Author's Note/: Second chapter of Morality! With hopefully less mistakes!

Here's another list of who plays who, in case anyone cares:

Liz: Angel!Arthur, random angel that attacks Devil!Alfred, Angel!Italy, and random devil that buys the Italies.

Me: Devil!Alfred, unnamed seraph, and Angel!Romano.

Yes, there is a creature in mythology called President Malphas. I did at least that much research. Burrhur~

The seraph\ was waiting for him almost impatiently, not in her office as usual but waiting right outside the drop zone. She looked him over, narrowing her eyes. "You reek of half-breed," she said quietly, crossing her arms. "You reek of sweat. Worst of all, you reek of Hell. Does this mean you've found the entrance?" Her eyes lit up. While Heaven was relatively easy to find- provided you could see that spectrum of the world or something (she herself didn't quite understand it) and could fly up that high- Hell was a tad harder, due to its chaotic nature. "But first, have you got any new information?

Arthur was surprised to see his boss waiting for him at the drop zone, let alone, see her anywhere. "O-oh, um, yes, I have," he answered to his boss; the immense amount of blush still pasted across his face. He folded his wings neatly to his back and let out a shaky breath through his nose. What if his boss found out what he and Alfred had been doing? She would surely lose her mind. Arthur shook his head, getting rid of his facial expression that might give it away.

She nodded, turning around and opening the gates. "Come along, then. If you provide satisfactory information, I may give you an outstanding score." Even though he really did smell off to her... Well, she didn't bother to think that much of it. If the Heavenly Father was angry about it, then there would be obvious consequences. She wasn't in charge when it came to that.

Arthur nodded, following the seraph into the castle. He fidgeted nervously, feeling the effect of a slight pain in his bottom. Alfred did say it would be sore, didn't he? Arthur grimaced, finding it hard to walk now because of that. Damn it. "Where are we going?" he decided to ask, possibly knowing the answer.

"We're going to my main office," she said smoothly, opening a door and walking inside, sitting down on a delicately-carved chair. She pulled out a report, writing down what she already knew. "All of this information will be beneficial to selecting the angel to destroy this devil. They are not supposed to kill, just to harm and escort tainted souls to their prisons."

Arthur nodded, tagging along his boss as he entered the room. "I-I understand," he whispered, standing a few inches away from her desk. He then thought about what she said. Sending another angel to hurt Alfred? Arthur frowned at that. He didn't want that to happen! "U-um... can't you do something else ... to him?"

She nodded. "We could alert the other devils, and they would take it into their own hands- which may be worse." She sighed, stretching her wings. "'Red shoes,' I believe they call them... Would you like a description?" To tell the truth, she had no idea how the creatures in Hell conducted things, or if they'd even look down upon killing things... Then again, she was almost certain everyone looked down on half-breeds, particularly of the human variety.

"Yes ma'am, I would," Arthur responded, fidgeting nervously. Why was he so antsy? And why did his arse hurt so much? Wait, he already went over that. What he wanted to do now was sit down, although that would probably cause him to be more uncomfortable. Sighing, Arthur tried not to show his distress by leaning back slightly on the wall, still making eye contact with his boss.

"They force the one being punished to wear iron shoes and cut off their wings so they can't fly away, shoving them into a sort of furnace, where they dance until they drop down, dead. They refer to it as the 'red shoes' because that's the colour the heated-up iron turns." That punishment, at least, she knew for a fact was real. She watched him fidget with a raised eyebrow. "Something wrong?" She glanced over him. "What's that on your leg?"

Arthur cringed at the description. "That's horrible ..." he said, trailing off at what his boss said next. "I-I'm fine, it's nothing," He paused, looking down at his leg. Oh shit. "Ah, I-I-I don't know what that is!" he exclaimed, obviously lying. Again. He his his ankle behind his other leg and blushed deeply, forcing out a nervous laugh. "I-I swear ..."

She narrowed her eyes again, giving up for the time being. "Just start describing him, Arthur," she muttered, feeling like she needed to stab something. Which, of course, wasn't very angelic but Arthur suckedat being an angel so she didn't particularly care. "Did you get the name? The appearance? We need to know so we can destroy him before he decides that fairies aren't as satisfying to kill."

Arthur inwardly let out a sigh of relief. Thank God she didn't question him further. He would've died if that happened. Literally and figuratively. "I-I did get his name," he said, still blushing. "It's um, Alfred F. Jones, ma'am. Jet black hair, wears a black bomber jacket and glasses." His heart was beating furiously in his chest; the pain in his bottom still causing him to squirm. He needed to sit down sometime soon.

She wrote it all down, quickly turning to a small dial, seeming to spin it randomly. "Alfred F. Jones," she repeated. Immediately, the desk glowed blue, and a small pamphlet emerged from it. She opened it, scanning the information. "Let's see... Just a complete mutt. He's got some succubus blood in him, too, though that isn't too unusual among devils, try as they might hide it- which means that it's a good thing I gave you warning not to sleep with him. Slow-acting aphrodisiac in the semen. Just how slow it is depends on how much succubus is in him, which isn't much, so... A few hours." She rattled off more information, such as his age, his exact height, etc.

"I-I didn't sleep with him!" Arthur exclaimed defensively, blush deepening on his cheeks. "I ... I followed what you said. Didn't sleep with him, nuh-uh, no ma'am." … Yeah, he should shut up now. Don't want to make her any more suspicious. Tossing those thoughts aside, Arthur took in what his boss said- other than sleeping with the devil. The aphrodisiac Alfred had told him about earlier... what was that going to do to him?

She stared at him, jaw dropped. "Because if you did," she said slowly, "well... You know what an aphrodisiac is, don't you?" She turned to another page in the pamphlet, finger hovering above a title in rather messy handwriting, making it indecipherable upside-down. "If you don't... Consider the nature of a succubus. Her job- or, occasionally, his- is to seduce a creature and drain away their energy during sex. Now, what would help a succubus in her job..? Or an incubus, for that matter, except you'd be pregnant instead of dead."

Arthur swallowed. "P-pregnant?" he repeated, eyebrows creasing nervously. Oh, what he would give to sit down for a while. Subconsciously, he put his hand on his stomach. But quickly, he pulled it away, reverting back to reality and looking back up at his boss. "What would happen then...?" Arthur asked, wanting to get more information on this 'aphrodisiac'.

She snorted. "He's not an incubus, I don't think- and anyways, I'm not sure if male angels canget pregnant..." After all, they didn't exactly reproduce like normal creatures- they just came into being as per her boss' will. No, intercourse wasn't for angels, normally. "What would happen then? Well, if the succubus drains away all of your energy, you're nothing but an empty, shriveled husk. With the aphrodisiac, it leaves you more susceptible to being seduced- as in, you'll actively want it. Do you understand?" She didn't really want to explain too much more; while female angels were plenty stoic when it counted, the conversation was embarrassing her. "We'll post plenty of recruit fairies, more than he can kill, then we'll send a competent angel to destroy him."

Arthur gave a slight nod, partly understanding what his boss had said. So did that mean... he was going to crave more of 'it'? Well, it did feel kind of good- no no, he scolded himself, shaking his head. Off this topic! Arthur continued to lean his weight onto the wall and crossed his legs. "Y-yes, ma'am," He still wasn't comfortable with the whole 'destroying' idea, but he had to go along with it.

"Go rouse up the fairies, then. You're good with them. I'll see if I can't gather up a group of angels." She paused, thinking. "Hold on. It just occurred to me. You do know what a glamour is, don't you? She raised an eyebrow quizzically, unable to tear her eyes away from the weird white splotches on his legs. What were those..? "Feel free to sit down, as well.

He blinked. "... What's that?" Arthur vaguely recalled his boss talking about that, but he wasn't entirely sure what it was. But upon hearing 'seat', he eagerly pulled up a chair and sat down, almost letting out an audible sigh of relief, but he stopped himself. But he couldn't sit for long; he needed to gather up the fairies, who seemed to be very fond of him for some reason... "Um... what is glamor?" he asked again, hoping to get an answer.

She pinched the skin on the bridge of her nose, gritting her teeth. "A glamour," she said tightly, "is a disguise, magical in nature. For instance..." She ran her hand over her hair; where her hand passed, it changed colour, until her hair was a bright pink. It stayed like that for a moment before seeming to flake off, returning to its natural colour quickly enough. "I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. Let me believe that you were sick that day." Very, very sick.

"Oh!" Arthur put his finger in the air. "I know what that is!" He used it when he went to scout Alfred for the second time, didn't he? "What am I going to use it for this time...?" Arthur shifted his legs, feeling the presence of his boss looking at them. Was there something on them? He didn't bother to look. All he bothered about was that his arse still hurt, even with him sitting down. "Hnn..."

