Cold metal, hot air, the scent of blood and brimstone, and a sky as dark as obsidian with only a few bolts of red lightning to illuminate it. These were the things that welcomed Valentino back to the land of the living. Propping himself up on his elbows, he slowly came to his senses, taking a look around his person to see where he was. A skyscraper, or what was left of one, as most of the building had been consumed by ravenous flesh.
Yet, he was not alone on this rooftop. Standing at about ten or so feet away was the entity that had saved him from Gabriel's fury. And even with his back turned to him, Valentino could tell he wasn't happy.
"Thanks for fixing my face..." Valentino told his savior, reaching up with his left hand so he could feel if everything was back to normal.
"The sisters are responsible for that." He replied, his voice unusually low, "I'd prefer to speak to you without an exploded tongue." He said.
"Look, I KNOW what you're going to say, alright?" Valentino began as he stood upright, "But listen, HOW could I have fucking known that owl bitch had divine protection? I got blindsided." He said defensively.
"Of course. You had no reason to assume that Gabriel or any other Heavenborn bestowed upon her a holy relic." The Cyberdemon agreed.
"...Wait, you agree with me?" He questioned, receiving a nod in reply, "Shit, guess there is a first time for everything." He said.
"Yes. But do not be mistaken. I only agree that you were blindsided. Not that it isn't your fault." The Cyberdemon clarified.
"The fuck is that supposed to mean?" He asked.
"Valentino. The whole reason you went to Lucifer's circle amidst the chaos created by our victory over the Slayer was so you could find a means to infiltrate Urdak so we may then acquire our master's power. And instead, you chose not only to waste precious time satisfying carnal lusts but also to try and do it again, only this time with someone close to the Slayer. Do you honestly not see how IGNORANT and WASTEFUL this has been?" The Cyberdemon answered with a question of his own.
"Wasteful, huh?" He questioned with a scoff, "You are the dumbest fucking person I've EVER met. Like seriously, unless we're charging in guns blazing like the human steroid, then NOTHING is worthwhile. Have you ever heard of strategy? Tactics? Manipulation? ALL of that shit is useful!" He shouted as a smirk appeared on his face, "In fact, you should be singing my praises right about now. Did I fuck up by getting found out by angel boy? Sure, I'll own up to that. But my REAL plan for tonight went off without a fucking hitch, and with it, we're going to end this bullshit once and for all!" He assured, brimming with confidence.
"Are you referring to the infestation of Mind Fraggers you hope to unleash?" The Cyberdemon asked, catching him by surprise, "You used the banquet to lure in a mass of unsuspecting souls. Then with the aid of your sex slave, you used members of her staff that you infected earlier in the day to take random guests without anyone noticing elsewhere in the manor so the worms could be implanted in private." He said, laying the plan out step by step, "If you managed to keep that useless appendage between your legs under control, it could've worked. A slow but progressive takeover of the circle's entire population. But as it turns out, much as I expected, your first scheme, which gave us this world, was but a fluke of genius. For your ineptitude has already burned this new plan to ashes. And has left us with little options." He informed.
"...Heh...yeah...right..." Valentino slowly said, his smirk remaining, "You're a terrible fucking liar, on top of being a stupid piece of shit. I know you're just fucking with me." He claimed as his smirk became a grin, "Because it's only been a few minutes. We were just in Hell, and even with angel boy on his way to tattle on us, we have plenty of time to get ahead of this little hiccup and keep MY plan on track!" He exclaimed as he pointed his finger at him, "You're just pissed off. All this time, you've been the Dark One's right hand, and you can't stand the idea that you've been replaced!" He accused before placing his open palm on his chest, "Without ME, YOU would've gotten your fucking ass handed to you by captain roid rage! I was the one who brought down YOUR greatest enemy. I am the one who got you a new world to conquer. Without me, all of you are FUCKING. USELESS!" He shouted.
In his entire life, Valentino had never been scared. Surprised, startled, panicked, and a little uneasy, but never afraid. However, there's a first time for everything; he said so himself, which he learned at this moment when the Cyberdemon slowly turned around to face him. Unlike in the past, whenever Valentino annoyed, irritated, or enraged him, the demon was calm this time.
And when he began approaching him, his armored boots landing heavily on the rooftop in an almost rhymic way, Valentino felt his heartbeat increase.
"Wrong." The Cyberdemon spoke, stopping once he was an arm's distance away, "It's been several hours since I pulled you from Lucifer's circle. You've been lying here as the sisters slowly mended your injury." He corrected.
