Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Earth may not remember many things, such as who her mother was or when Mr. Creator became her father figure. She doesn’t even remember what she had for breakfast most days or how many times she’s seen her favorite movies. But she’d argue that those things were never important. It doesn’t matter when Mr. Creator was her father figure because as far as she believes, he is her loving dad forever and always. He loved her so much that she didn’t recognize a need for anyone else. And due to her status, meals were made for her three times a day and were all suited for her best health and satisfaction. And Barbie movies are worth rewatching every time!

But if there was one day she remembered well, it was that of her eleventh birthday, the day she learned of her Royal duties.

Of course, only fitting of every young Ars Goetia Heir.

Since she had a half-brother that was born on the same day but earlier, she had a good half-day to prepare for Father’s arrival. Well, her biological father that is. She spent that morning bouncing around her room and palace in only her best attire. Her lady-in-waiting tied back her poufy white hair into a nice, braided bun and tied together with a purple ribbon. Her dress was a nice cream shade accented in purple trimmings, and so were her Mary Jane shoes. Her Waiting Lady did try to put makeup on the girl to cover the green patches on her face, but Earth kept rubbing it off. She rather liked the green with the blue that gave her her namesake.

After lunch, she waited in her room until Mr. Creator came to invite her in the throne room. Mr. Creator was one of Father’s servants, currently in charge in her mother’s place until Earth became grown enough and therefore would become her teacher in how to manage her domain. He is a floating octopus that happens to look like a brain, with how the head is three times as big as her whole body, with shorter tentacles, and wrinkles on his head that mimics the sulci and gyri of a brain. Once, when she asked him some time ago why he was called Creator, he merely laughed and rambled on about the merits of a name. It felt nerve-wracking as she was brought by her un-official father to meet her true father. And there he stood, shape shifting in a energy mass, before he solidified into a tall, water-based demon not unlike her. His hair became like her’s, but very short and a deep grey. His face and body was colored into precise halves, his left blue and the right white. His red eyes looked down at her and a sharp smile was formed. She couldn't help but notice the beak that hinted to his bird-features, which she somehow inherited none of.

“Hello young one!” he said in a cheerful tone.

“Good afternoon father!” Earth exclaimed back, clasping her hands together in front of her skirt. She then sees her father lean over, to what could only be his personal assistant, and whispers a question. The servant answers back in a similar hushed whisper and before Earth can question what Father asked, he just bellows out, “Earth! My latest heir to come to be in the Goetia family! Are you ready to learn your responsibilities and duties to fulfill for the betterment of Hell?

She smiled proudly and straightens her posture as she declared, “Yes I am Father!”

“Wonderful!” Father says. He then raises his hand to suddenly summon a wave of water around them. She suddenly feels an intense warmth as the water steams out around her, creating a bit of a foggy atmosphere. It’s a good thing she didn’t wear makeup after all: she’d have sweat it off and made a mess! She sees tree branches above her that release leaves that fall around her and swirls within the boiling water, turning it into a warm, light-brown color. She let a leaf flutter down on her hand as her father declares, “Earth Ars Goetia, you will be entrusted with the study of Tasseography, ever watching the leaves as they spell out the future and prophesies in tea. You will also come to know the various different plants used to make concoctions with special properties. All of which you will study with your Grimoire.”

He claps once and the imagery fades away before he holds out a book to her.

“Basically, you get to read tea leaves. Doesn’t that sound fun?”

Earth takes the book and looks it over in awe. The vision may be gone, but she can still smell the fragrance of the herbs this book must have been around. It is a deep purple book decorated with green vines grasping around the corners and edges of the book’s case. Opening it, she sees many recipes and prophetic symbols to interpret. She closes it and holds it close to her chest as she looks out to her father with a determined smile.

“It does! I’m more than ready to learn, Father!”

“Wonderful!” Father remarks before he goes to Mr. Creator. “I believe we have much to discuss.”

Both of her fathers then leave her alone in the throne room. Huh. This was now awkward.

After waiting for a bit, the nearby clock ticking 300 times, she then takes the cue to head back to her room to start studying. But not before asking her Waiting Lady to set up her new study with a kettle, an oven, a pot, and a sink. And to bring lots of tea supplies. She even asked for her own cup of tea to get started with application learning.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Earth looks over herself many times in the mirror, making sure she’s dressed all right. She’s wearing a dress with a magenta top and a dark purple skirt, which she’s not sure looks good on her. Since she’s long past the days of childhood, she was told to wear darker colors as a respective princess of Hell. And her Waiting Lady also insisted she wear purple to symbolize her royal status. She’s not sure if it clashes with her dark green and blue skin, but her maids say it looks rather complimentary. On the advice of Mr. Creator, she wears minimal jewelry: a silver necklace with three pearl beads (the center one being bigger), her silver vine-like bracelet, and some rings that she’s acquired from past admirers.

Today is her 21^st birthday, and she’s ready for the next step in her life. She’s studied and worked at her craft so hard the past ten years, and she hopes it will be enough to finally start taking an active role in ruling her kingdom. So she makes her way to Mr. Creator’s study. Even though he’s not an official royal, he’s been managing the kingdom ruling along with the other advisors. Meanwhile, she had just been maintaining the gardens and tea manufacturing, letting her father be the public figure and deciding head in official affairs of business. So she’s drafted up some new ideas in a notebook to expand the empire she’s to inherit and brings it along, with her grimoire of course, to show her father.

Knocking on the door, she steadies her resolve.

“Come in.”

Taking the cue, she enters the study to see him working at a mild pace, which he drops upon seeing her.

“Earth, my girl! Please, come on in!”

Earth closes the door and elegantly sits down with Mr. Creator at a tea table as he hovers lower to match her eye level. A moment is made to disperse finger foods as Earth prepares a flavored blend of a fruitier flavoring paired with vanilla.

“I hear you have something for me, don’t you?”

Earth perks up and takes out her notebook. “Yes I have! I believe I’m now ready for my full responsibilities!”

“Ready? What makes you say that?”

Oh boy, he’s already not convinced, she thinks to herself. Earth shuffles a little in her seat, but maintains a pleasant smile.

“Well, remember when you told me three years ago that I needed to know how to expand and plan out our empire’s future before I can take over?” Mr. Creator nods. “Well, I’ve gone ahead and done it! I’ve studied and have come up with several plans and fail safes! Along with the risks and potential benefits of each!”

She hands her notebook over to Mr. Creator and awaits with an eager attention to see if he’ll finally deem her work perfect. He’s always praised her efforts, but it was ultimately never quite enough fer him to feel confident enough to pass down the role. But now, she’s done it… right? She must have!

She hears him sigh as he looks through her notebook. Finally, his eyes smile and he whistles for an attendant. He summons an attendant and tells them to take the notebook to his office before turning to Earth with a proud look.

“Good work Earth! You’ve truly outdone yourself! I’ll implement some of those ventures as soon as I can.”

“So I can take over now?!” She excitingly blurts out as she jumps up out of her chair.

He raises a tentacle to her. “Sweetheart, calm yourself…”

“Of course, pardon me!” She sits back down as she tries to still herself, barely able to keep in her excitement.

“Your plans are quite impressive, but don’t you want someone experienced to oversee it all?”

Oh no, she thinks before shoving her thoughts down. Maybe this won’t be what she thinks this is.

“Oh, well of course! As I execute it, you can lead me through the process and assist where needed. We can discuss changes and strategies on how to implement the arrangements.”

He softly smiles and reaches out to hold her hands, which she accepts.

“Dear… I think it’s best that you take things one at a time. You can continue making these plans and you can let me worry about doing it. Maybe I can even set you up with your own office so can have your fortune-telling gig.”

Earth almost wants to pull her hands away as her gut twists. It’s as clear as day: he doesn’t think she’s able to do this.

“…Father, but I DO already run that gig. I’ve worked hard to prepare to run the whole industry!” She stands back up with her hold on the tentacles becoming a bit tighter, “What else must I do to prove that I’m ready?!”

She can feel his disapproval before he rises up and gives her a disappointing look.

“Earth. One cannot just proclaim they are ready and expect to be given the throne so soon! There is a time and place!”

“But I’m 21 as of this morning! Law indicated that I could take over as soon as 16 if I felt like I was ready!”

“But you didn’t! You trusted me to ease your burden and help you transition smoothly, just as I do right now!

“Then why won’t you transition anything?! I’ve had to push for you to give me any chances to prove myself!”

“Would you rather I force you to take over completely?! To let you figure it out on your own?!”

As much as the statement shouldn't have surprised her, having it repeated for years, she still felt her shoulders lower in defeat, pausing in the hesitation to say anything back. As much as she wanted to take up her role, it was always scary to think of ruling with no direction. What if it really was too hard and she became the unthinkable: a failure?

Mr. Creator continues in a gentler tone. “Earth, you must know that there is more to ruling than just saying you want something. You need fight, effort, and determination. That is something I can only hope you’ll gain, as I cannot help you without casting you to be defenseless in your rulership.”

Earth’s gaze is pointed downwards as her body slackens. After all, Mr. Creator never lied about what he saw. What if she’s missing something?

And yet, those thoughts wouldn't lead to any progress progressing.

“But father…” she takes a breath and looks Mr. Creator in the eye, “I wish you’d trust me to learn all that. I’ve studied my grimoire! Why can’t I know how ruling works?”

“Dear…” Mr. Creator speaks in such a gentle tone, “Even the sinners and Hellborn know how business is done. I’ve watched you grow. You are a wonder to behold with a power to rival most others. But I don’t see your ability to understand such things about how to rule. Not now.”

Her heart twists as a burning settles in her heard, twisting in indignance. How would the lower ranks know more about such things than her?

Suddenly, a foreign thought pops up.

“Then… why don’t I join them?”

Mr. Creator's body jerks slightly in surprise as she starts on a rant.

“After all, if I spend the time to get to know my subjects, who know something about the whole ruling thing, then maybe I’ll learn more from them than studying in my room all day!”

“Earth-“

“And you’ve mentioned the value of respecting those lower in status than us, this could be a chance to do that too!”

“Earth!”

She freezes. He’s never yelled at her like this before. His tentacles move to hold both her hands in one grip. He moves as if to say something harsh, but he seems conflicted.

Like he’s… heavily thinking about it.

“Earth… my dear daughter. Is this what you truly want?”

Words fail to form in her head, not expecting him to actually take the idea. At least, not this fast. “Uh-I-?”

“Because this will be final. If you leave this palace with nothing but a small satchel of tools and peasant clothes, you will not return until four exterminations have passed.”

Three years?! And four rounds of heavenly killings?! The next one is this month! And only a small satchel? Old clothing? She didn’t think he would declare such things, especially off of a suggestion of hers! But his determined look and firm grasp on her hands means this is far from being any sort of jest.

“I-”

“And I would still expect you to keep up with your studies. After all, you’ll need that knowledge once you rule.”

Earth felt her heart stop a beat. She barely could keep up with the sudden realization.

“Wait! You don’t mean-?!”

“Yes. If you come back well and alive after the forth extermination, I will step down and merely be your advisor. I will give you the title and all the power and responsibilities that come with it. After all, if you have the will to make it through, I will know you have the resolve and pride to take over your rightful spot.”

Earth couldn’t help but look steadily into Mr. Creators’ eyes. Since he didn’t have a visible mouth, his eyes truly were the windows to his soul. One part of his proposal did stick out to her.

“Wait… if?”

“Yes. My dear, I won’t just banish you. You may come back before the time is up, but you must let me teach you at the pace I see fit. No more complaining or begging. You WILL listen to me and never question me again.”

Too many thought swarmed her mind. A final test? A solid declaration that she can rule? She even has an option to withdraw if she really wasn’t strong enough. But this whole deal, while too good to be true in theory, was a very dangerous expedition. She’d have to survive living amongst the sinners and Hellborn, who’d likely not be too kind or respectful to her as a higher rank. She was in Hell after all. She felt her heart struggle to beat at a steady pace as her mind soured with all the risks and rewards of this deal.

“I...”

“Make your decision now. After all, you came here to prove something to me. So do it.”

He pulls away his tentacles, but keeps one outstretched.

Ready to make a deal.

She felt herself hesitate. This was a big deal! She was very uncertain of what may come if she accepted.

But a thought bubbled up to disrupt her panic.

When she accepted. After all, this is her chance. The very thing she’s been wanting for so long. If there was something she didn’t want to do,

it was to go back to her room and do nothing, pining for something more.

“…Fine. I’ll go. And I’ll come back wiser and stronger than ever! I WILL be ready for the throne!”

She barely saw his energy overtake his limb as she thrusted her hand to hold his outstretched arm, producing her own energy, making an official Celestial Promise to finally reclaim what was rightfully hers.

They both smile, sealing the deal.

Chapter Text

The ring of Pride was as busy and rambunctious as can be. Many Sinners and Hellborn were bustling to get their affairs in order. The Sinners were running to find safe spots, engage in their desired activities like they’d never do it again, or a mix of the two. And even though Hellborn aren’t targeted, it was generally agreed that no truce was upheld for the stupid Hellborn to get in the exorcists’ way. As per the agreement, Hellborn leave Angel and Sinner business alone, and Angels will leave Hellborn alone. Sort of. Some discord has happened in instances where some Hellborn were killed because that was the only way to kill a Sinner, who used them as shields. So that’s why the Hellborn got out of dodge around that week. They’d secure their belongings, get their business in order, and leave to the other rings to avoid the trouble. After all, since Sinners can’t leave the Ring of Pride, it makes the other rings a haven for the Hellborn. Very few Hellborn traveled TO the Pride ring around this time, even if the Extermination was only three weeks away. But that’s exactly where a certain Imp would be headed after he completes a job in the Greed Ring.

This Imp could easily pass as a child upon first look. He stood short of stature as he passed through the legs of the crowd. His curled, black and white striped horns poked through two slits in his hood, attached to his mini cloak. Its grey color helped cover his white hair, but not the drive of his pink on yellow eyes. His mini cloak was the only inconspicuous piece of clothing, which helped hide him from those looking down. But his other attire was very unique and sporadic. Covering his dotted red arms, he wore purple and yellow striped detached sleeves that looked like leg warmers, but higher up with his elbows in the middle. His light blue shirt with pale-blue streaks on the top had no sleeves and was cooling to the touch, a luxury in Hell. Finally, he wore dusty purple pants with thin yellow lines running from the top to the bottom. His shoes weren’t much to look at, just thin, very worn out flat shoes. Which could be a problem, as his main occupation was to be a ‘Runner’.

A Runner was a Hellborn, usually a low ranked one, that delivered messages and important items to and from the seven rings. A Runner tended to work for a powerful boss and would be tasked to complete ‘runs’ on behalf of the boss. But so far, the Imp was mainly being employed to send messages from Lucifer to Mammon and back. But he was fine with being a conditional runner. He had his fill of being the underling for one boss.

His face spelled that out too clearly.

The Eclipse Overworld. Ran by one person to achieve something to shake the very power of Heaven and Hell. Like the other servants and workers, the Imp was sworn in by being given a scar of some sort to symbolize an Eclipse, then being named after one. This Imp was given the name ‘Lunar’. But after Eclipse’s organization fell, Lunar ran to preserve his own future and to be his own keeper.

And right now, he finally made it to the lifts, where all he had to do was show his hidden badge to the operator to get in his desired tram right away.

Once he left the Pride Ring, the atmosphere became less overtly dangerous. But in the Greed Ring, he became aware of the sleazy, slippery danger that lurked in the shadows. He exercised caution as he made his way to Mammon’s headquarters.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

“Good work, little runner. Now off you go. I’m sure you have a nap to take.”

Lunar sneers in his head as he leaves Mammon’s office, not wanting to deal with that secretary any longer.

She was always so snooty, acting like she was a gift to the world. She always teeters short of outright calling him a kid, but she might as well be. She wouldn’t be so mighty about her height if her heels didn’t compensate for her. What was it about tall women that made them treat him as some baby? Granted, he knew he could only get so much respect, being an imp and all. But seriously?

Regardless, he walks himself out before summoning wind to speed him along.

Imps shouldn’t have any powers or abilities outside of their physicality and athletic training. But Lunar had something no other Imp had. Some power that he barely understood, that he acquired after his servanthood for that overzealous carrot. All his power did was shift the winds to allow him to get to places quicker. And with enough energy and focus, he could even launch himself to fly forward! Using these abilities, he quickly became a trusted runner between the rings, able to deliver quicker and evade ambitious figures willing to seize any runner for their valuable information. Because after all, who wouldn’t want to take advantage of someone powerful by intercepting their runner. So Lunar used his power to escape capture many times and deliver his letters faster than any other Imp could. Hence why he was trusted by the Deadly Sins to carry out tasks for them.

But since his occupation left him constantly on the run, he didn’t like to stick to one place for too long, lest he be cornered while he rested. And today, he went back to his motel room one last time to take his bags and leave. Thankfully, he knew exactly where to go.

After all, with all the Hellborn leaving, he knew of some empty houses for the taking that no-one would mind him hiding out at. Besides, even if an exorcist broke through the house, he could easily let them search before leaving him alone. Besides, he’s noticed how, in the past, the very few angels that met him seemed eager to leave him alone. Oh well, better for him to be unliked than dead.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Soon, Lunar found himself around some nice suburban houses in the Pride Ring that must have cost a hellava lot of money to live in. The community had some nice little spaces, looking to be about two floors with at least three bedrooms, two baths, a small kitchen, and a cozy living room. Or at least, those were the numbers Lunar counted when he broke into one. Surprisingly, the house didn’t look all that abandoned. But then again, a lot of food around the kitchen seemed rotten, as if left for a month.

So either the owner of the house (obviously living alone, due to the one twin bed that looked lived in, as opposed to the other bedrooms that were filled with junk) either got murdered one day or they were so irresponsible to not even clean up the moldy washcloth that was growing a freaking ecosystem on it.

Well… as much as Lunar felt uneasy about not knowing the status of the homeowner, he couldn’t just pass on the fact that this place actually had water and power! Most homes that are left empty due to the Extermination tend to have their water and power shut down by the homeowners. But besides the expired food and terrible mess, this home seemed nice enough to live in. It was more than spacious for a small Imp like himself, provided free electricity and water, and even had nice furniture to rest in! So Lunar went to work by taking his belongings to one of the unused rooms, clearing out enough space in one of the walk-in closets to set up camp. He’d only have to live there for about three weeks. It’s too bad. With how nice the house was itself, he almost wanted to stay here forever. But allas. He knows better than to get comfortable in one spot for too long.

He would never stay tied to one place for too long; wandering until his last breath.

Or at least, that’s what he told himself to avoid the nightmares.

…

…

…

‘Well’, Lunar thought, ‘Better go get some food before everything either gets shut down or becomes overpriced in anticipation for the upcoming bloodbath.’

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Well, there’s nothing like the discounts of shopping at small businesses before Lockdowns can start. But unfortunately, there wasn’t enough food to last him the next 18 days. He ponders his next options for when and where he should get two weeks’ worth of food when he passes a figure in a cloak. Normally, he wouldn’t pay any mind, but something peaked his interest. A golden shine of something.

Interest peaked, he turns around and looks at the figure as they walk away. But he also quickly sees three more demons with cruel grins. Eyes wide and heart pounding, he runs to around a corner to wind boost his way up to a fire escape. He drops his grocery bags and climbs as he feels his limbs start to shake.

Normally, he would be more alert to any ambushes but for some reason, this felt somewhat random.

Wait… was he even the one those demons were grinning at?

He climbs his way to the roof where he indeed sees the demons talking to the figure. From what little he could hear… it sounded like a woman. A confused one too, as if she didn’t quite know the danger she was in. Sure enough, a guy sneaks up behind her and grabs her arm. She yelps and manages to yank it free before… running into the alleyway?!

…They must be a new sinner. There’s no way any experienced person would be stupid enough to run to a dark abandoned spot when being chased.

He doesn’t know why, but he finds himself falling down to land between the woman and the gang, summoning his most intimidating glare after using his wind to land on his feet without harm.

The gang stops, glaring back… before one of them huffs in amusement.

“Oh what do we have here? Is someone wanting a cookie?”

The gang laughs as Lunar steadies himself. But he finds himself backing up as another of the demons, one that looks like a shark from the Greed Ring, starts walking up to him.

“You’ve got some nerve, pip-squeak. Hand over your valuables, and maybe I won’t leave you completely broken.” The three demons ascend slowly as Lunar reaches for his knife. He starts to panic, knowing he wasn’t a match for three big demons. He cursed at himself, because why did he get himself in that-

The shark demon suddenly falls to the ground, flat on his face, before being whipped up to crash into a wall by some plant-like whip. The others seem shocked, but the snake-like demon runs at Lunar with a blade drawn. The next thing he knew, the demon screamed as his knife hit Lunars, but not only did ice form on the gang member’s knife, it spread to encapsulate the demon’s hand in misting ice. Getting the hint, the last member grabs his unconscious friend and his freezer-burnt friend to retreat, leaving Lunar alone, unstabbed and not mugged.

Lunar stared at the retreating gang, shocked at what happened. Did… did someone save him? He turned around, expecting to see some merciful Sinner.

He suddenly stills in shock as he sees the green and blue face of a young woman. She looked at him with an embarrassed fluster as she replaced her hood back over her head.

“I apologize if I scared you. I mean no harm. But thank you for helping me! I wouldn’t have been able to remember to be brave if it wasn’t for you reminding me.”

She gave a lovely smile as looked down at Lunar, now making him realize just how tall she was.

“N-No problem?” Lunar stammered. He took a moment to think.

Was… was she the cause of the plant and ice magic? What was even her power-level as a Sinner?!

For some reason, this woman seems familiar to him in some way, like he’s seen her before. Which is confusing, since she acts like she’s new to living here.

“Are… are you new here?” He asks reluctantly.

“Well, you can say that. I’m not familiar with this city, and I’d like to figure out how to live here for the time being.”

Lunar can’t help but stare at this stranger in disbelief. But something tells him that someone as powerful and friendly as this Sinner must be worth keeping as a friendly ally while she’s still impressionable.

“Well, I have a place to stay for a few weeks if you’d like. Maybe I can teach you the ins and outs of the Pride Ring before the Extermination.”

She seemed to perk up at Lunar’s mention of the dreaded holiday.

“Oh yes, I’d rather avoid that. Perhaps I can meet you at your place after a while, since you seem to be busy.”

Lunar nods and pulls out a napkin and a pencil from his pants pocket to write down the address for his new place.

“May I ask what your name is? My name is Earth.”

Again, that name sounds familiar, but he shakes it off as he hands her the napkin.

“I’m Lunar!”

Chapter Text

Montgomery shifted in their stance before taking their aim. They already knew they’d win this round, but this was to make a point.

Just one shot…

They wind back… and smacked the golf ball just right to hit that SWEET hold-in-one!

“Aw yeah! Beat that, Checkers!”

Monty faces the navy and white figure with a smug look. The figure stood tall, almost looking straight out of a noir film as his thin figure and straight face showed his lackluster enthusiasm for the game. Not to mention that when Montgomery first met Checkers, he actually looked devoid of any color other than black and white, except the occasional red in his eyes. Hence the nickname.

“Please. You know I’m not a golfing sort. And I’ve already said I like Chess over Checkers.”

Monty looks over the overlord, the one that has not coined a universal name. They huff.

“Ya know, it wouldn’t hurt to have a name fer those to recognize ya’ with.”

“I disagree.”

“Whatever ya’ say, Twinkles.” Monty remarks as their friend takes up the putt-putt. The Sinner is clearly not as good of the game as Monty, but at least he is trusted to even play with Monty.

Within Hell, Monty is a very successful Overlord. But instead of owning land, they cover all sports media and shows. They somehow made their way into owning whole stadiums and teams to compete for Hell’s entertainment. But of course, they might have achieved that through their ‘side hustle’ of scams and trickery. Either way, no one knows Monty as well as the Sinner before them and they’d like to believe it was the same for their friend, even if the information known was minimal. As far as they remembered, the Sinner was quick to jump on Monty’s success and with his resources, he helped Monty with all the profits they needed. Checkers was certainly a sinner that had power, not through land but by resources and deals alone.

A partial Overlord.

And from what they’d gathered about Checkers, he tends to like gaining power while keeping his head down for some obvious trust issues. But hey, in Hell there can’t be such a thing as faithful trust. Just VERY good contracts. The one they have with Checkers consists of 15% ownership as long as he keeps Monty’s secrets from going public. Such as the one where, contrary to popular knowledge, fútbol was actually not their favorite sport. It’s golf. But no one should know that.

Soon, Checkers finally gets the ball in the hole after five hits.

“Well, as fun as this is, I have to get going.”

Monty looks out of their office windows, glancing at the heavenly clock.

“Ya’ know, this office is fixin’ to be locked down for the upcoming extermination next week on the Eve. And typically, no one comes in or out till’ the mornin’ after its over.”

The figure just shakes his head and looks back at Monty with his red eyes once he reaches the office doorway, leading down to a long spiral of stairs.

“Don’t worry. I have my own place to stay. See you after.”

The sinner then walks out before jumping down the very tall staircase, hand reaching up to release a shadowy chain for him to fall with. As he swings unharmed to the bottom floor, capelet and the end of his hat whipping in the wind, Monty just huffs a comment about him being a show-off before retreating back into their office.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

As much as the Sinner would have liked to taken Monty’s offer, he had other business to attend. Specifically, with his runner.

About a month and a half ago, the Fazbear Family had reached out to him about potentially coming to a deal. They wanted some early access to some technologies, and were willing to pay the Sinner good money for his share in a particular company. So the Sinner had sent his runner with the paperwork, thinking the deal would be made. But two weeks ago, the Golden one had reached out again, demanding to know when they’d receive the share. Since the Fazbear family were Hellborn and living in the Sloth Ring, the Sinner had to request a representative to talk to him. After another three days, the Sinner finally got to find out what was going on.

Apparently, his runner DID make it to the Fazbear Family. The paperwork was signed, but then the Hellhound did something that the Sinner never told him to do. He accepted a straight amount of cash in a briefcase before assumingly going back to his boss.

Which clearly wasn’t the case.

Pissed, the sinner had to send the representative back with two checks, one to replace the sum and another to pay some extra if the conflict wasn’t resolved in the following week. While this meant the checks would be more secure, it was often tedious to send someone important with armed guards for mild-to-mundane tasks, hence the reliance of runners.

But this one… This Hellhound was in massive trouble. Especially since the Sinner was used to tracking people down in his human life. It may have not been his main job, but it was a clear skill of his.

After finding out through associates that the Hellhound meant to bring the money to the Sinner after taking a tip for himself, he eventually found the hound’s corpse in the warehouse of gang group. Putting the pieces together, the Sinner theorized that the hound must have been bragging about his payroll and got jumped by some small-time thugs. But it was unclear where the money went.

After confirming the death of his runner, the Sinner visited Monty to not just talk, but to start negotiating what cut the Fazbear Family could have of his shadier tech business. Since Monty was as quick to snap at deals like a gator, they had enough cool time afterwards to play golf as Monty’s runner went to confirm business with the Fazbear Family.

Now that he’s left Montgomery’s office, only one more area was to be addressed in this scandal: where the money went. Unfortunately, the Sinner did not know his runner all that well, hence the sudden betrayal. See, since the Sinner gained his power through connections, stocks, and partial ownerships, he needed runners to reinforce his power outside the Pride Ring. Unfortunately, that meant he’d lose them a bit regularly. The Hellhound was a recent hire that seemed to have a reputation of keeping things on the down-low, while having connections for his protection. But those connections have now been proven to be flimsy. And since this hound didn’t have any known kin, the Sinner couldn’t make them pay for the hound’s actions. The one place he remembered his runner frequenting was some house in the suburbs the Sinner paid for. Since the Sinner relied on Runners, he had set up a normal looking house for them to take refuge in. And it was in a decent neighborhood with great overall security. So if the Sinner had to guess, the briefcase was either in that house, or with the thugs. He sincerely hoped it was just at the house as he started walking to a specific corner in an allyway.

The Sinner had several powers, one of which including transportation via shadows. And while he could melt into the darkness and move quickly through it, he preferred to set up spawn points: portal-like areas in which he could quickly get from one place to another that only he could access. And the corner he was walking to would teleport him from the dark pathway straight to a closet in the house. It would only be a matter of minutes before he arrived.

*_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

“Oh, Welcome back Lunar!”

Lunar groaned as he flopped on the now-cleared couch. Earth seemed to have some concern as she came over to sit next to him, holding some teacups in her hands.

“Here. For rejuvenation.”

Lunar sighed before taking a cup. He had been on his feet all day, all because Mammon and Lucifer had come to the end of their contractual deal, but not without many hiccups from both sides. But even though he was done, he still zipped around to find reasonably priced groceries before they closed. Thankfully, Earth was willing to help him financially as Lunar found himself haggling with the one shop that was fully stocked and readily open, but had atrocious prices! To top it off, the bottom of the shoes he was wearing finally tore in half on his way to the store in the first place! So his foot was stinging, along with his lower body’s general ache.

In fact, he had been busy like this for the last four days, so he barely even got to know his new roommate.

And ho boy, was she a presence.

She not only helped clean the living room, but only with water and dish soap since she didn’t know anything about cleaning chemicals, she also made the living room smell of heated water and herbs ever since she set up shop there.

She said she didn’t want to disturb the other rooms Lunar had, which were full of junk that Lunar didn’t want to admit wasn’t his, so she had been sleeping on the couch. But apparently, she was really good at making tea. It did take him a bit of laying there on the couch before he propped his head up for the first sip. And true to her word, as he drank the citrus-scented drink, he found himself with more energy as he sat up properly on the couch. He was still tired mentally, but he found himself more able to resist being a ragdoll.

“Feeling better?” Earth asked with her upbeat yet gentle tone of voice. Lunar nodded. Earth then leaned over to pick up her fancy looking book before opening it to a bookmarked page. As she read her book and sipped her tea politely, Lunar started to form some questions about his new roommate.

“Hey… How did you end up in Hell?”

Earth glances his way in confusion. “What do you mean?” She asked.

Lunar started to form his question better when he happened to advert his eyes to something just in the hall. A tall black and white figure stood in the shadow of the hall, with his red eyes staring back at him. They wore a butler’s coat split into a black and white side each, a white shirt with poufy sleeves underneath, all covered by a grey capelet covered in star patterns. The figure also had a nightcap and loose pants with the same color and design, except how the grey seemed to be a gradient on the pants, darker on top and lighter on the bottom. He had grey ruffles like a clown around his neck, tied with a bow similar to those on gift boxes. And finally, he has thin black boots that Lunar recognized as a type that either made a lot of noise when walking, or none at all. And seeing as he saw the figure before he heard them, Lunar assumed the latter. The figure smiled unsettlingly, especially with his half-white and half-black face looking like a Moon man face.

“Better question,” the figure spoke, causing Earth to be startled into looking back at the newcomer.

“What are you doing in my house?”

*_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

When the Sinner arrived in the closet, he found himself tripping over a pile of clothes. He found it odd, but found it odder to step out to the hallway and smell a rich earthy scent. Not even smelling like weed. Confused, he made his way to the smallest bedroom and found what his previous runner left behind. A messy room with a musky cologne scent, stinking of a highschooler’s home. But he did find the briefcase under his bed, like the dumbass that wolf was.

His ears then prickled as he heard someone speak. Wait… wasn’t the runner dead?!

Swiftly, he made his way to the living room and heard a voice again before quickly spotting two strangers in HIS house. A woman with cloud-like hair facing away from him and a child-like Imp that noticed him right as the Sinner saw him.

He had intruders.

He snarkily asked a question similar to one the Imp just asked.

“Better question. What are you doing in my house?”

The Imp scrambled as he drew a knife. Pathetic. The woman, a blue and green faced figure, darted back against the wall. The Sinner grinned as it became clear that these two squatters had no chance against him. The small Imp poised to attack as the Sinner summoned his shadows. They both ran to strike- only to be blocked by a sudden, think vine wall. The Sinner looked to his left to see the woman’s hands outstretched before raising them in a surrender motion.

“I’m so sorry, but could we please use our words? I think we have a misunderstanding at hand.”

Huh. For someone that could have the power to summon plants like that at will, but was willing to attempt peace, it was clear this was no Sinner like himself.

Tense, he lowers his offensive powers, but remains ready.

“Fine. Simple truth, this is MY house. And you need to leave.”

The woman seemed uncertain as the Imp stuck his head around the wall near the woman.

“Your house? Last I checked, no had been here for a month!”

The vine wall descended as personal defenses raised.

“Wait, is this not your house?”

The Imp seemed to become a little embarrassed as he held his dagger close.

“Well… It’s not under my name. But I needed a place to lie for a bit. Only three weeks!”

“Ah. An extermination hobo. I shouldn’t be surprised.”

“Says the creepy skeleton!”

“Hey! Both of you!” the woman interjects, stepping between them before facing the Sinner.

“On behalf of my new friend, I would like to apologize for the intrusion. I myself also needed a home for a while so I could get accustomed to city life. Lunar offered to take me in and get me on my feet. But I guess we better get going and find a new place to stay.”

The woman then goes to grab her dropped book when a sharp shadow pierces though the wall to block her. She yelps, avoiding the spike, but gasps in horror as she sees the Sinner holding her book, examining it, this time with black pupils. Or at least, one white eye with a black pupil and another eye completely engulfed in black.

“Please give that back! It’s valuable to me!”

Lunar seems to hiss and shake his head at her before the Sinner faces her.

“What’s your name?”

Lunar motions to the woman to not speak, but she speaks anyway.

“It’s Earth.”

“Earth… As in Earth Ars Goetia?”

As Earth’s eyes widen, the Sinner gets his answer.

It’s clear that with her sweet demeanor, she was not a Sinner. Even without that fact that he, of all people, would know of her power if she actually was a sinner, since she’s be an overlord with that kind of power, he could find no fault with her personality that would condemn her to Hell. And looking at her clothing, which was simple but made of nice fabric and stitching, and her minimal but expensive jewelry, she seemed to be of a higher status of Hellborn. Her high status, naivety, and power scale then made sense when she uttered her name. Earth. The very name mentioned by a client of his that was ruling in her stead, using her name and status to act like he was important by association. But it was strange, because from what he recalled, Earth sounded like a child that was yet to rule until years from now.

“Now, what is a princess doing all the way in the city?”, he asked, leaning against his wall.

The Imp seemed frozen in shock as he stared at Earth. She cleared her throat.

“W-Well, I was sent here to learn more about the culture of my people. And since I can’t do that presented as a Goetia, I have tried to be in disguise. And I’d appreciate it if you didn’t make my visit privy to others.”

It was kind of adorable to see her try and act authoritative. Clearly, she was way too sheltered. But… maybe he could use it to his favor.

“You know what, princess? I can do something better. I will allow you to stay here in my abode. After all, I have extra rooms in this house.”

He then extends the thick book back to her, letting his shadows transport it to her. She embraces the book tightly to her chest.

She looks ready to say something before the Imp butts in.

“Hey! What’s in it for you?”

Ah. This Imp wasn’t as naïve. If anything, this Imp probably was raised to question everything, like many Sinners learn to do. While he would assume the Imp was also taking advantage of Earth’s innocence, it was clear from his earlier reaction that he didn’t actually know Earth was royalty.

“And who might you be, squirt?”

He Imp huffs in annoyance. “Lunar.” He spits out.

The Sinner narrows his eyes, probing his recollection.

“I’ve heard your name before. Are you-?”

“A Runner. I’m a Runner that serves various Sins and Overlords.”

The Sinner could swear that he knows Lunar from being a servant to a particular Hell figure, but he can’t recall which at the moment. Besides, it was already confirmed that he was just a lower figure.

“A Runner you say?”

Lunar nods apprehensively.

“You know, this place was where my runner was staying before he got himself killed.”

The Sinner feels enough at ease to sit at a parallel armchair from the couch. Earth takes the que and sits down. She seems to be apprehensive about trusting the company around her, like she should. Lunar leans against the couch.

“And who are you to have a runner? You don’t look like any Overlord I’ve met.”

“I don’t. Because we’ve never met. I’m only seen by a particular crowd.” The Sinner’s pupils shine a bright red color that contrasts his black and white color scheme.

“You may know me as the nameless Sinner.”

“The nameless…” Lunar seems to be searching his brain before griping the couch tighter, “You… you mean the Guy that knows a Guy Partial Overlord?! The one that has no name, but is spoken as a secret contact to be used by other Overlords in a pinch?!”

The Sinner nods, grinning in how he was able to be recognized by reputation alone, but not so easily discovered that it would be easy to be targeted specifically. Lunar seemed to pick up on the Sinner’s smugness and huffed again.

“Nameless? Then how would people get to know you?”

Oh right. The princess was still here.

“Well, I’d rather not tie myself down to a name. So I let my clients pick a code calling for me.”

“Okay Jake from State Farm. You don’t have to be that edgy.”

The Sinner then glared at the Imp, who seemed proud as he finally sat down on the couch next to Earth.

Speaking of which, the princess made a polite cough to gather their attention before turning her attention to the Sinner.

“Is there anything you would like to be named by us? After all, you said we are welcome to stay and I’d like to give you a name while I remain in your company.”

She gives a soft smile as she awaits the Sinner’s answer. He simply shakes his head. He technically only invited her, but he sees no harm in letting Lunar stay too. After all, he needs a new Runner himself.

“Princess, I’m fine with you giving me a name. I like to be addressed by how my audience wishes to do so.”

Earth seems to contemplate an answer, but seems to have an idea from looking at the Sinner. Specifically, his face.

“Well, how about Moon?”

Ah. Something simple. Yet so pointed for reasons the royal wouldn’t know. His new nickname having something to do with his last sight before death, meaning something so significant that it and the night became his theme in Hell. And yet… it seemed symbolic of taking his life back in his own terms.

“Very well then.” The Sinner says, sounding indifferent yet gruff with his raspy voice.

“You can call me Moon."

Chapter Text

“What’s with him?” an angel asked, nodding over to the exorcist sharping his small weapon. The action itself wasn’t too odd, but it was how that Angel seemed to be radiating an upset energy.

It was true. He was furious.

He had just visited the Children’s home that morning, and ho boy, the newest little winner had sent him off.

Make no mistake, it wasn’t the child herself that was the problem. She was absolutely wonderful and blameless, hence why she was brought here.

It was HOW she got here that got under his skin.

“Hey Sunshine, you good?”

The angel suddenly snaps out of his trance and faces the Winner next to him. He sighs out and brushes back his hair before giving a reassuring smile to his friend.

“Um… no. But I appreciate your concern, Skyler.” He then looks back down to his blade and barely felt how he tensed his next words. “Everything will be fine soon.”

The Winner places a hand over his weapon before poking his head to face hers.

“Sunshine... I’m becoming concerned. Can you take a break and come eat out with me? Please?”

He can’t refuse her offer, but his heart feels too heavy for a hangout right now.

“Can we do it later? I think I should try to get my thoughts together first.”

Skyler nods and pats his shoulder twice in a friendly manner.

“Just crane me when you’re ready.” she says before she walks off. He sighs and puts his blade in his boot before walking off to clear his mind.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

After a while of walking, the angel finally makes it to the park to loop around before he flew home. Amongst the nature enthusiasts and cute animals, he starts to find the children near the playground. They’re playing joyfully in total peace, not even needed to be supervised due to how heaven has no dangers for them or their parents to worry about. He even sees a child that’s mainly flying around and never landing on the ground. He must have been in a wheelchair when he was alive. Within his experience, the angel has noticed that most children who died sick often weren’t used to using certain parts of their body. Kids who choked often didn’t eat anything solid, kids who were paralyzed instinctually flew to get around, and those who fell to their demise didn’t trust their own wings. But all was fine. In their new eternal lives, they’d live to be fearless.

After all, it was in a Winner’s design to forget. Especially those who experienced trauma on Earth.

Looking away, the angel set his eyes on the buildings that climbed high above. In fact, he was born many years ago to serve at one of these buildings.

He used to be what heaven called an Archive Angel. His occupation was to sort through and keep records tidy and in place. Almost like being a librarian to a library of infinite knowledge. Any archive angels happened to have a flat face in their true form and some sort of elemental power as a symbol of their birthright. His element was electrified light, so he was colored a light yellow with some accents of pale blue, and he had the power to shape light as he pleased. Thus, he was named Sunrise, since his halo had circular triangles circling around it.

He thoroughly enjoyed his job, but he found himself drawn to the Children’s Home whenever he left the Heavenly Archives. He loved visiting the kids to play with them and teach them all kinds of things! Quickly, he managed to become an official caretaker for some of the humans that died way too young. It was heartbreaking in a way, but that was overlooked by how they’d be living the rest of their lives in such a perfect home! Once they were accepted into heaven, they were brought here to either get adopted by other adult Winners, or to grow up and eventually be set up in their own place to live. Basically, the dream orphanage that humans on Earth wished they could ever have.

So he often spent half of his time working in the Archives and the other half with the children. He didn’t want to scare them, so he used a more human form when working with them. His skin was cream and yellow as his hair fluffed and spiked off in shades of pale yellow with some stray strands shining in pale blue. His eyes were also a pale blue, often having the ability to glow in the dark. The children seemed to love him and his new nickname became Sunny.

But one day, he noticed a young boy that was avoiding all the other female caretakers. He seemed wary of them for some reason, only clinging to Sunny. It seemed the least humanly male angel was the only one the boy trusted. It certainly was an odd situation. Winners, when raised and accepted into Heaven, often lost harmful memories upon rebirth. But long standing fears and discomforts were still instinctual. Almost like an irrational fear from their previous life. Sunrise wanted to help the best he could, so he looked into the archives to hopefully find out something to help the little boy. After all, that was where any information could be found with enough searching, including the life of any winner to enter the pearly gates.

When he found his answer, however, a can of worms was opened. Finding out what the boy’s ‘mother’ had done to him and how it resulted in his demise… it activated something new in the angel: Righteous Anger.

At first, Sunrise used it as a drive to desperately help the boy out and help him slowly learn to trust others again. But even as the boy forgot his fears and worries, going on to never have a problem again, the anger still stayed. He then began to think twice about every timid kid that arrived at the Children’s Home. Not the shy ones, but the fearful ones. The other caretakers saw how upset he was, but eagerly listened to him when he would instruct others on how to care for the children.

That is, the abused ones.

His heart, like the other angels, ached for the innocent young winners, but in Sun, it felt poisonous. The injustice of how those ‘people’ got away with what they did, how many would go on to repeat their actions out of a sick thrill, and all to what? Just go to Hell?! No. They deserved worse.

But he found himself powerless to do anything. He did all he could, providing the caretakers with the necessary knowledge, and giving the young Winners all the love and care they rightfully deserved. Yet, he eventually started to worry about how much poisonous fury was inside of him, fueled by any new case.

He could sometimes barely sleep or eat, to the point that he followed the other caretakers’ advice to just let them handle it. He’s trained them well to spot and help those poor Winners. But he was scared of how he felt the anger consume him, with no outlet to pour it into. Research into such things made it worse with how normal it was on Earth, tainting the records of the so-called planet.

He still liked visiting the Home. Some of the grown Winners even regard him fondly whenever he bumps into them. But now, he has a different job.

It really didn’t take a lot of convincing when an angel approached him, offering a way to seek righteous revenge: Be an exorcist and take out any sinners residing in Hell.

He officially left his Archive role to join the ranks of the Exorcists. He worked hard to overcome his gentle nature to become resolved and deadly in the art of war. He might have been created to be buried in scrolls, but he felt that he was made to bring justice to those who deserved more than eternal rest. He even started to grow a fellowship with the other Exorcists. Some were created into this role like he was in Archives. Others were Winners with an unresolved unrest that granted them the option to join the heavenly army upon rebirth at the gates, which none had refused. Including Skyler.

Skyler… the Winner that became his best friend. She paired up with him every meeting, committed time to practice fighting, and they even confided in each other about their thoughts. See, she felt like a kindred soul to him because she had died to her abusive ex. So she was eager to find him in Hell and make him pay. But since he’s still alive, she’s just bidding her time.

Speaking of which… he feels better now and could definitely use a cat-themed milkshake. He waves over a paper crane and whispers his message to be delivered to Skyler. He leaves as the crane flies off to deliver the request. Taking one more deep breath, he flies off to grab a seat for the both of them. After all, he did want to go over a plan with her for the extermination tomorrow.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

In one ear, out the other. Adam’s rallying words fell deaf on Sunrise's ears as he gripped his spear. He could almost feel the blood he was about to spill from his angelic weapon. It was a beautiful but deadly metal. From what he researched, angelic metal was the only material that could kill any creature. Including angels, so he knew to be careful. Angels could get hurt from fighting, but by the grace of God, angels could even regenerate limbs. But Angelic metal was made to weaken any soul and curse the afflicted body with the inability to heal their injury with anything but natural time. Since Sunrise wasn’t born an exorcist, he felt cautious of the weapon, while those that were born exorcists treated the weapon like a natural extension to their body. Still, he holds it with the proper grip as he sort-of hears the last unanimous yell from all the exorcists before he sees that yellow ring. That yellow ring swirls as wings are raised. As soon as the red is seen from the expanding portal, every angel soars through to start their bloody rampage. And he is no exception.

He flies high to gauge his playing field. While some angels kill whatever is in their sight, others strategize to kill more widespread. He is among the strategizes as he sees the rampage below. Of course the first dead were demons wearing tin-foil and holding 666 signs while standing in a pentagram. For their conspiracy efforts, now they’re insides are outsides.

He sees the angels fly off to the outskirts but he resolves to find one particular building.

See, since he was born an Archive Angel, he was automatically about to have access to any record he found. And lately, he had scoped out five different child abusers. Each had their own flavor of abuse, from emotional to physical to psychological and more. And all five met up in Hell and stuck together as kindred spirits. Unfortunately, he couldn’t find out many details on where this building was, but he knew the general look and he knew specifically how to identify them.

The angels may only have a certain amount of time to be in Hell, but he swore to not return until he avenged Sarah Niva, Ryan Flemings, Tamaya Jones, Elianna Grace Tanner, Patrick Sanchez, and any other child who suffered to these monsters that he hasn’t met yet. Spotting what he believes to be the place, he dives to get there before any exorcist could meaninglessly grant them everlasting death.

*_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

This was bad. His spot in a local jewelry store’s employee area was already blown. The newly minted 'Moon' found himself barely escaping an exorcist by hiding in a shadow just before he was spotted. He waited in agony, with closed eyed, hoping the angel would go away from his secluded corner. Since there were no adjoining shadows, he was stuck there until the angel moved on. Moon's heart pounded as he fought to not breathe a breath, not to peak with his glowing eyes, not to make any sight or noise at all. But eventually, he heard the angel run off and he silently collapsed on the ground after rematerializing from it.

Now, why was he an idiot and not hiding out with Earth and Lunar? Well… it was for their safety. The Exorcists had no qualms about tearing up houses and building to find Sinners. But if they happen to find Hellborn in their houses with no Sinner in sight, the Hellborn will be left alone. But with how his Runner’s house had no special defenses against the Extermination, Moon knew it was best to find his own expendable hiding spot. And unfortunately, he failed to find such a place in time for that Heavenly clock to chime, signaling his doom.

But he did know where he could go. But he would have to be fast but undetected. So he found himself in a fierce game of hide and seek as he flatted against dark walls, dove behind pillars and dumpsters, and made quick sprints across the streets until he found a rather squat factory. He doesn’t know much about it, other than how some rich sinners holed up in that factory every year during the extermination. Throughout the year, they’d offer decent-to-high jobs to the young Hellborn to work for them and have a place to live. Moon never liked the vibes of the place, but who was he to openly despise their front? Besides, these rich MFs had only the thickest walls and sturdiest doors protecting them for the outside. An angel would take forever to crack it open. But for a Sinner that can flatten himself into a lightless shape, he shouldn’t have a problem. Once he found the slimmest opening in a vent, he compressed himself as much as he could to squeeze through, straining because he was making himself a shadow without blending into an already existing shade.

There! Once he got himself far enough, he rematerialized with a heavy breath. He was quickly getting tired, but at least he seemed safe. Safe… in an ungodly filth that is the vents. He soon found a vent opening to kick off before climbing out and summoning his aerial chain to catch as he fell. Once he was steady on the ground, he got to have a good view of the place. He saw many cameras, kid’s desks, and dangerous machines around the big warehouse-looking room. He felt chills up his spine as he walked further down the middle path before reaching a door. But from the other side… he could hear voices. Scared children voices.

On instinct, he opened the door to find a lobby area full of children with the company logo on their uniforms. They seemed scared by his presence as they backed up, even though whispers spread that the stranger didn’t look like an angel. Spotting the barricaded doors on top of the flight of fancy, curved staircases, and how many children were attached to it by one or two of their limbs, he realized what was going on. These… these heartless bastards were using the children to shield them from any angels that may come. As if the factory wasn’t already secure to the highest degree!

Moon wasn’t a good person in his past life. He had so much blood on his hands. But one job he took without question was babysitting. Specifically, babysitting the children whose parents were on the Kill Code. He would take them away from the scene by distracting them with toys, candy, and games. He even took them places to have a good time being a child. While he did feel awful about how these moments would be the last time the children lived without grief, it was better than traumatizing them by being there. It was better the Moon gave them those good moments, even for a bit.

And so, he started to sing.

When he was human, he believed he had a decent voice, often suited for slow songs and lullabies. But here, he found that his voice could sooth souls by drifting them off to sleep. That is, if his victims allowed it. Here, it seemed like the children that weren’t chained up were eager to flock near him. He sat down on his knees as the children sat around him and laid down. He was merely singing ‘Down in the Meadow’, but on the second part of the song, many children's eyes drooped until they clung to each other, falling in a restful sleep. Once everyone around him was asleep, he got up to get to the children that were chained to the door. Only one of them was asleep when he used his shadow wire to swing up to them. The others were rightfully terrified. Out of the ten, he saw a young imp boy with his white hair clinging to his forehead with sweat. Moon gently kneeled down and reached a hand out.

“I’m not here to hurt you. I want to help you and your friends get unchained.”

But the boy shook his head.

“I-If you do… we’ll get punished.” Moon’s heart stopped as the imp boy continued. “I-It's our job t-to guard th-the door with o-our lives.”

You know…maybe he could manage to take out five demons.

…Maybe.

“You won’t.” Moon said firmly but gently, “I’m the mean Sinner that tore you away from the door.” At that, he pulled out a lock-pick from one of his inner pockets from his capelet. Seeming to understand, the boy lets Moon pick the lock to free him. Soon, he does and the boy seems to have a mild panic at being released. But once Moon almost finishes the next lock on a different child, the young boy asks if he had another lock-pick. He did, and the boy seemed to know what he was doing, so together, they free every limb until the children were all free from their chains. The boy hugged Moon before looking up at him.

“What is the name of our hero?”

The sinner sighs before kneeling down to his level as the other children stand around them.

“I don’t have one. And I’m not the only hero. What’s your name, champ?

“I… I am called FC. I have forgotten what it stands for, but I believe it’s Foxington Champion!

Moon snickers. “Sure bud-“

BANG

BANG

BANG

The group fell silent as they hear the slam of something heavy being smashed from the other room he was just in. Like a brick wall…

Moon looks to his watch and sees that several hours have gone by. Almost enough for the Extermination to be over. But against any odds, he realized that he underestimated the ruthlessness and determination of Exorcists as he watched the door open.

And in walked a single exorcist. They had some dust and rubble on their uniform, but looked scarily unfazed as they walked in with precise steps. They had a strengthening grip on their spear, wings ready to be airborne, and a look that could have enough fury to kill with their stare alone.

And that glare quickly found Moon.

Chapter Text

It took SO LONG to get through that stupid wall. When Sunrise found the place, he was certain it was the hideout for those… Sinners. But circling around, he couldn’t find any weak spots. There were the metal doors, but it and the hinges looked secure. The only place he saw that was doable was a brick wall. But after shaping light into the biggest hammer he could make, he only made a dent in it, showing its multiple layers. Frustrated, he couldn’t help but wish construction tools were a part of the exorcist inventory. But wait… he was in Hell. He’d be willing to sell his soul to bet that there’s at least ONE place where powerful weapons could be kept. After about 20 minutes of flying around, he found a warehouse that looked promising, titled ‘Carmine Weaponry’.

About 10 killings of security guards later, Sunrise finally found something he could potentially use. A huge rocket launcher that came with three rockets. He strapped a carrier to himself to hold the ammunition as he lugged the launcher with him. Make no mistake, he was not made with fast wings. Exorcists were made with powerful wings to launch and speed through the air. But as an Archive Angel, he had only one advantage with his wider wings. He could hold a decent amount of weight.

So as he flew back, he started looking over how to use it when he accidentally shot a rocket into a building below. Thankfully, he just saw Sinner’s bodies while the few angels got back up. He yelled his apologies before flying off back to the Target building. Well, he HAD four rockets. Now he was down to three. After arriving all the way back to building, he positioned the launcher to hit the same brick wall.

Problem was… he didn’t know what he did because now it wasn’t working! After wasting quite a bit of time, he finally found out something. He realized he could launch all three, one after the other in a fire round. So pulling the trigger, he barely managed to cover his ears for the three explosions. He realized he was way too close when dust and rubble clouded his surroundings and fell on him. But being an angel, he had no problems with explosions and heat, just the blow of air pressure. But he didn’t want to lose sight of his target, so he rushed into the wall, hoping it did the trick.

It did, but he tripped over the rubble. That didn’t stop him though, rushing to get up as he felt the pressure of time once again. Looking at the clock on one of the walls while dashing in-between desks and cameras, his heart sank as he realized he only had 45 minutes left to fulfill his mission. He may have been able to technically break his swear from earlier, but he DID NOT want to go back after all this effort!

Opening the only door he saw, he felt his ruthless nature kick in as he looked for the first Sinner to slay. And he saw one.

Using children as a shield.

He growled as he walked forward, wanting to pretend that he was willing to go through any child to get to him so the Sinner would leave him alone as a lost cause. And it worked! The Sinner summoned a black rope from the ceiling to jump down, but was too slow as the angel sliced through it with his spear. The Sinner fell, only to turn and block the angel’s spear with his own shadow blade. Sunrise couldn’t help but smile as he saw the terror and fear in the Sinner’s face before he swung again. But the Sinner jerked in a way where his blade only caught a thin slice of his shoulder as his shadow blade dissipated.

The Sinner hissed in pain as he tried to crawl away backwards. The angel wanted to do more to this Sinner, but he knew this wasn’t one of the main targets he was looking for. That, and he didn’t have all the time in the world. So just one stab in the heart will-

Sunrise had to force himself to freeze as an Imp child threw himself over the Sinner’s chest.

“You shall not take him! He is hero!”

Sunrise then stepped back as more children stood by the Sinner.

No.

The Sinner must have done something to their minds!

Sunrise gritted his teeth as he raised his weapon to hopefully scare them off. But then he saw something he never thought he’d see.

He saw the Sinner shove forward and use himself as a shield over these children.

Wait… what was going on? Why would he protect his own shield? Unless…

“What are you doing here?” The angel blurted out, finally lowering his weapon in shock. The Sinner seemed surprised as well.

“I… I only came here to protect myself…” The Sinner let his sentence fall off, not needing to finish it. The angel felt confused, especially seeing the kids start to cry.

“Then… a hero?”

The first child from earlier tried to get in front even though the Sinner blocked him from doing so. But he shouted to the angel anyways. “He is Hero cause he unchained us from protecting door.”

“Protecting…?” Sunrise trailed off as he looked back at the door, multiple loose shackles hanging from it. He felt that previous rage come back as he gripped his spear.

“They should be there. All six of them.”

Sunrise turned to see the Sinner give him a look. A look that clicked something in his mind, a kindred-ship in something they both hate. And with only one being here that could do something about it.

Wasting no more time, the angel managed to give him one more look before flying back to that door to rip it open.

That look was to tell the spared Sinner to run. Little did Sunrise know that the Sinner not only escorted the children out to a safer room, but also used one of his spawn points to teleport back to his house to assess the damage and maybe get a bandage for his shoulder.

But once Sunrise laid eyes on six sinners, five of them matching his previously studied descriptions, all thoughts were abandoned to think of nothing but how to Make. Them. Suffer.

CW _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Sunrise didn’t even let any of them have a chance as he threw his spear at the leg of the first Sinner he saw, pinning them to the floor. He rushed to grab another to knock him unconscious. By now, three of them tried to bolt before the angel stood in their way with his boot’s dagger. After they scrambled back, Sunrise pulled the door shut and used his powers to hold the handles together. Turning back to the six, he smiled as he walked with precise steps to the man suffering from his spear.

“Well now, how’s it feel to cry for relief? To feel pained and uncertain of eternal death? Honestly, dying from suicide was far too kind.” The angel then held the Sinner’s head to a wall and pulled back a fist before turning to the others.

“Why don’t we play the same game he used to love in life? Oh, what was the name again? Oh, yes… ‘How many hits does it take to bleed?’ And my goal~ will be your eyes.”

As it turns out, his was 27. His partner was 16 from the ears. Of course, Sunrise didn’t play the same game with the others. For the woman who loved skin so much, she lost her face before Sunrise stabbed her close to the heart. Enough to guarantee her death, but also just enough to make sure she’d suffer a while, like those under her did. To two others, he performed a ‘fixing’ surgery that all dogs and cats go through. He did apologize for not being a legitimate doctor before slicing their throats next. The final one… the one that drove his children and wife into doing what he should have done all along, Sunrise made sure he watched every one of his buddies’ deaths before scooping his eyes out with his dagger. Hearing the Television alarm ring out to celebrate the end of Extermination finally snapped Sunrise out of his bloodshed mode. In a rush, he impaled the last sinner through the stomach before pulling it out and running out the door.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Sunrise laughed out in relief as he ran to join the others outside. Jumping over the sleeping children carefully, ducking through the hold in the wall, and sprinting out of the alleyway finally let him free of his rage. There truly was nothing like a good job well done to consider Extermination a success!

