By either Hellfire's grace or through sheer dumb luck, Cobalt Trayer had somehow managed to survive an entire half-term teaching at B.I.D., and he was feeling both immensely proud and utterly drained for the experience. In the span of two short months, he had been subjected to more excitement than he had ever experienced in his four years at university, and he had expected absolutely none of it. But with the Autumn Festival just around the corner and classes finished for the midterm, the Incubus was finally given a chance to rest. Though his clock read eight, he remained beneath the covers of his futon, enjoying the bliss that was a lie-in on a Monday morning.

Even better, Karazelle had deigned to spend the holidays at her mother's house, allowing him to sleep easy knowing that he wasn't at risk of any nighttime visits from the Succubus.

The Autumn Festival was just a day away, though he was in no hurry to prepare for it. Traditionally, demons would spend the day gifting each other with food and drink, but apparently the teachers of B.I.D. would usually hold a staff dinner prepared by the Headmistress, so the burden of having to cook was taken off his shoulders. Cobalt was by no means an awful chef, but his idea of a wholesome family dinner generally involved soup, instant noodles and a grilled cheese sandwich.

Scratching his nose, he rolled over and yawned, causing someone to chuckle.

"Eyes up, sleeping beauty."

Blinking himself awake, the Incubus craned his neck to see none other than Quinn Redtile sitting on his couch, picking her teeth with the hairpin she just used to crack his door lock. He rubbed his eyes and sighed at the sight of the Imp, a little put-off by how her catlike eyes seemed to glow.

"Quinn, what are you doing here?" Cobalt groaned, sitting up in bed.

"Can't just drop in to say hello anymore?"

"Not when it involves breaking and entering, no."

She rolled her eyes.

"Well I'm sorry for interrupting your beauty sleep, but I came here for a favour," she continued, crossing her legs.

Figuring that he wasn't going to get back to sleep any time soon, Cobalt pulled himself out of his futon and trudged wearily over to his kitchenette. Flicking the kettle on, he yawned once more and leaned against the counter.

"Quinn, if this is about money..." sighed Cobalt, rubbing his eyes.

"It's not. Though if you're offering...?"

"Quinn!"

"Alright, alright, steady on."

Taking a deep breath, the Imp clasped her hands and leaned forward in her seat, looking strangely serious for once.

"It's my parents. Mum and Dad are coming to Hell for the festival. Say they wanna meet my girlfriend," she explained, fiddling with the cuff of her jacket.

Nodding absent-mindedly, Cobalt placed a pair of teabags into mugs and yawned once more.

"How nice. How do you take it?"

"Milk and one sugar, ta. But you're not getting me. I said they wanted to meet my girlfriend."

The Incubus nodded as he spooned some sugar into Quinn's tea and began to stir.

"No, I heard you just fine."

"Mate, I don't got a girlfriend."

He stopped pouring the milk and shot Quinn an incredulous stare. But there were no traces of humour in her slitted eyes, just worry.

"So why do they want to meet somebody that doesn't exist?" he asked, tossing the teaspoon into the sink.

Twiddling her thumbs anxiously, she stared at the floor.

"I panicked, alright? They've been mad worried about me since I transferred here, and I wanted them to relax a little. So I lied. Told them I got straight As, loads of friends, a girl of my own, the works. You get me, yeah?"

Though Cobalt generally didn't advocate dishonesty in any regard, he understood where Quinn was coming from. Moving to Hell to pursue one's education was a huge step to take in life, especially for an Earthborne demon who had never been to their ancestral homeland in their life.

"Well, telling them you get straight As was certainly a stretch," he uttered dryly, picking up both mugs and stepping over to the couch.

"I'm being dead serious here! What the bloody Hell am I supposed to do when they come down here? They've been wanting to meet this imaginary doll for days!"

Sitting down next to her, Cobalt placed her mug onto the coffee table and took a thoughtful sip of his own. It was black and bitter, but he found that it was the best thing to wake him up and clear his mind in the mornings.

"Why not try a little harmless deception? You could ask Lottie to pretend to be your lover; you two have gotten pretty close, after all," he suggested, shrugging his shoulders.

But she just sighed.

"It's a good idea, but Lottie's gone back to see her folks in Slomba. Not coming back 'til the first of November."

"I see... Anybody else you could ask?"

Quinn scoffed, nearly spilling her tea.

"Like who?"

"Let's see... Karazelle?"

"She's not around either, right?"

"Ah, you're right. What about Whitney?"

"Deffo not my type. They'd know something was up."

"Hm. Jelli?"

"Jel's cute and all, but it would just feel wrong. Besides, butter won't melt in her mouth; I can't expect her to lie for me."

"Izzbelle?"

She gave him a sidelong look and slowly shook her head.

"I'd die," Quinn stated, cradling her mug.

"Fair point."

