Author's Note

This will be here as a legend for the dialog at the end.
Allen: Text
Yurie: Text
Kane: Text
Clevetius: Text
Unified: Text
This will end the confusion for this chapter before I get questions since I wanted to make the conversation at the end mean something.

Confession, Conflict, Compromise

Having to navigate the underworld was complicated and fantastical all at once. Each floor and pantheon of the underworld is its own space, all sharing the exact same sky no matter what. Twilight noticed this after the third decent. "Alexie, you said the air would get denser and more evil but nothing has changed."

Alexie looked back and looked around. "That is primarily because the pantheons inhabit a different instance of space-time. This gives it more actual space overall than most mortals think but the air is denser. Allen, who's been able to do so for some time, has provided a mana barrier to keep the air from collapsing your lungs but he's at his limit. Next floor, Allen and I will both have to supply a barrier to three of you each. Further down, another will have to help out, and it will push the-" She heard a crash and looked up, noticing something wrong. "Honey, have they always been able to do that?"

Confused by her question, he looked up with her and saw the vehicle melded seamlessly with flesh. Looking over some more, a large shoot out was taking place. Many of the pantheons' warriors having been merged with their weapons by flesh. "This is very wrong and new. They never had this ability." He looked back to the six. "Last time I fought the twisted, a pony was the source. The source has changed, and it's made the twisted stronger in a different way." He looked back out from the hiding spot. "What now?"

She looked down the pathways and shook her head. "We'll have to take a crested gate pad." They ducked back as a small group ran by. "You have the permissions just like me. It'll take us to my family as long as the pad of the owner is affiliated with my maker." Allen nodded and looked back, dread in his eyes.

"You two," he pointed to Rarity and Twilight, "will need to arm a barrier spell right now. We'll be taking an express drop down, so the air is going to get thicker, much faster. So the rest of you, partner with someone." Rainbow partnered with Twilight, Fluttershy with Rarity, Pinkie with Alexie and Applejack with Allen. "Stick with your partner and don't stay separated. Once in the lower levels they may provide talismans for each of you but that's it." He turn to Alexie with his affirmation. "Lead the way hun." She nodded and took the lead again, heading out in the pathway as several twisted saw them. Turning his left arm into a blade, he funneled his aura to the edge and released a wave of Draconic Thunder and Demonic Fire as it burned and shocked the weaker creatures.

Alexie was armed with a few ranged attacks centered around light, which should be ironic but with the lack of actual holy essence, she could fire and wield beams of light that penetrate and burn flesh. Such was the case when a twisted jumped down and she released a flood of light that burned and pushed the creature away. "Do not let them touch you. Their infection rate is faster and more potent." She had a good grasp of the current situation and feared they would be swarmed. 'Come on, where is it.' She turned a corner and released a flood from each hand, creating a shock wave as to not take a chance with and ambush. A few came from the nearby buildings and they were struck with throwing stars that were infected before detonating. 'Even metals made by Clevetius?' Alexie was growing worried as she witnessed that virtually anything can be infected and bound to whatever these things touch in a mutilated manner. 'We need to find- there!' She saw the marked building with her families mark. "Get on the pad, quick." Allen formed another blade and cleared all sides with a torrent of aura before the pad activated.

==Seventh Floor of the Underworld==

The guards stationed around the pad see the stone glow before raising what weapons they had as eight figures formed within the light. They see Alexie and Allen and one gives a command. "Stand down, stand down, that's Markus' student!" The guards double took the guests and withdrew their weapons. "Someone get the Duchess and inform her of her student." Two demons left for the larger building as the dressed officer approached. "Allen Augus, in the flesh." Allen looked a bit confused while Alexie blushed, feeling the need to giggle. "We heard what was happening further up. Is it true?"

"Whatever this thing is, its flesh can mix with inorganic material, mutilating the weapon and the host, with no signs of ill effect." Allen's report disturbed the demon as they all looked like they were going to scream. "Now's not the time. Right now we need to get to Markus and her family at Alexie's request." The demon nodded, beckoning them to follow before Rainbow spoke up.

