BROKEN SOUL - The Easy Way Out

Once James got over the fact he was going to a party being thrown by the Devil himself, he reluctantly went along with Charlie and Alastor.

He had changed his clothes, wearing his more 'formal' suit for the party. It was colored black, with a blood red tie, and Vincent's watch on his arm hidden under a sleeve. The two Demons and the Princess were currently in a fancy limo, which James supposed to belong to Charlie's family.

He looked for some liquor, but stopped and instead pulled coffee from his pocket dimension. It was best not to get drunk at the moment; so instead he chose to drink his fill of coffee. As they drove, James noticed the buildings slowly got more pristine and well-built. They were in the "rich district" of Hell, where the most well-known, rich, and powerful demons lived. "We're getting close to our destination, right?"

"Yep, we're getting there!" Charlie replied, as she then felt the car stop. James' ears quickly detected many voices, and frowned briefly. Paparazzi. If there was one reason he didn't like being in this part of Hell, it was because of the paparazzi. Charlie and Alastor exited the limo, waiting for the Soul Demon. James sighed, snapping his fingers and summoning SR. His soul guardian stood near him, shifting into a more demonic form. James nodded at her and exited the limo with SR, putting on black sunglasses and grinning at the paparazzi menacingly, his sharp teeth visible.

As Charlie tried to drag Alastor and James along with her, the paparazzi began to freak out at the Soul Demon's appearance. They began whispering to each other, taking pictures, the normal paparazzi stuff. Charlie then stopped in front of the mansion-like house. There were two lizard demons acting like guards blocking the door. The guards looked at Charlie and nodded, but when they saw James and Alastor, they hissed slightly.

James blinked, unfazed by the hissing lizards. He'd seen scarier and more intimidating things in his life. He glanced at Charlie, wondering if she had an excuse to get them in or something like that. James was also trying to keep SR from attacking the guards.

Luckily, Charlie wasn't going to let the guards snarl at her friends. "These are my guests! Now move, or I tell dad!" She glared at them, causing the demons to get scared and opened the doors. The Princess smiled, grabbing James and Alastor's hands and rushing off again.

As James looked around, he noticed how many "old-timey" people were around him. There was lots of food, but James wasn't hungry. And he didn't want to interact with unknowns, so he simply stuck around with Charlie and Alastor.

Charlie looked at her friends and smiled. She was feeling happy to be able to bring along her friends to one of her dad's parties. James smiled back, albeit weakly. Alastor's constant smile widened in return to Charlie.

"Charlie, dear, this looks like a dance or gala-how fascinating!" Alastor said after looking around a little himself. James chuckled softly as he noticed Charlie try to dance on her own in her new younger body. His laughter was cut off when he sensed Vincent's energy signature in Hell again, swearing mentally.

While James was in his little freak out session, Charlie noticed a familiar face and rushed over to them. A tall male demon, with a hat and an apple cane. The Soul Demon snapped out of it quickly and realized who Charlie was now hugging. 'Ah, crap. Lucifer… Better bring out the best in me.' James took in a deep breath, steadying his nerves.

Lucifer walked over to Alastor and James, holding the younger Charlie's hand. The King of Hell nodded to Alastor and James, recognizing his acquaintances immediately. "Hello Alastor, James."

"Greetings, Lord Lucifer." James bowed his head, causing Lucifer to smile slightly. The Soul Demon always knew his place, even if they were "friends", he always showed respect and feared him.

Alastor silently nodded to Lucifer, as Lucifer nodded back. The King knew who changed his daughter's age immediately, as James couldn't do that to others. "Alright, why don't you three have some fun, go dance. What do humans call it..? Oh right, the monster mash! Little Charlotte will keep you two company." The King of Hell said, pushing Charlie towards his acquaintances. James felt honored, as he should. Being trusted to take care of Charlie was one thing, but by the King of Hell himself? Wow.

James then realized there was one problem. He wasn't much of a dancer... mainly because most of his time on Earth was spent figuring out how to hunt for and kill his victims. "So… dancing, huh?" The Soul Demon saw SR disappear, but didn't question it. She had a mind of her own, literally.

