Welcome to Hell
"Well this was fun..." Astaroth said as his slender fingers brushed back his dark bangs. I was looking over the piles of ash, desperately trying to bottle up my anger for everything celestial. I had just lost my wings. The one thing that differed angels from humans. So please- try and piss me off, I dare you.
"Fun..." I scoffed, brushing a single tear from my cheek as I pushed myself up from the ground, slowly getting used to the change of my gravity point. "If you haven't noticed I'm missing something."
"Maybe you should've eased on the 'I'm a celestial being, hear me roar' speech," Astaroth earned a glare from me on which he raised his hands in defense, "I'm just saying... The outcome could've been different."
The only reminders of what I used to have on my back only minutes ago was the pile of ash in front of me and the two scars between my scapular.
"Father could've stopped it if he wanted." I said, frustrated. I was very well aware I wasn't on God's favorite angel list, but... this? This was too much.
"So what now?" Astaroth asked whilst leaning on his sword.
"I say we find Lucifer." I replied as I cleared my hands from ashes of what used to be my wings. If I was to say cutting them off didn't hurt, I would be lying straight to your face. I was angry... no furious really, and offended. Offended, because God did nothing to stop Raphael.
"If he's really gone, I doubt he's gonna come back without a fight." Astaroth ventured in his thought, narrowing his eyes on something in the far deep.
"Oh no. We're not bringing him back. We're getting me a new pair of wings." I declared. This was Lucifer's fault, so if it's his fault, then he as well could give me hiswings. It's not like he used them anyway.
"And you have a plan?"
"I have a plan." I answered simply.
"Is it a good plan?" Astaroth straightened and his sword disappeared into thin air, leaving only a dark smoke where it once happened to be.
"We'll see, but now you have to get me back to Hell."
"What?"Astaroth exclaimed. "I'm not going down there."
"Astaroth, buddy, you know you can't go back to Purgatory and reign there, right? You saved me from the wrath of Raphael. If you return, your head is gonna be on a peek in Hell by noon."
That was a little self-explanatory if you asked me. Astaroth had dragged me from the trial, going against Raphael's commands. I could bet on Lucifer's wings if only Astaroth showed his heavenly face in Purgatory, it would be a matter of seconds before he'd be thrown in chains... or worse.
Astaroth sighed. "So I'm damned, huh?" He reached out and took my hand, "This is what I get for saving a fellow angel. Marvelous."
The way down south never really changed. To say it was a pleasure would mean I'm a pathological liar, so you have to understand when I say I'm not a fan of Hell. I'd be anywhere else, but down in the pit. When you travelled down, it felt like every bone in your body is being crushed to bits and then forcefully shoved back together, as if tearing you down atom by atom. Your lunges filled with toxic smoke, burning from the inside and your head... Imagine the worst migraine you've ever had and now imagine standing at the front lines of a rock concert. That was what way down felt like.
We both landed face first in the debris covered ground, despite Astaroth having his wings. Wings were really of no use in Hell. A different gravity worked here, making the powers which angels possessed – useless.
"Fuck..." Astaroth coughed a good lungful of ash while I tried boosting myself up.
"Welcome to Hell..."I muttered, stretching my aching back. I watched as Astaroth got to his feet, his wings becoming only a transparent silhouette behind him.
"What the hell happened here?" Astaroth stood in shock before the grand gates of Hell. Nothing had changed since the last time I had been here. "Mind telling me who escaped?"
"Try... everyone."
"Are you serious?"
"Fine, a significant number ceased to exist." As we moved up to those heavy entrance doors, my eyes slid over the reception table – the one place where I had seen Lilith for the last time. I refused to believe someone had killed her.
"As in... someone killed them?"
"That's my theory." I pushed the heavy doors open to reveal a long and dark corridor in front of us. It's been quite some time. Usually I didn't go further than reception and can you blame me? The place was dark and cold and smelled strongly of mold. Quite the opposite of outside.
"This place gives me the creeps." Astaroth rubbed his hands together, trying to heat them up. See that's the thing about Hell – it affects both humans, demons and angels and other creations the same way. If a human is freezing on Earth, we, angels, won't feel the cold, but down here... they don't discriminate.
"That's the point." I said as we stopped in front of a heavy double door decorated with two serpents guarding them. I looked to my left to see another tall corridor which led to the torture chambers of human souls.
"Serpents?" Astaroth arched his eyebrow in amusement. "Wasn't that your thing?"
"You too?" I rolled my eyes, "It has never been my thing. Why do everyone keep mixing it up?"
"You just seem the type,"Astaroth leaned closer to the door and suddenly the serpents came alive, making him jump back. A smirk pulled at my lips.
"Passssword." One of the Serpents hissed, shooting his tongue in the air, tasting it's surroundings.
"Devil wears Prada."
"Really?"Astaroth laughed.
"You may proccceed..." The other serpent hissed. The double doors opened, granting out entrance.
"It's like you haven't met the guy."
"I know, I know... but shit, really?" Astaroth kept laughing.
"Okay, now to find out where has dear Luci gone to and who the fuck broke out."
"Have any ideas?" Astaroth asked, following me right after.
