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Chapter Text

There were tears in Niki's eyes as she hugged Ranboo a final time, but she refused to let them fall.

Ranboo was back lit by the ever-present glow of Heaven behind them, the light catching on their starry cheeks and inky black skin. They were unusual for their kind, as most angels, like Niki, took their appearance from the clouds and sunlight most of Heaven was made of. White wings for the clouds, some pale or pastel color from the setting sun, and gold for the sun itself, though that was more reserved for the simple halos they wore. Vanity was considered a sin after all.

But not ostracization, apparently.

"Y-you really don't have to leave yet." They warbled nervously, still clutching tightly to her as if she would disappear the second they let go, their wings trembling with tension. Probably trying to keep themself from smothering her with their down, though at that point she wouldn't have minded. At least then she would've been able to cry freely in the safety of their feathers. But they didn't and so she didn't, steeling herself before she leaned back. Ranboo stared at her, their own tears flowing freely down their face, but she couldn't blame them for their lack of control. "M-Maybe we could talk to D-Dream? Maybe he could-"

"He doesn't care, Ranboo." She interrupted, soft but firm. She knew Ranboo meant well, but they also knew better. About as well as she did. "None of them do."

Their home that rested over the Overworld, Heaven with all its' angels, was a beautiful place, one she was loath to leave, but they both knew why she had to. It was the side-eyes she received when she attempted to join in on a conversation with her peers, how easily she was left out of every conversation, how everyone seemed to forget about her.

And Niki knew, okay? She knew what they all thought of her, what they were all thinking when she passed by. She was a Virtue, an angel associated with power and strength, but one that they all believed didn't fit the role she'd been made for. Too soft spoken, too weak, lacking the confidence a true Virtue require to serve their Lord and God-

She didn't care what they said, she truly didn't, and that was still true, even as she stood at the Gates of Heaven with the intention of never returning, but... It had been centuries of this, of this constant and blatant disrespect toward her and her position in the choir, and she couldn't- couldn't take it any longer. That and the Heavens had been shifting of late, moving to grant certain key angels into positions of greater power if they showed initiative enough. And she knew they would, and would likely be granted more power, and that-

Even the thought of leaving Ranboo behind sickened her to her stomach. She could see Schlatt's face now, emboldened by the lion head he was gifted alongside his goat one, laughing at her and her weak protests. He was the embodiment of strength in their choir, as second hand to guard their God's throne, and wielder of divine justice. He could do no wrong.

Except he could, and she was sick of it, of all of it.

She didn't know what would happen to her when she finally abandoned Heaven and its grace for good- there were rumors of course, that one would be stripped of their wings and halo, cursed to wander the Overworld without a guardian to protect or guide them. That she might die the second her feet left Heaven's boundaries without her Gods' permission, that she might burn up in the Overworld's atmosphere before she ever touched the ground, no longer shielded by her Gods' grace.

But it didn't matter, because anything was better than an eternity of being abused and ignored.

"I know." Ranboo wilted, halo dimming with their despair, and they tugged her close again. "But I just- what's going to happen to you when you leave? How will I know you're okay? I-I don't want- Niki, I don't want you getting h-hurt."

"I guess you'll just have to have faith." She joked, hugging them back just as tightly, trying to press the memory of them into her skin to keep with her. Ranboo was like a sibling to her, the closest thing an angel could come to having a family, and leaving them behind was really the most difficult part, but... Ranboo was their own being, and could make their own decisions, and she couldn't risk taking them with her when they were so unsure about the decision in the first place.

She could remember when she'd first told them about her plan, which was really more of a rant session that had ended with both of them in tears. Because she wasn't the only one who had been slighted by their choir, nor was she the only one who was forgotten. Ranboo, somehow, was even more of a push-over than everyone believed her to be, and maybe that was why they had become so close throughout the centuries. But their relationship had quickly become more than that, built on trust and respect for each other when everyone else around them refused to do the same.

Ranboo was the kindest and most considerate being she'd ever known, and likewise they'd told her she was the strongest and bravest angel they'd ever met, and they had both meant it with everything they had within them.

But Ranboo also had their own responsibilities there in Heaven that couldn't be as easily abandoned as hers.

Ranboo was a Principality, which meant they served their own role on the Overworld when needed as a guardian angel of sorts. Except that they'd been relegated to a lesser position by their own peers, and had only recently been given their own mortal to guide and protect. Tubbo, they'd called him, and Niki had been the first person they'd gushed to about the mortal. It was safe to say that Ranboo had gotten attached, and though their excitement had been endearing at the time, it was proving to be just another tether to hold them in place.

She wondered if the other's had somehow caught wind of her plans of abandoning them, and had given Tubbo to Ranboo in an attempt to prevent them from following in her wingbeats, but even if that were true, it didn't matter much now, she supposed.

Ranboo giggled nervously at her joke, before they melted into her hold with a warbling keen that broke her heart.

"I wish you could stay." They choked out, and she could feel their tears as they began to soak into the collar of her pristine white robes. "I wish things were better so you could stay. I'm going to miss you, s-so much, Niki-"

"I know, I know." She murmured, holding them close one final time. Because they couldn't just linger here in this moment for all of eternity, no matter how much she wanted to. They had their mortal to return to, to protect and watch over, and she- She would finally be free, whatever that meant. "I'll miss you too."

Forcing herself to pull away, she planted one final kiss on Ranboo's forehead, a final blessing before she potentially lost her grace forever. Light glowed from the touch, the lighter patch of skin denoting the mark between their brows carrying with it all she could give. Mild protection, fortitude of will and spirit, things they would need if they were intending to stay. She wiped their tears away with one sleeve before she pushed them away, allowing the momentum to tip her off the edge, and she fell, Ranboo's cry of anguish ringing in her ears

Falling was different from flying in a few very key ways, Niki discovered.

One was the fact that she was falling faster than she could ever hope to fly on her own, so fast that the wind burned with cold and seemed to rip the air right from her lungs. Two was the fact that there was no control she could grasp at here; Her wings were pinned behind her uselessly with the force of the wind, not made for such steep dives or drops. She was helpless in a way that even all the angels in Heaven could never achieve, and that thought scared her more than anything else had in her entire existence.

Three was that falling was a lot faster than flying was.

She could barely make out the ground as she rocketed towards it, her eyes blurred with tears, and she attempted to raise her arms- to shield her face, to brace for impact, anything, but even that felt like a struggle too great to even attempt. But at least she would get there, at least she would be as far away from Heaven as she could get. It didn't matter to her if it hurt, or that she might lose her wings and halo the second she touched the soil of the Overworld.

Her freedom stretched out below her in swathes of green and brown and blue, and suddenly the tears in her eyes weren't only from the force of the wind.

She watched in rapt attention as the ground seemed to swell to meet her decent, excitement bubbling in her sternum as she let out a slightly hysterical giggle, her joy making her dizzy. Her fear was still present, just barely, but it had been almost wholly swamped by her sudden swell of elation at the sight of the Overworld below her. It wasn't as pristine as the few bits of greenery in Heaven, which had shone in their perfection in jewel-like tones and symmetrical shapes, what she could make out was haphazard, muddy in some places, dark and messy and imperfect. But that only made it more enticing in her eyes, having only ever seen the uniformity of Heaven's examples of perfect life.

She ached to swim through those muddy waters, to climb over jagged and uneven peaks, to witness in the failings and successes of man and beast alike, and to join them in their efforts, free to choose, free to be be whatever she wished, to be something that didn't demand she be anything other than herself, uncompromised and glorious for it.

It was a place full of potential, and life, and... and...

And suddenly there was an overwhelming feeling of wrongness that began to creep into her mind, the sense that something was off. She couldn't identify what it was at first, because as much as she had been expecting a clear consequence for her actions, it still felt easy, as easy as breathing... Though maybe that was the issue.

Was this too easy? She supposed there was still the opportunity to rip her grace from her the second she hit the ground, or even just a moment before. Perhaps this feeling, this creeping dread making its home in her chest, was just her own mind catching up with the reality of her situation, or even just-

The ground split open with an ear-piercing crack, the hole it made widening beneath her like a hungry maw, and she could only watch as she tumbled down into it, past the messy green of the Overworld, past the craggy mountain peaks and wide oceans, past her chance to live amongst the freedom of humanity and its' animals-

She twisted herself in mid air as she tumbled past all of her hopes, watching as it all lifted high above her reach. She lifted one hand in a pitiful attempt to pull it back, but all she could see now were the harsh edges of the earth, split open in such a stark way that it couldn't be attributed to any natural disaster. And the sun, high above her, glared down its judgment in harsh rays, blinding her from any final glimpse of Heaven she might have sought for.

And then there was nothing at all, the earth closing in around her, cutting her off from the sun and the sky and the stars. She tumbled aimlessly through the darkness, buffeted by strangely warm winds, but the only thing she could really feel was the aching sense of loss in her sternum, eating at her from the inside out.

Why? Why was it that this kept happening to her?

It felt like all she had ever known was rejection from all the things that should have, by all accounts, been well within her reach. Her tears were evaporating from her cheeks the farther she fell, burning up as surroundings became unbearably heated. There was a faint red glow below her, what would've been a welcome relief to anyone else, but Niki was blind to it all, the whistling of wind in her ears drowned out by the sound of her own rushing ichor.

She had thought she had known loss, leaving Heaven behind- no, not even that, it had been leaving Ranboo behind that had been the hardest. But this was a new kind of loss, aching and empty, as if someone had rummaged through her very soul and had ripped something vital from her-

Oh.

Was that what had happened?

She hadn't- well, no one had forsaken their God in such a blatant display of disobedience, or at least no one who was still around to administer a warning. There had been rumors, of course, but she had never been one to put much stock into rumors, and really- Why would God care if she were to leave? He had every angel in existence under his thumb, showering him with worship by the day, why would her absence make any difference at all?

