I stood outside of Satan's room, swallowing a lump of fear that had coalesced in my throat. My hands were shaking slightly as I raised one to knock. I didn't know if Satan was still angry, and I did not want to get caught in the crossfire of his wrath. Still, I knew this was my only chance to actually get some answers, as well as get a genuine pact from Satan. Thus, I steeled my nerves and knocked.

"Satan?" I called out. "It's me. Can I come in?"

"Sure," Satan called from inside.

I opened the door, and my jaw dropped at the sight of his room. The only furniture I could see was a plush, red chair situated under a wrought iron overhang, and a simple bed with very minimalistic bedding tucked under a large, cathedral-like window. Everything else was just absolutely COVERED in books. Shelves lined every wall, filled to the brim with books of every shape and size. Towers filled the floor, with some small paths weaving in between them. Even the small, spiral staircase to the second story had stacks of books all over it. What really got my attention were the few books that were flying like birds around the room.

As I came out of my bibliophilic stupor, I managed to catch sight of Satan amidst the labyrinth of books. He had a few more suitcases out, and appeared to be in the middle of angrily stuffing them with his clothes. I approached cautiously, and he looked up long enough to acknowledge my presence.

"If you came here to try and stop me, you're wasting your time," he insisted, resuming his packing. "Although, none of my idiot brothers would send you here to stop me. They all think it's funny."

"I didn't come here to stop you," I insisted. "I just want to talk, if that's alright."

"If we're talking, we can discuss which of my books to take with me. There's so many of them that I couldn't possibly take them all."

"I'm surprised you could even read this many," I admitted, looking back around the room. "There's enough books in here to make the one in Beauty and the Beast look like an underfunded public library."

Satan paused his packing, cracking a smile as he looked back at me.

"So, you're interested in books?"

"Understatement," I answered. "My mom read to me from the womb, and ever since, I've been an avid reader. Heck, up in the human world, most parents bribe their kids with toys or money in exchange for good grades. My mom bribed me with trips to this massive, local bookstore."

"Is that so?" Satan mused, giving me a nod. "Maybe you're not so bad after all."

"Where did you even find all these?" I questioned.

"I've collected so many from various sources. I have many rare documents and one-of-a-kind books. Like that shelf there," he pointed to a massive shelving unit covered in leather bound tomes, "contains my collection of magic-based books. That one there," he gestured to a strange, diamond patterned shelf that had various, rolled up scrolls, "has all my ancient scrolls and manuscripts. Some are even rough drafts of various famous works that never made it to the publisher."

"Whoa..." I let out, then I spotted a very worn and frayed book sitting on a pedestal. "What about this one?"

I reached out to take a look at the cover, and Satan quickly caught my wrist.

"Whoa, be careful," he warned, gently releasing my wrist. "Actually, don't even touch it."

"What is it?" I questioned again. "Why can't I touch it?"

"Because if two or more people touch it, they'll switch bodies."

I stepped away from the book.

"Why would you keep such a dangerous book just out in the open? Heck, why would you keep it period?"

"Because books are knowledge, and all of the knowledge from these books, it's all inside me. Knowledge is power, Belle. People respect someone who's well informed." Satan's face seemed to fall a bit, and his eyes grew distant. "No matter the circumstances of your birth, if you're smart enough, then people can't dismiss you."

I nodded silently to that. Given everything I'd learned about Satan and how he came to be, his desperation for something to call his own made sense. He wanted to be seen as his own demon, and to not be seen as just a part of Lucifer.

"I take it from your look that my loose-lipped brothers told you about me..." he grumbled.

I nodded again.

"They explained everything, including the whole order you guys are in being a power level thing."

"It's that, as well as the order in which we were born in the Devildom. Our names were given by the Demon King, Diavolo's father. He gave us our names based on our power as demons, from most to least powerful. I was the last us to be born in this world, and the fourth most powerful… the fourth… I mean, I was born from Lucifer himself, right? Ugh… it irritates the hell out of me."

"So Levi wasn't exaggerating when he said you were upset about being fourth..." I muttered under my breath.

"What was that?"

"Nothing!"

Satan looked at me for a moment, then shook his head and turned back to his packing.

"Whatever, enough chit chat. I've said too much already. Besides, you clearly came in here for a reason. Let me guess, you want to make that pact that Lucifer so rudely interrupted."

