Cobalt sat on the front porch of his childhood home, staring out at the townscape of Brimstone as he cradled a mug of warm milk in his hands. The morning weather could quite decide whether it wanted to be warm or cold; frost clung to the shadowed parts of the front steps, but sitting directly in the sun for too long made him feel uncomfortably hot. He had changed into some of the old clothes he kept at the house in case of any impromptu visits, but they smelled a little bit too much like home, urging him to hurry to the school and get changed into something more comfortable. Breakfast was little more than the mug he was clutching. For all intents and purposes, Cobalt should have been feeling incredibly uneasy.

But he wasn't. For the first time in a long while, the Incubus was feeling somewhat okay. He just sat on the front steps next to his luggage and calmly awaited the return of his family.

During the night, every time his thoughts encroached anything dark or dour, he forced himself to remember that he was no longer alone in this; that he now had an ally who had weathered the worst Incupsychosis had to offer and came out the other end, smiling and laughing. The mere thought of Brass Trayer boosted his resolve tenfold, and he was ready to do anything to make that old Incubus proud.

Not that he had to do much. Brass said as much, and that almost brought a tear to his eye.

"So," Lilith began, breaking the comfortable silence, "what now? We bring the old man down to the humans, and...?"

Cobalt frowned.

"He's more experienced with Devils than me. He'll know what to do."

"Kid, he only fought one. Didn't even kill him."

"It's not about killing them, okay? Look, we both know that the Alpha Corps won't be the end of this. Maybe with Dad's help, we can come up with a solution that won't end in a complete bloodbath."

The Devil sighed.

"... That sounds like wishful thinking, kid."

"Well, maybe we need a little bit of optimism for once."

His ears pricked up at the sight of a car approaching. Glancing up, Cobalt watched as one of his sisters' cars pulled into the driveway. Viridi stepped out of it, took a deep breath, and approached him with a wave.

"Good morning," she yawned, rubbing her eyes.

"How are things?" Cobalt asked, standing up.

"Daddy-"

She cleared her throat.

"Father's been settled in a private room at the hospital. News of his return is being kept under wraps for now; it's mostly Doctor Elliott and a few other trusted personnel for now. He's... not happy about having to spend so long in bed."

The Succubus sat down next to him and wiped her glasses.

"I'm just here to pick up a few things. Mother and the others have rented out a couple of hotel rooms close by. They don't want to leave him for a second."

Cobalt nodded slowly.

"I'd join you, but..." he said, trailing off.

"It's alright, I understand. This is all a shock, I'm sure. Best take a few days to process it while Father recovers," Viridi said, patting his shoulder.

"... I never thought I'd get to meet him."

"I'm glad you did. He did so much for us, back in the day. It's high time we return the favour."

Her eyes suddenly widened.

"Oh, I almost forgot," Viridi mumbled, plunging a hand into her pocket.

She pulled out Cobalt's tie. Folding it up neatly, she pressed it into her brother's hand.

"Here. He told me to give you this."

He ran his fingers over the overstressed fabric, feeling a strange sense of alienation from the garment that had hung around his neck since he was sixteen.

"Are you sure? This is his," Cobalt said.

"He said he's passing it down. He would have given you Ol' Joss, but she's been in bits for years."

"Ol' Joss...?"

"His motorcycle."

"I- I can't ride a motorbike."

"Well, don't tell him that. He might try to teach you."

Squeezing his shoulder, she stood up and stretched.

"It was pretty busy up there, you know. Apparently a B.I.D. student had been shot."

"What?!"

The Succubus shrugged.

"That's all I heard," Viridi told him as she turned to head back into the house.

He grimaced. Gone for just a couple of days, and already it seemed like the campus was falling to chaos. The entire town was still in disarray after the Devil attacks, and for a good while it seemed like B.I.D. was the only place that seemed to be holding together. But if things were bad enough for a student to get critically injured on school grounds...

Standing up, he grabbed his luggage. The Incubus had hoped to wait for the rest of his family to return, but duty called. He had to assess the situation, and prove to Mistress Viola that despite everything, the wellbeing of his students and the school at large was still top priority.

 

-----

 

Arriving at the front gates of the Brimstone Institute of Demonics, Cobalt was surprised to find that it was shut. The outside walls were mobbed by demons, each dressed in identical shirts and some holding handmade banners. They were yelling and chanting, their voices mixing together into an unintelligible drone that made Cobalt's head hurt as he approached. Beyond the gates he could see a few of the teachers standing with their arms folded, demanding that the crowd disperse.

"The Hell's going on here...?" Lilith murmured.

"Nothing good..." he responded, growing uneasy.

As he drew closer, he saw a particular Golem lift a megaphone to her lips and begin to speak.

