Orpheus and Harmonia are suddenly teleported into an apartment which has been overgrown by normal plants and, more importantly, an abundance of Orobanche flowers. The part of the floor and walls that aren't covered in plants are padded with pillows, blankets, and other cushiony things. Mid air. Falling against the floor with no preparation. Thank fuck for the pillows.
"AGH-" Harmonia lays face down on the pillows, groaning. Orpheus also lands face down against the pillows, beak squishing against the ground.
"ggrrrfuckimgonnahaveafuckinwordsforyoulater." He says to nobody in particular, sitting up and fixing his mask. "Are you alright?"
"Uh- Im fine..." She sits up, wiping hair out of her face.
"Good." The room smells pretty nice. Lots of flowers, both parasitic and not! He gets up and goes over to help her up.
"Thanks." Harmonia grabs onto him. He carries her over to the door and opens it with a light kick. The both of them step out into the main entrance. He closes the door behind himself and takes her in the direction of his apartment.
"Fair warning. Small and unclean...Haven't had time to, ok? Just ignore the cans of soda and shit."
"It’s fine." Harmonia replies. They enter the apartment, and Harmonia asks, "Uh... so you wanted to ask me questions?"
"Yeah. Yeah, I did. Buuut, remember how I said I'm hungry? Yeah. I have my priorities, There's like... I think I have my Wii hooked up to the tv? Play like, Pikmin or something to wait, I don't know. The food is gonna slap though. If not, I'll let you punch me. Promise."
"Alright. Sounds good I guess."
"Need help getting over there?" Orpheus asks.
"Yes please-" Harmonia says, before Orpheus helps her into the living room. He sits her down on the couch in front of the tv.
"What, uhh... game. Do you want?"
"What do you have?" She asks, looking up at him.
"Most of the good ones."
"Can I play Mario Kart?"
"Do you want the steering wheel?"
"Uhhh yes." She smiles.
"Mario wiimote or Luigi wiimote?"
"YO YOU HAVE THE CHARACTER ONES???"
"Yes???" Orpheus replies. Harmonia is looking at her phone and tearing up. Orpheus asks, "Do you have some sort of emotional relationship with the character wiimotes??"
"N-no I just... my friends are talking about something... uh..." She puts her phone down, "You wanted to know how I became a demon?"
"Uh, yes!! yes I did,!!" Orpheus perks up.
"I died. Abaddon killed me. Then my friend whos a demon gave me half his soul. It brought me back and now I'm part demon." She stares at the floor as she thinks about it.
"WAIT, ABADDON??" He seems shocked. "Hold on, hold on." He seems giddy and runs into the bedroom. He runs back in and sits next to her, quickly opening up the laptop and turning it on. "So, you do have a demon friend, yes? One who gave you half of your soul, yes?"
"Uh.. yes.."
"After you died. From Abaddon, yes?"
"Yes"
"I am aware of the existence of multiple hells. I, specifically, deal with one that has a heavy tie to liminal spaces and abandoned buildings. Things that would attract urban explorers, yknow?"
"Uh sure yeah"
It's... sort of close to the representation Dante put up with the Inferno, right? Your mention of Abaddon felt like a punch to the goddamn nuts because he is absent from that hell. Notably so. Like, very notably."
"Oh uh... well he's currently like. ending my world so."
"Yeah. Yeah, I can see that. It's... weird. Now, I'm aware of the whole world ending situation, obviously. But, fucking. somehow, apparently. I just MISSED who was doing it? And I feel like I've been blindsided."
"Yeah it's the bitch."
"The bitch."
"Are you like, looking for him? Like a warden or something?"
"...N...well. I guess? I don't think so."
"Are you on his side?"
"...No. I'm... I'm a human, right?...Ignore. the Antlers, please. Haha. I was an urban explorer, right? Ended up falling down a rabbit hole. ...metaphorically. Found myself somewhere fucked and twisted. And now I'm researching this... parallel hell, right? It's so interesting that I, from this world being ended by a demon, ended up winding up upon a hell where said demon is just... gone, right? I dunno," He sighs, kicking off his boots and sitting criss crossed on the couch, "...this is weird. I feel uninformed now. I feel weird."
"So... youre human? With antlers somehow?
"And you're a human. With red eyes. and apparently half the soul of a demon."
"Yeah.... I mean youre not the weirdest person I've met, so- how long were you in hell?"
