Canis was walking up a winding flight of stairs. All of Hell just came undone and repaired itself in seemingly a breath. His eyes were narrowed and annoyed. He knew who had a hand in this, and he was about to have iron laced words with them. He came to an iron clad door, and as he approached he heard a small explosion (nothing out of the ordinary, but considering what just happened a week ago, he was still hesitant), along with a verbal explosion of frustrated cursing,

"CONFOUNDED MACHINE!"

Another explosion, and then a banging noise against metal sounded. "I'LL END YOU!" followed swiftly behind. Canis rolled his eyes, and banged on the door. He snarled through the reinforced entrance,

"MINOS! OPEN THE FUCKING DOOR!"

He heard something be flung against the door, and another shout.

"WHO THE BLOODY HELL IS IT?! GO AWAY!"

"Minos, that is no way to greet your old friend Canis!" Canis growled angrily.

The room went silent for about a tense minute. The minute was broken by an exasperated "GO AWAY!" once again. Growling in aggravation, Canis forced the door open while muttering,

"I don't get paid enough for dealing with these shenanigans! Oh wait, that's right! I DON'T!"

"I DON'T EITHER AND YOU DON'T SEE ME COMPLAINING! I have to build this confounded contraption!" the one called Minos yelled in the depths of the room.

The room was strange, and eclectic. It looked like the inner workings of a grandfather clock, coggs and springs littered about and filled the room. A dull thudding noise sounded in the air, and Canis rolled his eyes as he heard a frustrated yell of,

"NO! NO! WHY DID IT MAKE THAT NOISE!? WHY IS THERE SMOKE!? IT'S NOT SUPPOSED TO DO THAT, DAMN IT! CURSED MACHINE!"

And after another dull noise (Canis presumed he kicked it) the machine's antics stopped and resumed work. After rounding a corner, Canis saw his old (and often thought half baked friend) Minos. A humanoid figure tall and lanky, only his face carried the sign of his workings with machines. One quarter of his face had a metallic sheen, and his eye was a whirring and spinning of cogs. Canis rolled his eyes again, and asked with an aggravated tone,

"Are you quite finished?"

"What do you want, Canis?" Minos asked with equal aggravation. "Does Lord Lucifer want another DAMNED machine buit?!"

"Funny you should called it damned, Minos!" Canis chuckled.

"I KNOW WHAT I SAID, CANIS!" Minos yelled as he threw a wrench.

In exhaustion, Minos slumped. After gaining what little composure he had left (and Canis knew that was a frayed amount), Minos eyed his old friend with suspicion. He asked with a narrowed gaze,

"So, how fares the lower levels?"

"You didn't feel it?" Canis asked incredulously.

"Feel wha- Oh, that! Yes, yes I've seen it, and it's been taken care of!" Minos responded simply.

Canis' eyes widened with rage as he grabbed Minos by his robes, hefting him barely past the floor. He growled, very much like an angered pit bull,

"You knew! You knew and sat up here and did nothing!?"

"My dear boy! I am insulted! I sent that vessel down with the express intent to trap it!" Minos said with an eyeroll.

"You mean the Bible?! How did you, of all demons get your hands on a bible for this!?" Canis snarled.

"A bible? Whatever do you mean? I sent a female demon down with the sole intent to trap it! Didn't you notice the difference in her configuration!?" Minos inquired in disbelief.

Canis put two and two together and drew an aggravated four as he growled angrily at Mionos,

"So you created Ari for this!"

"Well more accurately her demonic body, but yes! That WAS my job, until this contraption forced me into undesired RETIREMENT!" Minos snarled.

Canis bared his fangs and sighed in aggravation as he dropped Minos. He turned away, trying to recollect himself before facing the now former architect of the damned. Looking back at Minos, he growled in simmering frustration,

"Was part of your little plan to have the Archangel Michael come down and take the Bible with him?!"

Minos looked confused.

"A Bible!? The entity of All Darkness trapped in a mere book!? How absurd! And I felt Michael was near, but I merely assumed he descended to see the commotion!" Minos exclaimed.

"If it weren't for Ari and the Archangel…..We all would've been doomed!" Canis almost roared in outrage.

"My dear boy, didn't the Darkness take over the host!? Had it done so, it would've triggered all of my precautions, and would've been trapped for all eternity!" Minos added with an eye roll.

"Your precautions?! The infernal pit of black nearly destroyed her!" Canis snarled again.

"Well yes! That was her purpose! Her death would've triggered them and would've trapped it within itself! Didn't it do that?!" Minos asked in shock.

Canis put a fist through a wall while regrabbing Minos and holding him to eye level, and he growled as he pulled the older demon before him. Minos reached out and with a slim and knobbed finger, he touched Canis' affronting arm, and it suddenly went limp. Minos snarled,

"Remember, I made that body. I know exactly how it works! If you continue to conduct yourself in such a manner, I will show you the other pieces!"

