Author's note:
Hope you are all keeping safe, these are trying times, but I hope this fanfic gives you at least an ounce of pleasure, or simply something to do to pass the time.
The last chapter turned out better than I had hoped, it was difficult to write about the concept of respawning.
To answer your question
Adjustedreality, which I think was on everyone's mind; yes it is time travel. Just like in a video game, when you die, you are sent back to the last checkpoint. However, each timeline in which the Helltaker died was a potential reality (if he lived), but he was simply reset backwards a minute each time.
Bruh, 40 chapters deep and we are still going? Get out of here.
I got alot of work done watching the entirety of the Unus Annus livestream ;( Memento Mori.
Dude, dissertations suck. I haven't touched this story for days at a time.
Chapter 40: Charade of Innocence
"Who broke the fucki-" no, he had just been through Hell and back again, not literally this time. Besides there were more pressing issues than a broken door right now. The man gently closed the white door hoping not to cause any more damage to it, the frame had almost come off it's hinges, he could feel a strong draft coming through it already.
He sighed, I'll have to fix that when I get some free time he thought. When did he ever get free time away from his demons anymore...
When the Helltaker finally turned around he was met with a confusing sight; a trio of demons was surrounding him, all of them gathered around the human looking like worried puppies, but it wasn't Cerberus.
"What on earth happened out there? Is that blo- IS THAT YOUR BLOOD?!" Lucifer wiped a smear of semi-solid red blood off of his right arm, the act making him wince due to the previous hairline fracture he had received, being roughed around by Behemoth had not made it any better.
"I'm sorry!" she retracted her hand from his arm, worried that her very presence burned him. The devil received looks of disapproval from the other two, she gazed down at the floor temporarily.
"My dear, what did they do to you?" Beelzebub's gloved hand now went up to caress his cheek, but before she touched him, she noticed a small dribble of blood coming from his black hair. She retrieved her beautiful white handkerchief from inside her blazer's pocket and proceeded to dab at it slowly with care.
"Did Behemoth do this?!" the older demon not letting the man speak a word, not on purpose. "I'll gut that fucking brute" she hissed. The man again opened his mouth to speak, but the words were stolen from him by Justice.
"Stop pampering him Beel, he doesn't need that shit, he has had a rough day", Beelzebub now took a step back. "Dude hasn't said a word yet, he must be exhausted" the blind demon coming in for a hug. She wrapped her arms around his lower torso which was at her level, her forehead pressing against his chest. He wrapped his arms around her, leaning down slightly, he missed the feeling of breasts pressing against him.
He closed his eyes as they hugged, Justice taking away the pain, the stinging potent memory and the trauma induced by the resets. She let lose a sigh of relief, nuzzling further into his embrace. Man he missed these hugs.
When she finally withdrew from the embrace, the demon looked directly into his eyes, the sunglasses hiding her pale gaze. However, she still had her hands around his hips, not completely ending the embrace.
"You okay my dude? You're tense and your heart's going slower than Zdrada on her last cigarette" she put a gloved hand against his chest, feeling the man's abnormally relaxed heartbeat. "Are you the one who is dead inside?" she smirked.
He smirked back in response and tried to speak, but yet again, Lucifer was the one to steal the spotlight before he could reply.
"Justice let the man breathe, he has had a stressful day, you're probably starving aren't you honey?" Lucifer trying her best to remain relevant in this battle for his attention. She was blushing immensely.
"Honey?" Beelzebub scoffed, laughing at her rival. The Queen crossing her arms as she mocked the other Monarch.
"Course he is fucking hungry Lucy, I bet he hasn't eaten all day" Justice also added. The blind demon turning to face where the devil's voice was emanating from.
"At least I'm-" Lucifer began to say, but he was done with their bickering...
"ENOUGH!" he was sick of the demons practically fighting over him, especially now during the current crisis that he and Malina were in. He put his hands on Justice's waist and lifted her up, the Awesome Demon expecting a giant bear hug but not receiving one. The man moving her and placing the woman down where he was previously standing, now gently pushing moving past the three powerful demons.
"I'm sorry for shouting-" the man looked around the kitchen and noticed all of the demons were looking at him, "-but you can fight over me some other time". He looked at all three of the demons one after the other, all of them in turn looking at the floor, all of them embarrassed.
"We are currently up shit creek without a paddle, I need you all to keep a level head and let me, Malina and Dagon work" he now turned to address the rest of the members of the family. "There will be a time for jealously and rivalry, but this is not it". He noticed a few frowns and unhappy faces around the room, now realising how he must sound.
This wasn't right, maybe he needed to try a more uplifting, more motivational approach.
"I know we have been apart for a day and I know it's felt like longer, it has been longer, it's been too long", some of the family were confused about that last part.
"But the last thing I need right now is to be fought over, we are a team. We are a family.." he looked at every single one of them, from left to right; Lucifer, Judgement, Cerberus, Azazel, Modeus, skipping over Dagon, Pandemonica, Malina, Zdrada, Beelzebub and back around to Justice who was stood inbetween the two Queens.
