Chapter 27

Lock 1st POV
A couple of hours earlier

I frowned as I left Draco and Alpha Squad off at the lake as my ship made its way to Ponyville. I didn't want to do this, not to Applejack and especially not poor Apple Bloom. A part of my mind told me to just not tell them about The King Pony and let him rot in the brig, but that wouldn't bold well for my conscience. I walked over to the bow of the ship and stood up on the railing as the growing town came more and more into view. Draco was wrong about one thing before I left him: I wasn't brave, at all, because right now I'm more afraid of what I'll do if Mac says or does something that will set me off.

Once The Prometheus and the other ships hovered over Ponyville, I looked down to see Twilight and her friends, Applejack, Apple Bloom, and even Granny Smith, all waiting patiently for the ship to land. Not bothering to wait, I jumped off the railing and fell to the ground. Once I was a few meters away from the earth, I spread my wings to parachute my fall so I could land gracefully on my feet. I gently landed in front of the group, but I hung my head forward as my bangs covered my eyes a little.

"Dimitri?" I heard Twilight say.

I didn't answer as I stared at the ground until I saw the hooves of the Apple Family.

"Lock, we heard ya went straight to Manehattan, what did ya find?" Applejack asked.

I kept silent as the ships landed near the rest of the fleet as I grit my teeth and looked away.

"Hey, you don't get to clam up after telling me to stay behind while you went on to kick some flank!" Rainbow accused as she marched up to me. "Now tell us what the hay happened!"

"Rainbow Dash! Dimitri obviously doesn't wish to share with us just yet, so please refrain yourself!" Rarity lectured.

"Why should I?! I'm a loyal member of the resistance and a member of his crew just like everypony else on that ship, I should be able to have the right to know what happened somewhere I'm not included!" Rainbow snapped.

"Lock." Applejack said as she stepped forward. "Where's mah brother?"

I flinched at the mention of Mac and slowly looked back at her. Her eyes were full of worry, along with her sister and grandmother. My heart waned from the pressure of not being able to bear to tell them what happened, but I relented as I exhaled a long breath.

"We...found Manehatten...in ruins." I said slowly.

"Ruins? Was it that Saint guy?" Rainbow asked a little worried but I shook my head slightly.

"The monster attacked it...bodies everywhere..." I said slowly again. "We found the brainwashed and slaves...the rest were torn to shreds."

"Did you find out what the monster was?" Twilight wondered and I nodded slightly.

"He's a human, like me..." I said, making all the mare's eyes widen. "Brought here by Discord."

"DISCORD?!"

Fluttershy immediately flew up to me and placed her hands on my chest as she looked up to me with pleading eyes. "Where is he?! Where is Discord?!"

"The Crystal Empire...trapped in stone as a statue..." I said, making the timid mare step backwards as tears rolled out of her eyes. "Used the last of his power to bring Draco here." Fluttershy collapsed to her knees and buried her face in her hands as she sobbed and Rarity tried to console her.

"Draco?" Twilight said.

"That's his name, he's at the lake with Alpha Squad right now."

"Why would he be there? We can't throw a party for him if he's at the lake." Pinkie said innocently.

"Now's not the time for parties, Pinkie." I dismissed.

"But-"

"There's. No. Time." I said, slightly glaring at the party mare, making her cower away.

"Dimitri, what's going on?" Twilight asked. "You left once again without telling me, Cadence has locked herself in her room and won't come out, and now you're acting cold to us."

"With all due respect, Lock, but Twilight is right." Applejack said in a more stern tone. "Ah wanna know if mah brother is safe, so tell us what happened in Manehattan."

I narrowed my eyes at the fam mare and took a step forward. "You wanna know what happened?" I seethed as she and the others backed away. "I saw a near destroyed city, that was once called The Big Apple of Equestria, littered with the bloody and butchered remains of the enemy. I smelled the stench of death everywhere I went with my apprentices since there wasn't a single place that didn't have blood or guts stain the streets and walls. I went there to liberate the city and subdue the King Pony, only to find out I was once again too late. And to make matters more complete and utter bullshit, we managed to succeed in capturing the King Pony. But not before discovering that he had Zecora locked away in a torture chamber, wearing a Hell damn purple collar."