"Actually..." I let out a breath, looking down and rubbing the back of my head. "I'm not here to make a pact."

Satan dropped the book he had in his hand, and it hit the ground with a heavy thud. He turned to me, eyes blazing with pure, unadulterated rage. He got up, and I instinctively stepped back in fear.

"What did you say?" he growled, continuing to force me back. "I told you I'd make a pact with you. You can't seriously be planning on rejecting me? You, a human… reject me?"

"It's not like that-" I tried, only to be cut off as I almost tripped over a stack of books.

"Don't… trifle with me, human. Don't you dare. Do you think I'm called the Avatar of Wrath for nothing? I usually work to contain my anger so it doesn't show, but I will make you suffer if you cross me, and it will be much more cruel and much less humane than anything my brothers would ever do. I'll slice off your nose and ears, rip off your arms and legs, and feed you to the lower level demons!"

I yelped as I finally hit a wall, Satan slamming his hands on either side of my head, boxing me in. Neither of us noticed the door opening.

"Listen well, human! If you dare say that you won't make a pact with me again, you'll pay for it with your-!"

Suddenly, a gloved hand came out of nowhere, grabbing Satan by the back of his shirt and pulling him off me. Satan stumbled back, and we both looked to see Lucifer glaring down at his brother with pure rage.

"That's enough Satan!"

"Lucifer..." Satan growled, fists clenching.

"Isabella is our guest, whom Diavolo invited as part of our exchange program. I won't permit you to lay a hand on her."

Satan snorted, adjusting his jacket before scoffing. "Oh, there you go again! Every time you open your mouth, it's 'Diavolo this, Diavolo that'... You're actually telling me that you'd actually step in to defend a human? For Diavolo? Well, I had no idea you were such a sweetheart!"

"Calm down, Satan," Lucifer warned, the quiet anger returning to his voice and making me shrink back behind the reading chair. "Don't give in to your rage, Satan."

Satan laughed, a bitter, cruel laugh, then jabbed a finger into Lucifer's chest.

"You're telling me not to give in to my rage?! YOU'RE really telling me that? YOU! Of all demons!"

"Uh, Satan..." I tried.

Satan whirled on me and I squeaked in fear, ducking behind the chair again as green power seemed to radiate off of the pissed off demon.

"Stay out of this, or I'll burn you to a crisp!"

The power he was giving off was beginning to affect the room. Books began flying off the shelves and off the piles, swirling around the room in a dangerous tornado of thick tomes. I covered my head as the books smacked the chair and the shelves behind me. Lucifer ducked and weaved around the books, only occasionally getting smacked.

"Didn't you hear me?" he questioned, catching one of the books just before it hit him in the face. "I told you to stop."

"Don't tell me what to do!" Satan snapped, launching himself forward to grab at the book. "And don't touch my books!"

I peeked out, gasping as I recognized the book Lucifer was holding.

"Wait!" I screamed, reaching out for them. "That's the book from the-!"

But it was too late. Satan grabbed the book, the very book that had been sitting on the pedestal I had almost touched. The one that switched the bodies of whomever touched it. Everything went white, and all the books that had been flying around suddenly dropped out of the air, clattering to the ground. Soon, I blinked spots out of my vision, and slowly came out from behind the chair.

"Lucifer?" I called out. "Satan?"

Both of them were on the ground, the enchanted book sitting on the ground in front of them. It looked even more worn out and tattered than before, the pages yellowed and the binding frayed. The two demons rubbed their eyes, looking around.

"What's going on?" Lucifer questioned, not sounding at all like his usual suave self. "That flash of light… what was it?"

Satan looked down at the book, and his eyes widened.

"No, it can't be!"

Lucifer looked up, gasping as his eyes landed on Satan.

"Wh-what's going on?! Why's there another me here?!"

"Oh no..." I let out, glancing over at Lucifer's body first. "You're Satan..." I then turned to Satan's body. "And you're Lucifer… you switched bodies."

"WHAT?!" Lucifer(Satan) exclaimed.

"The book I caught," Satan(Lucifer) explained, the calm demeanor on the wrathful demon's face looking so alien as he did. "The one you attempted to take from me… when we touched it, we switched, just as Isabella said."

