The darkness around Aria was more than just a physical, crushing force. The darkness felt like poisonous evil crowding into her mind, struggling to consume her thoughts as the feeling of chaos tried to take control of her! It was unlike any force she'd ever encountered as it felt like every misery, pain, chaotic moment, and hopeless endeavor sought to crush her very being!
She cried out in agony as it seared at her mentally, physically, and emotionally! She felt the darkness start to smother her as she struggled desperately to get out! Crying out, trying to find the strength to get herself free, Aria tried to push back like she'd done earlier when Alastor first tried to pry at her will!
A light began to pierce the darkness! She felt the force of all she loved, all the good inside her, and all the right choices and promises she'd made to God and herself start to manifest in her heart and mind, helping her to push back the darkness! The light came from her heart as it struggled to push the tentacle off of her!
The force of the darkness doubled down, the searing cold, cruel grasp of it making it hard to breath as her little light began to dwindle. Aria gasped, her lungs feeling like they were on fire as the coldness sought to drain her of her ability to care! The numbness threatened to take over as she became sorely tempted to let it as thoughts that weren't her own started to seep from the vile evil surrounding her.
Was it worth all this pain? Was being true to herself really a smart thing to do? Wouldn't it be better to give up and give into the darkness? Surely no one would blame her for making things easier on herself for giving up, right? It would be so much easier to let it all just sink into oblivion.
Aria's light barely held as Aria grit her teeth, the light of who she was and what she believed in sparking across her chest as she fought for her very self! She mentally forced good thoughts into her mind as she thought about her three year old son and her beloved husband, the warmth of holding them in her arms. She thought of how important it was to stay worthy so she could go back to Heaven. She thought about her mission, her promises, the day she died and all she'd fought for until this very moment!
Her light grew a little brighter as she felt the Holy Ghost give her a sense of encouragement, but the darkness sought to break her mind as its evil switched tactics and sought to break her morale first. Every embarrassment, every mistake, every stupid thing she'd ever done was thrown at her from the darkness! It conjured things she'd forgotten, the shame of it almost breaking her as tears ran down her cheeks!
She mentally twisted the pornographic images the darkness made her remember to the sexual adventures she'd had with her husband. The embarrassments of her childhood and the pain of rejection throughout her life was countered by the memories of friends and family who stood by her side despite that she wasn't perfect. The stupid, idiotic things she struggled to forgive herself for almost got her, though, as she found herself grasping at her strengths and finding it lacking as the darkness pushed harder to take away her self-worth!
"What a performance, my dear! You've lasted much longer than I expected!" Alastor called out to her cheerily beyond the darkness, the radio static much more pronounced as a disembodied audience offered encouraging applause. "Perhaps it's time I offer you a deal!"
"Oh, you've got to be kidding me!" Aria shouted, her forehead slick with perspiration as she desperately tried to concentrate on not being crushed by the forces of evil while trying to have a stupid conversation with a frustratingly evil Radio Demon! "You did this just so you could corner me into a deal!? Are you insane!?"
"Of course not, my dear! I'm simply giving you a sporting chance!" Alastor announced, the riveting energy in his voice making her think she was being hosted on a game show, making her grit her teeth in anger. "One time when I ran into an angel and offered him a deal under normal circumstances, it ended up being so frightfully boring that I'd been forced to let him go! He didn't last for very long, I'm afraid! A big disappointment, really. I've since learned that exercising a good amount of excessive force does wonders to bring more difficult clients into a more agreeable state of mind!"
"Argh!" Aria cried out, the dark forces pressing in on her tripling their efforts as the disappointments she'd given herself, all the missed opportunities she'd robbed herself, and every evil thing she'd ever thought about herself slammed into her like the compounding force of a thousand broken dreams!
"It isn't too late, my dear!" Alastor offered to her beyond the darkness, the tone of his voice making her think he was having the time of his afterlife as she struggled to remember the times she'd stood up for herself or did something to save herself! "I suspect you have very few allies here in Hell and who better to help you than myself? I can be a very powerful ally, as you can plainly see. I know my way around Hell like the back of my meticulously gloved hand! Why, I can even offer you my word that I won't kill you after the deal is made, if that's a pressing concern upon your mind! Although, really, you do look like something is weighing on you, my dear."
"Why in the world would I want your help!?" Aria cried out, the thought of working with this pompous, manipulative, well dressed, chaotic force of darkness didn't even make sense as she struggled under the weight of her own judgments about herself! "You've manipulated me! You have no regard for the feelings or personal space of others! On top of all that, you attacked me not once, but twice here in the library! Why in the world would I trust you!?"
"Do you really have a choice in the matter?" Alastor asked smugly, his point hurting her even more as the pressure on her grew as her concentration on the conversation began to flag!
