A day ago, Lorraine had been more worried about her friends not really understanding her stance on, well pretty much everything. A few hours ago she had been in an underground demon research and breeding facility in Hell, locked up in a cell with her friend and planning their escape. Now, the Flora Doe was sitting at a table in an office who-knows-where in Tartarus with said friend sitting across from her and looking very different.

The Radio Demon stared back at her expectantly. Lorraine, to her credit, was only mildly panicking as the line between fiction and reality was so terrifyingly blurred she wanted to remove herself from the situation as quickly as possible. However, it wasn't like she had much of a choice, and she instead focused on the task at hand.

"What happened?" she asked, her voice surprisingly steady.

The humanoid demon before her leaned back in his seat. "I'm afraid to say there's been a change of plans. A rather nasty fellow has possessed poor Johnson and I felt that the best course of action was to ensure your safety!" he looked rather pleased with himself. "No need to worry, Solaire and The Nightmare are working to save him, it will all work out just fine!"

"Then go help." she said.

Alastor chuckled. "I won't or rather, I can't, not until a deal has been made between the two of us."

"Why? Don't you care?" she asked skeptically. She really hoped this wasn't going where she thought it was going.

The demon moved forward to rest his arms on the table. The knowing look and shit-eating grin he gave her spoke volumes. "You know why."

Nope!

"No I really don't." she said.

She remained silent. She was, honestly, scared. Hadn't she already made it clear? She thought for a bit more, no, John had made the decision for her, and she agreed with him. That didn't mean she hadn't thought about it, how her emotions were being toyed with, how things seen as escapist fantasy to her were now real, normalized things in this world, and she had thought about her feelings for Alastor, with what the committee expected her to do why wouldn't she think about it?

She didn't love him, not romantically and as much as she was infatuated with the fictional Alastor, it was the fact the character was just that, a character, that helped keep things compartmentalized and figured out. Her crush on the demon before her had died over time as the distinction between her friend and the character became more apparent. But it was obvious there was something or someone intent on shoving her idealized, fictional fantasies in her face as if that was what she actually wanted.

She was sick of it. Alastor wasn't acting like her friend and she wasn't sure what he'd do if she tried to leave again, she was very much in over her head.

"Alastor, there is a clear difference between fiction and reality, I do not like you like that, okay?"

The demon merely looked amused. "I know dear, but wouldn't it be nice if you stopped caring about that? Live a little! If anything I would be delighted to give you your fairy-tale romance! To treat you as you deserve to be treated!"

"Alastor I'm afraid of saying the wrong thing because you might try to kill me," Lorraine finally admitted. "...Just stop."

It was as if a fog had cleared from the demon's mind. Horror dawned across his features. He wasn't smiling. His ears, the same as his deer form only bigger flattened against his skull.

"No, no dearest- I would never harm you I-" he paused. "I... Am. An idiot."

Lorraine was still uncertain about the situation she was in and waited.

Eventually, Alastor regained his composure, a somewhat shaky smile plastered onto his face. "I should try this again... Something very dangerous has ahold of John, a vile twisted entity that was one of the key forces in causing society to collapse into The Dark Age..." he straightened his monocle, fidgeting with it. "I originally came into my powers, became a demon, during that time period. Outside of the Sacred Groves the world was lawless, monsters and bandits attacked unwary travelers, people spread fear and hate towards those different from them and many a soul used the hardships and struggles of their friends and family as an excuse to be cruel and wicked individuals...A demon’s emotions are tied to their magic, when I sensed that thing taking over John, I was furious and my magic reacted accordingly."

He continued. "Our...Situation with the committee only added onto my instability... My first instinct was, is, to protect you. I remembered you were conflicted about your feelings about me and I-I wanted you to see that I am fine with it, whatever it happens to be..."

Lorraine processed the information, trying to calm herself down. She needed to focus. "You...Um, like me?"

Alastor looked more sure of himself as he hummed in thought. "I've already made it clear I have no interest in more explicit activities with you but, I would like to be more affectionate with you, spend time with you and do... Whatever it is romantic partners do these days. Do people still give their potential partners food and homemade trinkets? Or have things changed in the last three thousand years?" he wondered. "Back to my main point, I wouldn't say I love you, in the... Mortal sense at least, demons experience positive emotions differently, positive emotions in a demon benefit the demon in question."

Lorraine's bafflement at how the fuck do you even like me? must have shown on her face because Alastor elaborated.

