AUTHOR'S NOTE: Okay, really should warn you guys that this Spotlight is a straight up horror story (perfect timing given that October is finally upon us) so just a heads up in case anyone's sensitive or squeamish to this kind of stuff.
DISCLAIMER: I own absolutely none of the properties you will see here. All rights go to their respective owners.
Infinity Verse Spotlights
Pacifica Northwest: Devil's Due
The first thing Pacifica did when she awoke from her nightmare was scream. The young heiress had her fair share of bad dreams in the past, but this time was different. This time, it felt all too real, like she was being attacked by something made of flesh and blood, or at the very least, something that feasted on those things. Her screams did not go unnoticed, for several seconds later, after her cries of terror echoed throughout the halls of her home, her parents burst into her bedroom.
"Pacifica, what's wrong?" her mother asked.
"I-I had a nightmare, and I-" she began to explain.
"A nightmare? Really, Pacifica?" her father cut her off. "That's what got you all worked up?"
"But Dad it was-"
"Scary, I'm sure, but that's no reason cause such a ruckus," her father brushed off. "Now go back to sleep. You're screaming so loud that you could wake the dead!"
With that, the young heiress's parents promptly departed from their daughter's bedroom, leaving her alone with her fears. Pacifica rolled her eyes as she let an irritated groan. What was she thinking? For her parents to act like, well, parents, and console their frightened child? Wishful thinking on her part. Even after everything that happened after Bill's invasion of Gravity Falls, her parents were still emotionally distant from her. One would think that they would've learned their lesson from their faulty elitisms, but the Northwests were notoriously known for being set in their ways. However, unlike her parents, Pacifica had learned from her past mistakes and was trying to learn to be a better person.
The young blonde tried to calm herself down from the nightmare so she could get back to sleep. But just as she rolled over on her side and closed her eyes, she heard a tapping on her window, disrupting her rest. With another groan, Pacifica rolled over to see what was keeping her from going back to sleep. She thought that it was a tree that sat next to the house whose branches occasionally scratched her window when the wind blew. But when she turned to look at her window, she didn't see a branch there, but instead a black hand with long red claws scraping against the window. Pacifica couldn't see who the hand belonged to. Only the long red sleeved arm that the hand was attached to. She gasped in terror as she closed her eyes tightly to prevent herself from seeing such an awful sight.
After several seconds of hearing nothing, Pacifica slowly opened her eyes once more, already fearing the sight of the hand on her window again. But this time, there was no hand there. Only the tree branches scraping against the window as they had always done. The blonde let out a sigh in relief, even chuckling at her own overblown fears. Obviously, her nightmare had affected her more than she had anticipated, and now her mind was so worked up that she was imagining things in the dark. With her fears quelled, Pacifica laid back down and closed her eyes before falling back asleep. As she slept, the young heiress wasn't aware that something was creeping into her room.
A shadow seeped through the cracks in the window sill like a snake slithering through a hole before sliding onto the floor. Once there, the shadow began to rise onto its feet and allow itself to stand over the girl's bed. A pair of glowing, piercing red eyes opened on the shadows face, both of which looked down on the girl with cruel intentions behind them. A row of long, shark-like teeth formed as the shadow wickedly smiled as he continued to gaze upon the girl. After carefully observing the sleeping teen, the shadow vanished into the darkness, grinning the entire time.
The sunlight that shone through Pacifica's window was a welcome sight after the previous night she had. With a yawn, she greeted the dawn of the new day with a stretch and a quick pop of her back. There was a time that, when she awakened, she would be greeted by at least three servants bringing her clothes, breakfast, and her phone so she could comb social media. But those days were gone now, and the blonde, like her parents, had to learn to readjust to this new life. To say that the Northwest's lives had changed was a rather large understatement. Ever since her father had attempted to betray mankind and join forces with Bill, on top of McGuket reclaiming his fortune and buying their mansion, Pacifica's family had taken a serious hit. Both financially and terms of status.