"...Long enough to miss the world ending, apparently. Came back and it was like this. And I was like this. I've been there and back again a few times! It's rare to happen, but it does..." He seems a bit vulnerable at the moment. Very different to the "Can I kidnap you. I'm gonna kidnap you" of before. "...I don't know"
"Um... can I ask what year you think it is? Or what year it was?"
"...uh. hhhaha.." Orpheus seems a bit uncomfy. "I don't know.. I don't know. Why don't I know?"
"I... I'm sorry.. do you want to change the subject?"
"...I'll go make the mac and cheese." He gets up, leaving his computer half open next to Harmonia. He turns on the tv, puts in the Mario Kart disc, puts the Luigi Wiimote in the Mario Kart WiiWheel and hands it to her. "Sorry." He heads off into the kitchen.
After a while, Orpheus walks back in and places the pot + bowls + spoons on top of the table in front of the couch she's sitting on.
"Having fun?" He asks. She nods. "Good." He fills one of the bowls to the brim with buffalo chicken mac and cheese. It looks good. Like, real good. Smells good too.. He puts the spoon in it and holds it out to her. Harmonia licks her lips before taking it and digging in.
"Yum-"
"See? See? I fuckin told you it was good...I'll eat after." He sits down.
"Oh- okay-" Harmonia continues eating quietly.
"...Can you tell me what your demon friend is like?" He picks up his computer, sits criss cross again on the couch, and starts typing.
"Uh... I dunno if I should...."
"Please?"
"I... I don't know what your motivations are-"
"...Research. That's it! Research..." He sighs, sounding a bit desperate. "I want to know if they're from this hell, right? So then, if they are... I don't know, I know more, I guess!..And then I'll let you go, alright? Deal?"
"How do I know you're not lying?? What if you are another person trying to get on my good side so you can destroy us just like Nicole-" Panic fills her eyes. "I have to go I cant- I have to go-"
"I haven't lied to you once this entire time??? What????" He seems genuinely shocked at her accusation, "Harmonia what. Who even...? I didn't know you existed until today!"
"She's gonna... shes gonna fucking get me again..." Her breathing speeds up and she starts hyperventilating, looking around until she sees the door. She stumbles but falls, shaking like a leaf. Orpheus sighs, seeming disappointed
"Fffine. Fine. Fine. Fine, you want to play like this? Fine." He gets up, putting his computer to the side, and looms over her. "...Do I... no, no. No. Do I? ...No. Too violent. Ok." He reaches into his bag and pulls out a pocket knife and a seed. "...Do it. Do it. Do it. Ok." He places a foot on her back, pressing down to pin her. He’s stronger than he looks. an uncomfortable amount stronger than he looks. "Mmm.. sorry about this, ok? But, knowledge is knowledge. I need it. I need. it." He makes a small cut in her back and places the seed in her back, causing her to.. immediately feel weaker. not tired, not sleepy, but... weak. He goes to take her phone and watch. She tries to stop him, wincing in pain and panicking.
"Let go! Get off of me-" ...She can't move. Feels heavy. too heavy. He takes her phone and watch away. "P- please... please... I can't... why cant I move...?"
"Orobanche. Parasitic plant. You'll see." He stops pinning her down and she begins to feel a pressure in her back. Her items are placed on the table. "You don't gotta worry about, ehhh... permanent damage. I can snap and they'd vanish like nothing! You'll get your things and a change of clothes once you tell me what I want to know, ok? Simple. Straightforward."
"Fuck I'm fucking stupid, I should've called for help-' She tears up.
"Dude.. You did this to yourself. I was trying to be nice. And accommodating. And pleasant. I made you food, I let you use my Luigi wiimote. All you had to do?" He stomps on her left leg, surprisingly painlessly.. numb. "Tell me what I wanted to KNOW. Fucking UNGRATEFUL. U. N. G. R. A. T. E. F. U. L." He stomps again. He hisses a bit as he speaks, the green glow from behind the lenses of his mask is much more noticeable and bright.
"I'm sorry I'm sorry- I'll tell you I'm sorry-" Harmonia cries.
"Oh? You'll tell me? You'll fucking tell me N O W ? Cute, Adorable even. Thinking you have a choice at this point." Pale vines painlessly grow out of her numb back, constricting her limbs to her body. She can't move. She can't even wiggle. Too heavy, too hard, no energy for it at all... Numb. Yet, she doesn't feel sleepy at all.
