"What do you mean?" Aria asked, bewildered as Damian stood up, making Angel glare at the fish demon as he sized him up a little, but didn't move just yet. "Who...who are you?"
"Hmm...you know, I really should just kill you, but it has been such a long time since someone has actually known me, but I really don't want anyone interfering, so I'm truly sorry, my lovely Angel, but you're going to have to sit this one out," Damian stated apologetically with a calm smile as Angel cried out as his image suddenly grew static and then he just ceased to exist!
"What have you done!" Aria cried out in horror, fearing the worst as an amicable chuckle escaped Damian as though he were having the time of his life!
"Oh, don't worry, my cherry blossom! I know enough not to separate him fully from the program!" Damian said as he carelessly sauntered over to her with a hand in his robe as the old man snoozed just to the right of them on his bench. "I just simply put him in his own little corner where he can't bother us. I can't have him knowing what I'm about to reveal to you before you die. He's still Valentino's favorite toy, so I can't risk breaking him. He's perfectly safe, if a bit angry right now. I can hear him screaming and shooting off his guns in his little digital corner when I concentrate hard enough on him. Brilliant tech, this machine. Too bad it's too easy to kill someone with it. I find the trust that God gave to the angels so deeply disturbing. They could've tortured us forever in the old days with these things. One almost did, if I remember correctly, but that was so very long ago."
"...Then you were there," Aria stated with nervous certainty as she looked at him with deeper dread and reluctant respect as she kept retreating, while Damian continued to advance. "You shouldn't know anything about that unless you were there more than a hundred years ago."
"You shouldn't know what you know, either, given that the machines not unlike this one that share infinite knowledge were all destroyed during the Angelic Purge save a few that are jealously guarded by the demonic elite," Damian stated sharply with a dark and excited grin as his glee caught Aria off guard. "To finally find a soul that knows anything of the old world delights me so much that you have me getting dangerously curious. You had me guessing for a little while, but taking up Alastor's offer after the loss of Andrew's job has proven most gratuitous for me! How do you know what you know? You're too new to Hell to have gained favor with the current powers that be and, no, Alastor does not have access to any of the few existing information machines, so don't try and bluff your way out of this one."
"Let Andrew go," Aria insisted tensely as she felt her anger rise as she refused to retreat any longer as she neared the door to the engine room. "Let me see your true face and I'll tell you what you want to know."
"Show me yours, first," Damian replied with a darker grin, making Aria pause as she felt a stab of fear flash through her.
How much does he know, she wondered as she fought not to give herself away?
"You say nothing, and yet you say so much in the silence," Damian said conversationally as he stopped in front of her with only an inch or two between them, making Aria stare up at him with an angry, stubborn look as she fought to get her fear under control. "This form isn't really who you are, is it?"
"What is Andrew to you?" Aria asked, dodging the question as she felt the temptation to rush through the door behind her grow inside her mind, but she pushed back at it as she remembered her promise to Andrew. "I promised I wouldn't leave him and he has every right to be free of you if your business is with me. He doesn't have to get in the middle of this. Just set him gently beside the sleeping man and I give you my word that we'll have a civil chat. No tricks, no weapons...just the two of us sharing a little personal history together."
"I'd rather keep my vessel...unless you reveal your true self to me first, hmm?" Damian replied with a smug grin as he leaned in close as he rested a hand above her against the wall just beside the door. "You're choice, my little cherry blossom!"
Aria wasn't sure what else to do. Stuck inside the simulator with Damian in charge left her with little choice. If only Angel Dust had been given more practice in being in charge of the machine, but Aria knew she was dragging out the inevitable as she sighed heavily to herself. Father, how many times am I going to have to reveal myself to demons before I finally catch a break, she asked God in exasperation? All she got was a warm feeling of assurance, making her roll her eyes and give a half-smile like there had to be a joke somewhere in all this despite her fear.
"...Okay, but if you refuse, you know what will happen," Aria said bluntly with a steady gaze as she called his bluff on whether or not he knew the tech like he insisted he did.
"You worry too much," Damian insisted with a dark grin of delight as he caressed her face with his other hand, making her push it away quickly in angry agitation. "I'll keep my end of the bargain and continue the simulation for as long as your heart still beats."
Aria hated that answer, but there was nothing for it as she sighed. Looking inside of herself for the spiritual, protective walls that held her desire to hide, it was a small relief as her blood stained underwear finally disappeared to reveal her blessed, white robe, her normal, pink skin, straight brown hair and brown eyes. Although she couldn't manifest her full glory in the simulator, she added a warm, white glow around her all the same. As she changed in front of Damian, the demon couldn't stop chuckling to himself. Her skin crawled at the sound as she looked up at him defiantly.
"There! Now you know, now change!" Aria insisted fiercely as she felt the air around her in the simulator shift as Damian's chuckle turned into a fit of wicked laughter.