"Oh boy..." I let out, rubbing my face. "How the hell are we going to explain this to the others?"

…

We gathered everyone in the music room, where I began explaining as best I could what had happened. Lucifer and Satan spent most of my explanation just looking at their borrowed bodies. When I was finished, Asmo was the first to interject, holding up his hands.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, hang on. Slow down for a second. You're telling me that Satan here is actually Lucifer on the inside, and Lucifer is Satan on the inside?"

"For real?" Beel questioned.

"No way!" Mammon exclaimed.

"Trust me, I couldn't make this up I tried," I answered. "They were fighting, there were books everywhere, they both touched a forbidden tome, then BAM!" I clapped my hands together before gesturing to the flip-flopped demons. "They're like this."

"Eh," Levi let out, shrugging.

"EH?!" Mammon shouted, looking at Levi like he's suddenly turned pink with purple polka-dots. "Whaddya mean EH?! This is a big deal!"

"I dunno," Levi replied, shrugging again. "The whole body switching thing is such an overused trope. I've seen it so many times in my manga and anime that it just seems… boring."

"Levi, this isn't an anime..." I groaned. "This is real life… somehow."

"I can't believe this is happening," Lucifer(Satan) groaned. "What am I going to tell Diavolo?"

Asmo covered his mouth, giggling before bending over slightly.

"Satan, were you doing an impression of Lucifer just now?!"

Mammon was just flat out laughing, getting an annoyed look from Lucifer(Satan).

"Mammon?!"

Rather than make Mammon scared like such a shout usually would, the greedy demon just laughed. After a bit, he was doubled over, tears in his eyes as he struggled to breathe. This made Lucifer(Satan) break character, cracking a smile as Satan(Lucifer) just glowered at the pair.

"Well, I'm glad you're enjoying yourself..."

Mammon stopped laughing, swallowing hard and wiping his eyes.

"Um… Sorry..." he let out.

"So Lucifer," Beel questioned, looking at Satan(Lucifer), "are you two going to go back to normal eventually?"

"Please say yes," I begged. "This is beyond confusing and I really want you two to go back to normal."

"According to the literature on this subject, the effect is supposed to last for several days," Lucifer(Satan) explained.

"Awww, lucky," Levi whined. "That means you two get to skip school and hang out in your rooms doing whatever you want until it's over… I'm so jealous."

"Oh no," Satan(Lucifer) shot down, much to everyone's shock. "We're going to school."

"What?" Lucifer(Satan) questioned, turning the demon currently inhabiting his body. "Are you insane?"

"Of course we're going to school," Satan(Lucifer) declared, crossing his arms and furrowing his brow. "What did you expect? If we stay home, Diavolo will probably start asking questions."

All of us hissed, knowing that he had a very good point.

"Right," I admitted. "He and Lucifer are all but glued at the hip, and if the two of you just up and vanish, or we try and make him think you're sick, he's gonna be worried and will be pushing to help. Hell, he may even come down here and try to make 'Lucifer' feel better."

"Right on the money, Belle," Levi declared.

Satan(Lucifer) sat down on a piano bench, rubbing his face. He looked incredibly exhausted, and just done with everything. Not that I blamed him in the slightest. This entire situation was insane, and just about anyone would be overwhelmed. Even the Avatar of Pride, Lucifer.

"I cannot allow Diavolo to learn that I have allowed a mistake of this magnitude to occur..."

Lucifer(Satan) growled in anger, throwing his hands in the air.

"So that's what this is really about. Saving face in front of Diavolo."

"It doesn't matter what this is about, Satan," Satan(Lucifer) argued, still sounding tired, but forcing a commanding tone into his voice. "Until we return to normal, we must remain with one another whenever possible. Have I made myself clear?"

"No way! Not going to happen. Hard pass, Lucifer!"

The long, exhausted sigh Satan(Lucifer) let out lasted for a good minute. When it ended, he stood up and faced his possessed body.

"Look, I'm not fond of the idea myself, but we don't have any other choice. I need to keep an eye on you to make sure you don't take advantage of your presence in my body. I won't let you go about causing trouble and ruining my standing in RAD, or with Diavolo. So protest all you like, but this is how it's going to be. You will be by my side at all times. Understood?"