"Now, remember, the wings are supposed to be invisible, as well- so you can stretch them out." She debated silently to herself, then shook her head. "What is that on your legs? It's white and looks disgusting." Seemed strangely familiar- it reminded her of when she'd had to retrieve captured angels who had been thrown i with the succubi or in... cu... bi... "Don't lie. You did sleep with him, didn't you?"

Arthur's heartbeat quickened. "Uh... um! No! ... Well..." His legs trembled. He had to tell the truth now. Blushing, he lifted his head to make eye contact with the seraph. "I... I did. But I'm sorry! I'm really sorry!" Arthur brought his hands up to his mouth and covered it, feeling a rush of tears in his eyes. "Really..."

She groaned, slamming her head into the desk. "It's not the sex I'm upset about- though, judging from the lack of blood, he didn't force you," she muttered. "It's the fact that, not only did you not lie about it, but there's none of his blood on you, either." No blackish stuff, just... white. "Meaning you didn't at least attempt to injure him." He'd been in a prime position! He wasn't bleeding, which meant that multiple creatures hadn't been watching, either! PRIME POSITION!

"U-um..." Arthur rubbed his eyes, surprised his boss wasn't upset about him... 'doing it' with the devil. "You're not mad at me...?" He inwardly sighed in relief, listening to what she said next. Injure Alfred? Why would he ever do that to him? Besides, he probably couldn't even hurt anyone, even if he tried to. Just wasn't in his nature. No wonder he was such a weakling when it came to fighting. "I-I should go gather the fairies right now..."

"No, I am mad," she contradicted. "I'm attributing your willingness to the fact that he is, I believe, at least a quarter succubus or incubus or whatever the hell his grandparent was there." She began laughing- a hysterical laughter. God, Arthur was driving her absolutely batty. "Go get the fucking fairies..."

Arthur nodded solemnly, shakily standing up onto his feet. "I-I will..." he replied softly, carefully making his way towards the door and grasped the doorknob. "M-ma'am, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to..." He quickly, but slowly made his way out, hoping he could just forget about what just happened. Maybe he'll feel better once he rallies up the recruit fairies...

The fairies flocked to him immediately, as if sensing the fact that they were required. They gravitated towards the weaker, less threatening angels, it seemed. One began cleaning him up, not even batting an eye at his slightly disheveled state, while another fixed up his hair.

Arthur grinned slightly as he felt the fairies on him. He was right; the fairies always cheer him up. "Ah, t-thank you," he praised, smiling at each one of them. "I'm going to need a few of you... maybe about five or six." He gestured with his hands, signaling for more fairies to come.

They drew back, leaving about seven there for good measure. They beamed at him, the rest flying off while the remainder watched him expectantly. One drifted closer to his face, twittering in her native tongue before switching to a more understandable language abruptly. "Well? What do you need us for?" She smoothed out the cloth on her stomach, tiny hands resting on her hips.

"Um..." Arthur started, feeling another blush creep up upon his cheeks. "There's this... 'devil'. He's been causing trouble, and well-" He paused before he went any farther. Didn't want to give them too much information, considering the fact that he and Alfred- God, will he ever stop bringing this up? "Anyways... my boss just sent me here to recruit a few of you. Hope you all don't mind..."

The fairy nodded. "We know about the devil. He slaughtered our sister." They all shuddered in unison. "We all felt it." She touched his cheek, frowning at the redness. "What do you wish for us to do, is what I'm asking? We are all willing to help you." The rest bobbed in the air, nodding vigorously.

"Of course!" they squeaked. "We'll help any way that we can!"

Arthur looked down at the floor, only blushing harder. "I want you to follow the devil. Make sure not to get caught and my boss is sending another, um, stronger angel to eliminate him..." Again, he didn't want that to happen at all, since he still 'liked' him a lot.

She nodded, turning and chirping orders to the rest of the fairies, who scattered promptly in different directions. "Is that all?" she asked curiously, glancing at him.

Arthur nodded. "Yes. That's all," He managed to smile slightly. "Thank you." Reaching his hand up, he stuck his finger out and patted the fairy's small head lightly. "Now hurry; the angel's probably already expecting all of you."

She giggled, hand reaching up to rub his finger before she flitted off, dragonfly wings beating as fast as they could. "I won't let you down!" she cried, her tiny voice disappearing quickly as the distance between them grew.

Arthur nodded to himself, watching as the fairy faded off into the distance. He put his arms up to his chest and clasped them, praying that nothing would happen to Alfred. Nothing. Although, he couldn't count on it. "Please be okay..."

Alfred cursed, disguised as a human as he was. He could have sworn that he saw a glow... Several glows. Thing was, despite it being midnight, he was in one of the busier parts of his favourite city, meaning that mortals were around. He picked up his leisurely walk, forcing himself to jog; his unseen tail curled up almost nervously. Were they following him? Maybe he was just paranoid because he'd fucked an angel. Wasn't that like a big offense or something?

He quickly descended down from the sky, swerving his body around each cloud he came upon until they were out of the way. He was one of the higher graded angels sent by the boss; much, much stronger than the other angel that had been scouting the devil before. Upon seeing the ground, the larger angel stretched his legs out and touched the ground softly, sending the few fairies that lingered around him out to observe with the rest. Now to find that devil... He made sure to keep himself hidden from the mortals, hoping they wouldn't spot him as he searched around.

Shivering, Alfred pulled his bomber jacket closer to him. He needed to get back to Hell, he decided, then and now. Ducking into a secluded alleyway and chasing the bums out successfully, he allowed his glamour to fade, spreading his wings wide and taking off as best as he could without being seen. He chose to keep to the unlit, taller buildings, not noticing the fairy that tugged on the angel's arm, pointing to a rising speck in the sky.

The angel looked up, nodding to the fairy and spreading his wings out, rushing into the air silently. He averted his eyes until he spotted his target again, speeding up to meet the devil's pace. He was going to get him; and not fool around like that weak angel, Arthur had been doing. No, he was going to destroy him.

Alfred was spiraling around a building, looking for a good place to open up a portal to Hell, when he saw it. An angel. A different angel from Arthur. It wasn't just an angel out and about on a lark, either, that much he could tell. No, the angel was going straight for him, like it knew just how much he'd really done. "Shit!" With that, he abandoned his search of the building- couldn't let a competent holy being into Hell, after all- instead rising higher into the air in a desperate bid to escape.

The angel smirked, knowing the other had spotted him, and pressed his wings tight to his back; increasing his speed like a bullet being shot through the air. He spread his wings back out, continuing the process until he was just in arms reach of the devil. He stretched his arm out, just grazing the hood of his jacket before he fully got a firm hold of it. "Stop right there!"

"Bad move, bud," Alfred said darkly, or rather, said as darkly as he could after being yanked suddenly back. He twisted about, wings windmilling about carefully until he was pressed against the angel, smirking. He absolutely sucked when it came to long-distance fights, but close-quarters..? He nipped the angel's nose, smirking wide enough to bear his fangs before he went for the neck, attempting to bite down and knee him in the stomach.

The angel immediately pushed back, covering his nose as he quickly dodged the devil's next attack. Shit, he's strong, he thought inwardly, using his free hand to keep the devil off him. He brought his legs up, attempting to try and kick at him, all while he tried to get his wand out.

Alfred reached out, grabbing the angel's wrists as best as he could with one hand before eyeing his wings. His shin smarted from an errant foot to the leg, but he ignored it, grinning at the angel. "Ya pro'lly know my name already," he purred, winking. "See, now, when ya got a badass name like mine... Well, there's pro'lly a very good reason why I'm Alfred. Fucking. Jones." With that, he pressed closer, hand snaking back to grab a fistful of feathers and yanking. It was always good to get close to an angel at one point in your life, the devil decided.

"A-AAH!" the angel screamed, vigorously struggling in the devil's grasp as his feathers were pulled. "Stop that right now!" He writhed painfully, still wondering how he was going do defeat this damned devil when he was caught like this. How could he let himself do this? He was supposed to be stronger than Arthur! Growling, the angel desperately flailed, shaking off his wings an pushing back with all his might; in hopes it would work...

Snorting, Alfred reeled back when his chin was clipped with a wing, spitting blood. He'd bitten his tongue. Go figure. He would have loved to keep scuffling, maybe have some more fun, but it occurred to him that he hadn't gotten any sleep in at least twenty-four hours. He yawned, shaking his head. "Well, this has been soo lovely," he called, purposely emphasizing his words, "but I'm beat. See ya!" With that, he flew off, tail waving a good-bye.

"Where do you think you're going?" the angel said daringly, wondering why the devil had just given up on fighting him. He was still up for a fight, but why? Taking out his wand, he dashed towards the other, tugging hard on his jacket. "I'm not done with you."

"I think I'm going home," Alfred choked out, swatting at the angel and eyeing the wand carefully. "While you might not be done, I've had my fill of angels for the day." He chuckled at the joke, rolling his eyes and shrugging. "But iffa you want to, ah, keep tusslin'..." With that, he launched himself at the angel, clamping down on his forearm with his teeth and digging in. Alfred, personally, wasn't all too fond of the taste of blood in large amounts, but oh, well.