It went without saying that ever since the patriarch of the Northwest family tired to throw in with Bill during Weirdmageddon, the Northwests weren't exactly the most liked people in Gravity Falls. They were unwelcome every time they came into town in order to go shopping for food or tried to attend a social gathering to try and repair their status in town. Pacifica's mother had suggested to her father that perhaps it would be best if they moved somewhere else, but Preston Northwest wasn't the man to turn away from something, no matter how bad the situation was. Pacifica, however, was at a sort of peace with her status quo, for after everything that had happened that fateful summer, she had shed her former life as a cruel diva with vapid friends to trying to be a kind person to those she had tormented.
On the financial side of things, things weren't bad, but they weren't great either. Since that one summer that altered her life, the family's business partners had been backing out of their deals with them, taking much of their riches with them. Fortunately, they didn't lose all of their fortunes, for Pacifica's father had been keeping much of his riches in off-shore accounts, but the blonde knew that it wouldn't be long before her family's funds would run out. Between the money and the loss of status, things within the Northwest family were starting to crack. Pacifica's parents had been at each other throats since Preston's attempted betrayal, but in the recent weeks, things had been reaching a new level where it seemed like not a day would go by that they wouldn't get into a fight.
After getting ready for the day, Pacifica came downstairs for breakfast, or better put, what she could find to make for breakfast. The house that the Northwest's currently resided in was by no means a mansion, but it was serviceable as a place to live, though it was on the county limit, so it was a bit of a drive to get into Gravity Falls, though perhaps that was for the best. Once the heiress entered the kitchen, she found her parents already there. Her father was sitting at the table with a newspaper in hand while her mother was looking through cupboards before slamming them shut.
"Oh, good, they're already pissed at each other," their daughter mentality noted.
Pacifica said nothing to either of them as she went over to the fridge and got out the milk before going over to get the cereal, only to find that the box was gone.
"Are we out of cereal?" she asked.
"Why don't you ask your father?" her mother advised in a snippy tone. "He was supposed to get groceries yesterday."
"I'm sorry, dear, but I was busy paying the bills," her husband answered in a tense voice. "You know, considering that I'm the one with the money and all."
"For how long?" his wife muttered under her breath, though she made sure that she was loud enough for her husband to hear her.
"Excuse me?!" Preston snapped.
"Can you two not do this right now?" Pacifica chimed, not even realizing that she had just gotten her into a mess.
"You stay out of this!" her father warned her. "You're part of the reason we're here in the first place! If you hadn't become friends with those Pines freaks, we'd still have our home, our money, and our status!"
Those words cut through her like a knife going through her heart, but this time she wasn't going to let her parents get the best of her. However, before she could open her mouth to argue, there came a knock at the front door. The Northwest family turned their attention toward the knock but did not go towards the door itself, thinking that it was the mailman here to hand them a fresh set of bills. But then, a second knock on the door happened, which was odd considering that the mailman would only knock once before slipping the mail through the slot and be on his merry way. Seconds later, a third, louder knock pounded on the door, making the fractured family collectively jump in surprise.
Pacifica, steeling her nerves, went to the front door and opened it to meet whoever or whatever was pounding on their door. However, when she opened the door, she didn't find a person, but instead, only a large, black envelope laying on the doorstep. The heiress picked it up and inspected it. There was no stamp or return address to say who it was from. Only a message scrawled in red ink on the front of it.
"From your friend who waited," the teen read aloud. "The hell does mean?"
"What is it?" Preston questioned.
"It's just envelope," his daughter answered as she brought the strange grift into the kitchen. "It says it's from a friend."
"Well, open it," her mother ordered.
As ordered, the blonde opened the strange package, revealing something that no one in the family was expecting.
"It's a record," Pacifica noted as she inspected. "Did you guys order this or something?"
"If this is someone's idea of a joke, I swear to God..." Preston growled as he got up and roughly snatched the record out of his daughter's hand. "I'm getting to the bottom of this!"