"We don't want trouble, okay?! We just want to see him! Just a glimpse, is all! C'mon, you have to let us! Y- You know, because of religious rights?! Or something?!"

Cobalt held a hand to his face, his heart plummeting into his shoes as all the pieces clicked together. Now that he was close enough, he could recognise the handmade shirts they all wore bearing the likeness of his horns, as well as the banners detailing the Incubus' own hand-drawn face. As he grimaced at the sight of the Iron Hound Faithful, the Golem girl turned around and gave the Incubus a wide, brace-laden smile. She pointed at him and jumped up and down, nearly tripping up a few of her fellow devout.

"Kid, run. Before she-"

"There he is! It's him! Everyone, he's here! Get in formation!" Olive shrieked, causing the megaphone to squeal.

"Fuck."

Before Cobalt could even begin to think about moving a muscle, the crowd turned their eyes onto him and burst out into a cacophony of excited yelling. They pushed and shoved each other in order to get close to Cobalt, immediately triggering his fight-or-flight instinct. However, once within a few feet of the Incubus, they each suddenly dropped to their knees and prostrated themselves before him, with only Olive remaining on her feet as she picked her way through the mass of Cobalt's fans.

"Oh great Iron Hound, we've been waiting for many hours to catch a glimpse of you! How fortuitous that you-!" she began, shivering with excitement.

Cobalt raised a hand.

"What are you all doing?" he asked, looking around at the other demons.

"Do you like it?! I showed that picture around at our first in-person sermon, and everyone got super excited!" she gasped, hopping up and down.

He rubbed his eyes. Yes, he did dimly remember the photograph she took of him, back during one his bad days.

"Olive, seriously, you can't be doing this. This is disruptive," the Incubus sighed.

But the plucky young Golem was not to be deterred. She just beamed at him, her braces glinting in the sunlight.

"But Rave said that it was proof of your acceptance. A- At least that's how I read her messages. She couldn't come to the meet because she was sick, but... uh... yeah!  Aren't you glad we're here?"

Rave. That's the second time he heard the name of the supposed founder of the Iron Hound Faithful. If this little collective of his fans was spilling off the forums of the internet and into his personal life, then maybe Cobalt was going to have to put his foot down after all...

"Oh, I almost forgot! Offerings, everybody, offerings!" Olive suddenly cried, clapping her hands.

On her order, the rest of the Iron Hound Faithful reached into their pockets and pulled out all kinds of things. Most held up loose change and crumpled banknotes, but others held items of genuine value; watches, necklaces, rings, and other kinds of jewelry. Alarmed, the Incubus raised his hands.

"H- Hey, hey! What are you doing?!"

"We are still preparing offerings of sustenance, so in the meantime we're passing up material wealth to you, oh great Iron Hound! To fund your crusade against the Devils!"

"I'm not-! Agh, Olive! I'm not taking your money!"

Gasping, the Golem held a hand to her mouth as a tear ran down her cheek.

"Virtuous and selfless...? Truly, you exceed even your own legends!"

Sweet hellfire, there was no getting through to this girl. With a heavy sigh, Cobalt pinched the bridge of his nose and reaffirmed his grip on his luggage. He could only deal with so much of this rubbish; he needed to get inside and assess the general situation on campus.

"Olive, could you and your friends please vacate the school carpark? You're causing a scene, and it's disrupting my... my work," he sighed.

He'd play into her fantasies only to get her out of the way.

"But... But surely we can assist you in your work, oh great-"

"I prefer to work alone."

Her eyes went wide for a second before her smile returned. Bowing deeply, the Golem clapped her hands and turned to the crowd.

"Of course, I understand! Everyone, listen to the words of the Iron Hound! We must return to our temple and leave him to carry out his great work! Oh, and don't forget to hand out pamphlets on the way!"

With that, the crowd of zealous demons began to march off down the road, each briefly genuflecting and offering words of awe and gratitude to Cobalt as they passed him by. As Olive walked by him, she reached over and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Rave says you're gonna save us all. That you're gonna get stronger than even the mayor or the Sulfur Bloods. Is that true?" she asked in a quiet voice.

"Does your friend have nothing better to do?" he asked in response.

"She's the smartest person I know. She said you'd be wearing the Jawbone Crown before the year is out. Whatever that is."

Cobalt raised an eyebrow, surprised at how this mysterious Rave person knew about such an esoteric piece of Hellish history. Still, there hadn't been a Nine Ring King in centuries, and the Jawbone Crown likely never existed in the first place, so it was a moot point.

"... Go home, Olive," he sighed, pressing on towards the gate.

As he approached, Ethan Zespire stepped forward and unlocked it. As Cobalt stepped through, the Oni gave him a confused look.