"Yeah! I don't know how to dance in this body..." Charlie said in a disappointed tone, as she looked to the other people who danced. They were professional and probably knew every step. Alastor chuckled and looked to James and Charlie.

"Am I the only one who knows how to dance? You two need to pay attention to others when they are dancing." Alastor replied as he gestured to the people dancing, Charlie tilted her head and looked to James. She grabbed his hands and looked up at him.

"Since we technically don't know how to dance then let's try together!" Charlie said in a determined voice as she listened to the music. She wasn't going to let this smaller body beat her.

"...uh, sure… I guess we could." James was honestly stumped, he didn't know how to react, but he couldn't find it in himself to say no to Charlie. Using some of his powers, he changed, shifting into a child-like form like Charlie. It would last for about 30-40 minutes, he supposed. He had a feeling if Vincent saw him like this, the angel would have been laughing his ass off.

Meanwhile, SR found Vincent and barked at him viciously; with the cloaked angel seeming amused.

"Sorry pup, but I'm not leaving. I've got some chaos to sow and people to troll." And so Vincent continued his walk, nearing the rich district as SR tried her best to drag them away from there.

As James and Charlie began their little dance, James was busy trying not to A) trip all the time and B) keep an eye on Vincent's energy signal. Charlie swung James around, trying to dance accurately. She knew some of the dance moves and took the lead. Alastor facepalmed and chuckled, his static radio sound behind heard.

"There you go, you're getting somewhere you two." Alastor said as he clapped, his smile wide.

James was slowly getting a hang of things as his souls started to give him tips on what he was doing right and doing wrong, jumping from a bumbling idiot to a novice. After some time, he smiled genuinely, finding it fun and freeing to dance. "This fun!" Charlie giggled, a smile on her face.

"It really is..." James never would have thought he, a murderer with a blackened soul, would ever find himself dancing; but here he was, having fun while he was at it. He also felt... something inside of him that made him more confident and bold with his movements compared to how meek he was a few minutes ago. The 100 or so positive souls inside of him snickered, knowing exactly what was going on with James.

Vincent was nearing the building the party was held in, and knowing the guards wouldn't let him in naturally, he hung around for a bit. The cloaked angel was debating if he should portal in, or use mind manipulation.

After some time, both Charlie and James stopped dancing, feeling a bit exhausted and having their fill of fun for the day. Alastor gave a little clap and gave Charlie a thumbs up, and a thumbs up to James too.

"Such creative dancing! Absolutely horrible but creative." The Radio Demon said with a laugh, looking at both of them with a smile. Charlie giggled and was glad she came to the party with her friends. James had no comment about what Alastor said, but internally frowned.

'Sounds like a description of the old me. Horrible but creative with his killings sometimes.' He grimly thought. Then, all three demons heard a loud noise, as Charlie and James rushed to a window to look at the big clock. It was ringing loudly and frequently, the arms moving backwards and forwards.

The extermination had begun, and the Exterminator Angels began to fall from the sky, holding spears. "We have to hide!" Charlie said as she heard some screams in the distance, she ran off and looked around for her dad.

James' eyes widened, about to freak out and maybe rampage against the angels recklessly; but Vincent appeared next to his little brother and placed a hand on their shoulder, his eyes now sickly green and glowing. "Already time huh? Didn't expect it to come so quickly."

James quickly turned around and hissed at his cloaked brother. "Vincent? When did you get here?"

Vincent gave no actual answer, as he looked outside. "You're going to try and fight them, aren't you? Don't bother, you'll get yourself killed as is. Just go help your friends."

Vincent then disappeared from the spot again, as James growled to himself, but went after Charlie. He caught up with Alastor and Charlie, who found Lucifer quickly.

The King of Hell seemed somewhat relieved to find Charlie safe and sound, and smiled slightly at Alastor and the young-looking James. Charlie then freaked out a bit.

"Dad where are we going to hide? The angels always come into the house!" Charlie said in a panicked tone, Lucifer chuckled and picked her up. He looked to his friends and thanked them for watching over Charlie for the time being. A women taller then Lucifer walked over to Lucifer, it was Lilith, Lucifer's wife. She smiled at the sight of Charlie and took her from Lucifer, looking at how small she was.