Preston's wife and daughter followed him into the living room. In the room was a vintage record player, one of the few items that the Northwest managed to keep after their fall from grace. Preston set the record on the player and cracked it on, allowing it to play a haunting tune.
Children, have you ever met the Bogeyman before?
No, of course, you haven't for you're much too good, I'm sure
Don't you be afraid of him if he should visit you
He's a great big coward, so I'll tell you what to do:
Hush, hush, hush, here comes the Bogeyman,
Don't let him come too close to you, he'll catch you if he can-catch you if he can-catch you if he can-catch you if he can
The record continued to skip on that verse for several more seconds before letting out a sudden screeching sound that pierced the family's ears like knives. Preston swatted the needle off of the record. He then took it and threw it to the ground, shattering it into pieces upon impact with the ground. Pacifica was shocked by her father's reaction to the record, but was horrified for other reasons as well.
"Oh my God..." she gasped. "I heard that song before!"
"What on Earth are you talking about?" her mother asked.
"That song, it was in my dream last night!" she answered with terror in her voice. "That song was playing while I was running from some kind of red monster!"
Her parents' eyes widen upon hearing that before looking at one another with fear on their faces.
"Dad, we have to talk to Dipper and Mabel about this!" Pacifica pleaded. "Maybe they'll know what-"
"I'll do no such thing!" her father shouted. "I am not stooping to asking for their help with your stupid dreams!"
"Well, I'm going!" the heiress snapped back before turning to head toward the door.
"Don't you dare turn your back on me, young lady!" her father demanded.
Pacifica stopped dead in her tracks. That was it. That was the last time she was going to let her dad get away with this.
"No, Dad, I didn't turn my back on this family, YOU did!" she exclaimed. "You're the one who threw in with Bill the second you got the chance! It's because of you we're the most hated people in town, and honestly, I don't blame them! You taught me that we're supposed to be better than everyone else, but we're not! We had every chance to make up for what you did, but you refused to own up to how much of a shit person you are!"
Preston and his wife stood before their daughter, utterly speechless at her words. Not wanting to waste any more time on them, Pacifica turned and headed back toward the door, promptly slamming it on her way out as she did. She headed off into town on foot, failing to notice that someone was watching her from the tree line with a smirk on the corner of his lips.
"Pacifica Northwest..." the stranger said. "You'll do just fine."
Back inside the house, Preston and his wife already knew who had sent them the record and what was about to happen next. But why now? They still had time before the deal they made was done, so why come for them now? Not wanting to face their fate, Preston rushed over to the closets and took out another item he had kept: His Winchester rifle. No sooner had he done that did the lights within the house begin to flicker and dim. A loud crash from down the hall made the couple jump in fright, nearly making Preston fire his gun off in the process. It was then that they heard the sound of loud footsteps coming from the upper levels of the house, footsteps that we're currently coming downstairs.
After flickering for several more seconds, the lights went out. But instead of having sunlight still shine through the windows, the curtains were suddenly drawn together by an unseen force in the darkness. In the darkness, the record player came to life once more, this time with another haunting song. As it did, the Northwests saw a pair of bright red eyes shine through the shadows as a large, toothy smile formed underneath them.
The house is haunted by the echo of your last goodbye
The house is haunted by the echo of your last goodbye
The house is haunted by the memories that refuse to die
I can't get away from a vision that brings intimate glimpses of intimate things
A voice in my heart like a torch singer sings "I wonder who's kissing her now?"
The house is haunted by the echo of your favorite song
The place is cluttered up with roses that have lived too long, much too long
The ceiling is white but the shadows are black
A ghost in my heart says you'll never come back
The house is haunted by the echo of your last goodbye
When the song ended, the screaming started.