"The fuck was all that about?" he asked, slamming the gates shut behind him.

"Don't ask," Cobalt responded, immediately heading towards the dormitories.

He didn't have time to deal with the Iron Hound Faithful, no matter how annoying they got.

 

-----

 

The Brimstone Institute of Demonics was slowly-but-surely getting back into the swing of things. Students were gradually moving back into the dormitories after their break, and the caretakers had used the opportunity to perform some much-needed maintenance around the campus, like cleaning up the worst of the graffiti and pruning most of the trees along the pathways. Nothing seemed that out of the ordinary, which only served to worry Cobalt further as he entered the boys' dorms.

After dragging his suitcase all the way up the stairs to the fifth floor, he approached his room, only to find that the door was already open. A little alarmed, the Incubus swallowed hard and readied his claws. In all honesty, dealing with a burglar would be preferable to Elya right now. He carefully eased the door open and peeked inside, but nothing seemed amiss. His light was off. The window was shut and the curtains were drawn. His things still lay everywhere from his frantic packing just a few days earlier.

Maybe the door lock was just faulty? It wouldn't be the first time something broke down for no reason.

Right as Cobalt pushed through the door to his room, a leg stuck out from behind it, tripping him up and sending him careening to the floor. Crying out in pain, he immediately flipped onto his back and prepared to defend himself, but froze up upon seeing just who stepped into the light shining through the doorway.

"Quinn...?" the Incubus breathed.

The Imp looked awful. Her eyes were bloodshot from lack of sleep, and she looked as though she had been crying. Her skewed hat cast a dark shadow over her face, and her clothes were covered blood spots and tears, exposing the fresh cuts that lay beneath. Before he could ask her what the matter was, she produced her switchblade from her pocket and flicked it open.

"Where is she?" she whispered, her voice hoarse and cracked.

Cobalt cocked his head.

"What? Where's who?"

"Don't mess me about, Cobalt! Where the fuck is she?!"

"Quinn I have no idea what you're talking about!"

Slamming her knee against his chest, she leaned in close and held the knife to his throat. Despite her rage, the Imp's grip was weak and she was shaking all over.

"She's always hanging around you. You have to know where she is, so just bloody spill it already!"

"I've been gone for the past few days. Seriously, I have no idea what you're-"

"Elya. She shot Lottie."

A cold sensation overtook Cobalt's body. The student in the hospital. It was Lottie. Taking a deep breath, he carefully raised his hands and placed them on Quinn's shoulders in an effort to reassure her.

"O- Okay, let's just calm down. Are you certain it was Elya?"

But the Imp was having none of it. She shook him off and pressed the blade closer to his neck.

"Of course it was her! Shot her right through my window; Jel was there and saw everything! I followed her outside and she took potshots at me too!" she roared.

Outside, he could hear the sounds of people's doors opening and their footfalls as they approached his door to investigate the disturbance. Feeling a cold sweat form, he firmly grabbed Quinn and pushed her away.

"She slashed the fuses beforehand! That bitch planned it all out!"

"Alright, that's enough of the foul language," Cobalt sighed, raising a hand as he rubbed his head.

"Why the Hell are you defending her?!"

He gritted his teeth as he was suddenly assaulted by a barrage of mental images, each of Elya's face. But it wasn't the cold, merciless glare that the Fallen was known for. Rather he found himself remembering the wide-eyed, verdant gaze of her in her occasional lucid moments. For a long time he found himself lingering on what he saw during the psycheflensing, and what she had told him amidst all the honey, sweat and confusion.

"Elya's not in her right mind, okay? he snapped suddenly.

"Oh, well thank you, Captain Obvious! I could have come to that conclusion with my fucking arse!"

"Quinn, will you please stop shouting?!"

"No!"

She grabbed him by the front of his shirt. Despite all of her wrath and rancour, she looked as though it was taking everything she had not to cry. Cobalt couldn't blame her; Quinn was one of the most confident demons he knew when it came to most things, but whenever Lottie was involved, all that bravado melted away into anxiety and self-doubt. She was agitated and scared, lashing out at him for want of something to do.

"They wouldn't let me go in with her! She wasn't conscious! That bitch has got to pay!"

"You know as well as I do that violence is never-!"

"Violence is always the answer, Cobalt! Don't kid yourself! From day one!"

Feeling his patience wearing thin, the Incubus grabbed the Imp's arm, forcing her to loosen her grip.

"Why would Elya want to hurt either of you, Quinn?" he asked, taking a deep breath in an effort to calm himself.

"Are you saying I'm lying?!"

"No, just think about it! I know she's had her issues with the others, but Elya has never come after you or Lottie!"