"I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm terrible and stupid I'm sorry please forgive me-" Pure panic.
"Just... fuck. Ok, let me calm down. I'll get you a chair." He sighs, pinching the bridge of the mask's beak.
"I just.. I just got scared because of past stuff I'm sorry-'
"..It's fine. I overreacted. Sorry...Still not letting you go, though." He walks to the bedroom. Harmonia is still having a panic attack, breathing sporadically. He walks in with the chair and sets it up in an empty space in the room, "...god, you're really going through it, eh? I'll make it a more comfortable seat." He puts a blanket on the chair. "See? there. More comfortable." He's starting to breath faster and panic a bit too. "..shit. ok. uh.. hold on." He picks her up and sits her down on the chair , vines quickly readjusting to tie her to the chair.
"W-what do you want to know..." She stops crying, but is still breathing hard. He shifts the chair to face the couch that isn't in front of the tv, grabbing his computer and sitting on said couch to face her...his eyes are glowing an eerie amount.
"As I said before, tell me about your demon friend."
"H-his name... is T-thrall... he's moth... he... safe... he feels safe... I ..." She closes her eyes. "He got controlled by Abaddon... made to attack us... Terminal killed him... he's back... he cares about me..." Harmonia talks in simpler language, her brain running at rapid speeds. "T-thrall.. he.. could help..." She mouths his true name. Orpheus, recognizing the language she's mouthing (plus feeling the power behind the words despite not hearing them), mutters something of his own rather quickly, finishing just as the lights began to flicker. The mood of the room returns to normal. He sounds like he's grinning.
"Oops, did you try summoning him just now? Ahh, too bad. You're stuck. Here. With me. Speak more coherently, please. Althouughh..." He begins to type stuff down "Thannk youuuu for confirming my suspicions...!"
"No... no no- he said itd work- he said it'd work!" She protests, her voice hoarse.
"Oh, nono, it did! Trust me, it did. Mmm... I just happen to be in cahoots with someone muuuch, much higher than him."
"No... no fuck..." She’s shaking and crying.
"Thank fucking god, too. I would've lost a limb! A gluttony demon? Jeeeesuuuus, Harmonia. Yikes."
"He's my friend...Fuck... fuck fuck fuck who are you- what do you want I dont- someone help-"
"..." He sighs. "I can wait." He sits there, cross legged, laptop on his lap, staring at Harmonia. A pause as she tries to think.
"Who are you in cahoots with???"
"...Not Abaddon. Not Lucifer. Not anybody you should care about. Can you answer more of my questions?"
"I-I don't have a choice.."
"I mean, you can just sit in silence. That's a choice! But not one that gets you freed, so. Will you?"
"Or I sit in silence til your fucking parasite kills me."
"...I didn't think about that. That would be annoying. I don't think it can do that?"
"Whatever. Just ask your questions."
"Great! Has he mentioned a 'Beelzebub' ever? Does he crave blood and souls? You mentioned him being a moth. He's buglike, yes? Black and red? Ability to meld into shadows?"
"One. no. Two, yes. Yes yes yes. I crave souls too. Not blood though."
"Oh, interesting! Have you eaten any?" Vigorously taking notes.
"Yes." Her face is hardened now, her breathing back to normal.
"How many? Have you felt any different since doing so? Do you ever feel an intense bloodlust?"
"2. Not really. Just. a guttural hunger for souls."
"Has he eaten any souls? If yes, has he physically changed any? Does he have an intense bloodlust?"
"He ate one but didn't digest it. Before he was made of shadows but now he's just. moth. I don't know about the last."
"Hmm.. Has he mentioned anything about Hell? Anything about any of the various layers of Hell?"
"Yes... he told me that limbo was beautiful and lust was okay but gluttony was... bad."
"I see, I see! Anything about the lower layers?"
"No. Said he couldn't go or else he wouldn't be able to return.'
"...hm. Interesting."
"Is that all."
"Do you have more knowledge to share with me?"
"I don't know, do I?"
"Do you?"
"Do I? You tell me."
"Do you?"
"Do I?"
"Do you?"
"No."
"...I don't believe you, but for the sake of you answering what I asked of you, I'll let you go. Just, like... give me a moment to get you stuff to change out of that." He gestures towards the doll dress. "Oh, also!" The vines release her arms as she regains feeling and control over them enough to eat, being handed her bowl of mac and cheese. Harmonia looks at it.