A moment of silence passed as the pair sipped their respective teas. Letting out a deep exhale, Cobalt set his mug down on the coffee table and patted his student's shoulder sympathetically.

"Look, Quinn, I'd love to help you out here, but I'm afraid there's not much I can do for you. You may just have to bite the bullet and come clean to your parents about this."

"Nuh-uh, not happening. Mum always told me never to go back on a scam, even if you're floundering," she responded resolutely, shaking her head.

"Just what have they been teaching you...? Anyway, I recommend you think more on this in your own time, Quinn," the Incubus sighed.

She nodded slowly and drained the last of her tea, lost in deep thought. Setting the empty mug down, Quinn got to her feet and traipsed over to the door, her face the picture of worry.

"Right... thanks for hearing me out, at least. Feels nice having an ear to bend, you get me?"

Cobalt gave her a small smile and shrugged.

"Well, I suppose that's what I'm here for."

With a curt tip of her cap, Quinn turned on her heel and trudged out of the dorm room, shutting the door behind her with her foot.

Though Cobalt direly wished to help his student out of the sticky situation she had put herself in, the simple fact of the matter was that there was little he could do. Interfering with her personal life would just be a step too far. Shaking his head, the Incubus leaned back into his couch and made to take a deep sip of his tea-

- right as his phone began to ring, startling him into pouring the hot fluid all over himself.

"GAH, F- FUDGE ME!" Cobalt screamed, tearing off his soaked nightshirt as he desperately wiped the scalding tea off himself.

Teeth gritted, he grabbed his phone off his chest of drawers and held it to his ear.

"C- Cobalt Trayer speaking," he stammered, desperate to sound as though he wasn't in immense pain.

"Hey bluebell, how's it hanging? Actually, don't answer that; I wanna measure for myself," spoke an irritatingly familiar voice.

"Alison? How did you get this number?"

"I'm a woman of many talents. Jacking your phone was child's play. So was bugging it. Shame about that chick's fake girlfriend problem," sighed the human, causing the Incubus to start grinding his teeth.

"I don't appreciate you listening in on private conversations, especially through illegally hacking my phone!"

"I didn't hack anything! You can't hack fliphones, anyway! All I did was install a little extra hardware when you slept!"

"You were in my room?! What if somebody saw you?!"

"What, like that girl from across the beam? Nah, she was sound asleep as well. Was all cuddled up to you and everything."

Cobalt couldn't believe what he was hearing. Not only did Alison tap his personal phone, but she had the gall to break into his room like it was no big deal?!

Doing his utmost to curb his frustration, the Incubus took a deep breath and sat down.

"What do you want, Miss Titch?" he sighed, wiping his brow with the tea-stained nightshirt.

"Need you down here, ASAP. Got something I need to test, but I can't exactly put an ad in the paper for assistants, you know? Wait, do people still use newspapers here? As far as I can tell, Hell's still running on boomer tech. I mean, I was poking about your school and they still use floppy disks and CRTs in the computer labs, for fucks sake. You guys gotta get with the times."

"Alison..."

"Oh yeah, getting off track. Sorry. Yeah, need you down here. Like, now. Five minutes ago would have been preferable. But now would also be good. See you!"

The call ended with a click before he could even begin to form a response. Snapping his phone shut, Cobalt buried his face in his hands and let out the deepest groan he had in him.

So much for a peaceful midterm break...

 

-----

 

People had been giving the lake a wide berth since the rumours of malevolent spirits began to circulate, and Cobalt had begun to think that Alison herself was the source. Aching, exhausted and none-to-pleased to be out of bed so early in the morning, the Incubus rounded the edge of the water, yawning all the while. Squeezing past the waterfall, he turned to face Alison's hidden campsite, only to be met with something else entirely.

Where he expected to see a bedroll and perhaps a firepit, Cobalt was instead met with a metal door set into the rocky walls of the cave. It looked to be built from sheets of corrugated steel welded haphazardly together, with exposed copper wire snaking dangerously all across its surface. A numberpad ripped straight from an ATM had been bolted to the wall next to it, alongside a speaker that looked suspiciously like it had come from B.I.D.'s own PA system.

"Um..." Cobalt murmured, looking the device up and down.

"Hey bluebell, you made it! Come on in!" buzzed the voice of Alison, followed by a much louder buzz as electricity sparked through the door.

It slowly screeched open, revealing the heavily-toolmarked tunnel that lay beyond. It would seem that the human had been much busier than he had given her credit for.

"Alison?" the Incubus called, nervously stepping into the tunnel.

He was answered by an alarming clang as the doors slid shut behind him. Left in the dim light of a poorly installed fluorescent bulb, he picked his way through the downwards-sloping passage, taking care not to tread on any of the broken glass or exposed wires that littered the floor.