"Ya found Zecora?!" Apple Bloom yelped.

"She was wearing a purple collar?!" Fluttershy gasped.

"That's not all we found." I said as he walked past the mares and towards my ship as the group followed me. "We found Babs Seed about ready to be raped by the King Pony in the bunker of his mansion, but we managed to stop him just in time."

"BABS?!" Applejack yelled with anger. "Where is he?! Where's that bucker so Ah can kill him?!"

"You may come to regret those words once you see who he is." I said as we neared the gangplank. I stopped right at the plank and looked over my shoulder. "Stay here, I'll go bring the prisoner right now."

"Can't we come with you?" Rainbow asked.

"Wait. Here." I said with a small growl. There were no more protests after that as I walked up. Flash and Zephyr were waiting form me on the deck as I passed by them and to the door leading below deck. "Make sure that they do not get on this ship, they all need to see this together."

"Yes sir."

"Sure boss."

I approached the doors leading to the brig and saw a couple members of my crew standing guard. They saluted me and stepped to the side and opened the doors for me. Before I stepped through the doors, I motioned one of them to follow me, to which the young earth pony nodded and walked after me. The brig consisted of many large cages that would harbor any prisoners kept on board. Each one I passed were empty since we never really kept any prisoners, until now. I eventually made it to the back corner of the brig to see a couple of the ship's doctors walk out of one of the cells, each with large medical bags. One was a unicorn mare with light yellow fur and a violet mane and tail, both done up in a bun. She wore a pair of glasses and had a small mole on the side of her chin and her eyes were a plum purple color. The other doctor was an earth pony stallion. His fur was light grey and his mane and tail were a plain black. His eyes were a steel blue and the end of his muzzle was a darker shade of his fur. When they saw me approach the cell, they straightened themselves up to look presentable.

"At ease." I said as me and the guard stood before them and they relaxed a little. "How's the prisoner? Dr. Warm Heart? Dr. Surgical Steel?"

Both ponies looked at each other with a frown until Dr. Warm Heart cleared her throat. "With all due respect, Captain, Dr. Surgical Steel and I are somewhat amazed how he is still alive with all that you had done to him." Dr. Warm Heart said as she adjusted her glasses.

"I agree." Dr. Surgical steel said as he pulled off his bloody gloves and stuffed them in his medical bags. "Shattered kneecap, dislocated arm, severed arm that looks like it was torn off, multiple contusions that litter over half his body, 2nd to 3rd degree burns, a great many lacerations, and that's not even the beginning of his many injuries."

"We were barely able to keep him stable with the blood transfusions and I had to cast a great many heavy sleeping spells in order for him to stop thrashing about so we could properly treat him." Warm Heart said.

"All I want to know is if he's still alive." I sighed.

"Yes." Surgical Steel said with a disapproving frown. "Alive and awake, but barely."

"I need him standing." I said as I took a step forward, only to be blocked by Warm Heart.

"Sir, please, the prisoner can't be moved. It would strain his bandages and his wounds will open." She said with Surgical Steel nodding in agreement.

"Now it's my turn to say with all due respect, Warm Heart, because there is no reason for the both of you to waste your concern on a stallion like him." I said as I crossed my arms. "He is my P.O.W. and what I do with him is none of your concern. I appreciate all you have done so far, but I must order the both of you to vacate the premises and tend to the brainwashed and slaves still recovering. That includes the new shipment we just brought in from Manehattan."

Both doctors wanted to protest but nodded reluctantly as they walked away and out of the room.

"He's going to kill him, if hasn't already."

"I know what he did was unforgivable, but to go so far?"