"Awe, my little daughter looks so young! Now we have to go to the Basement." Lilith said in a kind voice, before getting serious and looking over to the panicking people. James felt his hateful souls screaming for 'revenge' against the Exterminator Angels, but quickly shut them up by overwhelming them with his own hate. James felt a weight on his shoulder and saw SR form there, in her puppy form.

Lucifer quickly walked over a stair case, walking down a few steps. Lillith sighed and held Charlie tight, pushing a button. The stairs disappeared and Lucifer expected it, sliding down with his feet balanced on his heels, Lilith did the same. Alastor almost fell over, but quickly used his own magic to keep himself balanced. James did the same, using his self-weight manipulation to effectively become weightless and float off the floor slightly. Due to SR being literally a mass of magic and shadows, he was unaffected bt the disappearing stairs.

"Anyone want to play a game of cards?" Lucifer asked as he got out cards, still sliding down the once was staircase. Alastor looked a bit interested until Lucifer dropped the cards all on the floor, they flew past Lilith and Charlie caught one. James also caught one in between his index and pinky fingers boredly.

"It's called 52 pick up." Lucifer chuckled, giving Alastor an amusing look. Alastor sighed, his smile widening as he glared silently at Lucifer. The radio demon and Lucifer had some backstory, but it was covered up. Charlie laughed at Lucifer's joke.

"That was the worst joke ever!" Charlie replied in an amused voice, Lilith put her down and used her own magic to keep her from falling.

"Oh really? Want to hear a better joke?" Lucifer bent over to Charlie and smiled widely, his eyes flashing red for a second. Charlie giggled and booped Lucifer on the nose, she wasn't fazed by the demonic look. Lucifer shook his head and chuckled, looking back forward. The stair case seemed to last forever, probably a reason why they were safe from the Exterminators.

After some time, James grew extremely bored, and SR saw that. She shifted into a extremely fluffy puppy, causing James to smile and begin to pet the fluffy doggo.

Charlie saw that James was being silent and looked over to him, seeing the puppy. She looked up and held her hands out, either to have the puppy or to be picked up. Alastor decided to talk to Lucifer, just to talk about the hotel and the family. Lillith watched Charlie, and looked to James, giving him the dead eye stare. She was strict about who Charlie knew, so she watched how James treated her.

However, James noticed the totally-not-scary (read: absolutely terrifying) stare, and tried to shrug it off. A bit of nervousness in his eyes, he simply handed over SR to Charlie, a smile on his face. The fluffy puppy gave off a small cute bark in Charlie's arms, as James tried avoiding eye contact with the Queen of Hell so he didn't start shivering in fear.

Lilith watched silently, looking at SR and turning back around to look back to Lucifer. She didn't have a problem with James entertaining Charlie, as long as she was safe and happy.

"So dad, how long is this going to last?" Charlie asked as she held SR in her arms, making sure to not drop them. She liked SR, she was nice and protective of not just James, but most of the Hotel now. That, and she looked adorable as a puppy.

"About another five minutes and we'll be in the basement darling Apple Seed." Lucifer replied with a chuckle following after. Charlie looked back to James and tried to start up a conversation.

"We are going to the basement because that's where no light shines! I don't know what it's called besides the basement, but something like.. Lambo.. Limdo.. Something like that. It's where your stuck between two stages? Something unexplainable, but it's safe there." Charlie said in an excited tone, smiling brightly.

"Er… it sounds like you mean L-" James was cut off by Lucifer's glare, a simple message clear: 'Don't mention Limbo'. James swallowed his fear, and smiled at Charlie. "I mean, sounds like you'd definitely be safe from the light-filled Angels there!"

After some time the staircase ended, with Charlie staying near her friends. They exited the staircase and found themselves in a dark forest with a gloomy atmosphere. James was able to see his breath, it was probably very cold down here, especially if he was able to feel it.

"Whoaaaa." Charlie looked in the moonlight, the color of her eyes reflecting off the moonlight. It was visible that her eyes were a dark blue, but nobody noticed as much. Alastor and Lilith followed behind, Lillith kept her distance between Alastor. She didn't trust just anyone.

