soul onto the pages.

November 22nd. 1998

He remembered it all like it was yesterday. Satan, Eris and Takahiro landed on the ground. They were unfortunate enough to land right in the middle of the city. Fairies surrounded them from all sides. They took it all in. Fairies, the fuschia plastered wherever possible, beautiful buildings out of fantasy illustrations, everything.

"Are you just gonna keep standing there?" A woman smirked at the trio.

"Oh, sorry. Uh, who are you?" Takahiro asked.

"Queen of Fuschia." She tapped her circlet.

"Oh. Right, I don't keep up with news outside of Black."

"You're all still standing in the middle of the path, why don't I take you to my palace?"

They nodded and followed Katherina as she walked forward. Satan immediately noted how she could clear a path for both them and herself, without even asking.

At the time, Satan's immediate thought was: 'Wow, she must be a really respectable queen if they'll do what she asks without even asking.'

What he should've been thinking was to run away.

He didn't even realize then how frightened the other fairies looked. They clung to each other, keeping as much distance from her as they could manage.

He remembered her outfit clear as day as well. Her dress at the time was long, covering every inch of her skin. She even had a ribbon on her backside that moved with every step she took.

After a relatively short walk, they arrived at the palace. The outside had a fancy gate, with patterns made of the thin metals. The outside of the palace was fuschia colored, of course, and it was huge. Many towers protruded from the sides.

"What's the point of a gate if most fairies have wings?" Takahiro asked, interrupting the silence that had fallen over them.

"Keeps out the flightless. We have an invisible barrier on the entire thing to keep the rest out."

"Where's your wings then?" Eris said.

"I wasn't born with them." Katherina opened the palace gates.

They walked inside. The floors and walls were fuschia, as usual with black and gold accents. The throne was gold and appeared made of wings and flower petals. But the group ended up taking a right down a less beautiful hallway.

"Are you even a fairy?" Satan asked.

"Barely. My family has been marrying other humans for so many generations I don't even have magic. My only fairy trait is these." She moved her hair backwards to expose her ears. They were like tiny butterfly wings. Satan's eyes fell onto a large diamond ring on her left hand.

"Wait, are you engaged?"

"Yup. My fiance's busy working for his boss today. King of the Hell Sector in Red. Was it Satan or Lucifer? I don't remember."

"Wait, is your fiance Nicolaus Astraia?"

"That's him. You know him?"

"Yes, I'm his boss. And it's Satan, Lucifer's my brother."

As they entered a cramped meeting room, Katherina took a moment to stop and stare at Satan. She looked him up and down, making Satan tense up.

"You don't look that intimidating, you just look like you're trying too hard."

Satan growled as Takahiro, and Eris laughed. They each took a seat at the table.

"So uh, what's this meeting about, anyway?"

"Well, I found how you've wanted to Takahiro to rule Black again but you've been unsuccessful, correct?"

They nodded.

"I'd like to help you. Apparently the current king doesn't even want to rule, and neither does the previous king, so this would ease their problems. Do you know why you haven't been successful?"

Satan and Takahiro glanced at each other. Satan whispered for Takahiro to talk, while Takahiro motioned to Satan to talk.

"Uh, about that-" Satan said.

"We haven't really been working towards that-" Takahiro said.

"We've mostly been goofing off and hanging out. I don't like ruling mine and this is one of my escapes." Satan finished.

"Oh, well, that explains it. Black Kingdom law states that if a candidate for king is unwilling to rule, another may step in."

"Thing is though, I'm not really well liked. So chances of them accepting is pretty low." Takahiro mumbled.

"I wouldn't really know about that. Us fairies are kinda weird. It's worth a try though, don't you think?"

"I guess."

"I'll think of some plans if they don't. You put together a proposal and bring it to the king. Oh, and also, before you go, you may here many rumors about me."

"What kinds?" Satan stood up from his chair.

"That I murdered my parents, everyone at my school, even rape for some reason. I don't know, I guess they don't like me for marrying a demon."

"Wow, really? That's crazy." Takahiro laughed.

"Do fairies not like demons?" Satan tensed up.

"No. Couldn't tell you why, most just... don't"

"And I thought this planet was the most peaceful one out there." Satan sighed.

"You not from Ayuzuma?"

"No... I grew up on Earth-"

"No! Not someone from Earth!" Katherina wailed.