The angel flew as high as he could to get back to the portal. Again, he may not have as fast of wings as the other angels did, but he had learned a while ago how to gain speed by diving. Besides, all he had to do was make it back before one of the Astral Generals closed the portal. Looking up, he then realized that one of the very angels was flying around the area, probably to sweep for any lingering angels.

Once he was high enough, he dove down and soared past the many broken buildings and bloodied corpses as he flew low to the ground. Seeing that there were other angels behind him, he let himself relax a bit. He just had to fly up to the golden ring now. Easy Peazy.

He flapped his wings to go higher, only to be slammed down on by something big and strong. He yelped out as he hit the pavement, rolling and bouncing into a dark corner of a building. He felt the bruises and scrapes he had, along with the lingering tiredness from all that fighting. But he gathered his nerve to get up on one knee to raise his weapon to what hit him… only to pause.

It was the Astral. He didn’t remember which one, but his hulking figure was easy to identify him out of the thin and lean women in the army.

Before Sunrise could even form a question, the General shoved his shoulder to the ground with a crack. He cried out as the General put his boot on that shoulder before leaning down.

“You. You’re the Archive Angel, aren’t you?”

He nods franticly, tears flowing freely as he looks up to the General. The General then took off the angel’s mask, seeming to want to get a good look at the angel’s face.

“Makes sense. I remember you all those years ago. So thin and frail. Barely able to swing a spear without nearly missing your eye. But the windows to your soul had the right amount of fire for us to mold into shape.”

Sunrise couldn’t help but wonder what was going on. He was supposed to be back in Heaven, exhausted but looking forward to the sleepover he was going to have with Skyler and a few of their Exorcist Winner buddies. And yet, the general was rambling on about his past? Words fell flat as he felt the General’s shoe press harder down on him as he up. He suppressed a scream before the general got off of him and slammed him against the wall. His brain started going fuzzy before the general slammed him again.

“You had such promise… All to be a disappointment.”

A disappointment!?

“When you became an exorcist, you knew what you had to do. You. Kill. End of question.”

“B-but I did!” The angel finally managed to blurt out. “I know I was slow, b-but I killed the five Sinners I needed to, a-a-an-“

The General growled, leaving the angel silent.

“The FIVE?! You mean the ones you agonized to death?! You mean the five that took you the whole extermination time to kill their sorry behinds?!”

It was true. Sunrise started feeling darts in his soul at every reason the General gave.

He was right… wasn’t he.

The General then leaned away from the angel to put on his glove of angelic metal, a weapon of great strength with the ability to burn flesh. With the ungloved hand, he held the angel pinned to the wall. It dawned on the angel what was going to happen but the General’s eyes shook him to his core.

“Not only that… you let that Sinner go. I could excuse the other ones you flew past because perhaps you didn’t notice them. But you had that one right in front of you! You let a filthy Sinner go just because they weren’t one of the ones you were after. Because of some demon tears! I’m going to make sure you and every soul sees the mark of your failure as you have caused a shameful stain on MY army!

The General then pressed his glove on the angel’s golden yellow face. Sunrise ripped out an agonizing scream as the General used his glove to burn the whole right side of his face.

“You know what? Let’s make sure you match the Sinner you took mercy on!”

The angel screamed out begging the General to stop as the General rubbed the angel’s face hard on his right side and then some on his forehead, nose, and chin. What probably wasn’t even a minute felt like hours of agony before the General let go, letting the angel fall to his knees on the ground. The angel couldn’t even touch his face without feeling the residing heat on his hands. The boot pressed back on the bad shoulder, not quite hurting as bad anymore, but still sore as the General kneeled again and yanked up the angel’s face.

“Got anything else to say Sunshine?”

Sunrise winced as the General used his normally affectionate nickname, reminding him that this was no mistake. He was specifically being punished for something he did. He did the only thing he thought to do, holding back any blubbering tones as he fought to make his words heard clearly.

“Yes! Please! I’m sorry! I didn’t- I didn’t mean to fail you! Please don’t kill me! Let me prove myself o-o-or make it right! Please!”

He felt himself sob as he begged for forgiveness. His voice was scratchy from the screaming and yelling, only getting higher in pitch as he used it. But he saw a look of satisfaction in the angel’s eyes that shut him up as the General’s mouth moved to speak again.

“You know what? Maybe I'm being a bit harsh. I know it’s only been a few years, but you weren’t born with the ruthlessness you need for the job. Therefore, I’ll let you prove yourself.”

The scarred angel started to let his thankfulness spill out when he felt a bare hand on the joints connecting his wings to his back.

“Since you’re too tainted to go back, you won’t be needing these.”

The angel barely had time to scream out as he felt the pull on his wings sharply scorch out. His scream escaped out of his lungs like molten lava as he felt the popping of his bones detaching, the tearing of his ligaments and muscles, the profuse bleeding on his back, and the ripping of his skin before he was left flat on the ground, sobbing and crying with the immense flare of a gapping, searing hole in his back. He muttered his whys in-between his sobbing as the General moved to stand in front of him. Just out of sight, he managed to see a higher ranked angel looking to them. A lieutenant? But he quickly drew his attention back to the loss of his wings.

“Oh, stop crying. Once you’ve proven yourself, one of the clerics can help you get them back. Now, listen here.”

The general yanked the angel by his chin so the angel could see only him.

“I know your type. You like time and plans to accomplish your goal. Here’s yours. The only way I’d let you get back to heaven is when you have that Sinner’s head on a spike and show it to me when I visit next time next year. Then depending on how you spend your time, I’ll either let you go back to your job, or I’ll reward you with a prize before you rejoin the Exorcists. Hell, do good enough and maybe I’ll give you a place in my army!”

The General then pulled out Sunrise’s dagger from his boot before he dropped the angel to the ground. Once he had the angel’s spear in his grasp as well, he walked away, leaving the broken angel sobbing out his apologies and begging.

“Don’t disappoint me again.”

By the time the angel even had the strength to look up, all he saw was the empty red sky. He heard a few cries, screams, and sobs in the distance, but it was all but background noise as the angel used what little preservation abilities, he had left to use his arms and legs to drag his body away.

He was dead. He was left for dead. He could barely use his back as any time he moved any muscles there, he felt like screaming out in pain, damaging his vocal cords further. All because he failed. Because he was clearly nothing but a disappointment and a failure.

But even if he survived, he was basically dead. No demon would pass on the chance to torture a real angel. Thinking this, the angel ripped off his halo and managed to prevent collapsing completely until he dragged himself into a nearby alleyway, quickly slipping into unconsciousness. As sleep dragged him away from the pain, the angel found himself wondering if he was better off dead or living in hell.

He heard his last thought whisper out that he hopes he never wakes up again.

*_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Screams were heard all over the Ring of Pride.

Blood gushed everywhere, multiple bodies littered the ground, and many buildings lay in ruin and destruction.

But those not in physical or emotional pain waited until they heard the boom and crackle of the fireworks, signaling the end of the Extermination.

This was a moment that many Sinners allowed themselves to take a breath of relief before laughing or crying. Often one leading to another. But anticipation still smothers the atmosphere as the Sinners start to figure out who was killed over the course of the day so far. Some start blasting before that anyways. Thus starting the Overlord battle. In a fierce fight over territories, where everything goes into chaos.

This chaos is when Moon always liked to strike. But he didn’t care about property, no. He likes collecting resources. Store after store, he plunders and pillages. But if anyone was working at any of the stores, he often bought everything at a discounted price. Might as well. He has less people to hurt and he still walks away with a steal overall.

Even though he was getting a late start, this year was no different. Honestly, Earth didn’t want to let him go out after he got slightly injured. But she did make him drink two cups of tea before he left. One of rejuvenation and one of sound body (which he could only assume was healing?), which he downed before leaving.

He thought about inviting Lunar to see his Running skills in action, but he really needed to reach back out to the Fazbear Family, which would take Lunar the whole day. So he had told Lunar ahead of time to leave right after the fireworks went off. As for his other guest, he told Earth to get ready to organize a lot of furniture. The whole week, Moon had been moving his contraband to one of his warehouses, leaving the house pretty empty. Normally, the stuff he was going to use soon, due to high demand or expiration dates, would be what filled up the other rooms so the runner had limited and quick access to the stuff they needed. But since he was hosting two people, especially a princess that was just learning how to understand how Hell works, he figured it would be better to just clear everything out. Besides, Earth seemed to be enthusiastic about being able to arrange and organize things in the house.

To start her off, he spent the first hour getting food before bringing it back to her. The next round, consisting of furniture, was a bit problematic since he can only teleport so many boxes. Specifically, because he had to have a complete hold over it in order to carry it with him when he went into shadow mode. That, and he couldn’t use his shadow-portals with any inanimate objects that he wasn’t wearing when he fell to Hell way back when.

One he finished his list, he made one more trip to see what else he could possibly want. But he as he expected, everything looked barren, now that all the other Sinners had combed through the place.

He was used to seeing all kinds of bodies on the floor, but he did his best to avoid the blood. But then he saw something he hadn't seen before. Gold blood.

Quickly, he followed the trail to an alleyway to see a shape in the distant dark corner.

Moon started to step away when he saw something on the ground. A mask that was split in half.

One that matched the angel from earlier.

Moon couldn’t help but run over to the angel, where he now saw a huge hole where their wings should have been. There’s no way that an angel like that died here of all places… right?!

No… they were alive. He could hear their wheezed breathing. Kneeling besides the angel, he gently pulled him to see him better, but gasped at what he saw.

He gently put the angel down as the angel’s face not only got burned, but seared it’s image into his own mind. Specifically, how it now matched his face’s design.

Somehow, someway, this was his fault.

No thoughts were made as the Sinner picked up the thin angel, draped the closest torn curtain over him, and ran to the house like his life depended on it.

Because maybe, someone else’s does.

Chapter Text

“Let’s see… Redray goes here… Dvds here… and games here! Now, which city had the Overlord named Susie?

Hmm…

Oh Right! Cannibal Town!”

Earth exclaimed her knowledge proudly to herself as she practiced her memorization skills while organizing the movies just right on the shelves. She really did love putting things in a certain order, to the point she sometimes wondered if she had OCD. After she was done with the disks, she looked back to the living room with a displeased sigh.

Boxes were put in piles of every room, all done by her. She meant to sort through each box thoroughly before arranging the furniture inside them, but she already did a general sorting where she placed every box in a room it would be used for. The kitchen stuff in the kitchen, bathroom toiletries in the bathroom, and any bedroom stuff she placed upstairs in a neat pile. But getting to the nitty gritty, she felt like she should at least consult the Sinner who actually owns this house.

She still felt upset with how Lunar had very well lied to her and made her an accessory to a crime. She even started to wonder if things would have gone differently if her status wasn’t exposed.

She was no dummy. She knew people would want to take advantage of someone with money and status. But she believed she was capable of dealing with any adversary. After all, she whipped one thug against the wall while Lunar somehow dealt with the rest. AND she had dissolved a fight between Lunar and Moon. She knew her abilities well enough to help her protect herself and others. Besides, she didn’t even have much money for others to steal. Father had told her that she was only allowed to have a few pieces of jewelry and about a handful of money that, according to Lunar and Moon, would only give her a two month’s stay in a hotel.

Speaking of which, she had been grateful for the lessons so far. Sure, Lunar was busy most days and Moon was handling the movement of the crates upstairs (among other business), but they both had given her tips about what it’s like to live in the Ring of Pride’s city. Moon was introducing section names, what each part entails, and the overlords to watch out for. Lunar gave tips on how to avoid attention from thugs, quick shortcuts around the city, and which shops to avoid. Granted, it probably wasn’t much help, since she learned better through experiences and she’s been in this house since Lunar invited her, but any help is better than none.

She felt herself get fatigued (It was the late afternoon to such an exciting day after all) as she looked back at her floorplan, that she had drawn, on the living room table.

She wanted to get a scope of the building for future reference and to plan what goes where. So far, she has noted down the entryway leading to the kitchen on the left and the living room on the right. The hallway is past the kitchen and leads to the stairs on the left, and two rooms on the right. The farthest is a bathroom with a bath, toilet, and sink. The closer room is the laundry room, along with where the fire extinguisher, power breaker, and thermostat is. Upstairs has three rooms and a closet. One room is close to the stairs and had a square-like shape to it. The others are on the opposite side, one somewhat bigger than the other but both leading to a balcony. So far, she and Lunar were told to stay in the square room by Moon since Lunar had already set up camp in the closet and Moon insisted she use the bed in it.

She planned on talking with them about a better plan for who gets what room once Moon gets back. Well, once Moon leaves his new room that is.

When she was washing her hands in the bathroom, she heard the door slam open and when she later went to investigate, she ran into Moon, who was rushing to the closet, and he assured her that he was fine. She let him go and hadn’t seen him since.

She also hadn’t seen Lunar, but she was told he’d be on a mission that would take him a whole 24 hours at least.

She sighed in exhaustion and decided the best way to pass the time would be to sleep. So she made her way up the stairs and into her makeshift room, which still had a few crates of random stuff in it. She thought about making food for the boys to eat once they were ready, but sleep won her over in the end.

Hopefully, she could make it up to them by baking a nice cake tomorrow. Once she set up the privacy curtains with the temporary rods, she changed into her nightgown and slipped under her sheets, drifting off into a well-deserved sleep.

*_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Lunar stumbled back into the safe house and flopped on the sofa. Taking a deep breath, he found himself hungry and thirsty. Surprisingly, he didn’t see Earth come up to greet him at all. But after taking a quick look around, he saw a lot of new boxes with different furniture labels.

Good. ‘Moon’ only had the minimum when it came to furniture. And what was already here was just black. Not that it’ll matter in the long run. Lunar knew that he was probably guaranteed a few more days, but he still needed to find a new place to stay soon.

Still, he felt bad leaving Earth in the place of a Sinner. Not bad enough to try and contract himself into staying around, but enough to have at least some guilt. The poor girl would clearly be exploited by that mustache-less cartoon villain. But hey, his lifestyle couldn’t support taking her with him. Besides, she seems pretty happy here.

Maybe he could visit every so often. Or have Friend Days where they hang out. After all, he could show her more than just the Pride Ring, unlike the Sinner.

Mmm… The Gluttony Ring. It would be so nice to be there right now… eating chocolate to his heart’s content.

Lunar found himself drifting to sleep on the couch as he considered his future plans. It also didn’t help that he could hear someone humming oh so pleasantly upstairs.

In his tired state, he couldn’t tell whose voice it was.

Probably Earth.

Lunar yawned and considered turning on the television but he quickly lost all strength as the faint hum lulled him to sleep.

*_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

The humming was heard stronger upstairs as the Sinner mixed a white cream into a small container. He carefully scooped up some and looked over another figure in the bed next to his chair. An angel with golden locks of hair, dirty exorcist clothes, and most notably: a huge burn mark over the right side of their face. The angel slept with no signs of awaking anytime soon. But the humming Sinner wasn’t helping in that department as he continued his tune.

Right after Moon undid the head bandages to reapply the salve and reapply them, he saw the angel move slightly. Panicking, he did the one thing that came to mind: humming in hopes that the angel wouldn’t wake. But the angel seemed peaceful enough in their sleep now.

Maybe Moon was a coward.

No, he definitely was a coward.

But to be fair, he had no idea how the angel will react if he were to wake up with the Sinner witnessing them in a vulnerable state. Not only that, but Moon had a feeling the burn that looked very identical to his face mark was no coincidence, especially how it looked freshly afflicted. But how he got it or why, Moon didn’t know. But something told him that this may be something better left alone.

…For now anyways.

He took his time applying the cream onto their face, making sure to cover everything, but being gentle about it. The burn salve was not cheap. After Moon had rushed to the house, placed the angel in the disheveled room of his previous runner, and wrapped his back with towels to help stop the angel’s bleeding, he had rushed to his teleporter to get to the square. From there, he rushed to a medic’s shop to hopefully get stuff to help the angel. Problem was, this was the one place that overpriced their materials after the extermination, because duh, his guest wasn’t the only one who’d be hurt.

But as he waited in the checkout line with the wanted materials, he finally gave himself the time to think about things.

You know, why was he doing this? Helping a fallen angel. An exorcist angel, that’s probably killed many sinners, like how he himself was close to joining that list. Not that Sinners didn’t suck, but this angel almost killed him for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. They almost hit Hellborn children for Heaven’s sake! And yet… the look they gave them after letting him go…

Eventually, the Sinner made it to the cashier and paid for his items, all within the sight of several buff guards that must be paid a lot to deal with any shoplifters or pillagers this time of year. Once he paid, he left and ran to retrace his steps to make it back to the closet. He then spent the next few hours properly tending to and bandaging the fallen angel’s back and face, neglecting his own hunger and tiredness.

But he couldn’t help but feel pity at the angel as he finished applying the cream. He knows the salve will would probably do nothing but maybe soothe any lingering pain. But to their credit, every wound seemed to be healing very well, except the burn on their face.

Well, since they technically are an angel, it’s probably safe to assume that the angel is probably a she, given the smaller, thinner frame and weight. Plus, he thought he remembered the exorcists being called Adam’s Lady Army. But you never know with the heaven-born ones; they tend to look the same face and body wise. Regardless, he didn’t want check downstairs just to give the angel the correct pronouns that they wouldn’t even hear in the first place!

Before Moon could think too hard about it, he bandaged their face again and reorganized the nearby medical supplies on the bedside stand. He thought back to how he had bumped into Earth earlier and how, as a herb expert, maybe she’d help him care for the angel. But… the angel was his problem alone. Earth has already done so much to this house to make it pleasant and livable that he didn’t feel like making her a caretaker to someone he randomly picked up from the streets. That, and he didn’t know how long he’d keep the angel. Surely, they want to fly back-

Oof. Bad choice of words.

Rather, they’d like to return home to Heaven. He’d do the same in the angel’s shoes. Anyone would kill to go back to Heaven, despite how killing got him exactly into hell.

So due to the uncertainty of what his next step would even be anyways, he decided to wait until at least the angel woke up. Which he may postpone until he’s ready to defend himself against them.

Until then, he thinks as he exits the room and locks the door behind him before making his way downstairs. Technically, Moon lived in various apartments depending on what business he was currently working on, but he obviously needed to stay here to watch his new guests.

After going down the stairs and walking to the living room, he let himself feel exhausted as he flopped on the couch, only to hear a squawk and jump back up. He was very surprised to see Lunar, but not so at his current facial expression.

“Do you mind? You’re not the only one that’s tired.”

Moon can’t help but squint in mistrust at the Imp, which in turn regarded him with a side look as he went back to laying comfortably on the couch.

“…What?”

“What are you doing here?”

Lunar raised his eyebrow, the one Moon could see.

“Uh, resting? Am I not allowed to sleep in this house?” Lunar said sarcastically.

“I gave you a job.” Moon said flatly.

“Which I did.”

Moon scoffs. “You. You went all the way to and from the Sloth Ring?”

“Uh. yeah. Got back around 10 minutes ago.”

“Ten minutes ago?!”

Lunar nods, now flipping through channels on the TV. Moon stands there in disbelief, wondering if this Imp really had the audacity to claim that he did at least a full day’s work in only a few hours.

“I… I refuse to believe that.”

Lunar, without even looking away from the TV, points to the kitchen island counter where some papers and an envelope lay. Moon walked over and picked them up to review it.

…

What in the actual HELL???

There were documents about the deal being finalized, a letter of statement from the Gator, and even Moon’s additional deposit check now that the whole scandal was resolved. He couldn’t help but look back at Lunar with an astonished face, to which Lunar was already looking to him with a smug look on his face.

“Wanna call me a liar now? The Freddies did before I introduced myself and gave them the deets. That, and I think my face’s likeness to you also helped my case.”

Moon then decided he was too tired to care as he grabbed a pan to boil water with.

“Oh no- not more tea! I’ve already been given at least two cups a day for weeks!”

Moon can’t help but give a huff of amusement.

“Nope. I’m cooking ramen. Do you want Beef, Chicken, or Creamy Chicken?”

Lunar took a moment to think before flopping back on the couch.

“Beef. I’ve never heard of Creamy Chicken before.”

“Then I’ll make some and let you try.”

Once Lunar had finally decided to play a movie, Moon came and sat next to him with the two bowls in hand. They both enjoyed their noodles as they watched Shrek on the decently sized television.

Time passed, but as the movie slowed in plot as the romance campfire part played, Moon looked over to Lunar, who regarded him with another side eye.

“…Do you have a problem?”

“Yeah, kinda.”

Lunar sighs as they both turn to face each other.

“I need a Runner.”

Lunar snickers a little at this.

“What’s the job then?”

“Well, not right now. But if you are this good at your job, then I think I’d like to have you at a permanent station.”

Moon figured that Lunar, who apparently has been doing his work by individual contracts, might appreciate a job that could pay high with better repetition and more consistent workings.

But Moon did not expect Lunar to look at him as if he had just cursed out his mother.

“Absolutely not.” Lunar managed to spit out with a laugh like the offer was perceived as a joke.

Moon sighs.

“Look, maybe we can talk about this later? At least… consider it? As far as I recall, I’ve heard good things about your services, and I’ve seen them firsthand now. You can’t fault me for recognizing a good opportunity when I see it.”

“Like the princess?”

Moon feels himself stiffen slightly as Lunar gives him a tired, but judgmental look.

“…Like Earth. But how about we make light of how you’re doing the same. Earth told me how you met. You probably thought it would be best to be on good terms with someone as powerful as her, just like I do.”

Lunar narrows his eyes as Moon continues.

“Even though I’m a ‘filthy sinner’, I’m not going to lie to you. Yes, I see benefit in allowing you and Earth to be here. But they are all purely business reasons. With Earth, it can establish better bonds and a better chance of striking business with her company once she’s done with her business here. More profits and resources for me to live comfortably enough here in the long run.

With you, it’s moreover with your running skills. Since I have branches exceeding the Pride Ring, I need runners. But every Runner has taken longer and met an early demise. Well, I had one Imp retire, but he was super slow.”

Lunar scoffs and faces the television again.

“Of course they’re slow. Most Imps are paid by the hour, so of course they’re going to take longer.”

“So what do you suggest we do?”

Lunar hums a bit in interest as he looks up at the ceiling.

“Pay them a flat rate by the week and a certain amount with each run they do. The per Run rate helps incentivize us to take on more jobs. The flat rate is so they’re able to rely on the money to stay safe regularly and so they’ll be more inclined to stay with you long term. That, and so they aren’t screwed if they need to lie low to get a job done.”

“You’ve done this before?”

Lunar goes quiet for a bit, eyes glued on the screen as the hold he has on pillow he was hugging gets tighter.

“Yeah. Best long term payment plan I’ve had.”

Moon sees his expression and slowly reaches to take Lunar’s empty bowl, to which Lunar doesn’t react.

“I’ll… consider it. If you decide to accept any deal with me, we can make the contract together. With both of us awake and in the right mindset.”

“Can… it involve other things? Like policies on employee-employer relations?”

Lunar had asked so softly and quietly that Moon wasn’t sure if he had heard him right. But Moon nodded before realizing Lunar wasn’t even looking at him.

“Y-yeah. That’s fine by me. Especially if we’ll be living together.”

*_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Lunar felt his spirits raise a little as he semi-focused on the movie. It was a bit odd.

Wasn’t he JUST insulting the Sinner in his head?

Was he being too harsh?

Or… is he just too tired right now?

Lunar found his eyes blinking closed as he felt all exhaustion fill his bones.

…

Lunar, I don’t care how tired you are. This NEEDS to get done.

Hey! I’m talking to you. Don’t look away from me!

Don’t give me that! You aren’t a child! So stop acting like one!

I’ll let you rest when you deserve to.

You agreed to work for me. So sleep on your own time.

This is… satisfactory.

You did good.

Go sleep. You’re going to have a big job to do tomorrow.

I know I don’t say this often, but I’m proud of you brother.

Now go rest. You earned it.

...

Lunar didn’t want to stay around anymore.

Without saying word, he got off the bed and trudged up the stairs. Entering the room and faintly registering the soft breathing noises coming from behind the privacy curtain, Lunar went into the closet and closed the door. He turned on the lights, undressed and changed into a nice onesie, and jumped into the low hanging hammock to huddle underneath his blankets.

Even then, words echoed in his head for at least an hour before his brain grew as tired as his legs and let him fall into a deep sleep for the rest of the night.

Chapter Text

‘Hey… Are you okay?’

Lunar’s whole body shakes, not wanting to look up to whoever was looking down at him.

There he sat, a broken toy. His legs in pieces and scattered in front of him in the blackened void spread around him.

His tears were thick like the oil… The Oil… Oh God- NOT THE OIL-!

He suddenly feels his face being rubbed as someone brushes away the black substance.

‘I… I don’t know why you feel this pain… or why you think you deserve this. But I can tell. You don’t.’

Lunar looks up to see… someone he doesn’t know. But… they felt as comforting as an old friend.

Their face was so bright to look at, radiating his surroundings with all the warm yellow light even beyond the Earth’s sun. He barely sees their features but with them, he had a sense of familiarity. No… Safety.

Like the embrace of an angel.

‘But… I feel so small.’

Lunar sees the light around him dimming as he admits his most innermost pain, but feels a comforting hug as he closes his eyes, wanting to stay like this.

For the first time in a while… he just wants to stop and feel good.

…

Lunar suddenly wakes up with a gasp. He nearly falls out of his hammock as he scrambles out. His heart pounds as he gasps for air, so he opens the closet door, only for the strong herbal smell to punch out his overwhelming emotions. Recovering from the shock, he takes a breath or two (along with maybe a round of coughing) and feels something wet on his cheeks and neck. Wiping at it, he sees and feels that it was his tears.

He recalls his dream and starts having conflicted feelings before ultimately determining that it’s nothing important and brushes it off before heading downstairs. He rushes into the bathroom downstairs and goes for his bathroom basket to get his morning routine done. Earth calls out that breakfast is ready just as Lunar finishes brushing his teeth. After rinsing and spitting into the sink (and checking to make sure he looked fine), Lunar then goes out to sit at one of the barstools.

He practically drools as he notices the eggs with sliced weanies and quickly digs in. Moon is already at the other seat, almost done with his bagel (which he probably made himself).

“So guys, I was wondering if we could have a talk about something.”

Moon and Lunar curiously look up at Earth.

“Since we will be roommates for a while, maybe we could plan out who gets what room. Then we can decide on what furniture we should get!”

Moon seems surprised as Earth pulled out a paper floorplan of both floors.

“Of course, we don’t have to decide now. But I’d like to start working on unpacking and arranging the furniture we want as soon as possible.”

“Hey Earth?”

Earth hums in acknowledgement to Moon.

“I have to get rid of a shipment of women’s clothes soon. Maybe you can pick what you want while I talk to Lunar about business? Then we can talk about room distribution before I transport the crate to the store it’s supposed to go to.”

Earth seems pleasantly surprised but worried.

“That’s nice, but wouldn’t I need to pay for that? I’m sure the store would notice…”

Moon waves her off.

“It’s fine. You’ve been doing a lot for this house, so consider it compensation. I’ll deal with whatever happens. Besides, you need clothes that aren’t as finely made. Pick out what you want, and make sure you get several outfits.”

Earth seems hesitant but lightens up when Lunar smiles at her and nods at her to go on.

“Um… which room?”

“It’s the crate right in front of the closet.”

Earth leaves and Lunar feels a tense atmosphere as he and Moon are left alone.

Well, guess it’s time to make a deal.

*_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

“Okay, so. With the details we’ve already agreed to, now we have the pay settled.”

“Yeah? I still say I should get a higher flat pay.”

“And we agreed to cut out the middle man by lowering your pay in exchange for letting your rent here be essentially covered to an extent.”

“Oh, right. But what if I’m not around for the week and I have to pay another place for a few day’s stay?”

Moon sighs as he takes back his computer to make a new clause to the document. For a good hour, they’ve been back and forth on these terms, but it wasn’t like Moon didn’t expect this to happen quickly. It did help that Lunar was very knowledgeable about what should be included in the contract and what shouldn’t. After typing out a compromise, where he mentions that the lowered flat rate would also cover hotel stays up to two days without a notice, and more days when discussed, he passed the computer to his right so Lunar can get a better view of it.”

“…Fine. That’ll do.”

Lunar and Moon look over it together for hopefully the last time. Moon was going to add an Employee-Employer Relation Agreement to the Document, like Lunar had mentioned, but now Lunar seemed to wave it off and said they could either make another document or just keep the agreement more informal. It seemed unusual to Moon, but he decided it wasn’t his business. At least, not in the moment. But he noticed how tense Lunar seemed, like he was looking for some fine-ink BS to damn him somehow. Moon wondered if Lunar acted this way with every contract, or if he was tense with this one being a full employment servitude. Well, sort of. He did make a deal in the contract where Lunar was allowed to take up individual jobs if he so pleased, as long as they didn’t negatively interfere with his work at the time. And Moon’s runs had to be top priority. Lunar seemed satisfied enough after the client confidentiality was finalized.

Lunar pushed the computer back to Moon, who then proceeded to re-skim the contract before looking to Lunar.

“Are you ready?”

Lunar nodded, a serious look turning into a determined look. Moon took a breath and placed a hand on the computer screen. Summoning his magic, a shadow befell the screen as Moon’s eyes glowed completely red. The hand slipped in and pulled out a white scroll, then handed it to Lunar. Lunar looked it over and reached for the blackened quill in Moon’s other hand. He then used the sharp end of the quill to make a small poke in his finger, enough to collect the blood to sign his name.

Once signed, he looked back at Moon, dropped the disintegrating quill, and slowly went to shake his hand. A shadow swirled around his arm, connecting to the back of his head, sealing the deal on the second hand shake. The small sting suddenly snapped everything back to the peaceful atmosphere of the house. Moon shook his head and looked over to Lunar.

“Everything good little buddy?”

If looks could kill, Moon would probably have been dead.

“Okay, new rule. DON’T call me that again!”

Moon nods. Then both hear a small clearing of a throat coming from the stairs. It was Earth, looking concerned as she made her way over to them.

“Was… was that normal for you? The- the whole shadow, scroll, blood oath?”

Moon sucked in a breath, realizing she must have seen the whole deal sealing.

“Yes it is? Have you not… seen one before?”

Earth shakes her head

“I haven’t like that one. But I’ve made them before. Especially with my f- Mr. Creator. But we both release our soul energy with a glow of lights. No blood was involved.”

Lunar snickers. “Bold of you to assume all of us have soul energy. I’m an Imp. We have no souls to produce magic from.”

Earth looks at Lunar in confusion. “But you controlled the wind? Was that not magic?”

“Sorry, what?” Moon asks, looking at Lunar. Moon knows the Imps have souls, just not legitimate ones like humans and angels do.

So the idea that Lunar could bend wind? Ridiculous. Imps don’t have powers.

But one look at Lunar’s tense, rigid body language…

“Lunar… what does she mean?”

Lunar squirms in his seat before turning around and sliding off. He sighs.

“It’s like she said.” Lunar starts before holding a hand out to the tacky, hot pink bowl of fake fruit on the counter. Before Moon could say anything, the bowl suddenly smacks and bounces hard against the wall and falls with a thump on the floor, foam fruit rolling off. “I do wind tricks. Don’t ask me how I have them. I just do. Can’t explain it.”

Moon gives Lunar a glare. “Can’t or won’t?”

Lunar gives one back. “Two things can be true at once. Just know, I’m a special snowflake. Only I can do it.”

A tension is thick, too thick for Earth to stand. She goes to at least put the bowl back on the counter.

“Well! I’m glad you both were able to learn something about each other! Now, Moon?”

Moon looks over at her.

“I’m done finding what I wanted. Everything else, I’ve put back in the crate, but I wasn’t sure if I should seal it…”

“No. I got it.” Moon huffs before looking back to Lunar. They looked uneasy at each other but Moon looked away first. So he didn’t notice how Lunar started to look Moon up and down questionably.

“…Well, I’m glad I was able to look through and pick some clothing. I quite like this one actually!”

Both Moon and Lunar then got to have a good look at the outfit she picked.

Earth wore a dress with a tight, gray top and a skirt made up of multicolored patches. And on top, she wore a cropped, loose blue jacket. It did look a bit unorthodox to Moon, but she now looked more like an unusual sinner than a lost, tall, rich child. And only now did he realize that she wasn't wearing shoes, but only because it was pretty obvious that she probably couldn't with how her pointed legs didn't have feet.

Earth twirls a bit in her dress as Moon smiles. But she suddenly pauses in her movement before seemingly shaking off a thought.

“So, what do you think?”

“Looks weird.” Lunar comments. But upon seeing Earth face fall, he coughs. “A good weird. Looks good on you.”

Moon just nods and her spirits lift.

“So,” She starts as she brings out the floorplans, “Can we decide now?”

Moon and Lunar look at each other once more before nodding. Lunar hops back on the stool as they gather around the paper.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Over the total of the day, Moon didn’t think much happened. Yet he’s growing restless with how much time was spent with his guests.

He did get a small break after tending to the angel once again by working on his laptop.

In total, he woke up half tired, reapplied the angel’s medicine, went down and made breakfast, made a contract with Lunar, then the three of them divided up who gets what room.

Earth was given the biggest room close to the stairs, closet and all.

Lunar picked the smaller room attached to the balcony.

And Moon claimed the bigger bedroom right next to Lunar’s room and the closet.

Once it was decided, Moon told Lunar that he actually had some stuff to move. But what he actually had to do was run the angel to the other room, since Moon had placed him in the smaller room. Thankfully, Moon was able to rush back and forth with his secret once Earth and Lunar entered their room to prepare boxes. Unfortunately, Moon didn’t have a bed in there yet, so he kicked around some spare beanbags to make a make-shift bed for the angel to sleep in. Speaking of… they still haven’t woken up yet.

If it wasn’t for their breathing or the occasional eye movement, he would have thought the angel was actually dead. But Moon started to worry that the angel might starve to death if they truly were in a coma.

One more day, then he’d try waking them. But for now, reapply the cream and bandages and check on the other wounds. By now, all of their minor injuries were completely healed, the hole in their back seemed tender but healed rather nicely, and the burn is as bad as ever, except with no radiating heat.

After we was done, he finally went on his computer to get back to the business he sort-of left abandoned for days. In fact, he now realized that many of his connections had reached out to him in order to make sure he was still alive. So he spent the next two hours replying to emails and rechecking the status of his assets. There was some loss, but not as bad at Carmine’s. Apparently, a big warehouse of her’s was broken into during the Extermination and whatever wasn’t stolen during then was eventually taken by others during the Overlord Battle.

Thankfully, only one of Moon’s small locations was damaged. Besides, he paid a Sinner well to protect the location during the Battle.

Knock Knock Knock

“Moon? It’s Earth.”

Moon looked up from his computer. “Yeah? What is it?”

“I was wondering… would you like to have dinner together? I’m preparing soup for us, but could we eat together? Maybe on the couch?”

Moon thought about it for a moment before saying back, “Sure, I could use a break.”

He got up but looked back at the angel. Part of him was uneasy about knowing they could wake up any minute now, but he consoled himself by choosing to believe that the angel would stay asleep.

But… just in case…

He grabbed a sticky note and wrote a quick message to leave on the angel’s forehead before leaving the room and locking the door to go eat.

Hello. You are injured.

Do not leave. I will explain.

You are safe here.

-The black and white sinner

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Earth felt much joy in seeing how both Moon and Lunar enjoyed their soup. Honestly, she had been wanting to make more food, but had never cooked much herself. But she hoped that her knowledge in herbs and spices would turn out useful in making soup, and it did!

And for once, someone else had suggested a movie first. Her father would always ask what she wanted since he wasn’t a big movie fan. Meanwhile, Moon had a good selection of movies and TV shows she had never heard of. Once Moon had picked to watch ‘Vanquish’, which he claimed to watch because it’s a bad movie, Lunar seemed to have a good time absolutely trash talking the movie to high heaven. Earth was used to question by Mr. Creator, but not the commentary of the two guys sitting with her.

As chaotic as this was turning out, and how bad the movie actually was, this actually felt natural. Not to her, but it felt like she was in the middle of an earth forest, watching life play out as it authentically should. It was rather nice.

Was this what having brothers is like? Having people to live with and stick by, even when harmony was nowhere to be found?

She rather liked it.

…Until the boys started to fight.

She’s seen it several times now. Moon and Lunar would have moments where they’d stare at each other, then look away as if nothing happened. Eventually, Lunar excused himself to his room to ‘grab something’. She had believed him until he quite literally spent an hour away. He had still not returned 10 minutes later as the movie ended.

“Moon?”

“Hmm?”

“Is something going on between you and Lunar?”

The Noir Sinner seems to think a little before looking back to her.

“Not exactly? It’s more that we’ve agreed on a permanent job offer and I’m realizing that there’s much more to him than he’s willing to divulge. He has secrets. But since I’m just supposed to be his boss, I’m trying to stay out of it.”

“Oh. Like the wind magic.”

“Yeah.” Moon sighs as he puts away the dvd disk. “But that’s just the tip of it.”

Earth mulls the idea over. Yes, she felt like she and Lunar didn’t know each other too well. But she feels like Lunar is mostly just tense when it comes to Moon. Whenever she’s talked to him, he’s more at ease. Come to think of it…

“Moon, I think you need to help him find some shoes to wear.”

Moon looks at her questionably.

“He’s a Runner. He should have several pairs.”

Earth shakes her head.

“He only had one pair, but they broke last month. So he’s been wrapping his feet in long stands of cloth to make up for it.”

Moon seems surprised and looks at her with concern.

“I guess I have to get him some then. But geez, how can he be so good at his job, but not have at least one good pair of shoes!? It’s literally in his job title to run!”

Earth shrugs.

“I don’t know, but I can’t help but wonder if there’s a reason he keeps neglecting himself.”

She sees Moon’s somewhat-horrified look and backtracks.

“Not that he’s been doing that! It’s just… a few things I’ve seen this month. I shouldn’t assume, I’m sorry.”

Moon’s face goes neutral before looking back at the TV. After making a pop with his mouth, he looks to her.

“So… how have you been?”

Earth is a little surprised he switched the topic to her, but indulges.

“I’m good. I’ve been kept busy, but I know I’ll like the end result.”

“You’re not working too hard every day, are you?”

Earth raises an eyebrow.

“Not really? I’ve never minded cleaning and working. Sure, I’m trying to learn so much, but there’s a lot to learn. I just want to know as much as I can before I get back home.”

Moon hums and turns the TV to a news channel on low volume.

“So, what do you like to do outside of work?”

Earth finds herself taken aback by Moon’s question. No one had expected anything of her outside of her work.

“Oh… I… I just…. I watch movies? Barbie movie to be exact! I… like journaling. And doing research on different crafts!”

Moon gives her an expectant look, like he wants her to continue. So she allows herself to elaborate.

“Like glassblowing! Have you ever seen a video on how professionals just shape and manipulate the molten glass until it’s just the right shape?! It’s so cool!”

“Honestly, I haven’t. but it sounds nice.”

“What do you do for fun?” Earth asks, hoping to deviate the topic a bit. She didn’t want to bore Moon with how boring she actually was.

But Moon seems stumped as he blows out an O.

“Uh… movies? TV shows? Sleep.”

Moon seems to notice her unsatisfied look and coughs a bit in his fist.

“I mean… when some of my business partners ask, I join in their activities. I’m not really too picky in general.”

Earth suddenly realizes that perhaps Moon has a love language in quality time. Granted, Love languages usually weren’t the first thing to come to mind when she met people. But it was something that Earth didn’t want to dismiss.

If that’s the case though… is that why-

A Bloodcurdling scream rings out from the floor above.

Moon was first to move as Earth scrambled to realize what was going on. Following Moon’s lead, she ran upstairs to find out what was going on.

Booking it up the stairs three steps at a time, she turned around at the top of the stairs, and screeched to a halt besides Moon when she saw Lunar run out of Moon’s room and slam the door with his back.

Lunar clutched a hand on the door and a hand over his chest. Gasping for breath he looks up and sees her and Moon.

And he gives them both a terrified look,

Horror written all over his face.

Chapter Text

Sunrise had been floating in a strange abyss for so long. Limbs numb, brain thoughtless, and memories forgotten as all he knows is the pastel clouds around him. He knows he’s someone. He knows he’s done things and lived a life. But there’s a call to ignore all that to stay here.

Safe…

Peaceful…

Tranquil…

Blissful…

Every so often, he vaguely hears someone singing? Lulling him to sleep?

He’s not sure. But as tempting as it is to stay here, he feels a pull to acknowledge the black void around him. Every time he looks and focuses though, he feels pain, misery, and immense …pain. Really, it’s pain.

All kinds of pain.

But who really likes pain? He doesn’t.

So yes, he will stay here where he can relax and keep afloat, especially when those lovely songs play.

…

…

…

That is, until he hears a piercing scream.

He feels himself fall away and the burning, tearing, and anguish comes back as he startles awake, blinded by anything except his bodily torment. Before he could cry out or figure anything out, he swiftly feels a powerful force shove him backwards, making him thunk against an extremely sore spot in the back of his head, making even more of a headache.

But this one allows him to sink back in the void, away from the sound… and the pain…

What even was that?

Sunrise soon found himself not caring as he floated back among the clouds, in peace.

*_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

It was true. Lunar was going to grab something. Honest!

They were just watching the movie when Moon’s chuckle startled him for absolutely no reason. It sounded so similar… no! He then excused himself and went to his new room to get it together. He couldn’t keep doing this! It was stupid, reacting to shit that happened so long ago! He meant to grab his blanket and come back downstairs, but he found himself wrapping the blanket around his body and sitting out on the balcony.

The scent of ash and soot came to mind as he watched the darkening red sky above. It was funny to see after getting used to the black and blue of the sinner’s color scheme. Though… he could have sworn the Sinner was black and white earlier, he started to see navy and yellows hues where he didn’t see color before.

He didn’t know how long he spent outside, but he eventually grew calm enough to head back in.

Returning to his room, he felt the relief of having a bigger space. Even though he technically had the smallest bedroom in the house, it was plenty of room to him. The bed wasn’t bad either, but he decided to put his hammock above it just in case. Looking around, he sees the pile of his stuff on the dresser and the pile of boxes next to the door with the furniture he claimed. He could see himself making quite a nice home here…

Home…

He’s going to make a nice living condition here.

His eyes wandered around the room with possibilities when he saw something black underneath his bed. Being the curious type, he pulled it out: a briefcase. And inside, a ton of money.

Lunar sucked in a breath, trying to figure out who left so much money here. But then he remembered how Moon was staying in this room before he did. It must be his.

So before anyone could accuse him of stealing, he went to go slip the case back into his room. But the door was locked.

He thought about picking the lock, but remembered that their balcony was one in the same. So he went out onto the balcony to enter his room that way.

Finding it unlocked, he swiftly walked into the dark room and put the case next to what he assumed to be Moon’s desk.

But he stiffened upon hearing breathing behind him.

Turning around slow, his eyes laid on a figure in a small pile of cushions. The person looked quite lovely with golden hair and nice features. Well, except for how bandages covered half her face. Looking closer, he saw a hint of light scarring peeking out…

But his heart stopped when he noticed the person’s neck. Stripes. Grey and dark grey waves of stripes… of a familiar uniform…

Swiftly pulling off the blanket, he saw the obvious outfit of an exorcist.

That’s when it clicked.

This figure-

She’s an angel.

He screamed from the top of his lungs, screaming louder when the angel burst awake all of a sudden. Blasting a gust of wind at her, he scrambled and ran to get out of that room NOW!

He barely heard the thud behind him as he slammed the door shut. Catching his breath, he anticipated anything from behind him. A yell, a cry, or even whines of pain. But he heard small breaths once again. Not only that, he looked up to see his two roommates, startled and worried. But behind Earth’s look of concern, he saw the color drain from Moon’s face in not quite a surprised expression, but a scared one.

A knowing look. A guilty one. Lunar knew right then and there.

Moon knew.

As Earth stepped forward, Moon shook his head softy behind her, eyes pleading one word.

Please.

Damn him.

Earth took a knee and placed a hand on Lunar’s shoulder.

“Are you okay? What happened?”

Lunar gulped as he forced himself to speak clearly.

“I… I saw something on his bed.”

Moon grew still, eyes wide before Lunar continued and looked to Earth.

“I- I saw Moon’s huge dildo.”

…

He could hear a record scratch in the atmosphere as Earth leaned back with a confused look.

“A… what?”

Lunar cleared his throat as he got a better nerve.

“You know… the thing lonely single people shove in their bodies to feel good.”

Earth’s face swirls grew bigger and whiter on her cheeks like she was blushing as her uncertain smile faded, but Moon got both Lunar and Earth’s attention by dropping on all fours to wheeze and hack out a lung in absolute startlement and what can be assumed as shame. His face was even a bright blue, which Lunar can guess is his blush of embarrassment, as Moon started absolutely dying due to the consequences of Lunar’s words.

Lunar walked up to the Sinner, but stopped a foot of two away.

“Uh… I kinda just meant to drop something off. I… didn’t mean to scream like that, but it was a… big surprise.”

Moon looked up at him, face showing a sense of confliction among the embarrassment. Lunar knew why too.

Moon could make the truth known here and now to save face. But he won’t. Not if he wants to keep his precious prize a secret.

Earth stepped closer to the two of them.

“Are you alright Moon? Or rather, will you be okay? I understand that this is quite a… vulnerable thing to have exposed. But Lunar… why did you have to scream like that?”

“Oh. Because it was absolutely covered in c-“

Moon wrapped Lunar’s head with his arms, making sure to cover his mouth with his hands.

“Thank you. Now shut up!” Moon hissed through his gritted teeth.

Assuming Moon looked back up at Earth, the sinner spoke again through what sounded like a forced smile. “Earth, can you go back downstairs? Me and Lunar need to talk about boundaries.”

Earth nodded but her flustered face seemed to direct pity on Lunar.

“Well, I think I’m all tuckered out for the night, so might just head to bed after a bath. Just… remember to try and speak nicely to each other. I’m sure Lunar made an honest mistake.”

She seemed to search for Lunar’s reaction, to which he did his best to display nonchalance while Moon still had his arms around his head. Seeing Earth was somewhat eased, Moon let go and grabbed Lunar’s shoulder to drag him to assumingly Lunar’s room. But once Earth was down the stairs, Moon made a sharp turn to his own. He would have thrown Lunar in if Lunar didn’t already jump in himself. Moon shut and locked the door, flopping backwards on the door and gave a huge exhale of breath.

*_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

He so wanted to perish. Moon wanted to curl in a puddle and just wither away again into another afterlife. Granted, only one person walked away not knowing the truth, but the princess would probably never look at him the same way again.

He opened his eyes and immediately saw the open balcony door.

He KNEW he locked his door! But if only he had thought to lock the balcony one too!

His gaze quickly found Lunar as he clearly gestured his arms to the angel. Speaking of…

Moon walked over to see that the angel was a bit more upright and slumped. But if the dent behind him meant anything…

“What did you do?”

“WHAT DID I DO?!”

Moon shushed Lunar and his heart skipped a beat when the angel started making stirring noises.

“Shi-! Hush little baby, don’t you cry. Momma’s gonna sing you a lullaby!”

Moon was admittedly rushing the song in a panicked tone, but it seemed to work as the angel fell back asleep. He sang a few more verses to make sure they were asleep, while turning back to see if Earth was going to come back. All was quiet until Moon glared over to Lunar, which Lunar was returning with more venom.

“Excuse me,” Lunar said quieter and in an unapologetic tone, “But why do you have an angel?!”

Moon sucked in a breath as he laid the angel back down in a better position.

“It… it was a mistake.”

“No shit Sherlock!”

Moon huffed. “Look, I didn’t hurt them! I found them like this. I just… want to heal them up because I’m pretty sure they got hurt because of me.”

He pulled back the angel’s bandages to reveal the burn scars, looking pale yellow now that it’s scarred over, which seemed to click something in Lunar’s mind. But the Imp didn’t seem satisfied.

“Look, during the extermination… this angel saved my life. Well, they kind of attacked me at first, but they spared me for some reason. Told me to run. So when I saw them in an alleyway, injured with this huge burn and torn wings… Look, I didn’t want to leave a favor unpaid!”

Lunar squinted at him as he re-fixed the bandages back on the angel.

“You sure it’s because you don’t want to use her? To milk her dry of her uses, because I don’t see her halo anywhere! Or are you using her for your sick desires?”

Moon’s blush returned with a scowl. “You are so lucky Earth doesn’t know me well enough to know I’m Aro-Ace! And I don’t know what happened to the angel’s halo! I found her exactly like this! Well, maybe with more scrapes, but I only really touched her appropriately and with care in order to help her recover!”

“And what, pray tell, were you planning on doing with her once she’s recovered?”

Moon hesitated as he faced the uncomfortable truth.

“…Then I’ll put her back in the alleyway and let her find her own way around.”

Lunar raises an eyebrow. “So you’re just going to let her die out on the streets? Wearing that?”

“Well- I’d probably cover her with a sweater and watch over until she- they woke up. Whatever they decide to do is up to them.”

A quiet air fills the room between them. Moon squirms a bit as he looks at Lunar. On one hand, Lunar almost got him and the angel exposed to Earth. But on the other hand, Lunar DID give Earth an excuse and a reason not to look for herself and cover Moon’s butt.

“…So I assume you don’t want me to tell Earth?”

Moon nods. “I don’t need her freaking out over an exorcist. Unconscious or not. Besides, the less people that know about them, the better.”

Lunars nods and shifts a little, looking a bit distrustful. Honestly, Moon knew Lunar had a point to being wary about him.

He remembers rumors of how some overlord liked collecting angels to harvest them. Probably a cannibal if he had to guess. And he knew how suspicious it made him look, but now he and Lunar had a reason to keep an eye on each other. Moon gestured to the door, to which Lunar got the hint and left, but not without another glare. Moon sighed and adjusted the angel’s blanket before getting back on the computer.

He ended up being a bit behind on his shipment export, so he resolved himself to answering just a few more emails before delivering the goods.

His embarrassment flushed out slowly as he got to work, allowing his emotions to make way for logic as he went into business mode.

…You know, maybe having Lunar on board wasn’t too bad, now that he had an extra pair of eyes and ears to watch out for the angel.

It would certainly help to keep a better awareness, now that the angel was close to breaking free of their coma. But he couldn’t help but think over his plan. Just like with Earth, it would be cruel to let this angel go out into hell with no guidance or help. But he knew that it was the best choice for them all, which he repeated over and over as he got up to seal the crate and perform the delivery.

After locking both doors of course. And replacing the note back on the angel’s forehead, since the poor adhesive must have made it fall earlier.

*_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

The next morning…

A burst of smoke spewed out of a window, producing an ugly odor. Earth coughed as she fanned out as much smoke as she could before closing the window again. This difficult brew required constant humidity, which Earth had to create in her room beforehand, but she needed to expel the smoke before adding her next few ingredients. This potion was supposed to be one of isolation. A bottle-full drink would make every living being give the drinker a wide berth of distance, about 6 feet. Almost like a tempering of auras to ward off any living being, hence why it was a tricky spell to produce and a complicated brew to make.

She gathered her small bag of dried white rose petals and gingerly scattered them over the cauldron to cover most of the surface. Seeing the bubbles cease, she takes it as a good sign and starts crushing the butterfly weed with a mortar and pestle to hopefully squeeze enough liquid for a tablespoon. Hearing some sizzling, she pauses to try and evaporate her body a bit more to produce more humidity.

Since she’s made of water, she generates her own supply to make an everlasting source of water, but not any fit for drinking though. But it’s enough to make a room become humid as long as no air escapes.

She already posted a sign on her door to ask the others not to disturb her and especially to not open the door. So is able to make her concoction in peace.

Soon enough, she squeezed just enough butterfly weed juice (which she mentally notes to restock) to finish the potion. Pouring in a drop over each rose petal, it disintegrates into a lavender liquid to spread its hue to the rest of the batch. Once finished, she gathers herself into making a singular drop of her own sweat drip from her forehead into the pot, releasing a smell of maple to an extreme amount. Coughing, she steps away to grab her tray of bottles to fill. Much steam is being produced, so she’s thankful she has the ability to manipulate liquids that contain her essence as she wills the liquids to be pulled up and fill the bottles. Another summoning of plants holds the tray in place as she seals up the bottles one by one.

When freshly made, the liquid is determined to steam away into the sky and form its own cloud. When full enough, it rains somewhere and will cause anyone who touches it to feel the sensation of loneliness for about five minutes. But there’s nothing Earth can do to liquefy it once it’s steam except collect it in a big glass jar. But since she didn’t have the materials right now, being away from the castle and all, she opens her window again to release the steam while trying to reabsorb the water she used to humidify the room.

Ideally, she would have made the potion in a humid climate, but she made do in her room. Besides, she had prepared this potion in a haste after the… uncomfortableness of last night.

This potion required the brewer to have a sense of uncomfortable tension with a specific instance in mind. But in a way, it helped her work though and release her unease. And once the 24 hours pass, the potion in the bottles will be done constantly turning to and back from liquid to gas, settling into a thicker liquid to consume in one gulp.

Setting the bottles into the closet so the darkness can increase the potency (and maybe dispel some of the overwhelming maple taste) she flopped on her bed before realizing she wanted to relax in a clearer environment. So she opened her door and decided to finally watch her favorite movie, not caring if the others joined her or not.

*_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

…

“What makes you think you can stay here?”

Sunrise snaps a little to attention as he becomes aware of a thundering voice, disrupting his non-existence.

“You’ve already healed enough from your sleep. We don’t need your mind to be lost if you are to complete your goal.”

Sunrise finally feels a sense of fear as he starts floating down. He knows it will get faster.

No. Please! It’s so nice here!

“Exactly…”

The voice waves and warbles in a way Sunrise can’t understand. He starts clawing towards the clouds, panicking as he feels himself drop into the black abyss.

He can’t go back! He knows he’s in for pain and misery.

“That is the life you have chosen.”

“Now go live it.”

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Sunrise gasps and seizes his bedsides, eyesight not yet registering for him.

Closing his eyes, he grounds himself. His thoughts cloud and swarm with too many memories and confusing feelings at once, so he automatically tries to recall how to do the 5 senses panic trick.

Five things to see?

No. Can’t.

Too overwhelmed.

Four… four things to feel.

…The squishy bed?

…An itchy blanket?

He feels his clothes then combs his hair back, also counting the wetness of it.

Three. Three things to hear.

He becomes aware of his breath gasping, but starting to even out and slow.

He hears a strange rattling, like a something metal shaking?

He hears something rumbling in the distance? And something annoying and high pitched?

He finally opens his eyes and finds himself in a grey room. He counts his five sights as the walls, the brown door, a desk, a briefcase, and a computer.

He then looks down at himself.

He sees the itchy blanket and quickly takes it off. He also feels discomfort around his body, like a tight shirt, and pulls it off.

It’s…. his exorcist shirt.

Granted, he did sometimes feel better with a nice snug fit while doing chores, but not while sleeping!

Shifting a bit, he feels the bed have some give, only to look and see that he’s on beanbags.

Wait… how come the room is so dark?

And why is he only seeing black from his right eye?

Reaching up, he feels wrappings covering not just his eye, but the whole side of his face and then some.

He then feels something foreign and swats at it, but regrets it when he then sees a paper note fly off to the side. He goes to lean for it but suddenly feels a great soreness twinge his back, forcing him to flop back on the beanbags.

Groaning, he tries to recall how he slept this long for his muscles to feel sore... but his pounding headache starts to get worse.

Deciding to just get up, he swings his legs and gets up-

Only to lean too heavily and fall flat on the ground.

Wait… what? He feels too numb and wonders if his wings somehow slumped more forward than usual if they tipped him this forward instead of keeping him upright.

But looking back… He saw nothing.

Turning over from the panic, his back twitches and stings from trying to bend his spine to crabwalk or scramble back, but he lays flat in horror… as he realizes he’s lying FLAT.

Mirror… WHERE’S A MIRROR!

Clawing and rolling to get up, he wobbles as his back screams in protest. But when he bumps his shoulder against the wall where he accidently hit when overleaning… he feels a sense of dread.

It comes back.

He did it. He had… killed only five people.

No… he’s pretty sure he killed more.

But then he hears a growl.

Whimpering, he stumbles back against a surface. A glass surface.

He knows he must escape, but his hands just flatten against the clear surface, scrambling for something.

Archive Angel… such promise… all to be a disappointment.

His hand switched something as he fell backwards and nearly hit his head again…

But he feels the weight of his head being smashed once, then twice.

So… frail.

Rolling back to having his stomach on the ground, he feels the motions of him dragging himself with a splintering pain coming from his back. He starts feeling tears flow down his face as he tries to keep himself from blubbering out.

He feels a rail and climbs up. Wiping his tears, he feels his desperation flare up as he looks up at the red sky.

Seeing a warm yellow ring call for him to just fly.

Fly back home.

He pushes himself to step up and spread his wings, using a free hand to rip off whatever was on his face so he could see properly.

Not having depth perception is bad for gracefulness after all…

He shoves himself forward but all he feels… is that same feeling from when he was among the pastel clouds.

The motion of falling.

Screaming out, he thuds to the ground on his side. But he finds himself laid on his stomach, feeling the burn of his back as his wings get torn out.

Too tainted to go back

No… that’s right. Even as he starts crying out and feels his lips move to apologize, he knows it was all a lie. He never had his wings to fly home to.

He didn’t look up, knowing all he would only see a red sky above.

There was no portal.

He failed, so he fell.

Becoming a fallen angel.

Sunshine

No, never again would he see the sun. He didn’t deserve such a nickname.

He muttered while sobbing out, curling in a fetal position.

“I didn’t… I didn’t mean to fail you. Please… don’t kill me…”

“Calm down. I’m not here to hurt you.”

He snaps out of his pathetic crying to suddenly realize someone else was there. He couldn’t help but cry harder, shaking as he realized he didn’t recognize that voice.

“D-demon! S-Stay back!”