James was looking around curiously, he really didn't expect Limbo to look like this. He honestly expected a endless void with mist everywhere or something. SR seemed unaffected by the cold, while James was shivering slightly, his younger form less resistant to cold. It took time, but he was able to feel cold after a bit.

Lucifer looked ahead and smiled, something was ticking him off. He gave off this dark aura, it was evil and powerful, he looked a bit tense. Charlie tilted her head and poked Lucifer on his hand, wondering why he was tensing up. Just like that in a second, he was back to normal and he looked to Charlie with a smile.

" Limbo isn't the best place to be, so stay close little one. "

Lucifer said as he looked back ahead, Lilith looked around. She was also tense about something, Alastor still smiled. James didn't know what was going on, but if Lucifer, the Devil himself was tense, it must've been something important.

Lucifer looked around and started walking ahead, there seemed to be a breeze going through the trees as he stepped further in the area. It was like the forest sensed the devil walked within the timeless forest of awaited judgement. He smiled, looking around cautiously. Charlie held Lucifer's hand and didn't know what her dad was looking for. Lillith walked close to Lucifer, looking determined.

"What is it we are so tense about?" Alastor dared to ask, he looked confused. He smiled and looked around, not knowing if there should be something to attack them.

"We must be QUIET." Lucifer growled, his teeth showing in his smile. Alastor wasn't fazed but nodded, continuing to walk in the cold atmosphere.

James meanwhile, was shifting into 'safe mode', for lack of a better word. His hands twitched at the idea of something possibly trying to attack them, unconciously slowing down his own body functions, his breathing and heartbeat slowing down by 40%. He also gently tapped his watch, silently releasing the souls that were inside the gifted object back into his own soul just in case. He didn't dare make a sound, his natural instincts kicking in as his eyes narrowed and his senses were enhanced.

Lucifer continued to walk and there was something in the distance, a gate. It was something Lucifer was after, because when they cross, they automatically teleport back to hell the day after the extermination. But beyond was something lurking, a shadow. Something in the trees make the ground rumble and pushed down trees. Lucifer stopped as he saw trees being pushed down by a huge shadow with two red eyes, it crushed anything in it's path.

"We have to get past that shadow, it won't be hard. The family does it every year, just stay close behind and you'll be safe. I mean, if you want to die then go right ahead and stand there." Lucifer whispered with a chuckle as stood there, waiting for the shadow to pass by. Charlie watched and looked at the shadow, looking up at it. The shadow gave off an aura that made its victims sluggish and tired. A darkness that fed off your nightmares and horrors.

As James stared at the shadow, his instincts jumped into overdrive, a self-preservational feeling burning in his chest. Dying wasn't an option. If he wanted to die, he would have just let an Angel stab him in the heart. But he came too far to die. He showed no fear as he stared down the shadow, making no sounds, even his breathing was silent now.

The shadow moved slowly, listening to the trees and wind. Lucifer watched it, luckily the shadow didn't notice them trying to pass through. A powerful wave of magic hit them, it was to make them feel tired. It was used on people to make them slow so when they tried to get past, the shadow would notice. Charlie almost fell over from the aura, it made her weak. Lilith quickly picked up Charlie and looked ahead. Alastor was somewhat fazed, he took a step back and summoned his cane to lean onto. Lucifer however wasn't fazed, nor Lilith. They've grown used to the aura, coming through Limbo hundreds of times made them used to it.

James wasn't too faring well against the aura, but his lupine instincts kicked in, refusing to let him fall and be vulnerable. He looked around to see how many people were witj him and to see if he could use a speed burst to help them get past the shadow. He then ditched that plan, he was still too small to carry them all, he'd need to be in a larger form, and he did not have the time, energy, nor the requirements for such a form. SR was mostly unaffected, due to being a mass of darkness herself.

The shadow passed and Lucifer looked to everyone, telling them to walk fast but not to make any noise. He walked as fast as he could, his smile wide with excitement and he held his hat. Lilith followed behind and Alastor felt weaker and weaker with each passing moment, he was slowing down but tried to follow closely by. Lucifer walked fast, he wasn't affected and had no heart for others left behind besides his family. Lucifer didn't care much for the people he left behind. Charlie held out her hand to Alastor and James who were slightly getting farther away from her.