"You, are mortal. Yet the powers that be deem you worthy of god-like power and a destiny brimming with conflict. I became invested in your struggle and watching you was satisfying in a way I hadn't experienced in a long time. I wanted more, to see what you would do next, to see how you would deal with the obstacles life threw at you. I admit I got carried away with my obsession but, I'm not anywhere near mentally sound! I kill people for a living. Then of course, I got to know you, that investment into my own amusement became an emotional attachment to you and John, to the point where I don't particularly care what we are or where we end up as long as I don't lose the pair of you or whatever bond we have."

Lorraine took a moment to think. "...This is, something, alright... Can we just negotiate this later? I don't feel comfortable talking about this without John."

"I'm not letting you leave here," Alastor warned her. "We are in no condition to fight, I was only able to bring you here because this building is heavily warded to protect mortals from the environmental magics of Tartarus."

"So we just wait?"

"John will be fine," Alastor replied reassuringly. "If he is killed, I'll bring him back to life myself!"

"You can do that?"

"Well, he'd be revived as a demon but the important thing is that he'd be alive! Now, would you like a tour of this place?"

"Where are we anyway?" Lorraine asked.

Alastor beamed. "My old workplace! The Hazbin Hotel!"

“Nightmare, Send me back!” John insisted with a frown on his face, despite the shivering of every other part of himself.

“I cannot do that.” Nightmare shook her head. “Now that your soul is outside of your vessel I can take the fight to The Serpent without fear of damaging you.”

“Sooo, you’re gonna just leave me here?” John growled while raising a brow. Now that the shock (and fear) had worn off, he was rather pissed.

“Once I deal with The Serpent then I will return you to your body.” Nightmare glanced at John before a starry portal sprang into existence. She made to step through, paused, then looked back to John. “Do not worry.”

With that, the starry alicorn stepped through the portal, which closed behind her.

John took a breath. “Fuck.”

Alastor, at Lorraine's request, had led her to an empty suite in the hotel. She didn't want the tour or the myriad of things the demon was trying to distract her with.

"I’m worried about John, isn't there something I can do?" she asked.

"..." Alastor hesitated. "I haven't heard from The Nightmare...The Shadows speak of something else in the dream realm, something neither of The Nightmare or The Serpent."

Lorraine caught sight of a familiar blue butterfly. The pieces were coming together.

"It's my shadowmancy affecting the dream realm right?" she suggested and he nodded.

He nodded. "As much as I would prefer to keep you here, you hold a significant amount of power over Shadows. At first I thought you were merely gifted, but Shadowmancers do not generate shadow magic. Instead they have a finite amount and draw from other sources," Alastor walked over to a full length mirror and gestured at it. "My dear, if you want to do anything to help, then find that other power encroaching on the dream realm and... Talk to it or something, Gods know we need all the help we can get… If The Serpent escapes the facility, I will have no choice but to kill it and the person it possessed."

The doe walked to the mirror, the butterfly flew through it, the glass surface rippling like water and glowing bright blue.

"...I don't like this," she admitted. "I really don't but I’m not going to sit here and do nothing... John's mine."

She stepped through.

Lorraine felt at ease as soon as the first few notes of the familiar song reached her ears. She was standing on her hind legs without issue, her front legs, more like arms in her new bipedal stance, ended in wooden paws instead of hooves. She was standing at the top of a ramp, dressed in deep blue pants held up by black suspenders, a white T-shirt and a deep blue, two tailed trench coat with feathers covering the cuffs of the sleeves and the collar. Aside from her new attire and surprisingly comfortable shift to walking on two legs, she was still the same Flora Doe.

She held onto the railing as she walked down the ramp. The room she was in was round, with dark blue walls dotted with white, glowing circles. Pillars of ultramarine blue coral supported the room. The floor was glass, an endless black void glittering with stars beneath her hooves and the ceiling above was white nothingness. In the middle of this strange room was a table, an armchair on one side and a couch on the other. Seated on the couch was a balding old man in a black suit with thin, spindly limbs, bulbous eyes, a large, long nose and a wide, welcoming smile.

The strange man noticed her as she sat down in the armchair, his movements doll-like and voice calm and welcoming as he nodded in greeting. "Welcome to The Velvet Room, my name is Igor."

Lorraine relaxed, unaware she'd been tense. This Igor wasn't a fake, manipulative bastard hellbent on brainwashing the masses into complacency.