"Thanks I guess." She doesn’t move to eat it. Orpheus walks to his bedroom and then walks back out with clothes.
"This good?" He asks.
"Yeah." She hasn't eaten. She just looks done with everything.
"Cool. Sorry." He moves the bowl back to the table and places the clothes on her lap, snapping his fingers. All traces of the plant disappear. She slowly begins to regain feeling in everything again. The leg that got stomped on surprisingly is still not hurting. She just stares at the ground and waits for feeling back. He sits down, typing away.
"Fuck I cant walk right now. Do you mind if I just.. change here? Just turn around or something, I don't really give a shit." Harmonia says. Orph is fully zoned out, literally not paying attention at all. She just changes. If he looks up he can see that there's a void in her stomach. What the fuck. He notices that but doesn't let her notice he notices. Harmonia gets changed.
"Can I have my shit back now." She’s pissed. A soft white glow fills the room before Gabriel appears! He's dressed in a white suit with gold lacing, hooped gold earrings, and a few rings on his fingers. His sword was drawn. Four wings were tucked neatly behind him, and a halo over his head. He looks towards Harmonia and Orpheus.
"Ah, hello, Harmonia." He says with a slight smile.
"Are you gonna get me out of here." Harmonia is visibly pissed.
"Why of course, it's why I'm here at all." Gabriel nods.
"Yeah, it's on th.." Orpheus glances up, and does a double take, looking to Gabriel. "WH-???" He drops his computer on the floor and tries to escape backwards, but is stopped by the couch. "ARE YOU A FUCKIN ANGEL??? WHAT???"
"Indeed I am. Are you the one who's kidnapped my friend here?" Gabriel smiles, turning to look at Orpheus.
"Can you heal my legs Lucille fucked them up-" Harmonia is still sitting. Orph looks between the two of them.
"CAN I KIDNAP YOU INSTEAD???? holdonholdonholdo-" He gets up and grabs her things from the table, handing them to her. Harmonia grabs them from him and puts it in her pocket. "Do angels need to eat??? Do you want some mac and cheese?? I have so many questions, holy shit." Orpheus seems a bit hyper now?? Total mood shift, man.
"Will she be allowed to leave if so? I can answer your questions later." Gabriel cocks his head.
"Oh, yeah, absolutely!!! Take her, take my luigi wiimote, it doesn't matter, you matter!" He's walking around Gabriel to get a good look at him, muttering something like "holyshittthosewingsaresobig.4???whatdoesthatmean..." Completely moved on from Harmonia at this point.
"May I return her home then? I'll return soon after, you have my word."
"Go for it, I need to eat something anyway...You promise you'll come back though, right?? Please??? Like you aren't just lying???"
"I can heal you, yes. And I will return, I'm not a liar." He nods, walking over to Harmonia and smiling.
"Ok cool!! great!" He picks up his computer and moves over to the couch in front of the tv. "Harmonia take your bowl of mac and cheese with you." He scoops himself a bowl full of it.
"Why?" She looks to Orpheus. Glare. Angry.
"...because it's good? C'mon you liked it you said 'yum' when you ate it!" Orpheus says. Gabriel kneels down, and a white glow envelopes Harmonias legs, a feeling of serenity and happiness washing over her. After the light fades, her legs would be repaired, the feeling would last a few hours. The anger faded from her face as she took the mac n cheese and ate.
"Thank you!!!" She said to both of them, looking content
"See??" He looks to Gabriel, holding his full bowl. "You want some? Can angels even eat mac and cheese??"
“While angels can eat, I prefer not to. How does that feel, Harmonia?”
"..damn. ok."
"Feels good... thank you,,," She grins dopely.
"...Did you like... drug her? or something?...Can you do it to me? I wanna know how that feels...for research purposes." Orpheus puts the bowl of mac and cheese down on the table.
“I did nothing of the sort," Gabriel frowns, "Now, if you excuse me, I'll be right back with her.”
"So you can't do it to me?" Orpheus asks. Harmonia finishes her food and puts the bowl on the table, standing up so she can hug Gabriel.
“Once I return, patience, dear.” And in a soft white glow they vanish. Orpheus takes off his mask, eats the mac and cheese, and then passes out on the couch.