Author note - welcome back readers! Thanks to the 28-34 favorites and followers, y'all are the reason I keep going. A shout out to the newest supporter, Xerzes01, who just happened to sign on just before I submitted the previous chapter. Welcome to you and all new readers! Wishing y'all well, enjoy the read.
Chapter 43: Radio Demon on the hunt
Taylor ran like a bat out of Hell. They didn't care where, they just needed to get as much distance from Alastor as they could. They alternated between the streets and using their tendrils to climb onto the top of structures and traveling along the rooftops, checking all the while for sounds or signs of the enraged Radio Demon. After they exhausted the extra energy from their collection, they stopped atop a building to catch their breath and get their bearings; looking around they saw the hotel sign glowing far in the distance.
'Okay, just got to get there and then I can lie low.' They determined as their breathing slowed.
Before they could take a step toward their haven, they heard sounds of snarling, teeth snapping, and growls nearby. Fear washed over them as they turned quickly to see several small black and white doll-like creatures with horns or top hats, gaping maws with razor-sharp teeth, glowing red eyes, and an ominous green aura around them crawling over the side of the roof or inching their way toward Taylor.
"Umm. Nice doll…demon…things? Whoa!" They said shakily as they took some steps back before the creatures grinned and pounced as a unit on them. They felt claws and teeth tear at their skin and clothes as they ignited their hands and slashed at the gremlins. Despite only needing one attack to make them disintegrate into black shadows, the sheer numbers were overwhelming. "Get off, you little monsters!" Taylor cried as they grabbed one that was gnawing on their head and threw it as it caught fire with a screech. As they kept knocking back the attacking fiends, they saw one scamper away from the melee and start smashing something on the ground, making them gasp. They went to feel their leg and their device was missing, presumably torn off during the rush. Slashing the last of the little menaces away, they started making their way toward the shadowy imp when they heard a discordant voice in front of them call out, making their blood run cold.
"There you" a series of clicks and beeps rang out. "are, dear." A tall, skeletal-looking Alastor with a pair of large antlers growled over the harsh hiss of static. As he ascended over the side of the building, Taylor noticed that his bladed claws carved lines into the ground and his forehead had a bright red X on it. They flinched back; if looks could kill, they would be double dead at that very moment with the black voids staring back at them oozing unbridled malice and bloodlust paired with an too wide smile filled an impossible number of teeth.
To their dismay, the shadowy imp with their device clambered over to its spindly master and held it up to him. Alastor quickly snatched the item away before crushing it in his hand with a crunch. As he let go and the pieces clattered to the ground, the loud grating static and the intermittent sounds that punctuated his speech died down.
"Better. Not many would have a radio jammer on their person. Were you expecting me, Dealbreaker?" Alastor rasped as he snapped his head to the side dangerously and his grin turned sharper.
The question threw their brain in overdrive as their eyes darted around, scanning for options. They had hoped the radio frequency jammer they built with Sir Pentious during their time stuck in bed would provide enough of a distraction for them to get away should the Radio Demon make an appearance, but they hadn't anticipated the shadow familiars being immune to the device and being able to find them so quickly. As they took a step back fearfully, they gave an awkward laugh in their falsetto voice.
"Told you I was a fan. Perhaps we could go back to hearing your proposal?" They replied, trying to smooth things over.
Alastor gave a scornful laugh.
"I'm afraid the time for talk is over, dear." He replied mercilessly.
Taylor's heart raced as they made a dash to leap across a rooftop and flee, but Alastor intercepted them in a flash, and they had barely enough time to twist out of the way of a swipe that came close enough to shave a few strands of their hair off. They threw some fire forward, making Alastor draw back before they pivoted on their heel and sprinted for a rooftop door that was close. They slammed the door shut behind them before the top half of the door crashed through by Alastor's antlers and splinters tumbled down on them as they scrambled away. Practically throwing themselves down the dark stairs, they looked back and went into a cold sweat as they saw the Radio Demon's yellow grin glowing in the darkness as he followed them.
They flew down who knows how many flights of stairs before they moved out of the stairwell and shut the door behind them with a bang. Seeing that it was a metal door this time, they took a moment to quickly weld the door to the frame with their hands before they turned around. The room was dark but for the light their arms gave off and the windows slightly illuminating the space with a dark red shine from the signs outdoors. The space looked like a clothing store, with shelves and circular racks of clothes in the middle of the room and along the walls with pillars that had mirrors on all sides. The front entrance was shuttered closed, meaning the scaling the side of the building was their best option. They heard a loud thud behind them as they hastened toward the windows as more thuds echoed into the room. They nearly made it to their destination when a metallic crash echoed as the door was thrown into the room and they quickly dove behind the nearest clothing rack to hide as their heart was in their throat.