Igor chuckled. "This a place between dream and reality, mind and matter," he looked at her knowingly. "But of course, you are already familiar with all of this, which is to be expected. You hold this room and the guests I have aided close to your heart. Which has allowed this place to manifest in this reality."

"Do I have the potential to use multiple Personas? Am I a Wild Card?" Lorraine asked.

"Not quite, your past actions aiding those who have such power has given you the power to call upon specific Persona you are already familiar with."

Igor elaborated. "As such, the purpose of this room is to be a safe haven, your power extends beyond that of using a Persona, indeed this reality has many opportunities for you to embrace your imagination and do extraordinary things," he smiled. "But one cannot harness their true potential without support. Just as you have kept others safe in my reality, I will do the same for you in this one."

Igor handed her a key. "Unfortunately, we don't have much time. Your partner is in danger, the entity controlling him cannot be allowed to run free. Your power can sever the link it has to this reality. This key will allow you to return here when this is all over."

Lorraine put the key in a pocket on the inside of her coat and stood up. "I just leave and I'll be where I need to go, yeah?"

Igor nodded. "That is correct, I advise you to be cautious when calling upon your power. The people of this world do not see it in a positive light. You will face opposition if you use it openly."

"Okay... thank you" Lorraine awkwardly said, adjusted her coat, walked up the ramp, and opened the large blue door at the landing.

Every person’s mind was different. Some were bright, some were dark, some were organized, and some were chaotic. More often than not, a person’s mindscape would be little more than mist with thoughts drifting through it at random. Some could create settings within their minds, havens to retreat to in times of stress. Fewer still could craft entire worlds by imagination alone.

The Nightmare’s hooves clicked onto hard white tile. Her starry head turned back and forth. She was in a long dark hallway that extended almost infinitely in either direction. It was only illuminated by her own blue radiance. The floor was white tile. The ceiling was gray and some kind of liquid was dripping off it. The walls appeared to be lined in… lockers?

'Can you really blame me? Schools are creepy at night, I thought it was fitting.'

Nightmare swung her head around, looking for the source of the voice. “Serpent! You have invaded not only my domain, but the sanctity of another’s mind!”

'Well, I saw the opportunity, since, you know, nobody’s been really keeping an eye on me.'

“How did you get free, you were sealed away!” Nightmare stamped a hoof.

'You can find a hole in anything given enough time. That and it helped that Johnny Boy was the perfect point in the mortal plane to latch onto. I don’t have long anyways, relatively speaking. Why do you care anyway, I thought you hated Primordials, what with them always eating your servants.'

“John is the lover of one I have taken under my wing.” Nightmare replied. “And I am here to remove you from him.”

'Good luck. Thanks by the way. You taking Johnny out of here really let me stretch out and get my hooks in.'

“Silence!” Nightmare snapped, her glow intensifying as the world warped like a stone was thrown into water.

There was a strange sound of a siren and the world snapped back into place. There was a squelching noise as something began to creep along the floor under her hooves. The locker’s began to creak as rust rippled over their surfaces. Paint began to crumble off the ceiling, falling like ash to the floor.

'Oh. Oh dear Nightmare, you’ve gotten weaker. Goes to show what a thousand years without servants can do to you.'

“Silence Deceiver!” Nightmare roared as her light shined once again. Only to swiftly flicker and die.

There was the sound of metal screeching against stone. Like something heavy was being dragged along the floor.

'See, sweetie,'

I don’t have that problem.

A pressure bore down on the celestial alicorn.

And I’m not going to let you ruin my fun.

The siren grew louder as the screeching metal drew closer.

A blue butterfly flapped in front of her vision.

A glowing blue door opened up in the wall. Lorraine stepped out, however she was bipedal and was wearing a blue trench coat.

The pressure faded from Nightmare.

‘Oh! Johnny boy’s lover that never puts out. Hi! How are you doing? Welcome to Silent Hill, make yourself at home.’

The doe blinked slowly, giving no response.

‘Wow, tough crowd. You gonna offer yourself up as my new plaything?’

Music suddenly started playing.

The doe strode forward. A white porcelain mask appeared over her eyes in a ripple of blue fire. The left eye was covered by a dark blue lily.

‘Correction, new dance partner and current distraction.’

“Come Messiah.” Lorraine intoned as she tore the mask from her face.

A blue portal sprang to life, making John jump. The Nightmare staggered through. John immediately stood up and trotted over to the, honestly weak looking goddess. “What happened?”

“The Serpent is significantly stronger than I remember.” Nightmare shook her head.