"I said, no!" Lucifer(Satan) snapped. "So forget it, Lucifer!"

"In case you've forgotten, Satan, I looked like you as well..."

That just got a wordless growl out of Lucifer(Satan), but he silently acquiesced.

"Well, with that settled, we have another problem," I pointed out. "Sleeping arrangements. If you two are stuck together, then you'll have to sleep together."

"I am not sleeping in Lucifer's room!" Lucifer(Satan) exclaimed. "Stuck together or not, I utterly REFUSE!"

"Unfortunately, your room is completely full of books, and there's hardly any space for you to sleep, much less the two of us together," Satan(Lucifer) pointed out.

"If you feed me, you can use my room," Beel offered. "It has two beds, and plenty of room."

"And risk being eaten when you go wandering around at night and taking a bite out of us?" Lucifer(Satan) snorted. "No thank you."

"Well, I'm not letting you use my room," Levi declared, crossing his arms. "I've got too many priceless figurines and super-rare posters in there."

"Levi, after the fuss you kicked up about the retreat, no one will be taking your room," I told him, getting a sinking feeling in my stomach. "That, and you sleep in a frikken bathtub."

"Fine then," Mammon declared, grinning widely. "Guess I ain't got a choice. If you both pay me a proper sum for each and every night you spend, then you can stay in my-"

"Mammon, shut up," I commanded, happily noting how his mouth snapped shut and his words died in his throat. "Your room stinks of instant noodles and old pizza anyway. No one aside from you would ever want to sleep there."

"What about your room, Asmo?" Lucifer(Satan) requested.

"Pass," Asmo insisted. "I mean, we're talking about my castle, and every inch of it is dedicated to ensuring I always look beautiful. I'm afraid that's just the way it is."

I let out a groan that rivaled Satan(Lucifer)'s earlier one, running my fingers through my hair before leaning against the wall. With a great deal of reluctance, I held up a hand.

"Use mine… "

Mammon's eyes went wide and he began trying desperately to talk. He waved his arms in clear protest, but we all just ignored him. The two swapped demons exchanged looks, then nodded, seemingly pleased with the compromised. Silently, I kissed any chance of getting a restful night of sleep goodbye for the foreseeable future, then escorted my new roommates up to my room.

…

Sometime later, my room was full to the brim with demonic visitors. Both of the switched demons, as well as Asmo and Mammon. We were all sitting around my room, the air serious as Satan(Lucifer) addressed us all.

"Well then, I'm going to go ahead and call this meeting to order. We'll be discussing how things are going to work now that Satan and I have switched bodies."

"Um, wait a minute," Mammon requested, having regained his voice (reluctantly on my part), while raising his hand. "This is Satan talking, meaning it's Lucifer inside. So then… it's Lucifer speaking." He groaned, rubbing his face. "Man, this is complicated. And annoyin'."

"Couldn't have put it better myself," I commented, just physically and emotionally drained after the roller coaster that was today.

"I hate looking at Lucifer, and I hate listening to him speak..." Lucifer(Satan) growled. "But even when it's me I'm looking at, it still irritates me to hear him speak."

"Oh, but you're saying that it's a little better now that he looks different?" Asmo questioned, genuinely curious.

I flopped face first onto my bed, burying my face in my pillow and just groaning. Satan(Lucifer) seemed to share my annoyance, for he turned to Asmo and Mammon, giving them both exasperated looks.

"While Belle's presence makes sense, given that this is her room, what exactly are you two doing here?"

That seemed to catch Mammon offguard, the greedy demon tripping over his words as he struggled to form a sentence.

"Uh… well, ya see… the thing is, um..."

"'Why do you two get to be in this room, watchin; Belle change and sleep, even first thing in the mornin' when I don't?!'" Asmo quoted, doing a surprisingly good imitation of Mammon's voice with a shit eating grin on his face. "'It ain't fair. I'm jealous as hell, and I wanna be in on tis too, dammit!'" He dropped the voice and turned to Mammon, the smile never fading. "Is that what you're getting at?"

"Stop impersonating me!" Mammon shouted, turning red in the face. "Why is everyone doing that today?!"

"That explains Mammon," Satan(Lucifer) interjected, still sounding so unbearably tired, "but I've yet to hear a reason for your presence, Asmo."