Damian's mouth widened beyond its natural ability, making Aria cringe as she fought against the urge to bolt. She knew he wouldn't devour her this early in the game as something ethereal and dark billowed and seeped out of Damian's mouth, but it was upsetting, to say the least. It crawled and wisped and curled out of him until Aria could see Andrew's face begin to appear back where Damian's had been. By the time the dark entity emerged fully from Andrew in the tall, thin shape of a shadowy, ethereal man with no face, the fish demon was finally back to normal as he gasped weakly and coughed as he collapsed to the ground.
"Hahaha! An angel! Of course! It all makes perfect sense, now!" the shadowy entity declared triumphantly in a voice that was both eerie and unmade, yet it echoed of Damian's voice inside Aria's head.
"Andrew! Are you alright?" Aria said anxiously as she looked at Andrew worriedly.
"Y-you're...an angel?" Andrew asked in shock as he looked shaken like he couldn't believe what was going on as he moved away from her like she was about to do something dangerous!
"I'm not going to hurt you, if that's what you're worried about," Aria said with a huff as she picked up on his fear of her, making her sigh in frustration as she looked at Andrew with disappointment written all over her face. "I've already heard that angels have a poor reputation here in Hell, but this is ridiculous! Of all the times I get to reveal myself as a fully fledged angel, all I get is fear and suspicion and intrigue! Sigh...the angels sent to Earth have it easy, given the lack of negative propaganda, for the most part, but no! I get to go to Hell where I find out that there's a group of angels that slaughter a percentage of the population every single year, so I'm definitely not going to be trusted. Father, we have got to figure out why that's happening!"
"You will cease your prayers! What do you know?" the shadow demon offered tensely in a deadly whisper as he leaned close until Aria could smell him as the taste of death, betrayal, blood, and despair lingered on her breath, making her cough and sputter as a deep chuckle suddenly escaped him! "Hahaha! You are as the fools on Earth. Your ancient memory is locked away. You are no more certain than a babe taking its first steps in this world. How can you say we are mistaken for our fear of you, when your own people slaughter us every year? Do you really not know why?"
"I really don't know why that's happening, but it has to be connected to the corruption of the ancient laws! It has to be!" Aria insisted, but Andrew scoffed as he weakly stood and looked at her angrily.
"You don't know!? What the f-fuck is that about!?" Andrew asked in a furious tone as he leaned on the bench the old man still slept soundly in, completely unaware of their conversation. "I can't believe I t-trusted you! Ugh, and I even had sex with you! G-gross!"
"Okay, I think that's a little uncalled for, given what Angel Dust just said about you," Aria said defensively as she raised an eyebrow at him as she felt her heart grow heavy, making her sigh tiredly. "Ugh, Jesus was right. Dealing with old demons is a pain in the butt. What should I say, Father? What can I do?"
"I told you to cease your prayers, child of the light!" the shadow man said with a snarl in his ethereal voice inside her head as he suddenly grasped her by the throat as he squeezed hard enough to stop her from drawing breath! "You will speak no more! Die, traitor!"
Aria struggled in his grip despite looking like a gentle breeze could dissipate him instantly. The feel of his hands were like ice as the cold of him seeped into every fiber of her being! Her mind grew slow and dark as she felt him try and pry into her very being! He was trying to possess her as the realization made her struggle against him fiercely!
"I have never had an angelic vessel before," the ethereal shadow man said with the echo of a smirk billowing over his face before it disappeared inside the void that he was. "I wonder how much damage I'll get to do wearing your face before you finally succumb to me!"
"W-What?" Andrew cried out as he watched as the shadow man began to wrap himself around Aria like a whirlwind of shadow, making her struggle harder as the cold began to burn across her skin! "You said you were going to kill her, not p-possess her!"
"The outcome is the same, my feeble excuse for a vessel," the shadow man spoke in a tone of wispy dismissal inside Andrew's mind as Aria's struggles turned into violent throws of desperation! "You do not know it, but you are lucky that she has come around. A few more decades and I would've needed another vessel. You are no longer of any use to me and lucky for you, that means you get to live, but her? Oh, the power that her spiritual body is allowed to wield will finally bring me back from that ridiculous coup that the Radio Demon dared to start all those years ago!"
"You c-can't! We had a d-deal, remember!" Andrew insisted as he stood up to his full height as he moved to slice up the ethereal shadow man, but his tail merely went through him like he wasn't even there, making the shadow man laugh in delight as Andrew realized he couldn't hurt him.