The angel tried to get back up to run, fight, or even stand his ground. But like the disappointment he is, he only accomplished stumbling and almost falling on the ground when he felt hands grab at his arms. He could only grimace at his near blow to the head, only to feel it slam backwards twice against imaginary brick again.

“Are you alright? Please, what’s wrong?”

The voice… was so caring. Opening his eyes, he sees a woman of green, blue and white.

Without realizing earlier, he feels himself clutch something in his hands. Looking down, he suddenly looks down in horror as he finds his halo.

Exposed for the woman to see.

He especially start whimpering when he looks back to see that she had followed his line of sight, gasping at the bright yellow ring with floating triangles.

 “You… you’re an angel? But… where are your wings?”

Her vision fades from his sight as his tears bubble back, accompanying a fresh wail.

He barely hears a mutter of “Bad idea Earth! Dummy move!” when he feels arms wrap back around him and he freezes, silencing his cry.

He remembers hugs. Giving nothing but warmth and comfort.

He goes limp in the embrace, shivering and hiccupping as the tears flow freely.

He feels himself float up as the grip around him tightens.

“I’m sorry. I’ll bring you inside so I can help. You don’t have to say a word.”

His heart only lifts slightly as he leans more into the embrace before noticing a fuzzy feeling fall over his already shut eyes.

“It’s going to be alright. I’m here to help you now, okay?”

“… How do you know it’s going to be alright?” Sunrise mutters out in his tired, pained stupor.

“Because, everything always works out in the end, doesn’t it?”

Before the angel knew it, he fell into the darkness of his own mind.

Falling back into a much needed sleep.

Chapter Text

A fallen angel.

Earth had only heard stories of them, considered to be only legends. For why would the pure fall from paradise? Maybe because of an accident, miscommunication, or major manipulation?

When she heard the angel speak, they only mentioned something about failing someone and cries to not hurt them.

Her heart clenched as she recalled how she had heard someone scream in agony outside, with a slightly scratchy voice. She had run outside to see the poor thing in the fetal position, crying their eyes out. It was quite a saddening slight to see them with a very big dent in their back, but it all made sense upon seeing the halo. She only wished she wasn’t such a dummy to ask where their wings were, because she got to see them break into a new round of tears.

If she wasn’t so focused on helping the angel out, she would have marveled at how angel tears were just as white and iridescent as pearls. Regardless, she knew that she had to help them. So she did the best she could before bringing the angel inside.

As they fell asleep in her arms, she noticed how they shivered once she had closed the door. This house did have some excellent AC to fight off the hellish heat outside, so maybe they weren’t used to such extreme climates?

There were quite a lot of questions she wanted to ask, just like Moon and Lunar surely would.

Speaking of…

Earth then placed the angel down on the sofa and proceeded to run upstairs and knock on their doors.

“Lunar? Moon? Could you two please come downstairs?”

She then went into her own room to grab her favorite weighted blanket (from the holiday haul) to have it folded next to the angel. She wasn’t sure if the angel wanted anything on them right now, but prepared it in case they woke up cold.

Before she left their side again, she noticed how the ring within the angel’s hands slipped from their grasp to fall on their lap, only to slowly float upwards to rest on their head. She couldn’t help but smile at how natural it stayed atop their head. But she tore herself away once more to grab all the pillows and blankets she had washed and dried earlier in the laundry room with the previous intention to distribute between her and the boys. But she was sure they’d understand as she came back to surround the golden haired stranger in pillows. Once the angel was properly propped upright against the pillows, she started searching for any injuries that may need medical attention.

The angel had a nice golden hue to their skin, which she can see well, since they were shirtless for some reason. And it was rather smooth looking and soft, almost not looking real. She found small scrapes on their arms, which she is surprised is all that happened to this angel.

After all, how were they not more hurt from falling all the way down from heaven!?

With a little bit of self-encouragement, she braced herself to examine the angel’s back. Turning them a bit, she saw a slightly pale-yellow patch of skin below their shoulder blades with a decent pale-pinkish crater in the middle.

She could only assume that it was where the angel’s wings should have been.

She mentally scolded herself again for pointing out the angel’s loss of wings right to their face as she placed them upright again. She made note of the angel’s slightly wet hair as she brushed it back in case it wasn’t just sweat. She saw that his face had yet another pale yellow patch on his face, but very much paler in hue, rougher in texture, and seeming to cover half of his face in a way that looked familiar, but she couldn’t quite put a finger on why.

She heard the angel groan a bit as their eyes furrowed. But they stayed asleep and soon relaxed their face once more.

Not sure what to do next, she summons her grimoire and searches for possible brews to help her new ward as she sits on the sole chair nearby.

*_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Sunrise eventually wakes up, peeling away from the darkness. No longer did he see the clouds in his sleep, so he allowed his eyes to open.

He felts strangely numb as he stared at the ceiling, nothing on his mind but unrest. He felt thoughts swarm around him until one by one, they invaded his mind.

The extermination… the punishment by the general… the banishment…

His eyes swelled with tears as he hears the general’s words replay in his head once more…

…the windows to your soul had the right amount of fire for us to mold into shape.

You had such promise… All to be a disappointment.

Sunrise hears another voice and suddenly realizes he’s crying again when he feels his tears being wiped away. Vision now clearer, he now realizes it the same woman from earlier. But he tries to focus more on her than his thoughts.

He noticed her face was blue with a green patch on half of her face, with white swirls on her cheeks. He noticed her oh-so-fluffy looking hair that looked like slightly greying clouds. But he eventually caught the royal purple of her wide eyes, so caring and attentive to him. And… expectant?

Right, he heard her say something. But he wasn’t paying attention.

“W-what?”

The woman gave him a confused look as she kneeled in front of him. “Pardon?”

Sunrise took a shaky breath but found his words wavering.

“I…, I don’t… understand. Who… Who-Who are you?”

“Oh, how rude of me!” She says with a small, lighthearted tone. “My name is Earth. And what I meant to ask earlier was to ask what your name is.”

Sunrise’s body rattled as his mind wanted to answer such a simple question. It’s Sunrise. His little friends know him as Sunny and his co-worker friends called him Sunshine. But he couldn’t bring himself to communicate any of that to Earth.

Earth...?

How ironic that a place known to be naturally evil and cruel shared the same name as this woman in hell.

And how she was as caring as a mother. So warm and full of life.

She deserved to be in heaven instead of him.

He hated how he started tearing up again and how Earth’s face immediately showed pity for him.

“Hey, everything is going to-“

“Stop! Jus- stop!” He yelled out, tears down flowing down in fury.

“Alright, calm down. Just take a deep breath.”

Sunrise couldn’t help but make a bitter chuckle. “A deep breath?!”

Earth hummed her agreement. But as she gave him a caring look, he wanted to wipe that off her face.

“I’ve-I’ve-I’ve fffailed! WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?! WHAT EVEN ARE YOU?!”

He figured that him yelling at her would break the pity. To stop catering to his pathetic self.

“Um… I’m not sure what you mean” Earth ponders as she places her finger on her chin. “But I am a water demon I suppose? An Ars Goetia royal member? But I hardly think it’s relevant.” She waves it off and places a hand on Sunrises shoulder.

“I can tell something’s going on with you, so maybe we could perhaps talk about it.”

“I don’t- I don’t need anyone to talk to!” Sun tried to argue. “I-I-I can’t think! I don’t even know what I’m going to do!”

“Well, you could listen to me and take a deep breath. If you panic, you won’t be able to help yourself and may start to overthink things. So please, listen-”

“But what would breathing fix?!” He cried with a raised voice as he grabbed his halo and threw it away from himself. “You know what I am! You can see that I have nothing left to fix, even if I wanted to!”

Earth started rubbing his shoulder with her thumb and he starts to shiver from the overstimulation against his bare skin.

“I don’t want to pry into why you… came to be here. But I like to think that there’s always a way to fix things.”

Sunrise shook as felt his rage spill out as she shook off her hand. He tried to stand but found himself leaning on the pillow stack besides him, making him even angrier as his back muscles refused to cooperate.

“You don’t know me! You don’t know what I’ve done! I can tell you now, it’s all my fault! I didn’t do what I was told! I was born for a role and I couldn’t just be satisfied with it! So I let my sin take over, and look what happened to me! It’s my fault because I COULDN’T DO SOMETHING RIGHT!”

Sunrise felt his tears cease as he suddenly realized he had no more tears to give. So he sobbed bitterly and dryly as the pillow stack collapsed and he hunched over, collapsing in Earth’s arms as she caught him. She quickly adjusted herself and sat on the floor with him sitting on her lap, crying in her shoulder.

“Hey… I don’t care if there is no way to fix this. I truly am sorry for your predicament. But you don’t have to go through your grief alone. I’m here to help you now, alright?”

There was a moment of silence before Sunrise raised his head up to look at her. Seeing her hopeful, loving smile broke him. Here he was, crying about losing a place he didn’t deserve, yelling at this poor person like a heathen. It’s no wonder he ended up in hell.

“I… I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have yelled.”

“Thank you. I know you are going through a lot, so I understand. But I appreciate your apology.”

“But… why?” He mutters in a broken voice. “Why do you care?”

“Well, I guess I know what it’s like to be alone. To wonder if you are doing the right thing or deserve the treatment you’re given. But I no longer have to worry about it. So I want to help you.”

Sun fought against a whimper as she propped him back on the couch.

“I’m sorry, but you’re shivering. Would you like a cool blanket, a weighted blanket, or a fluffy blanket?”

Sunrise vaguely remembers how weighted blankets help people when they are overwhelmed, so when Earth pointed it out, he nodded his head. So she wrapped it around him and he felt much better. He felt himself become more grounded with the weight. It also helped that it had a simple texture and how his body was finally felt covered.

It was almost like having his wings wrapped around himself once more.

“I’m going to make you some tea. Would you like something to give you energy, or to help calm you?”

Sunrise decided he was tired of waking up in a cycle of forgetfulness and devastation. “E-energy please.”

Earth nodded and walked away behind him. He noticed the television in front of him and all the movies he was only familiar with in name. Particularly, Mulan the Disney cartoon movie caught his attention. He remembers a kid telling him that it was her favorite movie when she was alive.

The children… He also decided to not think about them, because he was tired of crying.

All he wanted to do was to be lost in mind as he sat on the couch, numbing himself into a pacified, unbothered state as he focused on the peace of here and now.

Lest he fall right back into self-pity and despair.

*_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

“I would rather be eaten alive by rats before you catch me wearing those”

Moon huffed in amusement at Lunar’s remark, putting away the neon yellow boots he had shown the Imp.

That morning, he wasn’t looking forward to facing Earth when he started his day, so he had been grateful to have an excuse to leave the house.  But before finished his breakfast, he saw Lunar exit the bathroom to pour himself some cereal. Noticing now he was dressed and ready, it prompted his common curtesy to ask him what his plans were for the day. Apparently, other than having plans to shove a banana up Moon’s nose, he had nothing else to do. So Moon, totally unprompted, invited Lunar to come with him to go shoe shopping after he dropped off a couple of things. Surprisingly, he agreed.

Which brought them here, to a minty green fashion store.

“You know, maybe you should stick to finding the reasonably priced section, since you can’t pick anything stylish to save your life.”

Moon rolled his eyes and looked around the area. He couldn’t exactly prove the Imp wrong.

“Why do you even look like that?”

Moon turned around, confused as he looked back at Lunar.

“Uh… nunya.”

“Oh please!” Lunar exclaimed. “You’ve been dying to ask me a ton of questions!”

“All of which I’m willing to wait for.”

Lunar gives Moon an unamused look before walking up to him.

“You can’t be serious…. Look. Maybe I’ve been a little touchy about my past. So let’s do a fun little game. Each of us can come up with a question each round. Once both of us feel like the question is equal in worth, then we answer.”

Moon couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow in amusement. It seems as though the Imp was nosy enough to be willing to let him know more about him. Which didn’t seem fair.

Moon had a lot to his past that he kept private. Sure, Lunar has a NDA to never tell others anything private, but it was still a lot of pressure to spill private information to a runner of his. Yet… he also was rather curious on what the Imp could possibly hold. After all, the Imp had somehow possessed magic to use.

“… Fine. We only share little by little.”

Lunar smiles slyly before jumping up to climb a footstool, somehow bringing him to Moon’s height.

Moon lets Lunar look around for a shoe pair that wasn’t ridiculous as he forms a first question. But he hears a sigh and he sees Lunar looking straight at him.

“Look, this kinda thing’s not gonna happen often. But… I need you to lift me up to your shoulders.”

Lunar then proceeded to make an uppsies motion with his arms and hands, which had Moon doing his best to not laugh as he obliged the Imp. But as soon as he did, someone very familiar walked in the store.

The green, scaly, broom for hair, Montgomery Gator.

The gator’s eyes lit up in recognition, holding out their arms as they smiled wide. Moon was ready to flinch.

“Lunar! You son of a gun!”

“MONTY!” Lunar screamed in excitement before jumping into their arms, grinning wide.

Moon was jaw-dropped at how Montgomery noogied Lunar’s head and Lunar was able to blow a shoe to their head to get them to stop, both laughing like old friends.

“How ya been shortie?”

“Aw, nothing much. Just the usual. ‘Cept now I have an official boss.”

“Really?! Someone tied you down? Who?”

“Eh. Someone who gets my vibe of only being around for when you’re seeked out.”

Moon wasn’t quite sure what to do before Montgomery finally spotted him.

“Oh, hey Checkers. Finally updating your wardrobe? Maybe to go back to black and white?”

Lunar, who was now sitting on one of Monty’s shoulders, swayed his legs back and forth. “That’s the boss getting me new kicks.”

“Oh really?!” Monty exclaimed, looking the Sinner up and down. “You have connections here?”

“I do.” Moon finally said as he showed his card. The care that listed him as affiliated with the Fazbears.

“Roxanne is an ally of his, so I should be getting a better discount.”

Monty looked unamused as he stage whispered to Lunar. “Really? You want to work for a guy that won’t buy you things full priced?”

Lunar snickered as Moon wavered. He didn’t come here to be put down just because he happened to know which places to take advantage of to get good deals.

“As if you don’t buy your goods used and claimed new!”

Lunar jumped down and did a slight bow. “Come on and give the boss a break. I’ve been humiliating him enough to keep him humble.”

Moon’s face turned blue again, but noticed a strange woman approaching them, with a natural face bluer than his.

She had smurf blue skin all around, dressed in a teal uniform that covered the top tightly and had open roomed shorts for a bottom to the one-piece. She had purple spiked hair with green side-sweeped bangs, matching the green of her platform boots. Moon doesn’t even know if those colors can be assumed fashionable together.

“Excuse me, but did one of you claim to be an ally to our company’s establishment?”

Moon raise his card and the woman nodded. “This way please.”

Moon waved to Lunar, who said his goodbyes to Monty before following behind.

Apparently, not only was the card an ally-ship, but it identified Moon as a favored client. So the assistant led Moon and Lunar to a private room to talk about what they wanted and expected to find. Once Lunar settled on a stool, Moon let Lunar specify the color, feel, and material he wanted while the employee wrote it all down. When Moon asked to get three pairs for the Imp, Lunar interrupted saying that he wanted the three to be the same type for ‘consistency’ reasons. Moon didn’t argue as the employee, whose name was ‘Kasandra’, left to get look though the store’s inventory.

“… How do you know Montgomery?”

Lunar thought for a moment. “Diddo.”

Moon almost wanted to choke at the similar word Lunar almost seemed to say but composed himself.

“I’ve been in business with him for about five years. I saw how he was already doing well in business and figured he was eventually going to reach his goal. So I helped out. Turns out, we’re alike in mind though. So he asks me to hang out sometimes.”

Lunar hums a note. “He helped me start up my running gig. Taught me what it was and how to do it. He’s like an old mentor. But he’s a little… too shady for my tastes.”

Moon gives him a skeptical look. “Am I not?”

“Kinda. Professional wise, you never promise to be nice and loyal. You present yourself as someone to just do a one and done thing, even if it happens again and again. Or you make very straightforward deals to screw up whoever breaks it first. Many bosses like to hide that from everyone. So, I guess we’re alike like that. That, and I can’t take you seriously after how I almost killed you yesterday.”

Moon’s invisible lips thin as the employee comes back. She presents to the two a pair of shoes that match the same color as Lunar’s little cloak, comfy and durable in material, and even has a dtail for flair…

Hey! I’m matching to be a clown like you!” Lunar laughed as he saw the slightly curled pointy tips that the shoes had, matching the pointed curls on Moon’s boots.

He could help but like everything about the shoe when he tried it on.

After having a good look, Lunar stepped down to get a feel for walking in them. If the Imp being happy was an indicator, Moon figured that the shoe was perfect. But he couldn’t help but be skeptical.

“Okay, how much?”

Kasandra gave him a receipt and Moon felt his wallet start wailing. It wasn’t extremely bad, just something expected of three pairs of shoes made of good materials from a fashion store. Not wanting Lunar to be involved, he handed her his credit card and thanked her for her help.

It wasn’t her fault that the ally-help only meant help finding what you’re looking for.

Soon, Lunar was walking out of the dressing room with two boxes in hand with a new pep in his step as he had wasted no time ditching the white wraps.

Meanwhile Moon walked behind him, swearing to himself that those shoes better last a damn long time.

Extra reference for how the employee saw Moon, since his little secret had been revealed (and for better future references)

Chapter Text

Lunar felt so light-footed. Sure, the style wasn’t quite what he would have picked, but he liked how it made Moon a bit more self-coconscious about his clown attire.

All that was left was to pay for it. Knowing how good quality the shoes were, he knew it was probably going to dip quite a bit into his savings. But hopefully he could make these pair last a long time to make it worth his coin, unlike that one year he spent buying cheap shoes that would last him a stupidly low amount of time.

“So, where’s the cash register?”

Lunar turned to Moon after he asked, but the Sinner seemed dismissive.

“They’re paid for. Let’s go.”

Lunar stopped in his tracks and narrowed his eyes. “You… paid? When?!”

Moon then turned to face that same tall smurf lady, which gave him a card back. Lunar somewhat recalled Moon giving her a card earlier, but he had assumed it was that stupid associate card again.

“…How much was it?”

Moon shrugged. “My treat. Don’t wo-“

“How. Much.” Lunar emphasized in a stern voice. He held the boxes still as he stood near the entrance. His mood was definitely soured now. There was no way in Hell he’d be indebted to-

‘Wait! Hold on just a moment please!’

Lunar then noticed an attendant he didn’t recognize, seeming to flag down him and Moon as if they were about to leave. She wore the same hideous outfit, but was a succubus Imp that clearly had too much eyeliner.

“Overlord Montgomery requests your presence in Miss Accalia’s office.”

Lunar saw Moon nod and follow the attendant as she directed him in the right direction. He started to follow so he’d at least have his question answered before Moon could escape, but this lady quickly raised her hand in his direction with a stop motion”.

“This is strictly Overlord business. You may either wait in the store or outside for… your Overlord to return.”

Lunar was about to argue that he wasn’t stupid enough to think he’d be allowed to be in Moon’s business, but that just wanted an answer from Moon when the very Sinner kneeled down.

 “I guess that’s up to you what to do if you want to stay or go home. It shouldn’t take me too long.”

Confused, he tried to interject again about how that wasn’t what this was about, but the attendant then pulled out a piece of paper with child-like cartoonish designs on it and bent down to hand it to the Imp.

‘One free ice cream from the store across the street. That should help you with the wait dear.” She said with a stupidly sweet tone. That condescending tone.

Now fully fed up, Lunar growled at the demeaning comment before snatching the coupon, ripping it in front of her, and storming off. 

He had barely stepped out of the building when he practically flew off in a big jump to land on the building across the street.

He had no intention to go home yet, of course. But there was no way in hell he was going to stick around inside that stupid place. 

Maybe he should keep one of his pairs in pristine condition so he could commission someone else to make a replica if the need arises.

*_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

The sinner tried not to linger on how Lunar left the scene as he was led to the office. He wasn’t sure what was going on or why he was being included in a conversation between an overlord and the corporate boss of this chain of stores.

He knew Monty did like to bring the Sinner in their deals whenever it’s convenient, but not with such short notice.

Meanwhile, Miss Accalia was a figure he only knew with common business knowledge. All he knows that that she’s in the fashion business, with a few salons and clothing stores in her area. And she is a Caporegime in the Fazbear Family, hence why no one bats an eye that she’s high class for a Hellhound.

Walking in, he’s greeted with a much better color scheme. It’s a nice purple-grey and has a chestnut brown meeting board table, seating two people. 

One big anthropomorphic alligator with…

The lady of the place. The Hellhound stands at a tall height when she walks over to greet him.

The Hellhound was a blueish grey in tone, with a lighter grey to color her hair, muzzle, and the ends of her fluffy tail. Her fur looked as spikey as a wolf, but seemingly presented as well-kept. She wore a red top that hung from her neck to her upper stomach, with black star spikes coming from the bottom. Her shorts had a similar design with the black spiking from the hound’s left side. Her stomach and legs were covered in goth mesh and her arms and legs had dull yellow sleeves and leg warmers with a black animal print all over it. Accenting her arm sleeves were two small black bracelets with small spikes on them, like a violent dog’s collar. A black and red racer’s coat draped over her shoulders as her yellow on pink eyes found his, screaming confidence and coyness.

“Oh, good evening sweetheart. I’d say your name, but I’ve heard you don’t have one.’

The Sinner nods “That would be correct. Greetings, Miss Accalia.”

“Please, call me Roxanne.”

“An’ I’m Montgomery. They/Them.” They butted in, sounding so proud of themself as the Unnamed Sinner took his spot across from the Gator and the Hellhound sat at the head of the table.

‘Sure Monty. Now, why am I here?’

The gator adjusts their useless sunglasses in a huff. “Cause I didn’t realize you’re part of the family.”

Moon raised his eyebrow in question. 

“I don’t think I’m contracted to be committed with anyone at the moment, excluding the hires working for me.”

The gator grins like a know-it-all schoolboy. “But you’re affiliated with Freddy. So now you’re partners with the rest of us.” Monty explained, smug in voice.

“Well, sort of.” Roxanne says smoothly. “Because Monty here knows you better, I had asked them to summon you so we could potentially become official allies. After all, the Golden Freddy mentioned how good you are at having connections. I’m willing to bet you have more contacts than you’ve told the Golden figure.”

Roxanne looked to examine her nails for the moment. Then she spoke up once more, looking at the Sinner with a sharp gaze.

“Anyway before we begin, Monty said I could name you anything appropriate for the time being, so how about Tala?”

The sinner shrugs, ‘Fine by me.’

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

“You know Tala, Freddy was right. You are quite the man of resources, aren’t you?”

“A’ course he’s the man to go ta’! I’ve been tellin’ yall for years!”

“To be fair, you called him ‘Twinkles’ and ‘Checkers’. How was I supposed to know that he was a man with deep pockets and an actual business, unlike all of your ‘reliable’ sellers with $50 sky stations?”

The sinner had not spent a lot of time participating in Monty and Roxanne’s banter. It was clear that they’ve been allied for years, but mostly through the Fazbears. But when he did talk, it was over business. It wasn’t much out of his usual. In fact, he rattled off several investments and partnerships that he was currently a part of that she might be interested in. Well, to her and Monty. And he wouldn’t dare list any of Monty’s rivals in front of the gator or their ally.

But it was daunting him that she kept looking at him in a certain way. Nothing insulting, just strange. Such as her knowing looks, her evaluating gaze, her smile that only flashed when talking to him. To him, it could only mean one thing.

She was trying to take advantage of him.

“You know Tala, you are a very interesting individual. You definitely are more cooperative than the dry leather purse over here.”

Monty scoffs as ‘Tala’ slides over the paper he was just writing on. Roxanne swiftly picks it up and skims over the list of businesses he gave her, along with the minor contact information that he added to the side of each one. Then she gives him a proud look, like she keeps doing through the meeting as well.

“Now that I think of it, I must ask if you have any business partners. Or… any partners at all.”

He shrugs. He’s never liked not being his own boss ever since he spawned in hell. So he’s been solo this whole time. To the nonchalant denial, she gives an opportunistic grin. 

“Well, how about this. I’ve been told by Kasandra that you paid full price for my wares. For some pairs of shoes, correct?”

‘Tala’ nods as Roxanne makes a pity look.

“I don’t think that’s fair, since you’re doing me a big favor with this list. So let’s call it off for now since we’re such GOOD friends.”

Moon frowns in suspicion. He’s never been called a ‘good friend’ so soon without…

Yep, she wants something from him.

“As kind as it is, I am not poor. Besides, I’m afraid we haven’t talked much to each other during this whole meeting.”

Weirdly, she grinned wider.

“Then, perhaps we should. You seem like such an interesting sort. So how about we meet for a lunch next week. We each bring an associate and we make a casual brunch. My treat.”

Moon wasn’t sure where she was going with this, but just in case she actually wanted to just butter him up…

“Alright. The Chat Noir then? I’ve heard that they have an excellent breakfast.”

As long as he was careful to not fall into a trap, what’s the worst that could happen? The Chat Noir is a very nice restaurant that is usually very secure for business meetings and personal affairs. So as long as Moon kept his wits about him, he’d be perfectly safe. 

To his slight surprise, Roxanne nods.

“Then it’s a date! Send your runner to give me the time and I’ll be there. I hope you don’t mind that I’m only flexible this day next week, are you?”

The Sinner shakes his head and gives a small smile. “I don’t.” He then looks at his watch. “Now if you will excuse me, I must be on my way. I have other matters to attend to.”

“Very well. Until next week Tala.”

*_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

The Sinner then left the meeting room as the hellhound looked to Monty, who was wide-eyed.

“Geez,” they chuffed, “I didn’t think he’d actually accept that date.”

They then reluctantly passed a hundred-dollar bill to Roxanne, who smugly took the bidding money from them.

“You know, for how you’ve described him, he is quite attractive in person. And so mysterious~. I look forward to getting inside that intriguing head of his.”

Monty couldn’t help but scoff to themselves. They hadn’t quite told her that not only was Checkers dense when it came to romantic advances (not that he knew from personal experience, ahem), but was also strictly ace. But they are not going to tell her that.

Not if they wanted to be on her good side to be invited to this ‘date’ thing. 

No doubt in their mind, it is going to be hilarious.

*_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Moon walked out with a chill up his spine. He wasn’t quite sure why. It wasn’t like he made any official deals…

Come to think of it, where’s Lunar?

He walked outside just as he got a buzz notification on his phone. True to the Hellhound’s word, his payment was refunded. There’s even a note attached, saying ‘Remember our date~ ;)’

Moon stopped for a moment to look at the note. It suddenly made him realize what this note was....

A decoy.

Often in regularly used cell-phones, Hell citizens tended to used subtle messages in cases of interception or spying. So the ‘date’ wasn’t taken seriously, though oddly a fitting excuse considering the dinner outing. He considered the idea laughworthy, that someone would want to date him. Heck, it’d be pretty pathetic if he were to go on a romantic affair bringing a plus one and with the mind to talk about business. Still, he had never done business at the Chat Noir in particular. It was a restaurant famous for having foods directly from the Glutton ring, so it was expensive as… an arm and a leg.

Stupid hell jokes that fall flat when you’re in hell, so of course everything is expensive as Hell!

He went outside and looked around for his runner. Sure enough, he was nowhere in sight. He sighed as he took the time to sit at a nearby bench, not minding the spots of blood. His clothes needed washing anyways.

He thought back to the house as he looked to the sky. The red ever expansive sky.

There was once a time he’d thought he might still go to heaven when he was a kid. Back when he was just another innocent boy.

…

He didn’t like thinking about his life. All of his life was dedicated to serving his bosses. He spent it all obeying orders… until the end that is.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

The 7-year-old boy looked up at the night sky as he waited for his laundry to be done. His family had already claimed the laundromat for themselves, and since the little boy was still training, they made him their little errand boy. Today’s task was to do the laundry, so he was just waiting for the wash cycle to be fixed by sitting on a bench outside.

He couldn’t help but think in times like this. Away from the silent tension at home. Away from… doing work. Away from his family.

…

Suddenly, he was 16, allowing himself to tear away from his existential thoughts again. Turning away, he looked down at the sleeping children. This time, he was caring for two little kids while their parents submitted to the Killcode. He had just sung them to sleep and was finding peace in this moment… the moment before he had to use his acting skills. To hear the news of their parents’ death and to act so sorrowful and confused by this. To claim to not know anything about any murderers or assassins. And one day… submitting people to the Killcode… that job would be his too. He’s already been receiving… some sort of training. Unfortunately, he wasn’t quite sure what happened each time. Like he was sleeping all the while? Or maybe blacked out? But his superiors always said he did good.

He hated the wobble in his legs after these ‘sessions’. And even worse, his fellow ‘brothers’ seemed to know exactly what he meant but waved it off whenever he asked. But he does remember being able to escape after each session to do whatever he wanted. No jobs or preforming that day. Just whatever he liked to do in solidarity.

So he would usually practice his singing.

Not only because it helped cover for his ‘performer’ family, but because he quite liked it. Ever since he was little, he loved song.

He loved hearing others sing and he took passive joy in singing as he grew. He had great pride in his voice, but knew better than to sing around just his peers. Over the while, to avoid teasing, he only sang in practice, in his silly performances, and to kids.

He almost wished he didn’t have to perform on stage. It made him feel like a clown, just a meaningless powdered joke on legs for others to be amused by. No distinction from others who could wear the same outfit and makeup. Well, except how he was called ‘flaca’ by the others on a regular basis.

He hated that nickname. He hated the teasing. And how no one ever told him anything important that seemed to concern him! All because no one took him seriously! But they’d say, all in due time. Don’t be so serious, they were only joking.

That’s what family does. 

Family… were they family when he disobeyed them 9 years later? When he couldn’t follow through with the Killcode? No. When he lost control of his emotions and killed his own comrade? When he ran from everyone, only to be stabbed in the back?

Maybe it was better he died within a short amount of time. He knows what his family did with traitors. It was peaceful even. To look up at the solitary moon, knowing he was dying and how for once, he killed someone on his own intention.

…

And he wonders why he became a Sinner.

A sinner with a stupidly complicated power and a stupid, but comfy outfit. To be dressed like the night sky, a clown, and in a childish style. All in black and white. 

Over time, he learned to sneak around, to adjust to this new environment and how to take advantage of it. Due to his hatred of his previous family, he avoided contracting until he figured it out from the sources of a outer ring library (which was among the first businesses he bought resources from). He lied, he cheated, and he eventually made his way to grow into the powerful figure he is today. And with all his studies of spells from rare books and his consuming of power from deals, he felt more confident in his own abilities. Never again would he be tied to a family like that again.

But… why. Why Earth? And Lunar.

He didn’t want to admit how he quickly grew used to their presence. How he no longer felt the usual unease of sleeping in an empty apartment or house. Maybe it was his life on planet Earth that got him used to being around a family. But he didn’t want to call his guests any such things. They are only living in his house for business reasons! No other deal! And once he got rid of the angel, he’d free himself from living in that house. He could let Earth do her own thing and remotely send Lunar on his various jobs. Heck, why was he doing such silly things like going shoe shopping with Lunar and even paying for him in the first place?! 

… Maybe because Lunar reminded him of himself when he first deceased to Hell. Despite being Hellborn, he felt sympathy to the Imp. Especially with how it was clear he too had awful bosses if he avoided solo contacts.

But he burned with questions. What fath-boss was so bad it scared off the Imp?  How did the Imp gain magic?! Why did he act childish but refuse to be called a child? Well, actually, he could relate to that, being among the youngest of his family on Earth. Hell, they were probably here in Hell by now. Thankfully, he had little to no resemblance to his human form on Earth. Now that he thinking about it…

he looks down to his wrist to check the time. Since it’s been a whole hour and Lunar skipped out on getting ice cream, so he figures the Imp must have walked home in impatience if he didn’t do it at the get-go.

So he walked to the nearest spawn point to catch up on meeting him there. Plus, it was about time to check up on the angel again. Maybe he can even ask Lunar how old he was so he knows what age group he’s dealing with. He really hopes Lunar isn’t actually a child. He’d hate to think that a child knows what dildos and the c-word are or how he would even know about that stuff.

*_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Sunrise sat perfectly still on the couch, leaning on the couch’s back like a swine. But it wasn’t like he had control of his back either, with it flip flopping on him whenevr he tried to move, let alone get up.

He knew he should technically be fully healed. Now that he was awake for enough time to think, he recognizes what that space was earlier. The rainbow clouds in a void, the healing space. In serious injuries, angels can go into a comatose state that super heal their injuries. But it could never perform the miracle of re-growing limbs or overcoming disabilities. That was for a priest with the divine permission to do so. It also never guarantees normalness. It sped up the normal healing process and the body’s consequences, hence why he feels like he hasn’t moved in a month and how his back muscles suffer from underuse. If he was awake while healing, he could have been getting his muscles used to not having a certain weight on them.

For now though, he avoided thinking about those voices and what that general said. Speaking of…

He could have sworn those horns on his head were not only real, but like a ram’s…

Regardless, he has accepted his current state as he barely watches the television, instead just staring at the colors and bringing himself back to that rainbow bliss. Especially since… [Earth?, yes, Earth!] left him here while she helped him get some coffee. Or something? She had mentioned a frustration of running out of tea, so she had tripe made sure he was going to be fine before going up some stairs to make a batch of something. He assumes she’s having to find the coffee ingredients in a pantry or storage unit. Why it would be on a different floor, he didn’t know. But he was trying to prepare for a lot of non-logic in Hell.

From what little he saw, the kitchen was small. The hallway looks dark, and the stairway looks… foreboding. Or at least, the sight of the only two steps he could see were.

Listening to Earth's advice from earlier, he sighed a deep breath as he covered his head with another thin blanket, covering the pillows keeping him sitting upright. He felt a nice warmness, but started to miss his halo. But maybe he can get it later. He wouldn’t want Earth to clean up after his tantrum-

The door opens with a slam and Sunrise’s breath hitches.

“God, I hate that lady! I hate Moon! And I hate… I hate being so cute!”

That was not Earth.

It was a higher pitched male voice with a hint of a Brooklyn Accent.

He felt a weight shift on the couch as he sneaked a glance.

It was a demon.

He saw the demon face down on the couch, looking exhausted as they stayed laying like a ragdoll. He feared when the demon would look up and see him huddled in so many blankets and pillows. But after 1,440 seconds passed..., the demon remained still, it’s small snore giving away that it's still alive.

Maybe if he formed a knife now… maybe he could-

No. Something about the demon made him terrified. Like there was something about the demon that made them an abomination to all that is orderly and right in the world, but soothing at the same time… Like a siren’s call. Dangerous but something slightly…

“LUNAR?”

The angel almost jumped out of his skin at the call. He wasn’t the only one as the demon fell off the couch and groaned. Sunrise was quick to flop on his side, dispersing the pillows, hoping he’d be mistaken for a pile of pillows as he curled under the covers.

“Lunar, there you are!”

Sunrise heard a growl in front of him.

“What do you think?! That I’d stick around for your little sorry ass? Last I checked, you don’t need an adult to escort you places!”

A raspy voice groans.

“Is this about the coupon or the business meeting? I don’t care what you did with the coupon, but the business-”

“NEITHER! SHOVE YOUR ENTITLEMENT UP YOUR ASS! I'M NOT A CHILD AND ESPECIALLY NOT YOURS!”

Sunrise tries his hardest to not shake like an earthquake as he gets scared. Two demons? And when did that raspy one get behind him???

Such yelling. Such hate and malice.

And this was where he wound up. Maybe that rage would be in his future… if he lived that is.

“HEY! Where are you going, you coward?!”

The angel heard heavy thumps on the floor, then on hollow wood. The raspy voice must have went up the stairs and the demon followed. Chancing a peek, he sees no one around. But he hears a voice that sounded like it was coming closer.

“Can you two be civil? Here I was, wanting to talk to you two. But I don’t think you’re ready. So instead, I want you two to talk out your problems respectfully and calm yourselves before you think of coming downstairs!”

It was Earth.

“Don’t give me that Lunar. I’ve been seeing this tension and I won’t have it. So. What happened? And where how you two been?”

Sunrise barely heard enough of Earth’s voice, which was followed by the other two voices talking about something in a quiet enough volume to sound muffled from here. He picked up the words ‘shoe’ and ‘stupid’ from the demon he saw, and he heard ‘immature’ from the other one since he had a very low pitched and quiet voice.

“Lunar! Language! This is an unwinding of tensions…”

He couldn’t hear the rest of the sentence as it quieted to a muffle. But he picked up on how Earth scolded someone for their language. Because why would she do that? They were in Hell. But he found himself respecting her more for that, showing how much of a saint she truly was.

Maybe she should have the halo instead…

He found himself getting sad, only to pull himself away and concentrate on the still-on television. Maybe that was another factor to why he couldn’t hear the conversation upstairs clearly.

The next thing he knew, he felt a hand on his shoulder. The sight of Earth’s face as he whipped his head back helped him resist screaming. That, and his sore throat. Wait… did he fall asleep?

No. He would have not been to readily alert to just snap his attention.

And he wouldn’t feel as tired.

“Here you go. Sorry about the yelling. I promise they’re better than they seem. Today just seems like a bad day for everyone.”

He sees her hold out a bottle of orange liquid with yellow swirls. He looks up at her and she gives a small smile to his confused frown.

“This a potion to give you alertness and passive energy. It’s not my favorite brew to give since it's addictive, but it’ll have to do. Besides, I like how it tastes like lemon sorbet!”

Sunrise took a look at his new drink with contemplation.

“Sunrise.”

Earth gave him an uncertain smile.

“Pardon?”

“My name. It’s Sunrise.”

She smiles brighter. “Oh! How lovely! It’s nice to finally be acquainted with you!”

Sunrise moves his cheeks to smile back, but it probably doesn’t look as good as it should. But it seems to appease Earth as she looks away.

“Ooo! The geographic channel has lemurs!”

The angel looks to see that there are indeed lemurs on the screen as the narrator drones on about Africa and specifically Madagascar.

He glances to the box to try and be engaged to the show as he gulps down his drink, but specifically finds himself looking to Earth as she fawned over the babies and asked him how he felt about some fact the narrator said before getting distracted again.

He felt a little light grow in his heart as he realized that she reminded him of the kids. Youthful, easily enraptured in various simple things, and the innocent joy that shined the brightest with every smile.

If he never did anything angel-like again, he hopes, no, swears that he will do anything to protect her.

In soul, body, mind, and spirit.

No one will hurt his angel.

Chapter Text

“NEITHER! SHOVE YOUR ENTITLEMENT UP YOUR ASS! NOT EVERYTHING ABOUT YOU!”

Earth jumped as she heard the scream, accidentally dropping the bottle she currently had and spilling the potion on herself. While she was glad her pinkish-dress was rubbed with wax this morning to make it waterproof, she found herself at a peak of emotions she just now realized was there.

Well, looks like the boys are home. Along with their foul attitude that kept popping back up.

She told herself to calm down. Moon and Lunar fighting wasn’t too out of the ordinary, but she can handle-

“HEY! Where are you going, you coward?!”

She heard her own footsteps stomp out before she heard Moon’s. The door had barely opened when a wall of thorny vines blocked the way to Moon and Lunar’s rooms, stopping Moon as Earth looked to the Imp with the gaze of someone DONE with everything. Sure enough, Lunar’s anger simmered into uncertainty.

“Can you two be civil? Here I was, wanting to talk to you two about something important as soon as I could. But I don’t think you’re ready to hear about that until this is resolved.”

She looked back and forth between Moon and Lunar so they can see how fed up she is.

“So instead, I want you two to talk it out respectfully and calm yourselves before you think of coming downstairs!”

If Lunar could be any redder, he would have.

“As if Moon’s capable of respecting me! All he does is undermine me-!”

“Don’t give me that Lunar. I’ve been seeing this tension coming from the both of you and I won’t have it. So. What happened? And where have you two been?”

With her hands on her hips, she looked between Moon, who seemed to be spacing out with a confused look on his face, and Lunar, who looked to be fuming with a grumble. One more look Moon’s way and he broke out of his trance and spoke first.

“I went to go deliver that shipment with Lunar because I wanted to take him shopping for shoes afterwards. And I did. But when we were leaving the store, he got mad.”

“I only went because you kept bringing up my perfectly fine footwear and wanting to take me to a shoe shop. I was going to go anyways, but sure. Thought I had nothing better to do. Turns out, Moon wanted to pity me and that stupid lady from the shop thought I didn’t have common sense!”

Moon sighed. “It’s not always common sense! And it wasn’t pity! You know, for someone that keeps demanding respect, you’re very immature. Why did you even have to storm out like that?!”

“Moon…” Earth tried to warn.

 “I fucking wonder why!” Lunar exclaimed with his fists balling up besides him and stepping a bit too close to Moon.

“Lunar! Language! This is an unwinding of tensions and you two are not going to bicker like children!

At this, Lunar seemed to get tense, practically shaking.

“Lunar, Moon. I want to two to get along. Not just because I live here, but because you two are in a work relationship. Therefore, you need civility. Come with me.”

Earth then opened her door and stepped in to gesture at the two to step inside. They both do with an awkwardness about them. Earth closed the door behind them, dissolving her spell in the hallway before summoning some plants to act as a table and three chairs for them to sit. Once seated, the boys facing each other on the sides and Earth at the head, Earth gives them both as stern of a look she could.

“Now, Moon. I want you to tell me what happened at the store. After you are done,” Earth then looks to Lunar, “I expect you to factually confirm things for me. We will go back and forth until I feel you two are able to talk to each other privately. So Moon?”

Moon takes a moment before sighing once more.

“I think the main thing that started this was paying for Lunar’s stuff. He wanted to ask how much the price was when an attendant asked me to a meeting room. When Lunar tried to follow, he was told not to and I even told him he could go back to the house without me. But when the attendant gave him some coupon for Ice-cream, he tore it up and stormed out. And I didn’t see him until I came back.”

Moon then paused to look to Lunar, who was glaring back at him with crossed arms.

“I was GOING to talk to you, but all you did was hurl insults at me. And quite frankly, I don’t appreciate that. Especially today after the stunt you pulled yesterday.”

Earth cleared her throat.

“Thank you Moon. Now Lunar, try to be as factual as you can. And please keep Moon’s words in mind when it comes to assumptions.”

Lunar sighed to himself, using his legs to push at the table so his chair was leaning back on two legs.

“Some of that was right. But I wasn’t trying to go to the meeting. I’ve been in the business awhile. I’m not that dumb. I just wanted you to answer my f…very relevant question on how much the stupid shoes cost! And right now? I’d like that receipt so I know you’re not lying.”

“Lunar, I don’t think-“

“No, I’ve got it.”

Moon then proceeded to open his phone and show it to Lunar and Earth as if to show them both the truth.

She saw the receipt with a decent tab on it, only for the purchase to be voided for a “Ally Discount”.

The Imp’s eyes narrowed in distrust.

“Am I really to believe you got these for free? Then why did Violet Beauregarde take your credit card in the first place?”

“Because I almost paid full price for them. All I wanted was to do you a favor as my runner.”

Before Lunar could talk back, Earth spoke up with a hand up to interrupt him.

“Perhaps, this is where I interrupt a bit before you two talk further.”

She then turned to Moon.

“Moon, I think you had good intentions, but I don’t think Lunar appreciated the gesture like you thought he would.”

Lunar seemed surprised as she continued.

“While it is nice to give gifts or cover financial burdens, you must understand that it is a big deal for you to spend a lot on him. And some people are not comfortable with having others spend a lot of money on them, especially since we have not known you for too long. So maybe it would be fair to assume that you may have accidentally made Lunar uncomfortable?”

She looked to Lunar for confirmation, to which he seemed better focused on being calm.

“Yeah. How am I supposed to know they’re even my shoes? If I’m your child, what’s to stop you from taking them as punishment later on, or to use them as leverage against me later?”

“Okay, where did this ‘my child’ thing come from?! I know you’re not my kid! You’re my runner.”

Lunar huffs, “Everyone treats me like a kid. Maybe you didn’t see it, but that lady? She literally used the same tone people used for kids and offered a free coupon for kids! And you know what? I bought my own damn ice-cream! Boozy ice cream as well! Well, with a low alcohol count since I hate feeling tipsy, but still!

The Sinner and Princess then looked to Lunar in shock.

Lunar scoffed, “…What? Do you seriously think I’m underage? Unbelievable.”

Lunar then fished in his pockets to reveal his ID. Sure enough, it had the ‘+18’ tag on it, along with his year of birth.

“You- You’re in your mid-twenties!?” Moon said, shocked as Lunar nodded.

Earth looked to Moon with a further look of surprise.

“You hired him without checking his identification?”

Moon shrugged and crossed his arms casually, though he had a slightly guilty look. “When you live in Hell, you learn not to question some things.”

Earth wasn’t sure how to take that but turned to Lunar.

“Lunar… I may understand your reasons, but I don’t like how you resort to hurtful assumptions, which then causes you to lash out and upset people further when these misconceptions could be easily resolved. So please refrain from using awful words and try to see things from Moon’s perspective. And try to give him the benefit of the doubt. Please?”

Lunar didn’t seem too pleased with the minor correction, but softened up when Earth added her small plea.

“Fine… I’ll try to not judge. As ‘bad’”

Earth nods and turns to Moon, who also nods at her and gives her a gentle scoot gesture. As much as she is somewhat uneasy about leaving them to their own devices, she knew she had to have faith that they can act like adults. And she still has that guest…

Earth simply pours out the last of her potion before taking one to bring down to the angel.

“Remember, be nice!” She says as she leaves her room, closing the door as she starts to worry about how the angel may have reacted to all the further yelling. She takes a moment to take a breath, feeling weirdly fatigued from trying to mediate Moon and Lunar’s conversation.

But what if it doesn’t work?

For weeks, Moon and Lunar seem intent to not get along. She knew that when she was in the castle, some of the new workers would not be cooperative with the fellow staff until they learned to work together. Or got fired; that was always a possibility. But it seemed wondrous when they did learn to fit in, no matter how shy or troublesome they first were. Some say that that’s what happens when people live and occupy the same space. They either have stronger bonds, or give up. But that kind of relationship typically has some sort of opposition before the two opposed properly learn from it.

As she leans against the wall with a forearm against it for support, Earth feels a small tear roll as she tries to pull it together. Because she’s too strong to fall apart.

Moon and Lunar will get it together, especially with her help.

The angel will be able to get it together, with her help.

And she can’t help unless she is strong.

So she takes a breath, wipes her tear away, and stands up straight before making her way down the steps.

*_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

So, Moon thinks, this is Earth’s room.

It still has many boxes, but it’s interesting that the only two things officially established are the bed and the cauldron. Well, those and now the new makeshift furniture.

...How has the constant vine and plant usage not torn holes in the house? Where do the roots go?

A quick snap of the fingers draws Moon’s gaze to Lunar’s disgruntled face.

“I guess if we have to talk, I’d rather make it plain and simple. I don’t want to do this longer than we have to.”

Moon sighs before humming his agreement.

“So, ground rules.”

Lunar nods, listening to Moon.

“This is my house. I am the one that is keeping a roof on your head. I’ll try not to pull that card, but I don’t like disrespect. Which, may I remind you that you’ve been inching closer to the longer you’ve stayed here. So as a future rule of thumb, when I’m being standoffish, non-talkative, and more snippy than usual, then can whatever problem you have with me can wait. It won’t help anyone if you piss me off. And with how things have been going lately, those days may be coming soon.”

“Okay. Now my turn. I am aware that I am small. I am aware I look like a kid. If I’m in a good enough mood, I don’t mind acknowledging I’m short. Because I am. But what I am not, is a kid. I am an adult. So DON’T call me a child.”

“So short-stack is fine?”

Lunar’s face furrows slightly before nodding.

“But Junior isn’t?”

Lunar takes a second to look at him with a haunting gaze.

“…Seeing as I wanted to kill you just now, yes.”

Moon thins his lips and nods.

“Got it. Also, I only expect of you to do your job when you need to. Not that you haven’t! It’s just the idea that outside of ‘business hours’, you are not required to do as I say. Like you said, I’m not your keeper.”

Lunar’s gaze softens, eyes down in consideration.

“…I guess I’ll let you know that I’ll let today’s incident slide. I don’t like it, but I guess we learned something? But don’t pull that again.” He says while pointing to Moon. “You’re already giving me a house with free water and electricity. I don’t need you to buy me further.”

Moon opens his mouth to argue, but feels the weight of today’s events just… make him want to take a nap.

“Sure Lunar. Whatever. I guess I’ll ask next time? Anyway, I have nothing else to address for now and I’ve got to go check up on the special thing in my room.”

Lunar scoffs as he jumps down from the chair.

“Then say hello for me. And let me know when you need my help to dump him somewhere.”

Moon feels a twist in his conscious at the words. He isn’t sure why. After all, he told the Imp himself that he was going to dump the angel back in an alleyway once they was done healing.

“… What if I don’t?”

Lunar was on his way to leave when he looks back at Moon.

“You… want to keep her? I thought you-“

“I know! I don’t even know why, but I… can’t just leave them to die.”

Lunar gives him an uncertain gaze, full of judgment before he sighs.

“You do realize how crowded it already is here, right?”

Moon gaze becomes focused as he pushes the door open for them both.

“I don’t plan on staying here for long, they can have their room to themselves soon.”

He just misses Lunar’s disappointed expression as he is glad the thorny wall is no longer blocking their rooms. He trudges forth and quickly unlocks his door before striding in the room-

The angel isn’t there.

His nonexistent heart stops as he looks around the room. An obvious dent in the wall that was there when he left, the vacancy of the beanbags, the pushed dresser,

The open balcony door.

Moon rushed to the balcony and saw nothing except the bandage, caught on the balcony’s handrail.

The next thing he knew, he cracked the wall behind him after he threw the hardest punch he could. He knew he was probably screaming some choice words as he punched once more before finding himself knocked to the ground by a strong gust. Furious he looked up to see Lunar, the other balcony door closing on its own behind him.

“What the heck is going on?!”, the Imp asked.

Moon seethed, pointing to the bandage.

“The angel’s gone.”

*_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Lunar swears up a storm, walking in a circle before facing Moon again.

“What do you mean you lost her?! She… she couldn’t have gone far!

Lunar jumps to crouch on the railing to get a vantage sweep as Moon gets up, both eventually scanning the streets.

From the corner of his eye, Moon curls his fist as his face twists in frustration.

“I haven’t seen them since this morning. They could be anywhere…”

“There!”

Lunar points out a spot of golden blood right below them, which then prompts the Sinner to jump down and swing on some kind of rope. He simply catches himself with his wind, which he’s been using easier lately, and lands to see Moon’s hand graze the ground in contemplation.

Lunar immediately thinks of an idea, but he knows Moon won’t like it one bit. But he knows it’s their best bet at the moment, with Moon looking so distraught.

“…I think we need to tell Earth.”

Moon pounds the ground once before facing the Imp.

“No! Why?! It’s bad enough we have a missing exorcist, we can’t have a missing prin- why would we need her??”

The Imp felt strangely calm as he looked to the door.

“I know she doesn’t know much about the city, but she does have a grimoire. A book full of all kinds of spells. And to use the spells, we need her help.”

He looked back to see Moon groan, probably coming to the same realization that it’s the best idea they have at the moment. But as the Sinner got up, Lunar was give a serious look.

“Once we have to explain ourselves, you have to clear up your comment from yesterday.”

Lunar chuckled as he opened the door, “Seriously? Out of everything, you’re still not over that?”

He gives a hearty laugh as Moon follows him inside, not in any mood for pleasantries.

*_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

The Sinner’s mind started racing with all the possibilities over what could have happened to the angel, but keep himself grounded as he saw Lunar approach Earth, who seemed to be currently sitting next to a pile of blankets and pillows.

Wait… why were the so many pillows?

“Earth, we need your help. Can your magic book help us find something?” Lunar asked as he jumped up to stand on the couch’s armrest. Earth looked over to Lunar and leaned forward to face him.

“Oh, um, maybe? But first since you two are doing better, may I-?”

“Not now Earth! We have an urgent situation on our hands!”

Earth, now looking concerned, gets up from her seat.

“An urgent issue?”

“Yeah! Can you please use your book so we can find something?”

Earth seems to flounder a bit, looking between Lunar and the mound of pillows and blankets before gesturing at them to stay where they are and booking it up to her room. Lunar’s head tracks her movement but Moon paces back and forth, trying to figure out what to do. How on earth is he going to explain finding an angel to Earth? Will he have to explain how he secretly hosted them in his room? And how Lunar accidently stumbled upon them?

But soon his attention is on Lunar, who went to tug off a blanket only for it to tighten to the mound. Lunar tugs harder but is met with a boot that sweeps him off his feet. But the movement led to the pile landing on the ground.

Moon quickly acts and reaches to grab the flailing blanketed figure, lifting them by the supposed lapels.

“MOON! LET THEM GO!”

Moons eyes widen as he looks to Earth, book in hand as she screams out to him with a horrified expression. She quickly runs over, depositing her book on the couch to grab the shacking figure and pulls off the blanket.

It’s the angel.

Moon nearly collapses in relief as the angel, now fully awake, looks at him with wide, electric blue eyes. Moon faintly hears Earth’s voice, but none of it mattered in the gaze of the angel, whose expression changed from frightened to… something else. It wasn’t of hurt. It was more like… wonder? No, it wasn’t happy at all. But… the Sinner swore he felt something too.

Like meeting a soulmate.

“Who… are you?”

Their voice… so quiet yet clear and crisp. So harmonious with a realistic rasp to their voice to make it real.

“…Moon. What’s yours? I never quite caught your name earlier.”

“I-Its Sunrise.”

“You’ve GOT to be kidding me!”

Suddenly Moon remembered where he was as Lunar stood beside him.

“Seriously? SUNrise? What’s with all the sky-related names in this place?! Did you name her, Earth?”

Earth shook her head. “That’s the name she gave me!”

“Uh… he.”

Lunar, Moon and Earth looked to the angel in almost disbelief, to where he tucked his face in Earth’s shoulder as a pinkish tint spread on his face.

“Oh, pardon.” She says to the angel, but then turns to the other two boys.

“Now, I apologize that this was how you had to meet, but I truly meant to tell you that that I found him outside after the poor thing… fell. He looks hurt and I was hoping you could forgive me for wanting to help him recover and possibly give him a place to stay?”

Moon couldn’t believe it! This was his chance! And as he looked at Lunar, he seemed just as surprised that this lined up with what Moon wanted in the first place! Lunar stepped back and gestured his hands and arms forward, as if to show that the decision’s up to him.

All it took now was one sentence, nay, one WORD and they could all-

“What do you mean you just found me outside your house?”

Moon seized as the angel spoke up.

“Wasn’t I in an alleyway?”

Earth seemed surprised as Moon cursed himself on the inside.

Lunar had been brought on board to his idea, Earth was blissfully unaware, but he hadn’t accounted for the angel to be of sound mind to go against his alibi!

“W-well yes. Mind my words, but you fell outside the house. And this is a two-story house in a suburban home. Or… did you crawl here and trip? I thought I heard a thud?”

The angel shook his head.

“No… I was in the alleyway after the extermination, then-”

“The extermination? That was two days ago!” Earth exclaimed. She looked up to Moon and Lunar before slowly having the expression of someone unamused.

“Lunar, Moon. Is there something you want to tell me? Or should I figure it out myself?”

Moon knew the jig was up. He took a sigh and lifted his hand to Lunar and waved him off to convey that he’d take care of this. And he did. With words ladened in guilt, he explained finding the angel in the alleyway, taking him back to the house to nurse him to health, detailing why he initially didn’t tell them about the angel’s presence and how he eventually figured it was more trouble if he told her, even mentioning how Lunar accidentally found out and how he bid the Imp to not tell Earth, all while looking to the floor. After everything, he looked up to the princess and it was clear that she was upset, but was hearing him out. After a moment of silence, she walked over to the singular armchair to place Sunrise in (who had been listening to the story attentively) and gave him back a blue blanket. She sat herself on the other couch to bury her hands in her face.

Moon felt a small stab in his soul, unsure what to do now. He looked to Lunar, who looked just as guilty, as he slowly sat on the opposite side of the big couch as well, twiddling with his thumbs as the unease clearly got to him. The Sinner decided to sit on the table and looked to his Hell-born companions before facing the angel. And surprisingly? The Angel didn’t seem bothered, with a curious look on his face.

“So... why did you save me?”

Moon let himself forget about the others in favor of having a solid conversation with Sunrise. Heh. His opposite. Go figure.

“Well, it was only fitting after you saved me.”

The angel then gave him a bewildered look.

“I did?!”

Okay, now Moon was confused.

“The base? Technically, the kids saved me, but you spared killing me when you had the chance. Wait, do you not remember???”

Sunrise squinted as he looked to the floor.

“…When was this?”

“The extermination.”

The angel looked back up at him, looking directly at his eyes.

“That explains it. I’m afraid my memories of that day are… rather painful. But… I think I remember you? One of the kids… they called you a hero, right?”

Moon nodded. The angel looked like he was going to speak more, but grimaced and hissed as his hands clutched his head.

Earth was quick to hold the angel’s hands in comfort and hush him.

“Hey, hey. Relax. There’s no pressure in waiting for you to heal. Perhaps you should get some sleep.”

Sunrise nods before Earth moves to carry him again.

“Well, I would offer my bed, but I’m afraid the smell might be a bit overwhelming for long periods of time…”

Moon barely heard Lunar mutter why they were told to talk in her room when the Sinner piped up.

“My room’s been open. He can use my mattress.”

Earth seemed hesitant at Moon’s offer, but nodded as she made her way there.

Moon took the moments to take a deep breath. It was a lot, but it did feel better to not carry any more secrets between them, no matter how painful.

Besides, he had forgotten that taking care of the angel and everything else really had happened in the span of two to three days. It felt more like a week or two to him. Maybe even a few months…

Soon, Earth came down and walked over to face the two boys, hands on her hips.