"What...I want to know...is why...you'd even offer!" Aria barely managed to gasp out, the pressure building from the powers of darkness as she grit her teeth, trying to bear it!
"Why, for entertainment for myself, of course!" Alastor replied freely, the lack of concern in his voice really grating on Aria's nerves! "I want to watch you struggle to accomplish your laughable mission to save sinners here in Hell, only to watch you fall from the grace of God and become a fallen angel, lost, and torn asunder by the very people you hope to better!"
"...You know...you really...need a better hobby," Aria answered breathlessly, the wrongness of that comment making her struggle to even fathom what could possibly twist a soul to enjoy that kind of level of pure malice!
The force of her own worst judgements of herself began to overcome her endurance as the forces of darkness increased their grip ten fold! Her pitiful light barely shone against her chest, now, her worries, doubts, and fears almost crushing her like so many other times on Earth. The evil things she'd done to herself on Earth were forced into remembrance by the evil, arcane, black tentacle pressing hard against her mind and body, chipping away at her as she struggled to find something positive to latch onto! Why had she thought she could do this? How had she been so rash to think she could save Hell, when she couldn't even best one demon who wasn't even one of the Three Vs!?
She was barely keeping the noxious, black tentacle of evil from crushing her! With what she could measure of her own strength, it was only a matter of time before her endurance eventually buckled under the pressure. Even she had never escaped the darkness of her worst fears without help on Earth and now, more than ever, all she wanted was hope that she could escape this trap! For it all to just end now, barely after she'd just begun, was so pitiful and painful to consider that Aria could barely breathe from the insanity of it!
In that moment, realizing she stood at the very edge of the abyss as despair threatened to grasp her in its awful chains, a thought struck her like the tiniest spark of light in the darkness! Jesus had told her He would make a way for her, if she wasn't of little faith. The scripture she'd read came to her mind like a warm petal of light floating on a turbulent sea, a sea He surely could calm just like he'd done in Galilee all those years ago! Where was her faith, she asked herself? What was it about Alastor and her situation that tempted her to give up and give in? As the sea of turmoil raged in her heart, that petal of light grew larger as she grabbed hold of it! Why was she full of so much fear?
It was the knowledge of her shortcomings that was eroding her will to fight! What gave her the right to stand and fight? Why had Jesus Christ, the Savior of the World, think she was worthy to stand with Him as a savior herself? How could she feel she was worthy of anything she'd been given, when she'd made so many mistakes already!?
Then, a still, small voice that she almost didn't catch spoke to her heart, piercing her to the very center of her soul. She was given this task by the Savior Himself because she had already proven herself. Her final moments in death and the selfless sacrifice she'd already given once before had prepared her for this mission. Her literal heritage as a daughter of God and the knowledge that God loved her and hadn't made a mistake in choosing her helped ground her mind and heart as she remembered God couldn't lie. God had created her to become something more...much, much more than what she'd believed she deserved! She wasn't worthless! She deserved to stand with God and complete this mission He'd given! She had the right to stand by Him!
The Holy Ghost, with his still, small voice, finally broke through the darkness in her heart and brought her back from the edge of the abyss! The fear that had debilitated her just a moment ago began to ebb away as he helped her remember who she was. She was worthy of her task because God said she was! Being filled with a sense of wonder, Aria finally began to relax. She couldn't save herself from Alastor, but she knew someone who could!
The moment she stopped trying to free herself by herself and instead began to ease herself into the waiting embrace of Jesus Christ and His powers as the Savior of the World, something remarkable happened! The darkness that had moments before been crushing her almost to the point of despair now rested several spaces away from her, leaving her in a very wide pocket of light! The sight and feeling of it was beyond her ability to express as she felt the peace of God rest upon her, unable to understand it fully, yet she had no desire to let it go.
"You're awfully quiet, my dear!" Alastor piped up from beyond the darkness, the relaxed amusement in his voice as strong as ever as a tick tock sound came from out of nowhere. "My offer still stands, should you reconsider! The pressure must be getting quite intense by now! I must say, you're quite the swell, little angel to have lasted this long! You've almost passed the mark the last angel I tried this on endured! Bravo!"
Aria heard a round of applause from an unseen audience as Aria tried to figure out what to do next. She already knew she was way out of her league in dealing with Alastor alone. Without the Holy Ghost and the power of Jesus Christ as the Savior of the World, she would've ended up consumed by the darkness by now. Or worse, she might've ended up the willing servant of that no good, diabolical Radio Demon!
