Recently got into the Ava's Demon fandom and, true to tradition, paired Maggie and Ava together. Hope y'all enjoy this!

"Maggie, I'm sorry!"

Ava should have known something like this would happen when she drank that vial. She had called Wrathia a demon for a reason, after all. Nothing good ever came from anything she did.

After she had drank the bottle, Ava had very little idea what was actually going on. She knew she was moving and that it was exceptionally hot around her, but her body seemed to move more with Wrathia's will than her own. She was glad that she had managed to escape from the chamber without being killed, but to wake up in what appeared to be a wasteland in place of the auditorium? What had happened?

To make matters worse, she had woken just as Gil and Maggie had made it to the exit, prompting Gil to come back and check on her. Of course, Maggie was incensed that he had done that, which led to the current predicament.

"Leave me alone!" the greenette growled, continuing on her way.

"But where are you even going?" Ava asked, trying to keep up with the taller woman.

"To the exit. Sooner we get out of here, the better. Means I can get away from y-." Ava glanced up as Maggie stopped and she peered around her. A small part of her was relieved to find the door fused shut, but another part of her was horrified that she had trapped them in here.

"Great! Another thing to add to the list of things you've done to ruin my life today!" Maggie began clawing at the door, trying to get it to open.

"I don't mean to!" Ava told her. "I never meant for any of this to happen! It just did!"

"You could've killed Gil, you know that?" Maggie snapped, rounding on the redhead angrily. "You could've killed him just like you did all of those innocent people!"

"I didn't mean to kill anyone!" Ava exclaimed. "I was scared they were going to kill me! I didn't know what to do!"

"So you just slaughter everyone with all your lava and-and statues and whatever?" Maggie glared down at Ava furiously, looking for all the world like she wanted to hit her. Ava knew she wouldn't dare after seeing the power Wrathia possessed, but that didn't stifle the urge any. "You kill all those people and ruin my chances of finally having something good happen to me? This is just like last time, when you and your stupid demon screwed everything-!"

"Oh, now you want to admit she exists?" Ava growled, enraged that she was always getting blamed for things out of her control. Why could no one ever understand that it wasn't her fault? "I distinctly remember you handing me over to the hospital corridor proclaiming me to be a raging freaking lunatic!"

Maggie faltered at the reminder, but that did not cool her anger so quickly. "Th-that was before!"

"Before what?" The anger had begun boiling over. Ava could feel the swell of lava wanting to release itself. "Before you realized I was like you? That I needed to make a pact too? Before you realized I was telling the truth?"

Maggie huffed and turned away, arms crossed angrily as her arguments failed to land. This only served to bring Ava to her breaking point. "Of course." she grumbled. "Never admitting when you're wrong. Typical."

With no way out that either could see, Ava plopped herself down on the ground, arms also crossed. She was thankful she had been put into better clothes, even if they did make her look a little like a mummy. Sighing, she looked off to where Gil was fruitlessly looking for survivors. She really hadn't meant to kill anyone. However, with someone like Wrathia around, how could she honestly not?

Just then, a ringing sounded and Maggie glanced at her curiously. Looking down, Ava used her key to open the drawer on her chest and picked up the ringing phone.

"Hello?" She sighed, resigned to hearing what Wrathia wanted.

"How ya feeling, kid?" The demon queen inquired across the line. She sounded relaxed, so she was probably reclining in her bath. "Enjoy the power boost? It should last you for a while now that you've calmed down from the high."

"I would probably appreciate it more without the slaughter of innocent people." Ava mumbled, taking the time to examine her new clothes. They did little to hide the chest at her breastplate, but they covered her, at least.

"Yeah, minor side effect." Did Wrathia sound… uncomfortable at the mention of the slaughtered crowd? "Anyway, now that you've drank the potion, you should be able to sense my warriors, though, you'll still need the glasses to actually find them."

"Yeah, I know." Her host responded. "I've got one of your warriors beside me and another's host is looking for survivors in the damage I left behind."

"Yeah, I can sense Tuls' worthless existence. The other one is Nevy. Also, earlier, I smelled Pedri nearby."

Ava groaned and thought back to the massacre that had just taken place. "His host is probably dead now."

Just then, all three women perked up as Gil called, "I found someone! Someone breathing!"

"I retract my statement." Ava murmured, standing with Maggie and following her to where Gil awaited. There, lying on the ground with a pair of melted handcuffs near his wrists, was Odin.

