Author Note: As always, muh huge thanks to Hayze-Chan, Mizuni-no-neko and KittyBePraised for the reviews! They made my day all over again!
So, I got a graphic pad the other day, which I paid actual money for and hasn't had even one previous owner (go me!). It's kinda hard to get used to drawing down hyah, while looking up hyah, but I'm getting there. I'll grab a dA account at some point in the near future and you guys can laugh yourselves into hernias at my crapness.
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Do you remember when I saw you last? Things have changed.
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Kenny loved McDonald's.
As a child, it had been a special treat, one he rarely got. Usually it was his friends parents who took him there, most frequently Liane Cartman after giving in to her sons bitching. Entering the establishment still made him feel good, for a split-second remembering what it was like to be four feet tall and going into the warmth from the perpetual snow, smelling the grease frying, being dazzled by the overdose of primary colours and the excited chatter of the other kids playing with their Happy Meal toys and conversing through mouths full of fries.
There would be none of that on this trip though; taking either Damien or Christophe within the building seemed like a bad idea. Christophe would probably shoot one of the surly counter staff and Damien would end the meal by burning the place down. Instead, they went to the drive-thru window and Kenny took advantage by ordering a disgusting amount of food, two milkshakes and doughnuts for afterwards. He even talked the girl into letting him have one of the Happy Meal toys. As Christophe pulled away from the window and parked up in the car park, Kenny decided chasing demons was worth it if this was the pay-off.
Taking a huge bite from a quarterpounder with cheese, he glanced into the front of the car. Christophe was giving his chickenburger a suspicious look and Damien was pulling apart a Big Mac. Neither seemed especially impressed and Kenny reflected that they didn't know what they were missing. McDonald's was the food of the gods.
To his side, Pip nibbled half-heartedly at a fry. The British boy stared out of the window, still shaking slightly. Kenny could sympathise. If it had been him who had been possessed by a demon that used his body to kill four people and then left him in the care of a mercenary, a poster child for drug abuse and the Antichrist, he probably wouldn't have much of an appetite either. He probably wouldn't even be up to talking. Pip was stronger than he was given credit for.
"You doin' okay there Pip?" he asked between bites of his burger.
Pip shrugged, glancing over at him. "Not really."
"Mmmpphh." Kenny decided to swallow and start again. "What happened? When did it get you?"
"This morning." Pip went back to staring out of the window. "I was on my way to school and I heard something – no, I felt something. And then there was someone in my head. It was awful."
Damien looked at him. "You didn't see another person?"
"No." Pip didn't look back at Damien and Kenny smirked as he noticed how this seemed to irk the Antichrist.
"Where were you?"
"Near Stan Marsh's house."
Damien's eyes flicked over to Kenny. "That's near your place, isn't it?"
"About four houses away," admitted Kenny. "I guess it really did follow me up here." He unwrapped his second burger and took a bite, but was unsurprised to find it didn't taste as good as the first. Guilt had a way of leeching the flavour from things.
"Pip," said Damien forcefully, scowling as the boy still didn't look at him. "We need to know what happened today. We've got to find that demon and send it back to Hell."
"Uh, you remember Damien, right Pip?" asked Kenny. "The Antichrist? He was in our class for a while, back in third grade."
"Of course I remember," said Pip distantly. "He set me on fire, as I recall."
"That's nothing," replied Kenny. "He turned me into a duck-billed platypus."
"I 'ave you both beat," added Christophe. "I died and went to Hell for an hour and 'e put me in ze fucking non-smoking section!"
Kenny shook his head in mock sadness. "Harsh Damien, even for you."
"It made me laugh." Damien smirked at Christophe. "You should have seen your face."
Sniggering, Kenny looked over at Pip, hoping that the exchange had provoked some reaction, but there was nothing. The boy merely continued looking at nothing, his food in his lap mostly untouched.
"The guy with the accent is Christophe," continued Kenny. "He's a mercenary. He likes to blow things up, curse at God and adopt small fluffy animals."
"I do not! I 'ate animals!"
"Sorry. He likes to eat small fluffy animals."
"Fuck you."
"If I'm your type, then I'm sure I can fit you in somewhere." Kenny chuckled at the unintentional double entendre, trailing off when he realised Pip didn't even seem to have heard. Damn. Humour wasn't doing the trick.
Damien didn't bother trying to sugarcoat the situation. "Pip, I need to know what's going on. Right now."
"Say please."
Kenny snorted with surprised laughter and Damien blinked. "What?"
"You should always say please. It's good manners."
"Do you know who I – oh fine." Damien gritted his teeth. "Please."