Pacifica refused to let her parents' arrogance get the better of her as she finally reached the Mystery Shack. It wasn't exactly a fun 40-minute walk to the gift shop, but it would soon be worth it, assuming, of course, that the Pines Twins were there at all. Since they came back to Gravity Falls, Dipper, Mabel, and almost everyone who lived in the Mystery Shack had been oddly scarce around town. The only one who anyone ever saw was Stan, and even then, that was few and far between. It made no sense to the heiress. Where could the twins be? It wasn't like there were still mysteries to be solved in Gravity Falls or monsters to fight.
"Maybe they'll be home today," she mused in her mind. "Yeah, and maybe the Infinity League will let me join them!"
Upon reaching the Mystery Shack Pacifica knocked on the front door to the gift shop. It wasn't before long that Stan opened the door to greet his guest.
"Uh, hi, Mr. Pines," Pacifica said, unsure what to say. "Are Dipper and Mabel home?"
"Sorry, kid, they're gone," Stan answered. "Wendy's...gotten sick, Dipper's taking care of her right now, and Mabel's busy."
"Mabel? Busy?" the heiress said unconvinced. "With what, knitting a new sweater or something? I'm sure she can make time to see me."
"Mabel ain't here, kid," Stan explained. "She's off with some, uh, other friends."
"But I need their help!" Pacifica stated. "Something weird is going on at my house, and I don't know what to do!"
"Sorry, kid, I don't know what to tell you," Stan apologized. "I can't exactly give them a call to help you out right now."
"Then you help me!" the girl demanded. "Please, Mr. Pines, something is wrong and I-"
Pacifica cut herself off when she noticed something when she glanced past Stan. There, on the floor were several suitcases that were currently being packed up.
"You're leaving too?" she gathered in shock. "But why?"
"I got some family stuff to work out on my own," Stan admitted. "But listen, maybe I got something that'll help you out."
"Fine," Pacifica relented. "I'll take what I can get."
With that, Stan went back into Shack before shortly returning with something that the young heiress did not expect to see again.
"Wait, are those the freaky journals Dipper and your brother had?" she asked when she saw the books. "How are those supposed to help me?"
"You said weird shit was going on at your house, right?" Stan said. "Well, my brother wrote about all the weird shit going on in this town. So, the way I see it, these could your ticket to figuring what's spooking up your house. Now, do you want the books or not?"
"Alright, alright, I'll take it!" the teen relented as she took the journals. "But if you see Mabel, tell her to come and see me."
"What about Dipper?" the con-man mentioned.
"What about him?" the heiress brushed off as she began to talk away. "Thanks for the books. I'll give them back when I'm done with them."
As Pacifica turned and left the Mystery Shack, she noticed another pair of visitors approaching the building. The people in question were Candi and Grenda. Mabel's close friends and once targets of Pacifica and her former posse's cruelty. However, since breaking off from her past life, she had become friends with the object of her ire.
"If you guys are looking for Mabel, she's not home," Pacifica informed them.
"Ah, man!" Grenda groaned. "That's the sixth time this week she's bailed on us!"
"What could she be doing?" Candi wondered.
"I don't know, but maybe you guys can help me with something," Pacifica offered. "Come on, let's go to the diner. I'll explain everything on the way."
As she began to lead the girls into town, Pacifica caught something out of the corner of her eye. From what little she saw of it, it was a tall, shadowy figure walking among the trees. The figure suddenly turned its head, revealing its crimson eyes to her. Pacifica jumped at the sight, blinking as she did. After blinking, the figure was gone, making her question if the shape was even there at all.
After explaining what was going on at her home, Pacifica asked Candi and Grenda to help her figure what manner of creature was haunting her home. Upon reaching the diner and paying for everyone's food, the youngest member of the Northwest family passed out the other two journals so they could comb through the books alongside her. They flipped through the pages in search of anything even remotely close to the ghost or creature that stalked the blonde in her dreams. As they did, Grenda spoke up, though it was not on the subject at hand.
"Man, what are Dipper and Mabel even doing these days?!" she asked the other girls. "I mean, the last time Candi and I saw Mabel, she had abs!"