Nope! She was done making decisions alone. Praying in her heart to know what to do about Alastor, Aria asked the Lord what it was He wanted her to do. At first, there was only silence as Aria thought about some scenarios that popped into her head. There was the fun idea of her bursting out of the tentacle, its flesh torn to pieces as she punched Alastor in the nose! When she asked the Lord if that was what He wanted her to do, though, He gently told her no. Asking, again, what He wanted her to do, there wasn't an immediate answer as her mind wandered to the amusing idea of her sending the tentacle back from whence it came and locking up Alastor in celestial chains to pay for his crimes in attacking an angel of God! When she asked the Lord if that was what He wanted her to do, He, again, declined the idea.
After asking the Lord several times what He wanted her to do and struggling to not offer up any more scenarios as she tried to keep her mind free of distractions, a thought finally came to her that struck a chord of dread in her! The thought that came to her was so crazy, so backwards, and so frustratingly illogical that Aria cringed at it when she also felt every fiber of her being confirm that the idea wasn't her own, but from God Himself! God didn't want Alastor to become her enemy or her prisoner. To Aria's disbelief, God wanted her to agree on a deal with The Radio Demon and make him her ally, the very thing Alastor had been trying to do this whole time!
"What!?" Aria cried out in dismay, covering her mouth in a panic as she realized she'd said it out loud!
"What's that, my dear?" Alastor called out to her, his voice sounding positively delighted like he expected something like this, as though he were waiting with anticipation for her to eventually give in. "Care to finally speak your mind and accept my most generous offer?"
"Uh...hold on a second!" Aria called out, the sudden twist in all of this making Aria feel completely unprepared and perplexed as she suddenly felt drained, making her wonder if just going to bed in the giant tentacle was an option.
"My apologies, my dear, but I'm afraid you've run out of time!" Alastor reprimanded her lightly with that relentless smile in his voice as she heard the tick tock sound, again, only this time, it sounded far more sinister and out of tune in Alastor's radio-static background noise. "It's time to liven things up! By my calculations, if you don't give me an answer within the next sixty seconds, the powers surrounding you will increase their grip, again, most likely forcing you into a state of unconsciousness! I'm sure you can understand how easy it is to make a decision for a person no longer able to resist."
"Why you-!" Aria managed to blurt out before she felt the Holy Ghost remind her that now was not the time to delay her decision.
This was it. This was where she had to choose. She could go her own way, which had done so well for her! She went through the list of decisions she'd made within seconds in her mind. She mentally noted how she got found out by a demon that she was an angel, how she got caught by a giant, evil tentacle because she hadn't kept her spiritual guard up, and she'd almost gotten her soul crushed by the powers of darkness because she'd tried to do it all by herself!
Then...there was the Lord's way. It made no sense, it terrified her out of her wits, and she had no idea how to even word a deal that wouldn't just blow up in her face! Either the Lord knew a lot more than He was letting on, or everything she believed was a lie.
Aria sighed tiredly, her body suddenly aching all over from the drama that had played out in this one, agonizing evening. Had it really only been a few hours ago that she'd been standing with Jesus Christ back in Heaven? It felt like a lifetime ago as she realized she hadn't even been in Hell a day and all of this had already happened to her!
Thinking about it, though, and all she'd faced until this very moment, what choice did she really have?
Feeling very humbled, Aria sighed as she gently asked the Lord if He'd give her the words she needed to say. Feeling a comforting yes from Him, she ended her prayer in the name of Jesus Christ, and took a deep breath. Keeping her mind on the Lord, what He wanted her to do, and all she believed in, she tried to calm herself as she opened her soul to God as she felt overwhelmed by how vulnerable she felt for what she was about to do. She had made her choice. She'd do it God's way.
"Okay, Alastor," Aria called out tiredly, the exhaustion genuine as she felt the Holy Ghost ease the space around her to a few feet as the darkness drew close, but didn't smother her. "I'm ready to negotiate terms."
"Ahahaha! That's quite the clever joke, Miss Aria! I thought you just said you were ready to negotiate terms!" Alastor chuckled as though Aria were a little child that had said something laughably foolish as the unseen audience laughed with The Radio Demon. "If my memory serves me correctly, I'm the one holding all the cards in this game. What makes you think you have any clout left, hmm?"
"This is my offer," Aria pushed on, her tone tired, but neutral as she carefully listened and felt for the Holy Ghost as the words she needed to say began to flow more easily. "You will give me your word that you will become my ally in my mission given to me by Jesus Christ Himself. You will be my guide and my counselor on the matters of Hell and its intricacies, politics, and those who run this realm. You will aid me if I am in danger, if I am in violation of some unspoken rule, or I'm teetering dangerously close to an unknown source of corruption. In return, when I give you my final order, which will end our contract when carried out, you...you will be allowed to e-erase me from existence!"
Aria waited, her entire being overwhelmed at the audacity of her words, and yet the Lord had guided her in every word she'd spoken! The insanity of it wasn't lost on her and, frankly, she'd never have done it if she didn't trust that God would make a way for her. She had no other options as she just hoped God knew what He was doing as she fought the urge to panic as she waited for Alastor's response.