He was stood in the middle of a circle, all eyes were on him. As always...
"We are going to get out of this...I promise" his fighting spirit was now revived, his will power refreshened. His determination burning.
"Things will be back to normal before you know it. I can guarantee it".
Would they...truly?
"Oh shut the fuck up Dagon, you're going to result to trickery again like you always do" Pandemonica flung an insult at her rival. "Don't try and convince them otherwise".
The Helltaker took another handful of Malina's crisps and threw it into his mouth, the orange dusting from this snack coated his hand, he simply wiping the powder on his pants. He didn't care about how he looked right now.
"My dear Pandemonica, do you have a case of amnesia? I think you might have forgotten the fact that...I'm better than you?" he smirked, the grey demon taking a swig of water, the ice cubes making a loud noise as they clanged against the glass. "I would not result to trickery unless my life depended on it".
"I see that you have a mild case of delusion my dear Dagon, maybe I shall add a loss of testicles to that list of afflictions too?" the sadistic demon was wide awake still, delivering her usual barrage of insults despite it being...the Helltaker pressed the power button to his smartphone, the screen flashing temporarily... 3:03 am!
"Your life does indeed depend on it, more so than any usual court case. I should imagine the Queen as already told you the punishment for failure" her evil smirk towards Dagon only widened.
He wanted to go to bed desperately, but Dagon wouldn't let him.
"Trust in me to get the job done, you do know who I am, don't you? I think we can confirm that little case of amnesia you may be suf-".
"Dagon! Can we keep on topic please?" the human holding his head in his hands, the human was becoming cranky, he had just ran out of whiskey.
"Just wrap it up so we can fucking sleep! Please!" Malina moaned into her arms that were resting on the table, her face hidden. When she finally looked up at the four of them, she noticed his empty glass, hesitating before offering up her vodka. "Want some?" she said standing up from the table.
"If you don't mind, thanks M" he half smiled watching the demon going to retrieve another bottle from her cupboard, this was her third one tonight.
"I think we have done all we can today" Dagon flipped through his notepad, very similar to Pandemonica's. "We have a game plan at least, now that I have read over your service record, I have a greater idea of who I'm dealing with" his smirk turning to the Helltaker.
"Great, another asshole knows about my tragic past" the Helltaker thanked Malina for the alcohol, both of them taking a large slug in synchronisation. "Fuck-" he gasped, "I forget how strong you like your vodka" he winced as he felt the fiery liquid burning his insides.
"Pussy" she smirked, the two of them were now suffering from extreme fatigue and intoxication. A deadly combination.
"You sound like your sister" he countered.
"Can we stay on topic please?" Dagon resounding the Helltaker's original point.
"Alright...let's go over the plan once more and we can end the shittest day of my life".
"I'll drink to that, cheers" Malina raised her bottle, the Helltaker knocking his glass against her bottle, the two took another gulp of vodka. The Helltaker prepared himself to listen, locking his wandering eyes onto Dagon. Alright focus...he mentally slapped himself.
"Over the next two days, I will be teaching you the art of playing the innocent, but let's face it; any judge would be a fool to take on this case, it should have been thrown out of court straight away, they have barely any evidence to vilify you two, I know it". Dagon gave a sideways glace to Pandemonica, seeing her nodding in agreement made him smirk.
"They have what? Some blurry camera footage, some claw marks, and a few 'witnesses', it's barely anything" the demon checking his smart watch, he seemed to do that alot.
"Yes, yes we have been over this. Now tell us about the defence shit again" the Helltaker gesturing with his hand in a circle to speed things up.
"Our primary defence will be the violation and abuse of your rights; the search of your home, the police brutality, the denial of a lawyer, the misconduct of the detective." the demon finished off his chilled water, slurping an ice cube into his mouth and crunching it down.
"When it comes to your mugging, the evidence we can use is self defence, the ulterior motive we have discussed, their general lack of evidence. I definately suspect those agents we saw at the station were up to something, federal agents or special agents or whatever they were, they aren't ever usually at a precinct".
The Helltaker nodded in agreement, the vivid memory of the agents restraining both himself and Malina earlier this morning felt like years ago.
"If they bring up something close to a demon related conspiracy I will simply disregard it, I have done it plenty of times before", he chomped another large ice cube, the Helltaker unnerved at how he bit into ice without reacting in the slightest, signs of a psychopath...who doesn't have sensitive teeth.
"As soon as I get the jury on my side it will be a cake walk, you let me do all the talking okay?" he smirked, glancing at the two.
"Fine by me" Malina took another large swig straight from the bottle.
"I wouldn't know what to say anyway, I'm too tired of this shit to defend myself" the human rubbed his chin, he needed to shave.
"For once Dagon, you have somewhat of a plan" Pandemonica finished her coffee. After draining the cup, she rested her eyes momentarily. Lost in thought.