“Is there anything else I need to know? Anything at all. Because I think I’ve about had it with your secrets. And then I would like to re-heat some soup for myself before going to my room to think things over.”

Moon and Lunar looked at each other guiltily before the Imp got off the couch.

“…I made up the dildo thing on the spot? And it was my idea to get your help in getting the angel back…”

“THAT’S what you wanted to find earlier??? That’s why you needed my grimoire???”

Lunar grimaced a bit before nodding. Earth sighed before turning to Moon, to which he stood up and faced her as well.

“I’m… glad you were able to help with Sunrise. A-and keep him company. Honestly, I understand that I’ve made a lot of mistakes these past few days and I want to take this moment to say I’m sorry, but I can’t regret anything I did except hurting you. Take it to no offence, but I planned on temporarily helping him and letting him live his own life at first. Lunar knowing was a complete accident that I also wish didn’t happen. But now you know, and I’m willing to take any consequence you give me.

Now, I’m going to heat up some soup for everyone and let Sun have some before he rests for good. I’ve got to reapply his medicine anyway.”

Moon then got up and did just as he said he would, grabbing the bags from the fridge before pouring them in a pot. As he turned on the stove, he heard small footsteps approach as he saw Lunar go up the stairs, then saw Earth lean back against the counter.

“…Moon. I can sort of understand why you didn’t tell us. But I would prefer that you at least tell us these things, because I don’t like how everyone keeps lying to me. I know the crowd I’m around, but all I ask for is some honesty. That way we all aren’t so… inconvenienced.”

Moon hears a sniff from Earth and his heart clenches as he feels awful.

“…I guess I didn’t feel like shoving you and Lunar to be his nurses and making him your responsibility. Because he’s my responsibility alone.”

“Why do you think that?”

Moon thought for a bit, stirring a spoon in the pot.

“Did you see his face? More specifically the burn? That can’t be a coincidence. Especially since he spared me earlier.”

“Yes, about that… What happened then? Was that how you got cut on your shoulder?”

Moon thought back to how he had rushed home after escorting the kids to a safer room. Blood flowing from the shoulder, he figured the extermination was close enough to done that he could get back to the house. Turns out, no damage came to the house as Earth had thought to keep the doors open to the angels before they tried breaking it down. They had already done their sweep by the time Moon arrived. Earth had fretted over him, barely letting him leave for supplies during the Overlord Battle.

“Kind of? But Earth… there’s several more details I haven’t even told Lunar yet. And I’d rather wait until later for that, since today has been a lot. We all are at our talking limits, I assume. So rest up, I’ll explain tomorrow. Or Sun can. He was there too.”

“Well, Sunrise seems to have a hard time remembering what happened, so I don’t want to push him. And while I’d rather know more, I also believe I’m at my limits for today. However, is there… anything else I need to know?”

Moon thinks for a moment and gives a slight nod, fetching the bowls.

“Just one. I have to ask though… Do you know why he’s here? In Hell, I mean.”

Earth takes her bowl and thinks for a moment.

“I know he spoke of not being able to do the job he was born to do. And if he met you, spared you, and ‘fell’ by the end of extermination… then he was one of those angels? The exorcists, right?”

Moon hummed his confirmation, pouring out the rest of the bowls before facing her.

“Are you okay with that?”

Earth nods a bit.

“Well, I know how many lives the exorcists take every year and how they damage so many places, laughing at the fear of others, so I don’t approve of this whole extermination.”

“I don’t think anyone does.”

“But… I don’t get that vibe from Sunrise. And with how he said he couldn’t perform his role, maybe he didn’t take any lives and was unfairly punished for it. He seems like such a sweetheart that he would never hurt a fly.”

Moon turned from her to ‘get some coasters’ in order to hide his expression. He even wonders if she’ll believe him if he told her how ruthlessly the angel came at him, and those murderous looks that were directed at him and the Sinners behind the metal door. In fact, he’d bet his soul that those Sinners never stood a chance.

“Well, I guess we’ll speak tomorrow then. Let me know if you’d like my help with Sunrise. He can be very prone to tears.”

Moon gives her a nod as she makes her way upstairs, Lunar’s bowl in hand along with her own. She had even warped her plants to wrap around her hands as a barrier.

He used his oven mitts to carry the bowls to his own room, having the shadows open the door for him. And there on his mattress sat the angel, blanket around his shoulders as he stared at the wall.

“Uh… I have soup”

Sun took notice and watched as Moon placed the bowl next to him, removing the mitt to act as a coaster.

“Thank you, but I don’t care to eat right now. Everything hurts too much.”

Moon placed his own bowl on the dresser before grabbing the different supplies.

“Maybe some Ibuprofen will help.”

“What’s Eye-be-pro-fin?”

Moon chuckled, “Its medicine to help with pain. Just swallow two little red things and the pain will eventually go away.”

He hands the angel the meds and he swallows it dry. Moon took the time to prepare the cream.

“Is there anywhere that seems injured, or just your face?”

“My face? What’s wrong with my face?”

Moon sucks in a breath and tries to smile reassuringly.

“You’ve got a bit of a burn across your face. Let me just…”

He slathers on the cream but makes sure to try and spread it across his whole face. He wasn’t sure he wanted the angel to know that they were now twinning out with the matching pale spot.

In fact… opposite names, opposite afterlife designations, opposite color scheme, heck, now matching looks! Maybe this was why he’s been so intrigued with this angel! They looked like the two sides on a coin!

Moon finishes swiftly and lets Sun rub some excess cream off of his left check, the unaffected one thankfully, before grabbing his soup. He sits crisscross applesauce in front of the angel as he drinks his cooled stew. It wasn’t too much of a difference since he hadn’t put together a bedframe yet, so the mattress was on the ground. The angel gulped down their soup until not a drop was left. Moon finished his and took the plate from Sun before getting up.

“I’ll put this away and sleep on the beanbags. Get some rest, okay?”

He sees the angel flinch, but nod as he turns over and tucks the blanket over himself.

The sinner, not having any more capacity to think, goes down to put the dishes in the sink, goes to the bathroom to do his bedtime routine, and finally comes back to his room to get to bed early, but not before noticing Lunar walking out of his room and discovering that the Imp put another mattress in the room. The Imp claimed they had a hammock they preferred using before turning in for the night. Moon didn’t argue, as he really didn’t feel like leaving the angel to sleep on the couch and wasn’t looking forward to sleeping in the beanbags. He yawned and sighed on his new ‘bed’, slipping into a deep sleep and letting the darkness claim him as all exhaustion melted away.

Official Reference for Lunar:

Chapter Text

It was a quiet time in that household. The unsuspecting house in the gated community, whose residents would come back any day now to whatever mess the angels left. But there was one intruder who had planned to leave before the owner of the house would come back.

As such, Lunar laid in his hammock, mildly focusing on the task literally on hand as soap scraps fell, discarded on the floor for a future slipping hazard. Knife in one hand, a half done bar of soup in the other, the Imp took his time to carve out another bear totem.

Somewhere along the lines, he had been taught how to use his knife for whittling, but soon found soap carving to be not only easier but more enjoyable. Besides, any sculpture he made would just be a copy of previous designs, so he would be able to use them for showering, guilt free without the excess need to get rid of them or suffer carrying them all.

But it also gave him a face to easily melt when he wanted to rant to anyone and the talk didn’t end well.

“I mean… what am I going to do? Pay Moon for my free stuff? Of course I’d let it go.”

He looked over the detailed maw of the bear as he imagined a deep rumbling voice come from its inanimate jaws.

“Yeah, so you’ve been saying since you’ve formed my neck. Are you sure that’s the only think bothering you?”

“Well yeah. Moon is clearly the annoyance here!”

“Well, what about Earth?”

“What about Earth?!”

Some of his nails dug into the base but quickly stopped and tsk’ed himself.

“What the heck Lunar? I hope you didn’t mess up my future legs!”

“Yeah? Maybe you don’t need them. It’s not like you’re going to walk with them!”

“Yeah, but it’ll bother you that I lost my perfection to a minor anger issue.”

“Screw off! I don’t have an anger issue!”

“Oh really? No offense Lunar, but didn’t you have at least three blowups today?”

“…Shut up or I’m not carving you to be extra fluffy.”

“Fine. But… You might need to talk to a certain someone.”

Lunar had just started on the legs and was internally grateful to find that the nail marks wouldn’t affect the shape.

“That what I have you for Mr. Berin.”

“But you only carve me when you’re sorry. So who is it you need to apologize and talk to?”

Lunar huffed as he leaned back to look up at the ceiling. If he’s going to stay here long term, which he’s still wrapping his head around, then he’ll need something more than a light grey ceiling to look at.

“Again, why do that when I have you?”

“Because your apologizes to me mean shit. You know you’re sorry, but never letting the person know that makes it look like you aren’t sorry. So, I’ll ask again, who is it even? If you just wanted to rant about something annoying, you would have carved the owl with that stupid repetitive voice to egg you on.

…Pun not intended.”

Lunar dropped the bear over the pile of pillows, very much unamused, before getting out of his setup.

“Maybe… But not right now. She’s already had too much and she needs a break from us.

… From me.”

Within his head, he recalled how she was so nice after he helped her out with the thugs. And for once, she never acted entitled even though she had enough rank as a princess to do so. Or that she’s a tall lady who hasn’t belittled him… without reason.

But now she’s dealing with his temper. And not only that, she managed to get into Moon’s thick head that he didn’t want to be bought off. Besides, the only reason he let the whole shoe incident go was because what else could he do? Pay for the already-free shoes? He can’t pay Moon back for something he got for free himself.

But to be fair, perhaps it is useful to know people and have ties with various people. He never bothered with ties until his recent deal with Moon.

As much as Moon pissed him off, he did seem to be genuine in his generosity and his lack of casual social skills. And how he typically was no-nonsense about his stuff, like when Moon found them squatting at the house.

But again, Earth had gotten them the privilege to be here, yet another thing she did with no reciprocation for her efforts.

He had recently been so wrapped up that all he wanted to do right now was to make things right. But how? What would an Imp like him do for a royal like her?

…

She did seem lonely.

But did he want to approach her now? It had been a couple of hours since the whole confrontation and it’s almost the normal time for him to go to bed. Maybe… he can visit. It’s not like he directly caused this whole problem. He never chose to take in the angel.

Lunar sighed as he looked around. Here he was, talking to himself because he needed to do something about the tension he found himself in. Starting to pace, he groaned and tugged on his hair.

“Why is it that I even care in the first place? I never brought the angel here! I only told a complete lie ONCE! Why do I care that the murderous angel gets to be treated like a poor baby? Why should I care Moon wants to leave after he’s satisfied with our company? Why… Why should I care about some royal’s…?! About… how Earth feels. Clearly she’s fine now…

Whatever. This isn’t my circus. These aren’t my monkeys.”

Lunar pushed the balcony doors open and sat down in front of the railing, head against the metal.

“… I don’t understand. Nothing happened and I still feel like… Why? Why this?”

The warm metal didn’t help his head, but he soon felt his tangled thoughts unraveling in his head as a thought came to his mind.

“…I really was acting like a child. Wasn’t I?”

It felt dirty to say, so he found himself looking at the empty, deserted street with its wreckage.

“And Earth… no wonder she called me a child. I acted like a brat.”

He scoffed to himself, picking his nails a bit to flick the soap off.

“She’s done a lot for me. And all I’ve done is make her clean up after MY messes!”

This claws tightened together as he refrained from doing Moon’s anger habit.

Or he can only assume punching things was his habit after the display from earlier, and the still standing monument on the wall still.

He gazed to look at it, only for his eyes to catch sight of the angel.

Yelping, he drew his knife at the holy figure, who was leaning against the railing in a k-drama, standing in the rain way.

The angel wasn’t even looking at him or reacting to his motions! Just like Lunar a moment ago, the angel didn’t seem to have noticed his presence. The angel seemed too busy tilting her his head to the sky while their eyes were shut.

The Imp fumed as he refused to believe the angel had not triggered his alert system yet again!

He had genuinely believed Earth was next to a pile of pillows and blankets because she wanted a movie night. So when he saw a blanket that he wanted for his room, he didn’t expect resistance, or a sweep of the legs to send them both to the floor. The only thing that shook off his stunned stupor was hearing the angel’s name.

Sunrise. How stupidly convenient. What’s next? Dawn? Starlight? Cloud?

Or maybe because he and Moon were moon related, maybe even a strawberry moon, harvest moon, or blood moon!

Anyway, he shook his head as he stared at the angel, knife ready for any movement.

But… as time ticked, nothing came.

He debated on whether he should back away now, or make himself known. But one look back at the fist dent in the wall quickly deterred him from just leaving.

“Hey… Angel.

…

Sunrise?”

He stepped closer, but no reaction was made. Then again, he apparently didn’t hear him when he was monologuing besides him. So he moved until he was right next to the angel. From here, he felt like there was something… different from any exorcist he’s ever seen.

Granted, he knows the angel is missing a halo, but there’s something else he couldn’t quite put a finger on…

Reaching out, he meant to pat his arm to get his attention. But he felt a weird zing through his core and up his arm right before he could make contact, like passing along a static shock.

THAT got the angel’s attention!

The angel shrieked at the almost touch, falling to the floor and scrambling back from the Imp.

Lunar flinched as the angel panicked and started hyperventilating. But thankfully, the angel soon slowed his breathing and stared at the Imp with a wide-eyed gaze.

“P-please. Leave.”

At this, Lunar rolled his eyes and huffed a smile as he crossed his arms.

“Oh please. You can’t be that scared of little ol’ me.”

His words brought no ease to the now shaking yellow being. But he is a guest nonetheless…

“Fine. You can have some space.” He then steps back a few paces, raising his hands mildly with no harmful intent. “Now if you don’t mind, you should head inside. We don’t need you repeating ‘Gone with the Wind’ or ‘Bye, Bye Birdy.”

A weird sound [like a gyuf] came out of the angel as he clutched his heart and looked to the balcony.

“N-no. No, no, not again. I just… wanted to… Just…”

He started closing his eyes and drifting back to looking at the sky, to which Lunar approached and tried to see what the angel could possibly be looking at.

Nothing. Especially closing his eyes, there was nothing special.

“…Waiting for a girlfriend in shining armor? Maybe named Galexis?”

After a pause and noticing how the angel went back to not responding, he experimented with a boop on the angel’s nose. Yet again, without the weird sensation this time, the angel flailed a little and freaked out when he realized the Imp was just in from of him.

“Okay, what’s going on? You’re supposed to be this wicked scary angel that’s come to kill anything that moves. And now you’re just… sitting on the floor, clearly afraid of anything.”

Suddenly, a dark expression falls on the angel’s face and Lunar steps back as the angel slowly sits upright.

“Accuse me of what you’d like. But angels do not ‘kill all that moves’. Angels have a specific purpose.”

The angel shakenly gets up and Lunar realizes how tall this shirtless angel is.

“Every year, Exorcist Angels come down to punish those who deserve eternal death. Those angels are send on the authority of heaven to cut down anyone who refused thy Father and willingly lived a sinful life. Those that hurt the living and continue to hurt each other. All sworn to spare the innocent and strike down the-”

The angel collapses and falls on the ground. Not moving.

Awkwardly, Lunar stared at the angel and just barely used his foot to nudge him. This time, nothing happens.

“Uh… Sunny boy?”

“What.”

Lunar jumped a bit, not expecting an exasperated response (or any really).

“Uh… You okay? Did I give you another concussion?”

“…No? Just… tired.”

“Then why aren’t you sleeping?”

“I’d rather wait. Time will heal all.”

Lunar now lost any respect as they peer through the door to Moon’s room, seeing the very Sinner asleep and sprawled out on the mattress.

“Yeah, okay. Do whatever you want, but answer me one question and I’ll help you inside.”

“…I can’t just… here?”

“No. For obvious reasons I don’t trust you to be outside by yourself, and it’s too hot for me to stay out here.”

“…What’s your question?”

“Do you have any other friends up there with sky or space related names?”

After yet another pause, the angel managed to lift their head to look up at the Imp.

“Uh… I have a few friends I guess? Skyler… Airaloce… and no one else because it’s just the two? Oh gosh… I’ve failed them…”

The angel looked close to tears but closed his eyes and sighed and slowly made his face one with the floor again.

“Can you help me now, please? I can’t bend my back enough.”

Lunar’s gaze then caught sight of the weird indent where his wings should have been. Not missing a beat, and not about to ask for story time on how his wings clearly got ripped off, he steadily got the angel up enough so they both could get the angel to flop back on the mattress he was given. Thankfully, the angel was built like a twig, so it wasn’t that much of a problem for the Imp half his height.

“Now stay. And… I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.”

The angel stared at the ceiling and gave a small wave in Lunar’s direction as the Imp left how he entered. He went back to his room to borrow his office chair and preceded to barricade the balcony door from the outside, just noticing the angel lay there as he itched his arms.

Satisfied with his safety insurance, he walked back in his room and prepared for his bedtime when he spotted the bear. This time, he sighed as his previous dilemma was put on pause by… whatever the angel did. But… it was an interesting talk. And with a moment to distract himself from that issue, he was ready to finally man up and talk to Earth.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Dandelion juice? Looks like there’s still a decent bottle of it left.

Earth blew a bit of hair from her face as she wrote down her findings. Of course, she didn’t have to use her breath, but she always thought it was cute when Ariel did it. So monkey see, monkey do. It was simply the princess rule… and not just something she did to give herself quirks.

Messing with the pen in her hand, she remembered how she had tried interacting with the servants’ kids her age, but they would talk behind her back on how she was too boring and constantly wouldn’t shut up about her craft. So she had done her best to copy some habits of the beloved Disney princesses, since everyone loved them.

It worked, but the friendships only lasted for a week before one of them accidently hurt her in a game of soccer and Mr. Creator banned any of the kids from playing with her anymore. She needed to study more on her recipes anyways.

She shook her head and was about to move on with her inventory task when she heard a knock at her door. Probably either Moon or Lunar.

“Come in.” She said, clutching her pen a bit.

She quickly noticed Lunar’s face as he guiltily steps in. He promptly sneezed and held his finger to under his nose.

“Geez, you weren’t kidding about the scent. But not in a bad way! It’s just strong is all. Like you said.”

Earth noticed how he seemed nervous, careful not to set her off in any way.

“Yes… You know, I’m fine with you saying it stinks in here. I’m aware my nose is quite weak to potent smells now.”

“It is?”

Earth chuckles a bit.

“After ten years, how could it not? But I know it’s especially not good right now. I may have… failed a potion just now.”

Lunar walked over to her, now covering his nose and mouth with his mini cloak.

“How so?”

Earth taped her pen on the board a bit before turning to him.

“I overestimated my wares. I was going to try and brew a potion of strength so I could use my frustrations for the process, but I didn’t realize I didn’t have any mustard seeds left! So I tried to improvise with chia seeds. On one hand, it’s a decent moisturizing scrub now. But it caused part of the brew to burn into ashes.”

She gestured her hand to the pile of black powder in the corner of the room. Lunar looked at her in disbelief. Maybe about to lecture her on how she could possibly forget her own inventory, when she used to do that at the castle every day?

“Are you sure it’s safe for you to sleep here?”

Earth blinked her eyes in surprise.

“…Yes? I’ve slept in my study before.”

“No offense, but I’m pretty sure you didn’t do that days in a row AND in a room with a low roof.”

Now that she thought of it, her tower did have expansive ceilings with plenty of clear vents she would clean every night.

“Oh. Well, I’ll be fine. Most of my potions are not hazardous by the scent and I take caution with every brew.”

“Right… But maybe we should have a sleepover tonight? My room could fit another mattress.”

Earth smiled a bit. “That would be nice, thank you.”

Lunar took the opportunity to sit on a box nearby.

“So, can we talk? Or rather, can I say something?”

Earth looked back at Lunar expectantly, hoping to hear something good.

“I’m… sorry. For letting the angel stay here.”

Earth furrows her brows in confusion as Lunar looks off to the side and continues.

“I didn’t know he was here and only found out yesterday. I thought Moon would get rid of her soon but I guess she’s- HE’S staying with us now. Sorry, usually angels are girls and he kindalookslikeone but He said HE, so I’m trying to get used to that. But anyway, I lied cause Moon didn’t want me to say anything and I kinda panicked and said something to divert you from going in! Then the whole thing this earlier cause… everything. A lot happened an-”

Lunar found hands on his shoulders as Earth held him steadily looking at her.

“I… think you’re getting off topic. And… not being very specific about… ‘everything’. Perhaps you can break that down?”

Lunar squirmed and Earth gave him a moment before she realized she had something to say as well.

“I’m disappointed. I’m sorry, but with everything that’s happened, I’m a little let down. But not at you exactly.”

She stepped back and let Lunar look to her.

“I’m sorry for overstepping when you and Moon fought. But I think you both knew I had the best intentions. I want us all to live together in harmony. But maybe that was a bit much to psychoanalyze you two. Besides, I see a lot of similarities with between you both. I think you two could be great friends. But that not up for me to choose.”

Earth pulled her hair back as she looked up at the ceiling.

“I’m afraid I haven’t been the best at knowing what to do when living in a household. But I know that in many shows, household members fight over simple misunderstanding a lot! And it’s frustrating! I just want peace. And if I can’t do that here with two people… how can I do that with a whole domain?”

Lunars’s eyes widened as he got down and walked to Earth.

“But you did. And I don’t think you overstepped. We… needed that. I needed that.”

Lunar twisted the top part of his cloak, causing him to sneeze as the scent again.

“Sorry. Smells like pepper. Anyway, I don’t like saying this, but… you may have been completely right about me. What… what else can you say about me?”

Lunar looked to her expectantly as she soaked it all in. He wanted her opinion!

“Well, it’s hard to say since it’s only been a few weeks, but I regard you positively.”

She thinks back to the weeks where he would leave early in the day and come back exhausted. She recalled how he had started teaching her about some street smarts in the afternoons and how despite the rocky start with Moon, she could see them unintentionally sinc up.

“You are foremost a hard worker. You clearly know how to do your job and do it to the best of your ability. So much so that I can tell no one can disrespect you on that. And you are independent. You’ve clearly, though illegally, have made your way in life and know how to avoid misfortune.”

She could see Lunar’s uncertain smile start to fall as he clearly took her words to heart. Something clicked as she realized she may have now discovered Lunar’s love language.

“And while this may go wrong at times, you are very stubborn and you know how to fight for things you whole-heartedly believe in. And… I admire that. Everything I mentioned Lunar, you’re tough. You do everything to the best of your ability with no one that face you head on! I… don’t know how you do it.”

She smiled and sat next to him on the box, hands in her lap as she looked down it them. She didn’t want to just stare at Lunar to make him uncomfortable, but in a way, she could feel that she said the right thing.

“Uh… well. You kinda have to be.”

She furrowed her eyebrows again as she picked up on the slightly warbling tone. Looking at him, he was faced away, wiping his face.

“I guess you don’t have any firsthand experience, but I guess I make it look easy, huh?”

“…Yeah. You really do.”

After a sniff and another wipe of his face, he turned back to her.

“Well, um… so you forgive me? For… today? And yesterday.”

Earth smiled, “Yes. I forgive you for today’s behavior and yesterday’s lies.”

Lunar flinched a bit but smiled too. By this point, his cloak was in his lap. But the moment was ruined by another huge sneeze.

“Excuse you. Sorry, you might want to leave.”

“Yep. Leaving.”

Lunar covered his nose and mouth again before opening and exiting the room. But he held the door open for a bit.

“Remember, sleepover in my room. I’ll bring up the blankets.”

Earth gave him a thumbs up as he left. With a sigh of relief, she arranged the window to try and get some of that smell out, along with preparing a lemon scented freshener in her cauldron to help the room over time.

Maybe she really should set up her workroom elsewhere…

*_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Lunar went down the steps, eagerly ready to sleep tonight and fueled with her nice words. She could call him childish all she wanted, but it was so nice to hear such complements. Really… It’s what he would have liked more from him without the backhanded remarks. But Lunar ushered that thought out of his mind, determined to not have his mood tainted anymore today. He scooped up the blankets from the floor and tried to grab some blankets as well.

But then he spotted something on the floor, almost next to the wall.

A golden halo with floating triangles.

His arms spilled what he was previously holding as he stepped closer to the glowing object. Eyes wide and hands shaking, he reached out and daintily picked up the holy object.

…Was this Sunrise’s? It looked like a sun with the ‘sun rays’. But… Sunrise is an exterminator. And this halo isn’t like the ones he saw before…

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

The young Imp was bored of just playing by himself. Besides, brother could use his healing hugs today with how grumpy he’s been since this morning.

He runs through the hallways, not caring if he caused some collisions along the way. He even managed to slide just right into the entryway of brother’s office!

“Brother! Hi!”

For once, brother turned to him and was pleased.

“My little Imp! You are on time for once. Unfortunately, I’m needed for my project right now.”

The little Imp huffed and resigned to flopping on the nearby swivel chair. He then heard his brother hum.

“Actually… you’re about old enough. Want to watch me work for a bit?”

Brother stood tall over the Imp as the child nodded, quickly getting off the chair so he could see what Brother worked on! Brother did go into some boring details on the way there, something about ‘perfected’, ‘extraction’, ‘power’, and some other mumbo jumbo about some machine sounding stuff. But it was easily forgotten as they entered an office and he was lifted to the window to witness something he had never seen before!

An angel beaten and almost dead, for once. Brother told him to wait as he dropped the imp on the desk so he could watch. Something about how it was time to play his part.

He then saw Brother enter the room, only to start talking to the angel, soothing her??? The Imp was in disbelief, and kind of hurt! Didn’t Brother remember how angels are nothing but vicious lapdogs?! Besides, Brother said he wasn’t good at showing love through his words! But… then he saw the angel fall asleep. Open for Brother to snatch the black halo off her head, before walking back to the observation office with the one-way window. With a big sharp smile, he walked over and leaning forward and showing his prize to the little Imp. A big black ring with a long sharp diamond in the front. An angel’s halo right in front of him!

It was almost legendary! To see a holy object so close! He even got to touch it with his finger! But…

“Brother? Why did you take the angel’s halo when she fell asleep?”

Brother only gripped it tighter and leaned back.

“You know my name for professional settings Lunar. Anyway, you can’t take a halo from an intact angel. So I helped her go into a coma to pluck it from her.”

“But… Eclipse? Why take it?”

The smile faded as he turned his back on Lunar, hands behind him as he had one of his moments of looking off in the distance.

“Because Lunar. I intend to use this halo as just one more step forward. Something to make the heavens rue taking everything from me. From us.

Now run along now; I’ll tuck you in for bedtime. I’ve got something important to do.”

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Now with this halo in his grip, he quickly shoved it in his pocket and grabbed the blankets once again.

He wasn’t sure why he found himself wanting to hide the halo, but instincts told him he was better off keeping it for now. As he found a spot, a small medical safe in his drawers, he swore to himself that once Sunrise was able to fend for himself, he’d give it right back to its proper owner.

But right now? Sunrise was tired. Moon was clearly tired. Earth was probably tired. And Lunar was ready to sleep and not worry for what tomorrow or his dreams held.

Moon reference:

Chapter Text

Itch.

Itching.

It’s all that can consume Sunrise’s mind at the moment as the seconds tic away in his brain.

His arms aren’t the only part of him that feels crawly, but it’s the only part he can bother to reach. But no matter how much he scratches, it spreads to anywhere it isn’t being treated.

But he does get relief as soon as he hears the si- Moon snore. Weirdly enough, Sunrise finds himself drawn to the distraction of Moon’s occasional snores. But thinking about it, there was a lot about Moon that intrigued him. He had a feeling that ever since he had looked into his deep blue eyes at the end of their fight during Extermination, there was something about him. He didn’t care much after he went back on mission, but now he felt like there was something to him. Like a possible way back to heaven! But… his guts twist whenever the hope comes to mind.

Then his head hurts. For some reason, he couldn’t remember much about what happened Extermination Day. But he knew that whatever happened, it rightfully led to his downfall. But after all of his waking fits, he was too tired to care.

It was strange, having a compulsion to keep his eyes closed. But he would flip back to the multicolored clouds and he would shutter awake. He may have liked it better when he didn’t know what was going on, but he didn’t want to die via losing his mind.

And who knows what would happen to him. Maybe he’d be sold for parts? Be a toy for some demon? Used as decoration?

He shook his head and tried his best to ground himself. Unfortunately, the heavy blanket was left in the living room.

He feels his eyes burn slightly the longer he stares without blinking. Is he becoming weaker?! That might explain the stickiness and burning of his throat and mouth. Maybe he’s dying?!

No… He isn’t. Angels don’t just die.

In fact, they don’t just do anything. They at least have tasks and routines.

That’s when it hits him. Maybe that’s why he feels so uncomfortable! He needs to do something!

So after some straining and unsteadiness, he manages to get up. He tries his best to shape a flat object out of light, but the ability evades him. He chooses to believe that it’s because he can’t concentrate as he leans on the walls to hold his balance while walking down the hallway and down the stairs. He makes his way to the couch and grabs a pillow to pin to his back and then uses a nearby thin blanket to tie and hold up the pillow. This was how humans padded missing limbs… right? He figured that as long as he doesn’t bend his back, he should be fine.

Seeing the time from the clock near the television, Sunrise realized it was almost ‘morning’.

Good. Since the Hellions were asleep, he knew just what to do.

*_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Songs of early birds fill the air as the red sky seemingly burns a bit brighter. It can sometimes be confusing for newcomers to truly know the day and night cycle of hell, but at some point, the Sinners would catch on to their own cycles or just conform to the Hellborn time system. Animals were great indicator though, for those who cared to hear.

And it was to this sound that the Sinner woke up with a groan. Though was it a particular sound that woke him up so early? Or a feeling?

Moon, who had conformed to Hellborn time, took a glance at his watch and notes that the time is earlier than it usually is when he wakes up. But maybe that was because he slept earlier too?

Ever since his death, he hasn’t really needed as much sleep. But every so often, he felt better with a regular human’s 10 hours of sleep.

Sitting up, he stretched his arms above his head as he also arched his back. With a slight pop, he hums and relaxes, letting his arms drop besides him to land on the mattress. Sparing a glace, he saw the angel’s empty mattress before getting up to-

The angel’s empty mattress?!

He felt his guts sink as he double glanced at where the angel should have been.

Seriously?! How many times is he going to lose that stupid angel?!

On first thought, he scrambles to the balcony door, only to find it barricaded from the other side. He almost broke down the door in a panic before recognizing the chair was the one in Lunar’s room. So that means the angel shouldn’t have tried to escape again… in that way anyway.

As he quickly walked down the hallway, he somehow found his panicking lessoning as he had a funny feeling that everything was fine. Who knows, maybe Earth is watching shows downstairs with him again.

Just as he is starts to go down the stairs though, he hears a strange sizzling sound. Wait… did Lunar get up and start cooking? He hoped it was Lunar over Earth.

Step by step he goes down the stairs until the view is clear to see.

The angel, with a pillow tied to their back, was humming to himself as he whisked a bowl of beige. He only stopped to turn around use a spatula to flip whatever was on the stove before going back to the yellow mixture. Standing still, the angel did fine. But he saw the angel hiss in pain every time he turned back and forth, not to mention the stiffness of keeping his back straight.

“Aren’t you supposed to be resting?”

 The angel hiccupped a bit in shock before turning to realize he had an audience. Eyes wide, he just looked back as Moon like if he was a child caught red-handed with the cookie jar.

After a moment of tension, Moon made the first move and slowly walked up to him and the kitchen. He went around the island counter, to give the angel his space, and skeptically peered over the oven, only to find a big pan full of Sunny-side-up eggs. Seeing the eggs, he snickered to himself.

“Well, at least I know you can cook an egg. Or Eight.”

Looking back to Sun, he was still wide eyed, but with a more intrigued look than anything. Leaning back, Moon nodded a gesture to the angel.

“Are you just going to stand there, or…?”

It was like Sun just remembered what he was doing and broke the stare to look between the eggs and the bowl in his hands.

“R-Right. Sorry.”

Sun went back to mixing the bowl and looked back at Moon.

“Um… you wouldn’t happen to know if the others have any allergies, would you?”

Moon shrugged.

“Never told me. But none of them can’t have eggs.”

“Well, will they be coming down soon?”

Moon hums as he thinks about it.

“Earth gets up early… and Lunar is unpredictable. She often wakes him up.”

The angel hums in acknowledgement before pulling up another pan to put on the stove.

“I’m sorry, I’m afraid it’s been a white since I’ve made breakfast for more than one person.”

“Don’t be. If anything, why aren’t you still in bed? You look tired.”

It’s true. Moon sees the slightly dark shades under Sun’s eyes, almost like bad eyeshadow. Or eye bags. His movements were a bit slow and he could hear some slugginess in his voice. And maybe a worse rasp?

“I’m fine. I don’t need sleep.”

Moon frowns.

“Yes you do. Especially since you’re still in recovery. I don’t even know how you’re standing.”

“Well technically, I’m fully healed.” The angel says with a bit of tenseness in his tone.

Moon scoffs. “You want to claim that?”

He sees the angel stiffen as he starts pouring the liquid in several circles on the other pan. Ah, they’re pancakes, good to know. Sun must have found the pancake mix in the cupboards.

“I may not look fine, but it’s as good as its going to get.”

Moon leans back as he senses some bite from the holy figure. Good to know, the angel gets cranky without sleep. In fact, this is the first time he’s gotten a glimpse of the angel’s attitude when they first met. That fury… even seeing the angel docile in Earth’s arms yesterday couldn’t make him forget how much of a beast he was in a fight.

“If you say so. But Earth’s not going to take that for an answer.”

Sun gives a huff before flipping his pancakes.

“I couldn’t find the syrup.”

Moon allows the distraction (for now) and thinks to himself before climbing on a counter to reach the top shelf of a cupboard. After a bit of scrounging, he grabs the small bottle and hands it down to Sun. Once taken by yellow hands, Moon slides down to face a very concerned Sun.

“Can’t you… fly? Didn’t you have some sort of aerial transportation?”

Moon snickers a bit and goes back to leaning against the counter’s corner, where the microwave was.

“You mean my shadow chain? Nah, I’d rather not. Not when I can climb just fine.”

Sun makes no more mention as he starts plating the eggs. And with perfect timing, Earth yawns and makes her way down the stairs. She smiles when she notices Sun and Moon in the kitchen.

“Good morning boys! Sunrise, I see you’re doing better.”

“Good morning. I am.”

“Morning Earth. Sun made breakfast.”

Sun then quickly turned to look at Moon questioningly.

“Sun?”

Moon gives himself a moment to stare back at Sun in question.

“…Yeah? Sunrise… shortens to Sun?”

It was if this was news to the angel, which Moon found strange.

“Sorry, do angels not do nicknames?”

Sunrise looked away for a moment, replacing the cooked pancakes with more batter.

“We do… but ‘Sun’ is a new one.”

The angel then takes a moment to laugh to himself a bit.

“I’ve been called Sunny, Sunray, Sunshine, Sundew, and even Sundrop for an inside joke. But… never Sun. I guess we were never blasphemous enough to call me by the star in the sky. Just… byproducts of it.”

Moon frowned as he realized that was a good point. Even in Heaven, angels were careful with their words. It wasn’t just a planet earth thing. With a hum, he focuses back on the other two, to which Earth clasps her hands in front of her skirt.

“Well, just let us know if you prefer to be called a specific name. I’ll just brush my teeth and call Lunar down.”

She then proceeded to go up the stairs to call Lunar for breakfast before entering the bathroom herself. Just as Sun finished plating the pancakes, Earth had exited the bathroom just for Lunar to rush down the stairs to go to the bathroom right after. Moon swears he’s due to fall down those stairs someday.

It didn’t take long before Sun was ushered to sit down on the armchair (by Earth of course) and Lunar came out, still in his pajamas to accept the food. Earth and Lunar sat on the couch while Moon sat on the floor with his food on the coffee table that came with the house, but looked like it came from a thrift store.

“We need a new coffee table.”

Moon hummed his agreements with Lunar as he dug in. Surprisingly, everything tasted just right, if not a little under salted with the eggs, as the three ate without complaint. But Moon did see Earth slide half of her food to Lunar, which the Imp accepted without problem. Earth eventually turned to Sun after finishing her one egg and half-pancake.

“This was delicious Sunrise, thank you!”

Moon saw Sun force a smile before going back to eating his own food… rather slowly. Like it was hard to swallow…

“You need some juice?” Moon asked.

Sun seemed to scrunch his face a bit.

“Ith fine. Jus… hard to eth.”

Earth perked up at this in concern. “Does your throat hurt?”

After a moment, Sun nods and tries to swallow properly.

“Hey Moon? Can I have some of those red things again? Maybe it’ll help my mouth from the burning and sticking…”

“Water. You need water.”

Just as Moon said that, coming to the realization, Earth took her plate and fork to the sink before grabbing a glass to fill it with water. Without missing a beat, she walked back to hand over the full glass to the angel. He looked at it and her questioningly before taking a sip. Almost instantly, that sip turned into two-gulps gone as he drained the cup in seconds flat.

“Ah… much better.”

Sun shifted to get up, but Earth took it to refill it herself. But on her way back with a full glass, she warned Sun to take it slow. He heeded her advice, but was clearly hooked on finishing his glass.

“Moon, did you never give him water?”

Moon flinched as he realized Earth was giving him a judging look.

“He… never asked?”

Earth narrowed her eyes and Moon huffed.

“Look, he’s been asleep for two days straight! What was I going to do, pour water down his throat while unconscious? And again, he never asked! How was I supposed to know he was dying of thirst?!”

Sun finished his glass and Earth let him have a third while he finished his plate. Clearly, he was able to take his food much better, to the point Moon felt sorry he didn’t think to give him water earlier. But at the same time…

“Well, the food was good anyways. Not bad for a killer angel.”

Eyes were on Lunar as he placed his empty dishes to the side on the couch.

“…What? The angel cooks good. I haven’t seen anyone cook an egg like that in a household. I’ve only seen it in restaurants.”

Sun raises his eyebrow but doesn’t say a word. But Moon smiles.

“Might want to get used to it. He might be the best cook out of all of us.”

“I actually prefer baki-”

“As if! Earth has made some great eggs!”, Lunar exclaimed.

Earth turns away in shame as Moon just smiles wider.

“You sure about that?”

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Two days ago (or the day after Extermination):

Moon had walked down when he saw Earth on the couch, reading that book again.

“Morning, Princess Earth.”

“Oh!” She turned to face him. “No need to call me by my title. Just call me Earth.”

“Right.” Moon says as he grabs three eggs from the fridge and some hot dog wieners. Preparing the pan to cook his eggs, he saw a small pot with four eggs submerged in boiling water.

“Boiling eggs, huh?”

Moon used a bowl to beat his eggs with a fork as Earth replied.

“Yep! I heard it was easy to make and I think Lunar might like eggs.”

“Not for you?”

“Oh, I actually don’t really eat this early after waking up. I wait until around ten for my first meal. But I did already have my light snack.”

Moon hummed as he poured the eggs on the pan. He barely remembered to add salt and pepper as the eggs started solidifying. So as he stood there, messing with the eggs to make sure they were scrambled, he started to look to the boiling eggs. It had been around five to ten minutes and Earth had not once gotten up from the couch.

 “Uh… Earth? Are you going to get your eggs?”

He heard a confused noise from her.

“Don’t I have to wait an hour before they’re done?”

Moon’s head whips around so hard that it could have twisted and flown off his neck.

“How long have you been cooking them?!”

“Uh…” Earth stammered nervously as she put the book down. “about twenty-five minutes?”

Moon’s face looked at her in disbelief.

“Earth… it takes ten minutes.”

Earth gives him a blank look before quickly getting up, reaching the pot, and pouring the water in the sink. Moon had to quickly turn on the cold water and watched as Earth took the eggs and eventually got an egg to crack, showing just how rubbery and inedible it was. Moon wanted to laugh, but bit his tongue at the sight of Earth disappointed.

“Uh… you can try again. I think there’s ten more eggs in the fridge.”

So due to her miscalculation, Earth then proceeded to boil two eggs and anxiously kept asking Moon if she was ‘doing it right’. Meanwhile, he had started slicing the wieners before adding it to the pan. He was mixing the blend to make sure it cooked evenly, not noticing Earth eventually going quiet.

As he poured out his eggs, he noticed Earth holding an egg in her hands as the other egg lay on a plate, cut in half to reveal that it was just short of being a soft-boiled egg.

“Uh… what are you doing?”

Without looking at Moon, due to her concentration on the now-steaming egg, she answered.

“I think I took them out too early, but I’ve learned how to warm tea with my hands, so I’m hoping it can quickly cook it the rest of the way.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Moon spots Lunar rushing down the stairs to enter the bathroom, giving Earth so little time to finish his breakfast.

After a minute, she cooled it in cold water and removed its shell. Moon had started making himself a bagel and watched as Earth went to slice it in half.

…Turns out, her using her powers was akin to using a microwave.

Leading to… explosive results.

Earth looked so shocked and disappointed that he just wordlessly puts what was going to be his plate of eggs in front of Earth. She looked to and from him and the plate before sighing at Moon ignoring her (to spread cream cheese on his bagel) and cleaning the remains of the egg. Making a mental note that this is one step to eventual improvement, she called to Lunar that breakfast was ready. Besides, she had something else to talk to them both anyways.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Earth’s cheeks swirled white again as Moon laughed retelling what had happened.

“I-It was a minor mistake! I didn’t realize eggs were that difficult to make.”

Her face flushed in embarrassment as she noticed Lunar.

Lunar was leaning forward with hands over his mouth in contemplation, likely wanting to laugh but being too polite not to.

“I mean… I can teach you.”

All eyes looked to Sunrise as he placed his empty dishes in his lap.

“I don’t mind if you need help.”

Earth’s heart leaped at such a sweet offer. She smiled as she took Sunrise’s and Lunar’s dishes to the sink.

“Thank you Sunrise. I’m glad someone wants to see me improve.”

Now it was Moon’s turn to look away in embarrassment. But maybe this was just the family dynamic of getting along.

Hold on… family?

Now that she looked closer, she realized the potential of their little group…

Moon, a sly successful man with the generosity to keep people around him.

Lunar, an outgoing bold guy who just wants validation in his life.

Sunrise, the outcast who needs to heal mentally and physically.

And her! The spunky princess ready to help them all grow closer together as she learned how to be the best leader Hell could ask for!

She couldn’t help but smile fondly as Lunar started some sort of conversation on what the plan is for the day. She figured that whatever Moon and Lunar did, she could probably spend today on a project she’s been meaning to do for so long…

“Meh. I’ll probably start apartment hunting later today.”

HUH?!

Lunar’s what?!

“Yeah… and I need to check on my apartment back in the central city too.”

Earth’s mouth hung open as she finally picked up on Lunar and Moon’s conversation.

Specifically, how they wanted to move? She though Lunar was fine staying with them! And Moon lived here!

But as their words faded, Earth had to stop and think. What was she thinking, figuring that they would stay happily living together? They could make the perfect family, but in the end, they all had their separate goals in life.

Moon and Lunar were partners now, but they didn’t have to live together. Sunrise has a life to figure out. And her… she was a princess, bound for the throne eventually. All of them had paths pointing away from each other. And as an adult, she had to respect that.

Besides, Moon and Lunar did tend to fight. Maybe this was for the best. And it wasn’t like she’d be alone. She had Sunrise! They could meet with the others every so often like friends. And plus, it’s not like they’re leaving today! So she would cherish their time for as long as she had them around.

Shoving aside her selfish feelings, she dedicated herself to finishing the dishes.

*_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Sunrise could feel his heart thump heavily in his chest. He couldn’t exactly tell why, but he didn’t like how things were going. Lunar leaving was fine. He still didn’t like his freakish presence for some reason. Moon… It had only occurred to him that he was in hell, so not everyone would want to care for someone sick and injured. It’s not like Moon would be tending to someone who deserved it. And yet, and anger and desperation filled for him to keep Moon close and available. But his final straw was Earth, looking like she wanted to say something but was too sad to.

Pushing aside his own anxieties in favor of anyone else, he tried looking around for something to cause an activity or distraction.

“Oh! What’s that?”

The three Hellions turn to Sun in question before following his pointed hand.

Moon looked back with a raised eyebrow. “Those are boxes. With furniture.”

Sun felt like snapping at him that he knew what boxes were when Earth clapped her hands together in realization.

“That’s right! Boys, I actually need your help today!”

Yes! Earth grew happier as the others looked confused.

“You see, I’ve been meaning to use the resources you’ve acquired Moon to refurnish the whole place. But… since I’m not the only one who lives here and I’m a bit indecisive, I want your help to set up the place!”

Moon gets up and puts his hands to his hip. “And what’s wrong with how it is now?”

“Oh please!”, Lunar scoffs, “It’s all grey, grey, black, some brown, and grey! This place needs the makeover.”

Moon huffs but Sunrise’s spirits life as he sees a relenting gaze from Moon before he sighs.

“Fine. Just don’t break anything. I can probably still use it later.”

“If you’re a hoarder, you can just say it.”

*_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

After a very stern look from Moon, Lunar’s forced apology and promise to not be too harsh, and keeping Sunrise from getting up by wrapping a weighted blanket around him, things went off smoothly.

That whole morning and noon was spent re-doing the whole living room, kitchen, and bathroom.

The kitchen was used to have grey cabinets and black countertops, but Moon and Earth came together to change the coloring altogether. The walls were colored a powder blue, the cabinets were made to be a nice brown, the countertops were washed white along with the floors, and the sink was colored bronze to match the wood. Brown wooden shades were added to the windows as Lunar replaced the fake fruit’s bowl from a pink one to a white one. He also added some wooden stools to also match the brown and white motif.

Unfortunately for Lunar, the grey faux wood flooring stayed. As did the grey sofa. But there was a new white armchair placed opposite of the black one. A beige coffee table stood proudly in the middle above a nice simple carpet of cream. The window blinds were also beige, but the cabinet below the table was the same brown as the kitchen. But added to the room was now a table to the far side of the room near the hallway, with two simple wooden chairs to seem like a small dining section. The lamp accented the room, along with a plant in the corner near the armchair. When asked by Earth where half of them would sit if all four wanted to dine together, Moon pointed out that the kitchen stools could be moved for extra seatage.

Since Sun seemed to be zoning out again, Moon, Lunar, and Earth went to figure out the main bathroom to allow the angel to rest.

Clearly, Moon realized the light blue motif the others wanted, so he just colored the room a light blue before gathering anything else blue and white. Lunar insisted on having the toilet and sink (which was on the right and left side respectfully) turned white, but allowed the tub (which was straight ahead) to still remain grey and white. Lunar put a towel on the towel rank next to the tub and put a basket full of other various towels, along with placing bath rugs around the tub, toilet, and sink. Meanwhile Earth set up the live potted plants and the light-up tree lamp in the left corner near the bathtub and Moon sets up the new cabinet and the shelving next to the sink. After Earth’s plants set up a huge mirror next to the toilet, the three started filling the shelves with various bathroom necessities.

With a final touch to all the maybe-essential (extra) items to put on the middle and top shelf, the bottom one was where Lunar put his basket of hygiene products and where Earth used one of the extra baskets to fill hers, since Moon had thankfully gotten plenty of products during the Overlord War. But he decided to put aside several men’s/unisex products to the side for him and Sunrise to distribute amongst themselves.

After that, the three dispersed accordingly. Too tired after organizing the three rooms, Earth went to relax with Sunrise in the living room by watching a cooking channel together. Sunrise, who had been zoning out, was able to stay somewhat grounded by commenting and sharing tips when questions came up. Lunar left with the same intent as before, but he did tell Moon he would be looking for new gigs as well. Moon warned him to make sure he wasn’t too busy, to which he agreed that he remembered the deal between them. Once that was settled, Moon gave Sun another round of medicine and some water before telling the room that he was going to get some refrigerated groceries, mainly eggs, since Moon wasn’t able to overstock them as he did with all the other supplies. He did make a mental note to move some of the extra furniture and boxes away, but Earth did tell him to go to her for help, since she had her magic plants. Seeing as how the plants easily moved the couches and heavy boxes, he didn’t argue with her.

As he left that afternoon, he started noticing a line in front of the community of multiple cars and people. Clearly, these were the Hellborn that lived in the neighborhood before and were now moving back to their home. He did feel a tinge of anxiety upon how he would need to be really careful about keeping the princess and angel a secret. But in the end, he had developed a nice sense of peace.

No more secrets, no more hard feelings (hopefully), and everyone knew what their next step is.

What could go wrong?

Chapter Text

After about four stressful days full of activity, things have finally slowed down. Thankfully, things have started calming down since the extermination, so Moon felt better about asking the gated community for some extra keycards to be let in to the community that morning.

After gaining the three tickets to have their identification go through as residents, Moon left to tackle his new shopping list.

This time, made by the angel himself. As he did before, the angel woke up early every day to cook breakfast before cleaning the apartment like he was hired good money to do it. But when asked, Sun just waved Moon off about how it was a thing to work ‘as if working for the Lord’. Anyway, Earth did try to take over for cooking to let the angel rest, but after realizing she needed his constant attention and involvement anyway, she just supervised as he went about meal-making. She could learn by watching and made sure he wouldn’t collapse or get hurt. And despite Sun saying he preferred baking, he knew quite a lot of meals to feed everyone with, even if he only ate in the morning and in the evening. But Earth did insist on doing the cleaning for him, specifically ones that involve movement like sweeping and mopping. But with that, Sun had to instruct her on which cleaning products to use. So due to his involvement, Sun had written all the supplies and groceries he needed on the backside of scrap paper.

Honestly, Moon was fine with that. Sun seemed to have no qualms about making Moon spend money on the household, but maybe he didn’t realize it? Anyway, Moon had one stop to make before attacking the list.

See, Sun wasn’t the only one keeping tabs of the home’s wellbeing. In fact, Earth was watching the others’ health and reported to Moon that ever since they gave him water, he’s been drink a lot of it throughout the days, as if addicted. Not only that, he never even went to the bathroom, even after Earth pointed it out to him. So she had asked Moon if he knew how to help the angel’s constant thirst problem, so which he mentally groaned because he knew a certain sport’s drink belonging to the company of a certain scaly Sinner.

And because the gator is less likely to pull extreme nonsense before noon, Moon had decided to go to his place first. And he really needed to make a good deal with them, so he made his way to the vine infested tower

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

“Overlord Montgomery is ready for you now.”

Moon nods to the receptionist before he passes by her to enter the door to the stairwell. Summoning his chain, he practically flies in a matter of seconds before just walking in. And there sits the gator, missing his white and pink scarves today.

“Checkers! What brings you from the shadows of whence you came?”

“I’m here because I need to leave with something today,” the Sinner says as he takes his seat in front of Monty’s desk.

“Let me guess, dating advice? I’m all ears.”

The Sinner raises his eyebrow in surprise.

“No? Why would I want or need that? And your ears are nonexistent.”

Monty gasps as if disrespected before slamming his hands on the table and pointing a claw at Moon’s face.”

 “YER’ HAIR IS NONEXISTANT!”

The Sinner just chuckles a bit. “Besides, I don’t have any plans to date.”

The gator narrows his eyes and gives a pause. “I know. But speaking of meeting people, what’s your plan for the meeting with Roxanne in two days?”

“Uh…” The sinner starts as he leans back and crosses on leg over the other. “Make a list of potential companies to deal with? It’s supposed to be about us getting to know each other right? So maybe think of some previously successful endeavors?”

Monty huffs and adjusts his glasses before leaning back and putting his feet on a corner of his desk.

“How about bringing a business partner? Like Lunar?”

“No,” Moon says, shaking his head. “He’s about to take a week long business endeavor. I have to reconnect with all my contacts so they know I’m not dead, and to get them started for a mass intake/outtake inspection. Lunar will collect and translate everything to digital form so I can overlook and use him as a proxy to run things.”

“Yikes. Sure he’s ready?”

“He says he’s been ready since he was eight. So I’d say so. Besides, Imps are expensive to bring along in restaurants like that.”

Monty scoffs, “Lowborn tax. Right. You’ve got to have someone else coming along that I can talk to!”

“…You’re coming?”

“Well I know you both, don’t I? But I ain’t going to be just a third wheel to your meeting.”

The Sinner hums a note as he thinks about it. Perhaps bringing someone, even just to keep the Entertainment Gator company, would do him some good. Thinking of options, he immediately thinks of Earth. Charming, polite, and a woman with some history in business, it would be a great option! But he had to ask her first.

“Hm… I have someone in mind. I’ll see about asking them.”

“Ooo! Someone non-binary or also gender fluid?”

“No. I’m just being vague.”

“Darn it. Come on, spill!”

“Nope. Me and Ms. Accalia have to meet someone new, you have to as well”

Montgomery growled and turned around to face the window behind him. The Sinner knew Monty had his dramatic moments, so he just waited it out. A few moments go by before he turns back around with a serious attitude, stuffed cat on his lap as he stroked its head.

“You know, you’re not here for friendship. You don’t even call me brother. Instead, you come to my office two days before my sister’s date to ask me for business.”

The Sinner took a moment to digest what nonsense the gator just spoke.

“…What?”

“Heh. Godfather. Watched it again recently.” The gator smiled as he leaned back again. But things got awkward as the Sinner sat there, lost in context before the gator leaned forward.

“… Wait. You’ve never watched the Godfather?!”

“…No. Sounds old.”

That gets Montgomery to clutch his heart like he’s been shot, leaning back as if stuck by audacity. The sinner had to hold himself back from smirking or showing any amusement.

“FREAKING COMING HERE ON THE DAY MY DAUGHTER IS TO BE WED!?”

“Oh!” The Sinner exclaimed, “That movie! No. I didn’t. Because my family thought movies were a WASTE OF TIME!”

On the yell, he got up and faced Monty as he met the sinner’s yell with one of his own.

“YOUR CHILDHOOD WAS A WASTE OF TIME”

“THAT’S WHAT THEY SAID TOO!”

…

…

“Anyway, what da ya want?” The gator asked as he resumed sitting down and leaning back on the chair.

Moon sighed, done with the drama for now, and sat back down as well. Now that the gator is in a good mood, it’s time to do business.

“A crate of…” Moon had to sigh, “Mont-Gatorade.”

“Ah. My recent brand flavor release.”

“I don’t need new flavors,” Moon clarified, “Any crate of the stuff will do. I just want a crate of hydrating drinks.”

“What fer’?”

Moon felt himself hesitate to mention his current circumstances.

“A… new friend. They died recently and they happen to really be hooked on water.”

“Water? Seriously?” The gator huffed. “Not alcohol, sex, or even Chinese food?”

“Yeah. Water. I’m hoping to lower my water bill if I get him some hydrating drinks.”

Monty stares at his friend for a moment before getting a piece of paper to calculate his price. Once written, he turned it so his partner would see it.

“…No.”

The gator scoffed, “Why not?!”

“It’s obviously too much.”

“Well, I’m the only one with a crate!”

Checkers was not going to agree with the gator at the moment.

“Going to your store and buying individual ones would have been cheaper.”

“Uh… no. That would have you spend 12 more. You mean the cases.”

“Whatever, I’m not doing that price.”

“Then what, pray tell, is the price yer’ aiming for?”

Checkers takes the pen and runs his own numbers on the paper before showing it to Monty.

“Hah! That’s robbery there!”

“Nope. It’s a little less than your competitor.”

“Hell no! I’m not losing that much money over an over-pompous banana!”

Banana? The Sinner couldn’t help but wonder how Monty had seen his face as anything but a Moon.

“Then I guess I’m done here. Sucks seeing you.” Moon said as he got up. He made his way to the door leading to the staircase, but paused at the doorframe. Hand on the frame, he kept an ear out for any last offer. Sure enough, he heard a whoosh and barely managed to duck before a lamp sailed right where his head should have been and proceeded to shatter and fall down the tower.

“…Your price. But I’ve got something with your name on it for the meeting.”

Something? The sinner knew better than to believe it wasn’t something embarrassing. The gator lived off of any entertainment, especially at others’ expenses. But then again, sometimes Monty would miss the mark on what would make him embarrassed.

“…Fine.”

He soon started regretting it when Monty strolled over to a specific file cabinet and took out a box from a local tailor’s logo on it. Sure enough, his lips pursed as the outfit is revealed.

“Hell! What is that?”

“Your date attire.” Monty says with a smug grin.

He didn’t see all of it, but the folded pants were clearly like his own, but striped in warm colors.

“It’s red and orange! It’ll make me look like a clown! … More like one that is.”

“Hey. It’s either this or my price. Take it or leave it.”

Checkers found himself beat as he tried to figure a way out of something that gator had clearly planned for a long while. But he then sighed.

“…Fine-“

“Ah! Not so fast.” Monty quickly made his hand glow with the red magic only made for a deal. “This outfit must be worn and visible for the entirety of the next meeting with Roxanne Accalia. If not, I get my money’s worth.”

DARN IT! This was thought out. He tried not to think about how screwed his reputation was as he shook Monty’s hand, refusing to be seen as a coward. With that, he shoved the box under his arm and he quickly left as he heard Monty make a call to his storage managers.

Within minutes, he manages to buy a few crates and ‘borrows’ a forklift to transport them to his closest portal.

*_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

This place was a bit different.

When Lunar had mentioned wanting to find apartments, Moon had suggested going through a business partner of his to get some decent ones for Imps. And right now, he was checking out his third option for the day.

Of course, those ‘decent Imp’ apartments tended to be small and had cheap décor. But at least he wouldn’t have to pay for any electricity and water he used up. But then again, that meant a higher price for the apartment itself.

Still, Lunar swore he’d never tell Moon the actual price. He didn’t need the Sinner to have another opportunity to bribe his loyalty. Besides, Moon already said the deal covered any hotel/apartment temporary stay rates. It wouldn’t be too much for Lunar to cover his ‘I was born as an Imp’ extra fee.

Writing down his benefits, he made sure to look for any cameras, exhaust problems from the stove, black mold, or anything that could impact how much of his ‘tax’ would be added on to ‘sudden problems that weren’t there before’ or things that could kill him.

