The Way, the Truth, and...(Betrayal)

Dunkleflemme looked for a demon that would be willing to fight him. His reputation as a rather merciless fighter had gotten around, so it had been getting harder and harder to find an opponent- suitable or otherwise.

He flew across the bleak landscape, traveling close to the red plain in hopes of spotting a decent fighter. For a while, all that he came across was the Damned…were any of these Damned from Gomorrah? Dunkleflemme decided not to worry about the possibility either way.

Finally, he found a demon.

“Hello,” he called down below.

The demon looked up, narrowing her eyes, but going nowhere. She was at least smart enough to know not to run.


The she-demon was rather tall, standing at about six and a half feet. Her legs had an extra joint that bent them backwards at an odd angle and both her feet and hands ended in massive, black claws. Her weight was further supported by a thick tail that drug across the ground slightly. Her skin was the color of venom yellow swathed with black and was as rough as a reptile’s skin. Her body was curvy, and swayed with serpentine movements. Her head was that of a giant snake, the irises of her slit eyes glowed bright green. Atop the demon’s massive head were what appeared to be thick dreadlocks but where, in fact, tentacles. The giant head opened its massive jaws to reveal a face…at least that was what one might assume. The skin of this ‘face’ was the light pink of a cotton mouth’s gums and folded vertically in four places and horizontally in the middle of the creature’s face. The mouth was a deeper shade of pink and opened to reveal only an emptiness framed by two bright fangs. The eyes were black, viscous pin balls that shimmered like congealed slime.


“What do you want, plaything of the devil?” the serpentine demon asked.

“Aw…that hurts my feelings. Why would you call me that?”

“Because that is what you are…an amusement….experiment at best. He will get bored with you eventually… You are already proving to be a disappointment, after all.”

“And what do you know of such matters?” Dunkleflemme asked, thinking back to Lucifer’s request that he work with his ‘counterpart.’

“I know that you are too weak to last for long.”

Dunkleflemme wrote this demon off as useless for information. She obviously knew very little about him.

“Care to put your words to action?”

“Not particularly.”

“Talk is very overrated…if you think me so useless, so weak, why don’t you prove it with actions?”

“It will be proven in due time.”

Dunkleflemme landed on the ground less than a foot away from the she-demon.

“Prove it now,” he said, his voice low.

She stepped back.

“Back off,” she said, “I don’t want to fight you…”

“Why not?”

“I just don’t,” she said, deciding not to bluff anymore.

He stepped closer, his toes now on top of hers.

“That’s not good enough,” he said, watching her pupils widen, “I want a fight, and you claim that I am weak…I will not leave until you prove it.”

She stepped back and went to move around him. He grabbed her arm roughly.

“Let me go!” she yelled, now beginning to panic.

He began to heat the area of her arm that he held.

“No…fight me now.”

“I won’t!”

Flames now licked her arm from underneath his fingers.

“Let go!” she said, pulling her arm away. Her skin had a charred imprint of Dunkleflemme’s hand.

The she-demon held her arm where the mark now smoldered. Her eyes smoldered as she regarded this foe.

“I can do much worse…fight me or you will die right now,” he said to her, his voice cold and cruel.

She removed her hand from her burnt arm, brought it to her mouth, and spit in it.

Dunkleflemme smiled, “So you will fight?”

She walked up to him, and slapped him squarely on his right cheek.

He grabbed her arm as she pulled away, brought her close enough so that he could get her neck, and lifted her up. He couldn’t exactly bring her off the ground, but she hung limp, so he took advantage of the situation and punched her in the stomach. She fell face-first into the ground, laughing.

“What is so amusing?”

“Your face,” she said.

Dunkleflemme felt it. The skin that she had slapped was now burning. His ability to regenerate destroyed tissue was keeping the poison at bay, but he had no immunities to such things. The poison was left to perpetually destroy the skin that his body was making.