Almost immediately, the angel let out a blood-curdling scream, watching as the devil sunk his teeth into his arm. He was unable to pull away, not matter how hard he struggled. "L-l-let go-!" he sputtered out, not knowing how much longer he could sustain himself in the air. He was getting weaker...

In lieu of a reply, Alfred reached for the angel's wand, beckoning with his eyes. "Not 'til ya leave me alone," he mumbled through a whole mouthful of arm, his hand starting to glow a light blue. God, he was tired... Then, abruptly, he let go, eyes wide and focused on something behind the angel. Watching the scene was the seraph, a long, silvery sword in hand.

"Honestly, if you want things done right, you do it yourself," she sighed. "I was watching you two, you know."

The angel's eyes widened, still gushing blood from his arm. He was in too much pain to speak; just gasping and whimpering as he tried to stop the bleeding. Quickly, he scrambled to the nearest roof of a building and perched, holding his arm and watching with blurry eyes at the scene that was going on.

The seraph snorted. "Stop crying! You can heal yourself, can't you? You have magic! And you call yourself 'top of the line'!" She rolled her eyes, dive-bombing after Alfred, who was trying to make a speedy escape. Her sword glistened in the moonlight; with a light sweep, she cut his tail off, flying after the falling appendage and catching it nimbly. In that moment of distraction, however, Alfred made his escape, opening a portal and closing it as quick as he could, howling.

How dare she! He wasn't crying, just getting light-headed from the blood loss, is all. Then he remembered he could use magic. Why didn't he think of that before? Taking out his wand, the angel shakily twirled it once, sending a wave of bright light to his wound. Sighing, he rubbed his arm, getting up and flying over to the seraph. "What did you get?"

She held up her prize. The dark, glossy tail writhed still, blood dripping languidly out of the severed end, the triangle-tipped end trying to cut at something. "I don't know if the damage will be permanent, but it's certainly a decent trophy." She paused to sheathe her sword. "It may be easier if we complain to them ourselves. Neither side can afford a war; they'll be sure to do anything to appease us. Not to mention they look down on half-breeds just as much as we do, let alone mutts. For the moment, though, let's declare him dead." She flew up, heading for Heaven.

He nodded, following behind her. "Agreed."

The seraph, having cleaned herself off, placed the tail on her desk, waiting. It still twitched slowly, like it was loathe to release its grip to living, though it definitely was going bad; it was frigid to the touch, and instead of blood, it had begun oozing a brackish grey slime. She wrinkled her nose. Arthur had better arrive there soon, before she changed her mind about lying.

Arthur ambled breathlessly to his boss's office, opening the door and shouting, "I'm late, sorry! I tried to get here in time..." He took a seat in front of the seraph's desk, awaiting the news she had to give. Then he noticed something on her desk. "...W-what is that?" he asked, lifting his head up to see what it was.

She smiled coldly, tilting her head to the side as the tail gave a sudden spasm. "I thought you might like proof that that devil has been destroyed," she said sweetly. Which was, of course, a lie, as had been stated multiple times, but it shouldn't be too hard to track down a tailless devil, right? "This is the only piece we could salvage. You can have it, if you want."

Arthur's eyes widened. "He's... destroyed?" Of course, he didn't know that she was lying; he's always been too oblivious to notice when someone's lying or not. "W-what happened? How did you..." He refused to cry. But he wiped his eyes just to make sure. Arthur stood up and reached over to pick up the severed tail, still slightly twitching. "...Why?"

She nodded a confirmation. "You can even ask the angel who helped wear him down. Trust me, it's a good thing he's dead." She wiped off the grey grime, grimacing at how it clung stickily to her fingers. It burned slightly... Shaking it off as best as she could, she shrugged. "Devils are not supposed to be murderers. The rape only solidified our decision. He also wouldn't have lived very long, anyways. His blood was too diluted with other species."

"W-who killed him...?" Arthur asked, ignoring the slight burning sensation in his hand. Instead, he just gripped the tail tighter. It could've been that angel his boss was talking about earlier. He sighed, resisting the urge to cry again. If his boss said Alfred was dead, he was dead. Arthur slacked his arms to the side, creasing his thick eyebrows as he rubbed his eyes. "Why did you have to kill him?"

She sighed. "The angel we sent after him and I destroyed him, of course. And I just told you why we had to." In all honestly, though, she supposed, they didn't need to... But what was one devil, more or less? She waved a hand, clearly dismissing him before a thought occurred to her. She was sick of weak angels lowering her reputation- it was assumed she wasn't doing a good job of drilling them. She felt awful about it, but why not get rid of one..? "On the off chance that he managed to survive, however..." she said slowly, "would you be willing to scout and land the finishing blow?" A knot twisted in her stomach.

Arthur perked up upon hearing the seraph's last words. "H-huh...? Finishing blow?" Did that mean ... Oh no. "M-ma'am, I can't! I just..." He held the tail firmly, blushing deeply. It would give him a chance to see Alfred one last time. Sniffling, Arthur shook his head. "I'm sorry, I-I'll do it..." Personally, he couldn't. He knew he couldn't. After all, he definitely wasn't one of the toughest angels out there. But he was to at least try his best.

"You can, you will, and you must," she said softly as the tail squirmed, as if it was being held too tightly. Slowly, it tried to inch away from Arthur's grip, as if it had a purpose. It plopped to the ground, proving therefore that it did not have a purpose as it just writhed there, movements growing weaker.

Arthur nodded, watching as the severed tail wriggled out of his hands. He didn't bother to pick it up again; it felt a little weird when he held it. "Um... I'll go now," he said, still obviously upset about all this. "And I'll try my best, ma'am." With that said, Arthur quickly turned around made his way out the door, immediately heading through the gates. A few recruit fairies followed him curiously as he spread out his wings again, falling down head-first down to Earth.

Alfred arched his back, hissing as the air stung the stub where his tail used to be. He hobbled about as best as he could, trying not to look strange as he peered about. The tail should have dropped around there- not that he couldn't just regrow it with some magic, but it was a lot easier if he actually had it with him as opposed to generating entirely new flesh. Not to mention it left him less prone. He sighed, leaning against a wall as best as he could, gritting his teeth.

Arthur pressed his wings against his back as he touched the ground, ace deeply flushed. He'd let a few tears slip out on the way down, doubting himself over and over again that he couldn't do this. The two fairies that followed him had rested themselves softly on each side of his shoulders, trying their best to cheer him up. But to no avail. Arthur tightly gripped his wand in his hands, taking small steps around each building and looking through every alley, just hoping he could find Alfred ...

With an angry screech, Alfred punched the wall, stamping on the ground. "Not fair! I don't wanna grow myself a new tail!" He'd have to find those two and make them pay. Forcing himself to calm down, he shook his hand, heading out to find an opportune spot to transport himself. Maybe his mother would be able to help. Next angel he saw, he was going to tear to shreds.

Startled by a sudden scream, Arthur stopped in his tracks. That sounded like... "Alfred," he whispered. So he was alive. Quickly, he started walking again, intent on finding the devil. But what was he going to do when he did? Surely, he wasn't going to throw himself at him, no, that'd be silly. Arthur frowned, contemplating on how he was going to make his approach once he finds Alfred. He peeked around the corner of a building, seeing if the devil was down there.

Alfred ran his hands along the building walls, trying to figure out the best place. He could always just forced a portal to go where he wanted to go, but that took too much energy- he needed it all for fixing his tail... God, he was just obsessed with his tail, wasn't he? It was a point of pride for him, after all. "Let's see... Would this do..? Or maybe... But who..?" he mumbled to himself, frowning.

There he was. Arthur pressed himself on the back of the wall, nervously taking in a few breaths. The two fairies that accompanied him twinkled prominently; their faint aura glowing brighter. Arthur had to cup his hands around their tiny bodies, trying to cover up the noticeable light they gave off. He poked his head around the corner again, hoping the devil hadn't seen anything that he might think was odd or peculiar.

Alfred froze, catching the glow out of the corner of his eyes. His fingernails scraped against the wall, his teeth gritting very obviously. He tilted his head, glaring daggers at Arthur, teeth bared. "What?" he growled, eye twitching. "If you're looking for another fuck, get lost. Ain't in the mood." He wanted to tear them apart so badly... Arthur and whatever that had been glowing.

Bloody hell. He noticed."Ah, I-I'm so sorry!" Arthur put his hands up in defense, refusing to get any closer. "I didn't come for that! N-no! I came because..." He trailed off, a deep blush starting to form on his cheeks. "I... came to..." 'Oh, for Christ's Sake, out with it!' he scolded inwardly, mentally slapping himself. "I-I thought you were dead," Arthur finally said, taking one step forward. "... Well, my boss said there was a chance you survived... so..." He kept his head down in embarrassment.