Most Imps wouldn’t stand for this and find a home in an office or an Imp-run hotel, but Lunar was used to this BS every time he had to perform a huge job. Besides, once he finished the job for Moon, he could come back to the home base.

Of course, not without some star decorations. Once the Sinner left the house to his charity cases, Lunar was planning on adding so much décor to brighten up the place a bit. Unlike the past few years, the community house seemed pretty safe to be at while he didn’t have a current job. But he did always feel antsy if he stayed in a place too long, hence taking on the job with a temporary living place so maybe he could shake off his anxieties.

Speaking of anxieties, he couldn’t help but wonder what that angel could possibly want from all this. Sure, the corn-colored ex-holy guy looked absentminded, but no exterminator had to be that ditzy of person. The angel was an exterminator for a reason! And did he truly spare Moon?

For whatever reason, he couldn’t help but feel like there was something strange going on with Moon and Sunshine or whatever-his-name-was. The Imp surely didn’t miss how Moon had stared at the angel when they all met him awake. Moon clearly had some emotional stake for the angel, whether he knew it or not. But what about the angel?

Surely, he would one day stop cooking or cleaning and realize he’s as good as a Sinner now. What would he even do? Even without the wings, he looks like a holy figure.

But, all in due time.

Once the angel got more… coherent, Lunar planned to corner him and interrogate him for his answers. But for now… Earth and Moon would never let him do any such thing as the coddled him.

Lunar gave a sigh and made his way out, done with apartment hunting for the day. But he did let the agent know he was fine with the third option and to just email him the details as he ran off. It was about time he came back to base anyway.

It was dinnertime.

*_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Chicken noodle soup.

Sunrise was glad there was something Earth could make well: soups and stews.

Well… she did still need some help. But she, to her credit, was great at following instructions. So as she made it, he would answer her questions on what to do and leave it at that.

Lately, she’s been reminding him they had a bathroom and constantly making sure he had all the food he needed. Honestly, he didn’t feel too hungry. Why would he when he never had to… in heaven. Then again, he had never felt thirst like this. He was even starting to worry when Moon, the only human, had expressed concern with how much he had. So it was a bit surprising when he had come home, not only with all the groceries and supplies he had asked of Moon, but with a crate of bottles. One such bottle of liquid was shoved in his face and told that ‘he better appreciate it.’ According to Moon, it should help him with his overwhelming thirst and give him new flavors to try.

Sure enough, it was like becoming what humans called an addiction. Granted, he was sure it wasn’t too bad, but he found himself grabbing another bottle to have over dinner, despite already drinking two over the previous few hours. Moon had left after Sunrise told him that he liked the drink, supposing to do work on his computer. He did wonder what Sinners even do in their lives, but he guessed they were civilized enough that they weren’t attacking each other on the streets non-stop.

Moon did come back downstairs to watch the news, which was right around when Earth finished the soup. Lunar hadn’t come back yet, but Moon had mentioned he was in contact with him and that he was on his way.

Sure enough, Earth had just poured all three bowls out before Lunar came in and flopped on the couch. He tended to do that a lot, even making small ‘Ow’s as he hit the couch on a hard spot sometimes. But he soon got up as Earth poured another bowl for him.

It was peaceful for a bit. All four of them shared their table as Moon and already pulled up chairs for himself and Lunar, with Lunar sitting closer to Earth and Moon being closer to Sunrise.

But soon, a feminine throat-clearing was heard from the end of the table.

“So… Sunrise.”

He snapped to attention as he heard his name.

“I know you may still be adjusting… but if it’s okay, I would like to ask you some questions about heaven. Just… wondering if some things are true or not… and just a curiosity I’d like to indulge with you.”

As Sunrise was about to think about it, Lunar suddenly seemed interested,

“If you do that, count me in! I’d like to know more about heaven.”

Sunrise suddenly felt the pressure of being (mostly likely lightly) interrogated by the two demons. Probably three, since he had the sense that Moon was a curious individual. A curious one indeed…

Where did that come from?

But he saw Moon looking at him, but then turned to the other two.

“How about we make it more of an event? Tomorrow night, we can all get together after dinner and take turns asking each other questions.” Seeing Lunar’s face of suspicion, he added, “We have the right to skip a question, or even skip a turn to pass the questions to someone else. And I’d like to think that none of us will pressure someone to press uncomfortable matters.”

The two demons nodded as Sunrise felt even curiouser of Moon. How did he know he was going to suggest it being fine to ask him questions tomorrow evening?

He gave a hum of approval as he drank his soup. But he started feeling something funny as he though more about the Sinner and how his head seemed to pound around him. Well, his head would pound randomly regardless, but he couldn’t help but wonder if Moon had something to do with it…

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

It was late at night… maybe. But Sun’s thoughts started to swirl as thoughts invaded his mind. But as he laid on his mattress, he felt the pounding of his head worsen the more he avoided something…

He knew he should remember the whole extermination and how it was weird how he would have random memories pop up only to fade away. But he had a feeling that it was because he was afraid.

He knew he was kicked out. There would be no changing that. But there’s a greater itch inside his  ind that got worse by the day. So, staring up at the ceiling, he muttered the dreaded words:

“What happened to me?”

…

Silence.

Sunrise wondered if he had been foolish when he felt an urge lift him from the bed. Silently, he walked out the room, though the hallway, and down the stairs. Only to stop at the door of the bathroom.

What are you waiting for?

He wasn’t sure. It was as if the fates above led him to open the door and enter the bathroom.

Fates are what you choose Sunrise. So will you choose to find out the answer? Or will you be a coward and a fool? Only to amount as a willing Demon Servant.

What if you could go back?

All you need to do,

is look.

The whisper swirled his mind as he hesitated for a second…

But only for a second.

Chapter Text

Blue.
…
Light blue.
Eyes.
The eyes of fear.
And all it took was the twitching of an eye to see
Paled skin around his right side of the face where his golden hue normally was. He could see how rough and pale over the whole thing was, no matter how well it healed.
Eyes tracing the shape, he found himself raising a hand to touch. To follow the path to find the missing piece.
Searing pain flared in his face as his hand copied the same movements of his Astral superior. But unlike every other time, he didn’t flinch. He just saw his face. His Eyes.
Didn’t the general… the one with horns under his mask, mention something about his eyes?
How he had a flame in them that showed much potential?
But all he could see now were the eyes of a raging failure of a stupid angel. He didn’t even move as the voice changed from an apathetic woman to the voice of his general.
When you became an exorcist, you knew what you had to do.
“… What do I do?” He found himself muttering, even though he knew the answer.
You. Kill. End of question.
Surprisingly, he wasn’t fazed by the horns that seemed to be on his head as he took a good look at the thing he’d become.
“Who do I need to kill?”
You let that Sinner go, that one right in front of you! You let a filthy sinner go… you and every soul sees the mark of your failure as you… match the Sinner you took mercy on!
Tearing the mirror off the wall, he drags it towards the sink so he could use both to see his true reflection. He knew the answer, but as the looking glasses aligned, so did his perceptions.
Moon.
The one that used children for his protection. The one that took advantage of an unconscious angel. The one that had given him a crawling feeling of emptiness this whole time!
The only way I’d let you get back to heaven is when you have that Sinner’s head on a spike and show me when I visit next time next year.
Don’t disappoint me again.
And no one crosses Aries.
He felt his body dry and burn as a sharp object formed in his hand, summoned from the ceiling lights. He felt every slow step as he made his way past the door, up the stairs, down the hallway.
He knew he had to do this now. No wasting time, no being weak. He’s been a coward his whole life, only to let injustice and suffering go on. He swore to do everything to destroy evil, and he must do what heaven commands.
The door creaked ever so slightly as it opened. Moon was on his laptop, laying on his bed and faced away from the angel.
How convenient…
Just one strike. That’s all it would take.
And he could finally go home.
The angel felt all his blood boil as he raised his blade, ready to plunge.
But… his hands shook.
Before he knew it… the light in his hand disintegrated as he froze, shaking all over as his limbs grew stiff. His hand jerked open as blood flowed from it.
As if sensing the blood, Moon sniffed the air before turning to him in shock.
Shaking light-blue eyes met concerned ocean-blue eyes.
Those same eyes that sought out his humanity when he spread his arms to protect those kids. The same eyes that met his after he was discovered in the living room. The same blue that showed amusement, nonchalance, terror, and awe.
He just couldn’t.
Sinner or no, Moon shouldn’t die for a stupid angel’s sins.
Sunrise had problems before meeting Moon anyway.
He had let his fury drive him into forsaking his role, only to have his weaknesses become his failing and undoing.
He was a failure from the beginning, who should have never stepped a foot outside of the library.
The next thing he knew; the world went black.
Good. He had no life left in the light.
...
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Sun…
Sun…?
SUN!
Sunrise gasped awake as he felt a weight on his shoulders and a firm hold on his wrists. In fact, he felt several holds against him as he tried to move anything of his. One look down and he realized he was restrained against a wooden chair. A shiver went up his spine before he spotted the two red eyes in the shadows. One light was on him while the rest of the place was shrouded in darkness.
He’s pretty sure he’s not in the house anymore.
“Sunny~”
Moon steps closer, but he’s shrouded in the darkness as Sunrise swears the shadows start curling around him. The eyes uplift with a slight squint.
“If you wanted a fight you should have just said so.”
The blackened figure cut through the light and Sunrise realizes that the light above him is not the only bulb, but the others were clearly shattered all over the ground as light flickered from the broken remains. It was like the darkness swirled wherever the figure with the red eyes went.
He felt himself tremble as those ruby eyes came close to his face and a shadowed claw gently rakes across his throat.
“But I guess angels never ask. They just take. So tell me Sunny…
What were you planning to take?”
The angel felt his systems closing as he had a hard time breathing, thinking, or hearing a normal heartbeat that didn’t pound AND skip beats.
“Nothing to say? After EVERYTHING I DID?!”
Sun feels the chair under him break into splinters as two of the legs are only attached to his legs now, and the back of the chair kept his back and arms tied up. He just laid there, afraid of this demon in front of him, but not willing to scoot over any broken glass.
“I put you in a house! I protected you from other Sinners! Would you rather I let the cannibals eat you alive?! Have others push you to sell your soul or body for some sense of security?! I gave you FOOD, WATER, and a safe place to SLEEP! AND WHAT DID I GET?!”
Sunrise feels the ground tremble as huge extensions of the shadow’s arms slams the ground in rage.
And yet, that was nothing compared to the trembling Sunrise was doing.
“SO ANSWER ME! WHY DID YOU TRY TO KILL ME?!?!”
The angel spiraled as words were nothing, darkness was nothing, not even his burning thirst was felt.
All he knew, was that this thing was going to kill him.
And he deserved it.
*_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
The Sinner growled as the angel went back to staring off into nothing. How he looked so vulnerable and pathetic when he damn well knew what he was doing. He had treated him like family a friend and all to pull his BS?!
At first, he was confused when he smelled blood. But he turned to see none other than Sun, hand raised with a non-existent knife and blood dripping from it. In a stance that was clearly ready take the plunge and with and expression of fury turning into the guilty expression of getting caught. Then for the angel to collapse to the ground, as a reminder that he was in no fit shape.
But that didn’t matter.
For all he had done, for the criticisms he knew Earth and Lunar had, he was now proven wrong.
So he had brought Sun to his private penthouse, far away from Earth’s eventual grief and Lunar’s ‘I told you so’, so he could deal with this traitor right here and now.
Sun wasn’t a baby. He was a stone-cold murderer that he had let into his house. And it would do him good to remember that, even as he looked down furiously at the angel’s face as they contorted pathetically into a panicked and sorrowful expression.
Patience lost, Moon smacked Sun as hard as he could, red forming on his left cheek.
THAT got the angel to look directly at him.
Moon dispelled his magic, as it had gotten its desired effect. Now it was just him standing over the angel as they looked straight at him. The searing pain of betrayal had his words seethe out coldly and clearly as possible.
“I will only ask you once more, Sun” Moon said as he narrowed his eyes. “What were you doing above me, while I had my back turned? If you don’t answer me, I swear, I’ll-“
“It was the only way back.”
Moon stilled as he finally heard the quiet voice of the angel. He still looked to be in shock, but tears streamed past his cheeks as he started rambling, his voice getting louder and shakier.
“I-I just wanted to know. I wanted to go home! That’s all I wanted! But I failed! The general, he knew that I spared you. He tore off my wings and scarred me to match you. A-And he said I-I wouldn’t be allowed to come back until I showed him your head on a spike. He trusted me, but I can’t! I don’t know why I ever thought I’d be capable enough to do it!
And why should I?! It’s not your fault I-I fell! It’s MINE!”
Sun started sobbing as he hunched into himself, talking nonetheless.
“I’m NEVER going to see Karlie, Hannah, or even Airaloce again! I can’t even imagine the disappointment of my Jamie, James, Huey, Howie, or Evelyn…”
Moon shut up as Sun clearly had to choke out those names… clearly other angels he held dear. But his heart pained as Sun got louder and faster with his confessions.
“If Skyler… she’ll probably watch as I get killed for my crimes if you don’t kill me first! Which you have every right to! You’ve already died for your own sins! Now I get to pay for mine! But at least YOU HAD A REASON! You were born on Earth and you CAME HERE! I WOULD HAVE BEEN HAPPY IF I NEVER TRIED TO DO JUSTICE! HELL! I PROBABLY WOULD HAVE BEEN SENT HERE ANYWAY!!!”
Sun took ragged breaths as Moon tried to look back the shattering feeling in his non-existent heart. He didn’t know how to unpack anything the angel said. But he kneeled down next to the angel and tried to focus on the interesting part, about how Sun was condemned to hell… for sparing HIM??? Why would heaven care for the sparing of ONE Sinner?!
“Sun… I don’t think-”
“YOU DON’T GET IT! I’m angry! I’m prone to fury and anger! I was willing to hurt anyone in my way! I even scared children! But you… You protected them! You’re right… you protected me! And here I am… being an ungrateful brat. You and Earth… you two deserve my halo more-”
“SHUT. Up.”
Sun hiccupped as Moon finally interjected.
“Listen to me, Sun. You are not perfect. And neither am I. Do you even know what I did, Sun? To be condemned here?!”
Sun shook his head and looked back at Moon with his wide, crystal blue eyes.
“I murdered my brother. And before that? I was used as a puppet, a coward subject to my ‘family’. His death wasn’t even meaningful to the guy specifically! It was a means to an end. It gave me the freedom to control the rest of my short life on my own terms!”
Moon glanced at the rope bindings and with a snap, shadows formed to slice them off. But Sun still froze as Moon looked sternly at him.
“And to think, I wanted to live my new life free from those stupid ties called ‘family’”.
Moon spit the word out like it caused the nastiest taste in his mouth to even utter the word.
“Hell, I could still be a puppet even the wrong words in the wrong circumstance. But here I am, risking it all to be around people I don’t understand!”
He pushes his head to his open palms as he gives himself a moment. But another moment starts as he feels a hand on his knee. Opening his hands, he sees Sun… with the most sympathetic look. He growls at the Sunny figure.
“I literally just scared you shitless. So don’t start calling me an angel. Much less one that could rival your… muchness.”
Sun pulled back as his eyes… dimmed? Like all the light in his eyes ceased to be. Hopeless. Lost.
While Moon was used to Sun zoning out, this was unlike his other expressions. It was a different look.
The dead look of someone giving up.
Moon wanted to do something more, but he didn’t know what to say. Except to mutter:
“It’s late. I guess we better get back.”
Due to no response at all, Moon swept Sun into an infant hold before stepping through his portal in the corner, concentrating on keeping him and the angel arranged properly and keeping a mental note to fix the lights in his penthouse apartment once he gets the chance.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
It had been all of… ten minutes? And Moon still couldn’t move from where he sat on his mattress. In front of him was Sun, just laying on his own mattress with his eyes closed and him limbs loosely motionless. Moon would have been worried about killing him if it wasn’t for the angel’s chest moving up and down as he breathed. But he knew Sun wasn’t asleep. He was even scared to see his eyes as dim as before they shut.
He sighed and went back to leaning his face into his hands. After all, it had been a while since he had used his magic to terrify someone like that. Unlike when he thought he lost Sun, he had deliberately used his hurt and wrath to shatter someone’s psyche. In turn, it shattered him.
For whatever reason, he could fell how lifeless the other felt, almost solidifying his thought about Sun being a soulmate.
But aren’t soulmates made for eventual romantic partners? There was nothing about the angel that attracted him in that way. He never felt any bond like that! But… there was a bond. It’s there with every glace of his eyes, the way he timidly hid in his blankets, the way he bantered over simple conversations…
It was like…
But never again. Moon hated his on earth. Why should he try again? But… why does he feel so close with the current people around him.
Earth, the kind one with open arms. Lunar, the spunky youth that reminded him of his own past. And Sun… his equal opposite. But it was almost surreal to feel like he knew Sun in and out when they had only interacted a handful of times. But maybe it was because Sun was an open book?
Speaking of… he figured maybe a light conversation could rouse the light being.
“… So.
… I guess you aren’t tired?”
He felt himself inwardly face palm, but he sees the slight tilt of Sun’s head towards him.
“Yes… and No. Is this what you humans call insomnia?”
“…Yes? But only if it’s a regular fit of restlessness.”
“Like… I haven’t slept since before the extermination.”
“… Yes you have?”
“That was a coma Moon.”
“Ah.” Moon remarked awkwardly.
Well. Sun’s alive. Moon couldn’t think of anything else to say, because he figured Sun was not in the right mindset to accept any criticisms of his habits, even his self-loathing ones. So he went to lay down but froze as he heard a small shifting.
“Moon… What do you want with me?”
Moon opened his eyes and turned to face the dim eyes of the angel.
“…I don’t know.”
“Then what now? Am I your servant?”
“What?! Hell no!” Moon exclaimed as he got back up into a seating position. “You… do whatever you want. You’re pretty much free to do what you want.”
Sun gave out a small whimper, but it resulted in a horrible scratchy cough. Seeing Sun wheeze so hard, Moon quickly got up to go grab a glass of water.
He made his way past Earth’s room, down the stairs, and filled up a glass before realizing he was probably severely dehydrated. So he grabbed a few different bottles of Mont-Gatorade before trudging back up. But he found himself running faster, past the snores in Lunar’s room to swing the door just quick enough to see Sun just step onto the balcony. Everything was thrown aside as he ran and tightened his arms around the angel, falling backwards to avoid the wrong direction of any momentum. He found himself holding Sun tight as the angel tumbled under him.
“What is with you and the stupid balcony?! Do I have to put bells on you?!”
But immediately after the words harshly left his lips, he remembered that angry words didn’t do any good with the angel. So he sat up and held Sun to his lap to hold him close. After a moment, his heart continues to break as he hears the quiet words of someone broken on the inside.
“I’m done. I can’t… I don’t wanna be like this anymore…”
Moon holds him tighter and drags them both on one of their mattresses, which one doesn’t matter right now. But Moon makes his words as clear and firm as possible.
“But you are. Now you get to be like me. Fallen. But… its not so bad. You can do whatever you want.”
“No I can’t…”
“The hell you can’t! What’s anyone going to do? Cast you to double Hell?”
He pulls back and tries to pass on his little joke to Sun, to which he is rewarded with a renewed light in his eyes once more. But he turns and sees the clear red mark on his left cheek and feels awful again. He reaches and rubs it gently, knowing his hands tend to be a bit colder.
“… I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have hit you.”
“I shouldn’t have tried to kill you.” Sun remarks back with a downhearted, but lighter tone.”
Moon sighs. “Yeah. I guess we’re both screwed by life.”
He glances to the bed, which was now proven to be Sun’s by the aforementioned weighted blanket. He pulls it to wrap around Sun and he looks Sun in the eyes with sincerity while reaching and opening a nearby strewn bottle nearby to hand to the angel.
“… Want to be screwed together?”
Sun looks at the bottle, then him with teary eyes. He shakenly takes the bottle and chugs it down, Moon just watching as he refused to stop him. Once emptied, he finally leans into the embrace, curling into himself as Moon wraps himself around the angel.
Wordlessly, they end on laying on the mattress, the blanket around them both as Moon holds Sun to him.
With one more slight squeeze, the two find themselves falling safety into a quickly deep sleep.

Chapter Text

What were you thinking?!

What?

We know what you’re doing with Lunar! And you’re lucky he’s never perceptive enough to notice your influence!

Ah. That’s the problem you’re talking about right now. With your short attention spans, it really could be anything.

I’m serious .__. .. . _._. . …, he’ll start noticing things! Or worse, his power will grow.

Maybe it’s meant to be.

Not so soon! Best case scenario, he dies of old age without ever going beyond gusts of wind!

You know it’s better that he grows strong and powerful. He may help with the Mirror Man’s return.

But ._ __._-

They’re not here. They’re not watching. But I am. And it’s a bloody good show. If only I had the power to write it all… but alas. I can’t just make it a bloody show like Hamlet!

…If it gets worse, we’ll have to intervene.

Why not? He is under your domain.

But any time I invade his dreams, the others might have a chance to catch wind of it all , and-…

What?

… He’s listening.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

As if cymbals were slammed right above him, Lunar startled awake and fell out of his cot to land ungracefully on the ground. Thankfully, his pile of pillows prevented serious harm as he crawled back to solid ground.

He groaned as his head pounded and his heart felt like it was running a mile a minute, to the point of hurting. He took his time to catch his breath and grasp a grip on his sanity.

Clutching the ground, he tried to recall the voices he heard in the blue and yellow void. The second voice was lost on him, but the first’s was distinct. Like two overlapping voices as they fluctuated on which was heard better. And the main voices he heard from them was a pitchy, loud female voice and a stern male voice.

But what scared him more was how real that all felt. He was a bit absent-minded during his vision, but he absorbed just how in-time that conversation was. And how they were talking about him…

He shook his head and tried to ground himself as he knelt on all fours. This may have been the only coherent time he’s heard the voices, but it was not the first time this kind of dream had happened. Often, it would interrupt his dreams to hear a wisp of the first person’s voices. Random words and tones that stuck with him.

Things that would be easily forgotten…

Suddenly, he felt a huge shutter shake his whole body and he gasped breathless as he felt a wave of energy go through him.

Almost like all those years ago…

This time, he seized up as all the energy around him shot through his hands and he felt something expel out. When he opened his eyes… he had to slap his mouth closed as he could only stare at the thing before him, tumbling back to lean away on his elbows as he gritted his teeth.

Icicles. Shooting out and away from the floor where his hands once were, even showing the handprints in the base of where each bundle sprouted from.

Lunar shivered as he truly had to question what the hell was going on. Was this still a dream?!

But as his panic rose, he felt another wave of energy ripped from him as he felt the ice spread. Stopping himself, he steeled his panic as he looked at what he’d done…

As he looked, a thin layer of ice covered the whole floor, even partially starting to crawl up the walls!

Lunar felt his breath squeeze in and out of his lungs as he just stared at the mess. But soon, he remembered he wasn’t alone in this house. So he darted up to run to the door. Thankfully, the ice was apparently dry enough to not allow slipping as he made it to the knob and took out his knife to break the ice around the bottom frame.

Sure enough, it was thankfully thin enough to be an easily broken sheet, but Lunar opened his door to realize it spread a bit outside, just barely into the hallway past the door’s crack.

Hands shacking, he did the only thing he could think of… grabbing a baton out of his drawers to start breaking the ice, half considering chucking it all out the window afterwards in hopes no one would find out about…. all of this.

He was conspicuous with his wind powers as is! Not just to the world, but to his new roommates! And he already had to come up with how to subtly blow off Moon and Earth if they asked about his powers during their question game!

Thankfully, his energy felt drained, so he didn’t have to fear his new ‘power’ activating in front of the others.

Wait… was this what the people in his dream meant about others not finding out? Moreover, was there a larger part to play with how he got his powers?! He knows how he got them, but there should have been no voyagers in any part of it!

But soon he gets shivers as he tells himself to just forget about it and calm down. One thing at a time. No one was in the halls or calling for him, so the sooner he breaks the ice and disposes of it, the better.

As he focuses on swinging his baton firmly and accurately, he tries to think about literally anything else good to focus on…

Like breakfast! He told himself that he was ready to see if the angel’s breakfast sandwiches would be a match for his own…

No. Well, yes he should stick to positive things, but he knew he shouldn’t just rugsweep something huge like this! That’s how secrets get spilled accidentally.

Bit after bit, he quickly broke the ice into pieces and chucked them in a pile, only able to relax when the pile was done.

He quickly took notice of Earth’s faint brewing hum and knew he couldn’t just sneak the ice down without the questions. And if not caught by her, the angel would spot him surely. That guy gets up way too early in the goddamn morning.

So trying to think it through, he tried to figure out the best way to dispose of it.

By that, he eventually just chucked it all out the balcony upon seeing no one standing there.

He then rushed down to maybe distract any person from looking outside when he made his way to the kitchen…

And saw no one.

Huh.

As moments went by, there was so sign of anyone noticing anything off.

Well, until a nearby door opened and footsteps came down the stairs all too soon.

“…Lunar? Isn’t it early for you to be up?”

Taking a breath, he just looked back to Earth’s confused face with a winning smile.

“Oh nothing much. I just wanted to get an early start is all.”

*_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

An hour later…

The angel found himself rising lightly awake, like his namesake, with eyes still closed as his mind slowly came into consciousness. He took a deep breath, that then prompted a huge yawn. A peak of his eyes to the clock revealed how he was waking up at a later time then the time he appointed as a socially acceptable waking hour. He couldn’t just look like some person who couldn’t sleep! That was for humans! And maybe demons? How would he know?

He then directed his eyes to the gray wall and faintly wondered why it was so bare. He was so used to his walls being filled with the mementos and memories of all his friends’ love and care. And maybe a few things he liked for himself… but only a few. He wasn’t a human that needed things that were only significant to him! Well, only his uniforms were outside of the rule. If only…

He felt himself tremble and tried to curl up with his wings to protect the onslot of memories searing in his head.

He started hyperventilating as his memories scorched back… the General’s banishment and demanded price… Moon’s reaction… his own thoughts and hurt as he tried so much to bury his hurt this whole week. He even shook at how he had tempted his luck and proved his stupidity at how he never expected his targ- Moon to defend himself like anyone with self-preservation would!

But just as quickly, he felt a squeeze in his abdomen and a familiar gentle humming calming and cooling his tormented nerves. He almost felt like going to sleep, but felt a last minute desperation to stay awake, uneager to go through the pain of remembering upon awaking again.

Yet, he couldn’t deny himself as he took refuge in the feeling of the weight on his back holding him still.

But that didn’t make sense, his wings were gone.

…Right?

Turning back, his minor hopes were dashed and drained as he sees the Sinner attached to him instead.

Part of him wanted to get this Sinner away from him. To recoil and never go near him again. But… there was also a feeling. Like something empty in his chest finally being fulfilled after so long that heaven could only muffle.

But that was nonsense, he told himself. He tried to get up so he could go make breakfast, only to feel the arms around him get tighter, making him flop back on the bed.

“No. Not when I’m not awake yet.”

Confused, he shifted himself to face Moon, who still kept his eyes closed and face relaxed as if he was still sleeping.

“But I need to make breakfast. A-And clean-”

“I can still smell the bleach. The house is clean enough.”

The angel huffs as Moon gives a big yawn and blinks his eyes open, just to snap awake upon noticing how close the angel’s face was to his. He then lets go of him to scoot away with an embarrassed look on his face.

“I… I guess you’re good now. Just… you’re banned from the balcony.”

“What?! Why?”

Moon gave him a pointed look before huffing.

“Whatever… not now Sun. Let’s just… go get breakfast. I’ll make bagels or something…”

He felt like it was redundant to ask, but Sunrise decided to ask Moon anyway.

“Is it easier for you to call me ‘Sun’?”

Moon raises an eyebrow as if he had just said something confusing.

“Yeah? It’s a one-syllable nickname. Besides, we have a Moon and an Earth. Unless you want to be called Solar, I think it’s suitable.”

The yellow figure considered it for a moment. While he still felt calling him after the sun was blasphemy, it wasn’t all that bad. Like Moon said, it was just a nickname. Something to be called that wasn’t mean or weird, and he probably needed a new identity now that.... he was here to stay.

“I’m fine with it. I’ll… be Sun from now on.”

Sun glanced at Moon who seemed a bit questioning, but it was seemingly shrugged off as he stood up and reached down to help him up.

“Hey Sun?”

Sun make a questioning noise as Moon looked at him sincerely.

“I… won’t tell the others about your… deal. But I just wanted to add something… because of what you said last night.”

Sun found himself reflexively giving a one-note laugh as he looked at Moon and tried not to cry. He even reached up to grab at his, admittedly increasingly messy hair to tug at it.

“You mean how I’m a disappointment? A murderer? A failure even?”

Moon gave a frustrated sigh and grabbed Sun’s hands before he could try anything else.

“That. Look, I know we don’t know each other well enough for me to say it’s not true. But honestly?

If there’s anywhere for disappointments, murderers, and failures, it’s Hell. Believe me, I’m here.”

Sun’s heart sank hearing that from Moon, but also felt heard? And validated in a way? Must be a human thing.

Before Sun could even attempt to say anything, the door swung open and Moon’s hands darted from Sun’s as if they were molten hot.

“Good Morning Moon and Sunrise! I hope I’m not intruding. I just wanted to let you know that breakfast is ready!”

Sun could help but feel better at how positively radiant Earth’s smile was. But he also didn’t miss Moon’s suspicious gaze as he judgmentally crossed his arms. Earth, seeing this, huffed and placed her hands on her hips.

“Oh don’t look at me like that! Surely I haven’t made you lose all faith in my skills. But… Lunar did make today’s meal and not me. But still! I could use that support!”

Moon simply smirks as Sun is quickly scooped up by Earth and both boys are brought to the living room to see Lunar’s meals for them all: A croissant cut in half to house an omelet inside with sausage mixed in the eggs. The cheese was a sharp cheddar and there was bacon laid on top of the omelet, everything put together in what Lunar called a ‘Breakfast Sandwich’.

With a ‘bon-apatite’ from Lunar, they all silently dig in.

 *_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

As Earth finishes her small shared, she smiled brightly at the group, totally the opposite of Lunar’s silent inner turmoil.

“You know, I can’t wait for tonight! I feel like I have all my questions ready! I even feel like tonight can be a movie night to unwind.”

“I dunno….” Lunar drawled. “I have to get going around then. So my turn may be cut short.”

Earth looked disappointed but Moon furrowed his brows.

“Are you doing anything after breakfast?”

Lunar shrugged. “I was going to finish my list for the question thingy and then take a nap. I didn’t exactly sleep too early… I was comparing apartments.”

“Then why not do it now?” Moon asked. “If we’re all ready, we can finish with plenty of time before you have to go.”

Lunar internally felt like burning Moon alive, but refrained from such. It wouldn’t be acceptable in Earth’s eyes. So he threw a fake smile at Moon.

“Sure… let’s do it now.”

Lunar shoved the last bite in his mouth and was about to head to his room when he felt a hand on his shoulder so he glared at the source. Only to see it was the angel, who was sitting the closest to the stairs this time.

“You… don’t have to. I’m fine with just answering my own questions.”

Lunar suddenly sees why the others had gotten soft with the angel with the light blue eyes and huffs in annoyance.

“It’s fine. I know I’m a Sherlock spectacle anyway. Let’s just get this shit over with.”

“Language.” Sun trilled as if instinctually before realizing he was among demons and awkwardly went back to eating his sandwich in silence.

 *_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Sure enough, everyone finished their first meal of the day and things quickly came into place as they were all as ready as they could be. Lunar grabbed a piece of paper to quickly write his questions, Earth swiftly made everyone some chamomile tea, Sun tried grabbing some blankets, and Moon quickly sat him down and restrained him with his shadow magic before grabbing the blankets himself and throwing the weighted one on Sun. Soon, the three guys got comfortable, with Sun on the armchair and other two on the couch, while Earth finished and distributed each teacup. But due to Moon’s word of caution, she had made Sun’s first and let it sit with an ice cube before giving the slightly warmed cup to him.

She sat down on the floor next to Sun and in front of Lunar with her own cup and got comfortable.

“So,” Lunar started, “Who’s first?”

Sun raised his hand. “I might as well. This whole thing was started because you all wanted to ask me questions. So sure.”

“Remember Sun, you don’t have to answer every question,” Moon emphasized. “Once you’re ready, just say you want to skip and we’ll pass the interviewee role to someone else.”

Sunrise nodded and got himself mentally ready. And really, the worst secret he had was only something Moon would want to know, and he already did. So surely, there wouldn’t be any ‘tough’ questions.

He clapped once and spread his arms out for a bit of a show, making a small show of his teeth so it would look like a smile. “First question anyone?”

Earth beamed and raised her hand before asking, “What’s your favorite color?”

“Uh, yellow.”

Lunar raised his hand and read the first question on his list. “Are all Exorcists, excluding you, women?”

Sun rise put his hands together like a prayer in contemplation before tilting his fingertips to point at Lunar.

“Define women.”

Moon quickly coughed out, “New question!” before calming his tone with, “Besides extermination, what other roles to the exorcists serve? In other words, what do they do all day with no-one to fight?”

“Um? The simple answer is that the exorcists train often and spend the rest of our time leisurely. Going more in depth into the other roles may take a bit of an explanation.”

He scratched the back of his scalp for a pause before he realized the others were giving him expectant looks.

“And I see you all want to hear it. Well, the exorcists are heaven’s defense system. Or more likely, the hand God strikes down from heaven. They used to openly strike down the wicked on Earth until after God gave all humans the holy spirit. So now the exorcists just enforce orders and are on standby. Or just ascend. But Adam collected a group of exorcists specifically to carry out the exterminations. And I guess they tend to look humanly feminine.”

Happy with his last comment, Lunar blurted out his second question. “How old are you?”

“Uh… I haven’t really been keeping track. But I think I’m a little over three.”

Earth’s eyes grew wide as she exclaimed, “Three??? You’re a toddler…?!”

Sun could feel the insinuation of Earth picturing a baby on the field, so he quickly shook his head.

“Uh. No. Heaven-born angels are never babies.”

“Hold on,” Moon interjected with a curious and investigative look, “You’re three what? Minutes, Months….?”

“Decades.” Sun says uncertainly at Moon’s attitude.

“Ah, there it is.” Moon says, snapping his fingers into… a point with his thumb also out and facing up.

Now Sun seemed confused as Earth looked relived and Lunar gave him a funny look.

“Seriously? Who counts by decades?” Lunar asks snarky.

Sun gave him a flat expression. “Try being ageless and living eternally with all your peers before shaming us for not measuring in months like humans.”

“I was actually thinking years…” Earth said in a quiet voice, to which Sun gave an “Oh” at the clarification.

“Back to earlier, what do you mean angels are never babies?” Moon asked.

“Well,” Sun remarked, “You’re the only human right?”

Upon Moon’s nod, he continues, “Well, angels are formed fully… well, formed as the age most humans peak.”

“So you’ve never had a childhood?” Earth said with a sadness in her tone and a concerned posture. “You just started training to fight?”

“No and No. Or, at least not for me. I had a day to tour heaven before being introduced to the Heavenly Archives to be an Archive Angel. Then I left the library to join the Exorcist Forces.”

“An Archive Angel?” Moon asked. “What’s that?”

Strangely, Sun felt himself straighten as he let the explanation pour out of his lips.

“Well, the Heavenly Archives are like a holy library. Because I was formed in Cancer’s jurisdiction, I was given the task to upkeep the Archive’s cleanliness, maintain its organization, and to help locate any item in it.”

Lunar furrowed his eyebrows and leaned forward. “Were you good at it?”

“Good?!” Sun scoffed. “I was born for that role! I would dust the shelves, sweep the floors, sort all sorts of records, retrieve any scroll, book, or stone tablet, and even fetch them for the higher figures of Heaven! It may have been repetitive to others, but it was nice to know what I was doing. I even helped figure out digital system the fastest! All for the pristine upkeep of the heavenly library of all knowledge!”

Earth smiled at him but the attention was quickly drawn to Lunar’s next question.

“If you were so great at it, why did you stop?”

Earth and Moon stared at Lunar as Sun found himself spacing out. But the weight on his back as he almost nodded off reminded him to stay on track.

“A-uh… Next person please.”

Lunar huffed at the unanswered question, but realized he was clockwise of the angel. And the angel looked right at him.

“So, what’s your favorite animal?”

Lunar internally cussed and groaned on how he just remembered he’d be asked questions now. And with how the angel answered so many… he’d look like a total coward if he didn’t answer around as many.

“Walruses.”

“What’s your favorite color?” Earth asks.

“Purple? Light like a lavender. But I also like my light blues.

“What made you choose to be a runner?”, Moon asked.

“I’ve kinda been doing that my whole life?” He shrugged, “I serve under people and I was fast. Figured it worked out.”

Lunar noticed the nervous look on the angel’s face as he seemed to try and look as least accusatory as possible.

“Sorry if I sound rude… but what exactly are you?”

Lunar said with a smirk, “It would be rude if it was anyone else, holy boy. I’m an Imp. Imagine having the lowest status possible in Hell, and that would be me”

Earth interjected, “Except for Hellhounds.”

“…Except for Hellhounds.”

The Sun-man leaned forward as he wrapped his head around the answer he just got.

“Um… mind explaining the status thing? Do you have a hierarchy too?”

Lunar nodded. “…Yes. Remind me to ask you that about heaven, but Hell has a hierarchy based on power. Imps are like me, short, red, with black and white horns, and powerless. Hellhounds are anthropomorphic dogs that are only lower because they can be seen as pets while Imps look more like people. But I guess some of us are seen as pets too…

Anyway, above us are regular Hellborn and they are people born here that take the shape of any ring they live in. I’ll talk about the rings later, but basically different parts of Hell. Above that is Sinners. They only stay in one ring, but they have powers and a proper soul.”

As if he couldn’t help the next question the angel blurted, “Wait… you don’t have a soul?”

“Not any that can be used to gain or maintain power. Anyway, Sinners have their own power scale and some are so powerful that they gain the title ‘Overlord’. Above them are the seven sins that rule over the seven rings or places in Hell. And at the top are the Goetia, Hell royalty like Earth.”

“Actually, if I might step in,” Earth said as she interjected once more, “Goetia are royalty because of our ability to predict the future and serve hell with these abilities. And we are not on top.”

“Riiiiiight.” Lunar leaned back as the small reminder hit true. “Lucy and his family are on top.”

“Lucy?” the angel questioned.

“Lucifer.” Moon answered.

“Oh.”

Lunar piped up, “Anyway, that’s the hell hierarchy.”

Earth raised her hand before speaking.

“On a different topic, do you plan to move far from us? You mentioned apartments and I don’t know any near here where we can visit your new home.”

“Well, I’m not technically moving per say… I’m just going to take on a job that requires me to be away for a bit. But due to Moon’s work contract with me, this is my home base.”

At that statement, Earth gave a pleased smile.

“What is your job exactly?” the angel asks. “I believe you said something about running?”

“I’m basically a messenger.”

“Oh. That sounds important. You said you’re an Imp so…”

“Why the lowborn? That’s because people in power need expendable people to deliver stuff and Imps are desperate enough for good jobs that they won’t be dissuaded by the danger. Next question.”

Earth eagerly shot her hand up. “Oh! Tell us about your family!”

As if the air grew cold, Lunar had to resist giving Earth a thousand-yard stare. He knew the question would come, and since it came from Earth, it wasn’t meant to be intrusive. So, he bitterly delivered his practiced response.

“Dead. Or rather, non-existent. Never got to know them.”

“What?” Earth exclaimed as her smile faded. “No fathers or mothers?”

Lunar shook his head and noticed Earth’s sad face.

“Not even any brothers or sisters?”

Lunar froze at the mention, even though he was expecting that word to be brought up. He felt a different, unreachable energy spike that he had to shove done.

Not here.

Not now.

“His turn.”

Upon the extremely defensive tone, Moon faked a cough.

“Yeah. My turn.”

But a quick glace towards Sun had him wanting to answer a question before it was asked.

“To clarify Sun, I’m a Partial Overlord. Overlords tend to have areas to rule in Hell and have lots of power. But I only have power from owning materials and making deals between high figures.”

“S- So resources?” Sun asks.

“Yeah.”

For a moment, the air was thick with tension despite Moon’s best efforts. Then Sun managed to shift forward and raise his hand.

“What’s your favorite animal?”

“Otters.”

“Favorite color?” Earth asks to join in.

“Dark Blue or Black”

“Why do you look like a clown?”

“Lunar!” Earth exclaims as Lunar shrugs.

“What? Sinners look a way for a reason! Why does he look like a clown? Was that your job in life or did a honker kill ya?”

Moon sighs. “It’s because I was played for a fool my whole life. Entertainment and a joke for those that knew me.” Moon then looks pointingly at Lunar. “Now, how did you get powers?”

Earth interrupts the potential fight as Lunar started to get up from his seat.

“Please! No need to fight! How about we just stick to the rule of the turn!”

“How old are you?” Sun asks in a calm tone, as if he existed in a different context. But with the reminder to be civil, Moon just scoots away from Lunar.

“Depends? I was 19 when I died and it’s been over ten years.”

Sun seems to ponder Moon’s words for a second before responding.

“So… we’re a similar age?”

Remembering what Sun said about his age, he took a moment to reach the same conclusion

“I… guess so if we both are around 30.”

There was a pause as everyone considered a new question to ask. But while the two guys looked for an answer to ask, Moon noticed Earth’s hesitant expression as if she had a question but wasn’t keen on whether she should ask or not. So he made a hand gesture as if asking her to ‘go on’. She took a breath and gave a hesitant smile.

“You don’t have to answer, but how... did feel it to die?”

A loaded question, but he was impressed with her for asking because he totally would have done the same in her shoes, he leans back and tries to recall the experience all those years ago.

“Uh… painful. Until it’s not? It’s like having a weird lucid dream where everything is real and painful until you let go. Then reality dissolves in an instant and you almost relive your life through apathetic eyes. You see all your core memories, your faults and sins, and how you died. Then I woke up here. I knew where I was and what I looked like. I knew by instinct what my powers were. But it wasn’t real until I saw myself? It hits you that you died and were cast to hell.”

Intrigued, Earth raised her hand again. “On a lighter note, what are your powers?”

“Shadow stuff mostly.” Moon responded, “But I’ve learned item restoration and manipulation, as you’ve seen with the living room, kitchen, and bathroom.”

Lunar quickly interrupts with, “Speaking of, why is the basement so cursed?”

Earth gives Lunar a confused look. “Basement??”

“Yeah, Haven’t you seen it?”

Earth clutches her skirt, fidgeting with the fabric. “No… I would have drawn it on the map. Where is it?”

Moon figures now was not the time to give a new house tour, mostly because he also thought the place was creepy and wondered how Lunar even found it. And since everyone seemed to run out of questions, he gave a fake cough again.

“How about we talk about that later because it’s Earth’s turn.”

“Oh… I guess.” Earth said. She wasn’t quite sure what they could possibly want to ask, but she was ready for anything to increase understanding among them all.

And Moon was the first to state his curiosities.

“What is your medium exactly, if you can clarify it for us.”

“It’s Tasseography. I read the future through tea leaves and can make herbal medicines and potions.”

Lunar rocked back and forth as he looked over his list before speaking his question.

“Why did you leave your castle again?”

Earth clasps her hands out of habit. “To learn more about how to rule by living with those I would rule over!”

Earth can feel Lunar’s judgment as he followed up on his curiosities. “You couldn’t just talk to your maids or something? Read books?”

“I did, but father said I wouldn’t understand its essence just from studying.”

“So what have you been doing all these years?” Moon inquires.

“W-well… studying and perfecting my craft.” She answers even as the grip in her dress tightens. “But knowledge is needed to rule! It just isn’t everything, which is what father’s trying to teach me.”

Lunar continues, “Did he do what you’re doing before he took the throne?”

“Well, he technically is a Hellborn that worked under my biological father, so living as a citizen was his whole life.” Earth remarks. For whatever reason, maybe because of the constant questions, she starts feeling nervous about how she answers her questions, hoping she’s conveying the answers right.

“Hold on a minute.” Moon says as he looks to recall something “Is the tentacle guy that one you’re calling father?”

Earth nods. “Mr. Creator, yes.”

Now seemingly befuddled, Moon states, “Why the hell is he teaching you?”

Earth feels bristled at the… disrespect? “Because he was sent to raise me and handle my affairs until I’m ready!”

“What’s your favorite color?”

Earth’s attention snaps back to Sunrise as she feels defenses drop at an icebreaker.

“… What? Oh, I mean, Pink. A nice baby or Barbie pink.”

“Favorite animal?”, Sunrise continues.

“Oh... I don’t know. But I do like birds. They’re rather funny creatures.”

With a small pause, Sunrise presses forward with another innocent question.

“You… mentioned you liked movies. Mind naming your favorites?”

Earth gains the smile she didn’t know she lost back as she recalls her favorites.

“Oh yes! I like most Disney princess movies, Barbie movies, admittedly some Hallmark movies, … did I mention Barbie movies? I really love the Barbie movies! Like Princess and the Pauper, Rapunzel… But I digress. Next question?”

After another pause, seemly awkward as the other two men looked as such, Sun raises his hand.

“Sorry to ask another, but you all mentioned me being a baby. Do Hellborn start as babies?”

“Yes! I had a whole childhood and so did Lunar! We were born and had to grow up.”

“Oh. Because I was about to ask why you weren’t given the throne right away. If you were born for it, you could have just gotten it.”

Ah, back to that topic. But this time, she was more interested in the differences between angels and demons. After all, that would mean Sunrise had no childhood whatsoever. How sad. But still intriguing that Sunrise could make that claim.

“Yes… I technically could. But I trust f- Mr. Creator’s plan for my future. If he says I’m not ready, there probably something I’m missing. Unlike what you’ve said about angels, we aren’t born with the knowledge right away. Learning over years is the fun part.”

Sun finally seemed done as Lunar raised his hand with a look of interest on his face.

“How many friends did you have before leaving your house-castle?”

Not sure how to answer, and hoping not to seem stuck up and lonely, she scrambled to find a companion and named the first friend she thought of besides Mr. Creator.

“Uh… Mrs. Geraldine was a wonderful servant who-”

“Peer friends.” Lunar elaborated. “Not friends-you-make-because-they-happen-to-be-there?”

Finally at her limit, and embarrassed, she hugged herself as she looked away.

Never had she wanted to admit she grew up friendless. Well, it wasn’t fair to say she didn’t appreciate the company of those around her. But Mr. Creator was often busy, she was often busy, and the staff had their own jobs to do when they weren’t entertaining her. They stuck with reinforcing her social training and fancy aptitude tests, but it was way too awkward to ever consider them as a peer. As someone who could understand her and see her more than a princess yet to earn the throne.

“…Sunrise? Can you take the next turn?”

Sun, seeing the hurt in her eyes nods. But surprisingly, she spoke before Moon or Lunar could.

“Is it okay if I ask you more about heaven?”

Sun nods again and she gives a soft smile.

“How’s life in general? Or in other words… what do angels do all day?”

Sun found himself giving a small shrug.

“Depends.”

But as all eyes were on him, he saw fit to continue.

“Most of us have small jobs to do in Central Heaven.”

“Central Heaven?” Moon suddenly asked. “Are there rings of Heaven?”

“I wouldn’t call them rings. More like layers? But most of them aren’t accessible until you ascend.”

“Ascend?” Earth questions.

“Yes. Let me explain. When a Winner dies, they are brought through the golden gates and into the Central City. There, while they come to terms with how and when they died, they can enact life like a paradise. Some open coffee shops or restaurants, others start bands, and some try to find love. Most just relax and enjoy their afterlife! And as Heaven-Born angels, we help them find their peace and just keep a good company. But eventually, when a Heaven-Born or Winner has lived out their ideal life, a ceremony is held for them to fly up to meet God and forever join his masses to worship and praise him. Or they can be reincarnated into new Heaven-Born.”

Sun almost misses the squint in Lunar’s eyes as he crosses his arms.

“Why does that sound cult-y.”

Imaginary feathers bristled, Sun can’t help but reply with gritted teeth.

“…Because it is faithful servitude to our one God. But no one is ever hurt or ‘killed’! It’s completely willing!”

“If you say so…”

Moon graciously interrupts the tension. “You said ‘most’ non-rings aren’t accessible. Care to elaborate?”

Sun nods once more. “Yes! Some angels are of a higher status and greater power, like the Astrals. So they get their own realm. And I think the Seraphim have one too? Most angels with high power don’t really retire.”

“Are those the Goetia of Heaven?” Earth ponders to Sun.

“Uh…no. The Seraphim are the makers of order within Heaven and the Astrals have many fate powers over Earth. I believe you said you only did one magic study?”

Earth’s cheek swirls furl bigger. “Yes… Tea.”

“Hold it!”, Lunar interjects, “Now I get to ask, what kind of angels are there? What’s the hierarchy?”

“That… is also an explanation. It isn’t a matter of type, but it is a matter of what you do. If an angel has a job maintaining the Central City, then I guess that would be the lowest. Above that are those with Earthly cantrip duties, like giving someone good luck or looking down on a descendant. Above that are those running under the holy order, which was what I did as an Archive Angel. Then there are the Seraphim and Elder Angels as the Heavenly Order. Then the top of all the rest and only under The Lord and his Son are the Astrals, the counsel of twelve holy keepers of fate and order. But they do mostly keep to themselves because of that.”

As he talked, Sun couldn’t help but notice the wide look in Moon’s eyes, deep blue lit with curiosity. But it made sense in his mind. After all, he was the only audience member that had a chance to see it, being human and all.

“So… what about pets?” Earth asked with a hopeful gaze.

“What about pets?”

“Do you have pets or animals in Heaven?”, she clarified.

“On that topic,” Moon interjected, “what happens to animals that die on Earth?

“I can answer both… kinda. In general, animals don’t have souls. I think they just reincarnate. BUT, not all. Human souls are very powerful and contagious in a way. See, the animals in heaven are there because they died on Earth but had been given enough significance, care, and/or love from the humans in life that they were able to make it to heaven. So there are a lot of previous pets whose lives could only be happier by seeing the ones that brought them here by their positive attachments.”

His mood felt lighter as he saw Earth tear up.

“AWWW! That’s so lovely!”

“What about the ones humans hate?” Lunar intriguingly asked.

“Uh… I should ask you. I only know about the animals in heaven, and that was because a kid wanted to see their best friend again. I never really looked into it, but I just assumed they’d show up… here.”

After asking the somewhat-maybe not- rhetorical question, he received no answer. But after a moment, Lunar looked back at his list and named his next check off.

“I don’t have any more questions about heaven. But I want to ask… why do I never see you use the bathroom?”

“… Excuse?”

“I’ve been watching you because you’re odd. But one of the weirdest things I keep seeing is that even though you wash your hands, you don’t go to the bathroom.”

Sun found himself feeling confronted as he nervously tucked his blanket around himself.

“Well… because I don’t have a reason to be there?”

Sure enough, all three of his house mates gave him looks of concern. But strangely, each with their own flavor.

“Wait… is that why when I asked what you thought of the bathroom, you said you hadn’t seen it??? I thought you were joking!” Earth exclaimed.

“What have you been doing then???” Moon said as he looked him up and down. “Don’t tell me angels have… other waste management methods…”

Sun’s face became heated at the insinuation and he looked away for a moment before meeting Moon’s.

“No. If anything, that’s all magic matters.”

What he didn’t expect was for everyone to look at him as if he were odd… which he knew he must have been for them. So he explained.

“Okay, to be clear, Angels and Winners don’t have human needs. We just need God’s close presence, or what you would call being in Heaven. They just feel like wants to us. Not to mention that in order use our magic to its strongest, we must try to be of full of bodily satisfaction.”

“Soo…” Lunar tonefully drawed out as leaned forward. “What about peeing?”

“We… don’t. Winners tend to have that want to do their human need fulfillments anyways but Heaven-born like I just see them as indulgences. We aren’t born with the thought to, so we don’t.”

Lunar raised an eyebrow as he rested his hand on his fist. “You just… don’t go?”

“Yeah.”

Sun saw Moon scoot forward, still having a confused look on his face. “But there are bathrooms in heaven, since you know what those are?”

“…I’m not an idiot. Besides, I worked with kids. I often had to help them with that department. But I don’t have anything to do that… function.”

Lunar looked Sun up and down before a smile started forming. “Wait! You don’t ANYTHING in your pants?!”

“…No.”

Sun saw as Lunar held in a laugh so he could ask one more question, “You don’t have a dick?!”

“No. I just said I didn’t.”

With that, Lunar kicked his feet as he flew back to double over in laughter. At this, Sun just huffed.

“I literally just said I didn’t have anything. Besides, what would an angel need with human genitalia?”

Moon hummed in consideration as he rubbed his… chin?

“Honestly, that makes sense. I’m not interested in anyone sexually or romantically, so..”

At this, Lunar shot up with a disgusted look on his face.

“Gross! I don’t want to hear about that from you!”

“I JUST SAID I DON’T HAVE IT EITHER!” Moon exclaimed back.

“AND THAT’S WHERE I THINK THE TALK OF MY BOSS’S NON-EXISTANT BALLS SHOULD END!”

“FINE!”

“GOOD!”

The two faced away from each other in a huff as Sun and Earth looked to each other in concerned confusion. But after some glances, Earth raised her hand and Sun nodded.

“If you don’t have the parts, how do you reproduce? … I understand Moon because… the deceased, or I guess Sinners can’t. But…”

“We don’t, and neither can Winners. Like I said, angels aren’t born.”

Moon looks back to Sun. “So what? Do you just reincarnate?”

“No… yes? I guess a good amount of us are, but new angels are still made. When the Earth has a moment of great goodness, a moment of good pure holiness, an angel is born of the traits of the event and the hopes of every person.”

Earths eyes twinkle with the idea of it. “Do you know yours?”

“…No. Not really.” Sun says, rubbing his arms. “I think we’re supposed to get visions of the spiritual aura, but I only have one memory of a smiling mother. So either I’ve been reincarnated too many times, or my event wasn’t that big. Or both. But I feel newer to Heaven, so probably the latter end.

Anyway, before anyone asks, the… actions of reproduction are a ‘thing’. But mostly by adult Winners who have done so in life and enjoyed it. Sometimes Winners can love angels and live happy lives together, then leading to ‘interesting’ relationships. But it’s not common at all. Winners stick to Winners for that type of intimacy.”

Moon suddenly goes to get up and makes his way to the movie cabinet.

“I think it’s about time we wrap up our ‘game’. So here’s my last curiosity to you Sun. Why didn’t you know what Ibuprofen is? Do you not have pain medicine or medical problems in heaven?”

Sun scoffs, “Oh. What would heaven be with pain? No one gets hurt in heaven, silly! The only angels that would get hurt are those that descend to Earth… and here. And any injuries can be fixed by going to a priest. Well, those that don’t…”

He found his words drifting as he started to remember that there was ONE easy way to kill an angel. Specifically, how he got his face scarred.

“Don’t… heavenly metal…”

“What?” Moon asked, which then got Sun to snap back to reality and quickly turn to the imp next to him in a panic.

“Lunar’s turn!”

Lunar felt like opening his jaw at the audacity of the angel, but settled for a scoff of his own.

“Guys! I’m not really in a mood for more questions!”

“Then here’s just one.” Moon states as he finally looks back at him with a narrowed suspicious gaze.

“Who was your first boss?”

…

Everything felt like silence as Lunar seethed. Maybe Earth or Sundawn spoke up, but he heard or saw none of it. And after this morning…

“Just the worst person I’ve ever had to know… but one I called Brother. You don’t know him Moon, I would know if you did. But word of advice, keep your nose in your own fucking business! Or I will kill you myself.

...

Your turn.”

Moon gulped as he truly felt intimidated by the Imp for the first time. But he kept a straight face throughout it, as any conversational expert should. After all, he had a feeling this wasn’t going to be the last mention of Lunar’s old boss.

“Moon… How are the kids?”

Moon snapped back to Sun as he meekly swung the topic back to a more peaceful atmosphere. Huh. Must be an angel thing.

“Kids? What?”

“During the extermination… remember?”

“Oh! Yeah… they’re fine. I brought them to some storage room to ride out the rest of extermination. They all said they had homes to go back to and were used to the commute to and from home. Aaaand they may have told me that they’d get their worker’s comp after all the angels left via raiding the place. But I left them alone so I wouldn’t get myself or anyone else killed.”

Moon was glad Sun sighed in relief but felt odd about how after all this time, the angel had yet to smile. Granted, it’s not like he could fault the guy.

Speaking off, it seemed like everyone reached their limit, so he picked three movies and presented them to the others.

“Alright, which movie are we voting to watch? WALL-E, Megamind, or The Bee Movie?”

“Oh come on!” Lunar exclaimed. “I know you have more gory and interesting movies-”

“-That would be inappropriate for some of our audience. Now man up and choose a lighthearted movie Lunar.”

“… I’m going to get my popcorn ready. Pick whatever.”

Moon watched as Lunar ascended the stairs for some reason, but quickly went back to presenting the three movies.

As Earth hummed in contemplation and Sun had gotten himself cozy by covering himself completely in his blanket, Moon had a sudden Spidey sense go off.

And it was too late, as the door flew open.

Chapter Text

The gator only had two seconds before a swarm of shadows suddenly blasted him way out of the property.

Without a change of his expression, Moon managed to the slam the door with his telekinetic shadow magic. He didn’t even have to lift a finger and the gator was gone. For now.

“Um… who was that?”

Moon slightly snapped out of his focused gaze when Earth addressed him. She was still on the couch while he was still kneeled in front of the TV, facing the front door. He got up and made his way to the door without turning his head away.

“A business partner.”

“Did you… Were you expecting them?”

Moon just stood with his arms crossed, facing the door.

“Nope.”

He knew it was coming. Perhaps another kick? Nah, too predictable.