"H...Hours?..." Valentino questioned, "Why...why the fuck would it take them that long?!" He asked.
"It was my order." The Cyberdemon answered, further increasing the pace of the moth demon's heart, "I knew if we healed you immediately, you'd want to go back. And unlike you, I understand who it is we're fighting against. Hence why a decision like that would've been self-destructive towards us." He told him.
"H...How?..." Valentino inquired, his mind trying to make sense of what was happening.
"Gabriel is both a child of the creator and an ally to the Slayer. Did it never occur to you that once he shared what transpired with them, that they'd take action?" He asked, "The Slayer is without question the most cautious and prepared soul in all of creation. The instant he learned that YOU attacked two of his allies, he set an investigation into motion." He began as he started to walk around Valentino, "First, the angels known as the Authorities were informed, as were the devil and his spouse. Second, everyone at that banquet was taken to facilities constructed by the Maykrs in the circle for examination. Third, once they learned about your infiltration, the Maykrs and Sentinels monitoring us here were put on high alert. Meaning that we can no longer conduct any transdimensional movement without the entirety of their army knowing about it within seconds. All because YOU had to satisfy your sexual desires." He explained.
Was the Cyberdemon choking him? No, he wasn't. And yet Valentino still felt as though a clamp was being tightened around his neck. It was getting harder to breathe; sweat started forming on his face, and although the Cyberdemon was only walking circles around him, every instinct he had was screaming one thing: DANGER.
"I...I know you're fucking with me...heh...you fucked up just now..." He told him, trying his hardest to stay dominant, "You...you wouldn't know most of this shit unless you were watching them...which is impossible even if you use the Gore Nests to look into the circle...you can only get a broad view of everything but not specific details like what you've shared...you're making this up to try and scare me..." He suggested.
"Hmph, impressive." The Cyberdemon responded, giving him hope.
"So...I was right..." He said, slowly feeling relief.
"No. What's impressive is that you managed to become a greater idiot than you've been thus far." The Cyberdemon replied before coming to a stop in front of him, "Have you forgotten? All creatures made by our master's power are connected to him. And if granted permission by our lord, we may use this connection ourselves. The one good thing to come of your fumbling is that we have a small number of temporary spies. Temporary, for as we speak, every demon at the gathering last night is being subjected to tests to find any potential outside presence. As of the moment, nearly ALL of your slave's staff have been tested, cleared, or cured if they were infected. Only a handful remain, including her. That is how we have this information." He revealed.
"H-HA! SEE?! YOU STILL NEED ME!" Valentino shouted out of desperation, looking for anything to use to his advantage, "I-I CAN STILL MANIPULATE PEOPLE! I-I CAN GET US MORE SPIES! TH-THEY'LL THINK THEY'RE SO FUCKING CLEVER, BUT WE'LL SNEAK ME IN AGAIN! O-OR WE CAN SEND SOME HUMANS TO THE CIRCLE! WE'VE GOT PLENTY OF THEM AS HOSTAGES WE CAN SPARE A FEW!" He suggested.
Then, before he said another word, the Cyberdemon placed his hand on Valentino's shoulder, applying just enough force to his grip to ensure he couldn't escape.
"Wrong again." He said as he leaned in closer, "Your slave, Helsa, has become more advantageous to us than you in your current state. At this moment, she is inside their facilities. Waiting patiently for her turn to be tested, which to our benefit takes a great deal of time. However, she suggested to us when we contacted her a ploy to prolong her waiting. Those of her staff and her guests she managed to infect have been used as sacrificial lambs. They became aggressive when they arrived at the facilities for treatment under our order. Whereas she broke down into a pitiful sob when she learned what became of the two demons you attacked, and she has been nothing but cooperative so far. Making it seem as though she is free of our control. Thanks to this, she is in a position to do what YOU could not." He explained before he chuckled, "But don't worry, Valentino. You can still be useful. All we need to do is alter your weak flesh." He told him.
Suddenly, a surge of horrible pain coursed throughout Valentino's body and soul, making him drop to his knees as he clutched his chest.
"WHAT...IS...WHAT ARE YOU..." He tried his best to speak, only to be kept from doing so as he was forced to scream from the pain.
"The sisters are performing a ritual. It'll be a while before it is complete. But when it's over, you will be useful to our lord one final time." The Cyberdome informed as he turned around.
"YOU...YOU FUCKING BASTARD...HE'LL BE FUCKING PISSED WHEN HE FINDS OUT!..." He shouted, referring to the Dark One.