I ignored their whispers as I opened the call door. Inside was the prisoner staring blankly up at the ceiling, covered in almost head to hoof with bandages, laying on a small bed on the side of the room. The floor had blood droplets all around and his bandages were stained red. I heard the guard I brought with me gulp as we stepped forward, making Mac lazily look over to us with the same blank expression.

"Got nothing to say?" I growled. "Nothing at all?"

"If...yer gonna kill me...ya should've done it by now..." Mac croaked.

"No, you don't get to decide when you die." I said as I loomed over his bloody form. "I do, you live when I say you live and you die when I say you die."

"So...why am I alive?" He asked.

"Because you are going to face them, all of them." I said as I raised my hand and ignited it with Hellfire. "I promised her to bring you home."

"This ain't mah home no more." Mac said as he narrowed his eyes a little.

"You're right, it's not." I said as I placed my hand on his chest. "But it was once, and now you need to show them what you've become."

"Why bother?" Mac dismissed.

"Because they're your family, or at least, was your family." I said as I slowly healed him.

"They ain't mah family." Mac hissed.

"Again, you're right." I said with a frown. "But you will face them nonetheless."

Once I healed Mac enough to get him to stand, I grabbed his shirt and hoisted him up, making him grunt in pain in the process. He looks up at me as he reached over to grab where his other arm was, only to hold nothing which makes him gaze up at me disapprovingly.

"Be grateful I let you keep both arms." I sneered as I pulled out a small brown sack and placed it over his head. I motioned the guard to help escort him and he nodded and moved behind Mac. The guard grabbed Mac's arm with one hand and placed the other on his shoulder and pushed him forward. I followed the two of them as we walked out of the brig and up towards the deck as we passed by more crewmembers. When we made it outside, I heard that there was a bit of a commotion from outside the ship. I waved my hand for the guard holding Mac to wait and walked over to the edge of the ship to see Rainbow and Applejack glaring daggers at Flash and Zephyr.

"Ah won't tell ya again! Move!" Applejack demanded.

"I can't." Flash said.

"But mah big brother might be in there!" Apple Bloom said.

"Ya better move right now, sonny, else you'll get a whoopin'!" Granny Smith warned.

"Yeah! If the King Pony is on that ship, I wanna set him straight by kicking the shit outta him!" Rainbow said.

"Dash, please, we just need you all to wait out here a little longer." Zephyr said.

"Well I'm tired of waiting! We all are! You haven't told us a damn thing since you got back and we want to know right now!" Rainbow snapped. She then noticed me walk down the gangplank after I waved my hand over for the guard and glared at me. "You! What the buck is going on here?! I don't care if you're the Captain, I wanna give that bucker a piece of my-"

Rainbow stopped immediately as soon as she saw who was walking up behind me. The others backed away with uneasy faces as we walked off and the guard shoved the prisoner to his knees. I glanced at the group and noticed that some of them were trembling, most especially Applejack and her family, as if they knew already but didn't to admit it.

"Who is..." Twilight muttered.

"The King Pony himself." I said.

"But...his arm." Rarity said, on the verge of fainting.

"Torn off by Draco after what he was about to do to Babs and what he said about Applejack." I said.

"Who is he?" Applejack wondered, making him flinch at the sound of her voice.

"He is someone who used to live here." I said as I stepped next to him. "Someone who was respected by all and smiled on the outside, but had an unbridled hate on the inside. As I was doing my research as for the King Pony's actions and when and how he turned up, I realized that it was all a big coincidence."

"What do you mean?" Apple Bloom wondered.

"The disappearance of Mac, the rise of the King Pony, what Braeburn said back in Appleloosa, what that leader said about him having personal ties with Applejack, his alias Mr. M, and finding Zecora...it all connected in one sickening discovery."

"Dimitri, you make it sound like Applejack knows this pony somehow." Twilight said.

I sighed heavily as I placed my hand on the bag covering his head. I hesitated, part of my inner voice screaming at me to not show them and save them the heartbreak while the other part demanded me to do the right thing even though is was so wrong.

"We all do." I said as I yanked the bag off, revealing to them who the King Pony was.