"Really? Mabel? With abs?" Pacifica said, unconvinced. "I think you've forgotten that this is the same girl whose breakfast includes a literal bowl of sugar."
"It's true!" Candi confirmed. "We went over to the Mystery Shack one day, and we found Mabel doing pull-ups in nothing but a sports bra and sweat pants."
The mental image of Mabel doing pull-ups in those types of clothes while sweat was dripping from the abs she was said to have now was an interesting one, to say the least. Pacifica blushed in confusion and embarrassment at the thoughts that were running through her head. It was becoming a more frequent thing that the heiress was starting to think about the Pines girl in more ways than just a friend. In her private moments, Pacifica would think about Mabel's smile and how it would just lighten up her very soul.
"What am I doing?!" she thought to herself. "Mabel's just a friend! And a girl! Not a girlfriend!"
"Uh, Pacifica?" Candi noted. "Aare you okay?"
"W-What? Oh, yeah! I'm fine!" the blonde quickly assured as she tried to hide her blush as she tried to change the subject. "Did either of you find anything yet?"
"Nope, not a thing," Grenda replied. "Maybe Ford never met the thing you saw?"
"Uh, maybe not," Candi refuted as she looked at the journal she reading through.
It was then that she showed the journal to her friends. Within the pages was a drawing of a tall, red-dressed demon with antlers and a microphone in his hands. A chill ran up the girls' spine at the sight of the image within the book. The creature had a name written next to the image: The Radio Demon. Pacifica took the journal before reading what Ford had written about the figure aloud.
"In all my travels throughout the multiverse, I had assumed that Bill was the worst demon I had ever encountered," she began. "That was, until I encountered the Radio Demon. Though he still may not be on the same level of power as Bill, this particular demon is every bit as, if not more, malicious and devious as he is. He is a source of great evil and a deal maker who I believe has ties to some of the most important members in Gravity Falls' history. Under no circumstances should you call him, lest you be dragged screaming into Hell."
Pacifica put the journal down after reading the passage, her mind now filled with terror. This was no doubt the very monster she saw in her nightmares, and she already had a feeling as to why he was stalking her in her dreams.
"Is that the guy?" Grenda asked.
"It is," Pacifica confirmed. "And I think I might know why he's come."
"Why?" Candi inquired.
"You guys know that my dad almost sold us all out during Bill's invasion," the blonde pointed out. "So, it would stand to reason that he may have called this Radio Demon to make a deal with him as well."
After stating her theory, Pacifica went to take a bite of the cheeseburger she had ordered, needing some kind of food to keep her calm. But when she took a bite of her burger, she felt something moving inside her mouth. Pacifica spat out her food and vomited from what she saw inside of it. Inside the mound of pre-chewed food was a mass of maggots wiggling inside of the mound of meat. Candi and Grenda almost puked at the sight as well. Trying to get the awful taste in her mouth, Pacifica grabbed her soda and began to drink it, but rather taste the diet soda she ordered, what entered the girl's mouth was a thick, irony tasting liquid that she instantly spat out, revealing that the liquid was blood.
Pacifica, as well as her friends, were horrified by what had just happened. There was no doubt about it now. The creature that was haunting her family was drawing closer. Just then, the blood that the blonde had spat out began to reshape itself into something else. The three girls watched in horror as the blood began to form into words.
"Come home. Now," Pacifica read out loud before gasping in fear. "Oh my God..."
"Holy crap!" Grenda shouted. "We gotta get to your house right now!"
"No, you two need to go get Mr. Pines!" Pacifica told them. "I need to get home!"
"But that freaky demon guy is gonna be there waiting for you!" Candi reasoned.
"Just do it!" the heiress commanded as she took off out of the diner, all the while praying that she wasn't too late to save her parents.