"I don't give a fuck what her reasons are! She nearly killed Lottie! Fucking Hell, she might still be...!"

Choked up by her own sobs, Quinn stumbled and dropped her switchblade on the floor. Spying an opportunity to deescalate, Cobalt made a dive for it. As he snatched it off the floor, however, he heard a cold clicking sound as something hard and metallic was pressed against the back of his head. He had been around Lilith long enough to recognise the sound of a gun cocking. Carefully, he raised his hands.

"Q- Quinn... let's not be hasty... just dispel that and let's talk," the Incubus whispered as the barrel of her Lead Revolver dug into his scalp.

"I can put up with a lot, mate. But this is just too fucking far. You need to get rid of her. Or I will."

"What do you want me to do? Last year Elya tracked me down to the school the moment I returned to Hell. I... I can't get rid of her."

"Oh, so you're taking her side now, are you?!"

"For the love of- will you just listen to me?!"

He twisted around, striking the switchblade off the barrel of Quinn's Lead Revolver, knocking it out of the way. Alarmed by the sudden movement, the Imp pulled the trigger, letting off a shot and blowing a chunk out of the leg of his bed. Deafened by the noise, he lunged forward and grabbed her arms, holding them up before she could regain her focus.

"I can't just abandon Elya like that, Quinn! She's my friend!" he hissed, tightening his grip.

"She's evil, you stupid prick! She tried to kill you!"

"She's just sick!"

"You're sick if you think that's a fucking excuse!"

She raised her foot and kicked him in the knee, buckling the Incubus' leg. She tried to grapple his arm and force him back into a disadvantaged position, but was suddenly knocked off-kilter when Cobalt unexpectedly headbutted her. The two demons staggered away from each other, gasping for breath.

"... After everything I've done for you, this is how you pay me back?!" Quinn rasped, dispelling her weapon.

"You're not thinking rationally, Quinn. Elya is-"

"Elya this. Elya that. Elya's not the one bleeding out in a fucking hospital bed!"

"How about we go check on Lottie together, alright? I'm sure she's fine and-"

"No!"

Swiping her switchblade off her floor, she flipped it shut and glared at Cobalt.

"You're not going anywhere near her. You've clearly picked your side," the Imp spat spitefully.

"What sides, Quinn?!"

"Us or her, Cobalt; it's not that bloody difficult!"

"It's not that simple!"

"Why not?!"

"Because I-!"

Because what? What reason could he possibly give to justify this? Elya attacked Lottie unprovoked, there was no refuting that. Out of all the girls, she was the most innocent in the Fallen's eyes, and yet she mercilessly shot her. She had crossed a line she had promised never to breach. Clearly she was getting worse, and the most sensible move would be to cut her out of his life completely.

But Cobalt couldn't. He could barely fathom why. Despite everything, he just couldn't abandon her. Deep down, he felt a bond with her; something that went far beyond mere friendship. Beyond even the complicated feelings he felt towards the others. The two were bound by something that held his tongue, keeping him silent as Quinn glared him down.

"... I- I just can't. I can't abandon her. Please, you have to understand, Quinn, I just..."

The Imp shook her head.

"Yeah, I understand. I understand you clearly don't give as much of a toss as I thought."

Opening her hands, she looked down at the scars spanning her palms. Swallowing hard, Cobalt looked down at the similar old wound on his right hand.

"Consider our bond ended, then. You and me are done," she said coldly, turning on her heel.

She marched out the door, shoving past the onlooking students that lingered in the hall.

"One more thing. If I see that bitch again, she's dead. You hear me?"

The Imp looked over her shoulder, her catlike eyes cutting straight through the Incubus.

"Brown. Fucking. Bread," Quinn hissed, before disappearing into the coalescing crowd.

The Incubus remained where he was on the floor, staring dead ahead. In the back of his mind, he could hear Lilith calling for his attention, and was only snapped out of his daze when her voice drowned out the rampant thoughts tearing through his head.

"Kid, what the Hell are you doing?! Go after her!"

Standing up, he walked over to the door, but rather than step through, he simply shut and locked it.

"No. This... This is fine," he breathed, sitting down on his bed.

"What are you-?!"

"Let her hate me, Lilith. That's what's best for her in the long run."

"What's gotten into you, kid?!"

He took a deep breath and laid back, allowing the anguish and frustration wash over him like a tidal wave. He chose this; to push them away, so that they may be safe when the fire in his gut finally reached criticality.

"This is fine," Cobalt said, staring at the ceiling.

"Kid-"

"No, Lilith. It's fine. I'll be alright."

He took a deep, shuddering breath. There was an acute pain in his chest, and though he was doing his best, the Incubus was having trouble ignoring it.

"... I'll be alright."