Chapter Text
Mammon paced back and forth anxiously behind Levi, feeling antsier with every passing second. “C’mon, it’s already morning and we got nothin’ to show for it!” He said, stopping and looming over his brother to watch him fiddle with some controls and gadgets. After Lucifer had announced they’d be splitting up in teams of two to build attractions for Halloween this year, Beel and Belphie had called dibs on repurposing the old medical wing while Asmo and Satan took over the unused dormitories. That left the courtyard for him and Levi. The courtyard… great wide open space without a whole lot in it. At least that meant nothing creepy could pop up out of nowhere normally, but that wasn’t exactly helpful this time around. He’d never really cared to put much effort in the haunted attractions before, but this time he wanted it to be good. It was their first Halloween in the Devildom, and he was gonna make damn sure it’d be one of the best of their life.
“Quit standing over me like that, you’re making me nervous!” Levi complained, hunching over and muttering curses under his breath. “I said I can do it so just keep quiet and let me work!”
“Tch,” Mammon stepped back, raising his hands in a shrug. “Yeah, yeah okay.” He went back to the lamppost, pacing in front of it again. “If I woulda known it’d take ya this long I coulda thrown up a few props myself so we’d have somethin’ to show ‘em today.”
“I said I got it!”
“Mhm,” he hummed, pulling out his D.D.D. Let’s see… What kind of backup plan could he come up with on short notice? He bit the tip of his thumb, scrolling through his contacts to consider his options. He really didn’t want to have to ask any witches or wizards for help, but if Levi’s plan flopped he might have to…
“Okay, it should be ready now.” Levi said, hopping up to his feet and carrying his contraption to the lamppost. He strapped it to the metal frame and pressed a button, “You owe me big time for saving us from unnecessary manual labor.”
Cameras and lights Levi had placed all throughout the courtyard began to flicker to life, projecting hazy images of buildings and faux lampposts all throughout the grounds. At first they wobbled and wavered, projecting from the ground up but soon the images stabilized, creating a town from nothing and filling the air with the ambience of life.
“Whoa…” Mammon lowered his D.D.D and walked toward one of the buildings, sticking out his hand and watching it phase through the brick. “Okay,” he glanced back at Levi with a grin, “I gotta admit, this is kinda cool.”
Levi smirked, then reached to play with some of the dials. “That’s not even the best part. Watch this.” The lighting shifted, losing its warmth in favor of a cold, sinister aura. Projections of townsfolk began to mill about the streets, and an eerie fog crawled its way across the ground. “I can even make ghosts,” he said, flipping on a switch and cueing recordings of ghostly wails as haunted spirits appeared and flew through the air.
“O-oh… cool I…” Hate it. “…love it.” Mammon said halfheartedly, fighting the urge to shudder when a ghostly projection hovered a bit too close for comfort. It wasn’t real. He knew it wasn’t real. So why’d it have to be so damn creepy?
Levi chuckled proudly, adjusting the dials again and returning the town to its peaceful illusion. “I can’t wait to see their face! There’s no way our attraction won’t be their favorite!”
Right, yeah. That’s what mattered.
So what if it might freak him out a little too? As long as they had fun it’d be worth it.
“Nice job, Levi.” Mammon said, walking over and pulling him into a one-armed hug. “How about I treat us ta some breakfast before Lucifer checks on us?”
“Ugh, get off Mammon!” Levi said, pushing him off and checking the dials one final time before he seemed satisfied. “Yeah, breakfast sounds good. Let’s-“ He stepped back, squinting at him, “Wait. You’re not going to try and say buying breakfast covers your half of this, are you?”
Damn. Levi wasn’t tired enough for him to pull a fast one on him today.
“‘Course not.” he said with a laugh. “Don’ be like that, I can be generous sometimes.”
“Well if you’re feeling so generous today, why don’t you pay-“
“Ya know what?” He stepped back from Levi, turning to walk away. “I’m feelin’ so generous today I think I’ll get somethin’ for everyone!”
“Okay something’s up.” Levi said, jogging to catch up to him, “Didn’t you hear me? If you have money to buy breakfast, why don’t-“
“Shush, Levi! We gotta hurry or we’ll be late!”
Lucifer stood at the head of the table, droning on and on about the event’s plans again, but hardly anyone was listening. He certainly wasn’t. He was too busy watching them munch happily on the pastry he bought for them. One of their favorites he’d seen them order often~
Seein’ their soul sparkle in delight had to be one of his favorite ways to see ‘em shine.
“I’ll be making my rounds later today to check your attractions, then we’ll have a test run with the exchange students before we open to the rest of the student body.” Lucifer said, setting his papers down and nodded to Mammon, “I’d also like to thank Mammon for buying breakfast for everyone today.”
“Huh?” Mammon blinked, looking up at him.
Lucifer’s eyes narrowed, “Were you even listening to anything I said?”