Despite it still being daytime outside, the inside of Pacifica's house was as black as the midnight's sky, save for a small, flickering light coming from the living room. She tried to switch on a light, but to her dismay, no light shined through the darkness. It was then that she heard the haunting sound of music coming from the living room. Fighting against her mind that was telling her to run right this instant, Pacifica instead began to walk towards said room. But with each step she took, she could hear the faint sound of tap shoes clicking behind her. She spun around to see what was following her, but only saw darkness there.
As she stepped into the living room, the heiress could see that the fireplace had been lit and was shining the only light in the house. The music that she had heard was coming from the record player, which to her surprise, was still spinning the record that her father had shattered.
"Mom? Dad?" she called out into the house, hoping to get an answer from them.
It was then that the record's song began to sing its dark tune.
Boo! I'm the Boogie Man
The terrible, horrible Boogie Man
I come in the middle of the night and frighten bad little girls like you
Beware! Better have a care
I'm going to follow you everywhere
I crawl through the ceiling and walls and fall on bad little girls like you
I'll torture you and hunt you, I've got you where I want you
A victim of my dark and dirty plot
And at the slightest whim, I'll tear you limb from limb
In other words, I'll put you on the spot
Boo! I'm the Boogie Man
The terrible, horrible Boogie Man
I come in the middle of the night and frighten bad little girls like you!
It was then that Pacifica felt something drip onto her forehead from the ceiling and run down her cheek. She wiped the liquid from her face to see what it was. It was a drop of blood. Pacifica looked up and screamed. Above her head was her mother with her skin peeled out and pinned to the wall by some unseen force, revealing her insides to her daughter. Pacifica ran for the front door and threw it open, but rather than see the outside world, she instead was greeted with the inside of her home. She stared in utter fear and confusion at the sight before her before hearing a deep growling from down the hallway, which was soon followed by more snarls and snaps of inhuman creatures.
In a panic, Pacifica darted up the stairs, using the light of her cellphone to guide her way. She had no idea what to do. Her best chance was to find somewhere to hide, call Candi and Grenda, and pray that they, along with Stan, could save her. As she made her way up the stairs, she saw a trail of blood smeared up the steps, like someone had been dragged up them recently. When she reached the second level of her home, she almost fell back down them when she was greeted by the sight before her. Pinned to the wall in the pose of an upside-down cross was her father. Preston Northwest was cut up and placed on the wall in sections with his eyes and tongue removed, and his and stomach cut open, splaying his organs across the floor. Pacifica couldn't stop from vomiting at the gore displayed in front of her before glancing back down the stairs and seeing a tall, shadowy figure standing at the bottom of the stairs with a wide, sinister smile on his face.
Pacifica screamed in total horror as she ran to her bedroom. She locked the door, though she doubted a locked door was going to stop a demon. It was then she quickly dialed Candi's phone number, hoping that she would be there on the other end of the line.
"Hello?" her friend's voice asked on the other line.
"He's here, Candi! The Radio Demon's in my house!" she shouted into her phone. "He killed my parents! Oh God, they're dead, Candi! They're dead! I need you guys here now!"
"Pacifica, we're already at your house," Candi answered. "There's no one home."
"W-What the hell are you talking about?! How could you not see my parents' bodies?!" the heiress said in scared confusion. "I'm in my room hiding from him! Please, just come get me!"
"But we're in your room right now," Candi replied. "You're not in here."
Pacifica's skin turned pale as a ghost as the terror inside her reached new levels. She had read in the journals that some higher-level demons could alter reality to a small extent, such as shift the world so their prey couldn't escape. It was at that moment that the last Northwest realized that no one was coming to save her. It was then the phone was hit with static so loud that Pacifica had to yank the phone away from her ear before seeing a new text message. She pulled it up to see two words written in the message.
"Turn around."
She slowly turned around to see the nightmare that had been chasing her. Standing over her was a grey-faced demon dressed in a red suit with a microphone in his clawed grasp. It was like the exact image she saw in the journal. The demon smiled wickedly down at the girl, silently drinking in her terror with each passing second.
"Well, hello there, Ms. Northwest!" he greeted. "Allow me to properly introduce myself: Alastor. A pleasure to make your acquaintance!"