"Try to catch up or go to double Hell!" Lucifer yelled with a chuckle, the shadow had heard them. That was the whole reason why Lucifer was leaving the rest behind, running with his wife to the gate. The shadow turned around, giving another wave aura of weakness that disabled magic. Lucifer kept running, holding his hat on his head.

Luckily, with magic being disabled, James' child-form was disabled as well. And SR was sent back into James' soul, fueling him. As James quickly shifted back into an adult, he felt the souls give him strength, physical strength. He didn't care for magic being disabled, as James grabbed a tree and ripped it from the ground, slamming the tree into the shadow and knocking it away. "Thank God- err, Lucifer- someone for my ability to harm intangible things." James muttered. He then grabbed Alastor's arm and dashed off with his special speed bursts, even though he knew using such speed without his normal magic would cause him to probably go into critical condition at the worst and become unconscious for a few hours at the best.

Lucifer watched James catch up and smiled, continuing to run from the shadow. They were near the gate, but the shadow was already close behind them. It roared, releasing a loud distorted noise, coming a little faster. Lucifer's eyes widened and ran a bit faster, Lilith ran with Charlie in her hands.

"OH FuCkiNg sNappLecRackErs-"

Lucifer couldn't use any of his magic and slightly Panicked, he reached the gate. Lilith stopped running and looked at the gate, it was slowly opening. Lucifer tried to make the gate open faster but it wouldn't open fast, only opening slow. He looked to Lilith and put Charlie down, squeezing her through the opening of the gate. The shadow was nearing and the gate was opening as slow as ever.

…

…

...he couldn't let his friends die. He couldn't let Alastor die. He couldn't let Charlie die.

James narrowed his eyes, his heart and eyes solidifying. He made a choice.

He walked in the general direction of the shadow, fearlessness and determination entering his eyes. "You all go on ahead, I'll give you some time. Thankfully, I can interact with shadows and souls naturally, no magic needed. So I'm your best bet to slow the thing down…" He turned around, a bit of sadness in his eyes, but he was still grimly determined. "If I don't come back, tell Charlie I gave you some time to escape."

And then, he stood his ground, fists clenched as he brought out every ounce of strength in his body. His body was forcefully shifted back into his lupine form, with his eyes now blood red, and his growing stature ripping his suit. The large silver wolf then released a terrifying howl, before glaring at Lilith, Lucifer and Alastor; as if he was saying 'don't make me regret this sacrifice'.

Lucifer had stopped smiling for once, taking the situation serious. He saw the glare and nodded, trying to make the gate open faster. Alastor felt the waves of power and leaned on the cane, watching Lucifer trying to open the gate. Charlie watched from the other side, not knowing why the gate wasn't moving faster.

Lucifer took off his hat and stuck it through the gate, Charlie grabbed it and looked at her dad. He struggled to squeeze through but made it. Alastor also squeezed through, Lilith however had some trouble. She couldn't squeeze through, her... ahem, chest was too big... Lucifer tried to keep it serious but couldn't help but laugh in the face of danger.

James looked away from his friends and back to the forest as he saw the shadow arrive. The shadow saw that James was challenging them, and roared a loud roar back. It was in the shape of a wolf, sharp teeth were shown as it roared. It gave off more waves of power, making everyone feel weak. It made the sky darker, looking eerie and the moon didn't shine through.

James howled back at the wolf, trying to assert dominance as the Alpha, the floor beneath him shaking slightly from the power of said howl. James then charged at the shadow wolf, his eyes blazing with hatred as he charged up all the power inside of his soul and slowly had it surface.

Lilith sighed and tried to slip through again, finally squishing through the gate. Lucifer snickered and got hit on the head by Lilith who glared at him. Charlie gave Lucifer back his hat and looked through the gate, waiting for James.