Reaching the bottom of the tunnel, Cobalt staggered back against the wall, amazed by what he say. In the span of a few short days, Alison had somehow managed to excavate a sizable cavern into the bedrock of the Brimstone Nature Park. Illuminated by floodlamps that she had bolted to the walls, it boasted everything an intrepid scientist needed; a host of computer monitors pilled on top of a table to the far right, several crates of stolen kitchen appliances and hardware supplies stacked against another wall, and a nigh-uncountable amount of wires and cables coiling across the dusty floor. Over in one shaded nook, Alison herself sat in what appeared to be some kind of nest comprised of blankets, pillows and various half-disassembled couches. Slurping on a cup of ramen, she grinned and waved the Incubus down.

"Hell of a place, isn't it? And it's not even close to being finished!" she cried excitedly, setting her meal aside.

She had certainly been busy, if the state of her garments were anything to go by. Her coat was heavily stained by dust, and her face bore a few scratches and scrapes from flying chips of rock.

"Th- This... How did you...?" guttered Cobalt, staring open-mouthed at his surroundings.

She shrugged her shoulders.

"Eh, nothing a little elbow grease and a lot of power tools can't accomplish. Still got a few more things on the agenda, though. Like a toilet. Gotta install one of them soon. Tired of pissing in the bushes outside."

"The, um... the red ones?"

"Yeah, those are the ones."

"Alison, that's called a Rashleaf bush for a reason"

"Ah."

She thought hard for a moment, scratching her rear as she did so.

"Must invest in some ointment... Anyway, about why I called you here!"

Sighing, Cobalt folded his arms and nodded.

"Right, of course. You better have a good reason for-"

"WHOPAH!"

As quick as a flash, Alison whipped an aluminium syringe from her coat pocket and jammed it into Cobalt's neck, sharply depressing the plunger and delivering a payload of freezing fluid directly into his veins. Gasping for breath, he shoved her away and collapsed back onto the floor, but by then the damage had already been done. Cold numbness rapidly spread through the Incubus' body, sapping him of his strength and denying him the use of his limbs. He tried to call out Alison's name, but by the time he managed to articulate the first syllable, he found himself unable to speak.

"There we go. Sorry about the cloak and dagger. Or, um... needle, I guess. But this is for the benefit of science, I promise!" the scientist piped in a cheery voice, hoisting the paralysed demon up onto her shoulder.

He could only lie there limply as she dragged him across the makeshift lab, unable to move or even speak.

"I was thinking about the problem your friend was having, and it gave me an idea! I had a couple of projects on hold, you see, but I think it's about time I started work on them again. Gonna need a test subject, though. Thanks in advance for volunteering involuntarily!"

Hoisting him up onto an old pool table, Alison grabbed a roll of duct-tape and strapped his limbs down, denying Cobalt any chance of escape.

"Here, lemme give you some adrenaline. That ought to help."

She stabbed another needle into his neck; this one feeling more electric. A few heart-pounding moments passed as the his muscles began to loosen, but only a little.

"A- Ali... s- son...!" Cobalt guttered, teeth gritted as he struggled to speak.

"Don't worry, bluebell. This can only be beneficial, alright? Besides, who doesn't want to have nanobots in them? It's like being a cyborg! Kind of."

"N- Nano... what...?!"

With a grin, the mad scientist wheeled over a tank filled with silvery grey fluid, hooked up to a small tablet computer that she had soldered to the side of it.

"Lemme just adjust the parameters... There we are!"

Producing a needle attached to a thin rubber tube, she rolled up the Incubus' sleeve and sunk it deep into his vein. It hurt like Hell, but Cobalt was helpless to do anything about it. humming happily to herself, Alison tapped the screen a few times before flicking a switch, causing the strange liquid to begin flowing into his bloodstream. A minute passed without much happening, but before long, the Incubus' entire body began to prickle as his head grew unbearably light. He felt sick and could taste blood in his mouth, but the human was deaf to his anguish.

"Just hold on... Ah, here we go!" Alison announced, producing two more syringes.

"N- No more...!" he hissed, stiffly shaking his head.

"Don't be such a baby! This is some serious science we're doing here, alright! You'll get it once we're done, I promise!" she retorted, flicking the needles.

The first sunk deep into his shoulder, causing his skin to feel as though it was awash with flame. The second went in his face, just above his right cheek. Pressure began to build up in Cobalt's head as his hearing began to dim.

"Hold on, nearly got it!"

A high-pitched whine slowly built up in his ears, causing the pain in his head to intensify with vice-like pressure. His vision was going blurry and he could feel blood flowing from his nostrils.

"Almost...! Wait... no, no, no! Shit! Bluebell, speak to me!" cried Alison, sounding as though she was a thousand miles away.

Eyes rolling back into his head, Cobalt began to violently convulse, heart hammering faster than should be possible. The Incubus was boiling in his own skin, and he felt as though his very psyche was being torn to shreds from the inside out. Faster and faster, his heartbeat buzzed on.

Until his vision suddenly darkened, and it stopped beating altogether.