"Thank you, I love when you compliment me" he faked being flirtatious.
"That wasn't even a compliment...and I would never drop my standards so low, haven't you seen this specimen of a man I have" she opened her eyes again and gestured to the Helltaker.
Unfortunately the human had ignored Pandemonica's remark, his blood-shot eyes still locked onto Dagon.
"Are we done then?" the Helltaker hoping and praying that were the case. Pandemonica simply went to deposit her mug in the kitchen sink. She had expected both the Helltaker and Dagon to react differently to her remark about her sexual activity, but everyone was too tired to care...about anything right now.
"Yup, we're done. I'll see you two at nine a.m sharp" the lawyer was now standing, moving towards the exit of the house. He had already dialed Dawkins on his smart watch.
"Thank fuck for that, I could sleep a thousand years" the Helltaker actually had a smile on his face, he was so excited to go to bed. He had asked, no demanded, that he sleep alone tonight, he needed to rest, proper, undisturbed rest this time.
This involved kicking Beelzebub out of his room again, but she wasn't in the lounge, he didn't know where she was, but he didn't care.
He was already up and moving, going to retrieve his ball of house keys from the hallway table.
"I'll see you in five" the demon hung up the call on his smartwatch. Dagon turned to face the approaching human, the man putting his hands in his suit's pockets.
"A pleasure working with you today, I think we will come to respect one another after this ordeal is over" the demon beginning to exit the house.
"We will see about that...coward" he whispered the last part as he closed the door behind the demon, but the Helltaker spoke just loud enough for Dagon to hear him.
He shouldn't take his anger out on his lawyer, but he could have been more helpful in those moments when Behemoth began his murderous rampage. It doesn't matter...all he cared about now was sleeping.
He walked back into the kitchen, seeing Pandemonica and Malina stood by the sink. Pandemonica was forcing a glass of water into the hand of the Sour Demon.
"Don't make me pour this ontop of you, take it and go to bed!" the Sadistic Demon demanded, her true kindest and guardianship shining through that sadistic, aggressive, caffeine fueled, finger breaking heart. Malina's blank face was staring back at her.
After a prolonged silence, she took the glass from Pandemonica, grunting and obeying her instructions, trudging towards the stairs. Even when possessed by caffeine, Pandemonica was still a babysitter at heart. The Helltaker was at the backdoor now trying his best to turn the lock, turns out Behemoth broke that too.
"Goodnight you two" the man eventually deciding to abandon locking the backdoor, if there was an intruder they would be eviscerated by Cerberus. The man didn't look back before storming past Malina up the three flights of stairs and slamming his door.
Finally.
"Fucking hell, thank god for that" he spoke to himself, going into the en-suite, turning the hot water tap on and taking his disgusting black shirt off. It stank of sweat, blood and body odor. He gave it one sniff and drew away with disgust, throwing it into his bedroom's bin. That shirt's going to get burnt.
The man spent the next minutes splashing his grimy face repeatedly with the scolding liquid. Eventually he stopped and simply looked at himself in the mirror, glaring into those stupid brown eyes.
"Fuck you, you fucking idiot. You wanted the best ending? We're going to get it" he paused, the last remnants of anger were smoldering away. He decided a blisteringly hot and long shower was in order.
He wanted burn away the grime, the blood, the anger, the insanity...
The memories filled with death...
...everything...
"Even if it kills me".
He was awoken by the feeling of the double mattress moving, the springs dipping in the middle of bed, he was currently on the left side of the bed, his body stretched out across most of the soft surface.
"Move" a voice commanded, he was half asleep and only budged when something sharp gently grazed the back of his left shoulder, it felt like sharp teeth...biting into it. The man mumbled and grunted as he struggled to make room, begrudgingly rolling away. He was in a dreary haze of a sleep, not really feeling refreshed at all.
He opened his eyes slightly seeing the dawn's timid light creeping through his curtains. What time was it? Wait...who was in the bed with him right now?
A pair of arms wrapped around him, the man being the little spoon for once, a demon tail wrapped itself tightly around his left leg, the tip caressing his inner thigh. He was too tired to react, or move or see who it was, but he already knew for a fact that he wouldn't have been alone for long on this night. At least he slept for most of the night...
I'm betting it's either Lucifer, Modeus, Justice, Judgement, Malina- he began thinking, the warm drowsyness of sleep was slowly washing over him again now. Wait...it could be literally any one of them...
"Who is it?" he mumbled, not moving in the slightest, whoever they were he could feel their naked body pressing against his back. Do demons ever sleep with clothes on? He wasn't complaining, they were probably adjusted to Hell's hot temperatures, must be hard to sleep in Hell.
"Zdrada" she mumbled into his back. This was not who he was expecting...
"Why..." he muttered, he couldn't be bothered to send her away. If she wanted to stay, she was welcome to. He wasn't thinking straight...besides he wouldn't treat them like that anymore...they were free to make their own decisions...