“So, put me back, let me distract the snake-y fucker.” John growled, almost snarling at her.

“Lorraine is providing enough of a distraction. I do not need to send you back. If I did, you would simply be trapped in his nightmare once again, and I will not allow one so close to Lorraine to suffer.” Nightmare shook her head. “The Serpent’s link to this world will soon run out, faster still if the Gods decide to intervene.”

“I don’t give a fuck!” John growled. “I’m not gonna let Lorraine just fight him alone. We can distract him together or something.” The small, spectral, bipedal, insectoid glared at the comic alicorn looking down at him. “Plus I’m not letting him just fucking murder anyone he comes across while he joyrides around in my body! So what if they’re demons and stuck us in the equivalent of SCP Containment Breach?! They don’t deserve whatever the fuck he does to them!”

“You can’t take back your body from him John.” Nightmare shook her head. “Even limited as he is, he not only is maintaining a way into the world, and using your body as a conduit, and hiding himself from the other gods. He still outclasses you by multiple degrees. You cannot win against that.”

“Fucking watch me!” John snarled.

“If I cannot dissuade you… Then... Very well.” Nightmare slowly nodded. “This will not be pleasant.”

John snorted. “At this point, I’m used to unpleasant.”

Nightmare slowly nodded. “As you wish. Good luck John.”

The Serpent was… annoyed. The giant of a man, bearing a massive cleaver and a metal pyramid-like helmet, apparently couldn’t hit anything.

The gargantuan knife cleaved across the hallway, only for the doe to almost casually step backwards.

It’s not hard! Just hit her!

The giant swung in a massive overhead swing.

And the blade seemed to land right next to her... without the doe moving.

‘Mmmmgggggg….. I call hax!’

It didn’t help that the entity floating just behind her wasn’t doing anything. It was like she was going out of her way to keep his attenti-

‘Wait…’

In the moment that The Serpent “looked away” the pyramid headed giant simply stood still. It was at that moment, that Lorraine stepped back, Messiah floated forward, and a cascading dome of white light engulfed the giant… and the rest of the hallway.

John was plunged into freezing cold water. He tried not to gasp and failed as water filled his lungs. He coughed and sputtered as lightning flashed in the sky and thunder deafened him.

‘Johnny! You’re back! Tell your girl to back off, she’s annoying as shit!’

He could barely think as he felt himself start to sink.

He felt tired.

‘Oh, though I’ve had fun with the character creator. Despite your bitch’s cheating- fucking- dodge build- I have been making a mess! Oh Johnny, you should see it. I popped a little imp like a grape! -Fucking- Stop! You made him fucking stab me!’

He was sinking into the cold depths.

He tried to struggle but his arms and legs found no purchase. He’d never learned to swim. That and deep water had always terrified him.

Who knows what lived in the depths?

He couldn’t breath, yet he did not fall unconscious. He just existed in a constant state of drowning and being dreadfully aware of that fact.

He couldn’t think. His mind was fuzzy. And yet it continued to race unheeded, from nightmarish thought to nightmarish thought.

He’s going to kill everyone.
Everyone will think it’s me.
Everyone’s going to hate me.
Lorraine will hate me.
He’s going to kill Lorraine.

‘What did you really think you could do Johnny? I am a’ God. I am a God to other gods. I have existed before time and space. I was alone in the nothingness and it was perfect! I could do whatever I wanted! Then creation happened and filled my nothingness with rules! It’s infuriating! And here’s you… What did you think you could do, hmmm? You’re all alone. Alone in the Darkness. Your doe can’t save you!

He was alone.

No...

‘Leave him alone!’

There was a voice. It was familiar.

‘John! Find me!’

Where?

‘Huh? Did you hear that?’

‘In the depths. The depths of yourself.’

He couldn’t tell where that was. Plus, wasn’t the deep sea scarier?

‘I can’t be your self-preservation if you don’t work with me here! Wait- Ah ha!’

A tiny point of light appeared in the distance.

‘... What’s that?’

John struggled. Though his arms and legs felt heavy, he tried to swim.

Slowly… So slowly. The light grew.

‘John, don’t go towards the light! Don’t you know that that’s a symbol of death?’

‘Don’t listen to him! Wait, let me help, his control’s slipping.’

John felt something shift. The pressure was gone. He took a deep breath in and felt water burst from slits in his neck. He kicked and shot forwards.

‘Hey! Adapting’s cheating!’