The ceiling above her, because that what it was now, had widened out from a single narrow chute into an expansive cavern, as far as she could tell, but she didn't pay it any mind- couldn't, really. She was too lost in her own musings to realize once again how quickly the ground was rushing up to meet her, though now in a very real sense. She could feel her mind working in real time, going over everything again and again, because this was nothing like what she'd been expecting, being stripped of her powers, her wings, her halo, that all made sense to her, that was what she'd been expecting, but this-

And then she had her revelation, in the same instant that her body hit the obsidian ground of the world below, shattering it and her into fractured pieces.

Was this meant to be her eternal punishment? Cast down far below everything she had wanted, to a place none of those back in Heaven would ever dream of. She had turned her back on her God, bitter and tired and so ready to leave everything she had known behind, if it meant she got to choose. So ready to lead a life of her own making, she had never once thought to look back, not until she had already been blinded by her foolish ambitions.

It was so different from everything she had expected, but she supposed it made a certain kind of sense.

She had abandoned her God, and so he abandoned her in return, had made all of his creation turn its back on her.

Her tears were still falling freely, lightly spattering the cracked obsidian below her and she trembled and sobbed with what she now realized was the sense of being cast aside, of being buried with the express purpose of being forgotten, one final time. The last time, because what could she do against this? Her God had never cared about her before, not her well-being nor in her duty as one of his angels, so why now was he turning his gaze on her?

What about this was fair?

And what was meant to come next after all of this? Was her God just expecting her to take her unjust punishment like a good little angel, without fuss or further disobedience? After everything that had happened, after all that had led up to this now, to her leaving everything behind?

No.

NO!

She had gone through too much, done too much to let this be her last moments, cowering under the abandonment of her God. No, not her God, not anymore. She wouldn't belong to anyone anymore, and she refused to let this be the end of her. She was stronger than that, stronger than they all believed. They thought she would just lie down and take her 'punishment?' They were wrong, about her, about everything she was capable of, and about this.

"I'm stronger than this." She hissed to herself, through the pain that was still spreading through her in waves, but even that was rapidly being overtaken by anger. Her landing hadn't been a kind one, but she gave it little thought as she forced herself to sit up, feeling how her skin and bones knit themselves neatly back together. Her pain was muted, but even then she couldn't help but cry out at the agony that wracked her as her body straightened itself out.

She was left panting, curled into a little ball and drenched with sweat by the end of it, but she was still alive, so she would count it as a win.

This wouldn’t be the end of her, not if she could help it.

Chapter Text

Nikki took stock of her and her surroundings, finally able to actually focus on something other than the pain, and was pleased to see she still had her wings, against all odds. Her halo was limp on the ground next to her, not the shining beacon of light that had floated above her head like it had once been, but she didn't mind that too much. It had been more a symbol of her status as an angel, and she doubted she would have much use for it.

The cavern she was in though... It looked mostly normal, a rounded expanse made up of dirt, though she didn't think that the floors of most common caves were made of heated obsidian. There were spiderweb-like cracks circling where she'd landed, making a beautiful array that glittered in the low light of the strange... sparks(?) that were floating through the air.

The whole place was rather lovely in the ambient light, darker and messier than anything she'd ever witnessed in Heaven, and her chest ached at the thought. So similar to what she'd been hoping to see on the Overworld... At least she could have something like it, even down here.

She was jolted out of her thoughts by the sound of a rough scraping noise coming from farther down the cavern, though it was too dark for her to make out anything specific. Still, not willing to be taken off guard, and not sure what creatures would be lurking this far underground, she scrambled to stand, wobbling a bit as her sense of balance seemed to flee from her for a split-second. She attempted to summon her sun sword into her hand, wanting the extra security but to her horror her hand flickered with dim light for only a moment before it sputtered out entirely.

"No, no, no." She whispered, pushing both hands out and she scrunched her eyes closed in concentration. She had half a thought that it made sense that she wouldn't be able to summon her old weapon now, banished and scorned as she was, but she forced herself to shake off that thought. It was her sword, damn it, and though it may have originally been made of her Gods' grace before, it was still hers. That wouldn't change. She wouldn't let it change.

Her hands flickered again, the light flashing against her closed eyes, but each burst of light was growing longer, brighter as she focused, clinging tight to the anger that still seethed in her chest. It seemed to take an eternity, but eventually the light stabilized and she opened her eyes.

But in her hands wasn't her sword, but a sickle.

She marveled over the curved blade. The light that had made up her sword before was a brilliant pink in her hands now, rather than the pure white it had been. She blinked in bafflement, but startled to attention as the scraping noises suddenly drew closer, brandishing her weapon in front of her. She wasn't entirely sure how to use it just yet, but whatever was coming closer certainly didn't know that, and she'd like to keep it that way as long as she could.

The light of her new weapon provided a decent amount of lighting compared to the sparks that were drifting through the air, but she still couldn't see anything, and the echoy-ness of the cavern was not helping her discern how far away the sound itself was, but...

She looked around for a potential place to hide, but the walls, while rough, didn't have any divots big enough to conceal her. She flexed her wings, the white feathers stark against the darkness of the cavern, trying to determine if they felt well enough to lift her to safety if need be. But the instant she began to spread her wings, a cascade of feathers scattered to the ground.

She stared, nauseous in her horror at the bare patches on her wings that seemed to be growing before her very eyes. She glanced back to the darkened opening farther down, but the noises had stopped for now, thank- well, thank goodness. Gingerly folding her wings to rest tightly against her back, she tried to focus again, trying to see if this was something that could be healed, if she could find out what was wrong. Because this definitely wasn't a molt- it was too fast, even for the amount of stress she'd been through in such a short amount of time. Her fall might've damaged some feathers, but not- not on the inside of her wing, of all places, and even then it wouldn't cause a loss to this degree.

She spread her intent into the limbs, shoving her panic down again as she searched for an injury or illness that might have caused this-

And found nothing. Nothing at all.

She spread one wing again, just to see, and had to hold back tears of panic as even more feathers were shaken loose by the movement alone.

What was happening?

"There!" A deep voice shouted, and she spun around to look, only to gasp in horror at the sight of a strange beast, just close enough to be lit up by the light of her sickle. It was tall and lanky, covered in dark scales with the exception of its hands and face. Luminous green eyes blinked at her, narrowed and slitted as they took her in. She brandished her weapon at it, only to be taken off guard by yet another creature stepping into the light, though this one was far more human-looking than their companion.

Their hair was an ink-dark spill across their forehead, twin sets of gold wings, a thing she had only seen on Cherubim, were pinned tightly to their back. Their teeth were sharp as they grinned at her, one that followed the line of a scar replaced with a gold replica. She could feel herself shudder but refused to take a step back. It had been a long time since she needed to fight, and those had only been mandatory training sessions towards the beginning of her existence, so she could only hope she was angry enough to take them if it came down to it.

She would have to be. She didn't know what would happen to her if she- if it wasn't enough.

The scaled one looked her up and down, eyeing her sickle distrustfully while the other withdrew their own weapon, a long, dark sword that shimmered purple in the low light. "Thought we heard another fall. You going to come with us or are you going to be difficult?"

She paused, not really sure what to say to that, but...

"Who are you?" she called, keeping an eye on them just in case they wanted to try anything stupid. "What do you want from me?"

The two shared a glance before the scaled one lifted both hands in a placating gesture, attempting to take a slow step forward but Nikki refused to let it get that close to her. She took her own step forward, swiping her sickle through the air threateningly, which was enough to get the creature to stop, though its companion lifted their own weapon in response. "Easy there, featherduster. Wouldn't want this to get nasty before it even starts."

"Are you threatening me?" She challenged boldly, not quite sure where her bravado was coming from.

"I mean, not unless you want us to." The scaled creature grinned mischievously, though it stopped when its companion nudged it with a warning glare.

"We need you to come with us." The winged one said, their expression more serious and irritated, though they seemed to soften slightly when the scaled creature draped itself across their shoulders with a pout. "Get the fuck off me Wilbur, this isn't the time."

"You're being so boring, big Q." It- Wilbur, apparently, though it seemed like an ill-fitting name for such a creature, whined. It almost sounded like a tiny animal begging its parent for food, but more petulant, more intentionally needling, and she couldn't help but wrinkle her brow in confusion. "Can't I have just a little fun?"

'Big Q' sighed heavily, sounding too close to all the higher tier angels in her choi- her old choir, for her comfort, but their voice was flat and exasperated rather than the put-upon niceties that typically followed such a sound. "Skies above Wil, you make it sound like we're here on vacation instead of literally doing our jobs. Can't you wait like, half an hour?"

"Nooooo..."

"Fuck off." Big Q sighed again, pinching the bridge of their nose between their fingers. "Sorry about him, he's both insufferable and incorrigible, and also a huge dumb-ass, so..."

"I resent that." Wilbur said, though it was muffled in Big Q's shoulder.

"More like you resemble it." They snorted, hefting their sword up again from where it had fallen to their side. "But honestly, you're probably gonna want to come with us. A goodie two-shoes like you isn't going to last a second out here."

She, who had been growing more and more confused as she watched their back and forth, well, she couldn't quite say it was relief she felt, but it was certainly something close to it. Their exchanges were... strangely antagonistic, but also fond, somehow, nothing like she'd ever heard before. Even just trying to wrap her mind around that was starting to give her a headache. Of course, she was again thrown off when Wilbur straightened, sauntering over to her without a care in the world, eyes half-lidded and playful in a way that made her wary.

"Not such a goodie two-shoes if she's all the way down here though, is she?" He said, though it sounded more like a purr, and he leaned close, almost looming as he towered over her

"I'll reiterate what Quackity asked you before, since you don't seem to be very good at listening." The fire inside her smoldered at the patronizing tone in his voice, and she bared her teeth at him as she quietly seethed. He seemed even more amused, somehow, but that only irked her more. "You want to come with us the easy way? Or do you want to make this fun?"