The chilled breeze of the late fall wind blew past us as the mere image of Mac on his knees sunk in to the mares. Dead silence, no one said a word, no one even breathed. The first mare to react was Fluttershy as her eyes rolled back and fell to the ground, Rarity couldn't be bothered to catch her as her tears began pooling out. Rainbow fell to her knees as she grit her teeth and clenched the dirt in her hands. She glared at Mac with a look of pure anguish and subtly muttered to herself how she wanted to kill him. Pinkie's mane and tail deflated almost instantly as her body trembled and started crying. Twilight looked at me in disbelief, like she wanted me to tell her that this wasn't real, but I just stated blankly at her. The few ponies that were taking this the hardest out of everyone were Applejack, Apple Bloom, and Granny Smith. Apple Bloom screamed as she hugged Granny Smith, she shook her head violently as she sobbed uncontrollably and screamed more and more into Granny Smith's shoulder. Granny Smith was in a sort of catatonic state, her grandson was a criminal and a tyrant, and she was in complete shock.

"You liar..."

I looked at Applejack who was glaring daggers at me. She then marched over and raised her fist and punched me across the face. I didn't move, I just stood there as I looked back at her, only to get punched again. "YOU LIAR! YOU BUCKING LIAR!! BUCK YOU!! BUCK YOU AND YOUR LYING FLANK!!!" Applejack screamed after every punch. "THAT BUCKER AIN'T MAH BROTHER!! WHERE IS HE?! WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM?!? WHERE'S BIG MACENTOSH?!?"

"Ya buckin' stupid cunt..."

Applejack stopped punching me and slowly looked down to Mac who was smirking sickeningly at her. "Always the high and mighty one, it's one of the many things I hate most about you."

"What...?" Applejack said, her tears now starting to form in her eyes.

"He ain't wrong, and what yer seein' ain't a lie." Mac chuckled as he scoffed at Applejack. "I'm the King Pony, loyal servant to Lord Lust and follower of King Dainn."

"But...that can't be..." Applejack said shakily as she backed away, Apple Bloom screamed more and more after that and Granny Smith did her console her but was still in shock. "You...are supposed to be mah brother."

"WELL I AIN'T YER BOTHER NO MORE!" Mac snapped. "I KILLED PONIES, I RAPED PONIES, I SOLD PONIES, AND I DID EVERYTHIN' AND ANYTHIN' I WANTED BECAUSE IT'S WHAT AH DESERVED!"

"DESERVERD?! WHAT THE BUCK DO YA MEAN?! YA HAD US, MAC! YA HAD YER FAMILY AND FRIENDS! WHY WOULD YA TURN ON EVERYTHIN' LIKE THAT?! YOU WERE MAH BIG BROTHER!"

"AND YOU WERE JUST A DUMB CUNT!!" Mac roared, not knowing my anger was rising and flames were beginning to flicker along by body. "Ah hate you..." He said as he seethed at Applejack, making her gasp. "AH HATE YOU AND EVERYONE IN THIS BUCKIN' TOWN!! YOU AND IT CALL ALL GO TO TARTARUS FER ALL AH CARE!! AH WISH LORD LUST WOULD CRUSH YOU SO YOU CAN ALL GET WHAT YOU DESERVE!!"

"Burn him..."

"IF AH WAS STILL FREE, I'D MARCH INTO HERE AND MAKE YA'LL THE OBIEDIANT CUNTS YA'LL ARE!!"

"Burn him."

"MAH ONLY REGRET WAS NOT BEIN' ABLE TO DRAG YA'LL TO KING DAINN SO HE COULD RAPE THE SHIT OUT OF EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU!!

"Burn him!"

"MAC STOP!! YOU'RE TALKIN' CRAZY!! WE WERE FAMILY!!" Applejack cried.

"THAT AIN'T MAH NAME, STUPID CUNT!! AH'M THE KING PONY!! AND YOU SHOULD CALL ME MASTER!!"