‘How am I supposed to torture you if you don’t pay attention?’

'Johnny! Stop!’

The light grew. He felt his eyes adjust. The dark wasn’t as bad, but the “sea” was rather empty.

The light grew further as he got closer to it. It was like a white-gold star. Hovering alone in the depths. It was so warm. There was something familiar about it.

‘That’s yours.’

John blinked. He looked down.

His heart skipped.

It was a massive head wedged into the silt and sand of the “sea floor.” It was covered in black chitin. Six purple eyes stared up at him. A pair of massive mandibles served as it’s mouth. There was a massive crack in its forehead and a purple-black liquid leaked out of it. John also noticed massive red chains popping out of the sand. Whatever it was, it was chained here.

‘Hi.’ It said.

“Hi.” John blinked. “Who are you?”

‘I’m you…. Ish? Kinda?’

“Kinda?” John raised a brow.

‘In short. I’m your self-preservation instinct made self-aware. When you showed up in Equestria I ended up shoving myself into the position of ‘Keep the Primordialness quiet’ so nothing bad would happen.’

“Soooo, you like Hulk?” John asked, narrowing his eyes at the head.

‘Hell no. You’re the one with anger issues. Not me.’

“Fair.” John winced.

‘And you don’t have time to talk to me. We can talk when you’ve got your body back.’

“Don’t you mean our body?” John chuckled.

‘I’ll be happy just to go back to being quiet. It’s peaceful. Now. No time. Touch the light.’

“Huh?” John looked at the star.

‘That’s your magic. Yours, not the changeling magic I put in place to make you happy. We both know how much you love shapeshifters. Anyway. I think it’s time you take it.’

John looked down at the massive head. “How long have I had it?”

‘No idea. I became self-aware when we got here.’ The sand shifted a little like he was shrugging. ‘I’m pretty sure that’ll help you fight Discord Cypher.’

John set his jaw. “I am kinda pissed.”

‘When are you not?’

John glared at the head as the massive head chuckled. He shook his head as a heat built in his chest. He reached out and touched the star.

Instantly he was sucked inside.

The light filled him.

It didn’t burn.

It was…

So warm…

Crimson light filled the halls. He’d made sure to slice the main power to make the building enter lockdown. That way nobody would be allowed to leave.

His blades punched holes in the ceiling as he raced along it. His prey was running. She was surprisingly fast.

The white unicorn made to go down a corridor, only to juke and go down another.

She was good prey. She didn’t make it easy. She was also smart, having booked it the moment he promised her a quick death if she ran.

“Miss Winter!” A few demons stood in the crossroads decked out in swat gear and holding a variety of melee weapons.

Winter went right past them.

He leapt from the ceiling with a cackle.

A tendril from his back punched through the first guard’s chest before he hit the floor. He hit the ground and whirled, claws slicing through another’s body armor like butter.

Suddenly a searing pain erupted in his chest. For a brief moment white-gold light erupted from his chest. In the moment of surprise, the demons took advantage and plunged their weapons into his arms and legs.

He snarled out a hiss as the light burst from his chest and shot down the hallway he’d come from.

The light faded and he dumped more magic into the body, regenerating the damage and forcing the weapons out of his body.

“Regenerator!” One of the guards shouted.

“You’ll pay for that one Johnny.” Discord snarled as he whirled on one of the guards that stabbed him.

John blinked.

He was back in the hospital room. Besides the red emergency lights a soft white light illuminated the room. Looking down he saw that he was in his bipedal form and was made of translucent white light.

“Okay.” He blinked. Then took a rather unnecessary breath. Warmth filled his chest and burned away any growing fear. He frowned and started towards the door. He made to open it, only for it to open with the thought of opening it.

“Hmmm.” He hummed and stepped out into the hallway.

There was a trail of blood heading to his right.

He felt like his stomach should have turned. However seeing the blood only made him more pissed. He started down the hallway, following the trail. He didn’t make it far before he found… remains.

He did his best not to look at the chucks as he followed a decidedly larger trail.

“Discord’s gonna pay when I get my hands on him.” John growled as his light grew.

Every hallway looked the same. If he didn’t have a trail to follow, he’d probably be very lost.

He came upon another one of Discord’s slaughters. He made to move past it, but heard a ragged breath.

His eyes snapped over to the wall where a black-furred hellhound was propped up against it. He was missing an arm and there was a large slash through his chest.

He stepped towards the hellhound, causing the hellhound to weakly look at him. The hound’s eyes widened and he actually struggled to get away from John.

