Chapter Text
It was one moment. One moment that changed everything. One split second decision that ruined everything. A moment that would lead Tina back down a path she had sworn to herself she would never go back to.
And still, she would make the same decision again in a heartbeat. Everytime. Because it meant saving the person she loved more than anything. The person she could not imagine a life without anymore. Her baby. Empanada.
******
A few hours earlier.
Tina and Empanada have had an exciting day! They had spent most of it going on adventures, exploring dungeons, fighting monsters and finding treasures. They were glad that Etoiles had joined them. He was always fun to be around and he was an incredible fighter. Tina didn’t like to admit it but she was not always that confident in her own fighting abilities. She wasn’t terrible by all means but especially in those dungeons with hordes of monsters trying to get a piece of them, she got worried easily. She was capable of defending herself in most situations but when she was with her daughter, Empanada, it was different. After all, Tina was a demon. If she died it wasn’t a big deal. She would just come back. Empanada did not have that luxury.
Quesadilla Island was generally a pretty peaceful place, given the circumstances. She still wasn’t quite sure what to make of the Federation, controlling every part of it, but even they had mostly backed off lately. Other than that the island was pretty safe. At least in the daytime. There were countless monsters hidden in huge towers or flying ships or underground dungeons. They liked the darkness and hid in caves when the sun was out. Only at night they would come out and hunt for whoever they could find. But if you kept to the populated areas and stayed in the light it was actually pretty nice.
After the day of adventuring, Tina and Empanada had decided to let it end with some flower picking. There was a huge field with a wide range of the prettiest flowers imaginable behind their house. Still excited from all the adrenalin from all the fighting earlier, they were running around, laughing and showing each other the most beautiful flowers they were finding.
“Oh, look!” Tina called out to the little girl. “These are Bagi’s favorites! I could get her some for a bouquet and leave it at her house when we are done.”
Empanada was jumping up and down excitedly. “That’s a great idea! She's gonna love that!”
“You think so?” Tina’s cheeks were heating up a little. Bagi and her were still not officially girlfriends. Which was probably mostly Tina’s fault. They had been on one amazing, incredible date. Bagi had put so much thought and effort into it that Tina still couldn’t believe she did all of that just for her. And even outside of that official date they spent a lot of time together and, well, they even adopted Empanada together! Not that they really had a say in that. Tina, Bagi and Empanada’s other Moms were kind of blindsided by the adoption by the Federation. But even if it wasn’t really a choice none of them would ever change it for the world. They love Empanada, their little girl, so much, they couldn’t bear losing her.
While deep in thought and with her eyes lowered to the flowers at her feet, Tina didn’t realize how late it had gotten and how far from the house they had wandered off until it was too late.
She heard a shout from a little further into the flower fields. When she looked up in the direction of her daughter the sky was already almost completely black. It had turned night time and the only light was from the torch in her hand. And what was even worse was that they were completely surrounded by monsters.
“Empanada!” Tina shouted while getting her sword and starting to make her way over to her baby. Her heart was beating fast. She knew her little girl could defend herself but with all these monsters around she got very scared.
“If you get hurt too much just run away, ok? Just try to get away or get home!” Her voice was shaking but her movements were controlled, slashing through zombie after zombie, slowly making her way to her baby.
Too slow.
Tina had almost reached Empanada when she heard a screech from the sky. When she looked up she could see them flying in. Phantoms. And before Tina could even react she had to watch one of the flying monsters grab her daughter. There was a scream from the girl and the phantom started flying away with the kid.
It was like time stopped for the demon at that moment with the panic and determination rising.
It was strange, this world they lived in. Life and death worked so closely together.
There were immortal beings like herself. Truly immortal. They could die and would come back without anything changing, no damage to the soul. An endless cycle that would always continue. There were exceptions when an especially damaging and traumatic death could throw the soul off balance and cause chaos in the mind for a while. But nothing that couldn’t be fixed. Especially with an eternity on their side. But even with that, there are always loopholes. There is always a way to kill something. The universe wouldn’t have it any other way.
But even regular people could live many lives. Each time they died though, they would lose a tiny part of their soul that would grow back with time. Old age would get to them eventually though. That's to say if not a really intense death destroys too much of their soul before that and the soul is not strong enough to regrow itself. That’s when people die.