Moon’s answer to his prediction came with the door being slammed once more, now by an extended hand.

“Alright Checkered Freak. You made yer’ point. Now-”

Monty barely had time to show a crate in his hands before he was blasted backwards once more, now by an extended bundle of vines. Moon quickly looked in shock at Earth, who now looked at him with unease.

“Wait… is that correct? Did I do it wrong?”

Moon couldn’t help but give a soft laugh.

“Well, no. But I wasn’t planning on kicking him out again. That was just punishment for kicking down my door. But I appreciate the sentiment.”

Earth gave him an uncertain smile before dispelling her magic. Closing the door, she holds up a hand to repair the door’s dents in the wood.

“Will he come back?”

Moon nods.

“Let me talk to him. He probably needs something. Otherwise he wouldn’t have made the effort to-”

It suddenly hit him. How did Monty find him? Was he followed? No. He often used his portals to travel to Monty’s area and back. Did he track him? He didn’t think so. There were no such devices in the crate.

Interrupting his thoughts, a polite knock is made from the front door. With a sigh, he opens the door to find the gator standing there, slightly disheveled but now smiling like a salesman.

“I’m here. What are your other two wishes?”

Moon gave Monty a deadpanned look. He really thought the gator was over lame one-liners.

“That they be charming and handsome. But I guess not all wishes come true.”

The gator huffs and matches Moon’s deadpan.

“Yur’ no fun.”

“And you are not clever.”

Monty pushed past Moon, only to be faced with vines forming an X before him, blocking his access.

With an amused smile, Moon looked to Earth once more.

“Thank you. I’ll let you know when he’s allowed in.”

Earth smiled and nodded, but Moon suddenly realized that addressing Earth caused a certain pair of eyes to look to her too.

Rounded red eyes with a slightly opened mouth. Arms hung loosely as they leaned forward. Only to stiffen straight with a clearing of their throat.

“I… see I’ve underestimated Checker’s ability to host guests. Or have a woman in his life.”

Moon gave Monty a suspicious look as the gator leaned against the plant structure in front of him.

“Say… you wouldn’t mind if I… tried to make a better introduction, would you?”

Earth raised an eyebrow and her smile morphed in uncertainty. “I don’t mind?”

“Well then,” Monty said with a slight smile. “Name’s Montgomery Gator. A humble Sports Entertainment Overlord with a knack for business.”

He then traced down to his two scarves, gesturing to the blue one, then the gray one.

“Today I go by he/them, but I’m generally gender fluid, so you can use whatever. And you are, sweet cheeks?”

Moon felt his face heat at Monty’s attitude as Earth gave a small curtsy.

“My name is Earth. I’m… uh, she/her, a-and it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Moon could feel her embarrassment as she tripped over her words, as if she’s never introduced herself, but Monty didn’t seem to mind.

But Moon placed a hand on the gator’s shoulders firmly.

“Okay Monty, why the visit? And how did you find me?”

The gator huffed and stared at the ceiling before turning back to lean his back against the structure.

“Orientation. Ever since that big ol’ factory closed down, I’ve gotten a wave of child laborers to join my business. Their parents are joining orientation and I’d rather not meet the scamps and their judgy parents. So I’m making myself busy, kapeesh?”

“And why MY place?”

“Cause you said I was gonna meet someone new at the dinner. An’ I don’t see you doin’ somin’ important right now. So ya gonna let me in?”

The sinner narrowed his eyes.

“Not before I asked how you found me.”

There were a few seconds of silence and staring between the two business partners before Monty relented.

“If I give you a gift, will ya just let me stay fer a couple of hours?”

“You better have brought a good bribe.” Moon grumbled as he rolled his eyes. He then gestured a hand to Earth to let the gator in. As soon as she lowered the gate, Monty made a few smooth steps toward her.

“So… did it hurt when you fell from heaven?”

A squeak sounded from behind them, prompting all of them to look towards the (slightly glowing?) blue eyes surround in all the blankets. Internally cursing at himself for forgetting about the angel, Moon was quick to block Monty’s view as he held his hips.

“Dang Checkers. You shur’ you aint hostin’ some kind of shindig?”

Earth stepped in, redirecting Monty’s gaze to her.

“We are currently living with Moon for the time being. Hopefully to get back on our feet in the city.”

Moon felt the gears in Monty’s head turn as he looked Earth up and down.

“…Moon? Huh. This ain’t a poly thing?”

Moon felt his face burn at Monty’s joke as Earth looked awkward.

“No… we do not have that relationship.” Earth stammered. “I, myself, have never had any romantic relationships and I believe Moon has stated he’s against having a romantic partnership.”

“You don’t say~” Monty cooed as he took one more step towards Earth with half-lidded eyes, but was soon blocked by Moon’s body.

“Nuh uh. Not her. She’s not available, so beat it.”

Monty huffed and bent down a bit to face Moon, despite being slightly taller only because of his boots.

“And who are you to dictate that? You ain’t dating her. And you can’t complain about being friend-zoned.”

“Y-yeah, w-well…” Moon scrambled as the heat in his face made him scramble for any rational reason why he would care about his business partner trying to woo his guest. For some reason, he hated the idea of Monty dating someone so close to him living with him. Then it clicked.

“Th-that’s because she’s my sister!”

Eyes widen from the gator as he pushed Moon aside and looked between them both. Moon couldn’t help but look to Earth in hopes of her knowing to go along with it. She seemed somewhat surprised but smiled and nodded as she faced Monty, even carrying herself prouder.

“Yes, he’s my brother! We even have a celestial theme if you can tell!”

To Moon’s relief, Monty sighs and fixes his glasses to finally cover those stupid eyes.

“I guess. I shoulda assumed only Moon’s family would want to be around the soaking sod.”

Moon didn’t know what to do but feel offended as the gator plopped on the couch.

“So watcha supposed ta be watchn’?”

With Earth giving a small shrug to Moon, he goes to pick up the movies.

“We were deciding between movies that some of us have never watched.”

“Oh! Bee Movie! That’s a good beginner watch.”

As Moon scanned the room, Earth simply shrugged with a smile and Sun was just cautiously staring between the gator and him. So he started up the DVD player and put in the disk.

“Hey, I only have a one huge bag of white cheddar…”

Eyes were on Lunar as he stopped going down the stairs with his bag of popcorn to see Monty with the gang on the couch.

“Hey Pop Squat! You wouldn’t happen to have any beer anywhere in the house to give me, would ya?”

Lunar double blinked and looked to Moon’s probably uncomfortable stance and the others’ caution.

“…No. Sorry. Fresh out.”

Monty grumbled as he pulled into his jacket and took out a crisp bill.

“Then do me a favor and buy somethin’ strong at the next store. Enough fer… everyone here minus Moon.”

Moon couldn’t help but narrow his eyes at Monty’s stressing of his name when he realized… Monty was calling him Earth’s name for him.

And from the sounds of it, the gator would never let that name go. So much for being called Chess or Checkers again.

Eh. Better than Twinkles.

“And while yur’ at it, you can help Moon collect the package he spilled.” The gator said as he pointed a claw out the door.

As the trailers started playing, Moon raised an eyebrow and peeked outside with Lunar and Earth.

Sure enough, another crate of Mont-Gatorade was spilled out where Earth had shoved him (Yet he was blamed for it??? Typical Monty). Some of it even falling into a puddle with some ice, probably spilled by some newly arriving neighbor dropping their cooler by how there’s still chunks of ice in it. So since it was ‘his fault’, Moon sighed and used his magic to collect the drinks and carry it inside the house.

“Okay, but why? I already got the crate per our deal.”

“Eh”, the green sinner shrugged. “Figured you could use it for your thirsty friend.”

Moon narrowed his eyes and a thought came to mind.

“You better not be giving me more crap to get me to pay you more in case I don’t follow through with the deal.”

Monty’s smirk said it all as Moon sighed. He had the door shut with his shadows before Lunar groaned and opened the door again. He couldn’t emit a sorry before Lunar left to supposingly get the drinks. Which come to think of it… who would drink except Monty?

He himself was fine with drinks but didn’t like beer, Lunar said he didn’t like getting more than tipsy, Earth (with her affluent background) didn’t seem to be a big drinker, and he really couldn’t see the angel ever liking such things. Speaking of, Moon couldn’t help but spare a glance to Sun, who seemed to be keeping Monty in sight as he curiously watched the trailers. It was only a matter of time before Monty addressed the blanketed guy in the room. And the last thing Moon wanted was for Monty to find out things about… his whole being.

If anything, there were SO MANY secrets he had to keep from Monty. Namely Sun’s angelhood and Earth’s royal lineage.  From Earth’s introduction, it seemed she was not eager to reveal her rank and with his declaration of familial ties (Which he’ll have to apologize for later), Monty is probably under the impression that she’s also a Sinner. Not to mention, it seems ‘Mr. Creator’ did a favor by not showing her publicly, so it was harder to recognize her without certain contexts. As for Sun… he still had his exorcist pants, albeit hidden under his blanket.

That’s it. The next thing he’ll do is get the guy some clothes. Maybe he can sneak Sun away quick enough to throw some clothes to him? Maybe he still has some clothes somewhere in his warehouses…

The movie started.

As the monologue started, Moon found himself watching for any moves from Monty. And in turn, Monty eventually looked back at him. But before either one can speak, someone else did.

“They fly because they don’t care what humans think? That’s not true. That sounds like something Huey used to say. If I recall, bees can fly because their wings flap incredibly fast so they stay upright, typically over 200 times in a second. Also, their wings can rotate up to ninety degrees, allowing maximum choppy wing beats that make their flight possible.”

Monty looked dumbfounded by the angel as they rambled on a bit more about the vibrating muscles of a bee. Moon even found himself shocked at how Sun continues talking as if everyone was a willing listener.

“-Is that a bee? I’ve never known they had shoes that small.” Sun says, interrupting his line of thought as the beginning scene plays out. But before Sun could say anything else damning, Moon swept Sun up and tsk’d at him.

“Poor guy’s off his meds again. Time for your new dose.”

He swiftly walks Sun down the hallway, up the stairs, and all the way to the closet/portal room before dumping the angel on a pile of extra beanbags, making the angel let out a small ‘Oof’ upon landing.

“New rule Sun. Don’t ask questions in front of strangers.”

“What? Why?”

Moon opens his drawers and portals to try and scrounge around for some article of clothing.

“Because you’re trying to pass as human. Humans know what bees are, but not all that much about them! And if you’re not passing as a Sinner, then you’ll need to already know about how hell works! So do me a favor and don’t rat yourself out like that. Ask Lunar, Earth, or I a question quietly if it’s important or later when we’re alone. Got it?”

Moon finally manages to whip out a random, oversized red sweater and tosses it to Sun.

“Here. Put this on while I find you some pants.”

Moon doesn’t look to see if Sun’s obeying, but trusts in his ability to listen as he tries to search his magic inventory for any bottoms.

“I… don’t want to go back down there. Can’t I stay in the room?”

“No can do.” Moon says as he pulls out various shorts from the drawer, tossing them towards Sun. “Monty’s seen you. He’ll want to talk to you. He’s always nosy when he thinks I’ve gained a new friend because he doesn’t believe in having a friend of a friend.”

“Maybe he’s just being friendly?”

“Favors are easier to get if you know people. He just wants people to exploit.”

Sun lets out a hum in consideration before Moon opens a small portal to his warehouse big enough to put his upper body through. After all, he only needs to borrow some scrap clothing before letting the angel out of the house. It would have been one thing to have the angel shirtless, though it would have exposed the wing loss, but it was something else to have Sun walk around without pants. Which would lead to… insinuations. But even that would be better than still wearing any part of his exorcist outfit. Speaking of, Sun never even asked where his shirt went, despite Moon finding it on the floor and putting it in the desk drawer.

After opening the crate and blindly shoving stuff back for a few minutes, Moon retreated back and started searching through his pile. All shorts were sorted away while Sun looked at each one. Unfortunately, the angel seemed to be so thin that most of the pants and shorts wouldn’t fit, while child ones were to small and short. But he eventually found some woman’s tight shorts that Sun just put on. No shielding himself or looking away, just undressing in front of Moon! But Moon was still glad that the angel had undergarments. Looking away for his own peace of mind, he briefly remembered how he had thought about checking his sex, baby style, but can now laugh to himself on how that would have solved nothing according to Sun’s account of his physicality.

Once the beanbag made it’s getting-up sound, Moon turned back to see the angel looking so casual to a human’s lazy day.

It was just a sweater and some shorts, but it surprisingly went well with his unkempt hair and his tired demeanor.

“Well… at least you look human now?”

Sun gave a small hum as he had to squat down to pick up his discarded blanket from where he was dropped.

“This… does feel right.”

 “It… does?” Moon can’t help but ask.

“I… guess? It feels… familiar.”

Moon gives a ‘huh’ statement before throwing some of the clothes back though his portal, letting Sun talk to him.

“I mean, if I’m not supposed to look human, I guess I could just go back to my natural form.”

Moon paused mid-throw to look back at him.

“… Natural form? You mean you’re not supposed to look human?””

“Well, no. But it was better for the exorcist uniform if I was. And it helped when I was in childcare for the children’s comfort.”

Moon looked Sun up and down, not being able to keep back his intrigue.

“Can you show me? J-Just to see if you’re better off disguising in that form.”

Sun hugged his arms with a nervous look on his face.

“I… can’t really do that without my halo. It’s kind of my source of… wait! Is that my powers don’t work?!”

It was as if something clicked in Sun’s head as he looked to Moon.

“My magic… it’s tied to holy things, like heaven! So not having my halo, my only possession left…”

“You need it back.” Moon finishes the sentence as he strolls to leave the house.

“Wait! Where are you going?” Sun calls from behind him.

“The alley! I just need to hope no one took it-”

“It’s not there!”

Moon was on foot in the closet portal when he turned back to Sun.

“What do you mean it’s not there? Where is it?” Moon asked straightforwardly.

“I-It’s in the um… living room. I… may have threw it.” Sun stammered as his voice quieted with each word.

But it didn’t matter. The words ‘living room’ had Moon sprinting to that exact room, but ended up slamming right into big, green, and ugly for his troubles, landing him on the floor.

“Dude. You gotta learn that you might be taller than me, but I’m stronger than yer twig arms.”

“Not now Monty!” Moon hissed. “Trying to find something.”

“Speaking of,” Monty starts as he grabs Moon’s shoulders as he had tried to run past the gator, “Earth Drop is the one yer bringing to the dinner, right?”

“Not now Monty! I’ve gotta find… something!”

“Oh?” The gator intrigues, “What did ya lose? Maybe I can help.”

Moon suddenly realized that unless Monty turned a blind eye, there wasn’t much of a possibility of sneaking the halo past him. After all, the gator had impressive (albeit random) moments of observational logic. So Moon decided to calm down.

“You know what? It’s probably not important. Now, what did you want?”

Moon only asked because they bumped in the hallway and totally not as a cheap way to distract the ADHD lizard.

“I was gonna find the bathroom.”

Moon needed no words to point to the correct door, to which he had to hold a death grip on his horses at the sight of Monty kicking the bathroom door open.

“MONTGOMERY! You don’t just kick down someone’s door!”

“It’s fun!”

“I’ll do that to your office next!”

The gator proclaimed with a jabbed finger, “Don’t! That’s mahogany! You’d be paying for it!”

“Like you’re paying for my doo- Hey! You never even told me-”

There was no chance to finish that sentence as Monty entered and shut the bathroom door. Moon had to let out a vented noise of anger while holding up his clawing hands.

“It’s… not in here.”

Moon quickly looked to see Sun, wrapped like a nun in blankets, standing in the middle of the living room.

“I don’t… feel it here. Maybe I did leave it in our room.”

Moon sighed in relief? Frustration? A mix of the two?

“Why didn’t you say that upstairs?!”

Moon immediately felt bad as Sun shrinked in on himself.

“I…. just didn’t feel it. I thought…. Maybe it would be in the last place I saw it.”

Moon was about to approach the angel, but felt himself hold back.

After all, it felt like he’s only caused Sun suffering since the day they met. But… was it wrong to feel like maybe he didn’t regret it? No! He must have surely! Empathy and all… which he didn’t have.

Maybe he is a psychopath. His earthly ‘gang’ would have been proud.

“I’m sorry, what did someone lose?”

Moon felt his breath hitch as, for the millionth time, he had completely overlooked Earth this whole time. How was it that she blended so easily in the background?! Maybe she’s the one that needs bells! Perhaps they all should have bells!

But, not wanting Monty to overhear, he pointed to Sun and traced a circle over his own head.

Earth then widened her eyes.

“Sunrise, you didn’t get it back?”

The said angel looked close to tears as he shook his head.

“Come on, we’ll find it later.” Moon said as he moved to escort Sun to the couch. “Maybe we’ll go looking for it tonight when none of us are busy.”

Earth nodded and straight up picked up Sun to place him on, what might as well be his, armchair.

Moon, in turn, went to at least make some food so Sun would have a reason to not talk very much.

After all, what’s a movie without popcorn?

*_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Sun didn’t bother watching the movie after he was placed back in the living room chair. The plot was confusing, he wasn’t allowed to ask why the jocks were drones instead of worker bees, and he couldn’t understand what that whole ‘suing’ thing was about. Something about arguing in a classroom with tuxedos on that dictates how all of humanity would be? Could he sue the human race against poverty?

Nothing made sense, so he only mildly listened. And it was still weird to look to a television for entertainment.

He knew what television was. But television wasn’t a huge thing in heaven. It was much more of an experience to watch plays and theatre, and the kids loved it.

Here… it’s just weird. Why did the actors look so funny? Was the camera just… what would the human call it… bad quality?

But admittedly, his gaze mostly focused on the others. The green animalistic one was laughing out loud, sending strange looks to Earth which made him uncomfortable, and chowed down on whatever food Moon gave him without so much as a thank you. This… Montgomery Gator character was so unnerving for reasons he couldn’t name. So when the Montgomery Gator asked him a few questions, he admittedly was short to the point, as Moon had said he shouldn’t talk too much.

Name? Sun.

Why are you here? Died.

Can you show your face? No.

Are you just going to stare at me?

… He didn’t answer Montgomery Gator.

He knew staring was rude so he tried looking away. But his gaze always came back to the guest. Especially how Moon seemed hesitant to let him in to the point that sugar-sweet Earth had seemed cautious around this character.

He knew what he was doing wasn’t conspicuous. Moon was even looking between Montgomery Gator and himself in caution. But it was proven that whatever he did was pointless anyway. As such, the Montgomery Gator just watched the confusing show on the television until the credits rolled. Probably Earth and Moon did too, but he wasn’t as focused on them as he was with the guest.

“Well Monty. Now that the movie’s done, you can go.”

The guest seemed offended by Moon’s statement.

“Seriously? But I got another couple hours to kill!”

“You haven’t even given me the bribe yet, Montgomery!”

The Montgomery grumbled before his hand glowed in red.

“If you let me stay an extra two hours, I’ll pay for the meal tomorrow. Minus drinks.”

Moon narrowed his eyes in what looked like distrust. For some reason, Moon seemed very tense around his business partner, regarding him with annoyance and skepticism. Like enemies.

“As long as you have no say in what we get to order on your dime, I accept.”

The Montgomery grumbled once more before the two shake hands, Moon’s black combining with the red.

Just then, Earth stands up.

“You know… I’ve been meaning to furnish the upstairs. Mind helping with the muscle-power, Montgomery?”

Sun couldn’t help but feel a sense of unease. Why in the world would a host ask their guest to do labor for them? Then again, with how the Montgomery is smiling, it seems it was a delight to be asked that.

He tried not to keep the grievance against Earth’s character. After all, she is from hell. And she’s one of the upper class. If hell is like the Earth realm, then Earth must be used to asking things of others. It’s not her fault she was raise like that. If anything, she still turned out to be a lovely person.

As the others talked and left to start moving the boxes around the stairs, Sun found himself staring back to the screen as the credits rolled. All those names… all to go to jobs he could never have known what each did. He only stopped staring when he felt the familiar aura of Lunar as he returned with the ‘beer’ Montgomery had requested.

Lunar, once inside, did a quick scan of the house before approaching Sun.

“Hey… did Monty leave already? Where is everybody?”

Sun shifted forward and pulled down the hood of his blankets to properly talk to the demon.

“No. They went to furnish upstairs.”

Lunar scoffed and placed his bags on the table, full of bottles and cans. He then heads to the kitchen and comes back with a few glasses.

“Well, I went through the trouble and I’m not going through all that to not watch a stupid movie. I’m replaying it again.”

As Lunar reset the television, Sun looked down to the drinks. Lunar noticed and opened a bottle and pours a glass to hand to him.

“It’s alcohol. Don’t worry, this one is mild and tastes like watermelon.” After a moment, Lunar added, “Have you… ever had alcohol?”

Sun shook his head.

“No. I know what it is, but I’ve never bothered.”

“Well, take a swig, halo. Let me know what you think.”

Trying hard to ignore the nickname, he decided it wouldn’t hurt to try out the drink.

It… wasn’t bad. There was a hint of a taste he can only apply to handsanitizer, but it mostly tasted like watermelon juice.

“It’s good. What is it called?”

“Sangria” Lunar replied. “I know it has a kick, but it’s not bad.”

After a moment, Lunar seemed to contemplate something.

“Do you… know what alcohol does?”

“Um… no?” Sun asked, suddenly feeling his mood lighten as he took another few sips.

“Let’s just say it… helps you not worry so much about things. You might get a bit dizzy if you drink too much, but some people like burying their feeling away in this stuff.”

Sun hummed and tried to savor the drink, but it was so sugary and unlike other drinks, the flavor seemed to strengthen with each sip. Soon, the whole drink was down the hatch.

As Lunar looked at him, Sun felt the urge to laugh as his head got really warm.

“Hey… my head feels fuzzy. Its so fuzzy!” Sun giggled. “My head feels like a stuffy!”

“That’s… something.” Lunar said, seeming to take notice of his condition. He even seemed surprised when Sun took another glass just to end up chugging that one down too.

Sun took the time to marvel at how his hands felt so… numb! He poked at his palm and chuckled to himself, smiling for what seemed like the first time since being de-winged.

Ha. De-winged!

He felt a small blush as he laughed to himself, only to feel a cold hand press against his face.

“SHHH! Quiet! What the hell is wrong with you?!”

Sun gave a big smile under Lunar’s hands. “Ha… I get it… cause we’re in hell.”

What Sun couldn’t get over was how Lunar seemed scared of him, just like Sun was scared of him when they first met.

“Wait, you were what?”

Sun’s giggled stopped as he felt the numbness leaving him.

“What?”

“You… said you were scared of me?”

Sun shrugged as he felt more… everything. He hadn’t gotten rid of all the fuzziness, but it was slowly dying out.

“Oh yeah… you have a weird demon thingy. Like you’re full of dirtiness that I don’t wanna touch. But you also feel like home! It’s so weird!”

Sun let out one more laugh before the numbness left him and he was treated to a killer headache.

He hissed like a territorial cat as all the weird head-stuff disintegrated.

“Sun?!”

Sun turned his head to see Moon approaching him. He seemed really concerned for some reason.

“Are you okay? Did Lunar hurt you?”

“No!” Lunar exclaimed, clearly on the defense.

“No…” Sun said as he sat back up. Surprisingly, he finally felt his back muscles screaming in protest as he felt himself coming back to clarity. “Lunar just… let me try his Sangrita drink. I’m fine now.”

And it was true. That pain only lasted a few seconds and that was it. For how long he… felt at ease(?), it wasn’t that bad. Was that what happened? He felt uncertain about what happened, but did feel a sense of calm about it all. Lunar was right. Alcohol was good at erasing anxiety! No wonder humans turned to it all the time.

“Of course. Don’t worry Sun. Alcohol is supposed to burn, but a little shouldn’t do anything to you.”

Sun seemed confused but Lunar stepped in.

“Yeah… it’s an acquired taste. Don’t worry Moon, I just wanted him to try a bit. No harm in that, right?”

Moon sighed and went to hold a hand out to Sun.

“Come on, Earth agreed to switch rooms with us. I need your input on the room if you’ll be staying here for a while.”

Sun nodded and went to leave with Moon, never looking back to notice a mischievous look on the demon’s little face.

Chapter Text

With every grunt, Earth worried Montgomery wouldn’t be able to handle the furniture moving, but since he just trucked along, she just guided him into putting everything in just the right place.

That is, now that she and Moon have officially switched rooms.

The option was revealed to her when she spent the night with Lunar, specifically noticing how at-home Lunar made himself in that small of a room. She almost felt ashamed of having the biggest room, but Lunar seemed just fine and so did Moon.

However, now that Sunrise was seeming to permanently share a bedroom with Moon, she would not have them share such a smaller room. She may be a princess, but it not like she needed excessitivity!

…If that’s even a real word.

Either way, she had opened up her windows and prepared it to be ready for the two… for Sunrise and Moon.

What were they to each other? Even now… just because Moon called her his sister (which had her flying over rainbows in her head in pure joy), it didn’t mean Sunrise had to pick a familial tie. In fact, Earth made a mental note to start asking questions about Moon’s life so she could pass of as his sister. As a new Sinner, it would definitely help her go incognito! It gave her a reason to be naive, to have powers, and to stay around Moon. But If Montgomery knew Moon or Moon had other closer friends… she would need to play her sisterly part perfectly!

ANYWAY! Off topic!

When Montgomery was first moving the boxes upstairs, Earth was quick to pull Moon aside, which he didn’t seem to mind at all.

 “If you don’t mind me asking, is he…?”

“Being rude? Yes. But that’s Monty for you.”

She decided to forgo her original question to follow the lead he was providing.

“So… are you two friends?”

Moon blew out some air as he thought it over.

“I guess? I’m kind of friendly? He’s too friendly.” Moon stated with a shrug.

“Speaking of… was he flirting with me? I’ve never had anyone speak to me like that. Or at least not as direct and unregally.”

Moon’s non-existent lips pursed as he looked incredibly awkward, more so than when he was being accused of being poly.

“…Yes. He is. But he tends to be the kind of guy to shoot his shot with any girl he likes enough. Not that those lead to relationships, let alone long ones.”

Earth suddenly stopped the conversation as she saw Montgomery come down the stairs. It took some awkward standing around, but he soon left back up with another few boxes.

“So… I also think we should switch rooms.”

Moon’s face furrowed in question at the, admittedly, out-of-nowhere request.

“Why? Is there something wrong with it?”

“Oh goodness no! It’s just…” Earth had to take a second to fidget with her hands before continuing. “I don’t think it’s fair to have the biggest room when you and Sunrise are direct roommates. I very much believe you two should have my room! I swear most of the scent should have left by now… I think. But I can fix that too!”

Earth anxiously waited as Moon seemed to contemplate the idea. Cold ran through her blood as Moon seemed to give the same look Mr. Creator did any time he wasn’t sure of her. Was it insulting to give her bedroom to him and Sun when she had worked in it? Would it be too weird to switch with a princess, or at the very least with a girl? Would it never have its scent go away?

“I… think that would be best. Sun needs to stay away from the balcony anyways.”

Okay, now to recover and perhaps figure out another time to-

Wait… he accepted?

He accepted!

“If you want, I can even give you the basement if you need somewhere for your potions. It’s… unsettling right now, but it has its own ventilation system.”

Smiling, she wanted to celebrate, but consensually switching rooms was not that high of an accomplishment. But maybe she could finally use that cake mix… maybe even visit Pastime Palace in the Sloth ring! With Lunar, of course!

Speaking of, she was planning on talking to him before he left. After all, she couldn’t help but be wary of his week-long errand.

But before she could, Montgomery had huffed at them as if indicating if they were just going to stand there lazily while he worked. So she made sure to follow and let her inner designer take the reigns as she instructed Monty what to do.

By the time she and Montgomery had finished her room, his watch started beeping. After unceremoniously throwing it out the door and off the balcony, he looked back to her.

“Well, as fun as… this was, I’ll need to head back. Can’t avoid my paperwork ferever. But real quick…”

He opened his jacket and pulled out a thin, small, wrapped gift and held it out to her.

“Just a… token of a new friendship. I like to have little reminders of the people I’ve met and fe’r them to have somethin’ to move around to identify them as at least a friendly acquaintance.”

She unwrapped to gift to find, around a piece of cardboard to keep the gift’s shape, a silky gray piece of fabric. But as soon as she touched it…

She gasped as stripes of Magenta, Yellow, and Sky Blue sparkled unto the fabric, shining as if it had been that way all along. Looking up with an astonished smile, she noticed Monty looked surprised, but also happy as he looked at her fondly.

“Ya don’t hafta wear it, but maybe keep it on ya when ya walk around town. And let me know if ya ever need somi’n that ol’ Moon can’t getcha.”

He also pulls out a business card before adjusting his jacket.

“I really better get goin’ now. If Lunar’s here, I’ll get those beers on the go. So… See ya later?”

Earth could help but giggle a bit at how Montgomery suddenly acted so ackward after such a nice act. Who knew so many Sinners had such kind spirits.

“Until our next meeting, Montgomery.”

“Please, call me Monty.”

“Very well,” she replied, “Until then, Monty.”

He smiled and she swore he gained a darker color on his cheeks before leaving, stomping footsteps heard every step. Gently placing the fabric on her bare mattress, she contemplated what she was to do next. Though she did notice how the fabric didn’t change back to gray even after it left her hands.

She wanted to check on Sun, but Moon did that shortly after throwing in some boxes with his magic. She wasn’t sure how much magic she wanted to show, so she had let Monty carry them as he had insisted she not lift any of the boxes herself.

Maybe check in on Lunar? Hopefully he hadn’t planned to leave this early in the day…

*_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Lunar had just been chilling on the couch, almost dozing off when he had suddenly heard what sounded like a rhino charging. He barely had time to move before Monty slid to the coffee table to open and drink three beers at once.

“Holy shit Lunar… that girl was fine. But also with ‘meet your mother’ vibes. How the hell did they come from the same loins?! Or stick, I aint trying to assume.”

Lunar only comprehended… okay, he didn’t understand a damn thing.

“Girl… same what?”

“Earth. The woman living here. Unless blanket ghost is one too.”

Lunar has to prevent himself from having a stroke at the mention of the princess. Did… Did Monty like like her?!

In the surprise, Lunar barked a laugh.

“And what’s making you so giggly?”

Lunar tried to reign in his laughter as the scale stalker put his hands on his hips.

“Dude… she’s WAY out of your league!”

Monty seemed to take offence, but Lunar held up a hand to shut him up for another second.

“Besides, she’s very young for you. Aren’t you like, several hundred years old?”

“Har Har.” The ancient one huffed. “I ain’t that old. ‘Sides, long as she ain’t under 20, it’s all fine.”

Lunar watched as he took the rest of the bag and seemingly peaced out.

“See ya ‘round, Lunar Swift.”

“Right back at cha’, future footwear!”

He watched the sinner close the door and leave with his goods before relaxing back on the couch. But he soon felt earily uneasy as small footsteps made their way down the steps.

Moon? No, his steps are quiet.

Sundew? Not likely with how the thumps are one after the other, not with pauses or stumbles.

He looked to see that it was indeed Earth as she sat next to him from the opposite side of the couch.

“Lunar, may we have a chat? Specifically, about your departure?”

Lunar internally groaned but nodded to Earth, who then clasped her hands together like she always does when she’s afraid of something socially. Funny how he’s come to notice her textbook quirks that resembled animes more than real body language.

“I wonder why you must be gone for the whole week? Where will you go and where will you stay to sleep? Will the journey be safe?”

Lunar looked up the ceiling as he recalled when Moon had approached him about the gig.

“I supposed to go visit Moon’s storage houses to make sure his employees keep up with organizing his hording. Just some quick inventory stuff. In-between visits, I’ll be staying at nearby hotels at each of the rings. A bit of a tour in general.”

His hopes were brought true as Earth seemed to relax a bit. Her face seemed to shift into interest.

“So you get to visit all around, for inventory?”

Lunar nodded and Earth seemed to sorrowfully smile.

“I admit, I almost wish I could go.”

Lunar cocked an eyebrow as Earth suddenly went back to being nervous.

“Oh, what I mean is… as much as I love being here, I’ve been wanting to see the other rings! After all, I’ve kind of been in the castle my whole life so...”

Earth rambled on as Lunar had a tough choice to make.

She wouldn’t mind a ‘no’. She was probably expecting it. But what she wouldn’t know, was that the only thing holding him back… was what happened this morning.

Just like how he had to integrate his wind powers in his life, he had a feeling the ice was here to stay. It felt a bit more… unnatural than the wind, but it was a new power nonetheless. What would she think if she found out he acquired this new ability? Would she have questions? Would he be tempted to mention the vision?

He normally wouldn’t come to such paranoia, but there was something so earnest about her that made her feel so… trustworthy.

Maybe it was because brother would never soften his words.

“Then pack your bags. Come with me.”

 Earth seemed to do a double-take as she was shocked by his interruption.

“I could use the help. And you can see what it’s like for Imps. But you’re going to have to eat the foods I’m making. Deal?”

Earth sat there, looking dumbfounded for a second before sprinting off. He can only assume it was to quickly pack her things due to his impulsive move.

After all, it wasn’t her that he was running from…

Getting up finally, he turned off the tv and dvd player before going upstairs to secure his items.

…

…

…

“Oh! And Lunar?”

Lunar poked his head out of his room as he heard the call.

“Have you seen Sunrise’s halo anywhere? Him and Moon were looking for it, and the last place I saw it was in the living room.

Oh.

Fuck.

*_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Sun laid out on the bed, watching Moon go from fabric to fabric to pick the right texture for his new sheets. Even though Moon had said he always picked cotton sheets, he seemed unsure whether he wanted to stick with his usual option, or pick something new. He could relate, but now he was stuck in a world that seemed so alien to him. So did he care about what bed he got? Not really. But when Moon showed him pictures for bed options, he picked one that looked quaint. A bed frame with decorative shelves instead of a headboard, and with drawers underneath the mattress. Back in his old room, it wasn’t very big, as was typical with heavenborn. He could have asked for a bigger room, but he liked the snug feeling of it all. But now, he not only had a bigger room, he was sharing it with Moon, supposingly.

Moon had mentioned offhandedly a few times that he’d look into moving out soon, but Sun had a funny feeling he was just saying that to convince himself. Moon clearly found some joy in being around them, despite his aloofness. But he’d rather never push him into anger again. He already felt so much shame from the earlier incident that he was hoping Moon would forget about the halo. Perhaps he could walk around to try and detect it himself?

“Hey Sun?”

Sun hummed his acknowledgment.

“Just to let you know, we should probably give you a Sinner story. Just as a way to avoid other questions.”

Sun nodded and went back to staring at the ceiling. He felt his inner perfectionist wither in agony as he wished he could arrange his part of the room. But lately? He had been feeling tired more inwardly than usual. Like, to the core of his being.

“Simple. I’m a human that died via sunburn. Hence the Sun face.”

“…What Sun face? The burn?”

Sun faced him with what he was sure was a deadpan.

“Not my real form, remember? Besides, maybe I won’t have this burn in my true self.”

Falsehood. Sun knew the burn was there to stay. Even if he loved feeling the pain, nothing could match the burn of heavenly metal to make his face not look like Moon’s.

“Maybe I stared at an eclipse? Hence the shadow mark?”

Moon scoffed at Sun’s lame excuse, but Sun couldn’t bother. He looked around and saw a box thrown on the floor that he hadn’t seen before.

Rolling off the bed, he walked on over and picked up the box. But he fumbled, not realizing the lip was on loosely, resulting in the fabric inside to spill. And amidst it, a small black object lay on top. It seemed to be a small pin with a cartoon, long version of that Montgomery Gator’s face. But a quick swipe of Moon’s hand quickly proved this opinion wrong as Moon growled.

“Tracker. That son of a bi-! That’s how he found me?!”

“I guess.” Sun remarked as he lifted the fabric to reveal a brown vest strangely similar to Moon’s.

“What’s this?”

Moon groaned as he waved away the spilled clothes.

“It’s a stupid thing for a dare. I’ve gotta wear it tomorrow during a dinner.”

Even as Moon begrudged this, Sun felt intrigued as he brought it to his own waist

“Huh. This looks like it could fit me.”

Sun heard a scoff as he moved to try it all on.

“Please! I know you’re not exactly big around the waist, but there’s no way you’re as bamboo thin as me.”

Sun did feel a bit of a tightness to the pants, but not too much to be uncomfortable.

“I dunno. It fits nice.”

Moon looked back in tired doubt, only for his eyes to widen as he looked Sun up and down. Moments went by and Sun started to feel uncomfortable before hands were suddenly on his shoulders, desperation in the grip.

“Are you… okay with that outfit on? Truly?”

Sun nodded, but he felt like Moon wasn’t listening as a supposed lightbulb lit up in his head.

“Moon-?”

“Sun.” Moon butted in, eyes lit up in what Sun can only call smug mischief.

“Any chance you feel like going out with me to dinner tomorrow?”

Chapter Text

Fiddling with his hands, the angel left sick to his stomach. He laid on his mattress, trying to pretend to sleep as Moon typed away on his computer. Seems like the Sinner didn’t sleep much, yet insisted that he sleep every night. Moon would only stop his persistent bugging if he laid down and didn’t move much. So be it, Sun thought to himself. Yet, he wasn’t going to sleep. There was so much to think about:

What was the rest of hell like?

What food does hell serve?

Would everyone be rude and mean? Should he be rude and mean?

Should he be ready to kill anyone whose about to kill him?

What didn’t help were the… talks he had earlier. Small fights that brought up concerns that were less about the contents… be what his character even was anymore.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

As the angel tightly gripped his blankets around himself, Moon paced to and fro in front of him.

 “Okay, let’s run this again. What’s your name?”

“Sonny. But people called me Sun.”

“How did you die, Sun?”

“I died of de-hy-dra-tion. I’d rather not say more. It’s still fresh in my mind.”

“So how do ya know Moon-pie here?” Moon growled with a somewhat-southern accent.

“…Moon-pie?”

“Answer the question Sun.”

“Uh, Well, we’re… third cousins?”

“Not confident enough, Sun. From the top.”

Sun leaned forward from where he sat on his new bed, face pressed into his hands in frustration as he groaned.

“I can’t do it! I hate lying!”

“Hate it or not, you need to learn how to in order to survive here.” Moon exasperates.

Sun felt sick to his stomach as he tried to repeat these same lies to Moon’s satisfaction. He knew it was necessary! But maybe Moon could try to meet on his level? Every sentence felt disgusting in practice. He hated how he’s ‘dying’ to a negligence of the body. He hated how ‘Sunrise’ wasn’t a human enough name, so he had to have some stupid random human name. And why did he even have to make some weird familial tie like third cousin! What even is a third cousin?!

No… breathe. Calm down. He found himself mentally smacking him upside the head for thinking the name Sonny was stupid or thinking de-hy… dying to lack of water was pathetic. He hated insulting any other Sonny or poor soul that had to die slowly. It’s just… this level of frustration was usually solved in training when he had a target to get it out. But in Hell… Not to mention, he swears his temper has only gotten worse, like his mind is adjusting to being sinful now that he wasn’t in heaven anymore. No… he had to stay strong. He mentally asked God for strength as he tried to repeat the lines. Just think… it’s play pretend, he tried to trick himself as he took it from the top.

“Name’s Sun… Sonny- Sun. I-I mean…-!”

Sun flinched as Moon smacked a small stick with his own hand, as if intimidating Sun from his distance. Still, Sun gulped and tried again.

“My name is Sonny… but call me Sun. But fun fact, I died-“

Another smack.

“Don’t make your ‘death’ a fun fact! Say it normally.”

Sun felt like groaning again. He swore that they had been at this for at least two hours and he was getting thirsty! But he tried to hold back his criticisms and complaints by biting his tongue. He already saw Moon get upset when he was wrong about where his halo was. And after the… incident of truth, he wasn’t keen to ever get him mad again. Yet… he felt his buttons pushed in a way ten toddlers on a bad day hadn’t in a while.

“Name.”

“Sun- Sonny! Sorry, I’m used to nicknames, so please just call me Sun.”

Moon judged him up and down before fiddling with the small stick. It was originally a device he said he’d give Sun for the outing, claiming it was for self-defense despite just being a wooden stick that could have passed for a think pencil with no lead. Apparently, it was hard and swift enough to hurt others on a stab if in close contact and if needed. But right now? It was a fidget tool for Moon. And an intimidator tool.

“How’d you die?

“I… would rather not say. It’s embarrassing.”

“Fine. I’ll accept it for now. Last one of this set, how do you know me Sun?”

“We’re… third cousins.” Sun muttered.

“Didn’t hear you.” Moon pushed. “Say it like you mean it.”

“We’re. Third. Cousins.” Sun tried to emphasize.

“Don’t give me that attitude. Like you mean it.” Moon snarled

Somehow, that finally made him snap.

“Because I saved your life, okay?! And you have some stupid obligation to return the favor now that I’m condemned to hell!”

He has quickly crossed his arms, closed his eyes, and curled in on himself as he awaited the disappointment from Moon.

“… That’s actually not bad. Why hadn’t I thought of that?”

Sun peeked up as Moon turned away.

“Oh yeah! It’s because it doesn’t explain the face!” Moon shouted as he faced Sun. He could feel tears flowing quickly (How was it that he’s been so easy to tears here? He’s never cried as much before.) as Moon seemed to soften and lean away.

“Look, we’re not getting very far. Just… let’s get our facts straight, maybe. Let me talk for you or something. You’re Sonny, You’ve recently died, I guess we can use the life-for-a-life thing as an excuse for you living with me but we need a reason for your burn.”

Sun hugged himself as he bit his lip. He had also thought of what could possibly explain his burn, but couldn’t come up with much. And from the frustrated look painted on Moon’s face, he hadn’t been able to think of one either.

“Can you… tell me how you got yours?”

“My… what?” Moon asks in almost confused exasperation.

“Your face marking. Is it an actual moon?”

Moon seems to grimace at the request.

“I-I’m sorry. I just thought-”

“The Moon was the last thing I saw before I died.”

Sun silenced himself as Moon looked off to the side, looking up as if he could see the actual Moon he spoke of.

“But that is a tale for another day.” Moon sighed as he brushed his hat’s tail back.

He moved to hold the button on his vest, the one facing a backwards direction and wasn’t lined up neatly like the rest.

“If Monty asks, I technically was shot to death, or rather shot once and bled out. But still, it’s not like I focused on it though. I just didn’t want to get caught. That would have lead to a more torturous death, and that would have been if I was granted mercy. But eventually, I didn’t have the strength to run anymore. So I laid down and saw the sky one last time. It… was cold. Dark. Creepy. But the Moon was so bright that anything not in its light looked darker that if there was no light at all. And I guess, I saw myself in that moment. But… Monty wouldn’t know that part. Maybe it’s like a family calling card and that’s what we call it? Call you a cousin once removed or something?”

Sun couldn’t help but find Moon’s story… intriguing. For a human, he seems to have such mystery of his human life. Died at 19, made to be a fool and a puppet for people he was around, and had… suspicions people around him at all times. But as curious as he was, he knew that if Moon ever did tell that story, time and trust would have to build up. But if Sun dared to think anything about his already-failed mission, he knew he really only had a year to live. He absentmindedly tried to listen as Moon started talking about his family’s names, nothing in particular catching his interest.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Sun was asking the Lord for strength once more as Moon rambled about yet another irrelevant topic. What started as a brief family history turned into knowing family recipes, then entered into the stories of his uncle, which has launched Moon into a ramble about how he wished he had joined his uncle in learning pharmaceuticals. Specifically, he mentioned several drugs that were abused in use and Sun realized he had to choose between listening to more of Moon’s rambles or interrupting him and possibly going back to the family history quizzing.

Sun grasped his hands in front of his mouth in contemplation, but soon, the bedroom door swung open.

The short demon looked to Moon in panic, not caring about Moon’s disgruntlement.

“Lunar?! You better not make this a habit, or I’m-”

“Enough Chit Chat! You need to convince Earth not to make a farewell meal by herself! She won’t let me help because she wanted to have some sort of-”

A startled scream was heard downstairs, along with the sound of something spashing, soon followed by the metal banging of heavy metal against the tiles. Sun tried to follow after Moon’s sprint as the Sinner speed out of the room and down the hall, but was quickly (and way too easily) shoved back by the demon.

“Hey! What’s-”

Slam!

Click

Those were the sounds that silenced Sun as he realized he was now locked in a room alone with the demon.

He scooted back as the… Lune stepped forward.

“Alright Golden Child, listen up! I only have so long before Moon comes back to chew me out. So you better start talking and I better get some honest answers!”

As the demon jumped on the bed, Sun found himself frantically nodding.

“First off, was this your first Extermination? Or was Moon your first favored Sinner?”

Sun had to mentally scramble as the demon narrowed his eyes.

“I-Uh-No? This year wasn’t my first. I-It wouldn’t be accurate to call Moon a-”

“Next question, how did you actually ‘fall’?”

Sun felt his fear take a backseat as he found himself feeling weighed down to the bed, gravity pulling so hard it hurt. His blood stilled and his breath shallowed, heart seizing as he found himself staring into Lunar’s eyes.

“Go on. Let’s see if your story matches Moon’s.”

…

Oh.

He wants a story.

That’s it.

Sure, he thought to himself as he felt something in him numb every part of his fiber. He sat up straight, staring at the sheets as he laid a hand on it.

“There was an angel. Born in a local church in heaven.”

“That’s not-”

“He was assigned to the library, but when the knowledge of cruelty caught his attention… he never let it go.”

He felt his hand clutch the fabric momentarily before using the fist to rub the sheets in a circle motion.

“He thought he was doing right. Allowing his anger to be used to kill worthless slaves to flesh. ‘Righteous Anger’ he called it, using the Lord’s name for anger as a justification. But little did I… he know that it was just a lie.”

Sun wanted to look up, but felt close to tears as he tried to keep on this fluid path.

“After many years, only going after many predators, I guess it was shocking to see someone actually protect them. The children I mean. The ones I swore to avenge. The ones… I thought I did. But no.

I didn’t! I’m here because I was cruel and anger-driven. I only focused on MY targets and didn’t help the other exorcists at all! I took this job to satisfy my own suffering! Was it even for them if they’ll forget how they came to paradise?!”

He was gesturing his arms a bit in frustration when he finally looked at Lunar, confused and defensive. It was then that he remembered this wasn’t a monologue rant and tried to grip the sheets as a way to re-ground himself.

“A-Anyway. He tried to go home when he was… demoted. Given an impossible mission and was freed of his back limbs and his weapons. A dead end. But I guess he somehow made it here? Found beings that were way more… complicated than I originally thought.”

A scoff was heard that pulled Sun back into eye-contact with the demon.

“Please. Did you think us Hellions actually ran around naked, singing vulgar songs in Satan’s name? Maybe even kill each other of something? Please! Angels aren’t the only ones capable of advanced thought.”

Sun squirmed a bit but drew his attention back to Lunar when the demon gave him a somber look.

“So… what exactly was the reason for ‘demotion’?”

Sun couldn’t keep but feel a bit annoyed in disbelief.

“Excuse? I literally just told you!”

“You gave me a narrative! Not a solid reason! I’m not in school, don’t make me read in-between the lines!”

Sun huffed as he grumbled a simplified, to-the-point explanation.

“I didn’t kill enough Sinners, and I even spared one. I’m also cruel and lashed my anger out on the ones I targeted.”

The demon seemed to take a backseat as he sat on his heels, still on Sun’s bed as the angel scooted to his headboard.

“Hold on,” Lunar questioned. “Let me get this straight. Heaven with its thou shalt not kill is punishing you for not killing enough? Heaven with its rules of mercy is punishing you for actually showing mercy? That’s really backwards.”

Sun was about to open his mouth to explain further, but was quickly muffled by Lunar’s hand as the demon looked to the door. After a moment, Lunar let go of him.

“We don’t have time for your excuses, or anything else from you, so listen up!”

Sun nodded as Lunar got off and started to back towards the door, still facing the angel.

“I never talked to you, according to Moon. I just kept you from getting up to help, then I went to my room. But between me and you, we’ll talk again. Because you haven’t given me everything I want to hear. But… I guess I better give you this so I don’t get in trouble.”

Sun felt a gasp enter his lungs as the demon pulled out a yellow ring of light from his bag. One with mini sunrays floating around the ring. His halo.

Sun was close to grabbing it, but shrunk back at the look the demon gave him.

“Remember, this isn’t over. But when Moon comes in, you will say you found it. I never gave it to you and I never even had it. And you better not make me have to take it back from you, angel. Because I’ll be watching. Even when I’m gone.”

As Lunar tossed the ring, Sun quickly snatched it up and held it close as he faintly registered the door opening and closing. He felt… joy as the bright ring still shone brightly. Letting it float to his head, he felt the dryness of his lips leaving him. It was like he was complete again, without the comforting weight on his back. He felt more energized, yet calm. A wave of cool relaxation washing over him.

Yet, he felt an instant drain as, just like his joy, was snatched away. He gasped in withdraw and shuttered before looking up to a very worried Moon, his halo within his claws.

Sun felt desperate as he tried to go for the halo, when Moon held him down, halo tossed to the side.

“Give it back! It’s mine!”

“It won’t be if I let you keep it!” Moon shouted, causing Sun to snap his attention to Moon.

Moon pulled back, yet still held his shoulder firmly.

“It was fading. I’m pretty sure it’s not supposed to do that.”

Sun’s attention snapped back to the halo and sure enough, it was as dim as a dying lightbulb. He felt his heart break at the pitiful thing.

He remembered so long ago, when he was created. He played with his halo and it never shined dimmer than a flashlight. The rays constantly rotating and moving in a out. The ring never would lay flat on the ground, always hovering where it lay. For heaven’s sake, it would only be removed by the angel it’s from, never any other hands or devices!

But there it lay. Like a plastic glowstick ring, it was barely lit, flat on the ground, and the rays didn’t move. And Moon was easily able to chuck it off.

Sun shook at the realization that his connecting to heaven was nearly dead because he wanted to fell good again. At the cost of momentary relief, he had drained his halo’s holy magic. Wait… that’s how he used his magic! If the halo was dead, what would become of his true form? His magic? His connection to heaven?!

The next thing he knew, arms were wrapped around him as his face was pressed into Moon’s vest. He cried with any tears he had left as he clung to the reason he still had a halo in the first place.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

So here he was, laid down in his blankets as his selfish thoughts grew over. Moon was clearly not as worried as Sun, claiming he doubts there isn’t a way to make it glow again. But Sun didn’t want to have any more of his hope shattered. No, more like he didn’t have any hope left.

He felt just as dead when he laid to ‘rest’. Even after Moon gave him liquids to refill his thirst, it didn’t seem enough. He did ask Moon to get Earth, be he was given the unfortunate news that she was leaving with the d- Lunar to go sightseeing or something. He did say she wanted to give him a goodbye, but Lunar was given an alert that his late check-in request had been denied last-minute, so they had to rush to leave to hopefully make it in time.

He hated it here. He wanted to turn into dust. All his life is misery and there’s nothing he could do to make it better. And inwardly, he beat himself up for it. After all, what kind of an angel was he to make himself miserable and to worry everyone else? He should just suck it up and be better for his… his somethings. He felt useless as he laid there.

Who knows, maybe Moon won’t think he deserves a dinner anymore and make him stay home. Or rather, let him stay home, as he didn’t even feel like moving anymore.

…

“Hey Sun! Look!”

Sun groaned a bit to Moon’s excited shout, but soon looked up to see what he was pointing to.

The halo.

Sun shrieked and smacked it off of him before turning angrily to Moon.

“What in heaven’s is wrong with you?! I-”

“NO Sun! Look at it!” Moon beamed.

Sun had to restrain himself from killing Moon anyway, because he knew he would lose, before looking to where it laid on the floor.

Granted, it was still dim and the rays stayed stationary, but Sun’s eyes widened as he realized it was, in fact, defying gravity. Shaking, he turned to Moon for an explanation.

“You said you never felt hungry or thirsty in Heaven. Or tired. And since you only needed water when you were halo-less, I was thinking maybe it could be filled with magic if you just took care of your needs. You know, drinking, eating, and sleeping. So… how do you feel now?”

Sun held himself close as silently praised Moon for actually finding an answer so fast, which he should have done, as an angel, if he wasn’t so self-deprecating and useless.

He shook those thoughts off as he went to go get his holy crown. He didn’t wear it, but he felt like perhaps Moon was right.

In order to not be defenseless in this world, he needed to act like a human, just like Moon said. He can eat, he can try to keep up with his endless thirst. But… what about sleep? He was terrified of waking up every day to his new life, reminded of what pain he went through. But… it wasn’t so bad when Moon held him close, singing his siren-like lulls as he became at peace.

So with a shuttering sigh, he faced Moon.

“Can you… hold me? A-At least when I wake up?”

He saw Moon’s face contort in hesitance, but he found himself scooting further on the bed to give Moon space as they both laid down. Sun turned as he felt Moon spoon him from behind. Before he could chicken out, he forced himself to relax as the Sinner sang his hummed lullaby. With his thoughts quieting, he wondered if he would ever be able to sleep without Moon again.

Chapter Text

ThumpThump ThumpThump

ThumpThump ThumpThump

Lunar felt his heartbeat pounding in his ears barely more than the pounding of his own feet on the floor. He gripped Earth’s wrist tight as he ran with all his might to the elevator station.

Fucking hotel decided to revoke his late check-in, DISPITE having accepted it IN THE FIRST PLACE!!!

He had checked his reservation MULTIPLE TIMES to make sure this SH-… sugar honey in tea wouldn’t be served to him.

Because it has before.

MULTIPLE times.

Reason? Some other Hellborn probably wanted a room and the hotel was overbooked. So if he ‘didn’t arrive at checkout at the right time’ it would be considered void and the room could be handed to the richer folk.

Not if he had anything to say about it.

The main problem was, he had Earth with him. She wasn’t used to sprinting twice as fast as she could handle. So here he was, gripping her arm as he led the winded charge to the next available lift to the Envy Ring. He could feel her being practically dragged by him, but she did say to not worry about her. Sure enough, he turned a corner into the station and felt a weird extra pull of resistance as he stabilized from his drift. Looking back for a moment, he saw she had made some sort of flora version of rollerblades, which she quickly retracted into flats after the turn almost made her fall. She scrambled as Lunar let go of her and rushed ahead to the ticket booth.

He almost slammed into the desk before hopping up to face the pimply teenager that is all too ready to go home for the day.

“I need your-”

“I’m Lunar, That’s Earth. We’re on the next stop for Envy.” Lunar interrupted and slammed down the exact coins and bills needed, along with their ID cards. “And don’t you bullshit me with hidden fees. I know what it costs. Now let us through.”

Just in time, Earth was huffing as she made it to the rotator next to the booth.

“Sir”, the soon-to-be-slaughtered goat started, “Sinners aren’t-”

“She’s Hellborn. She has a birth certificate and everything. You’d know if you focus on your job and look at the ID cards instead of wondering why you would actually know the taste of your own feet! So head out of your ass, let us though!

At Lunar’s practiced glare, the teen quickly pressed the switch that let Earth and Lunar by. Lunar swiped back the IDs before catching up to Earth to lead her to the right direction. To his luck, there was a lift right about to leave for Envy. He had to summon all his power to launch them both in the elevator before the doors shut. He saw Earth stumble slam into a bench as he flipped once (or maybe twice???) before landing on his back. He saw Earth fall down beside him, groaning in pain as he hissed. Thankfully, not too many people were in that particular car, but they were given a wide berth as they recovered.

Earth sat up with a hiss of her own and rubbed her shoulder as Lunar just laid on the floor for a bit, eyes barely opening at the blaring lights from above. But soon, Earth took a knee and helped Lunar up before dragging herself to a standing position via the bench. Both misfits took the nearest seats and breathed a sigh of relief.

Lunar, being used to close calls, only takes a moment to compose himself before taking a swig of water. Once done, he opened up a bottle of Mont-Gatorade and took some sips before passing the drinks to Earth.

“So… we should be there in a few minutes. Once we’re there, I’ll call a taxi to bring us there. I might need you to pretend to be my employer for that, so just say where we need to go and act dismissive.”

Earth raises and eyebrow but nods as she tries to recover as fast as Lunar.

“Can’t I just… huff be nice?”

Lunar leaned back as he took a nice hard look at the gold all around him.

“Nope. First rule of Hell for a survivor: NEVER give anyone a chance to exploit you. What I just did? That got us here fast and to the point. If we had to wait for him to act like he cared about security and not just having a job to impress mommy with, we woulda missed this lift by a wide shot!”

He did start to feel bad as she seemed to furrow her eyebrows and look away from him in confliction.

“…That’s just how it is Earth. It’d be nice if we could be… nice. But that’s not how reality works. And the sooner you grow up and know the truth, the quicker you can figure out how to live independently and the less likely you find yourself in bad situations.”

“But that’s how we because friends… isn’t it?”

Lunar clutched his arm warmers and looked away.

“No. That’s how you would have been used and manipulated if I wanted money or power.”

The air tensed between the two as they looked to the glass in front of them, displaying one of the rings as they make their descent.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

After a while of sitting there, Earth felt a sense of calm finally make its way inside the elevator. She tried not to let Lunar’s words affect her as she took in her current experience. Being from the Ring of Greed, she had already been familiar with the elevator. Though, she did used to have guards with her up until this recent mission, this was the first time she felt like she had an escort.

Lunar was kicking his legs under and out of the chair with a bored (maybe tired?) expression as Earth merely sat with her back straight and legs crossed. After all, princesses need posture. And to be silent too, which she tried to abide by despite her forgetful/friendly tendencies.

So of course, after a moment of silence, Earth was the first to speak.

“So… We’re headed to all the other six rings then?”

Lunar, who looked like he should have been asleep by now, snapped to attention and looked back at Earth with tired eyes.

“Oh! Yeah um… yes. Six. But maybe one day I can show you how to get to the ninth ring…”

Lunar yawns, only to stare right as Earth’s befuddled face as she smooths out her skirt.