"On the contrary." The Cyberdemon replied while looking over his shoulder, "Although this was originally my plan. When I brought it to MY master, he approved." He said.
"W...WHA-" Valentino tried to question, only to stop midway as the pain made him scream again.
Remaining where he stood for a few seconds, once the Cyberdemonw was satisfied, he left to attend to his other duties, a satisfied grin hidden underneath his mask.
Meanwhile, In The Sentinel Homeworld...
Soft sheets, a comfy pillow, a warm blanket, and the comforting rays of the sun hitting her face were what Stella felt as she stirred from her slumber. Slowly opening her eyes, her vision at first was blurry, but after a series of blinks, she was able to see the ceiling above. However, doing this would leave her confused, for what she saw wasn't the ceiling from her home where she was headed to last night, nor the room she stayed in at the Eldritch estate.
"Where...am I?..." She asked quietly, her throat a tad dry from sleeping so long.
Deciding to sit up to look at her surroundings, she felt a sizeable weight on her right side, keeping her pinned down when she attempted to move. And when she looked to see what it was, she was surprised to find Octavia fast asleep, her torso, arms, and head laying on her while her lower half was sitting in a chair pulled close to the bed.
"Octavia..." She said quietly, not wanting to wake her, "Why're you here? What's going-"
Then it hit her, the memories of last night, the banquet, the limo, and...
"OCTAVIA!" She shouted as her shot wide open, caused her daughter to wake up startled.
"Huh?! What?!" Octavia questioned, incredibly dazed from having been brought of her sleep so suddenly.
Before she could assess what was happening, Stella hugged her. Holding her as tightly as she could to her body.
"Are you hurt? Did he violate you? Were you able to fight back? ARE YOU OKAY?!" She rapidly asked, absolutely distraught at the idea her child could've been raped.
"Mom! Calm down!" Octavia shouted back, able to push herself away just enough so they could look at each other, "I'm fine, I'm okay. Sure, I'm fucked up after that, scared out of my mind, but he didn't do ANYTHING to me." She assured with a smile, "All thanks to Gabriel. The moment that bastard grabbed my leg and tried to dig his nails into me, the cloak Gabriel gave me did what he said it would. It protected me, and then he showed up and saved us." She explained.
Gabriel...that's right, he did show up. In her mind, it seemed like a hallucination or dream, but in reality, he WAS there.
"Oh, thank goodness!" Stella exclaimed, overcome with joy, "I don't know what I would've done if something happened. I'm so sorry I didn't do more to protect you. I'm so so sorry!" She apologized.
"Mom, it's not your fault. Even if we figured it out faster than we did, Valentino's got an ancient evil god or whatever giving him power. There's nothing you could've done." Octavia told her.
"That doesn't matter! I'm your mother. If I can't even protect you when something like that happens, what good am I?" She asked.
"Stop." Octavia said, her expression becoming stern, "Don't say that, please. It made me sick watching him slam you into the ground. If you'd put up more of a fight and had gotten hurt because of it, I'd feel like it was my fault. So, can we agree that it's a good thing we're both alright? That Gabriel showed up and stopped him before it went any further?" She requested.
"You're right." Stella conceded, making her daughter smile, "We're fortunate to be in good health after that, all thanks to Gabriel." She said before taking a look around, "Speaking of, where is he? I have to thank him right away." She decided.
"Oh, don't worry about that. Dad's got it covered." Octavia replied with a chuckle, "Right now, I need to get you up to speed on where we are. Trust me, you're going to be overwhelmed." She warned.
"While I hate the idea of leaving him alone with your father, I do agree that I'm lost as to what this place is. So, whenever you're ready." Stella accepted.
Elsewhere, Inside The Arena...
"PLEASE! I'M BEGGING ALL OF YOU! GET THIS MAN OFF OF ME!" Gabriel pleaded to everyone, desperate for help.
After arriving, handing Stella to the Sentinels for treatment, explaining what had happened to his father and the Slayer, it was decided they should gather in the arena come morning and talk about what was to happen next. They waited until daybreak as they wanted the others to get their rest, but when they finished explaining everything, Stolas immediately latched onto the archangel in a sobbing mess and refused to let go. And unfortunately for him, the others had no intention of intervening.
"Nope, no can do buckaroo." Blitzo told him with a smile, quite possibly enjoying this more than any of them, "As someone who's been sleeping and fucking with this man for six months. I'm afraid the only way he's getting off of you is when he's good and ready or if someone shoots him." He explained.
"THEN SHOOT HIM! I CAN HEAL THE WOUND, AND THIS IS INCREDIBLY UNCOMFORTABLE FOR ME!" Gabriel shouted.
