Mikazuki Augus could've sworn that his life had ended near the end of the battle he had with that enemy Mobile Suit. He had bled out within the cockpit of his unit… and by all accounts, he should be dead.
And yet… here he was, apparently still alive.
Was he reborn, perhaps? That much was highly unlikely. If he was, he probably wouldn't retain any memory of… well… anything in his past life with Tekkadan, much less his final moments in his Gundam. Perhaps he was still alive… though of course that didn't make sense either, as he wasn't in a prison cell. As things were, he was simply standing upright, wearing almost everything he had in life minus his Tekkadan jacket, in some fancy room that reminded him quite a bit of a fancier part of Teiwaz. The interior was mostly red, with strange symbols decorating the walls… symbols that were vaguely familiar to Augus…
Wait… he was standing?
Blinking in shock, Mikazuki turned his attention towards his legs and widened his eyes when he saw that he was, indeed, standing upright. The rather off-putting thing, aside from the fact that he was standing anyway, was… well… how his legs looked.
Simply put, his legs appeared to be almost completely mechanical in nature, very much resembling Barbatos Lupus Rex's inner frame to some extent. His actual legs appeared to be the inner frame of the Gundam, with white armour plating covering them, acting as external armour all the while. Said white armor plating greatly resembled Gundam Barbatos Lupus Rex's outer leg plating, complete with the green lights that were on the knees. Hell, even his feet were that of Barbatos Lupus Rex's, complete with golden claws and the pile bunkers on his heels. His new feet did make balancing a little awkward thanks to the heels, though he did manage it rather well.
Rather unfortunately for his (lacking) fashion sense, his long pants were torn apart at the knee to make way for his new legs. He did find it rather unfortunate, though it was for the best, he supposed.
Raising his legs upwards one after another, Mikazuki found that he could move them as well as he could prior to the battle with the Mobile Armour. If he concentrated hard enough, he also found that he could move those golden claws on his new feet rather easily as well, and if he concentrated further, he could even activate his Pile bunkers.
'What the fuck…' was the main thing that ran through Mika's mind as he absentmindedly raised his right arm to scratch his head… and widened his eyes further at the motion.
Like his legs, Mikazuki's once immobile right arm was now also capable of movement… and as with his legs, it now greatly resembled the right arm of Barbatos Lupus Rex. As with his new legs, the 'inner frame' of his new arm felt as though it were his actual arm while the white armour that covered it greatly resembled the outer armour of Lupus Rex. A shoulderpad that looked a lot like Lupus Rex's hung rather lazily over his right shoulder, and his new oversized right hand was that of the Lupus Rex, golden claws and all.
Staring at his shoulder, Mikazuki noticed how his new right arm seemed to be attached to his torso via a handful of metal tendrils fused into his skin, making it look almost like a mechanical infection of sorts, though rather than a parasite, the limb acted more like an actual arm, as evident by how he was able to move it with very little issue.
"What the fuck…" muttered Mika out loud as he rubbed his new right arm with his regular left arm. Despite its mechanical nature, Mika could still feel his fingers rubbing over it, prompting his confusion to grow further. Prosthetics, even if they were as high-tech as this one, wasn't supposed to act this way… so how…
Before he could think too much on it, however, the pilot perked his ears up when he heard something from behind him. On instinct, he turned on his heel to face a potential foe as he grimaced and instinctively flexed the claws on his new right arm, though much to his confusion… he saw no one behind him. Upon realizing this, Augus wondered if he was losing it, though before that thought could settle in, he felt two fingers tapping his left shoulder, prompting him to spin around once more and assume a defensive stance.
A stance that quickly faltered when he saw that the one standing behind him… was not who or what he had initially expected. Simply put… the entity was a man… one that looked… normal, so to speak, as he smiled at Mika with a pointedly sharp grin that distorted his impressive beard quite a bit.
Said man was about two entire heads taller than Mikazuki. If he had to guess, Mika would assume that he was around Akihiro's height. Height aside, the man was dressed in an attire that Mikazuki was not familiar with, with it looking akin to an old-timey aristocrat uniform, something that was probably older than even Barbatos!
Upon seeing that Mikazuki had recovered from the initial shock of him appearing behind him, the bearded man smirked and opened his mouth… only to start speaking out a language that Mika was unable to understand, prompting him to tilt his head just a little to the side and scratch the back of his head with his new Lupus Rex arm, only to wince when he felt the absurdly sharp claws of his new hand glide over his skin.