He was too close. She could feel her wings bristling in an attempt at a defensive display, but it also caused even more feathers to be shook loose. She could feel her face burning in shame as he glanced to observe her feathers fluttering to the ground, the bright white of them almost glowing against the dark obsidian floor, but that also added to her anger.

"Back off."

"Why don't you make me?"

"How about you both chill the fuck out for a second?" Quackity called from behind Wilbur, sounding bored. "Listen lady, I'd rather you make this easier for all of us and just follow us, but if you're not going to make this easier on you, then... Fuck, I don't know. Hit Wilbur first I guess."

"What the fuck, man?" Wilbur exclaimed, voiced pitched higher in his outrage.

Nikki followed their exchange back and forth, some of her anger slowly dissolving under her continuous confusion. She could feel her grip around her sickle slacken, just a bit, but gripped it tightly as soon as she noticed. If these two were trying to distract her, they were doing a decent job of it, as much as she hated to admit it. But even that just left more questions than answers because who were they? Where was this? If this really was meant to be a distraction, then what were they distracting her from?

She shook her head. "What do you want with me?"

"For you to follow us, obviously." Wilbur snarked back, eyes not even on her anymore, which made her even more furious. It was like he didn't even consider her a threat, weapon in-hand and all, and she wanted nothing more than to prove him wrong. But...

"I don't even know who you are." She reasoned.

"That's not a no." Wilbur smirked, eyes flitting back to hers in an instant. Carefree, blatantly disregarding her, invasive; it was just infuriating her all the more. Even if the angels back and Heaven had been worse, had treated her worse, there was something about his intentional needling that was riling her up like nothing else. What was this guy's deal? "C'mon pretty lady. A few missing feathers and suddenly you're too afraid to get acquainted with such pleasant company?"

She snarled, taking a swipe at him, and in an instant, two different things happened. One was that Wilbur danced uncannily well out of her range, a playful laugh bursting from his mouth. And two was that Quackity took this as a cue to step forward, saying something in a language that was unfamiliar to her ears, but harsh and grating, and suddenly she couldn't move. She toppled to the ground, fighting furiously against a force she couldn't see.

"Hurry the fuck up!" Quackity shouted, sounding strained. "She's fucking strong man."

"Alright, alright." Wilbur laughed again, drawing closer as she fought. She struggled harder when she noticed his approach, flinching back as his hands, strangely cool in such a heated cavern, wrapped tightly around her wrists. The sudden feeling of being trapped and helpless pulled a deep-throated growl from her chest, which then immediately stunned her into silence.

What was that? Angels didn't- they didn't growl like beasts did. They were more bird-like; the feathers, the flock-esque choirs, the warbling and songs. She had never heard an angel make that sound before, where had that even come from- What was happening to her?

The other two also paused at the sound, though Wilbur was quick to reclaim his smile, while Quackity still strained behind him, brow furrowed in a mixture of concentration and confusion now.

"Well I bet that was a surprise, wasn't it birdie?" Wilbur giggled, unhooking a wrapped chain from the belt slung across his hips. It was a dark black, woven through with veins of what looked like gold, but flickered in the same way the sparks around them did. "You're further along than I thought. Let's hope this chain holds you long enough to at least get you to the Bastion."

He deftly wrapped the chain around her wrists, though she had regained enough of her senses to attempt to kick at him while he attempted to do the same to her feet. She got one good kick in, right across his jaw, but he didn't seem to take kindly to that. He snarled at her, as deep as she had just a moment ago, lurching forward to press her head against the ground. She struggled even more, her lungs burning with the exertion, but if he thought she was going to submit now, he was going to be disappointed. She didn't even care about all of the raspy hisses and growls that were coming from her throat- if they had any chance to get either of them to back off, she'd take it.

"Fucker." He hissed, and he smiled, though it seemed as tight and as irritated as she felt. Good. "Skies, I guess you are strong. Techno's definitely going to want to take a look at you."

... Techno?

That name rang a distant bell in the back of her mind, though she couldn't quite place it in the moment. It was then abruptly shoved out of her mind when she felt hands that definitely weren't Wilbur's finish tying her ankles together. She bucked under Wilbur's weight as it pressed down against her, but it was too late. She was well and truly trapped.

Quackity heave a huge sigh of what might've been relief, wisely stepping away from her as she wriggled and tensed against the chains binding her. "Fucking skies, Wil."

Wilbur perked up a bit, removing his hands from where he'd been attempting to shove Niki's face in the dirt to scooch closer to his companion. Niki struggled to sit herself up, her weapon having de-materialized in the scuffle, but if she could just focus, it might be able to cut through the chains without them noticing...

She was jerked out of her musings when Wilbur yelped in pain, clutching his ear and staring pitifully at Quackity, "What was that for?"

"Don't give me that shit." He snarked back, rolling his eyes before they landed on her again. She stiffened. "I fucking told you to hurry up! And that she was strong, but noooo, you had to take your fucking time, and now look what happened? I'm drained and you've got a black eye."

Wilbur gasped, sounding horribly scandalized as his hand flew to his eye, where she definitely had not hit him. Whatever. She needed to focus. But having these two bicker right next to her was incredibly distracting. She could feel the growl of frustration building in her throat, but she forced it down. She certainly didn't want to attract their attention if she could help it. "I do not!"

"You're taking the lead back to the Bastion." Quackity said flatly, not even bothering to respond to Wilbur's indignation, it seemed. She wished she was able to do the same. She could feel her hands flickering slightly, but it wasn't quite enough... "If you're trying to get pity points from me, you're not going to find any.'"

"She kicked me in the face!" Wilbur exclaimed, gesturing at her. Nikki held herself very still, allowing the small amount of gathered magic on her fingers to dissipate, but neither of them even looked her way. She eyed them suspiciously, biting her lip in consideration. Would it even be worth it to summon her weapon now? She didn't know for sure whether or not she could take the two of them, and even if she was able to get her wrists free, she would still be tied at the ankles, virtually helpless still.

"And I don't care!" Quackity snapped back, mimicking Wilbur's tone, and Niki decided she liked Quackity actually. Or she would've, if it wasn't for the whole being tied-up thing. She flinched back as Quackity stood, and again as he marched towards her. She was gripped with indecision as he approached, not sure whether it would be better to snarl and hiss like she had been, or to be docile and obedient, as much as that last thought irked her.

Then he yanked her up by the neck of her robe and all of her rational thoughts went right out the window.

She threw her weight back, snarling furiously, trying to make him over balance, but Wilbur had managed to grab her wrists, the two of them holding her still between them. The chain around her ankles made trying to run impossible- it even made standing difficult, but she couldn't- she wouldn't just go with them. She didn't even know what-

"Jesus, can you fucking calm down." Quackity muttered, though he sounded strangely... impressed to her ears, though that couldn't possibly be right.

"Can you at least tell me where you're taking me?" She snapped back, breath coming out in harsh pants as she begrudgingly settled, just a bit. She wasn't eager to be dragged however long their destination was, though she still tugged at their hold on her, testing their strength. "You haven't explained anything! Where are we? Who are you?"

"So many questions!" Wilbur lamented sarcastically, shoving his face right into hers. "It's too bad you were too busy snarling and snapping like some rabid animal when we were willing to talk."

She glared at him, and his stupid cocky smile, and his horribly patronizing tone. It brought back so many memories of being slighted and shoved to the side, and though none of those had been quite as blatant as Wilbur's were, they were still the same, had the same end goal in mind; to make her feel small. She could feel the heat of her anger swelling inside of her, and she bared her teeth at him again as he opened his mouth again, to add to his cutting remarks, and she wouldn't-

She lurched forward, headbutting Wilbur in his stupid face as hard as she could, smashing her forehead right into his cheekbone.

He yelped and reeled back, clutching at his face with one clawed hand as Quackity yanked her away from Wilbur entirely. Her head throbbed with pain from where they'd collided, but even that didn't dim the triumphant smile that carved its way across her face. Her chest still hurt with all the struggling she'd been doing, she still had no idea where they were headed,

"I like your black eye." She huffed at him, not quite able to help her own amusement from seeping into her tone, even despite the pain.

There was a pause, and then Quackity burst into laughter.

"Jesus, I think she'll do just fine here." He chuckled, ignoring Wilbur's pouting again. "Can't wait to tell Techno how she kicked your shit in."

"Don't do that!" Wilbur groaned, tugging her forward by her chained wrists into the darkened tunnel, helped by Quackity who was pushing her along. She still struggled, because she wasn't just going to go without a fight, but she was already tired, and she could feel her remaining energy waning. "He's never going to let me live it down! He's going to be like 'Oh, Wilbur, you got taken out by fucking ball of feathers while she was already tied up? That's kinda cringe, bro, not gonna lie!'"

"So, the same as any other day, right?"

"Fuck you!"

Sighing quietly, she attempted to ignore them again as she squinted her eyes in a useless attempt to make out her surroundings, to no avail. The tunnel was significantly darker than the cavern they'd come from, but the dark didn't seem like a thing that bothered the two creatures that captured her. She could just make out Wilbur's luminous green eyes and Quackity's scar that was glowing and silvery pale pink in the low light, but it didn't do anything for her. That was until she caught sight of the slightest pin-prick of light towards the distance.

"-don't even like you-" Quackity continued exasperatedly, making Wilbur tilt his head back to give him a little wink.

"You looove me." Wilbur crooned, and Nikki stared at him, wide-eyed because that didn't- what? But they were so antagonistic to each other, so biting and condescending... it didn't make any sense. it seemed like every exchange between them was nothing but disparaging remarks and blatant disrespect... "You big ol' softie, you."

"Shut the fuck up." Quackity snapped back, but there was softness to him now, a fond smile teasing the edge of his lip even as his tone remained as annoyed as it always had. "C'mon, the faster we get there the faster we can leave and I can show you how much I 'Looove' you, prick."