"Why not" she tightened her grip on his body temporarily. Her hands traced the details of his torso, going up and down, her black finger nails sending small electrifying tingles through him.
"Hmpph" is all he said in return. He subconsciously moved his hand up to his chest, moving her hand away from him, interlocking his hand with Zdrada's, giving her a comforting squeeze before eventually passing out. As he sank, he realised the Bitch Demon's other hand was still roaming his body, going ever further down his body into his boxer shorts. He didn't care...
He couldn't be bothered, he didn't even try to say anything before he blacked out into a... warm, oddly sweaty, yet pleasant sleep.
When the morning finally approached, he did not wake on time, he desperately needed the rest, especially after the nightmare of a day that was yesterday. The orange sunlight had already passed by the skylight, the morning sun no longer shining into his room, the beginning of Autumn was upon them.
He found himself on his back, the man surprised at the fact of how tired he still was, it would take more than one night's rest to fix him up. However, he was more surprised upon seeing the younger- she wasn't younger, she was just more immature than the rest, demon clinging to him. He looked over at the sleeping demon, seeing her practically purring as she slept.
Wait- why was she butt naked?
Wait- WHY WAS HE NAKED?! The man's breathing increased dramatically, he tried freeing himself from the demon's grasp but this only awoke the slumbering smoke breathing dragon.
"Hey big guy" she smirked, taking pleasure in his discomfort. A single drop of his sweat rolling down the side of his forehead.
"Uhhh, what are you doing here?!" he tried moving away from Zdrada, but she wouldn't let him.
"Malina was snoring, besides I needed a workout" her smirk only widening.
"What?" he was sweating profusely, his worries only increasing.
"You made me pull a fucking muscle" she laughed in a short gasp of air, wincing when she moved to get more comfortable, proof that she wasn't lying.
"Please tell me you're joking" he felt an even larger drop of sweat travel down his face, he decided to wipe this one away.
"You don't remember?" she reached up and placed a kiss against his cheek. "It was a hell of a fuck, no wonder Malina gets off to your hoodie if you fuck her like that".
"Oh my god, just stop talking" he rubbed his brow in shame. He couldn't believe it...
"Fine, I'm happy just laying here" she rubbed her head against his chest, nuzzling him in a affectionate manner, something he noticed instantly.
"What the fuck happened to you? You used to be so- so mean, so against...everything, I can't believe you're showing affection" the Helltaker decided to try and insult her, put her on edge for once.
She hesitated at first, giving the man her usual dopey smirk, the white hair covering half her face. "Oh I'm sorry, can I not share you equally just like the rest?", she didn't seem affected by his comment at all, not really answering his question either.
He did not reply, he just sunk further into the bed. Sinking further into regret. Why could he not remember? He must have been blinded with exhaustion...and lust.
"Maybe I got jealous, maybe knowing I was missing out caused me to come upstairs last night. Maybe you're just a lucky moron who I haven't killed yet, maybe I just wanted a shag, maybe-" she simply shrugged off the question while rambling.
"Yeah, I get the idea" he cut her off. Turns out she didn't answer his question in the end...
"Also that thing on your leg is fucking cold" she nudged the metal device around his ankle with her foot.
"Perks of being a criminal" he joked.
"So I just fucked a wanted man?" the demon looking up at him again to smirk, returning to rest her head on his chest a second later.
He didn't reply.
"We are definately doing that again, I need that shit in my life".
"Fuck off Zdrada", sleep was claiming them again, but not yet...
"Now you are speaking my language".
"Why don't I remember? Was I awake?" the Helltaker rubbing his forehead with the back of his wrist, voicing his thoughts aloud.
Stupid question really...of course he was.
"Dude, you don't remember this?" she poked at a large red mark on his neck that he couldn't see, he pressed his fingers against it and there was a slight patch of dried blood on the surface, was that a bite marks?
His silence encouraged her to speak again, now that she had mentioned this mark on his neck, he recognised other parts of his body were now feeling equally as sore.
She was a masochist...and a sadist...and a fucking bitch after all...
"My ass if fucking red raw dude, you really don't remember?" she was about to start smoking but the Helltaker flicked it out of her fingers before she could light it, the discarded cigarette flying across the room.
"Hey!" she glared at him.
"You get the privilege of being here, you're lucky I'm allowing it. You don't get to smoke in here too", if only he knew about the night he went into a coma; her and Justice's late night deep meaningful conversation.
"And no, I don't remember", the Helltaker moving out of the bed now. Alright time to get up.
"Nuhuh, where do you think your going?" in a flash she had pounced on the man, straddling him, pushing the covers aside, pinning him on his back again. "I think you need a reminder of what went down last night".
Gulp.
"You know what, fuck you" the man aggressively pushing the demon to his side, back onto the bed, this time he was the one ontop, pinning the demon with his weight, his hands keeping her wrists still.