After he made sure that he wasn't bleeding, Mikazuki turned back towards the man before him, who seemed to realize that he was unable to understand him, prompting him to roll his eyes and, rather dramatically, snapped his fingers.
As soon as they were snapped, Mikazuki felt his eardrums pop ever so slightly, prompting him to rub his left ear with his regular hand in confusion and forget about the guy in front of him for a brief moment.
"Better?" inquired the man before him, now speaking in Mikazuki's native tongue somehow, smirking rather cockily as Augus turned towards him with an even more confused expression, an expression that turned rather unreadable within a handful of seconds as the guy in front of him smirked wider in amusement. "Tell me, do you understand me now?"
Opening his mouth, Mikazuki got ready to reply to the man's question with one of his own, with him not being one for small talk, especially not now of all times, though before he could do so, the bearded man smirked and pointed at him in a rather dramatic fashion.
"Your next line is: who are you?" predicted the man with a smirk.
"Who are you?" echoed Mika, only to wince in surprise at that. As for the man, his smirk widened in satisfaction, though Mikazuki's irritated glare did lessen it ever so slightly prompting him to clear his throat and continue speaking.
"I would predict your next line once more, but it would seem as though you have nothing more to say until I reply," observed the man as he approached Mikazuki, who remained defensive as he did. The boy dodged out of the way as the bearded man attempted to place a hand on his still-flesh shoulder, prompting him to chuckle as he tugged on his beard in amusement. "Don't be such a prick! I don't wish to hurt you, Mikazuki Augus! I'm simply here to welcome you!"
"...welcome me?" echoed Mika as the man smirked behind his beard, something that made the pilot frown a little deeper than usual. Smirks like that are usually a sign of horrible things to come, though he didn't let his discomfort show as he began wondering how this guy knew who he was in the first place…
"Yes, Mikazuki! Welcome to Hell!" welcomed the man with a friendly smirk, with him cutting off the pilot's train of thought all the while, and at that, Mikazuki's shoulders slouched down in an apparent form of shock as he stared up at the guy incredulously. "I am the one to welcome you here! I go by many names, including the Eighth Member of Ars Goetia or Barbados, for some reason. They named an island after me, you know! I hear the people there call it Bim for whatever reason… or Bimshire. Strange, is it not?"
As he spoke, the guy realized that he was probably confusing Mika a little more than he intended to, a thought that he confirmed to himself after he glanced down at him and saw that his usually stoic expression was now replaced with one of confusion, prompting him to clear his throat and get to the point.
"Ah, but that's besides the point, little Mikazuki. Please overlook all those nicknames and simply call me Barbatos! "
And following that… there was silence, with Mika remaining as he usually was while the guy claiming to be Barbatos rubbed his beard as he smirked expectantly. He was expecting some shock to show on the pilot's usually stoic face, and he was very much looking forward to it…
For the most part, however, Augus simply kept his gaze firmly locked onto the one claiming to be Barbatos, seemingly judging his sincerity, while the alleged devil who stood in front of him waited quietly. He had initially predicted that Mika would lose his calm demeanor and ask if he really was a demon or if he was truly in Hell, and his already wide smirk grew in anticipation for that.
And for perhaps the first time in his long life, Barbatos' prediction was incorrect.
"So I won't be reborn since I'm in Hell?" was all Mika could ask at that point, sounding just a bit on edge but not totally shocked, much to Barbatos' surprise as the alleged devil raised an eyebrow to show his confusion. Not quite the reaction he was hoping for… but sure. He'll roll with it.
"Nope! At least not in the way you were hoping for, at least! You won't be reborn in the way you were hoping for… but you have been reborn, however… as a Sinner who shall suffer in Hell for all of eternity!" confirmed Barbatos as he slapped Mika on the back rather chummily, an act that made Augus flinch just a little as he turned to stare at the devil claiming to be Barbatos. "The place for those who committed atrocities so fiendish and diabolical that they have no hope for redemption! You, for example, killed many who could be considered innocent in one way or another, so here you are! Enjoy your eternal stay!"
Once again, Barbatos had predicted Mikazuki to give some sort of reaction outside of his usual poker face as soon as he had processed that new bit of information. And once again, he was let down as the Pilot nodded rather absentmindedly.