"What're you...? Why're you..." She tried, nearly drowned out by Wilburs' burst of laughter, but she didn't know how to form her thoughts into words, didn't know how to ask all the questions that had seemed to gather on the tip of her tongue. How could she condense all that'd she’d known, every slight and passive aggressive send off into one question. Why were their interactions different, even when they sounded so similar to those she left behind in Heaven. And why did their interactions feel different, even if they sounded as damaging as she remembered?

A hand landed on her head, ruffling her blonde hair, and she shook it off with another unfamiliar snarl.

"Don't burst a blood vessel trying to rub those two brain cells of yours together, birdie." Wilbur grinned, eyes appraising as they looked her up and down. "Don't want you to pass out before we get you to where you're wanted."

"And where is that?" She huffed petulantly, because if he was so eager to tie her up and insult her, the least he could do was actually tell her where they were going this time.

Wilbur opened his mouth but Quackity butted in faster, the exasperation making a very clear reappearance in his voice. "We're bringing you to the main hall of Pandemonium, so you can meet with Philza and Techno."

"You're no fun."

"And who are they?" She asked, also ignoring Wilbur. "Your, uh, kings, or something?"

Quackity laughed. "Fucking hell, they really don't tell you anything up there, do they? Do you even know where you are?"

She paused, considering.

She'd assumed this was her punishment for abandoning God, and she still wasn't convinced that it wasn't that, but... Even though Techno, and then even the name Philza seemed to ring a bell in her mind, neither were one she could pinpoint. 'Pandemonium' didn't ring any bells either, but she also... Wasn't sure why she didn't know about this place. It was the angel's duty to watch over earth and Heaven alike, and even if she wasn't directly tasked with overseeing the earth itself, she was still pretty confident that she knew almost everything about it anyway.

Or at least she used to be confident in that fact.

Now she wasn't so sure.

"No fucking way." Wilbur gasped after her prolonged silence. She shot a glare at him, sure he was making fun of her again, but to her surprise he seemed genuine in his shock. "I know it's been a while since they've sent one of you lot down here, but..."

"Something to let Techno and Phil sort out." Quackity interrupted, pushing them forward faster. "It's not going to be our business for much longer."

"Who are they, though." She pressed. "They sound familiar..."

"Well, that's fucking reassuring."

"You know what? You're right, they're kinda like our kings." Quackity said. "And we're going to take you to them and they can explain all this shit."

They were rapidly approaching the end of the tunnel, and as they grew closer she could see smears of bright red and orange as her eyes were forced to adjust to the light. She blinked furiously, even as the two creatures that held her continued to push her forward, and she could feel a hot breeze rush past, blowing her hair out of her face.

"Welcome to Pandemonium, birdie!" Wilbur exclaimed, sweeping his arms wide, and as blink that last splotches of light from her eyes, she stood stunned at the sight before her.

It was beautiful.

Chapter Text

'Pandemonium', as Wilbur had called it, was a beautiful place, like nothing she'd ever seen before.

Lava was falling in lazy flows from cracks in the high ceilings, lighting everything with a hazy orange-red glow. There weren't trees per say, but there were huge pulsating mushrooms, lit up from the inside by glowing spores and gills, blood red vines that hung off of nearly every surface, lit up by their own natural light that looked very similar to the sparks that floated through the air. Red dry brush and spiraling cyan vines poked their way out of the ground, padded with soft mycelium.

It was as if the earth had been painted in the same colors of fire and the setting sun, tucked away and hidden underground, and she couldn't believe her eyes.

Was this meant to be a punishment? The heat might be close to unbearable, but she found that easy enough to ignore in the face of so much sprawling beauty. Entire lakes of lava, distant monuments of some dark stone that stood starkly against the red fog of the atmosphere, clusters of lights glittering as they hung high above them, too far to make out.

Then there were only a single set of arms around her, and before she even had time to even think about trying to escape, she was being lifted into the air by her wrists. She let out a strangled gasp, her own wings spreading instinctively to catch her, only to jerk them back tight to her back as the combination of their movement and the hot breeze blew a cloud of her feathers loose.

She startled, having momentarily forgotten that had been a worry of hers, and she could only stare, pained, as her feathers fluttered slowly to the ground, looking horribly out of place against the red mycelium floor. She could feel tears gathering in her eyes as that horrible dread began to settle in her stomach and climb up her throat, but they never fell; it seemed like the air here was too hot for her tears to make it that far without evaporating.

Someone clucked their tongue above her. "That's a shame."

It was callous enough that it almost drew a sob from her in that moment, her shoulders hitching to her ears as she struggled to control herself. She glanced up at Wilbur, who was carrying her, but she stalled in amazement as she saw his wings.

They weren't feathered, like every other angel's were, but leathery, like a bat. The scaled skin that covered the skeletal fingers of his wings seemed black in the muddy red air, but the leathery slip of skin stretched out between them was a shocking shade of green, similar to his eyes. Wilbur glanced down at her, his face immediately scrunching up as their eyes accidentally met.

"Jesus, is that what Quackity meant by puppy dog eyes?" he muttered, almost lost to the wind whistling past them, before he addressed her directly. "Don't worry, featherduster, you'll be able to fly again."

Was he... Trying to reassure her?

…Why?

She was fairly certain he wasn't fond of her, with how dramatic he'd been when she'd managed to hit him, or how antagonistic he seemed in general. And he didn't have wings like hers anyways... Though she supposed he might've learned something if he and Quackity, who had his own golden wings, truly did love each other. But even then, her wings had never lost feathers this quickly, for no apparent reason at all, she still couldn't understand why. Was this what they'd meant when they'd said her wings would be stripped away? But why like this?

Was the slow loss of them, watching her wings deteriorate before her very eyes, meant to be another kind of punishment?

She had to admit it was working. Nothing had ever horrified her as much as the sight of fistfuls of feathers just being knocked loose with such gut-wrenching ease. Like they were dandelion fluff in a brisk wind. She shuddered, and then again when even that movement shook even more loose, and she forced the thought out of her head. If it was happening, then she'd best get used to the idea as quickly as she could. It was likely only going to get worse from here.

There was a sudden shout to their left, and both Wilbur and Quackity jerked to a stop above her, hovering as she swung unpleasantly in mid air. She nervously looked down, seeing nothing but the pool of lava below her, and looked up at Wilbur, who was sharing a look with Quackity. They hadn't made it sound like they were trapping her just to drop her into lava, but that didn't necessarily mean that they were telling the truth. She could only hope they wouldn't let go of her; she doubted her wings would be able to carry her to safety with how fast they were shedding.

She wasn’t sure angels could die to molten rock, but she wasn’t eager to find out.

There was the sudden and unmistakable sound of wingbeats growing closer, and she craned her head as far as she could to see, only to be taken further aback by even more strange creatures.

There was one that was as white as her feathers, save for the strange green covering over its head and where its eyes might've been on a mortal. The strange green covering, which she was rapidly realizing was its eyes, was green and strangely frog-like, glassy eyes bulging from the sides of its head. Its companion was more human-like, similar to Quackity, but every different all the same. They had a long spill of brown hair that was tangled with what almost looked like roses and their thorns, but the roses were far too luminous to be normal. They had crystalline insect wings that were flapping rapidly to keep them aloft and bright green eyes that even Niki could see at a distance.

"What do you two fucks want?" Quackity shouted over the beating of his four wings, and Niki could see his feathers begin to bristle defensively.

"You know, nothing much, just kinda hanging out." The pale creature drawled, and much to Niki's horror, instead of the line she had assumed to be its mouth, the seam between its mouth and Its green head covering split open to form the words. "Fuck, man, what do you think we're doing here?"

"What, did you think you were the only ones who heard that Fall?" The rose-covered creature snapped back before their eyes landed on Niki. "Oohh, hello there!"

The chains were jerked again as Wilbur reared back and Quackity quickly angled himself in front of them both. Niki frowned, not sure if these new people were a good thing or a bad one. They seemed about as dubious as the ones she had been trapped by, but maybe she could use this distraction... Her fingers sparked as she looked down again, trying to see if there was some ledge she might be able to leap towards to escape.

"Fuck off Hannah, she ours now." Wilbur said.

"But she'd be such a pretty addition to our Bastion... Come on, you couldn't possibly want her that much right?" 'Hannah' mused as she flitted a little closer, and what was it with all of their strange names? "She's already shedding so much... we won't even have to beat that much sense into her, she's lost so much faith already."

Jerked to attention, Niki quickly snapped her wings closed, having not even realized that they had fallen open to begin with. She shuddered at the feeling of eyes on her and glared at this new creature, not at all liking what they were implying. 'Beat sense into her'? What were they even talking about?

"And, let's be honest, your Bastion already has so many members. You should let some of us other packs get a shot, man, It's only fair, ya know?"

"Fucking skies above, we're not just going to give her to you." Quackity said, clearly exasperated. "We're taking her back to our Bastion. You can talk to Techno about it later, if you really think he'll give you the time of tide. Or go ahead and attack us, make our day."

Hannah withdrew a pair of rose-covered shears from behind her, made of the same dark shimmering material of Quackity's sword as she grinned maliciously at the three of them, and the back of Niki's neck began to prickle with dread. Surely they weren't about to fight, right? Over her? Over the boiling lake of lava that was hundreds of feet below them?

She glanced up at Wilbur nervously, but he was smiling too, as sharp as it'd been when she'd first seen it.

Was everyone here like this? Ready to fight one another at the drop of a feather?

Then Quackity swooped around, snatching the chain Niki was still suspended on from Wilbur's grasp and immediately dropped into a dive. The scream that would've been wrenched from Niki's mouth came out as more of a wheezing gasp as they leveled out just as quickly as they had dropped. She had no idea how terrifying flying was when you weren't in control of your own descent, but she was very quickly coming to dread this too.