And then there are a rare few special people. People like Empanada. Empanada only had one life to live. Any death would be her end. She would not just come back to this world like most others would.
And Tina couldn’t let that happen.
In a fracture of a second Tina had made her choice. Hot rage at the creature trying to take her baby from her cursing through her veins. It was an easy choice and her anger made it even easier to embrace her demon nature. The wings on her back unfolded themselves to full size for the first time in ages, wide and dark and strong. With one firm movement of her wings, the demon lifted off and followed the flying beast in the night sky. The stars were sparkling in the cloudless darkness and the cool wind was rushing past Tina’s face.
The phantom stood no chance. Tina was way faster than the monster and caught up with them quickly, driven by love for her daughter and hate for the creature. As soon as it was in reach, Tina ripped her claws through the wing of the monster, sending it tumbling towards the ground with a screech. But with that it also let go of the little girl in its claws. Empanada screamed again while hurling towards the ground as well. Tina dove down to catch her in her arms before she could even get near the grass below.
She hugged her baby close to her chest, now struggling to keep the flight steady with the extra person to keep in the air. She hadn’t used her wings in so long and she could already feel the ache from straining them so suddenly.
“I’ve got you, Empy. Don’t worry, you are safe now.” She whispered into the young girl's hair. It was definitely Tina’s voice but there was an unusual rasp accompanying it.
With the rest of the adrenalin and pure determination, Tina managed to fly them all the way back to her well lit house. The landing was not as elegant as Tina would have hoped it would be but every muscle in her body was screaming and she was just relieved that they made it and didn’t just fall from the sky.
As soon as they had solid ground under their feet again, the demon got to her knees and pushed Empanada an arm length away to search her for injuries.
“Are you ok? Are you hurt?” Tina asked while scanning every inch of her daughter's body.
“I’m ok”, Empanada answered with an awe in her voice that Tina didn’t even hear at that moment. Tina found a few scratches here and there but nothing too bad.
She pulled her daughter close again in a tight hug. “I’m so sorry, Empy! I’m so sorry! I should have been more careful.” Now that the rush had left her body the tears started to form in the corner of her eyes.
“You saved me.” The little girl mumbled into her mother’s chest before she carefully pushed away a little to look at her with wide eyes. “You never told me you could fly.” There was wonder in her eyes, a sparkle of excitement. No fear of the demon standing in front of her with the big black wings almost folded around them. Tina was used to seeing the fear, she was not used to seeing this expression and it warmed her heart.
“I knew you were a demon but I didn’t know you could fly! I was so scared but when you held me in your arms I felt so safe and the flying was so amazing! Why didn’t you tell me? Can we do that again? Maybe now that we are not in a scary situation like that?” Empanada’s childlike enthusiasm seemed to have washed away all the previous fear and brought a smile to Tina’s face.
“Well, I’m not really supposed to fly.” She tried to explain. “I haven’t used my wings in a long time, Empy, so they are not really used to working this much anymore…” The flash of sadness appearing on her daughter's face almost broke her heart so she tried to somehow recover that excitement from before. “But maybe… uh… I probably can’t pick you up to fly but I could show you again? Maybe?”
The sparkle was back in the little girl’s eyes as she jumped up and down with an eager “Yes, yes, yes!”.
Tina smiled at her kid and got back to her feet. As a test she stretched out her wings to maximum width. It felt great being able to extend them like this again.
“Wooooow! They are beautiful, Eomma!” Empanada exhaled at her first real view of the black batlike wings spanning on the demon’s back in front of the night sky.
With one big swing, Tina lifted off the ground again, hovering a few feet off the ground for a moment before she continued. She flew up higher and higher in a spiral motion just to fly a few circles around the house after. She had almost forgotten how good it felt to defy gravity like this and how much she actually loved flying. She has always hated her demon side but flying was the only thing that she had always enjoyed ever since she was turned. It felt like freedom.
It didn’t last very long before her wings got too tired and Tina wanted to get back down to her jumping and clapping daughter.
“That was incredible!” Empanada called out as soon as her mom had landed.
Tina saw a flickering from the corner of her eyes as she hugged her baby again but didn’t pay it any mind. “That was actually a lot of fun.” She laughed.
“So why have you not flown before?” Empanada was curious.
And as if on command, Tina saw a flame appearing a little off to the side of the house. A constant flame burning the ground, not growing or spreading, not burning out. Hellfire. And there were more. Some were already there and Tina just didn’t notice earlier and still more were appearing around them. A cold shiver was running down her spine.