"I was once known as the King of the Obake, you ignorant fool," the shadow man explained with that wispy smile of his as Aria's struggles pulled and pushed at the demon's grip, but her frantic movements didn't even phase him! "I am the first and most powerful of the shape shifting shadows you've seen haunt the shadows of many of the denizens of Hell. We are more famous in the Asian provinces, but the fear of us is the same all over the Earth. I have the unique ability to possess the bodies of the living who invite unknown spirits into them, but the possession of spiritual bodies of those who once lived, but are now only spirits, are trickier unless they lack the resistance to refuse me. My other servants who no longer serve me, but instead follow my hated enemy, The Radio Demon, can possess the bodies of animals and even household items, but they more often than not roam the shadows in search of mischief! They are some of the lesser souls of those who were never born and were cast out of Heaven. They hate the living and those that have ever lived, but they are also cowards who seek to serve a powerful demon that they think will serve them better. The Radio Demon left such a power vacuum in his wake a hundred years ago that many rivals of mine proceeded to take advantage of the situation and succeeded in dethroning me. I will never forget that day when The Radio Demon suddenly appeared after almost all my power was stript from me as he offered a deal to my former servants. They betrayed me and struck a deal with him, sealing them to his service for as long as he deemed sufficient. He is a grand master of trickery and deceit and fooled my stupid servants into eternal servitude. How I envy that power, but he remains untouched by my sorceries. Hopefully, this woman will be able to end him and finally free my old servants so that they will serve me once again!"
"You l-lied to me! You can't just b-break our agreement!" Andrew stuttered out as he shook his head and balled up his fists as the biting sting of betrayal bit hard into his soul! "You p-promised that you would bring me power and show me what I could do! I n-needed to survive living in Hell and finally gain my...my self worth and you promised me you'd give me that! You promised that p-people would learn to appreciate me because of the power I wielded alone and that you'd bring me success! This is a load of b-bullshit! You set me up and just used my b-body like...like it was nothing but a p-parking garage as you leeched away at my life!"
"Such is the way of things here in Hell, my loathsome, former vessel," the ethereal shadow man sneered as Aria started to feel sick and weak as she still fought to keep him out, but the cold was biting into her lungs and her mind was almost too foggy to even think as she cried out mightily to God for help in her heart! "You are too soft for this world. After I take this woman's form and face, I will give you your reward as I so promised before I start my triumphant return to my former glory!"
"To Hell with your reward! You're a liar and a bully and I fucking hate bullies!" Andrew cried out as he lunged into the ethereal man, making the shadow man laugh as Andrew merely collided with Aria, jarring her as she grasped onto him tightly as she fought to see Andrew's face beyond the shadows trying to cloud her mind!
"Hahaha! You cannot touch me!" the shadow man laughed as he let go of Aria, leaving only one hand on her throat to grab onto Andrew's face as he started to push him away from Aria's grasp! "You will not save her or yourself! Now watch and despair as I break her will and use her to end your miserable existence!"
"GASP! 'And I will put enmity between thee and the woman!'" Aria suddenly found herself saying as she felt something rise up from deep inside of her as she found the strength to force his hand off her throat, making her gasp for air! "Demon without form or face! I will not let you reside inside this vessel! Away with you, for another already resides within her! Her spirit body is a temple and she is clean. I deny you access and repel you from her form!"
"Impossible!" the shadow man cried out angrily as he thrust Andrew off of Aria and grabbed her tightly around the neck as he redoubled his efforts to smother her, but a new light shone in her brown eyes that grew brighter and brighter! "You are locked away! You are unknown and therefore powerless! You cannot deny me!"
"I am unknown, it is true, but not powerless," Aria heard herself speak as she gasped as the shadow man let out a scream so unnervingly painful and damned that she knew it would haunt her nightmares forever as she actually began to feel the unbridled rage of the shadow demon as he was forced to let her go.
"You are nothing! You are worthless and weak!" the shadow man shouted and hissed as Aria felt the pain of his words sear through her, but they didn't linger as something wonderful and terrible spoke against the darkness of him from inside herself.
"You are banished from me and your former vessel, who has also been sealed away, by the holy act that your vessel and mine shared together, binding our souls into one," the entity inside her that she knew was herself, but it was old and strong and full of courage as it spoke plainly with no hatred or rage in her voice, leaving Aria to wonder as she started to feel this light inside her dip back into its hidden space inside her heart. "You hid your pain well, demon, but the one called Andrew now cannot save you. His spirit body began to burn against your foul spirit after the act of passion, love, and mercy was made. You hid it and played up your bravado, but now you are thrust away. You can never darken these temples again, for they are sealed."
"I WILL HAVE MY VENGEANCE!" the shadow demon screamed in rage as Aria felt it tear at her, but it only caused him to scream out in agony as he tried the same to Andrew, who felt nothing as another scream escaped the shadow man. "YOU WILL YIELD TO ME!"
"Oh, for fuck's sake, shut the fuck up!" the familiar voice of Angel Dust said irritably as he popped back onto the train out of nowhere and filled the shadow demon full of lead!
The bullets didn't seem to do anything but make the shadow demon angry as it lunged at Angel as his shadowy mouth loomed wide as though to swallow him whole! Angel didn't even bat an eye as a devilish sneer crossed his face before the lights around them suddenly grew too bright, making the shadow man cry out in surprise! In front of everyone on the train, the shadow man was unceremoniously blinked out of existence, leaving Aria and Andrew feeling confused, while Angel Dust just laughed.