She could see the other two beings chasing behind them, clearly having been taken by surprise, and briefly wondered whether or not that was a good thing before she was yanked again by Quackity's swift bank to the right. Her wrists ached, though not as badly as she would've assumed given the amount of stress they'd been under in such a short amount of time, but then she was immediately distracted from that when Wilbur careened wildly into her and Quackity, knocking all three of them into free fall.

Niki did scream this time, hardly hearing Wilbur's whooping and Quackity's own shouts over the sound of hot wind rushing past her ears, wings flapping helplessly as she was forced to watch the lava lake swiftly coming to meet her. Then the wind became even more fierce as a gust blew them all off-course, depositing them safely onto the plush myecilium of a nearby ledge.

Niki grunted as she tumbled to a stop, directly on top of Wilbur who was laughing uproariously and panting as hard as she was.

"Jesus fuck, that was incredible!" Wilbur crowed, jerking upright which also subsequently knocked Nikki off of him. He turned to Quackity, who was spitting up moss a few feet from them. "Did you see their fucking faces Big Q?"

"No." Quackity said flatly, sitting back on his knees to glare at Wilbur, thrusting his hands out and in an instant prickly blue vines sprouted from the ground, creating a barrier between them and their pursuers. Or at least Niki assumed that’s what it was for.. "I was too busy eating moss."

"Ah." Wilbur nodded sagely, idly licking at the tips of his claws, which were dripping with some kind of inky black ichor. "I mean, I prefer sand, but you know, to each their own, I suppose."

"What is wrong with you two?" Niki demanded, wings back to flapping wildly as she struggled to right herself into a sitting position.

"I don't want to hear it birdie." Wilbur giggled, still looking fully overjoyed as he reached over to knock some blue bits of mycelium from Quackity's dark hair, though his hand was slapped away without a second to spare. "Fuck that was intense though. Do you think anymore'll come around?"

"I don't fucking- probably Wil, yeah." Quackity snarked, shoving Wilbur away from him before he stood, brushing himself off before he approached Niki. She scrambled back, still wholly lost but absolutely sure she wanted no part of whatever this was. Of whatever they were. "Stop, listen I get it lady, but-"

The chain on her wrists went taut and she knew she was doomed.

"Eh, she'll get over it." Wilbur said blithely, already taking off into the air with her in tow. She dug her feet into the ground, but the mycelium was loose and crumbly and she couldn't find any purchase as she was lifted off the floor again, hanging helplessly. "But I wanna get out of here. As fun as that was, I'm already fucking exhausted from lugging her around everywhere."

"Then let me go!"

"Nah."

Quackity sighed loudly as he joined Wilbur, rolling his eyes before he caught Niki's gaze and his expression became inscrutable. She glared back at him, then turned her head away, the rage boiling in her fully renewed. She could feel her hands sparking again, and she focused, trying to recall her weapon to her...

And then the next instant they were over lava again, and she'd lost her chance.

She growled again, furious with herself. She'd been so taken off-guard by the whole exchange, by everything that had followed shortly after meeting these creatures and those other strange ones, the thought of escape hadn't even come to her until it was already too late. She would have to focus on the timing of it, but she refused to give up so easily. She was not a thing to be fought over or something to be ignored. Not any longer.

Never again.

They were flying to the black outline of a large building in the distance, standing tall above a pool of lava. Certain sections of the crumbling walls were gilded with gold, sparking in the hazy light. She could spot little figures moving through cracks in the walls as they approached, not enough to make anything out, but there seemed to be a whole community living within the walls of this monument.

"Fucking finally." Wilbur sighed

They circled around towards the back, where one large section of the wall had crumbled almost completely away, big enough for Wilbur, even while carrying her, to fly through without any issues. She was placed down first, surprisingly gently as Quackity swooped in from behind them. Together, they held her in between them again, allowing her to finally get a good look of the space.

The room was huge, similar to the cavern she'd first found herself in, and though it was made of the same dark stone, it had been livened up with potted plants and roaring fires, rugs of knitted mycelium leading the way to two large thrones. At this she couldn't help but bristle, eyeing the two figures on the thrones that were studying her with a similar intensity. The only being she had ever heard of sitting on a throne was he- God, but these two... They were strange, nothing like the God she'd known.

The one on the left was smaller than the other, almost as small as her, she guessed. They were covered in slick black feathers, their eyes a luminous blue compared to Wilbur's green, and fixed very firmly on her. Their green robes hung around their shoulders loosely as they leaned close to their companion, who conversely was the largest being Nikki had ever seen. They sported a boar-like snout and sharp tusks, their red eyes also keeping her under careful watch. They were draped in red robes that accented their short pink fur surprisingly well, and a long french braid hung off one shoulder.

"Who's this?" The feathered one spoke, resting his chin on his hand as he considered her.

"I- uh..." Wilbur started, turning towards her before faltering. "Names, we forgot names."

"My name is Niki." She said while pointedly staring back at Wilbur who frowned at her. Well, he could deal. If they were so eager to drag her here in the first place, needlessly risking her life on the way, the least they could do was actually answer her questions. The feathered creature chuckled, using the arms of their throne to push themself up, slowly approaching her. "They said you could answer my questions. That one of you- Techno- would want to see me."

That drew a snort from the boar-like creature, and the feathered one grinned sardonically at her. "Is that so?"

"Yes."

"Well, I mean, I wouldn't go as far as that, but like-"

"Where is this? Why is Pandemonium underground? Do you know why the earth opened up and sent me here? Did you have anything to do with it, and if so, why?" She rattled off, fully ignoring Wilbur who gave a little squawk of outrage as she cut him off.

"That is a good amount of questions." The feathered creature said, nodding consideringly. "I don't know about answering all of them, but I can at least knock a few out."

He held out a finger, "We're underground, obviously." A second finger. "We're down here because we disobeyed the big man upstairs." A third finger. "And the only one who will know the reason you're down here is you, Angel."

"What?" She asked, reeling a bit. So this place really was meant to be a punishment of sorts then? But why was it so beautiful? And why were they banished underground to be punished? And was everyone here down here because they were all being punished too? She'd never even heard of another creature deliberating disobeying God like she had, so what- why-

"Oh, chickie." The boar-like creature grinned, his tusks flashing threateningly without him even making an effort to do so, and she could feel herself shudder in Quackity and Wilbur's hold. "You think you're the only one who's turned your back on that bastard who calls himself a god?"

She froze, staring up at him even while her mind was racing because what-

The feathered creature, who had been slowly circling behind her, gave his own chuckle, deep-throated and gleeful at the sight of her confusion. "Of course the fucks up there wouldn't bother to explain anything."

"Why would they?" The boar creature asked sardonically, looking both irritated and bored all of a sudden, while the feathery one continued with his expletives- stuck up pricks with nothing but clouds between their ears- and Nikki could still only stare at them, still caught on not the only one. "Lowly demons down here right? That's kinda rude, considering we're doing waaay better down here than they are up there. Honestly, it's like they've never even thought of trying to rise against tyranny and all that-"

Her mind was blank as she took all of that in, because what?

Demons?

There wasn't, it couldn't, they couldn't-

She stared dumbfounded at them as they seemed to preen a bit at her obvious confusion. Because demons weren't... Well, to say they weren't real wouldn't be true, but they were beings that only existed in stories, in the retellings of battles that the Seraphim were so fond of, as they were the only beings who actually faced such creatures in battle.

Demons were meant to be everything that angels weren't; selfish, violent, destructive. They were created by all of the evil that existed in the world, beings made to beget hatred and sin in all forms, to encourage human to do the same, whenever they escaped the confines of their home-

Wait a minute.

Was this Hell?

Was- was she in Hell?

She frantically looked around, but nothing about the grand hall they were in suggested anything sinister, it just... looked like a large building, an old one sure, but not... This couldn't be Hell, surely. She thought of the foliage outside, the lava, the array of sparks that lit nearly every square inch of Pandemonium. It was too beautiful, too lively for a place meant to house such evil creatures, or whatever it was they were. She glanced over them both again, not quite sure what to make of them.

Would they kill her, if they really were demons? They hadn't given anything to signal that they were planning on it, but demons were also supposed to be master deceivers. She tried to recall what she'd heard of them from the Seraphim, but most of them had just been simple tales to her ears. Ranboo had always been more interested in those stories than she'd been, having assumed that those stories weren't anything she needed to remember as a Virtue who was expected to live out her days in Heaven.

Of course, nothing had gone to plan today, it seemed.

"As if they'd ever listen to one of your monologues, Techno." The feathered demon chortled, slapping him on the back.

"-Look, I'm just saying they should at least look into unionizing Phil, okay? That's all." 'Techno' finished, rolling his eyes before they landed back on her. It almost made her flinch again, but she forced herself to be still. If she was going to die here, it would be with dignity. "Any ideas what to do with her?"

She stiffened even further, if it was possible, her hands sparking with her sudden spike of anxiety. Both Phil and Techno's eyes caught on that though they didn't mention it, just shared an unreadable glance. Then she was immediately distracted by hands suddenly tugging at her wings, spreading them open to be stared at. She could feel herself burning with shame at being so exposed, knowing that they could all see the bald patches, were following the trail of the few feathers that were fluttering to the ground. She squeezed her eyes tight, feeling horribly exposed, sickeningly put on display for these demons.

"She's pretty far along." She heard Wilbur say, as if she were some livestock being considered for sale. She strained against the chains around her wrist, trying to focus that uneasy feeling of being stared at, her anger at being so casually shown off, into her hands. She didn't have a plan in mind, but anything would be better than this, and if she could just...

A hand was raking through her feathers, and she could feel it as they all came loose in that persons' grasp, a stomach-dropping moment of revulsion that was the final straw.

"No!" She cried, her sickle manifesting in an instant. There was that strange growling undertone in her voice again, but she didn't care- couldn't care- She swept the blade in between her wrists, twisting to leverage her weight against the chain until it broke and in and instant she had the curve of her sickle firmly pressed against the persons'- Phil's- throat.