“Nine? Don’t you mean seven?” She questions, uncertainly.

Lunar groans to himself but sits up and rubs his cheeks before facing her. Earth felt guilty for the questions while he’s seemingly tired, but tries to remind herself that he always groans like that whenever he gets up from his ‘back at home’ power naps.

“No, I mean nine. Only seven have deadly sins attached and are, therefore, commercially habitable.”

“Really?” Earth softly exclaimed in interest, “I’ve never heard of nine rings of Hell! Well, except in a fiction book I believe…”

“That’s because there’s no easy way to go there if you don’t know how. It’s actually a private place for some of the worst offenders on Earth to end up. Well, at least the ninth one was.”

Earth’s eyes light in excitement.

“You have been there?!”

“Absolutely!” Lunar retorted in soft offense, “I think I was exactly nine myself when I first went! But don’t worry, you’re not missing anything much. When I went, it was a weird lake with one dock. All frozen. Well, kinda.”

“Kind of? How can a lake be kind-of frozen? Did it freeze anything it touched?”

Lunar gestured with his arms as he explained, “It’s kinda frozen because it looks and acts frozen when the ‘water’ touches anything dead or inorganic, and it breaks and solidifies like ice. But go slow enough with just your hand and it’s just cold water. Or just let go of a chuck of it and it liquefies back into the lake. But I do think there’s something wrong with it, because it numbs whatever it touches and makes you feel dread. So I can imagine falling in it would be certain death. That… and I wouldn’t be surprised if it gives you that feeling if you touch it for too long anyways.”

“Oh.” Earth pondered. “So like Ooblek fluid?”

“…Maybe? You’re book-smart, so I’ll say yes.”

Earth took the moment to use her hands to play with her skirt as she thought to herself.

“I… don’t know how to feel about that. But, is that all? Just a frozen lake? No flora or life?”

“Nope!” Lunar confirmed before seemingly deflating in confidence. “Well, actually… there’s a couple of things. But they didn’t make sense to me at all.” He shrugged

“Well, do tell.” Earth inquired.

“There…. is an old man that just sits on the dock.”

“An… old man?”

“Yep. I guess he’s human-like? I wouldn’t know. I haven’t seen one and no Sinner can go down to confirm it. But he didn’t seem Hellborn at all. Or like normal Hellborn.”

“I… see.” Earth replied, barely above a mutter.

Lunar continued, “The few times I’ve been there, he’s just been fishing at the dock. He’s nice enough actually. Just confusing as hell.”

“Confusing?” Earth couldn’t help but ask before taking a drink of the sports beverage.

“He talks in riddles. Says the lake is meant to ‘slow the ones that thought they were faster than their fates’ and ‘the ones wielding fate in one hand and vengeance in the other’. Something cryptic like that. But I guess that was as close as he could get when I asked him about the guy in the hole.”

Earth almost choked at that, to which Lunar had to pat her back as she coughed a bit. Once she recovered, she looked back at him in surprise

“The guy in the hole?! What hole?!”

“Oh. Did I not say the lake had a hole in the middle of it? So big that it looked like it should be a drain for the lake?”

Earth just stared at him in disbelief for a moment.

“…No! You just said there was an old man sitting on the dock over a frozen lake!”

“Well… the lake had a hole. The first couple of times I visited, it just bubbled. But… the third and last time, I actually saw some deformed being clawing their way up from it! It was freaky! Especially with how some smaller shadow dragged it back down the hole!

“Oh my.” Earth whispered. “That’s… disturbing. Did you ever ask the man who that was?”

“I… kinda did.” Lunar mused, scratching his neck. “I asked what just happened and he said something about ‘an Oedipal task being the consequence of defying the order of which all living things cycle. Therefore, this new cycle will only bring misery to others, which will then enter a Sisyphean Task of claiming who gets to rest and who will suffer next.’”

Earth was impressed Lunar managed to remember all that, but pulled herself back to give some sort of reply.

“…Oh. I… am suddenly glad I’m not human.”

Lunar leaned back and made the so-so gesture. “Eh. At least you’d probably get to heaven if you were human. But there’s no afterlife as Hellborn.”

As if on cue, a jingle played as the car door swung open. As the two  gave each other a look before rushing out the door. As Lunar managed to close and throw the bottles in his back, the speaker woman announces:

“Welcome Hellborn to the Ring of Envy [said in a jealous tone]. You’d do best to remember it’s okay to look, and to know grabbing or taking anything that does not belong to you will have consequences. With that in mind, this ring’s police enforcement does not care if you are stared at, or if your personal and untraceable belongings are stolen. Use your brain cells to keep your stuff safe. We are not responsible for your stupidity.

Enjoy your stay!”

*_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

The next morning…

Eyes shut in rest, Moon felt himself smile wide with his chest puffed up a bit as he felt Sun sleeping in his arms. It seemed hardly anything could crash his high of pride.

Not only did he keep Sunrise from draining his halo, but figured out through flimsy internet research (over fictional human healing magic) that making Sun take care of his needs would power the halo up.

If he opened his eyes and looked up to his left, he could see the halo floating above Sun’s resting head, slowing and dimming like a charging light. He couldn’t help himself as he poked and spun the ring with his finger every so often.

How could he keep his hands off of it? It was a bright ring of pure holy magic that tingled a part of his brain every time he touched it. Maybe it responded to the good inside his human soul?

Eh. Sun’s Heavenborn and not human like him, so not likely.

Though… now that he had the time to reflect, a realization snapped in his head. Something building that he had known, but it all just cumulated into a strange idea he hadn’t considered.

Within this house, he’s the only human here.

Somehow, with how Moon was used to being around other Sinners, it only just occurred to him that those he surrounded himself with in this house were never born on the planet (or realm???) Earth. While naive, the princess Earth was born in Hell the same as Lunar, albeit different places and statuses. Meanwhile, despite falling like a Sinner, Sun was made in heaven to never live like mundane humans.

And yet… why did this whole situation put him at ease but keep him on edge at all times? He was more inclined to trust Sun, but he did try to kill him once… with something. Come to think of it, he bled from his hand and had the motion on raising a knife, but there was none in sight. Did he… make it up? Was the angel seeing things? He might be stressed enough as humans sometimes did to hallucinate. He’d have to watch Sun to see if it happened again.

Regardless, Sun is a bit too unstable to fully trust, even though his heart wanted to fully accept him. Which… he needed to ask Sun about Angel bonding, which must be a thing surely. This couldn’t be normal, the way he felt like they could connect and understand each other. So it could only be an angel thing… right?

For whatever reason, that very warmth that spread to his heart made him heat up in a bad way. It felt like a horrible burn spreading through his soul, threating to consume everything and only leave ashes.

Quickly, he pushed himself away and got off the bed. He did make sure to try and tuck Sun under some blankets and hoped his absence wouldn’t be noticed as he stepped back. Looking to where he put his desk between their beds, Moon was quick to go back and start up a new quest: How to get Sun ready for a restaurant.

As he typed on his computer documents, he begins to try and imagine any scenario a naïve child would have to be taught when going to the Chat Noir.

But every theory he has always leads back to whether Heaven even had restaurants and how angels acted as customers. He highly doubted they made threats to waiters or started fights in Heaven, but he had a feeling there would be subtler culture shocks to discover between their worlds. He just hoped to keep the obvious ones quiet as he brainstormed a quick training session for the next morning.

That was, until he heard a groan and a whimper.

Looking to his left, he saw Sun starting to grip his pillow harder, looking close to tears as he curled in further on himself. Moon couldn’t keep the sigh from escaping his lips before he resigned to trying to pat the angel asleep.

“Shh… You’re okay. Just go to sleep.”

“Mmmm… disappoin… wheh ya…. ex you nnn kill. Enda ques-in.”

Moon found himself sighing again, maybe even groaning, before laying back down to the big spooning position, which finally got Sun to relax and quit his sleepy mutterings.

Moon had noticed Sun tended to mumble in his sleep, especially when he was about to wake up. While most of it was illegible, Moon sometimes managed to pick out certain words and phrases, such as: ‘Disappointment’, ‘You kill’, ‘End of Questions’, ‘demon tears’, and lastly ‘shameful stain’, all in that order.

He couldn’t help but wonder if that’s what Sun was used to hearing, surely from the exorcists, but he wouldn’t know for sure until Sun was ready to be asked.

As a distractor, he started humming a song that came to mind. The Hanging Tree.

A few lyrics spilled out here or there, but he mostly kept it to a hum as the angel slept.

Despite being a book he never got to finish, because his family ripped out the pages after Primrose blew up, he couldn’t help but get attached to the main character. A hunter that was forced to perform. Just like how he was groomed as a hunter but used performance to feel secure. Then again, Katniss was always a good singer, but she didn’t want to be a performing monkey for the oppressive Capital.

His family had given him the book as a way to see the world. The rich and evil were like the Capital, his family was like the rebels, and he was one of the Mockingjays. Maybe THE Mockingjay, due to his… special experiment.

He seriously hoped the brainwashing died with him. Was it brainwashing? He was never sure and he wasn’t willing to find out.

Quietly, once he felt Sun was deeply asleep, he shuffled his way out from the cuddle as he went back to his computer. After all, he needed to stop pretending like the angel was family, and Hell, that Lunar and Earth were family! Cause they aren’t. They are convenient people to use until he found better conveniences or they failed their purpose.

Earth was just a future business partner that seemed to take things way too much to heart.

Lunar was not a baby boy, but strictly an employee.

And Sun… the angel was a wrong needed to make right.

And was his only hope at not wearing that stupid outfit.

With one more groan, Moon shut off his computer and flopped on his own bed before taking his short power nap.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Moon was already starting to feel like this wasn’t going to work.

He had thought about taking Sun out to eat for breakfast, but somehow he slept until morning. And because of that, he woke up to Sun humming as he made them both some Cheesy Biscuits.

He ate them in silence just as Sun did. For some reason, the angel looked shy and nervous. Maybe anxious? He didn’t exactly see the reason, but once Sun tried to get up to put his meal away, he tried to cough to get his attention.

“Oh, did you need something? Here.”

The angel proceeded to take Moon’s empty plate and walked to the kitchen almost too fast. Moon, not sure what to do, started drumming his fingers on the table.

“…Are you sure I’m okay to go with you to dinner?”

Moon blinked twice up at Sun, who seemed to hesitantly await an answer.

“I… am pretty sure. Now you’re my only option, so it better work.”

“…What if I ruin it for you?”

“You won’t.” Moon brushes off. “Say… how about we make sure that outfit still fits, yeah?”

Sun nodded and Moon took that opportunity to take the sponge from Sun, who had just added water to it.

“Go. I’ll help when I’m done.”

Sun seemed to take pause again, but soon was off. And as he ascended the steps, Moon couldn’t help but notice how the halo followed Sun to the T. Not even lagging as Sun moved.

A part of him would have loved to experiment with it, but he chuckled as he knew it would lead to nothing. He would have no idea what to do with such a thing.

…

After the dishes were done, which wasn’t much in the first place and was easier with  magic powers, he went to their room. Well, only being turned around after remembering he didn’t have a balcony room anymore. After a knock and a ‘Come In’ from the angel, the Sinner stepped though.

Well… it was… something.

As he looked down to the slightly shorter figure, he now realized that most of the outfit fit… except for the pants that were too tall. Sun seemed cleary uncomfortable as he held bobby pins, almost about to try and pin the pants shorter.

“Are you… fine with having dragging pants?”

Sun shook his head with a stern look.

“Not happening. I’d rather wear a skirt than walk around with this tripping hazard! My back’s bad enough!”

Sun then stepped back to flop backwards on his bed and before Moon could say anything, the angel whiplashed back up.

“Wait! That’s right! I have my halo!”

Moon couldn’t help but look at Sun in confusion as he proceeded to stand and raise a hand upwards.

“What are you…?”

His words fell flat as a twinkling of lights started appearing out of nowhere, dancing around the now-glowing angel as his skin grew a dull gold, his height extended, and his hair spiked in several directions to become… triangles? But the biggest surprise? The angel’s face went flat with the Moon face mark… just like his own.

He couldn’t stop staring as the slightly shorter angel became his exact sight, minus the triangles. The halo? Gone. The angel… Angelified.

“Is… everything okay? I made sure to hide my halo within my rays to avoid the trouble.”

Moon felt a strange feeling, almost burning in his throat as he truly felt like he was seeing his soulmate in front of him.

Sun wasn’t pretty or handsome to him. He didn’t even seem new.

Sun… looked just like him.

“Moon? You’re… not talking? Sh-Should I change back?”

“… There’s no way anyone will believe we aren’t twins.”

Sun seemed to have taken notice and blushed.

“S-Sorry. I guess my face is usually more circular and I’m not always this tall, but I figured it was better to look like you. But then again, I didn’t do much. We… really do look similar.”

Moon took the moment to ponder, but not too long to not upset Sun.

He knew he didn’t want to ask Sun to change at all. But if anything, it seemed to make his pale mark more obvious!

“It’s… fine. But we really need to hide your scar.”

Sun deposited the pins on a nearby counter and pulled at a triangle (ray?) on his head as he paced.

“Maybe I can wear a mask?”

“One that comes in your size? Not last minute.” Moon replied as he took the pins in his hand to move through his fingers.

Sun proceeded to ramble several ideas that weren’t much better as Moon tried to come up with any solution that he didn’t think of last night.

“… I’m not sure if there’s paint in Hell, but maybe some kind of make-up? I Had to get used to wearing makeup because of the kids. You would not believe how many of those girl would try on the stuff anything with a face that didn’t run away screaming! Like a potato or the toilet paper. Oh hey, maybe I can wear a garb or something to wrap around my fa-”

Sun was promptly hushed as Moon took the time to process what he just heard.

“Make-up… That’s it! Sun, do you know how to apply it?”

“U-Uh, I think I’m decent because of the kids? They had me fix their makeovers a lot.”

Soon, Moon was pulling Sun up as he dragged him out the room.

“Then come on. Let’s fix that face before dinner. I’m sure there’s a good place somewhere.”

Down the stairs and out the door, Moon felt a tug of resistance before looking back to see Sun, frozen in place on the porch.

“…Sun? I don’t exactly have a storage of makeup. We’ll need to go buy some.”

But as Sun looked around them, Moon realized it wasn’t the trip to the store Sun hesitated with… It was going outside the house at all!

“…Sun?”

At the gentle call, Sun snapped his attention back to Moon before taking a breath.

“Just… please keep me safe? I… I’m nervous.”

Moon had a feeling he was underestimating his own feelings, but locked the door behind them as he started walking him down the street.

“Just do as I say, be as quiet as possible, and stay with me. I’ll protect you.”

Chapter Text

You know, despite how nervous he was initially when Moon was taking him to some store, the experience wasn’t all that bad actually.

Sure, some products ended up burning his face, even the healthy side. But after some… firm warnings to the staff from Moon, Sun not only got some high end products to cure his searing pain, but also was given some really fancy looking products that very much did its job perfectly!

Sun was so impressed with the skin-matching foundation that he asked for more time to check out some other products to make the color-match seamless.

And after two hours, he finally got his desired result! A face free of any trace of the burn! Granted, it took him an hour to figure it out, but even Moon looked impressed. Never had he been so proud and grateful that the girls in his life taught him makeup than this moment here. With a new energy in his soul, Sun offered to help out the sales-person as compensation. But Moon seemed to just push him out with the bags in hand after giving something to the cashier. Knowing Moon, he surely must have had some nice gifts to trade for such a perfect product!

But soon after, the trip out really started feeling… uneasy. As the pair walked deeper in the swarm of tall, dark buildings and swarming of all kinds of demons, Sun couldn’t help but clutch Moon’s hand tighter as he followed somewhat behind like a duckling. There was yelling, fighting, and so much foul language! There was even a slobbery demon that grabbed at his pants, only for Moon to kick it in the face after he screamed before dragging him away!

Sun made sure to keep track of every step he took, but often kept bumping into things ahead of him when he was too careful with avoiding fluids and cracks on the floor, to Moon’s annoyance. But at least Moon kept him from bumping into the demons. He wouldn’t know what to do, especially since he was starting to feel another episode of itching and pain in his back.

He didn’t want to show Earth or Moon his episodes ever since he woke up, but there would be small times that his non-existent wings would itch at the base of his spine or he’d feel the same searing pain of when it was just torn off. And by the heavens, it was the worst when both happened at the same time! Thankfully, it’s only been lasting a few seconds each time with the pain and the itching was… better when he tried to ignore it. But now? He just hoped they were almost to their destination so he could be at a safe space and stop being hypersensitive to everything!

And thank the heavens, Moon just pulled him into a building and Sun could immediately smell the scent of savory cheesy biscuits!

Even if his magic didn’t need the food, Sun felt his mind cry out to heal his soul with good food! And it didn’t take long before Moon asked for a seat and they both sat at a bench. As Sun gave a sigh of relief, Moon looked directly at him.

“Okay, now we’re at a good place for lunch. ‘Crustacean Claw’. It serves all kinds of seafood and some common restaurant items.”

At the mention of the name, Sun couldn’t help but take a look around. The place looked like a wonder! It looked like a dark wooden underdeck of a ship, just like Jamie and James often raved about! They had even used popsicle sticks to show Sun what a Pirate’s ship looked like if it was cut in half!

…They would have loved how the lights were designed to look like candles, the chairs and tables looked like barrels, and the booths looked like stacked crates!

“…Sun? Sun!”

Sun had to snap back into focus as Moon snapped his fingers right in front of his face. Embarrassed, he tugged his ray as he gave Moon his full attention.

“Geez, did you hear anything I said?!”

“Uh… I think I got it… but just in case…. PleasetellmethewholethingagaincauseIwasn’tlistening.”

Moon let out a groan and Sun couldn’t help but pull harder at his ray. But soon, a server asked for ‘Moon’s party of two’ to which Moon took Sun’s hand to sit them both at a small booth a ways away from most of the patrons.

“Okay, listening now?” Moon huffed. Sun nodded.

“To make sure, I’ll just ask questions. First, do you know what a restaurant is?”

Sun scoffed. “Of course! I went to diners and cafes all the time!”

“Any fancy places?”

“Uh… sometimes? Only when there was a special event to celebrate with friends, or to have an excuse to dress fancy.”

“Great! In that case, it looks like I don’t have much to teach you. But as I was saying before, not that you were paying attention or anything, I brought you here as a trial run for tonight’s dinner. While this place isn’t the fanciest, it’s better than a fast food chain. So it’ll do and you can be yourself and I’ll try to correct things as they come up.”

Sun made sure to nod at every sentence Moon uttered to show he was paying attention. But soon, he saw a nice little aquarium nearby them that caught his attention.

“Oh look! Lobsters!”

Moon looked back and made a bit of a grunt.

“Yeah, you can pick one for dinner.”

Sun gasped and smiled as he tried to keep his excitement in. He’d been to all kinds of animal places, but he couldn’t wait for the sea creature version here! But wait… would it attack them? Was it a fighting thing that he’d have to face? No… no one else seemed to be fighting.

Speaking of monkey see, monkey can expect to do, he saw Moon look at his menu and he decided to follow suit. It looked like an ordinary menu, but in a poorer state. Grease spots, darkened splurges on the paper, and there were even tear stains! The restaurants back at home would have quickly mended or replaced them by now! But… when in Hell…

It took him some time, but as the waitress came, he knew what to order. He asked for ‘Surf and Turf’ while Moon asked for the Caesar Salad.

Soon, the biscuits came and Sun was sure to show Moon he knew restaurant etiquette! Buttering the biscuits with a butter knife and placing the cloth on his lap, he was sure he was pleasing Moon!

“Sirs, your drinks.”

Sun looked up and thanked the waiter as he was passed his lemonade and Moon was given Nurse Pepper, which was a type of soda here.

Despite the atmosphere being ripe for any discussion, there was absolutely none as the two waited for their meal. That is, until Moon made the slightest coughing noise towards him.

“So… ready to be at a meeting? Do you have meetings where you’re from?”

Sun knew Moon was avoiding saying the word ‘heaven’, much less that Sun came from there, but it still felt weird to have the name of his previous home be made taboo.

 “Uh, yeah. The higher an…authority make them all the time! I mean, the important ones are in their courts, but still! I’ve even attended summary dinners after the… holiday we met, whatever it’s called here.”

“It’s… the same thing.” Moon comments, but is cut off from any other word as the large tank is wheeled in next to the two by a server.

“Greetings! I heard one of you wanted a lobster?”

Sun was quick to raise his hand, to the server’s (sinister?) delight.

But he didn’t have time to contemplate it as the server gestured to the tank.

“Please pick the lobster of your favor today.”

Sun hesitated, even glancing to Moon, who was distracted with something on his electronic hand rectangle. But upon looking at how cute the smaller ones looked, he pointed to one that happened to have stripes of blue shine to it. As the server grabbed that one with a thick glove, he beamed at his new friend!

“Does he have a name?” Sun asked.

The server, with his gloved hand around the lobster and another mitted hand grabbing something behind him… (a pot?) gave a small scoff.

“Nope! You can certainly do so.”

“I wanna name him-”

“Name who?” Moon asked, now looking up from his phone, only to give him and his red friend a few quick looks that quickly turned into wide eyes towards-

Splash

Suddenly, the server had placed HIS NEW FRIEND RIGHT IN THE BOILING POT!!!

Sun rightfully screamed, hands in his head before lunging forward, but his hands were caught by the server. No words left their mouth as Sun was quick to use the server’s grip and a quick wrapped leg around a table anchor to pull them and knee them so hard in the skull that they started puking on the floor after releasing him. Not that Sun cared as he quickly grabbed the lobster from their fate and presses it against him for… coolth?

“It’s okay Nico… I’m here.”

“Sun?! What the fuck was that?!” Moon exclaimed as he stood from his chair.

It only took a quick glance before some staff rushed in, causing the instinct for Sun to grab the tank and started speeding it to the exit before anyone could stop him, using the wheeled momentum of the tank to eventually carry him as his back started flaring again. And sure enough, with one more push against the carpet like one would with a scooter, he and the small tank crashed out the door, but accidently lead to speeding down the road, out of control!

He ended up screaming more as he had to quickly control his tank out of the way while speeding down the road.

*_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

“Okay, but who actually boils a lobster RIGHT IN FRONT of the customer?!”

Moon, being left behind, was arguing why not only should they not be banned, but also not have to pay for any of the damages.

Maybe the lobsters, but surely any vegan protester would have done the same!

“Sir, he stole the tank and broke our doors. And besides, we all know how lobster is cooked. Even the Asian Sinners see this exact thing all the time! They have holidays where they cook live lobsters and crabs!”

“But he asked about naming it! Shouldn’t that warn you that he had no idea his little buddy was going to be cooked?! And… I’m not even going to touch the potentially racist thing. Point is, I might be persuaded into pay for the lobsters and I’ll get you in touch with someone that’s good at fixing these kind of repairs. But I’m not fully paying for them! And since it was five lobsters, yes I counted, and quick research says you bought them for a certain, cheaper price, I’ll be willing to buy them for a similar price each.”

Their server was wheeled away, possibly a Hellborn, on a stretcher to an ambulance that just came. And while Moon may have some sympathy for them, he had none for this one. It was one thing to have the customer choose a lobster, but to boil it in front of the customer!? When his family went to a restaurant like this, he ordered the lobster and didn’t even get to choose in person! So that server had it coming! And thankfully, the manager didn’t really care about their compensation either.

After several minutes of finally agreeing to pay for the price of their meat rather than the initial price, to Moon’s annoyance, Moon paid and he quickly went off to find his new partner, who was definitely going to get an earful once caught.

But he wasn’t easily found. Asking around, all he got was some sightings of a triangled clown riding a lobster tank on wheels down the streets.

Yeah… he did tell Monty that outfit looked more like a clown than his current one.

But after looking to and fro, Moon felt like giving up and going home. If anything, he was surprised at how easily at ease he found himself going to one of his portals and going home.

…

But soon it made sense as he heard Sun’s voice from the floor below as he stepped out of his closet portal.

While he briskly found himself descending the stairs, he realized that the road Sun supposing went down DID, in fact, lead to the house.

And yet, he felt a boiling anger as he saw Sun on the ground, crying in the midst of so many lobsters around him.

“Moon… I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to make a scene and make me look stupid!”

Moon felt like yelling, scolding, or even smacking the ever living daylights out of him!

…Because he was worried.

So concerned and upset at himself for staying so long to clear his record with the restaurant instead of tending to the angel.

Despite his instinct, he found himself shadow-pushing a few lobsters away to lay beside Sun.

“…You made a mess. But I don’t blame you. I didn’t realize how… hibachi the place was.”

Even though he was still frustrated, Moon began to worry that Sun would never want to go out again. That he’d now have to wear the costume Sun’s been running around in, too-long leg-ends and all.

“…I’m sorry. It’s okay if you don’t want me to come with you anymore.”

At this, Moon quickly faces Sun’s teary face to see his genuinenity before looking away, embarrassed by the intimacy he felt from the close distance.

“…I’m not upset. I still want you to come. And I promise, there will no longer be any killing of animals… in front of you, that is.”

“Hm?”

“What?”

“… Never mind. I thought I heard something.”

With that, Sun sits up and wipes his tears.

“I can see why humans become vegans. I want to be one too if Hell kills animals for meat here.”

Moon sits up as well, now befuddled.

“Hold up, animals aren’t killed in… Okay, that makes sense. But how do you have meat up there without killing animals?!”

“We have angels to summon that stuff for us! Just a wave and they can summon the ingredients for anything for us! There’s no killing in Heaven!” Sun exclaims like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

And to that, Moon decided not to argue. Instead, he gives a laugh as he sees Sun start to put the lobsters back in the tank.

“Um… Moon? I don’t want pet lobsters. But I don’t want them to die.”

Moon huffs out a breath before pulling out his phone.

“I can set up an aquarium for them in one of the warehouses, and make sure there’s a team of people to keep them in the best care.”

Sun smiles softly.

“You know… you are good.”

Moon hesitates where he sits, not looking at Sun. If only the angel knew…

“Thanks, I guess.” Moon replies before sending the instructions. Checking the time, he’d only have the time to set up the new aquarium before the dinner.

…Did he even pay for the potential lunch and the biscuits?

…

He didn’t even plan to ever bring Sun back anyway.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

This was it.

This is the moment, Moon thought as he stood before The Chat Blac, Sun standing behind him.

He wasn’t sure why exactly he was nervous. Was it Sun being here? Was it defying Monty’s joke? Maybe even how Roxanne had called this a date???

But with a breath, he led Sun in, hand-in-hand.

“So… Sun?”

“Yeah?”

“This… entire situation….”

“Yes?”

“…Are you sure?”

“I don’t know why you keep asking, but I’m certain!”

Sun even slides forward and uses hand gestures in ‘rocker’ signs.

“Let’s rock and roll, brother!”

Moon froze and Sun immediately noticed and seemed to backpedal.

“I-I don’t know why… I meant brother as… as not your… I-I mean… We’re not brothers! I…”

“INTRODUCING… THE ONE, AND ONLY… ROXANNE ACCALIA!”

Sun was thankfully interrupted by the sound of a Southern Deep Voice on the megaphone, which was met with a booing for what sounded like a young child.

“Boo! Boo!”

“Gregre’ry, ya need ta cheer!”

“What’s the point if we’re the only ones here?”

There was a huff before Moon finally turned the corner past the empty reception desk.

Sure enough, big, green, and scaly was on the mic. But a young hellhound pup stood in front, supposingly the boo-er. Or… was it an Imp?

The pup was pretty short, no taller than four feet. They had very pale, brown, and spiky hair/fur that covered their hair, elbows, and stretching up the lower calf from the ankles. They even had a little black nose! But the rest of them… their skin seemed to be a pale red with white marking in all the normal rough-kid areas of the elbows and knees. They had hooves and the signature black and white thick striped horns curling behind and under the hound-like ears. Other than the unusual mix of species features, the kid wore a blue shirt with stripes, similar to Lunar’s tank-top, but as a T-shirt and in a darker blue. His shorts were grey cargo shorts, and he wore nothing on his feet. He looked like he belonged on the streets if not for how clearly clean he and his outfit were, and he acted as such with a small bark.

With this, Moon stepped forward.

“Actually, I’m here.”

Monty looked up and grinned.

“Heya Checkers! Or should I say… Tala? I see you ain’t in your attire, so I’ll take that- WHA-WHO THE HELL IS THAT?!”

Moon turned and there stood Sun, awkwardly still semi-behind the pillar. Clearly, he had stepped out only to cower away when Monty saw him. But for the bet of being seen ‘for the whole date’ Moon gently pulled him into view, still allowing him to be behind him.

“This is Sun. My second cousin.”

“…The blanke’t ghost?” Monty said, judging Sun up and down and looking more mad with every scan.

“A bit on the nose huh? Why don’t you just call yourself ‘Moon’ then?”

Moon wanted to snark back, but bit his tongue as someone came from around another corner.

“Ah! Tala! Good to see you arrived!”

As Roxanne approached, she gave him a kiss on the cheeks, to which he allowed as the friendly greeting it was.

“I see you brought your guest! Is he…”

“A cousin.” Moon practically blurted. “We look like our granddad.”

“I see…” Roxanne remarked before glancing at the other Sinner having an argument with the HellPup/Imp.

“I had to bring Freddy’s son with me today, my turn to babysit and all. And Monty’s only here because they insisted on paying for us in order to have the privilege of being here.”

Moon couldn’t help but wonder how convenient this all was. But he did take a quick glance to Sun stepping forward.

“S-Sun, mam. I-M-My name is Sun. L-Like the b-big sphere of gasinthesky!”

“Aw! No need to be nervous!” Roxanne reassured. “I won’t bite!”

At this, the kid grinned a toothy, cocky grin that caused Sun to jump a bit.

Moon notices how Sun’s eyes dart around to every other person, but seems to try and relax at Roxanne’s words. But Moon’s attention snaps back to Roxanne, who he’s now noticing is in a small, black dress.

“Let’s start our date, shall we?

Chapter Text

After making her declaration, Roxanne raised her chin high and found herself visually attracted to a comfy booth seat that had enough room for a couple. She was sure she could sway Tala’s frigid expression once alone with him, but she would need to keep Freddy’s kid distracted and away for that…

The guy Tala brought seemed like the kiddy type. Sensing her opportunity, she looked and found a table all the way across the room.

“Well! Let’s make use of all this room and pair off. Sun, you can sit with Gregory over there and I can sit with Tala over here.”

Head still held high, she looked to everyone and noticed the discomfort, especially from Tala.

“I thought this meeting included guests?”

“Well, let’s just say that for this part, it’s… confidential and needs to be heard by a specific audience.”

Seeing Tala give an uncertain look, Roxanne smirked, feeling like she had made a convincing enough statement. But her smile almost faded when Tala went to pull Sun aside. She let them talk as she bent down to face Gregory with the best smile she could muster for a child.

“Listen, you and I would rather you not be here, but you cannot ruin my date! So do me a favor and only bother Sun, got it?”

“Please,” Gregory said snidely, “It’s a wonder why anyone would want to date you in the first place.”

“Says the brat that broke into the Fazbear House and only survived because Golden’s son saw ‘potential’ in you. It’s more of a miracle that you’re not sleeping with the fishes.”

“You’d be the type to sleep with anything, which is why my dad broke up with you.”

“Mutt!”

“Bitch!”

Roxanne growled something fierce, but quickly took notice of the cousins and even Monty looking surprised. Clearing her throat, she plastered another smile on.

“Heh… single mothering, right?”

“Mother?”

“Mother?!”

Roxanne expected Gregory questioning her, but not Sun blurting his surprise. But soon, he started backtracking.

“Uh… no, no, no, I-I mean you look young! Not that young people can’t- but you look good for… I-I-I didn’t mean-”

Tala gave him a quick jab, before approaching her.

“Come on. Drinks are on me.”

With a small blush, Roxanne grinned.

“In that case, the dinner is on me!”

And with that, she happily left to sit down across from Moon, eager to start their date.

*_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Fifteen minutes later…

…

…

“…So.”

…

“Are you in school?”

A huff is all Sun got as the teen blew him off once more. Honestly, he hadn’t heard much from the kid since they both sat down at their tables. Not too much of a problem! Sun really wasn’t expecting a new friend that easily.

But he knew he had to deal with it for Moon and Ms. Accalia’s sake. After all, Sun knew they must be having some sort of a date, despite Moon only mentioning a meeting of sorts.

After all, why not?

There she was, leaning forward and blinking at Moon with her luscious lashes. Her hair fallen almost perfectly around her face if he could all but push back the one covering her lovely face. The lovely emerald one that brought out the contrast of red in her make-up.

BUT-!

He shouldn’t think such things! For one, he had scarcely felt this way before. The only other time he felt butterflies in his stomach and a warming in his cheeks was with a fox-like angel that just so happened to already be in a relationship with another doll-like angel, so he never had a chance.

Was he doomed then, to find people attractive, only to lose them to someone better than him? After all, why would she look at him when she was clearly here for Moon.

Calm, collected, immensely powerful, Moon was just the right amount of dark and mysterious for her! He knew he, himself wasn’t very attractive, especially in his true form. But he did hope for the day someone would fall in love with his heart, as he would with her as well.

Regardless, he was given a job: Babysit to give the lovers a chance for romance! But it was not going super well.

It was clear the kid was not like the others he had helped raise. Well, some were stand-offish, but he never had to interact with them as much. Usually others with that specialty did while he focused on the creative, shy kids. But now it was just him.

The kid had ordered a Nurse Pepper and he ordered a water. When asked, the kid shrugged at the question of why he chose that drink. Instead, he pulled out a phone to play some kind of pirate game on it.

Wait… pirate game?

Sun was quick to use the napkins to fold into a ship, then another into a hat, and finally made a small sword.

Wearing the small hat and jumping to stand on the seat, he boomed out, “Avast!” with his best pirate voice.

“Uh…” The kid rasped out, finally looking up, “What are you doing?”

“Starting a duel with you, matey!” He exclaimed, pointing the sword at Gregory.

“With what weapon?” Gregory scoffed.

“Me sword of course!”

“Okay? Your average ass sword. What do I get?”

Sun thought for a moment.

“Well first, watch your language! Second… what kind do you want?”

The kid took gave him a look of suspicion.

“Ninja stars.”

“Easy!” Sun declared, taking another napkin and ripping it into four pieces. He was quick to fold while the kid still had eyes on him. And before long, he presented two ninja stars to the kid, who looked impressed.

“Whoa…” Gregory whispered as he felt them for himself. “You’ve got to show me how to make these!”

Sun wanted to say he couldn’t, with the lack of napkins left except the ones they’d use soon, but the boy was quick to pull up his backpack and took out paper with numbers on it, for some reason.

With solid paper, Sun knew he finally had a in.

All he needed now was to teach his ways to this child, to which this knowledge could surely do no wrong!

*_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

“So, as I was saying, do you have any hobbies?” Roxanne inquired, so Tala’s full boredom.

He had fully expected to use his connections and business history to show who he was as a partner, not… whatever this was.

Doesn’t she know business people aren’t friends? If not, how in the living daylights did she make it to the mafia/yakuza scene? But he did try to indulge her whims, if just to make things less awkward.

“Uh… business. Magic. Some occasional murder? Nothing too crazy.”

Roxanne pursed her lips as she leaned back, starting to look to the side.

“Well in that case, I’d say I like gazing at myself in the mirror. Making myself perfect for anyone, really.”

“Ah. Well-“

“YER DRINKS!!!” Monty bellowed as he practically slammed the bottle of wine down on the table.

“Uh Monty?” Checkers asked. “Why are you doing all the work? Where’s the staff?”

“Oh, I wa’nted you two to have some privacy, so I booked all the seats and paid off the staff.”

“What?! With what money?”

“With the money I would have also used to cover the tab if you brought your hot sister instead.” Monty grumbled.

“What?!”

“ANYWAY!” Monty interrupted. “What would yall like to eat?”

“The finest meal you have.” Roxanne stated.

“I guess I’ll have the steamed duck.” Tala remarked with a stern, unforgiving look. He was so wanting to ruin their friendship with his trump card, right then and there. But he refrained, knowing he couldn’t risk a fight with Roxanne so near.

Thankfully, Monty was quick to hightail it out to the restaurant kitchen, to which Tala caught a glimpse past the kitchen doors as Monty swung them open, and was happy to see there were actual chefs there to serve him. Now that he thought about it, he might want to request a vegetarian menu for Sun…

Just then, he looked to see what he was doing and… what the hell was Sun doing?!

There the two children were, tiny swords in hand throwing folded pieces of paper at each other in-between little hits to each other’s ‘weapons’.

“Ahem!”

Tala was quick to look back to an annoyed Roxanne.

“Like I was saying, I do love myself some social media interaction. What about you? Do you have any social media accounts?”

Tala internally sighed as the whole ordeal.

“Just Associate and FacesBook. And LinkUp on the side. All to expand business propositions.”

Roxanne seemed bored with what he just said, and he couldn’t believe it! Here he was, trying to get back on track, and she seemed to be trying to be all buddy-buddy with him! She looked to have zero interests in anything, only asking about him and talking about herself. So he couldn’t figure out what she wanted from him, if this was her way of trying to get something from him.

He couldn’t believe Sun’s antics would be the best thing to come of this, yet here he was, pouring himself another glass of wine.

Already waiting for it all to be over.

*_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Montgomery was not a dumb gator.

Checkers, the most secretive guy he knew, suddenly having two other people in his house and a runner living in-house?

The sister thing he could get. Checkers had confessed that his dad slept around and would abandon any daughters, much like Monty’s deadbeat dad abandoning him, so Earth’s alibi was plausible. But this ‘Sun’ fellow?

He didn’t buy that they are ‘just cousins’.

Especially since he’s never heard of Checkers having anyone that close to him. Except… his brother. The one he killed. But that wouldn’t make sense time-line wise! The Sun guy would have to have been dead earlier than Moon, but was still looking fresh for a man of earth.

So he hatched a plan. A stupid plan, maybe. But this Sun guy didn’t seem too bright. More like a Twinkle than ‘Moon/Checkers’ ever was. So one Pina Colada with the smoothest tequila he could find later, he brought it in a coconut cup in one hand, along with a root beer in a pirate-looking beer mug in the other hand.

“Drinks on the house fer the pirates!” Monty announced, to the boys’ confusion.

“We… didn’t order any drinks.” The yellow beanstalk questioned uncertainly.

“I said on the house. Means it’s a gift.”

“Oh.”

Apparently, that was enough as the guy took his drink and drank it. The kid already was loving his root beer so maybe that’ll encourage enough rounds to get Twinkles to break. After all he looks too skinny and idiotic to be able to notice how drunk he is before he spills the truth.

…

Refill.

…

Two Refills.

…

Finally on the third, Monty told Gregory to sit still as he led Twinkles to the bathroom, the poor sod barely able to walk straight if at all.

“Alrigh’ little dude. Let me help ya. You can trus’ Montgomery Gator ta help when ya get drunk fer some rease’n.”

“Heh… Yooouuu a gatar? Heh. Like a cwoc! Rawr!”

Twinkles beamed and laughed like a chipmunk as he was sat down on the sink counter by Monty.

Perfect. He just hoped this wouldn’t be like the rat movie, where nothing useful was learned through drunk talk.

“So.” Monty quizzed, “Wha’t did you say yer name is?”

Twinkles was quick to look suspicious.

“Oh… but my real name’s a secret. It’s… like a dead name. Moon said so.”

“I’m good with dead things. You can tell me. I’m just a… silly croc.”

Monty cringed at himself, but the Sun fellow thought for a moment before nodding and leaning close. Monty obliged his ear.

“Its… Sunrise.”

Monty whipped back as ‘Sunrise’ looked dead serious.

“Well,” Monty tried to start again, “How long have you known Che- Moon.”

“Moon? Hic! Not lowng. Jus… enough to not be friends.”

Monty grinned. This was it!

“Why aren’t you friends? I thought you were blood.”

“More like I tried to spill his blood. Heh. Maybe if I killed him I wouldn’ta… be dead! Dead as you!”

Monty let himself process that. As dead as him? So Checkers DID cause his death somehow…

Yet here Sparkles was, kicking his feet and looking happy.

“Oh… wouldn’t wanna ruin today. In that seat’s an angel. Pretty… tall… dark and edgy.”

…Scratch whatever theory he had before. Are they… lovers?!

“An’ who exactly are you calling cute?”

“No One!” Sun seemed to snap, anger making him tear up. “It dou-n’t matter cause I’m going be single forever!”

“Uh… I know he’s dense, but maybe-”

“No! You don’t unders… I don’t wanna be alone! I hate hell! I hate loosing my wings! I hate looking like a failure! I might as well… be alo-hoho-hone!”

Sparkles than become a sad drunk as he started bawling his eyes out. Geez, he never saw unrequited love hit that hard before. Then again, this is with someone who clearly couldn’t handle alcohol, now realizing he never has game.

But as he cried, he sat up straight, stopped swaying, and his tears started slowing down

Monty just raised an eyebrow, which then turned to him being wide eyed as eh realized Sparkles was sobering up, right then and there?! Sniffling now, he was getting a hold of himself as he looked right at Monty, no signs of drunkenness to be found.

“I… I’m sorry. Can you please not tell Moon or Ms. Accelia about my crush? I just- I can’t believe I said all of that! I should be better than that. Boy, I think Lunar was too right about ‘alcohol’ relaxing you!”

Okay, now Monty found himself confused again. Why was Sparkles learning about alcohol from Lunar? Why did he seem so innocent, yet end up here? Then again, Earth seems too pleasant as well. But he wouldn’t be surprised if each of them had a dark, sadistic side that made them hell-worthy.

Suddenly, the bathroom door burst open.

It was Checkers, clearly worried as he stormed over to Sun.

“Are you okay? Are you warm? Dizzy?”

Sparkles let Checkers feel his forehead and the back of his neck.

“No? I’m fine now Moon. I was just talking to Montgomery.”

Checkers then turned slowly to glare at Monty.

“And what did he ask about, Sun?”

Sparkles seemed to search his words as Monty tried to play it cool. But soon, Sparkles spoke once more.

“Well... he asked how long we’ve been friends.”

“And?” Checkers pressed, now looking back at a nervous Sparkle.

“A-And I said not long? But cousins aren’t always friends, right?”

“Right.” Checkers replied as he fully tended to Sparkles with a glass of water. “I’m not leaving you alone anymore; we’re eating at a table together. Even if you don’t look as drunk as Gregory said-”

“Dude!” Monty interjected. “Everythin’ but the first were virgins! Just pineapple juice an’ ice-cream.”

Checkers didn’t seem to believe Monty, with that cross expression on his face. But Sparkles spoke up.

“I… don’t know what you meant by ‘drunk’, but I think every drink after the first one tasted better. I couldn’t even taste any of the hand-sanitizer taste.”

Checkers looked perplexed by the statement. But with a sigh, Checkers escorted Sparkles out, leaving Monty to fill in the blanks and holes himself, finding more questions than answers.

*_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  

Moon really didn’t know what to do now.

He had mostly invited Sun to join him, and by extension Gregory, after the kid had told him about Monty taking a drunk Sun to the bathroom. And just like he thought, Monty was trying to gain info by making Sun drunk.

But… he wasn’t drunk? Which made no sense? He had a feeling the kid wouldn’t lie, but Sun was fine and definitely didn’t look wasted. So all he could chalk it up to was Sun acting nervous and emotional around Monty, which the gator and kiddo took as Sun having too much to drink.

But clearly, Roxanne was even more annoyed as they all had to move to a new booth to host all four of them. When they all received their food, she ate her filet mignon without so much as a word. Meanwhile, Moon had his duck and Gregory received his T-bone steak, to which he declined using a knife over his own teeth. And thankfully, no one noticed as Sun prayed over his meal before eating his gourmet macaroni and cheese.

Moon was wise to make sure every drink was non-alcoholic as Sun had his orange floats, Gregory kept the root-beer floats coming, and Moon had the wine replaced with his favorite drink: lemonade. And Roxanne just had water.

But just as they all were about to finish, they all heard a crash in the kitchen, along with a shriek.

“It’s that f-ing Goose again!”

Sure enough, a goose flew out and ran around like a cat on steroids as the staff tried their best to chase it off. But as another chef yelled that one of them needed to come back to help with the dessert, as she was just an apprentice, Sun took the opportunity to help, leaving Moon with Roxanne and Gregory. Just great.

Tala took notice when Roxanne leaned to Gregory, who was watching the goose chase with amusement.

“I give you permission to go help them get that goose.”

The kid scoffed, but got up to do just that.

Even better! Now it was just the two of them.

…

Oh boy.

“Oh hey, the lovers back alone agin’?

And now MONTY’s here! This was just the best!

But honestly, with all that was going on, Moon allowed himself a laugh.

“Please! As if anyone would be stupid enough to try to go on a date with me!”

SLAM

Moon stopped and froze as he looked at a very pissed-off Roxanne Wolf.

“WHAT. DID YOU SAY? Is this all this A JOKE to you?!”

Moon looked at her, confused. Did she think…

Wait.

Everything made sense now.

As if a gear finally clicked the lightbulb in his brain, he just now realized…

that he was an idiot.

“Uh… I’m now realizing we came to uh… misunderstanding.”

“What. Misunderstanding?”

Moon couldn’t help but plaster on a reassuring smile, that ended up looking awkward.

“I’m aro-ace. Didn’t Monty tell you?”

Suddenly, Roxanne shifted her gaze to Monty as she stood up. She looked like she was trying very hard to not cry as she looked between the two men, fury in her eyes.

At was as if everyone stopped to watch the fight, even the goose, which was caught by the very boy Roxanne was supposed to keep an eye on.

Monty looked to Moon and smiled.

“Ya gotta admit, it’s pretty funny if ya think about it.”

Suddenly, Moon felt his mood turn from uncertain… to something solidified.

This whole time… it was Monty.

It was Monty who made this whole date. It was Monty who tricked Roxanne and misled Moon. And it was Monty that tried to get him to wear an outfit to ridicule him.

Honestly, Moon wouldn’t be surprised if, on top of everything, this was all being filmed somehow.

And honestly, he just about had enough with Monty’s antics.

“... This is why you’ll always be alone, Montgomery. With no one but friends with benefits to fuck with.”

The gator’s lighthearted look hardened into a cold stare.

“You better watch your fucking mouth, Moon boy. I’ll have your sister next.” Monty growled.

“Not on my watch, you bloody bellend!” Moon cried out in fury as he hit the table.

With nothing to stop them, Monty and Moon grabbed at each other to start none other than an overlord battle.

*_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  

It took a bit, but Sun helped the worker finish the icing just as the shouting because… a little too loud. Peeking outside the kitchen, he saw many of the staff gathered around the entrance as a huge commotion thundered from beyond it. But Sun found himself looking at what a state the place was! How awful! Chairs were thrown around, broken glass was scattered in certain places, and there was even a cracked table! This place was one of the few nice places he had seen, not that he had seen much of hell, but still! He was about to move a chair but his back twinged in overuse and Sun had to flop back onto the booth seat where everyone was supposed to be. Except… no one’s here but Ms. Accalia. Not only that… she was crying.

Sobbing into some napkins as she muttered what sounded like uplifting comments to herself, except she sadly didn’t sound like she believed them.

“Um… Ms. Accalia?”

The cries stopped. Then a sniffle was heard. Her head raised and he could see mascara running down her face.

Even in tears… she looked majestic…

Ack! Focus!

“What do you want? You’re ‘cousin’ is outside in a stupid overlord battle! And everyone else would rather attend to them than to me!”

Sun gulped as he scooted to a respectable distance besides her.

“I think they’re worried about the mess, actually. But may I be the first to ask… are you okay?”

“No!” Ms. Accalia practically screamed. “I got set up on a date with a guy that’s never going to be interested in me! I thought it was one thing to be pursued due to my status or my looks, but now I get the privilege of being rejected for flat-out, not being attractive! Why am I never attractive enough for anyone to stay?!” She cried out before she went back to sobbing in her napkins, which was too familiar…

“Well, I’m here. Want me to listen for a bit?”

Once again, Ms. Accalia lifted her citrate eyes to him, sparkling with tears as she sniffed away her remaining tears and mucus.

“Well, I think the fighting is ridiculous. I’m glad Tala at least felt angry about this whole thing too, but I don’t understand how he even got Montgomery so… riled up. This may be crass, but Tala should have had the courage to talk in a language we understood. How vulgar! But not as vulgar as Tala not even understanding that this was a date, despite my best attempted flirts!”

Sun was glad he wasn’t expected to comment, since he was here to listen, but he found himself wanting to say something about… her.

“I mean, do I really not seem attractive to anyone?! So much that a damn goose causes more of an uproar than me being tricked and stood up! Am I that much of an ugly joke?!”

“You can’t be!” Sun exclaimed, not able to stay quiet anymore. “You’re the most beautiful person I-I know!”

Suddenly, those yellow gems were on him, this time wide eyed as she looked to him in wonder.

“You… really think so?”

Sun, fighting being flustered, nodded.

“Well… Sun. What is it that you find attractive about me?

“W-Well” Sun stammered, blushing. “I like how your hair flows in the breeze anytime you turn your head, a-and how your fur reminds me o-of silver. Like- not as soft as gold but still as shiny and pretty! A-and how your eyes… they look like sapphires! Yellow ones!”

Ms. Accalia looked astonished before her features softened in a way that made his cheeks even more flushed.

“I’ve never seen a yellow sapphire before.”

“W-well, I-I’ll show you sometime!”

Ms. Accalia giggled with a harmonious tone.

“You… really looked at me like that this whole time?” She asked, tucking her green strand back.

“Well, I tried not to,” Sun admitted, tugging at his ray as he looks down and to the side. “I didn’t want to try anything since I… also thought you’d have all eyes on Moon.”

Besides, who was he in comparison to Moon?

“Speaking off… remind me how you know ‘Moon’ again?”  

Sun stuttered for a bit, scrambled to find an excuse as he tugged harder at his ray.

“I…Uh… We met when I almost caused his death and I spared him! And I… guess he recognized me, because now I’m safe! We call ourselves cousins because of how we look!”

“Huh. Well, what did you do?” Ms. Accalia inquired.

“I worked in a library and with kids! I loved working with kids.”

Ms. Accalia seemed slightly taken aback by that answer.

“Uh… I meant how you made it in hell. But if it’s to do with the children…”

“Oh, never! I’d never harm the children!” Sun was quick to object. “I, uh… came to hell because… I wanted to kill people who hurt children.”

“Oh! That’s actually quite noble of you!”

“I’m not sure about that. I’m here after all.” Sun grumbled.

“Well, how did they die?”

“Um… some with a sword, some with a spear, and others in whatever gruesome way they tortured others.”

With a raised eyebrow, she commented “Oh. I guess creative points to you.” She then got up to take a bottle of wine from the bar before coming back and filling her glass to take a dainty sip.

“What about you, Miss… Accalia, was it?”

“Call me Roxanne, dear.” The lady said with a small smile. “And I’m a hellhound from the envy ring. I used to work at various stores until I managed to trick my way into the Fazbear Mafia Gang. Now I can afford any luxury I want. Say… who did your makeup?”

“Uh… what?” Sun floundered. “You know?”

“Well, I only just now spotted it! It’s very good if it took me until now to spot it.”

“Th-that might be because you’re… closer?”

“Indeed.” She replies before scooting even closer to him. “You are quite cute this close up.”

“W-well… Th-thank you!”

With a knowing gaze and a smile, she holds his hands, which makes Sun swear that his heart pumped like never before.

“Perhaps we can continue this conversation… another day. I’m afraid I’m busy for a while, but just call me when you’re ready to start a plan.” She says as scoots over a small business card. “I look forward to our date, Sun.”

He nods, not even feeling able to speak anymore. He was too warm, too fluttery in the stomach, and his smile too un-erasable as she got up. She seemed to look him up and down before waving goodbye.

It was all Sun could take to wave goodbye instead of melting into giggles and kicks as Roxanne left.

Where did she go, who knows?

Who even was Moon?

Who cared when a girl, no, a woman actually was interested in HIM!

The angel that… wasn’t good enough for heaven.

Suddenly, his good spirits plummeted as he remembered who he was and why he shouldn’t have even smiled.

Was he growing… complacent here? The shopping, the crush proved true, and even bonding with his peers?

Was he finding more joy here than in heaven?

His smile was temping to come back though… because Roxanne didn’t seem so bad. She wasn’t even a sinner, according to what Lunar said about ‘Hellhounds’. So she didn’t do much to deserve being here.

While he felt awful that he only had a year to savor their… attraction, it was better than never! And maybe he could inspire her to do good too!

Sun didn’t realize how in his head he was until a gruff snort caught his attention, along with something being tossed in his lap.

“Alright. Find some tears an’ he’ll be fine.” Said Montgomery, who must have finished his fight. “See ya, and tell him I’ll get him back. And not to contact me before I contact him first.”

As Montgomery left, he glanced down at a confusing sight.

In his lap was a doll.

A doll… that looked like Moon.

Chapter Text

Most Sinners would have considered this a life or death duel. Most Sinners would have a point to prove, or an assent they want claimed.

To Moon, it was a matter of pride. So he took an inhale and exhale. A dodge and a strike. All to show Montgomery who really stepped out of line today.

It was all too easy as Moon took focus. He had a rush of adrenaline that kept his, usually hyper, mind have complete control over his body.

As Monty smashed the ground, threw rocks, and blasted his sonic roars, Moon merely dodged, soared, and twisted his magic right back. A roar here, a line of inky spikes there, followed by a pounding shake that made Moon retreat upwards with his shadowy chain.  It was all a dance for him.

All to get close enough to cage Monty with many shadows, to then use as anchoring binds to hold him to the ground.

“I. Win.”

The gator tsks before glaring at Moon.

“If I want’d ya dead, I’d have done so.”

“You act as if I wasn’t holding back too. Yet here we are.”

As he stood above the gator, he knew he really had to think about what the gator’s consequences would be for starting and losing the fight. But he got an idea.

“Montgomery Gator. For losing the fight, I want you to do several things for me. One, you need to apologize to Roxanne. Two, if you actually recorded that dinner, you are never to share it with anyone not involved. Three, I don’t want you anywhere near my house for the next month.”

Monty looked pissed about the arrangement, but Moon had just thought of one more condition.

“Oh. And four, I don’t want you interacting with Earth ever again.”

At this, the gator tried to raise his arms against the bindings.

“The Fuck you’ll make me! I- Look! If it’s about what I said, that was just to rile you up! I didn’t-”

“Oh, you ‘riled me up’ all right. And as a brother to a sister yourself, you know that I can’t have anyone who’s willing to ‘joke’ about my sister like she’s an object to possess!”

“Last I knew, you only ever had two brothers and a father! So when didja get a sister and why you’re so overprotective is beyond me! And when’ja get a cousin? Alabama?”

Moon had to take a step back in surprise for a second, almost losing his grip on his spell, but he quickly pushed his mind back to the here and now.

“I don’t know why that’s relevant, but fine. Plead your case as to why I shouldn’t ban you from speaking to her every again.”

It took a moment of silence. But after the pause, Monty just bowed his head.

“…Let me try. She… seems nice. And genuine. And I won’t deny she’s more than pretty. And if she really is yer sister, then ya know she’ll be smart enough to make her own choices in who she wants to date or not.

…

Please.”

Moon steels himself and sighs internally.

“Fine. Then for condition four, you instead have to send me a free crate of your sports drinks every week for a year.”

The gator snorts, begrudgingly saying two exact words.

“I concede.”

As the magic contract is invisibly signed, Moon, stone-faced, releases concentration and the gator is no longer restrained.

“I’ll see you later Monty.” Moon mutters as he mistakenly turns his back to go back inside the restaurant.

“Ya will” Monty says, masking a spell cast before it’s too late. In a split second of horror, Moon feels himself painlessly compress and go limp as he swells with stuffing. He only hears one more thing before it all gets stuffed away.

“Much later than you’d expect, Moon.”

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

It took a bit for Sun to look at the plush before the words truly sunk in.

…

Oh heavens above.

Is this Moon?!

Sun gently cradled the doll and looked closer at it.

Same clothes, similar (if not more chibi) figure, sown-on features?

If this was not Moon, this looked way too similar to him.

“Moon?”

No answer was found as Sun brought the doll closer to his own face.

“Moon? Please?”

Still, not even a small move as the doll lifelessly laid in his hands.

“Moon?! What do I-“

Find some tears an’ he’ll be fine.

Tears? Well, that’s easy.

Literally letting himself sit for a moment, it didn’t take much before a tear rolled from his face. Sun collected the tear with a finger… and he didn’t know what to do with it. Flick it at the doll? Yeah. Maybe.

So he did. And…

Nothing.

Okay… maybe more needed to drop on him?

Sun tried to bring more tears, but quickly stopped as the staff started to approach.

Right. Maybe not the time or place.

“Excuse me, sir? We have other customers about to arrive. If you have nothing more to get here… you’ll have to leave.”

Sun nodded as he got up, taking Moon’s leftovers in a napkin before the staff quickly supplied him with a take-out box. He couldn’t believe he almost overstayed, because right, that Montgomery Gator guy said he booked the place to be empty just for them. He didn’t want any further trouble. So he bowed in respect and proceeded to walk out… into the warm atmosphere that is hell.

He knew he vaguely remembered the route back, but he still felt nervous without Moon beside him.

Sun walked down the road, trying to recreate the way back. But soon, those tears he failed to make started threating a resurfacing as he felt the energy of demons around him. Trying to hold back his tears, his chest tightened, his breaths shallowed and quickened, and he felt his posture crush in where his soul couldn’t any further. Despite being surrounded by evidence of others around him via crude words, loud aggressions, and depictions of private body areas, he felt himself shake, his footsteps being the only sounds he cares to register. Even amongst the horde of other abominations to heaven and life, he found no company except in cloth and stuffing. The only thing smaller than himself was clutched in his hands, careful as glass but close enough to hide in his chest, if he could.