"I think you need to learn your fucking place" his dominant side that he usually saved for Modeus now coming in to play.
"Oh fuckkkk...now this is what I've been waiting for" she purred, her eyes were wide, open and hungry, a wide maniacal smile on her face.
He was fulfilling all of her desires right now.
"Shut up".
He really didn't have the energy for this...but he was doing it anyway.
"Ah, there you are. About time you joined us" Dagon smiled seeing the human entering the kitchen, the man hadn't even realised that the floor had been singed to a charcoal black yesterday.
"What the fuck- this kitchen is in a right state" he hadn't noticed it the other night. The Helltaker had slept through his alarms, sluggishly climbing out of bed, noticing the older sister had left early. He cursed at the metal device still attached to his ankle as it weighed him down when walking, he chose to ignore it, donning his usual red shirt and white suit pants. He missed his old outfit, being in sweaty workout gear all day was not pleasant.
The man had completely ignored the stupid device on his ankle since he had arrived home, it becoming apart of him as the resets passed him by. He had only recognised it's weight again when he had climbed out of bed, he had already forgotten about it from the day before. He already couldn't wait to have it off of his leg.
When he had entered the room, he gasped at the state of the kitchen, but this was soon replaced with his signature smile, the proper Helltaker smile. Lucifer, Modeus, Beelzebub, Justice, Judgement, and Cerberus were all in the lounge, vacating anywhere the Helltaker was. The demons all having to control themselves to not disturb him or seek his attention.
An impossible task really.
In the kitchen, Azazel, Dagon, Pandemonica, Malina and Zdrada were all gathered around the kitchen table, breakfast had already been made, but sadly there was none left for him. How did we still have groceries left?
"Lucy?" he called into the lounge, ignoring Dagon's first remark. The big man crossing his arms as he leant against the door frame connecting the kitchen and the lounge.
"Y-yes?!" she turned her head and began to stand.
"Don't get up, I just wanted to ask, did you get more groceries? The last time we went shopping was...after we returned from Hell?"
"Oh...about that..." she looked down at the floor in shame.
"Oh god, what did you do?" he now came into the lounge, leaning on the back of the sofa just behind the devil.
"Zdrada drove...that's all I was going to say" Lucifer was extremely embarrassed.
"Jesus, when did- how did she- you know what? I don't want to know. I'll talk to you later Lucy" he gave her a headpat from behind, moving back into the kitchen.
One problem at a time.
"Talk...to you...later", she sounded slightly sad. The devil...sad.
The Helltaker started up the espresso machine, leaning against the counter-top next to Pandemonica, the sadistic demon had already been unleashed.
"Didn't think to make me one?" he tested the waters, joking with Pandemonica.
"Don't push your luck, I haven't broken any fingers in a while" she gave him a cruel, evil smile, but her eyes soon went to Dagon. "I think I might start with his".
"Noted", the Helltaker was also now watching Dagon, seeing him struggling to answer Azazel's infinite list of questions, the man smiling as he saw the grey demon visibly sweating. "Never met an angel before Damien?"
"No- No! I have not, they are definately curious creatures" the demon trying to change the subject as much as possible. The Curious Angel was asking him about the intricate details of Hell's laws, a rabbit hole of a subject.
"Mr Damien, surely you understand my confusion, if Heaven is governed by one omnipo-"
"That will be enough for now Ms" the man turning to look away from the angel, sipping his iced water and gazing at the array of papers and his own notepad, "Confounded angels". Where did this guy keeping getting all this ice from?
"Play nice Dagon" the Helltaker threatened, giving a warm smile to Azazel afterwards.
"Gah..fine I'll answer one more question, you better make it a good one" he glared at the human, turning it over to Azazel with equal annoyance. The Curious Angel was delighted.
"How are you feeling?" Malina turned to look at him, the demon trying not show how much she cared. However she had noticed the newer, much larger red mark on his neck...and the ones on her sister's neck.
"Could have been better, had a bit of a disturbed night. Just a few nightmares" he glared at Zdrada, she winked in return. Her makeup perfected once more, the deep black mascara and eye shadow had not been there when they had shared the morning together.
Unfortunately Malina did pick up on this hidden meaning. She glared at her sister then at the Helltaker.
"Unbelievable" she whispered to herself. Turning her face back down to look at her phone. However, there was something else on her mind other than jealousy.
"Are you okay Malina?" he retrieved his espresso and came to sit next to the Sour Demon on his left and Dagon on the right, all sat on one half of the kitchen table.
"Yeah, of course dumbass..." she sounded like she was expecting a scolding.
After a brief silence while the Helltaker sipped his coffee, Malina spoke again.
"You aren't mad?" he noticed she was blushing in embarrassment.
"Oh, you couldn't begin to comprehend the amount of things I am mad about right now, what could you possibly add to it?" he smirked, setting the blue mug down onto the table.
"This" she gestured to the floor and all of the burnt furniture around them.