"Oh great." Maggie huffed. "Him, too, huh?"

"Yup." Ava retorted. "Wrathia, this the guy?"

"That's my Pedri." Wrathia purred. "Though, it's not like him to not have a pact yet. He's usually quite thorough. This human must be as stubborn as you."

"Well, he looks unharmed, so thankfully I won't have to perform first aid." Gil sighed. Turning to Ava and Maggie, he asked, "How's the exit?"

"Someone fused the door shut." Maggie shot Ava a pointed look and the redhead snapped, "Wouldn't have done it if someone hadn't left me to the rats."

"You're the crazy one with a spirit haunting her!" Maggie growled.

"Just like you!" Ava spat. "And Gil. And, apparently, Odin. Whether you like it or not, we're all connected. So shut up and deal with it or try to find a way out of your pact and die!"

Maggie recoiled at the sharp tone, realizing that Ava had become fed up with her snark for the time being. "Wouldn't have a pact if it weren't for your stupid demon."

"Wouldn't need a pact if it weren't for her." Ava grumbled. "I'm well aware."

The trio were silent for a while, waiting for Odin to glanced between Ava and Maggie, wondering how to broach the subject of what had happened. While he was upset that TITAN's sanctuary had been utterly destroyed, he was also curious as to know why someone would go against TITAN.

"U-uh, Ava, is it?" he asked softly, clearing his throat.

"Yeah." the redhead mumbled, face buried in her knees.

"Um, if you don't mind me asking, what's this all about? I mean, why did you… attack everyone?"

Ava sighed and murmured, "I'm being haunted by a demon, just like you are, but mine is the reason the rest of you have demons to begin with. She wants me to get you all to make pacts with your demons in order to turn you into her warriors and overthrow TITAN because he took her empire and was possibly going to kill her and her family.

"I attacked these people because, once I got out of the Gates to Paradise chamber, I was going to be killed by the guards. I wanted to live and, unfortunately, I paid the price with everyone else's life." Ava sighed and buried her head further into her legs. "I'm sorry."

Gil blinked. "Well, uh, that… certainly puts some things into perspective…"

"Yeah. And it sucks, with you being a TITAN follower and all." the redhead mumbled. Standing, Ava brushed herself off and turned.

"Where are you going?" Gil called.

"See if I can unfuse the door." Ava shrugged. "Least I can do is try not to make everyone's life miserable. Best way is to make sure none of us are here when reinforcements arrive."

Gil lowered his head for a moment before looking to Maggie. She seemed quite put off at the moment and he wondered what she was thinking. "Hey, you okay?"

"Oh yeah." she grumbled sarcastically, arms crossed at the wrists. "Just found out I'm stuck with the crazy psycho I've known since we were kids and also have had my chances of finding a better home burned to ash because of her. Not only that, but the demon she has wants me–and you two, I guess–for her army against TITAN. I'm just peachy."

Gil looked to the side, spotting Nevy floating around near the ruined stage. He was extremely thankful he hadn't stayed for Strategos Six's speech, even if these people had been innocent. Of course, now, he had no way of help Nevy find out who she is or was.

Maggie glanced at him and rolled her eyes, deciding to make conversation before handing him the rose to try wooing him again. "So, your demon. What are they like?"

Gil's head snapped up, surprised that she would ask. He scratched the back of his neck with a nervous chuckle. "Well, Nevy's pretty nice. Though, a reason I wanted to get into TITAN's army is so that we could have asked him where she comes from. Now, without a way in, it's highly unlikely we'll ever find out."

"Why not just make a pact with her and ask Fire Breath?" Maggie told him, jabbing her finger in the direction Ava had gone. "Become a member of Lava Brain's army and the two of you can get what you want."

"How do you figure?" Gil inquired.

"Well, if she wants to know who she is and you want to get into Paradise, you can make a pact. Ava or at least, her demon, is bound to know who Nevy was. And if we're going to fight TITAN, we're bound to head to Paradise eventually."

"Wow, you're b-being surprisingly h-helpful." A voice croaked below them. Both jumped and turned their attention to where Odin was rubbing his head and sitting up. "So, anyone g-g-gonna tell me w-what's going o-on?"

"Ava destroyed the auditorium with her demon rampage." Maggie gruffed, turning away from him irritably. "Her demon wants the rest of us for her army against TITAN. Two of us have already made pacts, you two haven't."