"I'M NEVER LETTING GO!" Stolas shouted in return, squeezing him tighter while crying his eyes out, "YOU PROTECTED MY PRINCESS! MY VIA! WITHOUT YOU, WHO KNOWS WHAT THAT VILE VILLAIN WOULD'VE DONE! YOU'RE A HERO, GABRIEL! AND I AM INDEBTED TO YOU FOR THE REST OF MY IMMORTAL LIFE!" Stolas vowed.
"NO! NO, NO, NO! THERE WILL BE NO DEBTS! I DID WHAT ANY DECENT INDIVIDUAL WOULD! NOW RELEASE ME, YOU EMOTIONALLY UNSTABLE OWL!" He responded, demanding his freedom.
"I still can't believe he was in the circle..." Charlie said with a shiver, "Makes me sick..." She confessed.
"Are we sure he didn't do anything else?" Vagatha asked, referring to the parasites they discovered.
"So far, yes. The Authorities are still conducting an intensive investigation into things. But at this current point in time, it appears that Valentino planned to infect the population with them, at least that's what we're guessing." Vega answered.
"And you're sure those who are infected won't say anything? Maybe you need to tighten the screws a bit if you catch my meaning." Alastor suggested.
"We're sure. The parasites dominate the body and soul they're attached to. And because they have no sentience or souls of their own, this means a higher power needs to be controlling them." He informed.
"The Dark One?" Katie guessed.
"No, surprisingly." He replied, putting his hands behind his back before he said more, "In the first hour after Gabriel and Octavia informed us of what had happened. We ordered the Maykrs and Sentinels monitoring earth to begin conducting the most thorough scans possible without stopping. And as it stands, no massive spikes of energy or power usage have been detected, which wouldn't be possible if the Dark One were the one controlling them. His presence alone would be discovered immediately by our troops." He explained.
"It must be one of the Marauders then. One we didn't have a picture for during the briefing." BJ determined.
"Correct. Undoubtedly, the sister demons known as the Mother Of All Demons and the Resurrector are responsible. They're the most powerful arcanists within Doom's ranks." He confirmed.
"So, what the fuck do we do now then?" Angel Dust asked while folding his arms, "Are we fucked? Is our training over before it starts? Was all of this pointless?" He added.
"No...if anything, because of Gabriel, we're fine..." The Slayer answered.
"Indeed. If forbid Valentino managed to do what he wanted, Octavia and Stella would've been infected as well. Then they would've been used as spies and saboteurs. We avoided a potentially crippling series of events because of him." Vega said.
"WHICH IS WHY I'M NOT RELEASING YOU!" Stolas shouted, still crying and carrying on like a lunatic, "YOU'RE NOT JUST AN ARCHANGEL! YOU'RE THE GREATEST ANGEL WHO'S EVER LIVED! A SHINING FIGURE OF HOPE TO US ALL!" He complimented.
"IF YOU DO NOT CEASE THIS BEHAVIOR, I WILL BRANDISH MY WEAPON AND MAKE YOU FREE ME!" Gabriel warned.
"Does this mean we're still getting our surprise?" Cherri asked, she and the others' all ignoring Gabriel for the sake of their entertainment.
"It is more important now than it was before you receive it." Vega answered with a nod, "As we speak, the Sentinels and Maykrs are finishing the preparations. We have enough time to eat breakfast before it is ready, and we resume your training." He informed.
"What about the people being examined and treated for parasites? How's that going?" Vox inquired.
"Smoothly. Luckily Lucifer and Lilith are overseeing it alongside Samur and the Khans. And in case you're worried, no, they were not infected." He replied, causing both Charlie and Azrael to breathe sighs of relief.
"Huh, considering all the shit that happened in one night, I say we got out of this unscathed for the most part." Husk commented, "So why don't we all go have a celebratory morning drink with our breakfast?" He suggested.
"Hell yeah! Let's get shit-faced again!" Angel Dust cheered with a fist bump to the air.
"There will be no drinking before training..." The Slayer told them, immediately stopping that idea before it became a problem.
"Aw, come on, Will! Don't be a stiff!" He whined as the space marine started leaving the arena.
"No...and you can try all your tricks, Angel...it's not going to change my mind..." He replied with a small smile, but none could see it due to his helmet.
After he said that, following him one by one, everyone began talking with each other as they headed for the dining hall. As for Stolas and Gabriel, the demon noble FINALLY let him go, only so he could grab onto his hand and drag him along so they could sit together during breakfast.