"You did this?" he wasn't even surprised.
"Y-Yes" Malina stared down at her phone again, avoiding his glare.
"Okay, couldn't care less" he spoke honestly.
"Wait...really?!" Malina was just as surprised at his carelessness as everyone else was. He must really be fed up.
"How did you do all of this? Were you cold and started a fire?" he didn't feel like taking anything serious at the moment, he was devolving back into a sarcastic jerk...again.
"I...was the fire, I don't know what happened, but according to them" she gestured with her thumb over her shoulder, pointing to the rest of the family in the lounge. "I was covered head to toe in that orange shit, ya know the stuff Lucy and Monica can cast".
"How did a tiny fire burn the entire kitchen though?" he slurped down his coffee after speaking, noticing Dagon was getting annoyed that they weren't addressing him or beginning the day how he intended to.
"I'm not tiny!" Malina took this as an insult, she never liked it when anyone mocked her height.
"It was one large fire, that I can assure you of" Pandemonica coming to sit next to Malina.
"I'll trust the word of a fellow coffee addict, also why are you here Monica?" the man turning to look to his left.
"I want to see how spectacularly Dagon will fail" her evil smile now locked onto the other grey demon. He chose not to reply to this remark, simply looking back down and flipping a page of his notepad. After a few seconds of silence, The Sadistic Demon spoke again; "Plus Lucy wanted me to oversee and provide any help I can with this little court case".
"The more the merrier" the Helltaker now draining his mug. Zdrada and Azazel now departed the kitchen, going into the lounge, both with large bowls of cereal as they hadn't eaten either.
"May we begin? This is going to be a long day, best we start sooner rather than later" he grabbed all of the available papers and compiled them together, the bottom of the stack tapping against the table three times.
"Got nothing better to do with my day" the Helltaker smirked.
"My friend, I think I speak for all of us, drop the sarcasm and save us all the bother" Damien challenged him.
"It's my normal personality, I'm a human being you see, don't feel like taking orders from a Queen every day of my life" he countered.
Why did you say that? he thought to himself.
"You want me to help you or not? I may be acting under her majesty's orders, but I can make your life a living Hell at the same time while we do this. Your call" the lawyer called his bluff.
After an awkward silence the Helltaker relented, sarcasm and being intolerable wasn't going to get him anywhere. He needed to stop thinking like this...like the next day wouldn't come...
Like he was still trapped...
"I'm ready to learn how to become innocent" he finally replied, sincerity in his voice this time.
"Good, now shut up and listen".
"Again" Damien demanded.
"The events of Monday twelfth have left me in quite a shaken state, I hope the court can understand the mental implications of both myself and my step-daughter being held at knife point" the Helltaker repeated off of a notepad.
"Again, but with more emotion than a corpse, I'm talking facial expressions, I'm talking body language, I'm talking voice work" the director of this little performance spat. "Again".
"The events of Monday twelfth- they have let me in a- in quite a shaken state...I hope you can understand the mental implications of having both myself and m-my step-daughter held at knife point...Jesus" the Helltaker acted, trying to make his voice as sad as possible, also holding his forehead and looking down at the floor in sorrow.
"Not brilliant, but it will have to do" Dagon looked down, flipping through several pages of his notepad before returning to the original page he was at. The Helltaker's anger was slightly building, he was trying his best dammit. "Next section, the court will now ask about the injury you sustained, we can show physical proof if needs be".
The grey demon now pretended to speak like a judge, he was trying his best to recreate a similar scenario for what it will be like in a days time.
"The court is aware of the injury you have sustained in this encounter, but what we would like to know is how a mortally wounded man can proceed to kill three in such a brutal manner and live".
The Helltaker flipped a page in his notepad.
"I, oh god, I didn't know what came over me. One moment I was on the floor, the next, I was-" he stopped, putting the notepad on the table.
"Dagon, I hate to break it to you, but this isn't believable" he spoke honestly.
"That's because you aren't putting any feeling into it! You sit there with your arms crossed as if you haven't done anything wrong, I know you haven't but we have to convince them! You've got to convince me!" Dagon also throwing his pen and notepad down in frustration.
"Don't you go sniggering at me either, you aren't performing any better my dear" he was speaking to Malina now.
"Step off asshat" she spat back.
"Do you two even want to win this court case?" Damien asking in all seriousness.
"Of course, we do" the Helltaker rubbing his brow. They had been at this for four hours already.
"Then you better step up your acting game, go again".
Begrudgingly, the Helltaker picked up the notepad and read out his line again. This time...with feeling!
"I- Oh god...I didn't- I didn't know what came over me. One moment I was on the floor, the next I was stood over their bodies. I'm sorry, it was all in self-defence I assure you, I had to protect- I had to protect her" the man giving a Malina a sombre look.
"Much better! See, not so hard is it?" Dagon gave the human a slow clap.
"Spare me the clap" the human said through gritted teeth.