A shudder rippled through Alfred's body, eyes growing large and feral for a second. "A chance? There was no chance that I'd die in the first place until that second angel showed up! What did I do, huh?" He snorted, tearing at his hair. "Yeah, I kill a few things! So what? There's plenty! Thousands! Of course there was a chance for me to survive!" He took a step forwards, rubbing at his eyes before turning back to the wall, placing his palm against the stone and sinking into it, leaving behind the same glowing red runes from before.

So. His boss lied to him, apparently about Alfred being dead. Arthur jumped back as the devil yelled at him, watching his hand sink into the wall. "W-wait!" he exclaimed, reaching out his arm out. "Please don't go, Alfred-" Something cut him off. The sound faint, light wings in the distance caught his attention. He looked up, scanning the sky for some other being to come down. There he saw it; two specks descending quickly towards them. Arthur wasn't expecting anyone else to accompany him! What were those two doing coming after him?

Alfred hissed at the specks, shoving himself into the wall as quick as he could before they flew down. "Sorry, bro! Kinda got something t' take care of, y'know?" was the last thing he said before the stone completely engulfed him. Just in the nick of time, too; the darker, clearly angrier of the two angels landed gently on the ground, snarling.

"The fuck? You just let the idiota go?" the angel, Lovino Vargas, snarled, sneering at Arthur. He grit his teeth, adjusting his robes. "I was just about to bless a god damn dead person, too!"

Arthur swiveled his head to become face to face with the other angel. "I-I didn't do it on purpose! He just got away!" He looked at the wall Alfred had disappeared into, whimpering. Why did it have to be these two? Just why?

Behind Lovino, a lesser-looking- yet stronger than Arthur - angel poked his head out. "Ve, Fratello, calm down~" he said, going by the name of Feliciano Vargas. "At least we know he's alive~. Now we don't have to bless him!"

Lovino backhanded Feliciano as fast as he could. "Shut up! He still is dead! I'm not talking about this bastard, idiota! I'm talking about that one guy!" God, why couldn't he think of the proper terms? He stepped forwards, inspecting the rapidly fading runes. "We were sent because she knew you'd fuck up. She felt that if you had people watching, you wouldn't be such a pussy." He sniffed. Like theywere the right people. Cowards, the both of them, and he knew it, despite being a bit stronger than his younger brother. That was, when it came to lung power, at least.

Feliciano immediately let out a pained yelp as he was slapped, but said nothing more, except for a slight whine.

"...I knew it," Arthur deadpanned, smacking his hand on his face. "She can never trust me. Just because I'm weak doesn't mean I need backup all the time." He looked at the two brothers, swiping his hand off his face. "Why'd she send you two, though? I would've been better with someone else..."

Immediately, Lovino was inches away from Arthur's face, jabbing his finger into the weaker angel's chest. "Fuck you, that's why! Vaffanculo! We're your backup, she'll skin us otherwise, I want a motherfucking promotion so I'm not sent out on field missions, now get on with it!" So saying, he took a step forwards, forcing himself through the dying portal as best as he could and dragging the others along with him.

Arthur winced as the other angel poked his chest. "Christ, alright, fine..." he sighed, following after Feliciano through the portal. "This is so embarrassing." Again, why did he have to be stuck with these two for God knows how long? He simply sighed, looking absolutely miserable once he stepped inside the portal.

They were obviously deeper inside of Hell than Arthur had been prior; the reddish stone glowed a bright red, and there was a general spike in temperature that lead to it being almost unbearable. At least, to the grumpy Italian angel. "God damn, someone fix their air conditioning!" Lovino griped, taking a few tentative steps forward. There were two tunnels, both of which seemed to go in the same general area. "Split up or stick together?"

Arthur wiped his forehead from beading sweat, following behind Lovino with a sigh. "We're in Hell, of course it's going to be bloody hot," he remarked, waiting for the other to snap back at him. But he spoke again before he could. "Splitting up; I don't want to be seen with you two..."

"Ve, I want to stay with Lovi~!" Feliciano piped up, ignoring Arthur and bouncing behind his brother. His long curl that protruded from the side of his head waved happily, forming the shape of a heart.

"What's wrong with us, huh?" Lovino bristled, feathers seeming to fluff out in anger before he turned around, crossing his arms. "Fine. Whatever. I don't want to be with a fucking weakling, anyways. You'd slow us down." With that, he struck off in the left-most tunnel, purposely choosing the one with the least sounds coming from it. The fewer creatures they encountered, he reasoned, pulling out his wand- which immediately grew to form a staff, not unlike that of a priest's- and continuing to walk forwards. Indeed, from the tunnel on the right, there was the sound of pained hissing and fighting.

Arthur watched as the two Italian angels made their way down the left tunnel. Nervously, he peeked down the right tunnel, wincing when he heard all the menacing noises echoing off the walls. "Uh..." He glanced back down where the two other angels went. Without another word, Arthur sprinted down the tunnel as fast as he could, catching up to the others. He wasn't scared... just a bit insecure is all.

Hearing the footsteps, Lovino spun on his heel, brandishing the staff like a weapon. Which, well, it was. "No! YOU said we're splitting up!" he spat, glaring at Arthur. This was ridiculous! It was agreed that neither wanted to be together! He stalked forwards, grabbing Arthur's shoulder with one hand and spinning him around, giving him a push towards the entrance of the tunnel. "Go to your own!"

Arthur cried out as he was forcefully pushed, skidding his wooden sandals across the rigid floor. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" He finally got his balance and turned around, shaking Lovino's arms off him. "Please, I don't want to go alone!" he begged, looking both ways. "I-I've never been this far before..."

He snarled in frustration, jabbing the decorated end of his staff against the weaker angel's chest. "Neither have we. Look. The worst they can do is fucking torture you, got it?" Ignoring the fact they were chasing something down that had no qualms with killing things... "Now go!" The sounds were getting louder; they were definitely pained, and occasionally muffled, like someone was trying to shut the thing making the noise up.

Shuddering, Feliciano cowered behind his brother. "F-Fratello, what's that noise?" he whimpered, looking back nervously down the tunnel. "Scary!"

Arthur winced as the staff was poked at his chest. "A-alright, fine... I'm going," He turned around and quickly ran out the tunnel, closing his eyes as he made his way into the other opening. He wondered what those noises back there were. Sounded like someone was in pain...

"No idea," Lovino growled, turning back. He had no wish to be near those noises, though personally he didn't care what happened to Feliciano much. It would be sad if his younger brother died, of course, but it just meant that he'd have to deal with one less annoying person in his life. He began walking down the silent tunnel, only feeling the slightest bit bad about the fact he may have been shoving someone incompetent into danger.

Halfway along the tunnel Arthur was down, there was a greyish pool of slime that concentrated in one spot, then, from there, dripped down along a path. There, the walls glowed brighter, illuminating the way nicely, as well as showing that just because the slime had dried, didn't mean it was necessarily old. However, it still didn't show who had been down along there; the walls had various twists and turns, the smears growing smaller as they went along.

Whimpering, Arthur ventured on down the humid cave, temporarily stopping to wipe off the sweat on his face. Then he noticed the walls started to light up in front of him, showing him and accessible way down. He cocked his head once, but pressed on anyways. The noises had become more and more audible as he went farther down the tunnel. Arthur shuddered, creasing his thick eyebrows nervously; he wondered what could be on the other side once he got there. He hoped it wasn't Alfred...

It sure as hell wasn't Arthur's lucky day, though he did get his wish in that it wasn't Alfred making those noises. No, it was the other creatures in the room that lay just outside of the tunnel, writhing and snapping, their only encumbrance being shoddily-built cages and cherry-red manacles that burnt their skin. There were some cages that contained more than one creature; in those cages, there was more metal to overheat, so it came as no surprise to the person lying in the center of the room when one just succumbed to its wounds. It was there that the heat was greatest, small wisps of steam floating about the room. Specks of greyish blood trailed up to the figure, clearly asleep- Alfred, practically in the fetal position, using his hands as pillows, a brand new, weak little tail waving about.

Arthur widened his eyes at the scene. He didn't dare to take one more step out of the tunnel; his legs were frozen with fear. Whimpering quietly, he noticed another being on the floor. Was he sleeping- Wait a minute... that was Alfred! Arthur reached out his arm. "Alfre-" But he quickly stopped himself, bringing his arm back and covering his mouth. He didn't want to risk getting caught. Instead, he pressed his back on cave wall, possibly singing a few of his feathers as he did so and peeked out cautiously. 'What was Alfred doing on the floor?' Arthur wondered, shifting his wings a bit.