"BURN HIM!!"

"YOU MONSTER!! AH LOOKED UP TO YOU!!" Apple Bloom screamed.

"AND YOU WERE AN ANNOYING LITTLE SHIT!! AH SHOULD'VE GRABBED YOU AND ADDED YOU TO MAH COLLECTION ALONG WITH YER STUPID COUSIN!! MAYBE THEN YOU'D KNOW WHO THE REAL MASTERS OF EQUESTRIA ARE!!"

"BURN HIM LIKE THE FILTH HE IS!!!"

3rd POV
Hell

Deep within the Inferno where the Devil himself, Satanael, ruled over, the lord of Hell was lounging on his throne as he watched the souls of the damned scream and moan in agony. He then arose from his throne so he could go and check on his Hand and see how he was faring after their little argument. Truth be told, Lucifer did not like to argue with Dimitri, but the foolish human was beginning to become naïve and would most likely forget his true mission in Equestria.

"Stubborn child, why can you not see the truth?" Lucifer sighed as he stepped away from his throne and summoned a Looking Glass to see what Dimitri was doing. "You sound as if you know everything, and I suppose I must remind you that-"

Lucifer stopped talking as his eyes widened in disbelief. He saw that Dimitri was enraged and was covered in his flames after a supposed argument between the Apple siblings, but there was something different about the flames surrounding Dimitri.

"That's impossible!" The Devil spoke out of disbelief. "Those flames..."

Heaven
Court of The Archangels

"Brother!" Gabriel said as he stormed in. "What is this feeling?! What is the meaning of those flames?!"

"How am I to know?! I am at a loss as are you!" Raphael snapped as he and the other Archangel's gazed at their Looking Glass.

"He is but a human, those flames should not be possible to wield for a mere mortal such as he!" Ariel said.

"Phillip, you must get there before it is too late!" Michael ordered their champion through his mind.

"I'm already on me way! That crazy son of bitch! What kind of shite has he gone and done now?!" Phillip cried out as he flew at top speed towards Ponyville.

"This can't be possible, those flames are..."

Elsewhere
In Another Reality

Within the palace walls sat a King who ruled over his kingdom with his family and friends. He was a wise king who is respected by all, despite his world also being at war. Suddenly, his senses twitched ever so slightly, making his head perk up and look around. He arched a brow and looked at his hand to see a tiny black flame in his palm.

"Is there something wrong?" His Queen asked. As soon as she asked that, the tiny ember snuffed out.

"...No, nothing really." The King shrugged. "Must be my imagination."

Back in Ponyville

The mares, Flash, and Zephyr had backed away all together and huddled closely as they trembled in fear. Flames enveloped the area around Big Mac and Dimitri as Mac tried to back away with his one arm. His body shook fervently up at the monster who gazed down at him with a glare that would crack the earth they stood on. While the ring of fire burned with normal flames, which prevented the mares from getting close, the embers that flickered off of Dimitri's body and wings were completely different. They were not orange or red like normal flames, they were pitch black and flickered violently as if they mirrored Dimitri's burning rage. As for Dimitri's eyes, they changed from their usual grey color to a bright amber as his pupils shrunk down to pinpricks. Dimitri's jaw was clenched together as his lips were parted so his teeth could be seen, which were all morphed into razor sharp fangs that looked like they could tear the flesh off of anything they sank into. Dimitri then took a step forward and his boot singed the dirt he stepped in.