"D-d-demon?" Odin inquired, glancing to where Pedri was sitting calmly to the side. "Huh. S-some things are s-st-tarting to make m-more sense…" Glancing around, he cocked an eyebrow. "S-so where's A-A-Ava now?"

"Trying to pry the doors open so we can all escape." Gil explained. "Her outburst fried them shut."

"Serves her right if she gets caught by the stupid reinforcements." Maggie muttered.

Odin rolled his eyes and sighed, reclining on the ground for a moment. Gil simply clutched his bag to his chest, wondering how he was going to get himself back into TITAN's good graces as Nevy began pestering him about possibly making a pact. Maggie watched Gil's face become sadder and felt anger burn in her.

Standing, she swept away from the two men and made her way to where Ava was heating the metal of the doors. "If I can just get them hot enough to melt," she heard the redhead murmur to her self. "I might be able to pull them apart."

"Yeah." Maggie called, stalking closer. "Seems to be the only thing you're good at anyway."

"What are you talking about?" Ava sighed, not stopping with what she was doing.

"You're awful good at pulling people apart, Lava Lungs." Maggie reiterated, leaning against the wall with her fists curled, glaring as Ava's heat began making the doors slowly soften. "Seems to be a specialty of yours. What? Upset that someone actually likes me for once? Is that why you're feeding Gil all this army crap?"

"Why are you interested in him anyway?" Ava demanded, rounding on the greenette exasperatedly. "It's obvious he could never care about anyone except his precious TITAN. Why bother with him?"

"Because in case you hadn't noticed, I'm half tree!" Maggie shouted, stomping closer. "How many guys you know into that?"

"None that would be worth your time!" Ava yelled, facing the slightly taller girl angrily. "At least I try to be worth your interest! But you're too hung up on every cute guy you come across to pay any attention to that!"

Ava turned back to the door, starting her process all over. Maggie stared at her in shock, heart thudding in her chest. She didn't know if Ava meant it the way she thought, but there was a way to find out. After all, Maggie wasn't known for being quiet and speculating.

"Hold up." she said, eyeing the shorter woman slowly, heart beating faster at this small semblance of hope. "Are you telling me… that after all these years. Me torturing you and everything… you like me?"

"Since we met, yeah." Ava huffed quietly, her body subtly trembling. "Not that it ever mattered. Or that it matters now."

"What do you mean?" the green-eyed girl asked.

Ava scoffed with a mirthless laugh. "In case you've somehow forgotten in the last five minutes, you hate my guts."

Maggie grabbed Ava's shoulder, but recoiled at the searing touch. Her healing took care of it, but she was glad Ava turned of her own will. "Look, my pact with Tuls. It involves me finding someone who actually loves me and cares about me. Someone I can be myself with, you know? Maybe… using those flowers on those guys wasn't what I needed to do the whole time. Maybe I just needed to give you a chance."

Ava shrugged and placed a hand against the doors, not wanting to forget her task. "It was only understandable you would go for the guys. After what Wrathia did to our friendship… and my breakdown afterward… it's understandable you wouldn't even bother with someone like me."

Maggie rolled her eyes and placed an arm around Ava's shoulder. "Look, I can't pretend to be buddy-buddy with you or anything, but… I have missed you. And… if this whole 'being in an army together' thing works out, then… maybe we could try at a relationship too. Deal?"

Ava looked to Maggie's hand and placed her own atop it, letting the cool texture soak into her overheated skin. "Deal." she whispered, feeling the door beginning to give. "M-mind, uh, giving me a hand? You're stronger than I am."

I don't know if that's true." Maggie thought, refusing to voice the sentiment as she used her branched arms to punch the doors forward. Ava peeked out first, checking to see if anyone was around. Thankfully, the guards seem to have evacuated the premises, leaving the place deserted for the time being.

"It looks clear." she told Maggie. "I'll stand guard while you get the others. They'll have to go through me if they want to get to the rest of you."

Before heading back to Gil and Odin, Maggie decided that a small compliment couldn't hurt. "Confident looks good on you, Ava." she said. "Better than that shy, weak personality you had before we left. Keep it up. I like a gu- uh, girl who's confident in herself."

Stealing back to the guys, Maggie missed the small smile Ava shot in her direction. Turning to the exit to await any possible enemies, Ava's smile grew. Maybe this 'new' life isn't so bad. she thought. She'd have to have a talk with Wrathia about being confident in the near future.

There you have it! I have a few other ideas for these two so bear with me. Drop a review to tell me how you liked it.