"I know Earth's got a reputation, but the hell part of it is actually really nice. The mortal grounds of Earth are the reason Earth even has a reputation."

"Oh, you're one of the good ones. Okay! Well, I have my queenly duties to get to. Takahiro has his proposal. Oh, my number before I forget to tell me how it went." Katherina wrote her number on a slip of paper. The trio put her numbers into their nokias, before taking their leave.

Satan, July 8th

As Satan flashed through his memories, he got angrier. The warning signs were all there, how could he just brush them off? And why, when all the signs were confirmed, did he let it all happen? The beatings, the fighting, the threats of murder?

Why didn't he do more?

His rage at himself, Katherina, Takahiro, whoever else, grew. His skin turned to its unnatural pink and tears streamed down his face.

Then he blacked out.

When he recollected himself, he was curled up in a ball on the ground. He stared down at his hands. They changed back to his normal skin color, like the inside bark of an oak tree. As he stood up, he saw scratch marks on his walls and all his belongings. He trashed random things, like the windows.

'Do I want to know what else I did? I guess I should check and see what I'm gonna have to pay for...' Satan thought.

He walked down the hallway, and like in his room, everything was scratched or trashed. He frowned, and he cried even more. Not only at just how much he'd have to pay for it all, but the damage he caused.

More memories he didn't want to think about surrounded and haunted him. When Satan was young, similar things would happen. He'd get so pissed off he'd go on a rampage, tearing up everything in sight. He'd pass out from the anger and wake up later like it was all a bad dream. But the memories of scratched walls and destroyed belongings he loved were all just reminders it really happened. Lucifer was unlucky enough to be in his room during an episode as a kid. He didn't remember specifics, but all he knew after waking up was that Lucifer had so many scratch marks and stab marks.

And it was all thanks to Satan.

From then on, he'd vowed to suppress his anger as much as he could. Nobody deserved to see him angry, especially not Lucifer and especially not his children. He'd designate a room to be his anger room and lock himself in there if he felt an episode coming on. He'd also make sure it was far away from everyone else.

When Satan first went to Ayuzuma, his anger episodes got even worse. He remembered he'd have to step back from his work as a king at least five times a day to get his anger out. Thankfully, he got good at sensing them, but one time he wasn't so lucky. Once an episode happened around Arsene and he attacked her. He vowed to never love another woman from then on.

As Satan remembered all the hurt his episodes caused he teleported back to his bed. Like everything else, he destroyed it. He cried himself to sleep.

Katherina's deal could wait.

Satan, July 9th

As soon as Satan woke up, he checked the time.

'12:39 AM. I was out for like twelve hours? That would've been the best sleep of my life if I wasn't having nightmares.'

He switched over to the clock Katherina gave him.

Eleven hours left.

He stayed in bed, pondering.

'You know, I've wondered if I'd just be easier to kill myself and spare everyone the trouble. Living lately has not been worth it. But... my kids. My friends. Araya! I can't just leave them alone! But either choice makes me leave them, regardless.'

And so it began, a nine hour thinking session. He thought of all the consequences, and ways to escape his fate.

He knew what Katherina and Takahiro could do. He'd lived it firsthand, after all.

Finally, at nine in the morning, he came to his conclusion.

'I have to surrender myself. I don't know what'll happen, but at least everyone else will get to live. Right?' He thought as he bolted up from his bed.

He went over to his scratched up desk and scribbled words on pages. They were barely legible, but he needed to get them out. When he finished, he checked the countdown again.

Ten minutes left.

He quickly used his blood magic to put them in his mailbox, along with his apartment key.

He realized he didn't even know where he was supposed to go, so he went to text the last number Katherina used to harass him. His stomach swirled as he saw the gore images out of the corner of his eye. He held a hand over his mouth and went into the bathroom while trying to get his text sent.

Satan Satanel

Where do I need to go

9:44 AM

He stared at the reply bubble. He felt sicker just waiting for her response.

562 610 0517

so youre surrendering after all?

good boy

go to the entrance at the black palace

well go from there

9:44 AM

Satan grimaced at her words. He strolled to the front of his apartment one last time. Satan glanced at everything he'd leave behind. He stopped at a collection of pictures tapped to the wall of everyone. He tore them off the wall and shoved them in his pockets. Mentally, he could see the clock ticking down. Sighing, he finally began to teleport to the Black Kingdom palace.

He may have been the ruler of one of many Hells, but the real hell started then.