He found her.
Tina could feel her heartbeat racing, frantically looking around for any danger. For him. But all she could see was the hellfire. A warning, a message.
“Eomma? Is everything ok?” Empanada sounded worried after Tina stopped responding and looked scared.
“Oh, uh, yes of course! Everything is fine! Nothing to worry about, right?” It was as if the last sentence wasn't quite directed at her daughter and there was an angrier tone to it.
Tina had been hiding from him for so long and of course he had to find her now. Right when everything started to be good. She had her daughter and Bagi, people she loved, people she wouldn't be able to protect from him. Tina was scared.
But maybe, just maybe, she was wrong. Maybe it wasn’t him. Maybe it was just a coincidence. Maybe it was her own demon magic going haywire after using it for the first time in ages?
Another fire appeared right in front of her and Empanada and made the little girl scream in surprise as she jumped away. Tina could hear his laughter in her head and hot anger flooded her senses.
“Eomma, what’s going on?” There was clear fear in her daughter's shaky voice.
“Nothing you have to worry about, sweety. It’s all gonna be fine.” Tina tried to reassure her. Maybe she was also trying to convince herself.
Oh, did you really think you could hide from me forever?, the mocking voice was back in her head and there was no doubt anymore to who it belonged to.
And yes. She thought, hoped, she could hide forever after she managed to escape. It worked for a while, he couldn’t find her for so long. There wasn’t just one reason why she was hiding her demon side. Yes, she hated what she had become more than anything but it had also been for protection. As long as she didn’t use her demon powers, she was safe from him. He may own her soul but could only locate her through her demon side.
It had been the perfect cover until today. But she had to use her wings. She had to save her Empy from the monsters. The only question was if she brought an even bigger danger to her daughter by saving her.
“What do you want?” Tina shouted into the night with a dark rasp in her voice that made Empanada shiver. “Just fuck off and leave me alone!”
“Eomma?”
But the voice in her head just laughed again. You know exactly what I want. And you know I will come to collect what's mine. And if you don’t come willingly… well, let’s say I will have to find ways to motivate you. See you soon, Tina! The smugness of the voice disappeared with the presence she felt in her mind.
“No! Please! I’m sorry!” Tina started to beg but it was too late. He was gone and the fires burned out as if nothing ever happened.
“Eomma?” The little girl asked carefully. “Who are you talking to? Why was there fire? What is happening?”
Tina turned back to her baby, her face softening and trying to hide the fear. It didn’t quite work.
“Oh, Empy, don’t, don’t worry. There was just someone I used to know who is not very happy with me. But… but it's fine! It’s gonna be ok! I will fix this. You don’t have to worry about anything! I won’t let anyone hurt you.” Tina put on a forced smile that didn’t quite look believable.
“Eomma, I’m scared. Are you gonna be ok?” Empanada looked at her with big teary eyes.
“Oh, my baby!” Tina gave her a big hug, holding her daughter as if that would stop any evil from reaching them. “I will be fine. Everything is gonna be ok. I will make sure of it. Let’s go inside and go to bed. It’s been a long day.”
The demon took her daughter's hand and led them into the house, Empanada’s little hand clinging to her mom. Maybe she would have to fire proof their home after today, it was made out of wood after all. But no matter what, she would do anything in her power to protect the people she loved from her past. Maybe she wasn’t strong enough to fight him right now but there had to be a way. Perhaps Mouse would know something. Tina could also talk to Bad. He was probably the oldest of them but Tina was not ready to ask him. They had a complicated relationship and she didn’t like asking him for help. She would figure this out herself.
And then she remembered someone else.
“Uhm, and Empy? Maybe we could agree to not tell your mom Bagi. You know, I don’t want to worry her unnecessarily and… well, you know she doesn’t know about the demon stuff, yet…” Tina let the sentence trail off.
“I wont tell her if you don’t want me to. But maybe you should talk to her. Maybe she can help?” The little girl still looked worried.
But I don’t want her to get involved and maybe get hurt, Tina thought to herself. “I will talk to her and tell her about me. Soon.” Or maybe just wait a little longer, she added in her head.