The room was silent but for the soft static and menacing chittering and scratching of Alastor moving about the room. Taylor tried to quiet their rapid breathing as they were hyperaware of the sounds around them, but with the echoes, they couldn't pin down where exactly the Radio Demon was prowling. They tremulously flicked a small flame across the room and willed it to grow next to another clothing rack. They heard a shuffle and intense scratching travel away from them before the crash of metal and loud tearing of fabric could be heard. They saw their chance to run.
They got up quickly to get to the window but something large slammed into them from behind and pinned them to the ground, knocking the air out of their lungs as they cried out in surprise. They blanched as they saw large claws to their side and with some difficulty, they craned their head over their shoulder and stared back wide-eyed at a yellow glowing grin and pinpoint red dots regarding them menacingly as he had them trapped.
"You really shouldn't let the decoys fool you." Alastor scolded with a chuckle as his grin glowed with each word. He clenched his claws as they felt the honed claws slice into their arms, shoulders, and sides, making them grimace and try to shrink away as their terror paralyzed them.
Their roaring in their ears was louder than the radio noises Alastor made as they started to get flashbacks of when Caesar had them vulnerable and how it took their patron bailing them out to get away. They began to hyperventilate as they remembered the aftermath of their possession. They shook in anger as their mind was all over the place.
'No! Not again. Never again!' They screamed in their head as they felt something snap in their head and suddenly felt their body released their tension and their mind cleared. They put their hands to the floor and began to push themselves up as they felt an enshrouding warmth blanket them. They barely registered a hiss above them as the weight on them retracted and they stood up and stared back calmly at the violet illuminated Alastor snarling back at them with radio dials for eyes. The Radio Demon lunged at them, claws extended to tear into their flesh like a hot knife into butter, but Taylor nimbly moved aside, leaving a trail of purple flames behind where they stood, scorching Alastor as he stood back, and the shrill whine of static echoed out in the room.
They stared, unmoved at Alastor's pain, before they raised their palm up and summoned a purple flame. They twirled their wrist over and over, causing the flame to swirl and twist into a small whirlwind of fire formed. When Alastor went to strike them again, they threw the whirlwind at him, where it expanded and grew until it hit the ceiling. They heard more harsh whines of static as the Radio Demon's movements were constricted. Satisfied, they dashed to the windows to flee.
They managed to reach the windows when they heard distorted glitching sounds behind them and then a wave of green air blasted over them, shattering the windows, and throwing Taylor forward. Barely managing to grab the windowsill during the impact, they dangled precariously over the edge by one hand. They glanced downwards and their vision blurred, and they felt lightheaded at the multi-story drop below. With a sobering gulp of breath, they got a second a second hand on the building when a clawed hand suddenly gripped their throat. They gasped for air, clawing at the hand choking them out as they started to see stars. The warmth blanketing them dissipated as they saw a gleaming Cheshire grin come into view, but with radio dial eyes looking downright feral.
"You certainly have some moxie, don't you?" He heaved as he tried to keep a semblance of composure. "While this has been most entertaining, I think it's best we end this farce, wouldn't you agree?" Alastor said with a wicked grin as he raised a claw threateningly.
"Sorry….'bout this" Taylor managed to choke out. Alastor tilted his head to the side, perplexed.
Taylor summoned the last bit of flame they could muster in their oxygen-deprived state and swept their arm across quickly, throwing an arc of purple flames through the room, pitching Alastor back and slicing through the pillars in the room.
They began free falling as they tried to fill their lungs with air, but the turbulence of wind around them made the task difficult. They heard a thundering crash and groan above them as the building started to collapse and glass fell from above. They scrunched into a ball to shield themselves as they tried to summon their flame tendrils or fire from their hands to slow their plummeting, but with no success.
Just as they had begun to lose hope that they wouldn't become a bloody splatter on the ground, a flaming tendril sprouted from their back and they quickly shot it into the wall and felt it scrape along the wall, putting the brakes on their plunge to their death. Despite their deceleration, they still landed hard on terra firma in a passageway between the two buildings and bristled as they felt a jolt in their ankles. They heard the tinkling of glass from above before they clung to the wall and covered their head with their arm as glass and building debris rained down on them. They hissed as they felt the sting of cuts on their arm as they waited for the serrated deluge to end.