Pip finally turned his head to look at Damien. "What would you like to know?"
"Uh..." Damien couldn't remember for a moment. Pip was acting calm and collected, but his eyes gave away what it really was – an act. Then he gathered his thoughts. If the kid wanted to pretend like this was just a minor issue, then it made Damien's life all that much easier. "Did you make a deal with it?"
"It offered. I declined."
"What? No one ever says no!"
"I did. That whole 'revenge on a world that treats you badly' thing just doesn't appeal. Sorry."
"Oh." Damien was thrown. Why the hell wouldn't Pip want revenge? Revenge was fun and he wouldn't even have had to take responsibility for his actions. It didn't make any sense.
Kenny took a noisy sip of his shake. "So, you remember everything?"
"Unfortunately." Pip's voice was quiet and grieved.
"So, you remember talking to me?"
Pip nodded.
"What happened before I got there? The news says someone bought it, but I don't know who."
"Asmodeus wanted money, it was anxious to get away from South Park before anything came to retrieve it. So it went to school. I think it was planning to do something to Token, get his money somehow... thank goodness he wasn't alone today. Then Mitchell Curtis shoved me into the bogs, he was annoyed about something and I suppose he wanted a fight." Pip closed his eyes and shuddered. "Asmodeus took his wallet. Afterwards. Then you came in while we were cleaning up."
"Mitchell Curtis?" Kenny considered this. "Damn, it's about time that guy got what was coming to him. It's not exactly a loss."
"Maybe not to you," said Pip. "I don't think his family will agree."
Damien scowled. "He's not important. Did it give you any indication where it would go next?"
"Not really." Pip mulled it over for a few moments. "It went through my memories, it seemed to be thinking about places at one point, but I haven't been any further than Denver since third grade."
"I don't suppose it'd make much of a difference now anyway," said Damien. "He can go through that asshole rednecks mind now and find some new place. Or just pick a direction and drive in it. Shit."
Turning away from the back-seat, Damien closed his eyes and concentrated. He could sense the demon distantly, coming from a north-east direction and getting steadily more distant. It was on the move and if it had been able to sense him at the station, would it be able to do so still? He didn't think so, probably he would have to be closer before it could, but then, he hadn't realised it would be able to sense him at all. And even if it could, it wasn't something he could do anything about. He was going to have to chase it anyway.
Looking over at Christophe, he noted that the driver had finished his meal. "Mole, you follow my directions. We have to catch up to it and I'm the only one of us who knows where it is."
"Oui, I can manage zat."
"And we'll stop at the next bus station and let Pip out."
Kenny gave him an incredulous look. "You're not serious."
"I am."
"You can't just let him go back!"
Damien looked puzzled. "It's not like we're in the middle of nowhere. And I said we'll take him to the station. Does he need money? I've got money."
Exasperated, Kenny shook his head. "You think you're being nice, don't you?"
"I just don't see what the problem is. He's of no further use to us."
"He's wanted for four counts of murder!"
Pip started shaking more violently and Kenny cursed inwardly, forcing himself to be more considerate. "If he goes back to South Park, he'll be arrested and put in jail and it wasn't even his fault. We can't do it Damien."
"They'll think I did it, won't they?" Pip looked fearful, as if the thought of jail had only just occurred to him. "I mean, I knew they'd think it was me, but – oh, I suppose I belong in prison. All those people –"
"Be quiet." Damien turned his attention back to Kenny. "Fine, he can come with us. But if he freaks out, I'll throw him out of the car while it's still moving. And I don't see what good it'll do him. He can't hide forever."
"I know some people," said Christophe. "We can get 'im false papers and zen 'e can hide forever."
Damien nodded thoughtfully. "That could work. Fine, we'll do that. After we get the demon."
"There you go Pip!" Kenny tried to sound cheerful. "We give you a makeover and a new name and you can live a free man!"
Pip looked bewildered by the whole idea. "But – running away? Surely I should turn myself in."
"No, you shouldn't." Damien frowned sternly. "You're too pretty to survive prison. Unless you really want to be some psychopaths bitch for the next twenty years."
Pip shook his head emphatically, blonde hair flying around his face. "No, I really, really wouldn't want that. But it doesn't seem right somehow."
"What's right got to do with anything?" Damien settled back in the seat. "Mole, head north-west. I'll let you know if anything changes."
Nodding, Christophe put the car in gear and started in that direction. Damien flipped down the sun visor, using the mirror there to keep an eye on what was going on in the back-seat. Kenny was starting on the doughnuts, occasionally pausing to devour the milkshakes. Pip had returned to staring out of the window, shoulders slumped.