"I see," was all he could mutter out as he clenched and unclenched his new Lupus Rex arm, still a little confused by the whole ordeal. And for a brief moment, he fidgeted a little as he allowed the situation he was in to sink in. The pilot remained silent for a long while he rubbed his new right arm thoughtfully, unsure of what to make of this situation, though after a short while…
"Your next line shall be!" proclaimed Barbatos…
""Why are my arms and legs like that…?(!)"" finished/proclaimed both Mikazuki and Barbatos in near unison, and as soon as they were done, Augus shot the Demon a confused and slightly annoyed glance as Barbatos laughed out loud in smug confidence.
"Ahaha! Never gets old," muttered Barbatos as he wiped a fake tear off his cheek. "Well, allow me to explain, little Sinner! Whenever a person comes down to Hell, they'll undergo a physical transformation of sorts! If I had to guess, your transformation had something to do with that mechanical monstrosity you pilot so often! In a way, you sold your soul to the devil by simply connecting to it, so now, even in death, the Lupus Rex haunts you!"
No response from Mika, who frowned mildly as he stared at the Devil in confusion. Vice versa, Barbatos eyed Mika with a wide grin, having predicted Mikazuki's next line by the time he began to part his lips.
"Now, you shall ask if any other Tekkadan members are here, hmm?" predicted Barbatos as he stroked his beard cheekily, and instead of echoing his prediction, Augus just nodded as he closed his mouth, prompting the devil to chuckle in spite of his mild disappointment of Mika not echoing his prediction. "I frankly don't know! Honestly, I simply sucked your soul here because I found you interesting!"
The tilt of Mika's head told Barbatos that he was confused, prompting him to elaborate.
"You see, little pilot, I've been watching you and your friends for quite some time. Don't ask how, please. Such secrets are not to be shared!" explained Barbatos as he began pacing around Mikazuki rather dramatically, with the Sinner staring at him all the while. "Call it mild curiosity or whatever, but something about watching you and your feeble group of fellow Iron Blooded Orphans wander around, causing chaos all in the name of bettering your company gets my blood pumping! Especially the times where you snuffed out another man's life with your weapondary! Oooooh, the lack of humanity!
"And to add the icing on the cake, a majority of the atrocities you've committed were with these big ass robots named after the 72 Demons of Ars Goetia, no less! Ah, such coincidences are hard to come by! Imagine the shock on Gusion's face when he saw that he went from a frog looking thing to a four armed beast! Or Flauros lying about not loving that pink colour! She's such a prick at times, I tell you! Ah… good times."
"...that doesn't explain why you took my soul in particular," pointed out Mika after some time, prompting Barbatos to chuckle.
"I expected you to say that!" proclaimed Barbatos with a sly smirk, prompting Augus to grumble softly as he attempted to cross his arms, something that didn't exactly work too well. "The real reason as to why I plucked your fragile little soul here is because of your final words before death!"
"...final words?" echoed Mika as he tilted his head a little to the side.
"Why yes! Aside from the things you've done, your final words before death intrigued me!" confirmed Barbatos. "You fought not for yourself, but for those whom you hold dear! Your undying passion to protect the remainder of your pathetic little boot camp interested me just enough to wish to finally speak to you personally… and for me to wish to offer you something!"
Mikazuki's raised brow was a sign to the 8th Demon of Ars Goetia to continue.
"You see, Mikazuki Augus," continued Barbatos as he stroked his beard. "Though I may be a Duke of Hell, I do not hold much power. While it is true that I command thirty legions of Demons and have four Kings by my side," Barbatos paused for a while to perhaps see a potentially impressed look on Mika's face, only to continue when he realized that wasn't happening, "I still get lonely! The assistants that I have by my side can barely get anything dirty done, and hiring outside help is a real chore! Sometimes I crave a good assistant with a good work ethic and resolve!"
"So?" groaned Mika, not exactly getting what Barbatos was getting at, eliciting an eye roll from him as he elaborated.
"So, I wish for you to become one of my personal assistants in Hell! Your achievements and exploits in life have shown me that you are exactly what I need to help with the dirty work I wish to do in this damn place whilst also providing me with more than my fair share of entertainment!" finished Barbatos, and this time, Mikazuki did at least look somewhat surprised at the offer. The mildly shocked expression was something Barbatos savoured just a little before he continued speaking. "Now, this offer is simple! You simply need to help me tell people to fuck off if what they ask for is unreasonable!"