“‘Course I was!” he said while Asmo and Levi started snickering, “You were, uh…” he looked around the table, catching their gaze for a moment. They pointed at the last little bit of pastry in their hand, mouthing ‘thank you’ while nodding at Lucifer. Ah hah. That’s right; now he remembered. He sat up with a shrug, “Ah yeah, breakfast. It was no big deal. Levi and I were already out anyway.”
“Mm~ so which one of us are you trying to butter up?” Asmo asked, smirking at him from across the table.
He scowled, “Why’s it gotta be somethin’ huh? Can’t ya jus’ accept I did somethin’ nice?”
Asmo sighed and looked at the empty box of treats, “As much as I’d love to believe that, I’ve known you long enough to know that your charity isn’t free.”
Okay, maybe that was true in most cases, but-
He glanced at them, then looked to Asmo again, “Look, I dunno what you’re tryin’ to start Asmo, but I got ya the low fat one even though it cost extra so I think a little more gratitude is in order.”
Asmo only sighed, looking down at the table in disappointment. “I knew it. You are up to something.”
“I keep tellin’ ya-“
“I found a box sitting by the door,” Satan interrupted, walking up to the table and setting it down, “but does anyone have any idea what it was doing there?”
Lucifer seemed relieved for the distraction, “A box? And the contents are?”
Satan looked down and tore through the tape, opening it up and riffling through the contents. “Seven masks, apparently.”
Belphie stood up, peering into it and grabbing an envelope that was attached to the side. “Plus a note. Hang on,” He opened it up, skimming it over before reading aloud, “It says… ‘Dear brothers, wear these masks to add an extra thrill to your Halloween festivities.’”
Satan pulled out a few of them, and Beel frowned, “They’re pretty creepy.”
“Aw,” they stood up and walked over to Satan, helping him pull out the masks. “There’s only seven of them.”
Belphie perked up at that, already offering the one he’d grabbed. “Did you want to wear one too? I don’t mind letting you have mine,” he smiled at them, “but it’d be a shame to cover your face.”
“H-hey!” Mammon started to stand up. Like hell he was just gonna let Belphie hit on them like that!
Masks were passed around, and Levi stared at the one in his hands. “… This has Lord Diavolo written all over it.”
Asmo snatched the one in Beel’s hands, swapping it out for another. “Come on, we’d better hurry up and get changed, or we’re going to run out of time~” he said, taking the prettiest mask for himself and already sauntering out the door.
“True that. Eh,” Levi shrugged, standing up and moving to follow him, “might as well, I guess.” he smirked at Mammon, “Hey, this works out well for you too, you might actually manage to be scary if you can hide your own terrified face.”
He growled, standing up and picking up the first mask that he could reach. “Whaddya tryin’ ta say, huh? I don’t get scared.”
“Yeah, right. I saw you tremble when I added the special effects.” Levi teased before running off to go get his costume.
Stupid Levi, making it sound like he was scared of some fake ghosts.
“Oh wow!” They came to stand beside him, eyes alight with excitement. “Your attraction sounds awesome! I can’t wait to see it!”
His frustration with Levi was so easily forgotten when they smiled at him like that…
“You’re gonna love it,” he said proudly, walking with them out into the hall, “We’re goin’ with a whole ex-murderer-turned-ghost-haunts-village thing.”
“That sounds terrifying! I can’t wait to see it!”
“Yeah, you’re gonna wet yourself when you do!” he said cheekily, flashing them a grin. “Our costumes are somethin’ else. I mean, the quality’s so dang high it’s terri…” He trailed off, clutching the mask tightly and feeling his face start to warm, “Erm! What I meant to say is, are you sure you’re gonna be okay?” He glanced at them, “I mean, if you’re really worried, I could do you a favor and lead you through it?”
Their eyes sparkled for him again, and they smiled, “I’d love that. I can’t wait to see what you’ve put together.”
He blushed, looking away and picking up his pace. “Right, yeah. I better go get changed then so I can meet up with Levi n be ready for ya.” He waved at them before taking off, “See ya in a bit!”
Once he’d changed, he made his way back to the courtyard, looking down at the mask in thought. “Why’s Halloween always gotta be so creepy?” he muttered, staring down at its sinister smile. He shuddered, then sighed, raising the mask to his face. Well, whatever. It’d look good with his costume, and might just get a few excited sparks of terror in the humans’ hearts and souls.
He smiled to himself, slipping on the mask just as the haunted town came into view. Everything was going great! He’d give them one hell of a Halloween this year! Make their soul shine in delight, just for him.
It’d be perfect.
Everything would work out just fine.
So why…
Why was everything getting so blurry?
Mammon stopped in his tracks, his thoughts becoming harder and harder to hold onto. A chilling breeze seeped through his costume but he hardly noticed the way his body shivered out of reflex.
He was… on his way to meet with Levi…
There were… humans on their way here…
Something was wrong.
So why…
… did it feel so…
… right?