"Now your turn Malina" the grey demon turned to the younger sister.
"Which part do you want me to say again?" she wasn't really paying attention.
"Line three, 'traumatised little girl', the court just asks you for your account of that night".
"Oh right.." Malina traced her finger down the paper and found her line.
"The three of them...they had their hands all over me- wait, 'fake cry?', what is this bullshit?!" Malina hit the back of her hand against her notepad. Embarrassed anger taking over, she was not a 'traumatised little girl'.
"We need emotion Malina, we need you to bring out the scared little girl act, just this once, tear at the heart strings" the smirk on Dagon's face only made her more angry. Just hearing him say the two words made her blood boil.
"Fuck this!" she got up from the table, knocking her thin metal chair over and storming into the other room, kicking Judgement off of her lounge chair. She didn't even need to speak, Judgement knew that look.
"Ah, predictable" Dagon closed his notepad, downing the last of his water. "Let's take five, I'll see you in a moment" the demon getting up and heading to the upstairs bathroom to relieve himself.
"Jackass" the Helltaker muttered. Looks like it was up to him to bring Malina back into the right mindset. He sighed deeply picking up Malina's chair off of the floor. He wished he could reach for a bottle of whiskey instead, it was only one o'clock...he swore he would put all day drinking behind him.
He slowly walked into the lounge. The other demons noticed him entering, all of them realising what he had to do, but saying nothing.
Currently, Judgement and Justice were chatting with Azazel, the blind demon letting the angel sit on the two man sofa next to Judgement, Justice sat crossed legged on the floor in front of the two. Once again, Cerberus was allowing Beelzebub to interact with them, all three seeking her attention while she was watching the TV, it was soon interrupted by the Sour Demon.
Lucifer and Zdrada were sat on the sofa next to Beelzebub, the devil making small talk with the chain smoker, Zdrada staring blankly while she ate her cereal. Modeus went into the kitchen to chat with Pandemonica as he left, the Helltaker giving her a wink as she passed him by. He didn't know it but she desperately struggling to contain her lust. The wink was almost enough to send her over the edge.
"Would you like another coffee Mon Mon?" he heard Modeus ask Pandemonica. The Lustful Demon oblivious to the past four hours of stress they had all be experiencing.
"DON'T CALL ME THAT!" she tried to whisper. Her cup was indeed empty...
"Why not? It's what I've always called you" Modeus replied, going over to the espresso machine and trying to remember how she liked it, there was a certain order to making it...
"That isn't true my dear, you haven't called me that in a while..." she paused for a moment, her usual anger and bitterness dissolving. "I will allow it...for now...a coffee would be very nice...thank you" her voice trailing off, Modeus beaming with delight, her tail moving from side to side slowly and fluidly. Signs of happiness.
He had never heard the Sadistic version of Pandemonica say please or thank you before.
He drew away from the kitchen, leaning on the wall next to the entrance to the kitchen, crossing his arms and closing his eyes, silent in his reflection of the last few hours. Malina was loading up her gaming console, using her video games as a distraction from this drama. An escape.
"How'd it go?" Lucifer coming over to him first, she wanted to be first this time.
"About as well as you would expect, Dagon put us through a tough four hours already. He is one strong critic" the man instantly going in for a hug, needing the emotional release of his partner. She more than happily returned the embrace. He placed his hands on the devil's hips as he moved away, refusing for the embrace to end just yet. "Are you okay?".
"Of course I am, don't spend any power in that minuscule human brain of yours thinking about me" she brought herself closer to her partner, the two pressing their bodies against one another.
"I do it more than you would think, calling me a Satanist would be an understatement. More like a fanatic, obsessive almost" he teased.
"You flatter me" the devil blushed, the two sharing a brief tender moment, kissing briefly.
"Sorry I haven't spent any time with you since waking up, I know you have been feeling neglected lately" he paused, leading Lucifer by the hand into the kitchen, out of earshot of the others. "I really appreciate you keeping us- them all together while I've been out of it".
"Stop wasting your words, it was nothing. Now, go talk to Malina-" the devil peering into the lounge, looking at the back of Malina's head, the white bandage still wrapped around her head. He needed to be focussed on the current drama.
"She needs you, we can do this..." she smiled, the Helltaker could tell she was tired, there were black bags under her beautiful red eyes, usually the devil's face was a pristine white. She had probably spent the last few sleepless nights thinking about him and Malina, the different plans forming in her mind. The what-ifs...
"Of course we can" he smiled back just as brightly, they shared one more kiss before departing from one another.
"I'll see you tonight?" the devil tried pushing her luck a bit further. You have no dignity she thought.
"Definitely".
"Malina..." he was stood in front of the TV now, blocking her line of sight.
"Move" she said sternly, the threat of death lingering on the lone word.
"I can't do that...you need to listen to me, for once" he smiled, it having little affect.
"Fuck...off" she moved to the side, her red eyes still locked onto the screen. She was scrolling through the main menu of some video game he had never seen, yet another turn based strategy she had yet to introduce him to.