The small sound of part of his name being called did the trick. Alfred stirred, opening his eyes and yawning before he sat up. "Damn, that healed quick," he mumbled softly, getting to his feet. He felt dizzy, and it sucked. Maybe some food would help settle his stomach- that was the bit that hurt the worst of all. The animals in their cages whined at him as he rested against some invisible barrier, clearly there to help stop the spreading of the head. He glanced about, unfocused eyes settling on Arthur. His shoulders actually heaved with dull irritation. "Dude, why're you still following me?"

Upon hearing the devil's voice, Arthur shrieked out loud, unable keep his balance and stumbled face-first on the ground. "U-unn... I'm sorry," he mumbled, lifting up his head. "I have to keep following you." What a stupid answer. He didn't know what else to say! Besides, he likes Alfred! He couldn't just stop following him forever and not see him again... could he? No, no, he couldn't. Boss would get upset. Sighing, Arthur rubbed his face and sat up, keeping his face covered. "I don't have anything else to do..."

Alfred sighed, making his woozy way over to Arthur. "You're going to get killed if ya keep wanderin' in here to see me," he said softly. "Well, maybe not killed, but certainly beaten half ta death. And yer one of the nicest angels I've met, so." It was clear he wasn't aware of what he was saying; he hadn't finished resting, hadn't even really started, from healing his tail. It twitched half-heartedly. He wanted his old tail back... With a sigh, he reached down, hoisting Arthur up and throwing him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, the devil stumbling a bit with the sudden weight. "C'mon, let's get ya t' my room, see what we can do..." With that, he began wandering out, still irritated, biting the corner of his mouth with his fangs hard enough to break the skin.

Arthur blushed at the devil's compliment, looking away. He's been told a million times he was nice- maybe a little too nice, but hearing it from Alfred made him feel kind of... flattered. "Um... thank you. But I- UWAH!" He screamed as he was suddenly lifted into the air, flailing a bit before his hands gripped the back of Alfred's clothes. "H-hey, where are we going...?" Arthur squirmed, wishing he didn't go commando today. Bloody hell.

Alfred snorted. "I can't help but wonder if you're even aware of what underwear is," he muttered, shaking his head. God, it was difficult to move when one had absolutely no energy. Still, he arrived at the intersection, peering about carefully before going down the darkened tunnel. "Didn't'cha hear me? My room." The tunnel grew cooler as it went on, with an occasional white feather laying neatly on the ground.

"I-I don't like them," Arthur said truthfully, shifting a few times to adjust himself. He raised his head, craning it slightly to see where they were going. Wait, Alfred said... his room. His... room. Arthur flopped his head to Alfred's back again to hide his face; which had become deeply flushed. "Oh... I-I get it..."

"Still. When you wear a dress, broski..." He continued along the path, pressing against the wall as it opened up into a larger tunnel. He glanced down, nudging another feather before frowning at the tone of Arthur's voice. "Somethin' wrong? And did ya come down this way earlier? 'Cause it's like something molted here." He raised his hand up, wiping the blood off from the corner of his mouth. That kind of hurt, where he'd bit.

Arthur blushed more, pressing his face harder into Alfred's jacket. "I-it's a toga..." he corrected, shaking his head nervously at the devil's next question. "No... I-I'm fine." Of course, there was something on his mind, but he thought it was pretty obvious to find out. And the feathers... could they be the Italian angels' feathers? "Um, t-they're not mine. Two other angels followed me, but we ended up splitting up. I'm not sure if they're still here..."

Alfred just shrugged as best as he could, trying to keep quiet. The cave they were in had rather good acoustics, if he remembered correctly, so he just edged his way along, trying to locate the correct entrance. They were screwed if they met another demon or an- wait. What. "You mean you brought others here?" he asked softly, his grip on Arthur tightening abruptly before he pushed him off his shoulder. "You do know how stupid that was, right? Splitting up?" He narrowed his eyes, pupils contracting to mere slits, making his eyes look even more inhuman.

Arthur whined as he was suddenly pushed down onto the floor. "I-it wasn't my fault!" he tried to protest, shuffling uncomfortably as his skin made contact with the heated wall and pulling away, replacing it with his wings. "They... they thought I needed backup. It didn't want them to come along, I swear." He whimpered as he made eye contact with Alfred, hoping he wasn't too mad.

Letting out a long, slow breath, Alfred's foot came up, pressing against Arthur's chest and forcing him to the floor. "See, now, you've done sufficient recon on me, right? Ya got my name, ya got what I look like- I'm sure y'all could dredge the rest out of your ' archives. But no. See, yer forcin' my hand here, 'cause ya keep comin' down to Hell and if ya do sooner or later yer gonna get hurt. And I spent so much time keepin' ya alive, and I can't keep your friends alive, so you've left me in quite. A. Bind." The pressure he was placing on his foot increased as he cracked his neck in a long, languid motion, his wings as usual pressed against his back.

Yep. He's mad. Arthur yelped something incoherent as he was pushed to the ground. "Ah, w-wait, stop!" He grasped Alfred's leg and tried to pry it off his chest, finding it harder to breathe each time he pressed down. "H-haah, A-Alfred-! Please, I-I'm... sorry...!" His chest heaved violently, letting out choked breaths trying to get proper air. Was he trying to kill him? Arthur kicked his legs, feeling as if his ribs were going to snap if the devil kept doing this. "Please... please, I-I'm sorry... hng."

"I'm just showing you what I could do to you. Ain't safe to hang out with me," Alfred cooed, an evil smirk playing along the corners of his mouth, not noticing the olive-toned face peering out from a boulder, nor hearing the soft steps forwards the person made. Lovino swore mentally. He didn't like Arthur. At all. In fact, there were few people he liked. However, that didn't mean he was going to watch them get hurt without a fight, despite how his legs were trembling and how all of his joints felt like jelly. He attacked from the back, suitably cowardly; the staff cracked against the side of Alfred's face, the decorated top cutting into his face as he stumbled back in surprise, Lovino quickly helping Arthur up and tugging on him, trying to get the other angel to run with him.

Arthur whimpered, wanting the devil's foot off him. He suddenly looked to his left, noticing another presence in the room. Even though he couldn't hear him, Arthur knew it was Lovino. It was a natural instinct angels had. Sure enough, he saw the Italian angel moments later with Feliciano shortly after. He felt a sudden release of pressure on his chest as the angel grabbed his arm, quickly stumbling to his feet and running behind the other. His chest still throbbed painfully, wincing each time he took a step.

Alfred let out a snarl, feeling his legs buckle for a moment as he tried to gather his strength, charging after the trio until he paused. Wait. There wasn't a way back for them, was there..? He slowed, strolling along after them contentedly. Oh, he'd let them trap themselves...

Indeed, Lovino nearly ran smack into the wall where the portal had been, slapping at the rock ineffectually before turning down the tunnel they'd forced Arthur down earlier. He felt as if his feet couldn't move fast enough until he skidded back into the overheated room with the creatures snarling on the other side, looking about desperately. Nowhere to go..!

Arthur panted, chest heaving painfully. 'Where was the exit?' he thought inwardly, getting worried fast. "There's no way out ..." he managed to say, breathing heavily. "H-how... are we going to get out of here...?"

Whimpering, Feliciano frantically looked around, his curl twitching uncomfortably. "W-w-we're trapped? Oh no! What's the boss going to say? Ve!"

Lovino hurried back to where the others were, instinctively hiding behind them and hardly daring to say a word. Eventually, Alfred sauntered back in, looking a little put out. "Dude, wasn't gonna kill ya or nothing," he muttered, rubbing his cheek where he'd been smacked. Oh, how he wished he had a little more energy... He looked more tired than before, shaking a little, pressing a hand against the rough stone to keep himself up. "Was 'bout to let go, too. What, ya don't like me anymore?"

Arthur pressed himself back onto the wall, shaking profusely. That incident that happened not too long ago kind of scared him. Although, pretty much anything scares him, but... he still liked Alfred. What was wrong with him? He hoped Lovino or Feliciano would never find out about this. "W-why'd you do that?" Arthur finally said, managing to calm down just a bit.

The devil thought for a moment before shrugging. "'Cause all I want is some rest, but then ya throw this shit at me and make me figure out what to do with y'all." He also never needed an excuse to hurt things. Alfred gazed at the three angels carefully, striding forwards. "What should I do, huh? Ya got any reasonable ideas?" His eyes glinted.

The lesser-looking Italian angel trembled as the devil got closer, furiously trying to squeeze between Arthur and his brother. "V-ve... you could let us go," he said shakily, too oblivious to notice that was a stupid answer.

Arthur moved out of Feliciano's way, nervously swallowing and blushed lightly. He sort of concurred with the other angel, but not quite as much; he wasn't that dumb. "Um..."

Alfred shook his head, pulling all three angels apart to inspect them individually. "I don't think I will," he said softly, reaching over and grabbing a good bit of Arthur's hair, not pulling at all, just clutching hard enough so that the weakest angel couldn't escape. He glanced at Lovino, who was too terrified to do much more than mutter Italian swear words and clutch his staff fearfully, then at Feliciano. "No... I could pro'lly make a pretty penny sellin' y'all as pets."