Surreptitiously, Damien examined the British boy. He didn't understand why he hadn't taken the demons offer, even though it would have turned out to be a false promise. He certainly didn't understand why he wasn't more angry about the situation. Thanks to the demons actions, he was going to spend his whole life a wanted criminal with a false name – although thinking about it, Damien wasn't sure if that wouldn't be better for him. His previous life hadn't been exactly wonderful.
That was another thing; if the Mole was as good as his word, and Damien had no reason to believe he wasn't, then once the demon was contained, Pip would be out on his own. But the kid didn't seem exactly streetwise. Had it been Kenny or Christophe about to go on the run, Damien wouldn't doubt they could forge a new life for themselves. They were tough, they were devious, they could adapt. Pip however seemed far more fragile than either of them, not to mention far too honest for his own good. It seemed unlikely that he would be able to fade into a new life and never look back.
Although he had survived South Park for all this time, not just the weirdness of the town but being the target of every asshole having a bad day. And he was coping better with the aftermath of demonic possession better than most people would. Perhaps he was stronger than he appeared to be.
Still, he couldn't see Pip surviving out in the world alone, not unless things changed drastically. The guy was too damn nice for one thing. That had made him a target before, it would do so again. He needed to start standing up for himself or else he'd get eaten alive. What Pip needed, Damien decided, was to get good and mad. Stop taking abuse and find out just how good it was to be pissed off sometimes. How much better life was when one fought back.
He'd also need some other basic survival skills. He needed to learn to lie, that was a given. Otherwise, he'd be arrested the first time someone asked him what his name was. The excessive honesty would have to go. So would that burning desire to please, because helping others sure as shit wasn't going to help him any. He also seemed to have some foolish notion about not hurting people and that would be a bad thing if he were ever in a corner.
But the most important thing was fighting back. Anger had a way of sweeping aside all morals and the more it happened, the easier it became to set those morals aside permanently. And there were no room for such niceties in the real world.
Damien smirked, feeling rather pleased with himself. Wasn't it lucky for Pip that he'd have the Antichrist to teach him how to behave? The boy was mentally constipated and Damien was quite happy to supply an emotional laxative.
...And he wasn't entirely sure why he was thinking of ways to help Pip survive. Why would he care if Pip got ass-rammed and murdered as soon as he stepped out of the car? As long as it didn't get in the way of his own plans, it was unimportant what happened to anyone else.
Call it an opportune corruption he thought to himself, vaguely surprised to find the thought didn't make him any happier. Forcing Pip to take on some survival skills was one thing, but an all-out corruption of his soul seemed somehow – wrong?
Damien scowled. Since when was corruption wrong? It was the whole purpose of his existence!
Thinking it over, Damien decided he wouldn't have the time for a corruption anyway. The only thing he was here to do was send the demon back to Hell, then haul ass back after it. Yeah. That was the reason he didn't feel right about trying to bring Pip over to their side. He didn't have any plans to stop driving until they found the demon and that made it unlikely he'd even get the chance to try anything. It wasn't as if he could deliberately goad Pip into anger with Kenny butting in every time he spoke. The boy would just have to get by as best he could without Damien evoking his temper.
Damien stared at Pip through the mirror. The blonde hadn't moved, still watching the scenery unfolding. From the angle, Damien should have been able to see Pip's profile, but the contours of his face were mostly hidden behind a curtain of long blonde hair. He was skinny, dirty, blood stained. Damien had been right; he was too pretty to be ignored in the sexually frustrated atmosphere of a jail and seemed too delicate to be able to cope with being owned. In primitive societies, beautiful things were prized highly and although it was an odd way to describe a boy, Pip was certainly beautiful. And prison was primitive.
Pip turned his head and met Damien's eyes in the mirror. Damien shifted his gaze immediately, both embarrassed at being caught staring and angry at himself for being embarrassed. He didn't do embarrassed. It was too close to shame and feeling shame about ones actions was pointless.
Instead, he focused on the whereabouts of his quarry and frowned slightly. It seemed to him that the demon should have gotten further than it had done, but maybe it had stopped for some reason. Or changed hosts again, which would be bad news. Although he could see the demon for what it was, the others could not and should one of them take down the wrong person, it would give them more problems than were needed. Still, on the plus side, it was less distance to travel.
He informed Christophe of a slight change in their direction and went back to his own thoughts. Once the demon was dealt with, he decided, he would hang around long enough to ensure Pip was given a new identity without incident and then get home. His dad would probably be pissed about the delay, but he'd just have to deal. The job would be done, what was the big deal about making sure all the loose ends were tied up?