"Y-you killed my parents..." was all Pacifica could say/
"Yes, messy business that was," Alastor noted before adding. "But none the less entertaining!"
"Why did you do it?!" the blonde questioned. "What deal did you make with my dad?!"
"Ah, so I see that you are aware of the dealings of demons," the Radio Demon replied, almost sounding impressed. "Yes, your parents and I had made an arrangement some time ago. They wanted me to increase their wealth and fame in exchange for the usual tokens. The usual, boring deal, true, but it was what your father secretly offered in exchange that piqued my interest."
"You mean his soul?" Pacifica surmised.
"Ha! If it was only his soul he was offering, then I would've gone back to Hell in disgust!" Alastor scoffed. "No, no, no, what he offered was, in fact, YOUR soul, my dear Pacifica!"
Pacifica's heart almost stopped in her chest when she heard that. Her own father wanted to use her as currency to a demon. She wanted to deny it. To say that this was all a game Alastor was playing with her emotions, but deep down she knew that what the red-dressed demon was telling her was only the truth.
"I can see by that forlorn expression on your face that already know it to be true," Alastor pointed out. "Now that's funny!"
"If my soul was what he offered you, then why did you kill him and my mom anyway?!" the heiress demanded.
"Because your father made a very poor choice on his behalf," the demon began. "You see, there's an unwritten rule that humans can make a deal with only one demon since they only have one soul to offer. But when your father attempted to make a deal with Bill, he violated the terms of our agreement. True, it was your soul he was giving me, but he was still the one who made the deal in the first place, even if Bill rejected the offer. So, I came to, shall we say...audit his assets and take what's mine in the process. And I figured 'Well since I'm here anyway, I may as well as collect on your mother's debt to me now as well!'"
Pacifica was in a sheer state of panic at this point. Everything she wanted to do, run, fight back, or call for help, she couldn't do since the fear she felt in her body was so great that it forbid her from making a single move. It was then that Alastor gently placed his hand on the frightened girl's cheek. Suddenly, Alastor's clawed thumb stabbed into the blonde's right eye, making her let out a high-pitched scream in pain.
"I should warn you, my dear, the pain I'm about to inflict upon you is nothing compared to the agony you'll receive from me in Hell," the demon whispered in her ear with the voice of a lover, all the while she continued to scream.
Pacifica fell to the floor in a crumpled heap as Alastor stood over her, relishing in the pain he was putting upon his prey. Pacifica crawled on the floor, weeping tears of blood from her punctured eye. She cried in not just pain, but in helplessness as well. This was it. This was how she was going to die.
Scared and alone.
In a twisted way, the blonde felt like that maybe she deserved this. All the lives she destroyed for her sick enjoyment, all the lies she spread, all the harm she did to maintain her image as a queen of the town, perhaps this was the universe's way of getting back at her.
But at the same time, she still refused to accept this fate.
How dare the universe think it can just come in and kill her just when she was just learning to be a better person? She had spent her life trying to repair the damage she had done, and now God thinks she deserves to be punished for what her father did to her without giving her a say in the matter? That wasn't an option she would simply kneel to. If there was a way to get out of this situation, she would accept it without hesitation.
Suddenly, a black, shadowy mass smashed through the window before putting itself between the girl and the demon. The shadow began to form in a tall, humanoid figure with claws, high-heeled boots, and black feathered wings. But the biggest feature that had Pacifica's attention was his burning red eyes. It was the same red eyes she saw from the figure that she caught a brief glimpse of in the forest.
"You..." Alastor sneered in contempt at the intruding demon.
"My, what do we have here?" the new demon inquired. "Picking on children now are we, Alastor? That's quite the step down for you."
"At least I'm not serving them as you did!" the Radio Demon accused. "Now, why don't you just mosey on out of here and let me work in peace?"
"Sorry, but I'm afraid that you'll have to conduct your business with the girl another day," the other demon refuted.