"Me?" Asmo said, gesturing to himself demurely. "I'm only here because this looked like it could become interesting."

Satan(Lucifer) pinched the bridge of his nose and groaned.

"Fine, whatever. Let's just continue with our conversation." He cleared his throat and straightened up. "There are two fundamental rules that must be adhered to: First, neither of us is allowed to go into each other's room unless the other is present as well. Second, we are to avoid doing anything that might attract attention while at school."

"You would say that, Lucifer," Lucifer(Satan) sneered, a condescending grin on his stolen face. "All you ever care about is appearances."

A cold snarl overtook Satan(Lucifer)'s face.

"Did you say something?"

The grin fell as Lucifer(Satan) crossed his arms and pointedly looked away.

"No… So long story short, we avoid getting caught, and there'll be no problems, right?"

Satan(Lucifer) just silently growled, turning away as well. Asmo looked between the two demons, an excited gleam in his eyes. I curled up under my covers, just knowing something was about to explode.

"So, does that mean the meeting's over?" Asmo questioned, taking the silence he received as an affirmative. "Perfect! Lucifer, want to take a bath with me?"

Both of the flip flopped demons turned to Asmo, looking stunned and angry.

"Excuse me?" Satan(Lucifer) growled.

"Right, my bad," Asmo apologized, not sounding even slightly apologetic. "I meant Lucifer's body."

"Me?" Lucifer(Satan) questioned, more stunned then anything.

"Yep," Asmo giggled, sliding across the floor until he was leaning right up against Lucifer(Satan)'s arm, a pair of fingers teasingly walking up the trapped appendage. "I've always wanted to get a look at Lucifer au na-tu-rel. I mean, the real Lucifer in his own body is the ultimate dream, really. But even if it's only Satan in Lucifer's body, we could still-"

Before he could go anymore into detail, Satan(Lucifer) grabbed Asmo by his scarf and pulled him back, dislodging him from his possessed body. The look on his face was downright murderous.

"Absolutely not."

"What?" Asmo questioned, freeing his scarf before artfully arranging it once more. "Why not/ I mean, what's the harm? It's just your body! Ugh, you're so stingy..."

"Speaking of baths," Mammon piped up, "what are you supposed to do when ya have to go to the bathroom and st-"

"Maamoon!" Satan(Lucifer) growled.

"Oh boy, now you've done it, Mammon," I let out, rolling over and waiting for the inevitable. "There goes my bedroom… again."

However, nothing happened. While Mammon did initially flinch at Satan(Lucifer)'s tone, he stopped after a moment, looking confused. Satan(Lucifer) looked similarly confused, exchanging looks with his brother. After a few seconds, I rolled back over, now sharing in the encompassing confusion.

"Okay, what gives? Isn't this usually where someone would be cowering on the carpet?"

"I know, right?" Mammon agreed. "What's going on here? I know it's Lucifer in there, but now that he's in Satan's body, that totally doesn't have the same impact! I mean, it doesn't even hurt!" A mischievous grin began to form on his face. "In fact, I feel like I can even stand up to him right now!"

"Well, while he's stuck in Satan's body, you're technically stronger than him," I rationalized.

Dawning horror hit Satan(Lucifer) like a freight train as Mammon was practically glowing from happiness and excitement.

"I am, aren't I?! I outrank Lucifer while he's in Satan!"

"...unfortunately," Satan(Lucifer) let out, his face grim with the prospect.

Mammon started cackling, slapping his knee and utterly beaming with excitement.

"So, does this mean that the Great Mammon is the most powerful of all now?! That no one's left to stand in my way?!" He snorted, jumping to his feet and lording over Satan(Lucifer) cockily. "I ain't afraid o' no Lucifer!"

Asmo, who had been sitting there watching his second eldest brother's antics with mild amusement, gave the greedy demon a tug on his sleeve.

"Um, you do realize that it's only a matter of time before they return to their old bodies, right?"

"Exactly," I piped up, pointing right at Asmo. "And when they do, do you honestly think Lucifer will let what you just said slide?"

Never had I seen Mammon deflate as fast as he did in that moment. He let out a thready whimper, dropping back to the ground while shrinking into himself. Asmo shook his head, sighing.

"You really are a moron..."