Chapter Text
They were a puzzle. An enigma. She had no knowledge of the realms, of magic. And yet, Solomon knows he knows them. Knew them before RAD. Somewhere in his memory, he had met Etana. The more time he spent with her, the more he was sure of it. Flickers of images (memories?) flashed in his mind’s eye. Images of them that he had not seen before. He’s not even sure if they’re memories. Could they instead be fantasies? Daydreams? Could they be experiencing the same? His thoughts ran a mile a minute as he stared at the same page in his textbook for 2 minutes. His mind was somewhere else entirely.
There were so many theories he wanted to prove. Could she come to his room tonight? He wants to talk to her, push the limits of what she could be experiencing. No. If he talks to them and they end up being the reason he can’t remember anything then that’ll open a whole new can of worms. But he needs to test if they’re experiencing the same visions he is. Solomon straightened in his seat as he thought of an idea. Could he…? Hmm, no. He hasn’t tested it out enough and he didn’t wish to hurt Etana.
He could take another glance at history books and his journals alike. He’s bound to find something about Etana if he’s sure they’ve met before.
Would following them around help at all? He’ll be the first one to admit studying your subject helps to uncover a lot of areas you hadn’t thought of exploring.
“Are you insane?” He heard Simeon whisper beside him. “If you’re going to stalk someone, be sure to not murmur about it,”
“Ah… right. It’s not really stalking, though. It’s more like studying,”
“I believe it’s morally wrong to study people as if they’re experiments…” Simeon sighed. “So, what’s working you up this much?”
“Etana. They seem so familiar and it’s frustrating. I’m not sure where I could’ve met them…” Solomon said before he started doodling on the corner of his paper mindlessly. Simeon hummed before looking at the teacher again.
“We’ll talk after class,” Simeon said and Solomon nodded.
———————
“Beel!” Etana said as they ran up to him in order to catch up. “Hey! So you decided to come to school today too,”
“Yeah,” He leaned closer to her. “Belphie said he’d be fine,” Beel whispered to her. “My brothers came up to me during class,”
“Oh, yeah. I might’ve accidentally sent them to you. Once one of them saw me, they must’ve realized you were also here maybe,” Etana said. “Mammon hasn’t left my side nearly all day. The only reason he’s not here now is because Lucifer forced him to go to class like usual. I could tell Lucifer didn’t really wanna go either though,” Which was confusing at best. It makes Etana think about what Lucifer would’ve done if he had ACTUALLY killed them.
“Pretty much the same experience here. I feel like at least one of my brothers are always looking for me,” Beel smiled. “It’s nice though. They still care even after our fight. They’re probably worried about Belph too,” He sighed. “I’ve been texting him non stop. I just wanna make sure he’s okay being alone today,”
“Don’t worry. He’s pretty okay being by himself from what I’ve seen. Besides, I think that Solomon has a half day today so he’ll be home soon anyways,”
“Thanks, Etana,” Beel sighed again. “I’m sorry again for dragging you into this. Our family doesn’t need to involve you in our issues,”
“Don’t worry about it. I can’t be too mad, especially since I wasn’t too thrilled at the idea of staying with Lucifer at the time when you dragged me off,” Etana said with a laugh but she only got a worried look in return.
“Are you okay? That last attack really shook you. I know you said you were okay the last time I asked but still,” Beel said and Etana smiled.
“I’m happy you care, Beel. But I’m fine. Lucifer did shake me pretty good but I think most of it was me winding myself up that whole night from Grisella’s warning. You guys are demons and it’s hard to remember that sometimes,” Etana said but that didn’t make Beel feel any better.
“…We really love you, Etana. I know that Lucifer does too. He just…” Beel trailed off before speaking again. “I guess he just forgot you weren’t a demon too. You can’t take the same punches that our brothers can. I don’t know, it’s complicated. My brothers want us back at the house, I know that but I’m not sure if I’m ready to go back. I know I don’t want to if Lucifer’s just going to lock Belphie up again,”
“…Speaking of, do you know why he was locked up?” Etana asked and Beel shook his head.