Glancing back at the mirror, he realised Pip's eyes were still upon him, although the boy hadn't noticed he too was being watched. His gaze was taking Damien in, examining what little view was afforded around the car seat and the expression on his face was one Damien had seen on others before; unmistakeable, subtle interest.
Damien's lip curled into a smile. Well. Wasn't this an interesting development? Although Kenny had scoffed at the thought of Pip having any kind of sexual desire, it seemed like he was sorely mistaken. Pip's face held definite curiosity as he scanned the back of the Antichrist's neck, his visible arm, the top of his leg. Of course, thought Damien smugly, he was only human and who wouldn't take the chance to ogle such a prime specimen?
His confidence suddenly nose-dived, a new and unwelcome sensation for Damien. Perhaps Pip was just curious about how much he had changed since elementary school, taking the rare opportunity of being near the Antichrist to make some observations. Or maybe he was looking for a good place to stick a knife. After all, he had been possessed by one demon, perhaps he thought it would be a better idea to dispatch all those he came across, including Damien.
Self-doubt was new and not something Damien had ever wanted to experience first hand.
Looking back in the mirror, he realised Pip's eyes had suddenly focused and widened, his expression changing to one of shock and self-recrimination. Obviously, he had remembered the situation and his thoughts had been derailed.
If only Damien knew what those thoughts had been.
Had there been more time, Damien might have considered finding out for himself what Pip had been thinking, if only to rid himself of the nagging voice that dared to contradict his initial assessment. But there wasn't, so Damien put it to the back of his mind and closed his eyes, finally managing to focus solely on tracking the demon. It really hadn't got as far as he would have thought; had he been in the same situation, he would have fled as far and as fast as he could.
No, he realised suddenly. He wouldn't have run. He would have tried to think his way out of the situation and find a way to escape when the time was right, laughing at those he had outwitted. He was just assuming that the demons fear of him would make it panic.
Sin of pride, said a sarcastic voice in his head. Even if the demon was afraid, and it would have to be mentally subnormal not to be, it didn't necessarily mean it would run. An animal in a corner would attack and there was every chance that the demon would do the same thing. Which meant that they could be about to run into a nasty surprise.
Damien wasn't too worried – he didn't think there was any way the demon could harm him, although his travelling companions were another matter – but he was beginning to wonder just how far the demon would go to avoid being returned to Hell. They were supposed to be keeping the affair quiet and the longer the demon was on the loose, the more havoc it could create and the more attention it would attract. He needed to end this, quickly.
"We're nearly there," he said suddenly, opening his eyes and glancing over at Christophe, who acknowledged this with a slight nod.
Kenny leaned between the seats. "What are we looking for?"
"If I knew that, it'd be easy," snapped Damien. "I'll know when I see it. It's close though... that way."
Kenny looked out of the window, checking out where they were. He hadn't noticed the name of the town as they entered, but it was another pissant Colorado town, probably not far from South Park, vaguely familiar. It seemed slightly more populated than his own home, more houses and shops, a few people walking around in spite of the late hour. Still, it was an odd choice for someone hoping to get lost in the crowd.
Christophe navigated the streets, trying to follow the instructions as closely as the roads would allow. It wasn't always easy – Damien would tell him to turn when doing so would lead them straight into a wall – but eventually Damien sat up straight in the seat. "We're here."
Kenny glanced around. "Where is it?"
"In there." Damien pointed to a building. "Come on, you two grab some guns and let's get moving. Pip, stay in the car."
Christophe stared at Damien in disbelief. "Are you insane?"
"What?"
"Can't you read?"
Kenny interrupted. "What he's trying to say is, that's a fucking cop shop!"
"Filled with 'eavily armed men who are not too bright," added Christophe. "We go in zere, zey will shoot us. Or arrest us, zere are more of zem and I am not being taken down by some fucking cop!"
Damien's eyes began to glow. "You're trying to tell me, it got itself police protection?"
Falling back into the seat, he thought it over. There was no way he could go barging into a police station and demand to be allowed to take down a demon – it was possible, but he was supposed to be doing this mission discretely and there was nothing sneaky about cutting a path of destruction through a police station. He had been right, the demon hadn't run – it had bought itself some time to work out what its next move should be.
And there was nothing Damien could do about it.
Clenching his fists, Damien snarled. Across the street, a decorative stone fountain that had been raining a delicate cascade of water suddenly started spewing flames, causing shrieks of alarm from the few bystanders, and from Pip. Damien took no notice at all, his fury over being cheated growing.
"Oooohhh FUCK!"