Her teeth were bared, snarling coming deep from inside her chest as she pressed forward just a little, enjoying the sight of the slick ichor that dripped from the cut along his neck. He had his hands up, like he was surrendering, but there was an infuriating smile on his face that she desperately wanted to wipe off. Wanted him to be as humiliated and helpless as she'd been just a moment ago, wanted him to know she wouldn't just be walked over, not anymore.

And then suddenly her sickle was ablaze, pink flames racing across the both of them, licking at their skin as they hungrily consumed the two of them.

A heavy hand gripped her scruff, and she went limp in an instant, just barely managing to keep a grip on her weapon as she was forcibly dragged away from Phil, who was still lit up in flames. But instead of the agony that she expected, he was studying her with a new interest. The hand that held her pressed her against the ground, and slowly sounds other than the roaring in her ears began to filter through.

"-she do that? We can't even-"

"-really shoulda seen that one coming, though, to be fair-"

"-Wilbur can you calm the fuck down-"

"Well that was fun." Phil said, as the flames that surrounded him began to slowly die down, no longer fed by Niki's anger. He patted his shoulder out with a casual air as he approached, and she struggled as much as she could against the grip on her scruff. It was a dirty tactic, one that should've only been used by higher tier angels, but it was meant to be used as a show of authority over newer angels, not used to their advantage in battle. There wasn't any way they should know about scruffing anyways, not unless- "A very lovely display, mate, but uh, flames don't really work that well on us demons, sorry to say."

"What? But I thought holy fire-" Wilbur tried, looking bewildered.

"That's not what that was." Techno's deep voice mused above her. "You're right, she's pretty far along."

"Can't you not talk about me like I'm not here?" She snarled, thrashing around harder. Techno's hands were solid and strong though, damn him, it would be near-impossible to get away from him, but that wasn't going to stop her from trying.

"Sure, lady. Gotta say thought, that was pretty impressive. Not a whole lot of beings can conjure their own weapon without the grace of God." Techno mused. "Most of the time our anger doesn't last that long. Good on you for figuring it out though! I guess we'll see how long it lasts you."

"This is mine." She snarled despite herself, her grip on her weapon tightening possessively, still struggling against his hold on her. He watched her with his red eyes, but she met his stare unflinchingly.

After a moment of stalemate, Techno snorted in what sounded like amusement, which made her bristle in offense, but then he was hauling her upright by his grip on her scruff, and she had to bite back a yelp of surprise. He withdrew a dagger from the belt of his robes, making her reel back in surprise, but he just leaned down to sever the chains around her ankles, allowing her to actually stand on her own feet.

"I'll need your opinion on this one Phil, of course." Techno said, and great, he was ignoring her again. She bared her teeth at him again, growling, which redirected his attention back to her for a moment. "Sorry, lady, I'm not much relying on your input for this one, but uh... hmm, it's been a while since we've gotten a new addition to our pack."

"Woah, wait, pack?" Wilbur spluttered, unintentionally mimicking her exact thoughts as her growling stuttered to a surprised stop. Her sickle disappeared with a flash of pink light as she was swamped with confusion. Because packs- she knew what they were in terms of things in the Overworld; wolves traveled in packs, llamas, sheep, but those were... families, social structures. Why was he- "I just brought her here because 'hey, new potential-rival and/or fun thing to poke at', not a new member of our pack."

"Congratulations." Quackity said flatly from her other side. "You've introduced a new angel into an environment where that was definitely not the only thing that was going to happen."

"What do you mean?"

"Wilbur." Phil said, smiling as he came forward to drape himself against Techno's side. "Mate, there's no way we're letting this one go."

"What're you talking about?" She demanded, that dread returning. She wasn't quite sure what she'd been expecting, or if she even had time to wonder what might happen, but they couldn't- "I'm not- I'm not something you can just decide to keep! You can't- I'm not-"

"Oh, you're not going anywhere, birdie." Techno chuckled, like she had just told a joke. She frowned at him.

"Why, are you going to stop me?" She challenged, focusing her irritation into her hands. They flickered encouragingly, though she refused to take her eyes off of Techno's.

"Maybe."

"What would you even want from me?" She pressed, irritated. They were being horribly obtuse, speaking around her, giving her only bits and pieces to work with, but nothing concrete enough to form the whole picture. "I'm not going to help you kill things. I won't help you do sin, or spread your villainy throughout the Overworld."

"Villainy?" Techno repeated, laughing like it was the funniest thing he'd heard. "Sin? You hear this Phil? Skies above, what're they teaching you up there?"

"Demons are evil." She said bluntly, and though she knew that logically she should be afraid, she felt far from it. Even scruffed like she was, she was sick of this, of all of it.

"Oh, where have I heard that before?"

"And even if you're not, then why do you even want to keep me? I'm- I'm not just going to join your P-Pack!" She snapped. "Just let me go!"

"You'd be eaten alive out there, Angel." Techno grumbled bemusedly, using his grip on her scruff to pull her even closer, leaning her up against his side even as she struggled to get away. "That and... well, it's been a while since we've seen one of you Fall up close and personal."

"What're you talking about?" she hissed

"I’m not sure what’s not clicking here. Demons didn't just come from nowhere, obviously." He said, sounding like he was telling an inside joke she wasn't a part of. "You wanted to know why you were sent here? It's because you belong with us now."

"N-No, I d-"

"I said it before, didn't I, chickie? You think you're the only one who's turned your back on that bastard who calls himself a god? Only demons would do something that despicable, right? Only beings like us?"

And it almost made a twisted sort of sense, that all who had abandoned their God like she had- that they were all punished in this way, making them deformed and violent, banished far underground as to not be seen. She'd thought she was the first, though it seemed foolish now, just because she'd never heard of another angel abandoning Heaven and their post. Why would anyone want to do such a thing, when Heaven was such a paradise, free of sin?

And freedom.

And it seemed like even here, in a place that was meant to be the opposite of everything she'd ever known, she still wasn't free.

Chapter Text

Walking the halls of their bastion, listening to the furious screams of their new angel as the door swung shut behind them, Techno gave a contented sigh.

"Oh, I know, mate." Phil enthused from beside him, smile viscous and eager. He flapped his wings once to drape himself around Techno's neck and shoulders, his slight weight familiar against Techno's back. "An angel, here; It's going to be fuckin’ incredible to watch her Fall, to watch her faith degrade-"

"I still can't believe we're keeping her." Wilbur muttered glumly, arms crossed and clearly pouting. Quackity rolled his eyes, his sets of golden wings flapping once before they all turned the corner back into the throne room, passing the other demons milling about without fuss. "She's an angel! And she hit me!"

"Good. She might've finally knocked some sense into you or somethin'." Techno huffed, taking his place on his throne again and shooing Phil to his. They made these big fancy chairs, so they might as well use 'em, right?

"I resent that, Technoblade." Wilbur sniffed haughtily.

"More like you resemble it." Quackity muttered, inching closer to Techno's throne to use the rough stone edge to scratch between his wings. Techno tugged him away and began preening him idly, only sparing Wilbur half a glance as he puffed up in indignation. Quackity cut him off just as he was beginning to work himself up to a monologue and Techno raked his claws through the feathers that lined his spine in appreciation, making him shudder slightly under Techno's ministrations. "But that's besides the point; we were seen on the way here."

"That doesn't surprise me." Phil sighed, coaxing Wilbur to sit at his feet and be preened as well. "I think the whole of Pandemonium heard her Fall- really, I'm just glad the two of you got to her first. She'll be a great addition to our pack."

"See, I dunno why you guys think that." Wilbur groaned, flinging himself backwards into Phil lap, who caught him easily with a chuckle. "I get the whole fire stuff and the- the weapon thing, but it's not like she's going to be able to do all of that after, right? That's the fucking- heaven's shit, right?"

"Maybe? But honestly the fact she's managed to keep a hold of both for this long means she'll be a huge asset to whatever bastion she joins. And I'm not in the business of ignorin' assets to our little group here." Techno said, his hand sliding up to the back of Quackity's neck to hold him still, and the other went limp in his hold, trusting implicitly.

Techno could still remember the early days when he'd had to force Quackity to submit, too scared to really put in the effort of preening on his own, too stubborn and violent for Wilbur to be able to help, so the task had fallen onto Technoblade. The fear had been delicious then, but he found he enjoyed this more. He couldn't wait for their new angel to be just the same.

"I mean, sure but-"

"Anyways." Quackity interrupted again, and Wilbur went right back to pouting, grumbling lightly as Phil worked through his curls. "We got into a fight with Boomer and Hannah on the way here. We managed to lose them, but..."

"Did they seem like they'd pull some stupid shit?" Phil asked idly, which everyone knew meant, 'you think they're going to be so stupid as to bring the fight here?' But Quackity just shook his head, or at least as much as he could while still held in Techno's grasp.

"No, but like... I don't know if that applies to everyone who caught wind of this. Of her."

"So we need to run some preemptive damage control then." Techno groaned, releasing Quackity to rub at his face. He was already tired at the thought, circling around their territory for tides on end, keeping an eye out for any enemies or ploys to try and sneak into their bastion. It would be made even more difficult by the fact that they now had an angel that needed to be looked after. While they were all excited to see her Fall, he also knew they couldn't leave her side when it started, or at least not all of them. The pain of it was difficult for anyone to handle, let alone a little featherduster who had likely never experienced pain in her entire existence.

Fuck, they hadn't had to worry about this shit since Quackity had joined them, and that whole situation had been a headache for entirely different reasons.

"Well, we can't leave her." Techno said finally and Phil hummed in thought. "And it's not like we need to send out the entire cavalry all at once; most other bastions know better than to mess with us at this point, but-"

"Better to be prepared than caught off guard." Phil finished for him.