Why was it that he felt like he wasn’t going to make it back to the house before having some sort of emotional breakdown?

He wouldn’t be able to hide the cowardly show of emotions that would surely be exploited by any demon here.

He wouldn’t be able to hide the failure he truly-

A scream.

A child’s scream.

Sun didn’t hesitate as the dark halls of the alleyway welcomed his darting form. He willed his eyes to see better as he summoned light around his being before his surroundings got too dark.

Soon enough, he saw a struggling bag and slid to it, the contents wriggling to be freed.

“It’s okay.” Sun said gently, opening the bag. “You’ll be-”

A gun was pointed straight to his head.

There was no child. Just a short man with a shooter.

“Alright bleeding heart,” Started by the man with the voice of child,  “drop the ca-”

No shot was fired. Just spurts of black blood as Sun summoned his light to pierce the man’s heart.

It took Sun a bit to soak in just how easy that was when he heard other clicks.

There were words said, but Sun didn’t care to listen as he took in his audience. A woman and two men. All with guns pointed at him.

His armor would normally protect against bullets, but he had trusted Moon to fight for him on this outing.

No one was there to protect him.

Yet, he then heard a meow behind him.

Through his side vision, he managed to see a scrawny little creature in a pile of trash. Pitiful and sad.

It didn’t take much, just a man choosing the new target before Sun moved. Metal burning behind him was nothing as he stabbed the man clean in the gut before turning to use him as a shield. Feeling his power go weak already, he took the gun of the man and aimed. First the woman’s head, then the other man’s heart.

Admittedly, Sun shot as many times as he had bullets. But didn’t move from his stance until he saw no movements from them.

He took a moment to look at them, to really think about what he just saw. But that’s when he finally noticed the blood, specifically on his hands.

…When did he ever enjoy the shedding of blood?

Never.

Just… the suffering of demons who deserved it.

And surely, these one did, right?

The man in the bag with the same child’s voice that screamed for help? It was on instinct that he had to die. Because how dare he imitate an innocent to rob people responding in good will?

No wonder humans have such a hard time making it to heaven. But that’s still no excuse for those that deserved to be here.

Sun found himself wanting to comb through and find more despicable criminals to get rid of, but-

Meow

Sun turned and saw the creature.

A tiny brown kitten, caked in grime and dirt, likely causing its coloration. Four dark-blue eyes looking up at Sun, who had to hold back from crying again. Steps were taken and Sun knelt before the thing.

“Hello little one. You’re safe now.”

Tucking the Moon doll in his vest, he went to hold the kitten, which shivered in his hands and tried to wriggle away.

His heart ached as the small thing nipped him a little before licking him in consolation.

Sun hoped Moon would forgive him as he displayed the opened take-out box, which the kitten eagerly dived in.

Half-opened, Sun held the box close as he found himself speeding to exit the alleyway, with only one thing in mind.

Making it to the house.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

…He really needed to stop bringing animals home.

But that regret didn’t stop him from holding the baby close as they were finally clean (from a VERY difficult bath) and blending into the towel they were currently burrioed in. Sun lounged back on the sofa as he held the kitten to his chest, which had just the smallest purrs.

Part of him wondered why he bent over so easily for this creature, but the other part felt at peace for the first time in forever. Despite being alone in the house, he found no other company needed than the one right here.

…Well. Not that he didn’t try to get Moon back.

But despite allowing himself to cry on Moon with the tears he summoned scarily easy on command, the doll stayed just that. A doll.

But not wanting to move and disturb the kitten, Sun resigned himself to figure it out later. As long as he stayed here, he was safe.

No one could touch his little kit, which he allowed to pour all his devotion to… except he didn’t have food for the baby.

…

Shoot.

Sun had to restrain himself from getting up as he thought to how in heaven, animals merely ate and drank whenever it fancied them, but they still had food and water bowls at the ready.

What cat food did hell provide? He didn’t know!

Did hell cats have different needs? Different mannerisms? Do they really scratch people for no good reason?!

Meow

Sun stopped panicking to see the small kitten making biscuits on his chest, looking out with her… actually violet eyes before curling back into a sitting position.

Right. Focus on the present. The kitten should be fine… for now.

He gently stroked her head with his finger as he thought to himself a little.

Would the others not like pets? He knew some kids preferred dogs over cats, and some that didn’t like animals at all.

Oh, he wished Moon was here. He didn’t know what to do with the sinner gone. And how was he to be restored? Clearly crying didn’t help! What other tears did the Montgomery Gator mean?!

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

It has been two days, but Sun still didn’t know what to do.

Thankfully, by snooping though Moon’s desk, he found a password book and was then able to access Moon’s laptop. Also thankfully, the internet was similar to heaven’s digital archives, so Sun was able to search for some answers. For one, the type of cat Sun found was a kind that ate any kind of meat. So all Sun had to do was feed her some cooked chicken and beef. And Sun quickly was able to research how else to care for the cat, including making a ‘litter box’ and how to make do-it-yourself cat toys. And honestly? He was glad to not feel so alone in this house.

But on the downside, he found absolutely nothing on how to reverse what happened to Moon. Every answer he found was to either use a special potion called ‘Angel’s tears’ (an irony that made him all the more frustrated) or to just cry and use authentic tears, which he already tried!

Part of him wanted to wait for the others to come back, but he had a feeling it’d take a long time. And he was starting to run out of food.

Oh course, he didn’t have to eat, so it wasn’t a problem for him. But he worried for his new friend. There was only so much meat he could make, and the cat was surprisingly ravenous. He’d go get more, but he didn’t want to go out alone again. He knew he got lucky in the alleyway, and it was only a matter of time before his back failed him.

So here he was, waving a toilet paper flag as the small kit pounced for it. Really, this kitten was all he had in his life now. Earth was gone. Moon was incapacitated. And no one else was here to help him. He was alone… but maybe that’s what he deserved. He wasn’t good enough for heaven. He depended and expected too much from Moon and Earth. Really, why did the little demon give him back his halo anyway? All he did was almost cause it to die… he thinks. He’s never seen a halo fade. If his halo died, would he sprout horns and a spiked tail?

Well, this kitten barely has any demonic traits. She had some red gradients on her white fur, and an extra pair of eyes. So… perhaps he was like this kitten. Maybe that’s why Moon and Earth have let him live and be involved in their lives. Maybe he’s like a glorified pet of sorts? No. Not exactly. But the thought makes him smile. The idea that he’s so pathetic that he’s made the illusion he’s worthy of a pet’s affection. That two people from hell who shouldn’t be nice, are the sweetest and most forgiving people he’s ever met.

Well, not like he tried to kill an angel in heaven, so he wouldn’t know how forgiving they actually are.

… Actually.

Isn’t it his birthday soon?

Not that he knows the exact date of his actual creation. But he remembers his ‘birthday’ because that’s just what Dazzle declared. If he didn’t have a birthday, she’d share her’s with him so there’s always a reason to have double the fun on ‘their’ birthday.

And for the first time, he’d be missing it.

He stroked the kitten’s head before it ran off. And this time, he didn’t have the energy to follow her.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

…

Day Four.

The kitten’s gone.

When Sun finally felt like getting up, he found that he couldn’t find the kitten anywhere.

He searched the house top to bottom. Every nook and cranny. Nothing. Nothing except finding out Earth left her balcony door open, and her doorway to the house was slightly ajar.

And the worst part? He was still too scared to venture out of the house.

So he threw everything he made for the cat under his bed and just laid there, holding the plush of Moon to his face.

Tears fell, to no avail as he dried out his eyes. Has it been hours? Minutes? Days? Sun didn’t know. He never bothered to check the time, knowing he was wasting his time and his life.

What was even his reason for existing anymore? No one was here. No one cared. That’s probably why Earth left him in favor of the small demon. That’s why Moon was probably choosing to stay in this stuffed form.

He dryly sobbed as he felt his existence crumble to nothing. Why couldn’t he have just stayed in that cloudy, colorful expanse? Because fading away in bliss was too good for him?

Sunrise… Don’t sell yourself short. We know you’re trying.

Sun found himself thinking back to when he was frustrated with his lack of progress as an exorcist. He was too scrawny. Too weak. And almost no one wanted to train him… Except Skyler.

She was the one that told him improvement was just a matter of taking baby steps. That change is significant, no matter how small. That… everyone deserves a chance to improve.

I know you scarified a lot to do this. But even if this doesn’t work out, I’m proud of you.

I’m proud of you for trying, for working hard. Because… that’s pretty rare with the angels I’ve seen here.

All of them are content were they are, while us Winners know what it’s like to struggle to find our place.

No matter where you go, no matter what you do, God loves you.

And as a proud mentor to my student with a bright future…

I love you too.

…

…

…

After a few more minutes reminiscing the words of someone who was always right, he finally got up.

And he got himself a glass of water.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Day… Something.

He still didn’t check the clocks. He didn’t even know which day of the calendar he was on. He just figured it was a day.

A day where he went through the remaining fruit to put together one last fruit salad out of the fruits that weren’t moldy. A day where he tried to remember to stretch in-between long laying sessions on the bed. Oh, and where he kept a glass full of water so he’d remember to sip from it when he got thirsty.

At this point, he felt pretty empty. He felt the urge to move, to do anything productive. But he couldn’t find a reason to, besides making sure he and his magic stayed alive. After all, Earth and Lunar needed an explanation why Moon’s a doll once they come back, so maybe they could come up with an answer themselves.

He was there for Moon.

His eyes leaked one more tear of sorrowful hope as he found himself falling back asleep, exhausted from just thinking.

Too exhausted, that he fell asleep before he could feel a pair of arms wrapping around him once more.

Chapter Text

Moon has felt cold before.

Numerous times, actually.

There was one time, back when he was 8 and allowed to go to public school, that he had to walk home in the pouring rain. No umbrella, windbreaker, or raincoat. Nope. He was soaked to the bone, shivering so much that his bones were practically rattling more than his teeth.

But that night coming home? Oh! Sweet relief!

His father welcomed him in, not even making him have to pick the lock to get in. He was able to have warm soup before taking a cool bath and being allowed to go to bed in the midst of warm blankets. He felt at ease, letting all anxieties and worries melt away.

Distantly, he knew he wasn’t all that cared for. His father only allowed him in due to the risk of pneumonia, which would affect his training tomorrow morning. And he knew that if his brother wasn’t at a special mission today, that he would have taken all the warm blankets out of spite. But… he let himself believe in their love warming his heart.

Love

Such a fickle thing.

A motive, a vision, but mention it and it soon dissipates. Or so it seemed in his own case.

Distantly, he felt the cold rain dripping on him. Fear, Pain, Self-Doubt, Desperation.

He shivered, curling up further to escape the chilling phantom drops.

But finally, almost like a bubble, a warm drop fell on him.

Something warmer than anything he ever felt, making everything else feel colder in comparison.

Actually, too cold.

Suddenly, he didn’t feel warm or wrapped in blankets, but drowsiness clung to him too fast to think properly. So when he felt something warm in front of him, he embraced it. He shivered as he clung to this warm source, like some kind of body pillow of a heater.

Soothed by the warmth, he went right back to sleep.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

He woke up slowly.

And by slowly, it meant that he delayed getting up with every buzz of his phone. But after the fifth one, he pulled it from his pocket, saw it was a call, and picked it up.

“Wh-”

“What the fuck is your problem?!”

That was what finally woke him up as his eyes opened in shock and he almost dropped the phone. It did take him a moment to remember whose voice this was.

“L…Lunar?”

“Oh, nice to know you didn’t just FORGET ABOUT MY EXISTANCE! And here I was, thinking you died and I wouldn’ve gotten my paycheck for overtime!”

Overtime? Trying to kick his mind in gear, he suddenly realized that the arm not attached to the hand holding the phone was under Sun, half holding him.

He quickly swiped it out and moved to get out of bed, only to collapse and hiss at his legs feeling unused and asleep.

“FUCK! What on Earth are you on about? Aren’t you at the Envy ring now?”

“We WERE, but thankfully they let me go after four days of you NOT RESPONDING! But now the Greed Ring places are giving me shit due to a ‘lack of feedback’. They think you actually died and I’m trying to pretend you didn’t! And here I was, thinking you would be the type to read your FUCKING EMAILS!”

Moon bristled in anger at the accusation until he realized…

“What the hell do you mean four days? You left this morning.”

“… Are you mental? We left six days ago.”

Moon was quick to check the date, but what drew his attention was the NUMEROUS emails showing in his notification bar.

And sure enough, it had been six days.

Moon slammed the phone down and swore every word he knew, mind reeling in shock and denial as he tried to stand up so he could pace.

What the hell had happened?! There was no way this was a prank! But why would he be six days deep in overdue business matters?!

Then again… How did he come home?

He took a pause as he played back what happened the last he remembered. He took Sun to the business meeting, which was apparently a date, and led to him fighting Monty…

Wait, that’s right! He was just walking away from Monty when…

It all went fuzzy.

He… did NOT-!

Moon looked back to where he had laid on the bed and saw a small doll. A doll that looked like him.

More swears were said as he grabbed the offending doll and tore it in half.

That gator was FUCKING DEAD!

He took a moment to mentally curse out Monty for not only using his transformative powers on him after he had lost, but turning him into the form he hated the most.

Dolls.

Turing away from the doll disintegrating, he picked the phone back up.

“Hello? Did you die on me? Come on! I’m already behind as it-“

“Monty”

“…What?”

“You can blame Monty for my… absence. And… I apologize for being indisposed. You’ll be compensated for the extra days. And I GUESS I’ll have to deal with the emails all day today to catch up. What time is it?”

“Uh… 10:27 in the morning? Whatever, just try to get to the Greed Ring emails first so they’ll let me leave and I can take Earth to the last spot.”

“Okay, will do.” Moon said with tensed words. “How is she, by the way?”

“Uh, fine. She’s not dead or hurt… physically. Nothing you wouldn’t expect from Hell. But she is worried about why you weren’t responding. I guess someone had to outside of business purposes.”

Moon rolled his eyes and moved to sit at his desk.

“Alright, I’m about to get to the emails now. Anything else I need to know?”

“You suck.”

“Uh huh. Send me an email about it.”

Moon promptly hung up and already started to regret having to go through so many emails. But work is work, and he clearly had been doing enough resting.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Three hours later…

He wouldn’t have gotten up. Especially now that he’s in the grove of addressing these stupid important documents. But alas, he was hungry, which tended to mess up his focus in the long run. Besides, he knew Sun probably had those same needs too-

He hadn’t been paying attention to Sun.

Moon quickly got up to start heading to the kitchen, already having a bad feeling about Sun. But he was nowhere to be found! Not in the kitchen, dining room, or bathroom.

Did Sun even come home after the dinner?!

No wait… he woke up to Sun in his… arms.

Right, because if he remembered Monty’s transformation rules, the curse could only be broken by a tear from the dead.

…

Dead.

…

…

FUCK!

Moon bolted up the stairs and burst in his room, only to find Sun on his bed looking as pale as a sheet.

With trembling hands, he went to feel for his pulse on his wrist… no.

He didn’t have one.

…

Was this normal with angels though? Did they have hearts that pump???

Moon went to touch Sun’s neck, but immediately recoiled in shock.

Not due the deathly cold like Moon feared, but to the blistering heat that came off of his skin that felt like it could cook an egg.

Wait, dead don’t turn hot… right?

But what if angels actually combust in flames when they die?!

How the hell was he supposed to-!

A shutter.

Moon watched with rapt attention as Sun shivered slightly and his breath came out hoarse and ragged, something he probably didn’t notice earlier due to panic.

Moon let himself fall a bit forward on the bed to breathe in relief. But soon, Moon’s worried started again as he really examined Sun.

Pale but slightly flushed, Sun, like his namesake, was scalding to the touch. His breathing sounds like pants that were drawn from, what likely was, parched lips.

Did Sun cry himself sick? Was it the outing? Wait, was it the journey back?! If Moon has indeed indisposed for six days, then Sun must have had to bring him back alone… walking back through the crowds of other Sinners and demons.

He must have been so scared. Maybe scared enough that, combined with the stress, caused an immunity glitch that got him sick… if angels even have immunity systems. But at least that answers the question of if angels can get sick.

Wait!

Stop focusing on the why!

Sun’s sick and need help right now!

Seeing just how dehydrated Sun is, plus glancing at the empty glass besides the bed, Moon quickly summoned a nearby certain sports drink and moved to rub Sun awake.

That only caused to angel to shutter and groan as he tried to bury his face in the pillow.

“Sun…. Sunrise… come on!”

But even as Moon’s rubs got more aggressive and harsh, the angel kept whining and getting away from Moon’s touch.

Great. Just Great! Now what was he to do?

Moon felt that there was no one to turn to. This was an angel sick in HELL for crying out loud!

But… he did have an idea.

One that seemed a bit stupid… but it was the only thing he could think of.

He picked up Sun with his blanket, went downstairs, entered the bathroom, and put Sun aside to turn on the water.

Not too hot or cold. Though with how Sun shivered, he must be in a heavy fever if he thought he needed to be any warmer. So Moon made it a nice warm temperature before shutting off the faucet.

He managed to throw the blanket off of Sun before dumping him in the tub, clothes and all.

Sure enough, the angel suddenly sputtered and thrashed awake. Moon quick to hold him steady, grabs Sun’s arms to prevent him from slipping into the water fully. In the chaos, Sun latches to Moon, soaking Moon’s shirt. But those wide… very pale blue eyes looking at him made Moon glad to see them, even if full of panic. However, it only took a few seconds before those eyes started to slip into half lids and for his grip to falter.

“Sun- no!”

“Huh?”

Sun shivered as he looked to Moon, who had grabbed Sun by the lapels to keep him up. Moon used his magic to summon the bottle again before starting to tip it to his mouth.

“Sun, stay with me. Stay up and don’t fall asleep again.”

Moon tried to keep from shouting, but his voice felt strained as he made Sun see the bottle. Thankfully, Sun accepting and drank down the liquid as Moon held and poured the bottle for him.

“Sun, stay with me please. Stay awake.”

Sun shook more as he tried to hold himself upright with the tub ledge.

“…Why am I in a tub?”

“I’ll… explain later. But Sun… you’re sick. And I’m going to try and help you.”

Sun giggled in various tones, not looking quite sane in the moment.

“Me…sick? Tch-no!”

Sun softly scoffed to himself as Moon brought him to a reclining position. But Sun soon looked up at him… doubtful.

“…Right? I… There’s no such thing as being sick in heaven.”

“Well… you are in Hell now. So either your immune system was compromised by Hell… germs. Or it was some weird holy and hell-like energy confliction thing. But yeah, you have a fever. By Earth standards, that means you’re sick. When was the last time you were able to drink something?”

“I… don’t know? I don’t really… time’s strange here. But… I see you’re back.”

“Yeah bud. I’m back. Now, want some soup?”

“…Sure? But… can you help me with my clothes? I… still have them on for some… reason?”

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Sun wasn’t taking being sick too well. Even as Moon let him soak in the bath properly, and after Sun got dried and changed (which Moon made sure to keep his eyes averted until he had pants again) Sun didn’t have much energy as Moon placed him back in their room with some warm soup and plenty of bottle of water and that sports drink. Even though he felt Sun should have kept himself occupied at the TV to keep his mind off of being sick (and useless???), Moon still had work to do on his computer and he knew he had to keep an eye on him.

Sun kept trying to get up, insisting that cleaning or cooking would distract him from feeling ‘icky’, but Moon almost tied him to the bed to keep Sun from moving at all. It ended up taking a threat to knock him out with his magic in order to keep Sun in place. But Moon did find him a few books to read while Moon knocked out his emails and finished documents to confirm his role in the business. It wasn’t much, but at least Charlotte’s Web looked clean enough of a book, even if written in hell to copy Earth’s version. And it was a good thing he still had canned soup in storage, since the fridge only had old and spoiled things left. After eating and making sure Sun was comfortable, Moon went right back to work. It took him four more hours and sore fingers before Moon was able to lean back and look at the all-read email logs and the complete document logs. There was even an opened email from Lunar about being able to leave to the last ring. And since it was a smaller division, he knew it’d only take a couple more days before him and Earth were back. And due to the conflict of extended hotel bookings that happened from Moon’s absence, he made sure to book them a high end rental house during the two days they’d be in the Wrath ring. He did ask Lunar if he needed more time, but Lunar was quick to state that it was plenty before going offline.

A quick glance to Sun showed the angel sleeping in his blankets. He had to take away the weighted blanket since it looked very warm, but since he himself preferred cool sheets, Moon gave Sun his own blankets in hopes it would help sooth his fever. He glanced at the cold compress on his head to see it completely melted and even warm, so he went down to switch out the water for some crushed ice.

Now that his job was done, he could go to the store for some medicine. But there was a problem.

He knew it wasn’t possible for Sinners to get deathly sick. Just sick in a way that would make them slow and feel sucky. Meanwhile, he was sure Imps had medicines for as many reasons as humans. So there lies the question… should he get Sun sinner medicine, or Imp medicine?

Or… just hope Sun heals on his own?

…

…

Well… since Moon didn’t know anything about how and why Sun was sick, he ultimately decided against medicine. Only for now.

Instead, he’d monitor Sun’s symptoms and give him remedies for them unless they got worse. Hopefully if it happens to get worse, Moon will have a list of symptoms to try and diagnose some sort of sickness and produce a sort for remedy for it?

He could only hope.

*_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

That night…

Sun woke up.

Hungry.

Thirsty.

And… restless.

Looking over, he saw Moon asleep in his own bed. So he gingerly got up. He felt dizzy, but made himself steady like he had already done so many more times due to his back.

Using the bedframe, then the wall, he carefully walked out the room and into the hallway as he got a better sense of balance.

He definitely felt better than before, but he couldn’t stop fixating on what Moon had said about him being sick.

He felt cold often, but wouldn’t that be the opposite of a fever?

He shook his head as he went down the steps, already thinking about what food he could possibly make.

Last he checked, there was some fruit he had washed. And some cooked chicken he never got to feed…

Wait. That’s right!

There was a kitten in here! In this very house!

One that… left.

But that’s fine. Cats are independent and do whatever they want! Sun was just… a pit stop.

Why would the baby stick around?

Surely, it had a mother to get back to.

…

…

That must be a nice feeling.

To have a someone willing to love you always. To kiss, hug, and hold you. To smack sense into you when you need it. To be a reflection what love you want from a partner.

He sometimes wondered what it’d be like.

But enough about that. He…

He… came downstairs to do something… right?

He didn’t feel all too hungry. Or thirsty. But knowing how pushy Moon’s been about his wellbeing, it probably is best if he drinks something.

For Moon’s sake. Even if he’s…

Oh what’s the point of labeling Moon as a Sinner!

He himself is fallen.

A pot calling a kettle black.

Creak

Speaking of the king of Rome…

“What are you doing?”

It was Moon, tiredly looking down the stairs as Sun froze.

“…”

“Get your a-… butt back up here. You’re coming back to bed.”

Sun felt a burning in his chest, a feeling of indignation as he stepped back. But he stumbled, having to grab at the counter to prevent his fall. Catching a shaky breath, he felt any strong emotion crumble as he finally felt the ache of his body and the heaviness of his eyelids. Slowly, he made his way back up the stairs, following Moon back to their room.

“Hungry? Thirsty?”

Sun shrugged before sitting on his bed. Soon, he was presented with a granola bar and a water bottle. He didn’t argue as he consumed both.

Moon took the wrapper and empty bottle back to throw away as Sun flopped backward on the bed. It only took a few minutes for Moon to come back. Sun knew the other was examining him before going to his own bed, to check for any trace of leaving again. God knew he did the same thing to Airaloce when he worked too long to get everyone’s weapons on time for Extermination, or coming up with innovative weapons for each exorcist’s strengths and interests, like Adam’s guitar.

…Extermination.

That’s right.

“…Moon?”

Moon hummed a note of interest.

“…What am I to you?”

Moon, who had been laying on the bed, propped himself up on his elbows.

“What?”

Sun almost backed down, almost said ‘never mind’. After all, why should his question be important enough to disturb Moon’s sleep.

…

But he’d want someone to ask him an uncomfortable question if it meant that they would feel better.

“I said… What am I to you?”

Moon looked at him with a raised eyebrow, to which Sun looked up to the ceiling all too quickly.

“I mean… We just met this month when I was going to kill you… right? Then you brought me here and kept me safe because… you felt like I owed you? Because I didn’t… Then I kinda-no, I DID try to kill you again. You let me off with a… elephant of a warning. Then I became a ‘friend’, which turned into the title of ‘cousin’? Like, I kept trying to kill you and to repay me in kindness! How in Heaven does that make sense? Are we enemies? Friends? Acquaintances?”

“I got it.” Moon interrupted. “But you are exaggerating your contribution to our… relationship.”

“But I did-”

“You ALSO only technically tried once.” Moon growled out.

Sun felt his heart stop as the mattress squeaked and footsteps approached.

He saw Moon come and sit on his bed, dipping the mattress as Moon used his hand to tilt Sun’s head to face him.

“I have no idea what your obsession of seeing me as a saint, so I’ll tell you what I see. I’m a Sinner. A human that fuc-MESSED up in life. So it makes sense that angels would want to come down and dwindle our population. So it also made sense why you wanted me dead. But, you stopped when I don’t think anyone else would have, according to your boss’s dumb punishment. You let me go, giving me mercy. What doesn’t make sense to me is why you got…” Sun knew Moon was looking at his scar, the one matching the soul he didn’t end.

“…So when I saw you in the ally, maybe I did feel bad. But it was just to repay a debt. I was ready to kick you out as soon as you’re healed. But you’ve cooked, cleaned, and made your way into Earth’s heart. Hate to tell you, but you aren’t leaving.”

Moon gives him a small laugh before turning away.

“You also wouldn’t be the first to see murder as a means to escape. Hell, I’ve also assisted and participated in so much murder. So… I guess we’re a lot alike.”

“E-Even if I’m an angel and you’re a human?”

“…As long as you’re sure that you’ve never been human.”

“I’m not. I-I would know if I was, I’d hope.”

“Well… what if I gave you a title? Officially? To… make a label for our ‘relationship’, like you asked?”

Sun lifted himself to a sitting position.

“Y-You have one?”

“I’ve had one for a bit, but I’m… not super fond of the implications. It brings about bad associations. But… we’ve fought each other, helped take care of the household together, and have similar stories. And I don’t know about you… but there’s… something that I can feel when I…”

“You… what?”

Moon turns to Sun with his deep blue eyes.

“When I’m near you… I mean… is there such thing as an angel bond?”

Sun takes himself back a bit.

“A bond? I mean… when two people that are close dies together or are separated lovers or best friends maybe. But that’s usually between humans.”

Sun noticed the slight disappointment in Moon’s expression for a split second before straightening up once more.

“Then… I guess it’s nothing. But, the point stands…

I… think you’re my brother.”

…

…

…

Brother.

Out of everything… brother.

“A-Angels don’t have brothers outside of Christ.”

“Well last I checked, you aren’t just ‘an angel’.”

Sun looked down, tears that he thought were all died up were now dripping down as his breath hitched. His arms tensed, ready to hug himself, but froze as he looked to Moon. His hands looked partially raised as if to reach out for him.

Sun knew may be stupid in many facets, but he knows an invitation when he sees it.

He doesn’t even register what happens until he feels Moon’s body in his arms.

Moon and Sun.

Brothers.

What a wondrous image to indulge in.

As he found himself fading out of consciousness with Moon tightening his own arms around the Fallen, Sun sighed in a deep satisfaction he never knew he had.

For once, he let himself forget about where they were and why they were here, and let himself believe.

He

was

home .

Chapter Text

Six days ago…

Lunar made his way up the stairs to the sixth floor. Not the best arrangement, but it was worth it for the ‘upgrade’ he got.

Oh those staff didn’t know what they were in for when Lunar not only called them out when they already gave up his room to someone else, despite arriving early to check-in, but also got to throw around his weight as a worker of a Sinner. He made sure to make such a fuss that the manager threw the free upgraded keys at him, to which he easily caught while holding back his smug grin. What a nice day.

Except… there was Earth’s current issues.

She almost cried when their room was given away and she almost offered to buy another room for them. She shrunk back as he demanded the room he paid for and it made the staff try to sway him to ‘calm down’ for the other guests’ ‘sake of peace’. And now… she wasn’t even halfway up the stairs and she looked like she was going to faint. Muttering something about the stairs and the smell? Didn’t her castle have tall stairs? Then again, they probably didn’t smell heavily of weed and smoke.

Regardless, he waited at the sixth floor level until she managed to lug herself and her luggage up there.

He did tell her to bring the essentials, hence his own small case. Hers looked like she was going on vacation for a week! It was as big as he was!

But hey, if she wanted to lug useless crap around, he’d let her. Learning through experience is the best teacher after all.

It’s what HE would have done.

Down the hallway they walked. Earth seemed to have a better time here, since her bag came with rollers on them. Lunar’s was hand carried.

An extra shirt, pants, and underwear. Toothbrush, toothpaste, and a bar of soap. Knife, hammock, thin blanket, wallet, hand sanitizer, phone with its phone charger. Also, just a couple of water bottles and granola bars. Just in case.

And now, the key to the room, which was swiftly used as they made it to the door.

Stepping inside… oh yeah. This was upgraded! This was cleaner, had more furniture, and even had a small mint on the table to make it worth the extra money he didn’t have to pay.

“…This is an upgrade?”

Lunar couldn’t help but roll his eyes at Earth’s light, but disgusted tone.

“Uh… doy! This is clearly better than our original room!”

Lunar whipped out his hand sanitizer and sprayed the table before placing his bag on it.

“Shouldn’t that already be clean? And why is there black on the walls?”

“Mold.”

“Mold?!”

Lunar had to suppress a smile as he looked up to see her horrified face.

“Yeah? The stuff that covers moist walls? Here, you can see the actual paint of the walls. Hence, upgrade.”

It was true. The mold just clung to the very corners of the room and the slight peak of the edges.

“But this looks… dirtier than the picture you showed me?”

“Well, yeah. They use photoshop for that. But this room has so much more!”

Lunar made a show of popping the mint in his mouth before looking around.

“See? That rug would not have been in our old room. Upgrade. But don’t touch it. You don’t know what’s living in there.”

Earth holds her bag closer at Lunar’s words, but rolls the luggage in before closing the door.

He felt her cautious eyes scan the room before moving to sit on the couch.

“Careful. A lot of ‘loving’ was probably done there.”

She was quick to get up as if the couch burned her.

“Is there anything clean?!”

“Uh… No.” Lunar replied as he proudly fished out his hammock to start setting up. “Hence why I have my own stuff.”

Earth looked to ponder something before bringing out her grimoire. As Lunar was setting up his sleeping place, he watched as she started muttering and pacing the whole apartment.

It didn’t take a genius to figure out what she was going to do.

It took him a moment, but after he put his blanket in the hammock, he went and blocked her path.

“Earth. No.”

Earth stopped and the glittering around her hand stopped, releasing a warm mist of magic that clung like humidity around them.

“Lunar-! You have to be careful! Spells don’t work well if every step isn’t taken exactly-”

“You shouldn’t be trying magic at all!”

At this, she held her grimoire to her chest with an indignant look.

“But I know a spell that could disinfect this whole place! Don’t you want a clean room?”

“DON’T YOU WANT TO TRY AND UNDERSTAND US?!”

She jumped back a bit, looking like a kicked puppy. But Lunar didn’t fall for it.

She was too old to be resorting to this.

“Earth! You can’t just magic your way out of struggle! You came to this trip, not for a vacation, but to learn what it’s like for us less-fortunate! I get it, nothing here is good enough, but if I have to live with this, so do you, sister!”, he ended with a hiss.

…Earth looked hurt, on the verge of tears.

No wait… she wasn’t a hellborn that knew how to tug heartstrings to get her way. The past few weeks, he’s learned that she’s not conniving enough to be manipulative. Or… maybe she’s been playing him and the others very well. He’s choosing to believe the former. Therefore, she probably, actually felt like a kicked puppy.

…Didn’t he once wish that someone would have taught him this stuff slower? Didn’t he also have to learn harshly and quickly how shitty the world was?

Did he forget how lost he was without someone to trust?

“…Never mind. I guess you’re done with learning for the day. You can sanitize the sofa if you’re going to sleep on it, but nothing more, got it?”

He turned away a bit too quickly and went back to his hammock to hop inside. He laid down and he found himself staring at the popcorn ceiling a bit too intensely. He felt the urges to preach more realistic responses go down as he tensed and relaxed his muscles. You know, the comments of how life isn’t easy. To tell her to be grateful for what she has. To remind her who was the smarter one out of them both in this situation.

Because he hated the feeling of indirectly being called stupid. And Earth isn’t spiteful enough to endure past it like he was.

“…I’m sor-“

“No. Rule number 1, never apologize. It admits you’re wrong and the other person gets to treat you however they want because you’ve given up your right to be a person.”

“…Isn’t that a bit exaggerated?”

“Maybe.” Lunar muses. “But you can’t take that chance to believe better. It’s how life works… in you know.”

“I’d say it shouldn’t be, but I guess we are in Hell. Huh.”

“Huh indeed…”

Lunar felt his eyelids closing as the hammock made him feel tucked in, in all the right ways. And he’d had a long day.

“Lunar? What’s for dinner?”

As he yawned, he uttered a response before closing his eyes for good. Something about his extra granola bars…?

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

The next day (5 days ago)…

As usual, Lunar was up later than Earth. Quite the mistake for her, because her extra time up made her stomach realize it’s lack of food, as all of his granola bars clearly weren’t enough for dinner.

He texted Moon that he was on his way to the first place as he brushed his teeth that morning. He normally would have never gotten more than a smoothie in the morning, but he figured he probably couldn’t make Earth starve if she was going to get gently accustomed to his routine. So they stopped by a store to buy some ready-breakfast plates before making the walk to the factory.

As Earth ate, Lunar clearly saw her struggling a bit with the poor quality of the fake eggs and flavorless potatoes. But he promised himself that he’d treat them both to better food for dinner to spend some of Moon’s living expenses budget. He gulped down his protein shake and tossed it when the building came in view. Thank god! The envy ring was more humid than he remembered, and it sounded like Earth needed a cooler place to breath for a while. So he flashed his ID at the guards before strolling in with Earth.

It… was a factory. According to what Moon had told him, this place was meant to manufacture all kinds of paper products to distribute to his business partners for their stationary needs. Quite lame, but if it kept the boss rich…

Earth looked in surprise at it all. Lunar couldn’t help but wonder if she knew what a factory was like, but was soon distracted by an imp, like himself, running up to them.

“Excuse me, are you the ambassador for the unnamed Sinner?”

“Tis I.” Lunar smirked. He waved for Earth to wait as he walked a few paces with the woman to talk though schematics.

*_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

This was like no factory Earth had ever seen!

There were huge machines that seemed to repeat the same simple motions, constant moving of multiple imps and hellborn, and a smell that rose that reminded her of smoke and sweat.

It was loud and never constant: a yell here, a tense pause of concentration there, crowds clumped together in a group huddle and some running away from the group with items in hand.

It was… more chaotic than she would have imagined. And yet… so cohesive in what they did and how they worked together somehow.

Granted, she had only seen photos and schematics to her own associated factories, but never in person would she have been allowed to see the mass production of her craft!

…

…

…

…What was she supposed to do?

She tried to look to her guide, but she saw him walk away with a clearly important person in charge.

Was she to follow? To make her own contributions?

No… she wasn’t here to help him. She’s here to observe and learn more about everyday hellborn life. So maybe she needed to explore? Yeah! Why not?

From the platform of the lobby, Earth looked back to Lunar again to check for any telling signs. As he walks out of view with a waving motion, she took it as a sign to meet back up him later or to not stray too far. So she descended the steps to where all the machines ran and the buzzing of chatter and orders rose in volume.

She had initially thought to walk through the crowd, but soon found herself yelping and dodging bumping into people and preventing kicks to her legs (which she was not doing very well). She felt a prickling sensation as she noticed many people looking at her with indifferent or annoyed gazes. She quickly used her height to find the easiest way to the calmer sides of the factory… which led to leaving the main floor and somehow ending up near cubicles of desks. It was still busy and bustling, but without the machines this place felt… more safe.

She tried her best to stay out of the way, but still got some analyzing glares as she toured the place. She wasn’t sure where to go, but-

Her train of thought was cut off as she bumped into someone she didn’t see, scattering papers all over the floor.

Panicked, she kneeled down to gather them as soon as she could.

“I am SO SORRY! I-I didn’t see you, I’ll help you-“

The face she saw when she looked up made her freeze.

The… person (?) that stood there looked to be towering over her crouched figure, thin as a scarecrow and with a clean cut suit with no imperfections. Their face was blue and silver, sliced sideways across their face not unlike the even line her biological father had, with a nose that looked bigger than her hand that poked straight out. But what made her pause was the small beady eyes that looked down at her, an intense glare that… she couldn’t pinpoint the reason for? Not aggressive, agitated, in awe, or confused. It just… looked at her.

She blinked as she realized she was staring too and went right back to gathering the papers by hand (and maybe some magic she wasn’t paying attention to) until she stood up with all the papers in hand.

The figure was her height, if not a bit shorter. And only now did she realize that while it sounded like it was heavily breathing… it had no mouth.

“Um… I’m sorry you might have to reorganize this…” she said cautiously as she held up the stack of papers.

It… just stared.

She looked around and no one seemed to give them any mind. But right as she looked back… was it standing closer?

It moved.

She found herself taking an impulsive step back as it reached for its pocket. Oh. Yeah, this is a person.

She would have assumed this was a Sinner if not for the ring they were currently in. But they pulled out a white paper before peeling off the off-white side and placing it on her upper chest,

“Guest” was written in bold letters on the sticker.

“…Thank you?”

A grunt was heard and the person walked away. After a moment, Earth found herself following. She wasn’t sure why, but she did still have the guy’s papers. She figured that even if she couldn’t find out who this person was or why they were staring at her (though maybe it was to see if she was a guest or not), then maybe they would lead her to a desk so she could drop off the papers.

*_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Lunar sat in lobby, tapping his foot as he waited. He never enjoyed this part of the job, but he already did everything he could. He sent the email to let Moon know to start the process of accepting reports, and now he couldn’t even pass the time with Earth because she left the lobby while he was talking to the manager, Mr. Yargo. What a stupid name.

Letting out a huff, he looked to the clock and noted how an hour had passed since they got there. Moon was taking his sweet time and Earth was missing.

Wait… Moon probably won’t be happy if he heard she was left alone and wandering in his factory. With a groan, he got up and headed to the security office.

…

Or he would have, if he knew where it was.

Thankfully, asking around led to the news that Earth did take up a tour around the place. But as he tried to follow the trail, he was led to a dead end when he stood in front of an office that belonged to some guy named Frank.

He considered cutting the trail and going off to a security office once more. He also started wondering just how mad Moon would be if Earth was gone forever. Not that he liked the idea of losing a princess to a paper company. But he was getting tired of babysitting her and feeling like the parent to a child.

…Was this how he felt?

All those years ago… when he lost everything and found himself within the dictator’s embrace?

Wait-! No time to reminisce! He needed to find Earth!

Besides, he knew Earth wouldn’t just let anyone kidnap her or beat her up… right?

He found himself doing what he did best as people and walls appeared and were left behind in a dash. Cubicle after cubicle, office after water coolers, he eventually found stairs the led to the next floor, full of construction equipment and hazard tape. Rushing through, he ran until he faced an open wall leading to the sight of the main factory. Searching for a tall bundle of clouds, he almost missed her voice echoing above.

Almost.

Looking up, there were a few bridge-like platforms suspended high above the main floor that seemed to be the source of her echoing, distinct voice that barely was heard over the loud machinery and chattering down below.

Not missing his chance, he used the structure beams and soft walling to haphazardly climb up (and maybe some wind boost here of there).

There she was, walking ahead and almost to the other side when he called out her name.

She THANKFULLY stopped and turned around just as he was scrambling over the rail to be on the platform she was on. He ran up to her, now able to feel a pressure bubbling up.

“Where the hell did you think you were going? I TOLD you to stay put!”

“What- no you didn’t. You made a motion like…”

She proceeded to imitate the wave he had dismissively made, but noticed how it looked more like a carefree ‘do whatever’ instead of a ‘hold back for a moment’ motion he had done.

He mentally kicked himself for forgetting she really was like a child in experience, and as such, shouldn’t have been left alone without information.

Right?

He didn’t know for sure, since he felt like he learned the language of gestures very early on with… him.

Earth turned around and before Lunar could call for her to wait, she seemed to quickly look around her frantically.

“Um… where did he go?”

“Who?” Lunar asked, finally reaching Earth.

“The… person I was following to give back-”

She had her hands held up this whole time, as if holding something, but her arms dropped in surprise as she looked around herself quickly.

“… the papers. Wait- there was a guy! I promise!”

She made another round of looking, which Lunar did in turn to find no-one around them, before she faced Lunar again.

“I bumped into someone and I was following them to give them back their papers! But…”

Her hand went to touch her chest, before she quickly looked to notice the guest sticker that Lunar just now noticed.

“I-I was given this by the same person!”

“Alright! Alright…” Lunar interjected with a tired expression. “This place is weird. Just… lets go back to the lobby. We need to wait for Moon anyways.

Earth looked so lost, but nodded. But he swore that she walked slower, probably still looking for the phantom she met.

He knew he would if he was in her shoes.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

That night…

Fucking Moon. Couldn’t even be bothered to answer his phone. It went straight to voicemail over a dozen times today. And without Moon’s initial input, nothing much could be done.

Thankfully, Lunar made a deal with them to start inventory and progress report collections based on past years’ proceeds, as that might make up for Moon’s lack of interaction.

He wanted to make the trip back so badly, so see what the hold-up was. But it would take money, time, and a sledgehammer to the schedule they were slated to have. So all they could do now was sleep it off.

Earth went off to brush her teeth, as she was one of those people who brushed twice a day, while the movie started ending.

Frozen, a Disney movie from the earth dimension, free for anyone with cable to see.

Again, thank you room upgrade for the Disney channel.

While shows and movies from hell were… kind of stale and very much crude, at least Earth had decent cinematography.

Earth, Earth.

He distantly wondered how long Earth lived her life before finding out she was named after the plane of life.

In fact, everything grew distant as the fixer-upper song lulled him to sleep.

But it wasn’t long before his dreams sent him into a place colder than Arendelle, transcending beyond his mind as frost formed under his own fingertips.

Chapter Text

It was a dark day, the day the angels attacked. It was a simple village on the outermost border of the Pride Ring. It had only Imps, who just wanted a simple life with no filthy humans interfering, aka Sinners. To this day, no one remembers the names of all the people that all knew each other and lived in harmony. Just that the only strangers they’d ever receive were the occasional sinners that was driven off with village-made knives, and the angels looking for any rogue Sinners. But those were a quick search that the Imps made easy so they’d get back to living their lives. But that day, not even an extermination day, they were bombarded by the angelic army. Not to kill Sinners, no.

To kill anyone in sight.

All the Imps that lasted longer than 5 minutes were the ones that ran and hid in piles of debris to try to avoid the mass slaughter for just a bit longer. Just enough to consider their lives and say goodbye before their time was up and they were found. Throughout the many deaths, destruction was done. Things and items being torn, smashed, and shattered as they heard orders from a haloed figure, barking to find something. After many hours, almost everything was broken and flaming while the remaining Imps were found and killed.

Except for one.

A small Imp toddler, who had clung to his mother once the slaughter began. He wouldn’t look or let go until he was smothered in the face by a potent-smelling rag. He eventually finally woke up under a pile of wood and stone, hearing fire crackling a bit too close for his liking. He clutched his head as he dragged himself out of the debris, still groggy. But his focus came back as he peeked around the debris to see a big angel speaking to a small crowd of angels. The exact words were long forgotten, but it was an order to do one last sweep before returning to heaven. The big guy left as the small squadron of angels stayed to do as they were told. The area, the little Imp saw, was littered with those he once knew, family, neighbors, and friends. And over in the middle of the street? None other than his mother, slaughtered in such a way that he’s glad he can’t remember. He then watched the angels spread out and he took the first opportunity to grab a nearby littered knife, tipped with angelic metal.

He knew the grown-ups had used it for strangers before, so he knew it would help him now. He crept around several hazards to follow a specific angel. But he suddenly heard shrieks and watched to see the angel dash to wherever it came from. By the time he managed to sneak his way to peeking around a corner, he never expected to see a slaughter of angels, fallen in their golden blood as a figure stood over them. They had scraps of black clothing and golden blood over them as they crouched over the angels. Some words were spoken and the little Imp noticed how the figure had feathered wings too. His rage overcame him as he ran to the angel, swearing to have his revenge for the death of his family.

A quick outstretched hand put a stop to that. The figure, not even looking to him, had caught ahold of the little’s Imp’s armed wrist and squeezed it so harshly he had to drop it.

A chuckle was heard.

“And what do you intend to do with a knife, little Imp?”

The Imp cried out and tried hitting at the hand holding him. Not too good with words, he screamed angrily and threw a fit trying to free himself. But soon he was lifted in the air as the figure stood up, finally turning to look at him with its blackened eyes.

“You’re quite the brat, aren’t you? I just saved you and this is how you repay me?”

The child blurted out the limited vocabulary he had.

“Bad An-gil! Gonna kill!”

The figure looked amused as they moved to hold the Imp by the scruff of their shirt instead.

“Oh please, I’m not one of those stupid angels. The angels that destroyed your home lay in front of you now. Unfortunately, most of them flew home, but these will be worthy sacrifices for now. A small sample of their just deserts. Yet, I can’t help but wonder why they would aim to kill everyone here… It’s not like this place had anything but you Hell-born Imps. Speaking of… where did you come from? Angels don’t leave survivors if they can help it.”

As if in that instant, the grin suddenly reminded the Imp of all those dead faces. Young and Old. Ladies and Men. Momma. He had been so angry he had forgotten… he was all alone.

The figure seemed surprised as the little Imp burst into tears.

“Hey. Stop that. Crying won’t bring them back.”

Unfortunately for the tall one, that only made the crying louder as little limbs flailed around. It only took a moment before the Imp felt an embrace, trapping his arms and legs and stopping his wails due to the suddenness.

“Tch. I guess this still works.”

As if by magic, the Imp then felt tired and comforted the longer the person held him.

“It would be nice to try and find supplies, but I have a feeling those bird-brains destroyed everything like the savages they’d never admit to being.”

The little one fidgeted with a button on their friend’s shirt as he pondered as well as a baby could.

“Buh… why hurt home?”

“Heh. Won’t be the first time the angels hurt others recklessly, the hypocrites to all things holy. They become yes-men to cruel orders, like submissive puppies.”

The Imp moved his head to look up at the figure questioningly.

“An-gil hurt you?”

“You can say that. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if all of this was because they wanted to find something they couldn’t have that belongs to me.”

The Imp looked confused as the figure held them up properly to their chest and walked away from the town. A hand came to pet the child and turn their head up to avoid sight of the messes below.

“I have tunnels below your town. But I’m surprised the oh-so-holy ones came in with weapons swinging. Guess they haven’t stopped ruining lives over a stupid misunderstanding.”

“Where we going?” The child asked, leaning their head more into the chest of their new support.

“My base. I can use an Imp to help with little errands. Maybe even for other uses… But first, you need some food in you.”

“And wader?”

“Water? What do you need that for?”

The child giggled at the man’s silliness and found himself wanting to rest. But first…

“Name?”

The figure scoffed, as the little Imp started to close his eyes. He felt a soft pet on his head as he heard the word before dozing off.

“Eclipse”

- - - - - - - - - - -

Eclipse

A name that brought chills to his psyche.

Eclipse

A name he’d never uttered after that day, the day he left.

Eclipse

That wannabe Syndrome to take revenge at the heavens, only to lose it all.

Like he had as well

No home, friends, or guidance. He was alone, having to fend for himself.

Lunar

Named after a more common phenomenon.

Lunar

Named after the Earth casting a shadow over a moon.

Lunar?!

Wait… isn’t that Earth’s voice?

LUNAR!!!

With a start, he wakes up. But he doesn’t get far as the ice keeps his hands and arms in place.

Wait- what?!

He quickly looks around as his face shifts into dismay, seeing the whole room covered in ice. The carpet, the walls, even the ceiling started forming icicles! And Earth… she was sat next to him, even as the frozen water held her semi-captive on the couch.

“Lunar?! Can you hear me??? What’s going on??”

Lunar flinches away from Earth’s attempts to shake him further awake, which was pretty redundant as he certainly was awake now! He pulled harder to get free, where his hands crossed under his head to support him, but he felt a greater chill as the icicles above grew larger.

“Lunar, STOP! Just… just calm down and try to focus!”

He looked back to see her breaking out of the thin ice that clung to her from any frozen surface she was touching. She knelt in front of him, blocking his view with her giant poof of cloudy hair.

“Lunar… I think it’s clear you have magic. Somehow. I-It’s not like mine, but I think I can sense enough of it to maybe help dispel it? But you need to listen to me, okay?”

He finds himself nodding as he tries to calm down, processing the bare minimum of her words to keep himself from spiraling.

“Good. The first step is to be calm with a clear mind. I know it’ll be hard, but look at me. Name five things I’m wearing.”

He shivered badly, but found himself trying to first focus on the warmth of her hands before looking back at her.

“Um… You’re wearing a ribbon in your hair. It has pink, yellow, and blue stripes.”

“Good. That’s one. Take a deep breath and name the next thing.”

“Ah… your shirt is pink and your skirt is orange.”

“You are doing well. Take another breath and continue.”

After taking another deep breath in and out, he looks to her hand.

“Your… your bracelet is string with random leaves. Nice and cheap looking. But you’re also wearing that necklace, which I told you to leave behind-”

“It was just to wear before we left!”

“Uh huh.” Lunar remarks, unconvinced.

“Anyway… feeling calmer?”

After another breath in and out, he nods.

“Okay… this may be weird, but father did this once to show me what I could do. I will do a spell that will let me control your excess magic. But it only works if the original caster, you, are willing.”

Lunar nodded quickly, anything to get rid of his problem!

Earth then pulled out her book, turning from page to page, releasing fragrant perfumes of various herbal scents with every flip until she finally stopped.

“Okay, I found it! I… need to hold my hands over yours and you just… let me influence your aura. According to the notes, and my own experiences, it’ll feel invasive. Like I’m trying to mind control you or puppeteer you. But that’s your untrained magic reacting to outside control. Try not to panic and try to relax.”

Lunar could only watch as Earth hovered her hands over the icy mound his frozen hands were trapped under. As she muttered her spell, the room felt darker as her words manifested around him, making him feel in awe, but claustrophobic.

Shaking, he tries to relax. This was the easiest way to undo… whatever he did. He just needed… to trust her.

And he did.

She wouldn’t control him.

But the glowing pulse felt like otherwise.

It was like glowing vines curling around him, pushing inside magically as it seized his very being. But he repeated to himself to let this happen. He wouldn’t be controlled. He wouldn’t die. She never mentioned dying.

But now his being felt suffocated as there was a pause. He knew it was his natural defenses. But in order to stop this, he needed to let go. Let himself be vulnerable. Just for a moment.

…

…

…

The vines stayed suffocating. He couldn’t breathe. His heart wasn’t beating.

…

No. Let her in.

It will be okay.

So with a shutter, he felt like he was falling.

…

…

Nothing.

Wait… everything was fine!

For a split second, he could have sworn he saw multiple colors around him, but no. Still on the couch, he opened his eyes to see the ice… sparkling away. It was as if bits of the ice and snow flaked away with just a twinkle. He looked in awe at the place as if it was a flower blooming back after spring.

Except the bloom was this ugly ass apartment.

But hey, at least he’d get the security deposit back.

It wasn’t long before all of it was gone. Earth’s eyes, that were glowing with a blue light, now close as she slumps forward, Lunar quick to catch her head and shoulders.

She doesn’t go out for long are her arms push herself into an upright position.

“Lunar? Are… you okay?”

“ME?! You did-… whatever you did! What even- what was that?!”

Earth sat back on the floor and looked straight at Lunar.

“I… dispelled your magic. When wild and untrained, my magic can override yours to work on my will. But it took quite a bit of effort for a beginner-”

“No- I mean-!” Lunar stopped.

He allowed himself to think over what just happened and willed himself to figure it all out.

“Earth?”

“Yes?”

“What… happened? Before the ice…?”

Earth pursed her lips together as she looked to the floor in contemplation, knuckles raising to cover her mouth.

“You don’t have to lie-”

“I’m not. Just… figuring out how to say it.”

Lunar was taken aback at that. Did he wake up and have an argument with her?

“You… were asleep. And I left you to watch Frozen as I went to clean myself up for the night. When I came back, you were starting to… cry. I thought it was the movie somehow, but I saw you asleep. You gripped the couch and… I saw it spread. You started to mutter harshly and I worried… it was a nightmare? That’s when I woke you up.”

A nightmare?

What was his dream about again?

Oh. Right. When he first met… him.

“So… that was an unpleasant memory. But that doesn’t explain-!”

Before he knew it, he got up and started pacing around.

“So what if I’d had memories I’d rather not think about?! I’d never do this kind of- I’ve never done this shit! Are you rubbing off on me?! Is your magic somehow making me like- like Elsa???”

“Lunar,” Earth starts, staying seated, “That’s not how- “

“How magic works! I know! But there’s no way it’s me! I don’t have magic!”

“What ab- “

“No! Wind doesn’t count! I-It’s a weird power that showed up once! If I speak gibberish, I can’t do half the things you do! And I’m an Imp! I have no soul!”

“I don’t think tha-”

“I know I have a soul, but I mean one that can absorb magic! Humans are susceptible to it when surrounded by it, like when they die! And I know you bird-royals get it from some angel ancestry! But- Where are you going?”

He blinks as Earth got up and started heading for the door.

“I am not going to stay to be an object for you to yell at. I will be willing to stay for a productive conversation. I also respect that if you just need to talk to yourself, then that is how you think through things. But I will not be here to play your target. I don’t like being yelled at.”

She stood in front of the door, hand outstretched to the knob, ready to turn as she looked back at Lunar pointingly.

Her height and attitude sent a wave of intimidation over him as he tried to stand his ground. Like a tree in a storm.

“Fine. Take your walk. Don’t get kidnapped. For all we know, Moon’s AWAL because he’s dead. So he won’t pay your ransom.”

Earth narrows her eyes before opening the door, grabbing a keycard, and leaving. The door wasn’t slammed, just briskly shut.

Suddenly, the room was quieter. Emptier. Darker.

He could just call out. She couldn’t have gone far.

But he didn’t. Not as the seconds turned to minutes. Not after he threw pillows and screamed in one of them. Not even when he nicked himself carving a new friend from his soap. He threw the knife down, flinching when it bounced and stuck into the wall a bit.

…Hopefully no one will notice?

The bar was soft enough and almost done enough anyways. So he used his nails to finish it up.

It was a butterfly, fragile and delicate. Honestly, one of his most difficult carvings, as it had very thin wings and he liked to add a lot of details.

He considered, as his nails made the small spots and groves, the magic made today… was done before. Back in his room, because he had some kind of weird dream, right?

But for some reason, no kind of realization just… sinks in.

He finished the sculpture, watches TV, lets Earth inside to sleep, and goes to sleep himself. The next day? He makes calls. He extends the hotel stay, he tries calling Moon four times, he orders food for the both of them. He walks around the town with Earth, she buys stuff from a fabric and clothing store they visit the factory, to which he is yelled at more for not hearing from the boss. They go back to the room, Earth starts messing with the fabric, and Lunar takes a shower.

He does try to summon the ice once more. Just to try, of course. But nothing happens.

He comes out in his pajamas and sits to watch TV.

But it gets shut down and he sees Earth’s face reflected on it. Knitted eyebrows, narrowing eyes, flatted lips. This wasn’t going to be good.

“Lunar… can we talk?”

He stared at the reflection a bit before he reached for the remote and turned the TV back on.

“Did you ever watch cartoons growing up? I think you’d like them.”

“I’m right here!” She says, walking around the couch. Since him half-laying down on it didn’t take up that much space, she sat next to him. “I’m surprised you’re not more concerned about everything! Not Moon not answering you, not what happened last night, not even that you’re watching a kids show now!”

Lunar turns to Earth skeptically before she nods to the TV. Sure enough, Teletubbies showed on the screen and Lunar quickly shut that shit off.

With a sigh, he glanced at Earth through the screen’s reflection as she clearly faced him.

“I want to ask… why are you upset about having magic. Not to judge! Just for… clarity.”

Lunar forced himself to think about it as his gaze became unfocused.

…Why was he upset? It’s not like he did any magic, let alone anything to traumatize him in that way. He’s known for years about his wind ability and uses it often! But this ice stuff… it felt like it shouldn’t exist. It’s unnatural. It even showed up randomly! So what even was it to him? A response to unusual dreams?

So he shrugs.

“I dunno. It… doesn’t feel like magic.”

“If you don’t mind me asking, how so?”

“You have to use your dusty book to mix potions and pronounce magical words! I just… expel stuff. Imps don’t do that.”

“Well,” Earth starts as she looks down to the ground, “Moving vines and shaping my body comes naturally to me. But… I see what you mean. Wind and ice are… pretty different.”

He notices as she reaches a hand to touch his shoulder and he looks back to her.

“I know you may not want to consider it further, so I’ll stop talking about it if you want. But I’d like to offer you some… help. If you want to learn more about magic, I can teach you what I know. Maybe I can help.”

He sees her sincerity and nods. True to her word, she smiles and reaches over to grab the fabric she was using. In fact… she wasn’t making clothes, she was adding to it.

She held out a shirt that spired in length, nice and dark burgundy as she took his advice on what colors were more generally acceptable. But in addition, he could see her adding something with more of a similar fabric: pockets. All around the length were pockets of various sizes, and clearly made to hold different items.

He handed the remote to her and asked her to put something on before heading to the bathroom, spurred on to make just a few more calls.