"I will burn you..." Dimitri hissed venomously, his voice sounding distorted and as if there were multiple people talking. "You are a worm, groveling beneath me." Mac couldn't speak as he tried desperately to crawl away. "A sinner, whose blood runs sickeningly black. You have a total disregard for all you have harmed and tossed aside like mere trash, when you yourself are the true piece of garbage." Dimitri reached down and grabbed Mac by his throat as he began to strangle him. "A degenerate blasphemer such as yourself should not be allowed to live, regardless what that blasted Saint says. Your mere existence is a poison and an insult to the stallion everyone once knew." Dimitri then raised his other hand and ignited it with the black flames and held it close to Mac's face, causing his face to burn and seer, making him scream through his gagging. "I should burn your very soul, so that your existence can become a forgotten memory and no one would have to suffer any longer knowing you still live with your crimes." Just as his hand was about to make contact, Dimitri stopped and Mac's face now had a very prominent burn mark that looked like a hand and stretched across the side of his face. "But...in the end, it is against my vows." Dimitri sighed as he dropped Mac to the ground as he gasped for air and held his burned face. The black flames extinguished from his hands and feet so that only his wings and upper torso had small embers. "The brand on your face will serve as a reminder of your crimes, but that does not mean you are absolved of the deplorable statements you just said."

Before Mac or anyone could react, Dimitri reared his boot back and kicked Mac right in the muzzle. Teeth and blood flew from his mouth as Dimitri then grabbed his shirt collar and punched him in the stomach. Mac lurched as he gasped again for air but Dimitri grabbed his mane and hoisted him up. He was then punched again in the ribcage, making the stallion cry out in pain each time. The mares outside the ring of fire couldn't bear to watch as they huddled more closely to one another. They knew what was happening was cruel, they new that Dimitri was going to far by beating Mac senseless, they wanted to call out to him and beg him to stop, but they also knew that this is what was expected to happen when allowing someone like the Hand of the Devil to deal the proper punishment. Applejack was heartbroken, angry, confused, and at a loss for words, along with her little sister and grandmother. Her former big brother was getting beaten to near death, and she allowed it to happen, because deep down...she wanted it to happen to a traitor who hurt her family. Dimitri then dropped Mac again who was barely breathing but somehow made sure to keep him well enough to survive. With a swipe of his hand, the ring of fire extinguished around him and the beaten stallion, along with the black flames that snuffed themselves out and his eyes returned to normal. Scowling, he grabbed Mac's leg and dragged him to The Prometheus.

"Wait!" Dimitri looked over his shoulder to see Applejack and a still sniffling Apple Bloom, along with their still in shock Granny Smith, walk up to me despite the fear in their eyes. "What are you gonna do to him?" Applejack asked.

"Why do you care?" Dimitri wondered. "I'm gonna take him before Celesita and Luna where he will stand trial for his crimes. It's most likely that he'll be thrown in prison for the rest of his life and I'm going to make sure they do so and throw away the key."

"Well, we...wanna come with you."

"After what you just saw me do to him?" Dimitri questioned.

"He ain't mah brother anymore." Applejack said a little spitefully. "The things he said and done, he's no longer the Mac Ah once knew. But Ah at least wanna see him off before he gets hauled off to prison, Ah feel like Ah owe him that much at least."

Dimitri stared at Applejack for a moment but he knew she wouldn't stay even he told her so. "Do what you will, it's none of my concern anyway." He said as he stepped to the side to let them board. She nodded thankfully as she and her family walked passed Dimitri. He then looked over to his apprentices who flinched a little at his gaze. "Go take an airboat and pick up Alpha Squad and Draco at the lake. Bring them back here for debriefing while I take this worm to Canterlot."

The two stallions didn't argue as they did what they were told and went to ask Spitfire and Soarin to join them. Dimitri looked over his shoulder once more to see most of the mares crying after the display, then to his merfriend who looked as sad as she did when Shining Armor passed away. Twilight knew what Dimitri did was something she knew he was capable of, but she never imagined he would unleash such a brutal display on her best friend's brother. Twilight looked to Dimitri, whose eyes were back to their normal and sad grey color, and frowned, but her feelings for her stallion did not waver in the slightest. Dimitri turned around and dragged Mac up the gangplank and along the deck, ignoring the concerned looks from his crew and made his way back to the brig. Once he arrived, he opened Mac's cage again and tossed him in and walked up beside the groaning stallion.

"You were the best of many, Mac." Dimitri said as he reached down with his Hellfire and healed him again but only slightly, "I'm very disappointed in you."