When the dust settled, they coughed and winced as they felt pain all over.
'Shit, that hurts! I better get moving, no telling how long that will slow Alastor down.' They fretted as they lowered their arm and looked up. They registered something red before something pierced their shoulder through and they felt excruciating pain as their arm spasmed uncontrollably. They screamed through their teeth as their fingers twitched and they felt their arm get wet and sticky. They opened their eyes and saw the shadowy tendril responsible for their pain beside a smug Alastor, no longer in his eldritch form but still sporting a malevolent grin as his eyes admired his work.
"You'll have to do better than that, dear." He criticized as he casually glanced at the wall and his eyes turned dark. "It appears the paint is chipped all over this wall. Surely a fresh coat of blood would do it wonders, wouldn't you agree?" He said animatedly as he approached menacingly. Taylor tried to kick him away, only for more shadowy tendrils to emerge from the ground and wrap around their limbs so forcefully they feared they'd snap. Their vision blurred from the pain as they tried to summon some flames to protect them, but they were all tapped out.
"Or perhaps I ought to start by breaking your legs to keep you from running." Alastor mused out loud as he pondered his next course of action with fiendish delight.
Lightheaded from the pain, Taylor responded in their normal voice.
"That might pose a problem for morning trust falls." They joked.
They heard a record scratch as they focused on Alastor, who was staring at them as if they had grown three heads, eyes wide and grin tight. It took them a moment to realize what they said, and their eyes widened in realization as well.
'Oh shit.' They thought as they felt the tendril retract with a sickening squelch and their arm dropped to their side uselessly with a painful groan. They leaned against the wall and gripped their shoulder as they stared uncomfortably at a strangely quiet Alastor.
"Chum?" He uttered, questioning as his head tilted to the side. They heard a distinct sound of several distorted voices babbling over each other, but the radio interference wasn't coming from their jammer this time.
'Cat's out of the bag now.' They brooded as they managed to summon a drop of strength to call forth the blue flames, changing their appearance back to their normal form, albeit bloodied and bruised and clothes torn all over at this point.
"Surprise." they said tiredly as they tried to wave their hand and shrug nonchalantly but winced at the motion.
Alastor put on a strained smile as he recovered and sounded triumphant, like he caught them in a lie.
"Ha ha! You won't bamboozle me with your wily tricks!" He proclaimed with a winning smile.
Taylor sighed in exasperation.
"Fine, you want proof? On our very first meeting, we got into it, and you nearly broke my arm, and I burned the back of your hand. You still haven't apologized for that, by the way." They deadpanned.
Alastor stood ramrod straight as they could see gears turning in his head before he composed himself and his showman persona came back with flair.
"What a twist! It seems that negotiations are back on the table after all!" He chirped as a victorious tune played in the background. He quickly looked them up and down before continuing. "But we can discuss that rigmarole tomorrow, let's get you straightened out before our dear Vagatha has a conniption!" He made to snap his fingers, but Taylor stopped him with a wave.
"It's fine, I'll get myself sorted out." They replied quickly.
"Nonsense! It's my job to keep hotel patrons safe, even if it is from yours truly!" He insisted as he summoned his cane and led Taylor out of the passageway.
Taylor gazed out into the street from around the corner of an alley, searching for a dealmaker to target. They didn't know how far they were from Mimzy's club and were sure that by the time they got back, everyone would be awake, so they had to find a dealmaker in the wild like old times. It wouldn't have been so bad, but for a certain Radio Demon staring at them intently behind them, grinning widely. Their patron's mark kept them from explaining what they were doing, but Alastor took it in stride and kept quiet as he watched them like a hawk.
They saw a demon pass by with what looked like at least a dozen chains on one wrist.
'Should be enough to fix me up.' They thought hopefully as they started to move out of the alleyway, only to be stopped as Alastor's cane swung in front of them, blocking them.
"No no, none of that. You're in no fit state to pursue anyone, chum." He scolded. "Point out the unfortunate soul and I'll retrieve them for you." He instructed smugly.
Taylor sighed irritably as they indicated toward the demon in question. Alastor chuckled as he sank into the shadows, and they moved back into the dark of the alley to wait. Before long, they head a yelp and a thump as their shaken target and Alastor returned. They called out from the darkness.