"I would've... ifI knew who had been imprisoned here." Wasn't that a little too obvious?
I walked deeper in the dark room which's colors mainly consisted of black and some red decors. A single desk lamp was illuminating the room.
"Doesn't Lucifer have a book of damned souls or something?" Astaroth asked looking around the place like he'd been here for the first time. And then he suddenly realized something. "Wait... You're the Grim Reaper. You shouldknow who's thrown here."
"The book is called a Book of Death," I said as I looked through Lucifer's paperwork.
"Ooo, very creative." Astaroth mused sarcastically, sitting down in one of the armchairs next to the desk.
"And my book is being cleared of all entries at the end of every century, so I bet you can figure out I don't have the necessary information." I sent him a meaningful look, "Hey, be useful, if you see a very and I mean very ancient book somewhere, be a pal and tell me."
"Uh-ha." Did he just throw something in his mouth?
"What are you eating?" I frowned, seeing Lucifer's favorite chocolates disappearing in Astaroth's mouth one by one. My eyes squinted. "How can you be so sure they're not poisoned? We're in Hell, you know."
Astaroth waved me off. "What's the worst thing that could happen? The Death, by which I mean—" he threw another chocolate in his mouth and gestured towards me, "you – are here with me. I'm sure I can't die. And I'm already in Hell. And for Hell, these are pretty damn tasty..."
"And you think they haven't selected a new Death by now?" I smirked, noticing all the color running away his face. The box of chocolates were put aside rather quickly.
"So..." Astaroth tried regaining his cool as he walked over and took one of Lucifer's documents, reading over it like nothing had happened. "You reallydon't remember imprisoning someone of significance? You know... real big scary and powerful demons?"
"I don't imprison demons. I reap the souls of humans... and sometimes angels." I said. There was this delusional belief that when you kill a demon, it just ceases to exist. Not quite true, because some demons used to be angels. See... God doesn't let angels die so easily. Unfortunately. "But I know who does. Lucifer's lacky – Hadey."
"Luci—" My attention was brought away from the papers scattered across Lucifer's desk to the small, toothpick of a demon standing in the doorway.
"Speaking of the devil." Astaroth smiled happily.
"Hades, honey, sit down, we need to talk." I gestured towards the armchair Astaroth had been sitting just seconds ago.
"Sam?" Hadey questioned, uneasiness to her voice.
"In flesh." I smiled.
"Correct me if I'm wrong, but you had wings a week ago, right?"
"Yeah – long story short – Astaroth here cut them off." I explained, not willing to fall into much detail.
"Wh-what?"
"Listen, we need to know where's your boss." I said simply.
"Yeah, where's Lucifer?" Astaroth crossed his arms over his muscular chest as he leaned against the dark desk. Playing the truth detective here.
"It would be great if I knew." The demon sighed, dropping her gaze to her hands. See, one thing about demon's – they're not to be trusted. Hades was loyal to Lucifer... Loyal to a point where none of the tortures cultivated down here wouldn't make her as much as squeal. "Last thing Lilith told me – he and Maze walked through the gates together."
"Maze?" The look on Astaroth's face nearly made me chuckle. He had pulled a disgusted face hearing the word, well... then he clearly didn't want to see the gruesome physiognomy of the chick.
"The demon. Mazikeen." Hades explained.
"What was her job here?" Astaroth asked.
"She tortured the souls. Basically ran the place." Hadey explained. I started wondering, why was she wearing her human body suit.
"Can you please tell me, how could a demon so freely get through the gates?" He continued, while my mind rambled with the thought of what Hades was up to.
"The shields probably were down." Her shoulders twitched.
"I didn't know that was such an easy thing to do." Astaroth shot me a significant look.
"It's not." I said, my eyes still firmly on Hades. She knew that. And Iknew it was her job to keep the souls from escaping, so who was she covering for? "Only an archangel can put them up and take them down. Or someone with a help of an archangel."
"An archangel?" Astaroth mused. "Could you do it?"
"No." I shook my head, knowing he was really asking if afallen archangel could do it. "I don't have that kind of knowledge."
"But ifyou knewhow to do it, theoretically, could you?" He kept questioning.
I shrugged in response. "Maybe."
"Hey, Hadey, you by any chance know who escaped from here?" Astaroth asked, his attention shifting to Hadey.
"Mostly everyone?" Her dark eyebrows furrowed.
"What I meant was, which really bad monsters escaped from here?" He elaborated.
"Well... since this is Hell, I'd say all of them."
"Anyone that stood out?" I crossed my arms over my chest.
"The goddess of all Creation?" Hadey asked unsure, "I really don't know. Lucifer is the only one beside the torturers who knows, what kind of creatures are down here."
Well, this clearly was not my day.
"Lucifer's mother? He held her here... Now this's rich." Astaroth laughed.
"Uhmm... I kinda put her here." I rubbed the back of my neck, feeling uneasiness wash over me.
"But you told you don't—"
"She's not a demon. She's a goddess."
"So have you figured where's our beloved devil?" Astaroth's gaze rested on me. "Where would a charismatic, self-centered, egotistical fallen angel go?"
I smirked. I couldn't believe I didn't think of it earlier. "Ironically I'd say Los Angeles."