Arthur winced at his hair being grabbed. "N-no, let go!" he whined, jerking his head to try and get out of Alfred's grasp. "D-don't do that! Please! There has to be something else!"

Feliciano refused to let go of his brother as the devil tried to pry them apart, whimpering frantic 've's under his breath. He certainly didn't want to become someone's pet!

Alfred had had enough. He thrust his hand back, purposely smacking the back of Arthur's head into the stone, gritting his teeth visibly. "All of you! Shut up! Shutupshutupshutup right now! I'm sick and tired of yer arguing, I've barely had any sleep, and if you hadn't noticed, because of you," he tugged on Arthur's hair harshly, "I just had to regrow my god. Damn. Tail." As if to demonstrate, his tail flicked weakly. Lovino pulled away from Feli, adjusting themselves so that his younger brother was in front instead.

With a silent scream, Arthur started to cry as his head was smashed against the wall, almost losing consciousness from the force. He didn't dare to say another word; he was pretty sure there was a gash in the back of his head. His body slacked, barely having any more strength to support himself.

Feliciano yelped as he was shoved in front of Lovino, looking back at Arthur and thinking he could possibly be next. "W-w-we're sorry!" he cried out, wanting everything to just end. "Please, let us go!"

Immediately, Alfred sighed, releasing the tuft of hair with a regretful grimace. "C'mon, we'll get you fixed up, okay?" he said softly. He hadn't meant to hurt him that badly... He hated seeing others cry. Well, unless he had the intent to kill, which he was starting to get with the two Italians. "You want me to make y'all shut up, too?" he hissed, turning his furious gaze at them.

Lovino winced, shaking Feliciano. "Shut the fuck up, bastardo!" he whispered urgently. "I fucking hate you, but if you get me killed as well..!" He crouched down further, practically burying himself in the spot where the wings joined the shoulder blades, looking for whatever protection he could find. He was the biggest coward ever.

Arthur sucked in a deep breath and let it out with a long whimper; his vision was becoming slightly hazy. Tears still came down his cheeks as he reached up to hold his head once Alfred let go. "It hurts, it hurts..." he sobbed, subconsciously leaning into the devil, stumbling to keep himself up.

"No, no, sorry!" the brunette angel squeaked in fear. His knees were shaking, ready to give out at any moment. Swallowing nervously, he turned his head. "F-Fratello... I'm- I'm scared...!"

Oh, this was just great. Alfred groaned, turning his back and pressing his wings tighter to himself. "Hop on," he muttered, gritting his teeth. Stupid him, being so soft. Stupid angels for crying too easily. He was about ready to rip everyone's throats out. 'I need to stop changing emotions so quickly,' he thought to himself, shaking his head.

"I said shut the fuck up!" Lovino spat, peering out over the younger's shoulder. What the hell was going on? "God, they're being so... weird..." he muttered, wrinkling his nose in distaste.

Blinking through blurry eyes, Arthur managed to grasp the back of Alfred's jacket, wiping his nose and wondering if he should get on. Whimpering, he climbed onto the devil's back as if he were a ladder, wriggling a few times before he found a decent position, and wrapping his arms around Alfred's neck.

Feliciano - through his frantic whines- looked where Lovino was gazing at. "Ve... what are t-they doing...? Is he going to leave with him?"

"I should fucking hope s-" Lovino was cut off when a hand shot out to grab his wrist harshly, grimacing in pain. Alfred did the same to Feliciano, quickly dragging them off.

The devil hummed, trying to ignore the strain everything was putting on him. "So. I'll give y'all different choices, 'kay? the first one is completely by choice- the next I'll decide. They'll all be different so far. So, with no further ado..." He cleared his throat. "Here's yer first choice. Who wants to be my personal pet?"

Feliciano cried out as he was grabbed. "No, no, let go!" he shrieked, trying to get out of Alfred's grasp. He suddenly stopped once he heard the devil speak. "M-mister, you can't do this! Please! Just let us go!"

Upon hazily hearing Alfred's words, Arthur gripped tighter around the devil's neck, trying to ignore the throbbing pain in his head. He still felt a bit dizzy and disoriented, but he was able to hear things around him. "Alfred..." he whispered softly. "I'll... I'll do it..."

Alfred tightened his grip on the Italians' wrists. "Didn't you hear me, bro? Shut. Up!" he snarled, glancing back. "You two aren't endearing yerselves to me!" He yanked them, maneuvering them around the caverns expertly, managing to keep his voice down when he got to larger ones. He sighed, returning his attention to Arthur. "Why would ya volunteer, huh?"

Lovino, quite frankly, wasn't sure what to do. On one hand, his wrist hurt badly. Very badly. On the other, he wanted to escape. And on the third hand, he kind of didn't want to be murdered. So he kept quiet, deciding on a sudden act of kindness and using his free hand to grab his younger brother's. "Hush," he whispered. "Throwing a fit isn't going to help, dumbass."

Taking in a deep breath, Arthur buried his head into the devil's back. "I-I just want to," he responded shakily, feeling a possible trickle of blood running down the side of his face. He didn't want to give a specific reason why; it was probably just the slight concussion talking. "Please, Alfred...?"

Feliciano stopped struggling once felt his brother's hand on his. He calmed down a bit, knowing Lovino actually cared for him. "B-but Fratello," he whimpered, turning his head to whisper quietly. "What's he going to do to us? Ve..."

Letting out a slightly exasperated sigh, Alfred nodded. "A'ight, fine. Then I'll sell one and release the last." Rule of three and all of that, after all. Maybe he was too nice. Far too nice indeed. He should have killed all three as soon as he caught them trespassing. Then again... Maybe he wasn't so nice. He didn't care who bought the one he would sell.

Lovino shrugged, annoying. "Who knows? But your voice is too fucking high-pitched; if it doesn't get him to kill you, other things are going to hear." He jerked his head to the tunnels they were passing, from which soft voices floated.

Arthur sighed, his consciousness hanging onto him like a piece of thread. He started losing his grip around Alfred's neck, trying his best to keep his hold. Then, he heard what Alfred had said after. "S-sell one of them...? Who...?" Slowly, he glanced back at the two Italian angels, wondering what exactly was going to happen to them.

Perking up his ears, Feliciano looked down the tunnel, shuddering softly. Those noises were pretty menacing. It wasn't his fault that he had a 'girly' voice! It's just like that when he's frightened... right? Feliciano suddenly tensed, shakily glancing at the devil. "V-ve... did you say... sell?"

"Whichever one of them needs punishment, that's who," Alfred chirped, purposely ignoring Feliciano's question. He let go of them for a second, hoisting Arthur farther up onto his back, then grabbed the angels once more. "So. Dude. The aphrodisiac take effect yet, or is it not strong enough?" More a question borne from curiosity than anything else.

Swearing under his breath, Lovino's grip on his brother's hand tightened instinctively. He didn't want either of them to be sold! Who knew what kind of demons lurked in the depths!

Arthur tensed a bit upon hearing the devil's question. He almost forgot about the aphrodisiac; and now that he remembered, he squirmed uncomfortably. "U-uhm... maybe..." he said, managing to blush lightly as he kept his face hidden. Thinking about it, Arthur did have some 'needs' about now.

Feliciano whined, gripping Lovino's hand tighter as well. "L-Lovi, what's going on?" His voice wavered slightly, letting out more 've's as he got more fearful about what was happening.

Alfred didn't seem to be noticing the angel's discomfort, nodding. "A'ight. Just tell me if ya feel it and I'll see what meds I got for it." He patted his knee, laughing like he'd done it quite a few times before- after all, Arthur definitely couldn't have been his first. Judging by how relatively at ease he had seemed, no, definitely not the first.

"Don't fucking call me that! Stop making me swear so much by opening your damn mouth!" Lovino spat, prying their fingers apart and shoving the younger angel. "I don't know- all I know is that nonno better bail us out!"

Arthur blushed slightly deeper, curling his legs around the black-haired devil when his knee was touched. He wasn't feeling anything yet, but he knew it would start to show eventually. "My head hurts..." he mumbled tiredly, trying to ignore the pain in the side of his head; which seemed to be increasing.

Feliciano whimpered as he was shoved. "Fratello, w-what if he doesn't know this is happening?" he said worriedly, subconsciously grasping his brother's arm again. "We could be stuck here forever! Ve!"

"Again, a'ight, I'll get ya something for it. Gotta take care of my pet, after all. Pet that's badly taken care of ain't a very loyal pet, now is it?" Alfred laughed again, hoisting Arthur back up- his grip was slipping- while struggling to keep ahold of the Italians, turning down yet another tunnel. Judging by the slope, they were going deeper down; intricately carved doors began lining the walls surrounding them.

Lovino grit his teeth, feeling panic bubble up inside his chest. "I don't know! I don't fucking know! He said that he'd let one of us go, right? Bastard who's set free will alert him, alright?" He yanked his arm away, snorting.