"Fine. I suppose you want to know every detail?" Canis said with a curling sigh.

Minor brightened and tapped the limp arm once again, restoring it to original. He said with an intrigued tone,

"How delightful."


Darling Ari…..

Ari's eyes creaked open as she looked around the room. She wasn't in the library anymore…She was in her hotel room. She looked around shocked. Wasn't…wasn't she fighting the worst thing in this realm?! Did she lose!? She felt hands on her shoulders, and Ari jumped up into what appeared to be the ceiling. She looked and saw a sight that made a brow quirk in total confusion.

Alastor was there, along with two other versions of himself. Ari's eyes widened in shock. She wondered if this was another trick, when Alastor's shadow caressed her hands and made her claws retract. She fell back onto the floor non gracefully. The three Radio Demons surrounded her and asked with quirky tones,

"Are you alright dear?"

It sounded like an echo. Ari blinked, and suddenly she was sitting across the table with a prim and tea sipping Husk while Charlie was sipping a bottle of cheap beer. Vaggie was cleaning like her life depended on it, while Niffty was sitting in the corner glaring at everyone. Now totally confused, Ari demanded,

"WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS?!"

They all looked at her as if she were touched by insanity. Alastor came back in holding a chihuahua with a tag that said Canis. Alastor held up the chihuahua, and asked with a happy tone,

"Isn't he adorable my dear?"

She fell backwards, only to see a white rabbit appear. That white rabbit had Angel's face. Ari muttered a "What the fuck!?" before said with a smirk,

"Time to wake up toots!"

And with a kick in the head, Ari jolted backwards.


"Snow white?! WAKE UP! Imma charge ya fo' this bullshit! I don't work cheap either!" Angel's voice came into sound.

A smacking noise was heard, along with a flustered "Aye! I'm tryna-" and a demonic growl that radiated a deathly promise rumbled, "Leave her be, Angel…" Ari recognized that tone to be Alastor's. She weakly opened her eyes with a confused demand,

"What the fuck was that about!?"

She weakly sat up, to hear Alastor gasp and help her sit up easier. Angel looked huffy yet again. He sat down in the chair next to her, and groused, "You owe me for waking you up again, toots!" Alastor rolled his eyes at Angel and growled at Angel,

"Go let Lucifer know she is awake…."

Angel growled, and stood up while muttering a whatever as he stalked downstairs. Alastor chuckled as he looked Ari in the eyes with a slight tenderness. Ari almost flushed and pinched herself. Right on the spot she had clawed during her fight with the Darkness. She yelped as she flinched, and Alastor asked with a tutting tone,

"Why would you be that foolish?"

"If you had the same nightmare I did, you would've done the same shit!" Ari groused.

Alastor chuckled. He knew the nature of Ari's nightmare, but wouldn't say a word on it. Meanwhile Angel had barely gone into the foyer to let Lucifer know, when Canis and Minos were standing near Lucifer. Minos had explained everything to the King of Hell, who looked perturbed. Angel was just walking into him snarling,

"And you risked the safety of my realm on a half assed gamble!?"

"I prefer to think that as a calculated risk." Minos responded simply.

"Yo, foist of all, who tha hell is gearhead ova' there!? Secondly, she 's awake! Figured all ya wanted to know sleepin' beauty is up!" Angel snarked.

Before he could even add his next two cents, Minos beelined for the stairs. Lucifer sighed, and Canis rolled his eyes. Angel was confused, but just huffed and went to the bar, where a pensive Husk was sitting and drowning his hesitancy in beer. Angel cocked a brow, and asked Husk,

"What's with you, Cat man?"

"Shut the fuck up!" Husk snarled.


Ari was barely trying to stand against Alastor's advice . She was gripping the bed posts when the door was kicked open. Alastor's eyes went to dials, and as he went to stand between what was between Ari and the door, an aggravated voice snapped out,

"Yes, yes you're scary and all that! Now let me through!"

Alastor flickered back in confusion. He still stood there, his confusion radiating off him like a beacon. The source of the voice pushed past Alastor, who was clearly surprised and offended at this demon's abrasive nature. He looked on as Minos approached Ari, and began inspecting her. Ari froze in shock. As he did so, he took measurements and began scribbling as fast as he could. His inspection went to her eyes, where even Alastor's red gaze followed to see a difference. Minos noted,

"Hmm, one eye silver and black, the other red and black….Interesting! Markings," He began to lightly inspect her skin, and Ari went to pull away when he was already done. "No markings, other than the Grimm's cross! Well, then! Mathias get out and tell me what happened! I placed you in there! Stop hiding from me!"