"Knock him out or otherwise keep him from seeing." They specified before quickly adding. "Humanely!" They heard a disappointed humph from Alastor before he uttered some kind of incantation and the demon fell unconscious. They strode into the light and got to work.
Thankfully for Taylor, they were able to break the chains with one arm and without help of the silver flames as they waited for the cloud of blue smoke to coalesce. Alastor looked thoroughly enthralled at the process, with him peppering them with questions they couldn't answer due to their mark prohibiting them. When the orb was ready, they felt the pleasant surge of energy wash over them before wincing as their cuts closed, the muscles and bones in their shoulder regrew with sickening crackles and squelches, the glass in their arm was pushed out and clattered to the ground, and the marks on their neck disappeared. They sighed in relief as they felt and looked good as new, albeit for their clothes being in tatters. They stifled a fit of giggles as they turned to Alastor, who stood by transfixed.
"Very entertaining! I can see why you prefer this over healing spells, yes siree!" He admired before he snapped his fingers and their clothes were replaced with a replica of Alastor's ensemble, confusing them immensely as they pulled on the high collar.
"Alastor, something from this decade, please." They requested with an unimpressed look before they caught the monocle that fell from their eye.
"Before that, humor me for a moment. Change your visage to one of a certain famous radio host!" He demanded excitedly, eyes wide like a child.
They grumbled, feeling like a sideshow act, before they summoned the blue flames again and the ground felt farther away as they had grown in stature. They felt the ears on the top of their head flick around self-consciously as they gazed back at Alastor's egotistical smile.
"Now, now, smile, chum! You're never fully dressed without one!" He reminded them with a playful wink.
They sighed and slapped on a smile, delighting the deer demon as he regarded his twin appreciably.
"Hmm, yes! Imagine the hijinks we could get up to, chum!" He tittered. "Quite a handsome fellow, but a shame the eyes are all wrong!" He noted with mild dissatisfaction.
Alastor-Taylor dropped their smile as they rolled their yellow eyes and tilted their head at the deer demon.
"Can we go now? It's been a long night." They pressed, having had enough of his antics.
"But of course!" He chirped as he snapped his fingers and they were wearing a white button up shirt, brown slacks with suspenders, and shiny brown dress shoes. They sighed in relief to be wearing something familiar and used the blue flames once more before they turned to the Radio Demon.
"Thanks. Shall we- whoa!" They started before Alastor's shadow extended below them and the two sank into the umbra like they'd seen him do many times before. The dropping sensation felt like the sensation of one's stomach fluttering in an elevator that descended abruptly, but the hairs on the back of their neck raised up as they were now in a pitch-black space. Gazing around, they could see nothing in the empty void, giving them goosebumps at the lack of visual stimulation. They felt a force pull them forward like a fast-moving sidewalk as they heard Alastor's echoing chuckle at their unease amusedly. After what felt like too long in the creepy jet-black expanse, they finally felt a rising sensation and they sighed in happiness at the sight of the gates to the hotel. Shaking off their goosebumps, they stared back at Alastor.
"Well, that was something! Let's never do that again!" They declared tensely as they made their way to the gates. When they realized Alastor wasn't following, they glanced back at the immobile demon. "You're not coming up?" They asked.
At the query, they saw strange symbols start to float and pulse around the Radio Demon as his smile grew into a snarl.
"I'm afraid not. As the hunt was called off, I must… feed my appetites elsewhere." He replied as his eyes narrowed dangerously at them, making Taylor swallow thickly. With a sickening crack, his snarl snapped into his trademark grin and the symbols vanished. His eyes glanced at them amicably as he waved them off.
"But never you mind that! I will call on you tomorrow and we can negotiate the details of that opportunity I mentioned earlier. With that, I bid you a good night!" He grinned as he bowed and dissolved into the shadows.
As they made their way up the hillside, they rubbed their arms as they fretted over Alastor having knowledge of their soul contract annulment ability and the deal they undoubtedly knew he wanted to rope them into.
'What could he possibly want with me? He was ready to murder me earlier, but thanks to Charlie I might be safe from that. I can't accept a soul contract, but it's not like I can say why either.' They thought worriedly as they made it to the lobby. Seeing Angel and Husk at the bar, they slumped into their seat and held their head in their hand exhaustedly.
"Husk, in the name of all that is good, give me something strong. It's a 'drink to forget' kind of night."