"James come on!" Charlie yelled, not wanting her newest best friend to get killed by the shadow demon. The wolf looking shadow demon gave a growl, inhaling for the biggest roar. The the trees started to shake and the floor started to rumble. Charlie saw this, reaching out for James through the gate. Lucifer looked to Charlie and panicked, about to pull her away.

James didn't care for the shadow's threats, as his eyes widened. "NOW!" He roared as he released every ounce of power that was building up in him as a massive pillar of demonic red light that eradicated all in its limited reach. When the light cleared, all that left was smoke and ash, and the shadow demon was destroyed. But James was nowhere to be seen. Only smoke lingered in the air, silvery-red in color.

As Lucifer, Lilith and Alastor tried to keep Charlie from seeing the explosion, or the aftermath; they all had to admit things went a bit off the rails there. They didn't expect the Soul Demon to kill himself to protect them. Lucifer tried to comfort his daughter, who was sobbing over the loss of a friend.

Alastor took notice of the smoke's color and his eyes widened slightly. Silver and red were the main colors of James' wolf form… Could it be possible…?

After a few seconds, the silvery-red smoke travelled over to the gate and slowly started reforming at an agonizing pace; turning into a familiar form. It was James, somehow, but he looked extremely tired and a year younger than usual, as he could barely stand. His entire body was aching and shaking, his eyes pale in color. He weakly smiled at Charlie and Alastor. "Regenerating from smoke... is really tiring. Thankfully I could do it, I only had a 7% chance of regenerating... though I think it costed the power of every soul in me." James joked, coughing a bit.

Alastor looked over to James and wasn't surprised, going over to help him out. "Oh glad to see you back, friend!" The Radio Demon clapped his friend on the back.

Charlie smiled and hugged James, glad that he was okay. She laughed through some tears, glad to see him once again. Lucifer looked to his aacquaintance and stared, wondering how he survived that.

"Great, James is alive! Hurray, huzzah, all that jazz! Let's just go." Lucifer said, looking ahead. There was a random elevator, it opened and made its usual 'ding!' sound.

As James hugged Charlie back, he had small smile on his face. Earlier while he was stuck in his "smoke" form, he had a small chat with his own soul of all things. Together they realized what their purpose was, and what true strength came from. Family. Looking at Charlie, he realized how much he changed since he met her. He owed her so much, she was practically as much family as the people who raised him were.

"Its nice to be back, Princess Charlotte. Though I admittedly feel like I could fall asleep at any moment." James laughed weakly, his once pristine silver hair now darker, now a dark metallic gray color with faint green eyes. James released his friend from the hug and smiled at them.

"Hey, James, can you shift back into a kid again?" Charlie asked, as James blinked. He was tired, but shapeshifting took almost no energy for him. He did as requested, and immediately got slapped upside the head. "That's for worrying me, you idiot!"

"Ow… sorry?" James chuckled nervously, rubbing his slightly aching head. Charlie shook her head.

"Let's just go." She grabbed James' hand, albeit tightly, and dragged him to the elevator. Alastor chuckled and followed close behind. The elevator closed, and they went off to leave Limbo.

Elsewhere, in Heaven, the Lord of Heaven himself was watching the pits of Hell carefully. More specifically, the newest Soul Demon.

God was patient. He was all-knowing. He had a path for James to take and knew that James was already following it. Just today he did a lot of good, freeing all of the souls that he had inside of him, and allowing them to pass on; to reincarnate as God wished.

James was soon ready for the task he had planned. He had found his Prophet. He turned to Gabriel, one of his most trusted children. "Gabriel, call Vincent. Tell him I have a task for him."

"What is it, Father?" The brown-haired handsome Archangel asked, curious.

"We have found our Prophet and Guide within Hell. Heaven's Seal must be delivered." The Almighty responded. Gabriel bowed.

"As you command, Father. The Mark will find its newest Host."

Author's Note: Hello! This is the Author himself! So, I've noticed I've gained a lot of viewings on this story! I feel honored, and even sometimes doubt if I deserve such a following! But, as the Author, I have a request for you readers! Could you please leave me a review every once in a while? Like what you'd like to see in this story, ideas, opinions, what I could change/do better on... even shippings, I suppose! I just want to know what you think! Anyways, this is the Insanity's Creator - Signing out!