Alastor went defensive again until he noticed Ari's change. A soft and subtle shift later, and Ari's eyes went back to silver as the Grimm came forward. Alastor backed away as he noticed the wolf come out. Even though he was frightened, he was clearly intrigued. The Grimm sighed, and apparently alerting on its name, growled out as it barely stood up to Minos,

"I'm here….What happened?"

"Issue your report! It was your job to watch the reliquary!"

Alastor tensed at the phrasing. Out of character, he demanded heatedly,

"You mean to tell me that Ari was meant to contain that!?"

"Precisely! Quiet now, adults are talking!" Minos lectured.

Alastor became offended. Mathias reverted Ari to a werewolf like form. Alastor's attention went back to the Grimm. He guessed Canis was right. If Ari was in her power when they first met, she would've given him a run for his money. Mathias went to explain about the Darkness, when Minos interjected,

"Yes, yes! I've been informed! Tell me about the reliquary! Is she stable?!"

"Miraculously so. Even her mind is recovering well. That abyss did everything to keep her in its control, but somehow she trumped it…." Mathias growled in response.

"Very good, very good! Transformation between you and her is seamless! And to her trumping an entity that old? Rather impressive! Very well! You may go back, and continue her repairs!" Minos tutted.

Mathias nodded, and the Grimm reverted back to Ari. She weakly gripped the bed posts again, only to have Minos lift her off the ground with a joyous cry. He exclaimed while spinning them,

"Dear girl, you performed better than I could have calculated!"

"Put me down, I'm gonna puke!" Ari exclaimed while turning green.

Minos laughed with a "Very well!" and put Ari down, just in time for her to grab her bucket and puke up an inky black substance. Alastor stood behind her holding her hair away from her face. He growled with some concern,

"She's been vomiting that for almost a week…"

"Well she was host to the primordial Darkness! What did you expect!?" Minos asked with an eyeroll.

Suddenly, Lucifer, Canis and Charlie came in. Charlie was tear ridden as she hugged Ari in a tight, vicegrip hug. Ari flinched, and Charlie bawled out,

"I thought you were going to die!"

"Charlie, too tight!" Ari gasped.

Lucifer chuckled and Charlie lightly released the confused Ari and she bowed out of the room. As Lucifer explained, much to Ari's shock, she was unconscious for a week, and the whole Hotel was dreading the worst. Ari was stunned. She….she almost died? Again? She went to speak, when she retched and grabbed the bucket. Minos crooned,

"Well, better out than in!" As Ari returned to a normal pale color, Minos smiled.

Husk came in much to everyone's shock. He poured a shot of bourbon, and handed it to Ari. She looked at it, and without even asking, she downed the shot. Turning greener, and purging again, Husk chuckled and put the bourbon and shot glass on her nightstand. He said with an amused smirk,

"Take a shot every hour. You'll be hating my ass, but whatever the flying fuck that shit is, it'll be gone by morning! And when you wake up, I got a job offer for ya! That is, if you don't hate me after this crap!"

Everyone watched as the cat demon walked out of the room. Canis looked to Alastor, who looked exhausted, but went to sit back in the chair next to Ari. Raising a brow, and with Lucifer chuckling, Canis said firmly to the Radio Demon,

"You haven't slept."

"Is it that obvious?" Alastor asked with a tired smirk.

Canis rolled his eyes. Minos looked at Alastor's tired face. He could sense the Deer Demon's exhaustion, and Ari herself before sitting down on the mattress, went to ask him to try to sleep. Alastor brushed off her concern, and said swiftly,

"My dear, I'm fine!"

"Awww, how cute!" Minos crooned.

Lucifer and Canis, knowing where this was going, snickered and tried to tell Alastor he needed to rest. Alastor protested in various ways, until the last poke from Lucifer made him snap,

"I don't need to sleep! Ari needs a guard! Now Canis did you or did you not tell me to watch her!?"

"If memory serves me correctly, you volunteered, Alastor." Canis retorted with a smirk.

Alastor went to snarl something back, when Minos said something to get his attention. When Alastor turned to him, Minos just touched his forehead, and Alastor slumped to the floor asleep. Ari hesitantly looked as Canis picked up the sleeping deer demon, and she asked hesitantly,

"What did you do…?"

"Basic and simple manipulation of energies, my dear! Comes quite easily when you've designed most of the bodies of the damned! Just like this!" He said brightly as he touched Ari's forehead.

Ari slumped to her bed and passed out. Canis rolled his eyes as he slung Alastor over his shoulder, all while muttering Minos and his "damned pressure points". Lucifer laughed lightly, until he looked at Minos, and said with an amused growl,

"You and I have much to discuss about this fiasco, Minos."

"And I have much to discuss with you about that confounded machine!" Minos retorted as they headed downstairs.