"Exactly. So uh, well, she and Wil clearly don't get along, so you and Phil wanna do border patrol for a bit while me and Quackity stay back to keep an eye on her, and then just send for ya when she finally starts Fallin', sound good?"

"Works for me." Phil said agreeably, but he had a mischievous glint in his eye that told Techno he'd be more than enough for the job. Which was what Techno had figured, but he also needed someone to keep an eye on Wilbur as well. As much as he was a part of their pack, he wasn't the best at fighting. "That good for you Wil?"

"Yeah, I guess." He said glumly, making the rest of them laugh. Quackity leaned over to press a quick kiss to his mouth, making him brighten significantly, though he tried his best to keep it cool. "Maybe you can teach her some manners when I'm gone."

"Yeah, that's not happenin'." Techno said flatly, standing with a stretch and pulling Quackity up with him. "Well, you two have fun messing up whoever gets close- Phil, could ya at least try to keep 'em in one piece? We've got an angel to watch over."

“No promises, mate.”

Against all odds, Niki found herself pretty bored in Hell.

Which seemed almost impossible, of course, because Hell was not a place where boredom could exist, as it was meant to be a place of evil and suffering, and horrors the likes of which had never been seen before.

And yet.

"Let me out!" She shouted, rattling the bars of her cage, because yes, they'd put her in a giant cage, made of the same gilded stone that some of the walls were made of, like some sort of exotic pet. Which she wasn't because she was... a demon now, if what Technoblade had told her could be believed.

She still was having a difficult time wrapping her head around it, the idea seeming so backwards compared to everything she'd known. Or had thought she’d known. Angels were meant to be holy beings, gifted with grace and made to serve their God. They weren't meant to have doubts or to stray from their chosen path. But then she had. And apparently she wasn't the first, and maybe even not the last.

"I betcha they're trying to keep it under wraps up there." Techno had whispered to her conspiratorially, as if they'd been gossiping mortals, but she- gossip was a form of sin, spreading rumors was bad- it made sense if he was the one who did it, but surely she couldn't engage- did it even matter? "Fuck, the only reason Wilbur joined is because me and Phil defected first and he wanted to understand what was going on, but that was enough for him to be 'cast out,' or whatever they used to call it. Then Quackity followed because he had some kind of beef with some other angel I can't remember the name of, and now they never leave each other alone."

"They hate each other." She said flatly, though it felt like a question as she said it.

Technoblade had laughed. "Yeah, they sure do act like it, huh?"

It hadn't shed much light on anything, other than the fact that this had been apparently happening since the dawn of time. Keeping it 'under wraps' as Technoblade had said... It made sense, but also felt too big to wrap her head around, somehow. She'd been running everything she'd learned around and around in her head, but she still couldn't seem to grasp it.

But she'd also been trapped with nothing but her own thoughts for far too long now, and she was so ready to be distracted by literally anything else. And since there wasn't anything to do in her cage, except for maybe destroy all of her pillows and blankets as if she were an animal, she resorted to shouting until either someone came to shut her up or her voice gave out, whatever came first.

"Let me out!" She shouted again, hanging off the bars and rattling them with her weight. There was little give, but even the action of was making her feel better, getting out some of her manic energy that had only been growing since she'd been confined to this room. "Stupid demons! Let me out!"

"Well that’s a pretty harsh insult coming from you." A voice said flatly as the door suddenly swung open, revealing Technoblade. Finally. "You gonna start cussing next? I think I'd be pretty hilarious if you used your first F-bomb on Wilbur though, so maybe you should save it."

"Let me out." She said bluntly, still clinging onto the bars of her cage as they stared at each other.

"Nah."

"Then why are you here?"

"I got a bit of business with you specifically." He said cryptically. "You think you'll be willin' to listen to me for a sec, angel?"

"Are you going to let me out of this cage?"

"Nah."

"Then no." She huffed, turning away from him to begin pacing around the inside of her cage.

"Bruhhh." He moaned, hooking one hoof around a chair before kicking it towards her. He collapsed on it heavily, lounging back as he rubbed a hand over his snout. "What's even your plan if you were to get out of here anyways?"

"I would leave." She said, as if it were obvious, because it kinda was. "And get as far away from here as possible."

"Aaaand that's why you're staying in the cage."

She almost snarled at that, but caught herself, pressing hand over her mouth. Another thing she'd attributed to her new-found demon-ness; that strange vocal sign of aggression and irritation. She'd almost would've been embarrassed by it, but she was keeping the company of demons, so it wasn't like she was looking to particularly impress any of them. It was more of a surprise now than anything else, but even that momentary shock was slowly lessening with time. skies above, if she'd made a noise like that back up in Heaven though...

Well, it wouldn't do her any good thinking about it down here. There was a reason she'd left, and if the demons could be believed, there was also a reason she was down here in the first place too.

"Not even a plan." Technoblade was muttering to himself, looking oddly distressed as he continued to rub across the bridge of his snout. "And I thought Wilbur was bad...

"What're you even talking about?" She snapped, already fed up with being talked about rather than with. She'd had enough of that up there, and if she could get away with telling them off without masking her words with politeness, then she would take it.

"Just lamenting your lack of foresight, though I guess it can't be helped since I doubt that was ever a skill you needed up there."

Her mouth dropped open, thoroughly offended but he was continuing on before she even had a chance to get a word in edgewise.

You were, what? A Power, a Dominion?" He mused, looking her up and down. "You're pretty powerful, but-"

"I'm a Virtue." She snapped again, uncomfortable under his scrutiny. "Was a Virtue- whatever. What does it matter?"

"What, like, 'keeper of the stars and cosmic knowledge', that kinda Virtue?"

She bristled at his almost dismissive tone, gritting her teeth at him. "Yes. Why?"

"Ehhh, it just seems, you know." He gestured to her vaguely. "It just doesn't seem to suit you, I guess."

She didn't know whether or not she should take offense to that. What, did he think she was weaker than a Virtue was meant to be? It almost felt like what every other angel had believed, when she'd been back in Heaven, but coming from him, it didn't sound like an insult. She crossed her arms across her chest, studying him, trying to figure out what he wanted from her.

"What do you mean?" She asked finally.

"Do you know anything about fighting?" He asked, but again, it didn't sound demeaning, coming from him. It sounded almost... earnest.

"Why?" She asked, on the verge of suspicion. Did he want to know because he wanted to fight? She doubted it'd be very fun for either of them, though maybe he liked punching down. She also doubted she'd be able to take him as she was now, not without her grace giving her an advantage or even a fighting chance against him.

"Do you want to learn?"

She froze, staring at him.

Fighting... that was saved for the higher-tier angels, the ones who stood beside their God and were tasked with protecting his throne. They were the only ones who needed the knowledge, and the rest of the Heavenly Choir as a whole was meant to take care of softer things, to guide and care for all of creation. And she'd never- she'd never really considered learning something like that, not until she had found herself down here at the mercy of demons, of all things.

And now one, the very same one who was keeping her in a cage, was offering to teach her.

"Why?"

"I told you that already, didn't I?" Techno chuckled before his expression shifted to something more serious. "Demons... Well, we're not evil, per say, but we do have a certain way of doin’ things. A sort of 'trial by combat' is a common one. A lot of us fight for dominance, because unlike how it was in Heaven, we aren't given our own roles, we have to find them on our own. And for those who can't, they typically stick to their packs to back them up, and then any duels they'd get challenged to would turn into a brawl, and... well, it gets messy down here."

"So you, little miss newly-fallen-angel... Ehhh, I mean, even you just bein’ a new face would put a target on your back, but with the wings and the-" He gesture to her again. "General air of, I don't know, innocence, I wanna say? Easy pickings, is all I'm sayin'. But you know, you've got some potential, which is why me and Phil even kept you around in the first place-"

"So you want me to fight brawls for you? Or with you?" She asked, not quite following where he was going with this. He seemed big enough to take any opponent on, but... Maybe there were demons that were bigger than him? It almost seemed hard to fathom, but maybe-

He laughed again, "Oh, skies no, birdie. I can take care of myself! I'm talkin' about you here; You gotta a lot of potential, and it seemed like a waste to just let you wander out on your own just to get yourself messed up by some other demon that you wouldn't have a chance against."

"So if I don't learn to fight, are you going to let me out?"

"Bruuuh, you're not listening." He moaned, tossing his head back as he ran his hand over his snout again. Then he seemed to have an idea, ears perked as he leaned forward. "I tell you what, let's make a deal. How about if you defeat me in a duel, I'll let you leave, no strings attached. I get a new sparring buddy and you get to learn a valuable skill and potentially earn your freedom! It's a win-win."

She paused, thinking it over.

The fact that he might use this as a thinly-veiled excuse to beat her into a pulp was not lost on her, but she was already in a cage, so if he really wanted to do that, he could've already. It didn't sound... immediately like a trick, but then she couldn't say she would even know what one would sound like to begin with. What did she have to lose at this point? It wasn't like she was agreeing to stop trying to escape. There was really only one thing that was bothering her.

"How do I know you're not just lying to me?" She pressed. "That you wouldn't just have Wilbur and Quackity to keep me here if I do defeat you?"

"Let me tell you, chickie." His grin had an edge to it now, something dangerous and feral that made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. "If you can defeat me, then you won't have to worry about anything else for the rest of eternity."

He was serious, though she couldn't fathom why. Why he seemed to be taking this deal with her so seriously. If he was as powerful as he made himself seem, she doubted what little potential she might've had was enough to warrant this kind of sincerity.

"Why?" She couldn't help but ask again, because now she felt desperate to know. "Why do this? Why promise me these things?"

"I remember when I was new." He said, which she almost wanted to insist wasn't a real answer. "Newly fallen, newly abandoned, so confused. Fuck, Niki. That kind of thing is impossible to forget."

He stood, towering over her as they regarded each other, his red and her gold. She felt small in front of him, and she hated that feeling. Maybe if she could actually best him in a fight she wouldn't feel that way anymore. That was probably the closest thing to freedom she’d get in this place. "You remind me a lot of myself, I suppose. But, uh, I'll let you think about it."