He nodded slowly, resting his head down on Alfred's jacket, trying to stay awake. If he did have a concussion, he surely didn't want to fall asleep.

"H-hey!" Feliciano exclaimed as his arm was pushed away, struggling weakly with his other arm in the devil's grasp. He was getting fearful about where they were being led to. It had to be somewhere scary, since they were in Hell and all. "I-I hope you're right, Lovi," the brunette Italian whispered, a few tears gathering in his eyes. "I hope He'll save us..."

Eventually, Alfred paused in front of a door, pulling out a key and shoving it into where the doorknob would normally be- on closer examination, none of the doors had doorknobs. "Home sweet home!" he sighed, walking straight through the door into another room, or at least what looked to be the living room. Carefully, he set Arthur down onto the couch, pointing him in the direction of the meds before returning his attention to the angels.

"Now, ya gonna sit tight for me while I take these two to the market?" he tossed back to Arthur, grabbing the Italians and yanking them out. Lovino let out a yelp, stumbling after him uneasily.

Arthur - not really paying attention to his surroundings- nodded at the Devil's words, completely oblivious at what was happening to the other two angels. All he wanted to do was lay down, but he first looked where Alfred had pointed. Medicine, he thought, shakily reaching out to rummage through the bin.

Feliciano cried out as he was grabbed again, tripping over his feet. "N-now where are you taking us?" he practically shrieked, not bothering to struggle this time. His resistance was becoming futile anyways.

Luckily, the medicine was easy enough to find, or at least the desired bottle. All of them looked stolen, naturally- some lady was going to need to explain where the pills for her heart problems went, apparently.

Lovino had apparently decided the same thing, for her kept unusually silent during the whole affair, clearly fuming deep inside. Alfred laughed. "To the market, o' course! Ain't too far from here." He left the room, turning down the hall they'd previously been walking along. "Don't worry, I'll keep y'all safe."

The younger Italian rubbed his eyes with his free hand, proceeding to stay quiet like his brother. Were they really going to be sold in the market? But... gah, this wasn't right at all! He looked back behind the devil, glancing at Lovino worriedly and hoping he'd at least look back so he could feel somewhat comforted.

Lovino didn't look back, just continued on and grit his teeth in irritation. Alfred sang happily, going faster than he had with Arthur on his back, quickly reaching the market. Various creatures, not all humanoid, crowded past them, toting their wares happily. Alfred cleared his throat, pulling Lovino and Feliciano close. "An angel for sale! Take your pick! One will give you a fight! The other won't! I can guarantee they're both virgins!" Actually, he couldn't, but whatever.

Feliciano's eyes widened in horror, wanting to just turn around and run away. What he saw wasn't at all what he imagined. "V-v-ve!" he suddenly screamed, literally shaking. "D-don't do this to me! I'll do whatwver you want, just not this!" Wait. Did he say 'virgin'? Well, he couldn't say he wasn't one... Did that mean there was a possibility he and Lovino could get...?

Alfred maneuvered them around, continuing with his cry. He did, however, clamp a hand over both of their mouths, making sure they couldn't cry out. Lovino jerked, wings fluttering in shock as he tried to pry his mouth free. "Come on, anyone want a virgin angel? Plenty of fun to play with!" Alfred crowed, picking them up to show them off a little more.

With a yelp, Feliciano kicked out his legs as he was hoisted up into the air, muffling a very long scream. His wings bristled, letting a few feathers float down from the sudden grab. "Nh-nn! Nn!" he tried to protest, flitting his wings rapidly in attempt to escape; which seemed to be hopeless.

Alfred clamped his hand tighter on Feliciano's mouth, shaking him. "Shut up before I set you loose in here!" he hissed. Indeed, several creatures and devils alike watched, eyes wide at the admittedly unusual sight.

With that being said, the brunette angel fell silent again, his violent thrashing dying down. He frantically looked back and forth, refusing to make any direct eye contact to the other devils staring at him. It felt... weird to be glared at like this. Feliciano wriggled uncomfortably, resisting the slight, urge to just bite at the devil's hand. Maybe he'd let go if he did...

As Feliciano struggled, he sensed that someone was looking at him. Not just the other creatures he knew that were surrounding him, he felt individual eyes on both he and his brother. Frantically, he darted his eyes back and forth, trying to find whoever was staring at him, but there was no one to be found. Paranoid, Feliciano squirmed again, just wishing the devil would let go of him.

Just then, a voice erupted from the crowd. "I'll take 'em, I'll take 'em!" it said loudly. An older looking devil parted through the crowd until his was right in front of Alfred, smirking. He was dressed rather nicely, but there were tears and rips in his shirt and pants. "So. How much are these two cuties, huh?"

Lovino seemed to sense that someone was watching them too, for he shrank away, trying to edge closer to his brother to use him as a shield. God. That day had started out so promising, too- he was supposed to give some guy hoping to become Pope a holy vision or something like that, not possibly get molested deep down in some too-hot cesspool of sin! He flinched when he heard someone was actually going to /buy/ them, swearing under his breath.

Pausing, Alfred looked over the possible buyer, grinning widely. "Well! For one such as yourself, perhaps... Would you be able to grant me an audience with President Malphas?" He wanted an actual pet, such as perhaps a peryton- now that would be awesome- then again, Malphas granted familiars... He doubted winged deer would make a good familiar. A dog, then, or a cat. Maybe a hedgeho- an eagle. Yes.

The devil chuckled lightly, putting his hand behind his head. "Sure, sure, I could do that," he said, giving both the Italian angels another glare. If he did get to buy them, it would certainly be his lucky day. "I'll take them off your hands if no one else wants 'em. Whaddya say?"

He nodded, quickly putting the angels' wrists together and concentrating. There was a blue flash of light, and then they were handcuffed together. Alfred grabbed the chain connecting them, looking slightly tired. "A'ight, can I get a contract from ya? Yer one of the higher-ups, so an audience with Malphas will be no problem, I'm sure, buuut... Just to confirm." He grinned, placing his free hand on his hip.

Feliciano gasped lightly when he felt something clip around him, but held his protest to himself. He didn't want to get in any more trouble.

Grinning excitedly the devil reached into the pocket of his ripped jeans and pulled out a long piece of paper, handing it over to Alfred. "Here's the contract," he said, still keeping eye contact with the little angels that were now cuffed together. God, he wanted them so badly it hurt.

Alfred stuffed the paper into the pocket of his jacket, shoving the angels into the devil's arms. "Enjoy yer new toys!" he crowed, patting both of them on the back. "Play nicely, you three! I hate givin' refunds." With that, he ran off, unable to resist a crow of triumph as he hurried back to his room, almost too tired to think.

Shying away from his apparent 'owner,' Lovino grasped at his brother's arm, having forgotten, in his new-found terror, that he hated him. They were too closely chained together to fly away- all sorts of weird cross-breezes, not to mention their wings were too big- but maybe... He began tugging on Feliciano, trying to get them to disappear into the crowd.

Feliciano watched in horror at what had happened. Had they really just been sold to this devil? Whimpering, he followed along with Lovino until he was grasped from behind. "V-ve!"

The unnamed devil grinned, letting out a content sigh as he grabbed onto his new 'pets'. "Where'dya think you're going?" he said, pulling on their wings with a smirk. "You're both mine now! Come on, I'm sure we'll have lots of fun together~"

Arthur sprawled himself over the devil's couch, pressing his face into the pillow he had grabbed; which happened to be Alfred's pillow. He rested his head on it, closing his eyes but slowly opening them back up again. 'Can't fall asleep,' he thought to himself. After all, his head was still hurting quite badly, even if he did take medicine.

Sighing, Arthur rolled onto his side. When was Alfred going to return. He actually... missed him when he was gone.

It seemed to be Arthur's lucky day. The wall rippled slightly, indicating someone was passing through- then, with a slightly watery noise, Alfred shot through, practically tackling the wall in his haste to shove the paper onto it, which he did with a flourish. Somehow, it stuck. It was best not to think about how the physics worked in keeping it up. Sighing, the devil turned to look at Arthur, yawning heavily. "You a'ight there? Need any coffee or whatnot? Tea? You sound British, surely ya like tea." He hummed slightly, looking about. It was almost like an apartment in there... He'd planned on falling asleep immediately, maybe after taking a shower- but then he'd wake up feeling gross, and then he'd need another shower- but he needed to teach his new pet exactly what it meant, being a pet.

Arthur's ears perked up upon hearing the noise. He lifted his head, still gripping the pillow, and sat himself up. "I-I'm fine," he said with a long yawn. His eyes suddenly looked up at Alfred. "Tea? Um, y-yes, I would like some..." Arthur couldn't remember the last time he's had tea before. It had to be at least three years ago...