"Whoa whoa whoa does no one find this a little suspicious?" She was thinking about how the only weapon against the twisted was in the underworld and they were going to see a duchess of demons, who may use them against their own kind. "We find an army outside of the gates of Tartarus are taken to the lower floor, I think, and are meeting a head demon. Does no one find this-"

"You! Wanted to tag along! You followed us on suspicion so save it!" Allen had lost his temper with the possible events to come going through his head. "I have a teacher her, a friend, a confidant whatever you want to call all of them. To put simply, I owe them for everything they've taught and given me. I owe them that. You could have left at any time too so don't pin this on me when you had an out." The commanding demon rubbed Allen's shoulder, gaining their attention as six demons walked toward them. Allen recognized four of them. "Markus." The demon in regal fabric nodded. "Dante." The demon in armor looked away, flipping him the bird as his way of saying 'where were you' and 'nice to see you'. "Sarah." The fashionably sexy succubus with black and blue smiled happily with a glint of flirt. He laid eyes on the incubus wearing emerald and forest green and his heart clenched for a moment. "Mikael." The incubus smiled but he was also sad.

Before the mood could settle, an upper floor boomed with a presence. "Listen we don't have a lot of time and we need a way out, an escape route for everyone until we can reclaim the underworld." Alexie's order we met with a nod from Markus as the generals left while Mikael stayed behind on Sarah's request.

A more classy dressed demon came up and bowed. "Sirs and madams if you'll follow me, we have some temporary lodging until evacuation can begin." The group nodded and the six mares were given one room while Allen, Alexie and Mikael were given another, the air tense with mixed feelings of confusion and doubt.

Allen was nervous but was first to break the silence because of his anxiety. "So... how's everyone?"

Mikael was silent at first before answering. "Fine." Alexie was more afraid than nervous, sweat beading on her brow.

After a second, "Oh fuck this. Mikael, he and I have come to a strange and destructive crossroads. I can feel his emotions but I can read his deeper thoughts he's... forcing himself to discard his guilt."

"Alexie!"

"You an I both have the same common denominator. It's Mikael. I'm scared of him for... some reason, you are forcing yourself away from him, likely for my sake and you Mikael, I know, still have feelings for him, right?" The incubus nodded, almost shameful. "And you haven't been doing your role and, hell, I can feel your build up."

Mikael looked at Allen, afraid. "You are... forcing yourself to be faithful?"

Allen collapsed into his hands. "I don't know why I'm being drawn to you. I'm married to Alexie and still my thoughts go to you. Some lewd and some... scary, for a different reason than you think."

Alexie and Mikael grew curious. "Such as?"

Allen gather all the courage he could for the fallout that he was afraid of going through. "I've been... having visions of Alexie... breaking into light and... becoming one with Mikael. I don't know why it surfaced." He was holding tears and forcing sob in his lung. "Maybe it's my lust overriding my faith, maybe I want something different every now and again but I know I'm married so-" They both placed a hand on his shoulders and he paused for a moment. "It's happen..." His eyes began to water and his sobs started forcing up. "...again." He pulled away, covering his face as he started crying to himself, containing his more intense sobs with his mouth. "It's h-h-happhennning agai-ha-ha-han." The demon pair looked at Allen and each other, concerned. "I... and..." He forced back his cries and looked at them. "Get Markus and Sarah."

"Why?" Mikael asked but Alexie could see and feel his words.

"I have a debt to keep... for breaking your hearts." Before they could leave, another wave of filth rushes over the air. "Better yet... I'll die fighting." The pair looked bewildered and upset. "I broke your hearts with my emotional conflict and those two said they'd kill me for it. So... I'll die fighting for breaking my vows to my wife and my friend's heart." He looked up, tears staining his face with streaks of drying salt. "For what it may be worth... I'm glad to have been with and known both of you. So please go, and tell them the truth." They looked at each other and flew, using their magic to get to Makus and Sarah while they still had time.

At the main planning building, Markus was devising an escape route with Sarah when her doors were flung open. Mikael flew in all speed while Alexie flew in with a calmed demeanor, her tears still staining her eyes as Mikael spoke. "Sis, you need to get Allen and talk him down!"

The sister succubus looked to her brother with a raised brow. "Why?"

Mikael seemed offended by her choice of words. "He's going to kill himself over his emotional turmoil!"

Sarah smiled peacefully. "Then it's time."

"Time for what?!" Demanded Mikael as his weakened magic flared angrily. Sarah pointed to Alexie and she looked ashamed. "Alexie?"

She was hesitant, but recalled how her husband, scared of a slap, a punch or a bolt of lightning, gathered the courage to admit the truth of his conflict and did the same. "I haven't been... entirely honest with him."

"Are you cheating on him?!" Mikael stepped threateningly and Alexie put up her hands and he stopped, curious.