He left without another word as she watched him go, stunned to silence, not sure what to think.

Maybe she had this wrong. She was an angel amongst demons, or used to be, and maybe that was the thing. She'd already heard stories of demons and their evil deeds, their lying, thieving ways, but... She was supposed to be a demon now, right? And she- well, she was maybe a little angry, a little more aggressive, but she couldn't tell if that had anything to do with her change or if it was just a product of her having more freedom to express herself.

Or being trapped in this stupid cage.

But even that Techno had made it sound like it was for her own good. And maybe it was, even if it definitely didn't feel like it.

Maybe Heaven was wrong about everything.

...

What now?

"Got you some food-" Quackity drawled, coming to a surprised stop as he took her in. "... What're you doing?"

"Being bored?" She snapped back sarcastically, from her place on the ceiling of the cage. What remaining feathers she did have were being shook loose by her wing's natural attempts at keeping her balance. It had taken some getting used to, her bare wings. She wasn't able to preen them anymore, which was really only adding to her boredom, but she still missed flying more than almost anything else; even just having a slight height advantage was comforting. Thus, this- climbing until her limbs gave out, which hadn't happened yet. "Technoblade already came to see me, but he said he wasn't going to let me go until I beat him in a fight, but he hasn't come back since then, and I'm just... really bored, you know?"

"I... guess?" He said hesitantly, looking more amused than anything now. He laughed as he grew closer, high-pitched and gleeful. "Do you- I mean, do you wanna come down maybe? I brought you some food."

"... Okay?" Now it was her turn to be hesitant, craning her neck at an odd angle to see what he held in his hands, which was some kind of brown stew. "Why?"

"Do you not feel hungry?"

"Is that something I'm supposed to feel?"

"Kinda yeah, but I guess it hasn't been long enough, or something." He sat down on the chair Techno had left, swirling the stew around before tipping it towards his mouth, drinking deeply. He wiped his mouth after he pulled the bowl away, half the stew drained. "It's been a while since I heard the spiel but it's something like, 'angels live off of god's grace but as demons cursed to live like beasts we have to eat like beasts too.'"

"Oh wow. And who gave that speech?" She asked, not quite able to keep the smile off her face.

"Uh, Wilbur, actually." He grinned at her surprised look, gold tooth catching the light. "I know, right? He didn't really leave a great first impression on me either at first. But he grows on you, like a fucking rash or something. You'll have a hell of a time getting him to leave you alone."

"What's uh, what's the deal with you two?" She asked, unhooking her knees from the top bars and dropping down to face him. "I thought you two hated each other when I first met you, but like, everything else about how you interact with each other kinda contradicts that, you know?"

"Yeah, that son of bitch." He shook his head wondering, wiping a hand down the bottom half of his mouth as he seemed to ponder the question. "It's funny, you know. We've been together for centuries now, but I don't know if I've ever had to explain it before. We just... Clicked. Hated each other right away. It's actually kinda funny how we met, I um, well, Wilbur fell first, followed in Phil’s footsteps, but I followed not too far behind, for um, unrelated reasons."

"Wilbur was in a good spot. Phil was one of the first angels to fall, carved out a nice little niche for himself down here. They caught me right after I fell, confused, helpless, you know, an angel without grace, and Phil was ready to just toss me out, which you know, fair. Not a whole lot of love between demons and newly fallen angels, but uh... Wilbur vouched for me. And that bastard still won't tell me why- I fucking... hounded him for an answer, drove him up the fucking wall, but eventually trading insults became more of a game than an actual interrogation, and we've just kinda stuck together ever since."

"Awww," She cooed, grinning as he wrinkled his nose in clear distaste. "That's sweet. I think I kinda get it though, maybe a little bit. Riling Wilbur up was kinda fun."

"Yeah, right!" Quackity's smile returned in full force, laughing again. "See, everyone seems to get it but Wilbur."

"It was a little confusing for me, hearing the two of you talk to each other like that but also stay so close together." She wrung her hands in her lap nervously, but not quite sure why.

"I mean, It was a little confusing for me too. In the beginning, you know, new demon, never sworn before, always tried to be super polite. Boring shit." He shrugged one shoulder, leaning his elbows on both knees as he considered her. "You'll get used to it before too long I bet, we all did. Hell, it took me a while to get used to it- the only person who's really insulted me like that before Wil was Schla-"

His mouth snapped shut, lips pursed in a grimace as if he'd just tasted something disgusting, but she was reeling, questions suddenly buzzing in her mind.

"You knew Schlatt?"

The second the question left her mouth his tight look seemed to almost melt away, leaving something casual and hollow in it's place.

"Wha- oh, ha, yeah! Is that son of a bitch still kicking up there?" Quackity exclaimed with a forced sense of joviality, and strained smile lifting one corner of his mouth.

"Um, yeah... You didn't like him either?" She said, not sure whether or not she should press, but that- that was something she understood. She could remember so clearly how Schlatt had subtly lorded his power over everyone else. He'd ridiculed Niki whenever she'd tried to bring other peoples' attention to it, but Schlatt was much better with words than she'd been, armed with only her anger and self-righteousness.

It hadn't gone well.

Quackity paused, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees as he considered her carefully. His eyes were as dark as his hair, an ink spill against his skin, so dark it made the scar on his face almost glow silver, the barest hint of his gold tooth catching the light from where it was mostly hidden between his lips. She could almost imagine him in Heaven, the gold of his wings a stark white, his face unmarred, but that image didn't suit him. He seemed more at home here, trading quips with Wilbur and lit up by the orange light of Hell.

She wondered how long it'd took him to feel that way. How long it had taken him to be comfortable with wearing so much gold without second guessing himself every step of the way.

"No. I didn't." He said finally, still looking her over intently. "He was a fucking bastard."

"Yeah." She agreed with half a laugh. 'Son of a bitch' he'd said, but she hadn't been sure if it was fond like it was when he spoke of Wilbur, or truly derogatory. She was relieved that he shared that with her, even if she wasn't quite sure why she felt that way.

"He's part of the reason I'm down here, did you know that?" He continued, his voice suddenly lighter again, more casual. More distant. He leaned back in his seat, folding his hands behind his head as he looked out toward the window. "Nothing blatant, nothing that could ever get him in trouble. It's been a while, but I was Power under him, and I- fuck, I was the same as any other angel up there, just trying to do my job, but I guess there was just something about me."

"He liked picking me apart. At first I didn't realize what he was doing, you know? He always sounded so nice, even if whatever he was saying hurt. But I never wanted to say anything, figured there was just something wrong with me, but I... Well, I caught on eventually. Took me longer than I'd like to admit, but angels... we never really had a chance against the bigger ones who knew what they were doing. And as soon as I realized it wasn't going to change, that Schlatt was probably always going to be above me- I left."

He shrugged, his face carefully blank as he shrugged again, as if he were trying to convince himself it wasn't a big deal. But Niki knew firsthand how difficult that decision was. Because Heaven was everything- it wasn't a decision as much as it was an abandonment of everything you'd ever known. The angels you'd known for your entire existence, the life and purpose you'd been made for, your God, the one who made not only you but the world you lived in.

And who would ever give something like that up?

Demons, apparently. And Niki too, but she supposed those two things went hand-in-hand now.

Slowly, she reached through the bars of her cage, pressing one hand to Quackity's knee, not sure what exactly she was doing, but it felt like... maybe they both needed this. He startled at the touch, having been fully focused on the window, but the second she tried to withdraw, afraid she'd overstepped, he caught her hand.

He was staring with wide, dark eyes, looking as surprised as she felt, before it melted into something she couldn't really identify. Something soft and blank. Quackity hummed, tugging her hand up to cup his cheek as he sank down to his knees in front of her, nuzzling against her palm. She stared wide-eyed as Quackity grinned at her, baffled as he reached through the bars too, to tease at her hair.

She'd never- she'd never really been touched like this, fond and familiar and hungry, somehow, if hungry for touch was even a thing someone could feel. Angels didn't really do this; they worked, and socialized when they felt the need, but they were kept busy in Heaven, always, always busy. His skin was unnaturally warm in her hands, almost burning, and he drew so close that she could see that his eyes weren't a solid black like she'd thought; there was a slight ring of very dark brown wrapping around the outside of his dilated pupils.

"...Quackity?" She whispered, almost afraid to talk louder. There was a strange pressure building in her throat, but she was also super confused. Why was he-

He hummed again, sounding a little distant as he slowly withdrew, eyes still watching her intensely. "Not quite yet. Hm. Sorry, lady, didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."

He withdrew further, rubbing the back of his neck as he gave an awkward laugh. She stood too, watching as he retrieved the bowl of stew he'd left on the floor, meticulously not meeting her eyes as he moved towards the door. She wasn't sure what had happened, or how to even ask, but she hadn't minded it as much as she'd been confused.

And she was still confused, not sure what to say to reassure him that she wasn't uncomfortable, she called out to him, right before he slipped through the open door, "My name is Niki."

He paused, glancing back at her with his dark eyes, and now she could see that his eyes really were brown, his iris far more visible now than it had been a few seconds ago. That was strange. But then her attention was immediately caught on the flash of his gold tooth as he grinned at her, giving a little laugh that was leagues more lively than it had been just a moment ago.

"Niki?" She nodded, pressing a hand to her throat to ease that strange pressure. It was uncomfortable, though thankfully nothing worse than that. What was happening to her. "Alright Niki. It's nice to meet you."

Then he was gone, with nothing but the sift noise of the door clicking shut left behind. Her throat eased, but she continued to worry about it, wondering what it had been. It always felt like there was always something new to her, from her wings to the growling. She could only hope this wasn't a new change that would become permanent.

She couldn't say for sure, but it certainly didn't feel like something that would go away as easily as that.