“Not really. I mean, I know that Belphie disagreed with Diavolo’s idea for an exchange program but I don’t think that would be the ONLY reason Lucifer would lock him up. Diavolo and Belphie hardly ever agree on anything and Belphie’s never been locked up for disagreeing before,” Beel looked at Etana. “But Belphie definitely likes you. I’m sure of it. So he’s probably not too mad about the program now,”
“Did Belphie try to stop the program?”
“Hmm… He did tell me about how he wanted to. And he had some…worrying plans… but it doesn’t matter anymore! He wouldn’t actually have gone through with any of them,” Beel said and Etana could feel a chill grab onto her heart. Was Belphie planning to… hurt her in the beginning? Before she arrived?
“…Do you think Belphie could’ve been, like, a danger to me…?”
“What? No. Belphie wouldn’t have… No, Etana,” Beel frowned before his face grew indecisive. “…I don’t know. But even so, Lucifer didn’t have to lock him up. I mean, you had us to protect you,”
“Beel, I didn’t always have you guys liking me… Even Mammon wasn’t always there to protect me,” Etana pointed out but was only met with silence.
“…I’m not sure what to say, Etana. But I know Belphie wouldn’t hurt you now,” Beel said but Etana’s stomach turned into knots regardless. They tried to shake the feeling but it was the same feeling they had the night Lucifer had attacked them. The lost feeling of not being able to trust the ones around her. Etana wanted to trust demons like the brothers with every fiber of her being but… they can’t. No matter how much Etana likes them, she knows that she’s a replaceable human. If Belphie were to kill her, would it even be a week before she’s replaced?
Nevermind. Etana can’t allow those thoughts to manifest. They needed to think forward. So now they have a big clue on why Belphie was locked up. And it was for a pretty good reason. But that reason almost makes Etana angry again. Cause if THATS the case then pray tell, why would Lucifer try to kill her himself? God, she hates their stupidity sometimes.
Either way, they should start to try easing their way back into the House of Lamentation. After all, they can’t stay in Purgatory Hall forever. They just need to find out what the hell Lucifer is planning on doing with Belphie before they step foot back into that house.
——————
“So, when did you start thinking you knew them?” Simeon asked as he skimmed through history books with Solomon in the library,
“Honestly? Since I saw them. It was a small feeling at first but now it’s impossible to focus on anything else. I’ve had people- other immortals- I’ve forgotten before but I’ve always been able to remember them quickly,”
“Do you think our dear Etana could be hiding that they’re immortal?”
“I’m not sure. If they are then I wonder why. And if I DO know them from somewhere, then I wonder why I can’t remember them for the life of me. I’ve honestly been thinking that maybe they put a spell on me,”
“A spell, huh?”
“I did a counteractive spell to basically try and break any spell that could be over me but nothing had changed. Any magic she could’ve put on me would’ve released its hold on me at that point but it didn’t. Either there IS no spell or the spell put on me was done by someone far greater in power than myself. Not a human, of course,”
“Right. You currently hold the place for strongest sorcerer in the human world,” Simeon pulls out a history book from the shelf and flips through it quickly before putting it back. “Well, nothing was found there. We’d have to go back even further,”
“Of course,” Solomon sighed. “Studying them could help,”
“Studying just means stalking to you, Solomon. And it’s rather impolite to stalk people,” Simeon said with a smile. “I love you but I don’t think I can allow you to do that in good conscious, even if I know you aren’t putting anyone in harm's way,”
“Yes, yes, I know,” Solomon said. “I just think observing others can provide a different perspective,”
“Perhaps you can have a conversation with her instead?”
“No,” Solomon said with a shake of his head. “If she’s the one behind my loss of memory of her then they’ll never talk to me. In fact, they may double down. Who knows what’ll happen,”
“But I don’t think anything is suspicious about Etana. They seem to be pretty honest and very kind,” Simeon said with a smile.
“I may have dropped small hints. They hardly reacted but perhaps they’re a good liar,”
“Oh, please, Solomon. Etana is a good person, I promise you! And if she’s not then you can yell at me all you want to. If you’re wanting answers, why not have a conversation with them about it?” Simeon asked and Solomon pondered it for a moment before nodding.
“…Okay. I will talk to them. But only if they come to my room tonight,”
“What a passive way to be cowardly,” Simeon chuckled. “It’s okay though, you’re trying and that’s what counts,”