John knelt in front of him. “Shhh.”

The hound froze as he reached out and ran a hand over his head.

Warmth ran down John’s arm and a glow encompassed the hound in a white. The wound in the hounds chest slowly knit together. The wound on his arm however sealed over with raw red flesh.

The aura faded as John stood.

The hound looked at him in shock.

“Find a place to hide until the lockdown ends.” John suggested as he turned back to his trail.

A feminine scream of pain caught his attention and he burst into a sprint.

Winter shrieked as the blade punched through her hind left leg. She tumbled to the floor and writhed on the floor.

“The chase has become boring. Not your fault sweetie.” “John” loomed over the mare as she started to crawl away.

Winter sobbed quietly as her heart pounded in her chest. It was over it. He was going to-

~tick tick tick~

“John” blinked as something rolled between his feet. He squatted down and looked at it.

That…

Was a grenade.

He was momentarily blinded and deafened as it went off and shredded his legs, stomach, and face.

He reeled as his body immediately started to knit back together. His eyes swelled back into place and he whirled around, staggering a little.

“Keep away from my assistant, good assistants are hard to come by.”

“John’s” eyes fell on the serpentine form slithering towards him. A grenade was being juggled in a clawed hand like a baseball. The slit red eyes glared at him as his mouth was curved into an almost furious frown.

“So clearly you’re not John, unless he snapped.” Sir Pentious said roughly, magically pulling the pin then throwing the grenade. The grenade hit “John’s” chest and exploded, filling the hallway with smoke. “So, are you The Serpent he mentioned?”

“That’s me.” “John” slurred as his chest knit back together. “And this form’s been fun, but if you're throwing grenades.” His body started to grow. Chitin split and reformed as muscled bulged and stretched the small frame. The body molded like clay, growing, swelling and filling the hallway. A massive claw slammed into the wall, cracking the concrete.

“Well I can’t properly fight you here.” Pentious said with a sniff even as his stomach turned at the disgusting display. He reached into his jacket and tossed a few more grenades before slithering away.

He thought best not to look back as an unnatural roar ripped from the hallway, accompanied by very heavy sounding thuds.

He shot down the hall hearing concrete crack and split under the footfalls.

The blast door for one of the testing areas was ahead. Unfortunately it was sealed.

A thought occurred as he felt the thing get closer.

He felt displaced air against the tip of his tail and juked and rolled to the side. “John” went right past him and the screech of twisting metal announced that he went right through the blast door.

Pentious immediately righted himself and slithered into the testing chamber.

“John” now filled half the dome. A hulking bipedal brute composed of thick chitin, like an insectoid gorilla with large multi-jointed legs emerging from its back, tipped in long scythe-like blades.

“This feels a bit more fitting.” “John.” rumbled out slamming a hamfist into the floor. “Sometimes it’s just fun to break stuff.”

“Is that what you’re after? Fun?” Pentious snarled as he conjured more grenades.

“Well yeah.” “John” chuckled. “That and stress relief. I’ve only got… eh, I’ve been burning through more magic than I thought. Eh, if it makes me regen faster.” He shrugged. “You’re gonna be fun to break, though it pains me to kill another serpent.”

The air in the room suddenly dropped as a massive ice spike shot from the doorway. It exploded against “John’s” shoulder, causing him to stagger back.

“And it looks like you pissed off Boreal.” Pentious said as the stark white stallion stomped up next to the serpent. The ground beneath his hooves iced over as a cold mist rolled off the stallion.

“And then there were two.” “John” grinned as his lower jaw split open into a large pair of mandibles. “This just keeps getting better.”

John barely heard the whimpering over the explosions and roars. He saw Winter cradling her leg down a hallway to his left and raced over. There was a hole in her leg, but it looked like it was frozen over.

He immediately knelt as the warmth rushed through him. He put a hand on her. The same white aura from earlier surrounded her as the ice melted and her leg knit back together.

Winter gave a gasp then sat up as the aura faded. She blinked and looked at him. “John?”

“Mmmhmmm?” John nodded. “Get somewhere safe.” He then got back up and stormed down the hallway. He felt warmth rush down his arms and legs. Something emerged from his back.

Pentious rolled out of the way as a massive fist smashed into the ground. “I should have come more prepared.” He chided himself as his rather effective grenade exploded against “John’s” face, temporarily blinding the hulking monster.

Pentious slithered back as another fist came down where he’d been standing.