"Sorry about this", he turned around and shut both the TV and the console off. When he turned around he had to avoid a controller flying at his head, only narrowly avoiding it, the device slamming against the wall above the TV and falling down behind it.
"Malina" he kept his voice calm and soothing. "I know you don't want to do this right now, especially with what we have just been through".
She was currently sat with her arms crossed, her angry yet embarrassed gaze focussed on the floor, trying her best to ignore him. Her face was scrunched, the signature sour frown returning.
"You're damn right I don't!" her voice not being raisied fully...yet.
"I promise you won't have to do anything like this again, we are going to be out of the woods in two days time. We jus-" but Malina didn't let him finish his motivational spiel.
"Why do I have to be the helpless and scared 'little girl', huh?" she now dared to look up at him, maintaining an icy glare. Yet again, all eyes were on him, the room falling silent as soon as the two began arguing.
"Because Malina, you look like a twenty year old human girl who could easily be traumatised by being mugged. I'm sorry but you have to pretend, just like before in the precinct". He was now knelt slightly on one leg before her chair, looking slightly up at the crossed legged demon.
"Why? I hate playing this stupid...game! WITH YOU STUPID HUMANS!" she shouted at the man. "I hate your kind". The Helltaker taken aback by this insult, it actually hurt.
"Well, I don't blame you..." he was quiet for a moment, trying to figure out what to say. Swallowing his nerves.
"It's a big ask, one which I wouldn't request of you normally. I- I know we have had our disagreements over the nature of our relationship in the past-" he knew he had to address this but again he was cut off.
"Just tell everyone why don't you!" her embarrassment and anger bubbling over. "This should be a private conversation!".
"Are you embarrassed of it?" he asked timidly, unsure if this was the correct path to go down.
"What do you think..." she muttered. The flustered demon again looked away from the Helltaker. Eventually she sighed, the confession was imminent. "I just don't think I can do it..." the doubt now beginning to show. There it was.
Silence followed, the family not knowing what to say, many coughing awkwardly. He was at a dead end.
"Of course you can Malina" it was Lucifer's voice which broke the silence, the Sour Demon glancing at the devil on the sofa. "I didn't raise a quitter" she smirked, "Show him up" referring to the Helltaker, "You gotta own it".
"Yeah, you're gonna kick their fucking asses!" Judgement's energetic voice joining Lucifer's, she wasn't fully aware of what Malina would be doing, but she appreciated the support nonetheless.
"I'm surprised you haven't showed him up already" Justice was smirking at the Helltaker, "You'll wipe the floor with those fools". She was beaming at Malina.
This feels familiar a small voice whispered in the back of Malina's head.
"Destroy them" Beelzebub was still petting all three Cerberus at once, "You are more than capable, get the freedom you deserve". At first she was smirking at the demon, but it soon turned into a supportive smile.
The two demons originally in the kitchen had now joined the rest of the family, a piping hot double espresso in the Sadistic Demon's hands, a banana was in Modeus's.
"You can do this Malina!" Modeus's high pitch voice squealed, "It' time for some payback!". She was nervously smiling at her, she too not fully aware of what Malina had to do. They had only heard parts of their argument.
"My dear, you will have to use what I taught you, what we will teach" Pandemonica referring to Dagon. Amazingly, the sadistic one was smiling, a proper heartwarming smile. "You are definitely capable".
"I know you can win Malina, we're with you all the way!" Azazel was blissfully unaware of the current lessons they were receiving from Dagon, simply joining in with the rest of the motivation encouragement.
"You have to fight it Malinka" even her sister was offering small words of encouragement, Malina took what she could get...
She had heard this all before...this encouragement...what the fuck.
"Malina, you do have to fight it" he smiled, "I'm asking you to do this for us, for our family".
"I don't know how..." she whispered, emotions were beginning to well up from deep inside her.
"And you think I do?" he smirked, "We have to trust the stupid lawyer to teach us".
"How do we win though? Surely Dagon can't teach how to fake being innocence that easily" her gaze now changed; more sombre, more emotional, more vulnerable. She desperately sought the answer.
"Believe" he said, "You have to believe in yourself. Believe that you- that we can win".
Déjà vu now overwhelmed Malina...it couldn't be...
"I'll try...for you" she finally spoke, once again looking into his eyes, an innocent yet worried look. "I just want this to be over" tears were slowly forming in her eyes.
"It will be...sooner than you think" he reassured her, placing a hand on her shoulder.
"Promise?"
"I promise".
The two of them now exchanged smiles, Malina quickly wiping at her eyes to hide any emotion she was showing. It was a wholesome moment.
"NOW THAT! That is what I want to see!" Damien's voice suddenly came from behind them, the entire family looking into the kitchen to see the stupid lawyer stood there clapping furiously. All of them death staring him. "Emotion at it's finest!".
It was a wholesome moment...
