Falling. Falling into darkness. Nico'd always been scared of falling. Flying. Anything to do with heights. He'd always blown up when Jason had suddenly lifted him into the air and shot off like the bullet from a .45.
As his consciousness returned, Nico realized that he wasn't alone. Hands reached out, grabbing his clothes, his hair, his limbs. Voices called for him to help them, to save them. Voices of the dead.
Lights. Harsh, red lights. They shone below him, lighting up a place of fire and sulphur. Nico hit the ground, and blacked out seconds later. When he came to, he was chained to a wall, a leering red-eyed demon standing in front of him.
"Let me go, whelp. 'Cause that's what you are, right? Azazel's bitch. Doing what he tells you when he tells you."
The demon sneered. "So what? It pays to have friends in high places, kid."
"Just saying. Blind loyalty can be-" Nico stepped back into his own shadow, made clear by the dancing lights, and appeared behind the demon. It flinched at the feel of cold Stygian iron at its throat. "Dangerous. Especially when there's a power turnover. Just how certain are you that Azazel will win? Certain enough to risk a sword to the neck?"
"You can't kill me, fool. Not here! You'd need an angel blade, or Ruby's knife, or the Colt. And you don't have any of those."
"No. But I have something better." Nico took a step back, then pulled, the razor-sharp blade cutting deep into the demon's neck. It choked, then fell."Stygian iron," Nico whispered into its ear, but the demon didn't hear. It would never hear again.
Nico stood, wiped the demon's black blood from his face as best he could, and walked toward the light.
Two decades later
"Crowley, I presume?" Nico stood straight, enjoying the fact that, with this particular meat suit, he was taller than the crossroads demon.
"Indeed." This Crowley oozed confidence, secure in the knowledge that this was merely a human spirit, just a messenger. The others hadn't noticed, either. Hadn't noticed that Nico too reeked of confidence, of dominance. Hadn't noticed the black sword he wore.
"There's been a power turnover. Congratulations, you're the new King of Hell. Any questions?"
"Who are you, to waltz in here and tell me I'm 'King of Hell'?" Crowley cried. "You're a mere human!"
"Ah, but look again," Nico said lazily.
He could see the moment when Crowley saw it. Saw the sword, the darkness in Nico's eyes. His eyes widened.
"How are you here? You should be dead!"
"Well, I've tried, but it didn't exactly go as planned. I'm here 'cause I threw myself into Hell with Lucifer – he's gone now, by the way."
Seeing that Crowley was unlikely to respond, he added, "I'm reforming Hell. Now, please come with me. We have a lot of work to do."
Crowley stood. "Lead the way, my lord."