Suddenly a disk of white light smashed into the side of “John’s” head, only to ricochet off, bounce off the wall, and slam into the other side of his head in an explosion of light. “John” roared and staggered back as an ice spike from Boreal punched through his right thigh, causing a second shriek of pain.

“DISCORD!” A voice roared.

Pentious craned his neck around to see.

It was a small spectral biped clad in plate armor like some kind of knight from a bygone age. Four massive dragonfly wings of white light shone from its back. Its arms snapped out to either side. A shield of light appeared in its right hand and a hammer of light appeared in its left.

A lance of fear shot through the serpent demon but he quickly quashed it. He wasn’t as weak-willed as most demons.

“Johnny boy…” “John” ...or Discord... said with a chuckle. “Look at you.”

“Joyride’s over!” John snapped as he hurled both hammer and shield.

Discord made to swat them aside but hissed as his chin burned at the very closeness of the weapons of light. Both smashed into his face in an explosion of light.

“Why the face?!” Discord snapped as his face knit back together. “Is this anyway to treat your father?!”

Pentious made to slither over, and behind, the small shining knight. Boreal did the same. Pentious was surprised that wounds he didn’t feel he had, started to heal. “Interesting.” He murmured.

‘Perhaps I should study John properly when this is all over.’ The serpent looked at the knight as he stepped forwards. Pentious frowned. ‘With his consent.’

John glared up at the abomination that was his body. “You are not my father.”

The temperature in the room suddenly sky-rocketed. A pillar of flame smashed through the ceiling and slammed in between Discord and John.

The pillar erupted.

A vaguely humanoid figure in silver chainmail and silver plate boots stood tall. His shoulders were covered in what looked like green furred spaulders. A white tabard bearing a stylized sun covered his torso. A cylindrical helm was atop his head, bearing a single red feather. In his fist was a silver longsword.

The helm turned. Orange flames burned in the eye slits. He looked back to Discord.

“I am.” Solaire stated, raising his blade to point at the possessed body.

“I was wondering how long it’d be for you to show up in person, Gwyn.” Discord chuckled, taking a few heavy steps forward.

“I gave up that name long ago.” Solaire replied. “Now, leave my son and return to the abyss from whence you came!”

Discord’s mandibles shifted into a frown. “I’m not done yet.”

“Too bad.” John said moving up to stand next to Solaire. “Out.”

“Oh I suppose…” Discord seemed to think before his entire body shifted, collapsing in on itself, before lengthening and splitting open with dozens of legs.

The massive millipede reared back. You want it?! Come take it back!

Solaire broke into a charge as the monstrous millipede shot its head forward. A disk of light smashed the head aside as Solaire rolled to the opposite side. Icicles shot over John’s head and buried themselves into Discord’s back.

He shrieked as they shattered and the wounds knit themselves together.

John rushed forward as the head moved towards Solaire again. A massive two-handed sledgehammer erupted into his fists and he leapt. Mid-air he swung and smashed it into the side of Discord’s head. Discord reeled back and scuttled backwards up the wall of the dome.

“I will be right back!” Pentious announced before disappearing in a puff of yellow smoke.

“Snake!” John snapped at where he’d been then yelped as the strangely serpentine millipede head bore down on him. A shield of flames erupted above him, deflecting the head.

“We need to burn through the magic that he has access to in this plane!” Solaire announced as he cocked an arm back. A lance of lighting burst into existence and the fiery god hurled it into the Serpent’s right eye, causing a shriek of pain and a rough head shake.

“But isn’t that infinite?!” John snapped, summoning another shield.

“It’s like a funnel, he can only put through so much at a time.” Solaire explained as the pair leapt back right as the massive head slammed into the floor. “Plus Nightmare is working with Lorraine on cutting him off. Well more Lorraine than Nightmare.”

“Your love can’t do anything to me!” Discord snarled and snapped at John only for the jaw to close on a massive round shield. John skidded back as the shield of light cracked.

“Don’t you threaten her!” John roared as the cracks in the shield disappeared. A lance of lightning and a lance of ice punched into Discord’s eyes. The Serpent reared back as both lances shattered.

~thunk, thunk, thunk, thunk, thunk~

Small cylinders trailing smoke arced over John and exploded violently against the underbelly of the millipede.

“But nothing’s stronger than love.” Pentious announced as he slithered behind John, holding a grenade launcher in his arms. “Well, except for an M32 Grenade Launcher.”

The healing was slowing.