The silence only lasted for a few moments before she heard the telltale sound of snapping fingers as the darkness around her parted around her. The sight of the library was a welcome relief as Aria's feet finally touched back onto the maroon carpeting. Watching as the black tentacle finally let her go and disappeared back into the red portal from whence it came, Aria found herself face to face with Alastor, his smile positively beaming with devilish delight!
"So, it's a deal, then?" He asked her eagerly as he deftly twirled his radio staff from his right hand to his left as a wave of unnerving, green energy suddenly burst forth in front of him!
A strong wind whipped back Aria's brown hair for a moment, before the air settled around both of them as the eerie, green glow centered around Alastor's black and red gloved hand. Aria looked at Alastor and his sharp, toothy smile, the unsettling, green glow bathing his body, face, and eyes. The eager clicking of his clawed, outstretched hand echoed in her ears, and she felt herself suddenly shiver.
The wind fanning off the green power emanating from his hand kept toppling over books from their shelves and scattered papers everywhere around the library as the candlelight on the chandelier went out from the whirlwind! Now seeing nothing but green from the light glowing from Alastor's hand, the unnatural, green energy from his hand left the air feeling incredibly haunted as she realized this act of accepting his hand would literally seal her doom! She really, really, really hoped God knew what he was doing as Aria steeled herself, took a deep breath, and grasped his green glowing hand in hers!
The green aura engulfed Aria, the whirling vortex spinning around her! Suddenly, Aria felt Alastor's grip tighten as his nails dug into her hand so hard, he literally drew blood! She cried out in pain as she reflexively tried to pull away, but Alastor's hand was like a vice! Aria looked at Alastor in shock, wondering if he was taking advantage of her! She really wished she hadn't as the look in Alastor's eyes was so hungry that she wondered with sudden horror if he was about to devour her as his smile grew devilishly full once more!
"By your own blood, you will seal this deal!" Alastor declared with sinister glee as he momentarily let her go, his right hand smeared with her blood as Aria stared at her bloody hand before staring at Alastor in shock!
Never looking away from her, Alastor brought his right hand to his mouth between the thumb and index finger, licking the blood off his hand, and then he bit down hard! Blood immediately oozed over his hand as he let go, his yellow teeth and chin dripping with his own blood! Aria stared in horrified fascination, unable to look away as his tongue flicked at the blood hungrily from off his chin, smiling wickedly!
"I receive your blood and accept this deal!" Alastor declared, his sinister tone growing darker still as red voodoo runes appeared, circling them both as he moved towards her!
Aria backed away, throwing her hands out as Alastor merely caught her right hand in his, their blood mingling as his left hand grasped her chin to make sure she couldn't look away! Alastor kept her in place as the eerie, green glow intensified around them, the wind rising in Aria's ears!
"You will receive my blood, accepting me as your ally!" Alastor declared, his sinister grin growing in devilish delight as he pinned her against a bookshelf as he let go of her right hand and started to move his wounded hand over her mouth!
Aria screamed, attempting to push him away and close her eyes! To her horror, the force of the green aura froze her entire body in place! She couldn't close her eyes or mouth as Alastor's bloody hand gripped her mouth firmly!
Aria was about to activate any of her angelic powers to free herself when the Holy Ghost strongly forbid her to move! Within the few seconds it took for Alastor's blood to slowly drip from his wounded hand, the Holy Ghost reminding her of what she'd chosen and that it was imperative she go through with this! Aria was absolutely terrified as she wondered how any of this could help her as she fought to keep the blood out of her mouth! The Holy Ghost insisted that she would be alright and that promise from Jesus Christ repeated in her mind with a warmth and strength so strong that it finally gave her pause.
With tears running down her cheeks as she stiffened against Alastor's grip, she stared at the terrifying face of The Radio Demon, shivered, and nodded. Forcing herself not to be sick, she let Alastor's blood drip freely into her mouth, the taste of pennies and something more bitter dripping over her tongue! She barely managed to swallow, the gag reflex almost overpowering her as she coughed and sputtered afterwards as Alastor finally let her go.
"Together, we swear by blood to honor the deal we've made in blood!" Alastor declared in that menacing, triumphant radio voice, his eyes turning into horrible, black pits with pinprick eyes as he grabbed her wounded hand to grip his radio staff in his own bloodied hand, its mic glowing deep red as its light mixed together with the green vortex and red voodoo runes! "Only by blood can it be undone!"
The roar of the wind grew in volume as both of them were surrounded by eerie, green and red light, the voodoo runes swirling in intensity before it all vanished into them as though it'd never been. All that remained was Alastor's eyes and smile glowing wickedly red in the dark library and the cursed, red light of Hell's moon that left everything bathed in the color of blood.