After healing Mac slightly again, Dimitri turned around and shut the cell's door. He marched out of the brig and back up to the helm so he could address the crew. "This is Captain Lock!" He called out. "All hands on deck, we're heading to Canterlot!"

The crew did as they were told and prepared for the engines for takeoff. As The Prometheus lifted in the air, Phillip was standing atop of a cloud high above Ponyville. The Saint was trying to figure out what he had jus witnessed, the fear he felt when he gazed into Lock's eyes was jarring since he had never seen Lock act so brutally before, even in Manehattan. What's worse is those strange black flames that flickered off of Lock's body. Phillip had never seen black flames before nd they looked like they weren't any normal flames, not in the slightest.

"Jaysus, Mary, and Joseph, what in the bloody hell was that...?" Phill muttered to himself. Knowing that Mac was still alive, Phill flapped his wings and flew back to Sanctuary.

Dimitri 1st POV

I perched myself in the crow's nest so that I could be alone. I gazed at my hands and noticed that there was still small blotches of blood that stained my gloves, which made me furrow my brows as I used my flames to burn them away.

"Dimitri."

I looked over to see Lucifer beside me with his arms crossed and staring at me with a stern glare. "Not now, Lucifer, I'm not in the-"

"Explain yourself." Lucifer demanded.

"Explain what?"

"You know what, that black flame, how were you able to conjure it?"

"Black flame? What are you talking about?"

"I would highly advise you not play coy with me, brat, I demand you tell me how you were able to summon that black flame this instant."

"I have no idea what the hell you're on about and I don't care. I just want to get this damn day over and done with so I can plan for the attack on The Crystal Empire." I sighed. Lucifer stepped towards me, making me turn to him and he was close to my face. His red eyes glowed brightly under the shadow of his hood, as if he was staring into my very soul.

"Do you mean to tell me you did not notice the black flames that enveloped your body? Not even when you held your inflamed hand up to that stallion's face?" Lucifer questioned.

"Black, blue, pink, who gives a shit?" I scoffed. "I still wouldn't know what the hell you're talking about. Maybe I just didn't notice because I was too busy forcing myself to not rip off Mac's head and mount it on a pike. Lucifer stared at me for a few more moments until he sighed and turned away.

"If you truly do not know, then I suppose I have no choice but to leave it as it is." Lucifer said as he shook his head. "Just heed this warning, Dimitri, never allow that flame to return. You will do more harm than good, even if you are my Hand and do not recall ever conjuring it up."

Before I could question him, Lucifer disappeared in a puff of flames, leaving me to my self. I tried to think about whatver black flames he was talking about but whenever I did I only saw my regular flames. What could he have possibly meant? Were these apparent black flames so dangerous that even Lucifer had to warn me about them? Whatever the case, I didn't really care since I had to do one more thing before continuing my campaign against Lust. Once I return and Mac is sent off to prison for the rest of his life, I will be making plans to end the corruption and Lust himself.

3rd POV
Heaven

The Archangels were at a loss on what to do. While his siblings were bickering amongst themselves, Michael was pacing back and forth trying to access the situation on his own.

"This can't be possible, he just a human inside and out." Michael mumbled to himself. "But that black flame, there's no mistaking it." Michael paused as he looked out the window where the many statues stood. His eyes wondered to the five winged angel who kept her graceful smile. "Alga, how can this be? There is another who is able to wield Death Fire?"

Hell

Lucifer glared at a portrait of himself in his inner sanctum. The portrait of him and a young looking demon and they were both in formal attire and smiling, like they were the best of friends.

"Ronsihr, only your boy is able to conjure Death Fire, there were no other survivors from that day. So why is my Hand able to do so as well?" The Devil wondered aloud as he gazed at the image of his fallen friend.

Author's Note

A dark and unstable power looms within his soul. But for Satanael and the Archangels to give great concern over it, just what could it possibly be?

Hope you enjoyed.

~WurkyWilk has left the building...