"I wasn't seeing anyone else. I was... dishonest about who and what I was." She mourned her lie and gathered herself again. "There was no human named Alexie. Never was." Mikael looked to his family. "Sarah made me, from fragments of herself so minor that I was a vessel for a soul bond." Mikael looked to her, confused, bewildered and upset. "Allen gave half his soul to an empty vessel, gave it love, experience of love, joy, food, gifts... I loved that man after a while, almost forgetting the reason I was made."

The underworld was hit with another wave of filth and the guards screamed. "ONE MORE FLOOR!"

"But every time you heard his voice from your room, flickers of your passion still rose, just like they did earlier. You wanted to fall into his arms and drink his scent, even if was only for a moment. But now... with his devotion laid bare, his emotions relayed true to you and yours to him... I ask you... would you accept his soul."

Mikael looked at Alexie, upset and confused. "I... can't." Alexie looked to him, afraid. "I can't. Yes I want to be bonded to him, hold him, feel him, kiss him but... this isn't right. He has a right to know."

Alexie got in his face, scared now. "Sarah had already agreed to take responsibility for this, certain this emotional conflict would destroy him. So I am asking you now... will you accept his half, in exchange for half yours for him." Mikael thought about the long years he spent, locked in his room with his own thoughts to pleasure him, ease his pain and sooth his loneliness. He was soon crying himself as he nodded, ready for backlash from Allen for what he was about to receive. Alexie placed both hands on his shoulders as they looked at each other, Alexie with a smile. "Love him as much as he loved me. You deserved that since day one." Her body glowed gently as it turned into glimmering light and bathed over Mikael.

As each particle settled, Mikael blushed hard. "This is new. I feel new. What is this? I like this but I don't, this is weird." Another wave of filth washed but it hit them directly. Mikael then remembered in seconds while Allen was. "ALLEN!"

==Allen POV after Mikael and Alexie left in a panic==

That was it. I had told the truth of what I was thinking. Was I a coward for waiting until now? Would things have been better if we didn't have this situation? No Allen, face it. You told them because you know you would die soon, so you picked dying in battle, like a coward. I get up and carry myself to the main entry pad for the seventh floor, not a weapon of my own creation in hand as I conversed with my residence, Kane, Yurie and Clevetius. 'I have no excuse for breaking their hearts. What do you say to someone you hurt? I'm sorry?' 'If it were that easy, I would have made you done it.' But nothing is that easy and we feel your resolve to spare them further pain, or how you think it would spare them.' '~~But we are fighting something that can't be killed fast enough with a blade.~~' 'If this is how we die, we die together.' 'For we are many minds.' 'Yet we are one body.' '~~A union that has come to accept itself.~~' 'In mind, body and spirit.' 'We are one'

As I was talking to them, the Mutilated had made it to the seventh floor and the first to attack was a beast with two left arms, a larger right arm, three legs and a face on its chest. It screamed as it blazed a trail into the seventh floor. It took a swing at me and I/we dodged it out of a reflex. That is when Alexie came to mind and the words I/we said stung as I/we felt those words expose our soul. I was cowardly and wanted to pay my debt, but we had to pay it to Alexie first before I paid the rest. So I brought the sword down on its head before the blade was caught. I step back and fire crystals that it caught before shooting them back. I dodged the line of fire but landed in the fire of some slime as it hit my arm as I tried to dodge under. I quickly severed my arm with a scream and ran but an ambush attacker caught my leg and latched on.

My femur would be too strong to cut and it was already passed my knee with hum much was there, so I lie there, entering my head as Kane, Yurie and Clevetius joined me in the church. I could become a demon. Ascend as a god. Weaponize my body, but my world was shaking and there was little to do. I wanted to save my friends, pay my debts and live my life. I had to fight. For their sake... I must fight. "...will fight..." All of us said on instinct, thinking of what would happen if we gave up now. "I will fight." Our world was crumbling, and the image of Mikael was now in mind as our eyes were sharing my sea green. "I will fight." The land was crumbling into a black void as Yurie and Kane gained a dark skin complexion. "I will fight." We were surrounded by darkness as our eyes flashed a flaming red before the two became one with me and my hair waxed from jet black to burning gold. "I will fight!" Clevetius returned to me as he was an extension of my residence and myself, from horns of Vince and Urizen to the feathers of Zarafell, Johnathan and Ralph. "Fight me!" We were now one. I was one.