The winged creature then turned its attention over to Pacifica.
"Child, do you want to escape this nightmare?" he asked, holding out a clawed hand to her as he did.
What was Pacifica to do? If she stayed, Alastor would continue to torment her until he finally killed her and dragged her soul to Hell. But could she honestly trust this monster that was claiming to offer her salvation? She already knew what Alastor had in store for her, but there was no telling what this new demon would to her. In the end, she knew that she didn't have much of a choice except to choose the lesser of two evils. So, with that in mind, she reached out and took the winged demon's outstretched hand.
"No!" Alastor roared as he lunged at them. "She's mine! MINE!"
Pacifica closed her only remaining eye as the demon's wings enveloped her in shadows.
After several moments, the heiress opened her eyes once more, fearing that she had been brought directly to Hell, but much to her surprise, she discovered that she was back in her own home. The demon stepped back and allowed the girl to get some space to breathe and comprehend what had just transpired. She had assumed that, if Candi and the others were still in her house, then they would be coming down the stairs right now to see her, but judging by the silence, they must have left in order to find some way to help get their friend out of the Radio Demon's grasp.
"Thank you..." she finally told him. "But why did you save me?"
"Because, like Alastor, I too, would like to would like to make a deal with you," the demon answered. "But should you refuse, I shall leave you in peace."
And there it was. Proof that there was no good deed done by a demon's hand. Honestly, she should've known better than to think otherwise.
"Where the hell do you get off?!" she snapped at the creature. "You save me just so you can have a shot at my soul?!"
"Well, yes, but as I told you before, should you refuse, I will leave you be," the demon addressed. "However, consider this: Alastor has murdered your parents, so how long until he returns to try to claim you again?"
That was something that Pacifica didn't consider. True, her father's sins weighed heavily on her, but without anyone to protect her, she knew that the Radio Demon would get what he wanted.
"That was you in the forest, wasn't it?" she said. "You've been following me all day, waiting for Alastor to make his move so you could make yours."
"I'm afraid I can't disclose that, ma'am," the demon denied. "All I can say is that I followed Alastor up from Hell to see what he was up to."
"But what about my dad's deal?" the blonde pointed out. "Isn't my soul Alastor's to take?"
"Technically speaking, yes. But there's a loophole in this situation," the demon pointed out. "You see, your father may have made the deal with Alastor for your soul, but since your soul is your own property, that means that you have the right to give it to another demon."
"You mean you?"
"If you make a contract with me, yes."
"And what would this contact exactly mean for me?" the heiress demanded. "You haven't exactly given me any real details here."
"Simple: My undying loyalty to you in exchange for your soul," the demon explained. "Name your wish, and I will serve you until it is fulfilled."
Could she do it? Could she give her everlasting soul to a demon as her parents had done? On the other hand, did she have a choice in the matter? She knew that it would only be a matter of time before Alastor returned for her soul, so she had no other option.
"...Fine..." she relented softly. "But you promise me this now: You will help me kill Alastor, and then my soul is yours."
"Done," the demon said as he held out his hand.
Pacifica shook his hand. No sooner had she done that did a purple light engulf her damaged eye, repairing it. However, her new eye was rebuilt with a purple pentagram for the iris. The same mark showed up on the demon's hand. A sign of their contract. Pacifica knew that she had just resigned herself to an eternity of eternal damnation, but honestly, she didn't care. Once the mark was placed on his hand, the demon's form took on a human appearance with a black suit and white gloves. It was then that the now soul heir to the Northwest fortune realized something.
"So, what do I call you?" she asked.
The demon thought for a few moments before speaking.
"My previous master named me Sebastian," he answered. "Would that be alright?"
"It'll work," Pacifica said. "Now then, first, we're going to rebuild the legacy my parents ruined. Then we are not going to rest until I see Alastor dead!"
Sebastian kneeled before his master before uttering the words he hadn't said in ages.
"Yes, my lord."