Yes, Tina was worried that Bagi could get hurt if she got mixed up in all of this but that wasn’t the only reason she hadn’t told her about her being a demon. Her other reasons were much more selfish than that. Tina was terrified that Bagi would hate her, be scared of her and disgusted by what she had done, that she would never speak to her again. Tina hated herself so much that she couldn’t imagine anyone else seeing her in a different light if they knew everything. And Bagi was perfect. Tina’s perfect angel. She couldn’t bear losing her. But she also knew that Bagi deserved to know the truth. Tina just had to find the courage to tell her.
******
The next few days hellfire kept appearing around Tina sporadically. Not nearly as prominent as the first day but a constant reminder that she was running out of time and still had no idea what to do. So she decided to go visit Mouse.
Mouse was another one of Empanada’s moms and a proud and powerful demon. When Tina showed up at her house - they lived close together with all the moms - Empanada was already hanging out there playing with some toys while Mouse was reorganizing some furniture.
“Hey Mouse! Hi Empy!”
“Oh! Hi Tina! What a surprise! It’s so nice to see you!” Mouse instantly came over to give her friend a warm hug and the little girl ran at them to also get a hug.
“Yeah! It’s nice to see you too, Mouse! And you of course, honey!”
They engaged in some small talk for a while, catching up, before Tina got more and more restless and Mouse noticed.
“Hey, Empanada, what do you say, you go play for a little and we will be right with you. I wanted to talk to Tina about some boring adult stuff for a bit. Is that ok?”
Empanada looked between her moms for a moment, suspicion written all over her face, but she nodded and went back to her toys.
“So what’s up Tina? Why are you really here?” Mouse squinted at the other demon trying to figure out what was going on.
“Can’t I just want to visit you?” Tina tried awkwardly to evade but failed miserably.
“Of course you can! But today that's not the only reason you are here. I can see how anxious you are. What’s going on?”
Tina sighed. “Ok, yeah, I’m here to ask you for some help.” She paused for a moment before she continued. “I don’t know if Empanada has told you but the other day a phantom was trying to snatch her away and I flew after it to save her.”
Mouse noded. “She told me that you guys got into a situation but not exactly what happened.”
“Well,” Tina continued, “I have also told you how I’ve been hiding from this demon who owns my soul, right?”
Another nod from Mouse, this time slower and worry clouding her face.
“Yeah, so because I used my demon powers he has now found me and knows where I am. He wants to get me back and I don’t know what to do, Mouse!” Tina’s voice was shaking a little.
“Oh shit, this really is worse than I thought, huh.” Mouse started.
“I know this is bad! But I had no other choice! I couldn’t just let our little girl be taken away! And now everywhere I go hellfire appears as if to remind me where I belong.” Tina sounded desperate now and she hated it.
“No, no I totally get it! You saved Empanada! You absolutely did the right thing! And no,” Mouse looked disgusted, “working for that guy is not where you belong. It’s just… this situation is very tricky.”
“I know, believe me.” Tina sighed. “I’ve been trying to figure out what to do for the past days and I just can’t find a solution. I know I can’t fight him. He’s too powerful. But there has to be something!”
Mouse pauses to think for a moment. “I wish I had a solution for you, Tina. There are always loopholes but I don’t know about this one. You did make a deal with him after all and he does own your soul. You can’t hide anymore like you did before. You could try to run and leave everything behind but he would still find the people you love here and you would leave them without someone to protect them. He would definitely use them to force you back. I think your only real options are going back with him… or fighting him.” Mouse looks apologetic at Tina with this unsatisfying answer.
“But Mouse, you don’t understand! I can't go back with him. I just can’t. The things I had to do… and I have a life here! A family! I can’t just give that up…” Tina is close to tears now.
Mouse puts a hand on the other girl's shoulder. “And that’s why you have to stay and fight.”
“But how am I supposed to do that? He is so much older and more powerful than me. He is immortal!”
Mouse smirked. “You are also immortal, Tina. And there are always loopholes. You are also powerful and you just have to outsmart him. You are more powerful than you think, Tina, I believe that you will find a way. I wish I could help you fight him myself because he's a piece of shit but with the whole royalty stuff I can’t really get involved.”
“I know. I get it. Thank you, Mouse. I will find a way. I have to.” New determination flooded Tina looking over to the little girl on the other side of the room. For her.
“You know,” Mouse started. “You could always ask…”
“No!” Tina interrupted her. “I won't go to Bad for help!”