Alfred nodded, making a mental list of what was needed before he pulled a chair forwards to face the couch, heading into what served as his kitchen. Several minutes- and a good amount of swearing after he presumably slammed his new, rather clumsy tail into a drawer- later, he came back out, thrusting a cup of tea into Arthur's hands. "Now. We need to talk," he said calmly, settling into his chair, tail twitching in a way that indicated it had recently been hurt. Again.

Arthur took the cup from Alfred's hand, almost dropping it as he tried to hold it correctly. "Talk? What about...?" He creased his eyebrows, thinking what the devil wanted to speak to him about. Was it going to be bad? Good? Arthur wasn't sure. Shakily, he brought the teacup to his lips, keeping eye contact with Alfred intently. He ended up grasping the cup with both hands so he wouldn't have the fear of spilling it all over him. Swallowing, he spoke again. "Is it about me...?"

Alfred hummed softly, cocking his head from side to side as if he was trying to hear something far-off. "Well, what else is there to talk about, hmm? 'My, oh, my, how nice the weather is today! A bit hot, though, don't'cha think?'" He chuckled slightly, raising his voice to a falsetto before lowering it to speak normally. "I need to inform you of your duties as my pet. What do you think that entails?" As if to make a pun, his tail writhed happily.

Arthur deadpanned slightly at the devil's joke, but quickly loosened up and blushed a little. "Uhm... I-I don't know..." he said shyly, setting his cup down on the near table beside him. "Do I have to... follow what you say?" Truthfully, he only volunteered to be Alfred's pet because he thought it meant to get 'closer' to him. God, was he wrong. "Um, w-what do I have to do?"

Humming, Alfred took a large drink of his coffee, wincing when it scalded his tongue. Definitely too hot. "Well, of course you do," he replied, looking at him like he was an idiot. "You're to listen to everything I say and do as you're told. If I tell you 'no,' that means 'no, and if you push the matter I'm going to kill you and start looking for a new pet.' Got it?" He doubted he'd be that harsh... But it helped to scare them straight immediately, lest they get any big ideas. "You're also to help warm my bed- literally, of course, though I probably wouldn't be adverse to the other definition." The devil shrugged, looking as if he didn't much care. "Since, as I have said, I am a considerate devil, you'll be choosing when that is. Does that sound fair?"

Swallowing nervously, Arthur nodded, flinching at the devil's words. If he wanted to keep living, he'd have to agree. "I understand..." he mumbled, looking slightly terrified. Maybe this was going to be harder than he thought... oh bugger. Arthur took his teacup into his hands again, visibly trembling as he took a sip. It couldn't be that bad...

Right?

Frowning, Alfred bit his lip, reaching over to pat Arthur's head. "Hey, now, don't be frightened, broski, a'ight?" He laughed slightly, trying to present a friendly image. Wait. When did he start caring? Automatically, he blamed it on his human genetics. Stupid Jones family being at least semi-decent people... "Not gonna ask for much. Clean home, food, y'know? 'Sides, what would an angel want to do in here?"

Arthur's eyes teared up a bit, wincing at the hand on his head. The pain was dying down at least, just not completely. Dried blood had already started to stick to his hair, although he could still feel some trickle down slowly. Sniffling, he put his cup back down. "Should I... um, start right now?" He squirmed, wiping his eyes before any tears fell.

"If ya feel up to it." Biting his lip, Alfred got up, turning to inspect the cut. Well. That was... Huh. "Y'alright, bruh? Didn't mean to hurt ya that badly..." Well, he'd meant to hurt him, but- well, now he wished he hadn't. Maybe having a pet did that to people. "Yer gonna need a collar, first thing's first, of course. Got a colour ya particularly like?"

Arthur tensed. "I-I'm fine..." he said, obviously still in pain. He moved his head away from Alfred's hands, still nervous about what he might do. it's not like he hated him for almost bashing his skull in, he was just sensitive. "Green," Arthur said, answering the devil's second question. "Why do I need a collar?"

Alfred grabbed Arthur's ear, not hard enough to pinch, but hopefully enough to discourage the angel from moving away. A flicker of irritation passed along his face. "Ya need a collar to prove yer mine, of course. I don't wanna fight off other devils tryin' ta claim ya, and I'm sure ya don't wanna be in the middle of a fight, right?" He began shifting the hair away from the cut, trying to see the full extent of the wound. Head wounds always bled a lot... Maybe it wasn't too bad.

"H-hey, wait-!" Arthur squeaked, shutting his eyes as his ear was grabbed. "Don't touch it...! Ah..." He whimpered, squeezing his eyes tighter with tears forming in the corners. "I-Is it bad?" He never liked it when people messed with his hair; it made him irritated. But he guessed it was okay, since it was for an important cause...

Alfred snorted lightly, removing his hand from Arthur's ear to rub his shoulder in what he hoped was a soothing fashion. "Calm down, 'kay? Now that yer my pet, I can rationalize you followin' me, meaning I won't hurt ya again." He continued to inspect it, trying to be as gentle as possible. "Ain't too bad, I think- can't ya heal it? Yer an angel, right? Iunno 'bout you, but I regrew my tail, so..."

With a sigh, Arthur flinched more as his hair was touched. "I-I think I can... let me try," He rummaged through his messenger bag and pulled out his wand, twirling it once to make it glow. His other hand reached up to find out where his cut was. Arthur recoiled when he touched Alfred's hand, but quickly put it back and transferred his wand into his right hand.

There was a soft twinkle of light and Arthur's hair reverted back to normal. He patted the back of his head, relieved to not feel any more pain. But he still wasn't sure. "Did... did I fix it?"

Alfred gave a nod, running his finger along where the cut had been. "Nope, nothin' there, broski. Yer fine now." He tried to smile reassuringly, moving away. Alright. Time to stop being nice. He got up, opening a cupboard and rummaging through the collars there until he'd gotten one in a nice dark green colour, heading back over and slipping it around Arthur's neck. "I'll get a pendant or whatchamacallit later. Any preferences on that as well?"
"N-no, it's fine..." Arthur said, looking down at the collar that was put on him. Was he seriously going to go through with this? He could've ran away when he had the chance, but no, he didn't do that. He sighed, tugging at his collar as if it was too tight. God, did he have to wear this twenty four seven? It was quite uncomfortable, yet it did match his eyes...

Alfred's eye twitched at the clear signs of irritation, gritting his teeth as he snatched it off. "Honestly. No appreciation. See, now, this is why I rarely bother to have more than one-night stands." Straightening up, he decided to take his anger out on the chair he'd previously been sitting on- thank goodness it wasn't too pricy, or even really all that fancy. The devil inspected it, head tilting to the side before he raised his foot, stomping on it. Hard. The legs buckled, splintering, as the seat split in half, crumpling to the ground. "No appreciation at all," he spat. "Nothing but anger is what I get. See, a chimera woulda been more grateful at the collars- I spend time digging through corpses of friends 'n whatnot, of creatures I find, and then all I get is..." He continued on like that, slowly stomping the wood into splinters, rather unsure of why he was so pissy at the moment.

Arthur winced, rubbing his neck as the collar was yanked off him. Wait, did he do something to upset him? But how...? "Um... A-Alfred, did I-" He jumped upon hearing splitting wood, watching the chair the devil destroyed. He definitely made him mad, didn't he? Swallowing nervously, Arthur lightly grasped Alfred's arm, hoping he'd at least calm down. "Did I do something wrong?"

In the process of dragging his nails down his face- in hindsight, not a very good idea, considering the fact his nails were sharp- one of Alfred's eyes snapped open, revealing a pupil that was little more than a single line in blue. He forced himself to grin, trying to calm himself. Maybe this was why devils weren't supposed to mess around with angels for too long... It left him on edge. Or maybe he was tired. "Oh, nothin', ya did nothin' wrong. I mean, ya just seem like ya hate me, right now, and everything that I do. Not like I purposely chose the largest green collar I had- of which I don't have very many, ya know- and it's not like I haven't even heard a single 'thanks'- considering that I took you in, gave you what protection I could offer by making you my pet, ya know, kinda not killing you the moment we met. Whatever. Anyways, that offer's retracted, and this hero's gonna go rest." He yanked his arm from Arthur's grip, stalking to a door and sliding into the room behind it, which was presumably his bedroom. Next time, he decided, he definitely wouldn't do so much with so little sleep.

Arthur frowned. He never knew he was acting like that, and now he felt bad about it. As he was absently going to apologize, he noticed that Alfred had removed his arm from his grasp and disappeared into one of the rooms, leaving Arthur to just stand there like an idiot. "W-wait, where are you..." He bit his lip, refusing to cry or sniffle. He hated being alone...

Sighing, Arthur fought back his tears and slunk to the couch, where he sat down. He didn't know what to do, now that Alfred had left him by himself. He did feel quite tired, though. Before he knew it, Arthur had fallen asleep soundly, grasping the pillow he had earlier. Now... what was tomorrow going to be like?