A pair of long multi-jointed scythes burst from right behind the head and shot towards Pentious. Only to be intercepted by a dome of fire and light.

The scythes shattered and the legs started to crumble.

John charged forward as ice lances, lightning lances, and grenades pounded into the millipede, now virtually pinned to the dome wall.

John leapt and summoned his sledgehammer. He cocked back and lashed it forward. It slammed into Discord’s face.

The wall cracked then broke. Discord and John fell through the hole in the wall as both were washed in the bright red light of Hell.

John stood on Discord’s monstrous face. Only now did he note the blue gem in Discord’s forehead. So that was to be his horn replacement.

“You think you’ve won?!” Discord snarled as his form started to shrink.

“It certainly looks like we did.” John stated before smashing his fist into the gem on Discord’s forehead.

John flared with white light.

He illuminated the darkness.

A massive snake made of living darkness glared hatefully at him. ‘You ruined my fun.’

“And you stole my body, so kindly fuck the fuck off back to whatever pit your crawled out of.” John replied.

‘I’m not just going to-’

‘Can I boot him out now?’ Lorraine’s voice popped up.

“Please do.” John nodded.

A bright blue portal opened up behind the Serpent. Bright blue glowing chains lashed out and wrapped around him. Slowly the shadowy snake was dragged back.

'You won't be able to mess with my boyfriend ever again,' the doe explained brightly. 'even if you return some other way, nothing you say or do will work on him.'

He’s not leaving unscathed!

Tendrils of darkness lashed out and latched around John’s right arm and the right side of his face.

It felt like ice was injected into his veins.

As soon as it started, it stopped, as the chains yanked the Serpent through the portal. Which slammed itself closed.

John’s light form evaporated as he fell unconscious.

A blue portal opened up in the courtyard of the facility. Lorraine stepped out, now returned to her normal doe self. She saw Pentious chewing out various staff and security, as well as Solaire, a very human-looking Solaire, kneeling over a dark form. Immediately the doe raced over to John, only for Solaire to hold out a hand.

“No. I’m sorry Lorraine, but I must take care of him myself.” The helm turned and the fiery eyes looked towards the doe.

“Okay.” Lorraine said quietly as her ears pinned back.

“If you are Nightmare’s, John is mine. I will take care of him and have him back to you soon. I have my own healing and seals I must put in place, for precautions sake.” The knight said as he picked up the small form. He looked back to the Doe. “He’s going to be alright.” He nodded before a pillar of flame engulfed the pair and they were gone in an instant.

“Lorraine!” The doe turned to see Angel Dust rushing over to her. “Shit doll, everything went more to hell than usual. Don’t worry, I’ve got some friends who are gonna get you out of here.”

“Okay.” Lorraine replied, while glancing over at Pentious.

“Forget him.” Angel shook his head.

“Hey.” A feminine voice popped up as a white hellhound, not actually looking at her and scrolling through a red cellphone, strolled up next to the spider demon. “I’m here to bring you to my boss or whatever.”

“This is Loona, we go back a bit.” Angel Dust said glancing at the clearly uninterested hellhound.

“I’ve got us a limo and stuff.” Loona commented, finally looking up and laying her bright red eyes on the doe. She blinked. “Huh, no wonder he has a crush on you.”

“Huh?” Lorraine blinked.

“Let’s just… get you someplace safe.” Angel Dust sighed. “Well, safer. And after that, I can tell Al you’re alright. Geeze, first he loses his shit then he lets you come back to this shithole? What kinda magic bullshit did you do to the guy?”

“I talked to him?” Lorraine replied weakly.

“Huh. Fuck it. Let’s get you out of here.” The spider demon and hellhound then escorted the doe out of the facility.

Author's Note

Lucid: Jesus this took me forever to write. Depression was being a bitch and made writing hard. But I plowed through a ton of this in like, two days. I'm honestly happy with the result. I hope everyone else is too.

Dragonfire2lm: The Persona stuff was fun to write. Doe girl's Velvet Room and new outfit are inspired by Doctor Who, her mask is inspired by the masks worn Philemon from the Persona series. And no, her Persona isn't Messiah, that is just one of the Persona she has access to thanks to being a pseudo-Wild Card. I plan on showing her actual Persona later. The scene between Lorraine and Alastor was...Difficult to write, not just because of the limitations of writing it on a PS4 but I had to juggle the character development these two have had with the "shit gets real" vibe I was trying to go for so I hope it turned out alright.