"And?" continued Mika, narrowing his eyes at the Devil. He's lived long enough to know that most deals had more details to them. And considering how Barbatos was a devil… Mika was more than convinced that there were more things tied to his offer. And lo and behold… he was correct, as Barbatos' smirk grew in size.
"As perceptive as always, Mika! That's what I like about you! Though you seem unobservant 90% of the time, your perception is just as sharp as your stone cold facade!" proclaimed Barbatos, prompting Mika to snort a little in apparent self congratulation. "The other segment of this deal is that you will have to do a handful of favors for me as well!"
"Favors?" echoed Mika, tilting his head just a little as he flexed his Lupus Rex hand, still getting used to the mechanical nature of his new limb.
"Indeed! I'm a Hellborn Demon, after all, and you're a Sinner! By default, you're one rank beneath me at minimum, so you're, let's just say, the bottom while I'm the top!" explained Barbatos, who stopped his pacing and kept his back turned towards Mikazuki, who was just a little confused at that analogy, though he didn't comment on it. "I'll have you run errands from time to time! But don't worry, it's all simple shit! You'll get used to it in no time!"
"What kind of errands?" inquired Mika as Barbatos chuckled, seemingly reading his mind as he continued on.
"Oh don't worry! I have plenty of other Servants who can help me with the boring stuff like reading diplomatic crap from the other Demons or performing research!" assured Barbatos as he turned his head to glance at Mika. "What you will be doing is the messy work! Helping out certain rowdy clients I get from time to time, sweeping the floors, man-demonslaughter and rejecting people who want to perform various sexual acts with me and the occasional assassination. All that good stuff!"
"...hm. What's in it for me?" muttered Augus, casually glossing over that last part as quickly as Barbatos did as he spoke, eliciting a smile from the demon as he eyed him enthusiastically. Good! He wasn't dilly dallying whatsoever! That was a great work ethic!
"Simple, my child! As mentioned before, I am a Duke of Hell. And as such, I have quite a bit of power on my side. Not the most, but enough to guarantee that you'll live a mildly comfortable life and that you'll survive the yearly exterminations!" proclaimed Barbatos proudly, with Mika taking note of that yearly extermination part, though he didn't ask about it just yet. "You'll be paid as well! Just think of this as Tekkadan once more and me as your new Orga!"
Mikazuki noticeably grimaced when Barbatos suggested he be his new Orga, though he didn't voice that out either as the demon offered his hand.
"So, have we a deal?" inquired Barbatos, his grin growing impossibly large as he brought his hand towards Augus. As for the Sinner, he simply stared at his own regular hand and back at Barbatos, who seemed to radiate a rather devilish aura as he awaited his response from Augus. The 8th Demon of Ars Goetia remained very confident that Mikazuki would shake his hand.
And then…
"No."
Blinking in mild shock, Barbatos lowered his hand as his smile faltered, with his devilish aura swiftly dissipating. That unexpected answer caused the devil to raise a brow in confusion.
"Say what now?" began Barbatos, only to be cut off by Mika.
"I may be in Hell, but I still work for Tekkadan. Even if the company is dissolved, my loyalty remains with them," said Augus as Barbatos sighed in frustration, assuming that he had done all this for nothing as he got ready to snap his fingers and send him off to some random part of Hell to rot in. Before he could do so, however, Mikazuki continued speaking. "But I'm willing to work with you."
"Really now?" quipt Barbatos, his smirk reappearing as he lowered his hand. Mika replied with a nod before elaborating.
"Ah. But I won't pledge any loyalty to you," answered Mika as he slid his regular hand into his pocket. "I'll do what you ask, but only if I consider it a reasonable request. I'm also free to leave you whenever I want. Consider it a partnership between Tekkadan and whatever company you're running."
"Hm, you're smarter than you let on, kid," mumbled Barbatos, feeling rather impressed as he rubbed his chin. Though before long, he nodded as he shrugged casually as Mika pulled his hand out of his pocket, disappointed at the lack of raisins. "But ah, what the heck! It's all the same! I accept your terms and conditions!"
And with that Mikazuki nodded as Barbatos led him out of the room they were in, oblivious to the fact that had he shook that hand, he would've quite literally spent his afterlife as a nearly mindless slave to the devil that his dear Mobile Suit was named after.
Edited and published! I've reclassified this story as a crack-fic, so I'll be keeping outros short.
See y'all next chapter!
Demonic changes to Mikazuki: his right arm and both of his legs (below the knee) have become Lupus Rex's limbs.