“I wonder how long your skin will be able to keep in check the effects of my venom… After all, the effects accelerate as it consumes more skin…”

“Interesting…” Dunkleflemme said.

He leapt into the air, landing on her back.

“Get up,” he said, kneeling down and grabbing the tentacles on her head.

Her long arms reached back and grabbed Dunkleflemme’s head.

“How about you lay down,” she said, and flipped him over her and onto the dusty ground.

She bent over his face, opened her mouth to reveal her strange, pinball eyes, and desperately brought his mouth to her inner fangs.

He punched her in the mouth, hoping to shock her into letting go. Instead, she bit down harder. The outer mouth closed over the inner one, making it impossible for him to move his arm from the elbow down. He felt a strange sensation, almost like ice penetrating his knuckles and entering his bloodstream. He shivered, and grabbed for the she-demon’s large outer eye.

She jerked back, leapt, rather adeptly for her height, back to her feet, spinning as she did and hitting Dunkleflemme in the mouth with her tail. He grabbed her tail and yanked it hard enough to put her on her knees. He got up and tried to kick her in the side, but missed. His vision blurred.

“Hm…that was faster than I anticipated…” he heard her say from afar.

His knees suddenly felt like jelly and his head felt like something had decided to take a swim in it. He staggered to the ground.

“I don’t…understand…”

“Venom…” was the last thing Dunkleflemme heard before his world went black.

He couldn’t see, he couldn’t feel, he couldn’t move…but he could still think. He was vaguely aware of the fact that he might still be laying on the ground.

I’m going to die…she can kill me at her leisure…I…so…weak…I can’t move…what happened?

He tried to regain control his body, mentally screaming as he realized that his body would not respond. He could heal the damage that the poison caused, but could not reverse the effects that it had on his mind.

Why hasn’t she killed me yet? She could have at any moment…is she taunting me? Laughing at me? Finding an audience to view my demise?

He struggled again, but still to no avail. His body was numb- stupid- separate- from his mind. It was a strange feeling. He had always viewed both mind and body as completely interconnected. Now, they were virtually two different entities.

Maybe I’m already dead? Maybe the reason that I feel so disconnected is because I no longer have a body to control…Is this what death is like? Is this my fate- to die at the hands of some arbitrary demon? I won’t accept it….I will not! I won’t…

He now felt that even his mind was unwilling to obey, and his thoughts slowly sifted into nothingness.

…I cannot…

Otiena continued to float above Hell, taking in most of the rather depressing sights with boredom.

Hell is monotonous… she thought.

She sighed and looked to her left nonchalantly. She turned away, then looked again. It was Dunkleflemme, fighting yet another demon.

One has to wonder what side he is on sometimes, with all of the demons he kills or permanently disfigures…


She shrugged, almost turning away. Then the she-demon bit his arm. She decided to stay and watch. She moved closer, and used her invisibility Illusion to remain unseen.

Dunkleflemme missed one of his blows. Otiena suppressed a giggle.

He’s going to lose…so soon? Even I overestimated him…Lovely…

Otiena watched with obvious smugness as Dunkleflemme was beaten by the she-demon. He staggered to the ground with the most delightful look of confusion that Otiena could have hoped for. The she-demon bent over his shaking body and brought his face to her mouth. She opened it to reveal her inner face. She hesitated for a moment, as if afraid of what she was about to do. Finally, she brought Dunkleflemme’s lips to hers and kissed him- at least, that is how it appeared. She then gently laid his form, now still, back on the ground and stood up. She looked at him, stunned.

Otiena revealed herself to the stunned she-demon and landed on the ground.

“Good job,” she said appreciatively.

The demon backed away from Otiena, afraid of retaliation.

“Don’t be afraid. I’ve been hoping for this for sometime, now. It was inevitable, really. With all of the demons that he has picked fights with, it was only a matter of time.”

Otiena looked at Dunkleflemme.

“He’s not dead yet, only paralyzed. His body repairs the damage made by your toxins, but cannot fight the effects that it has on his mind.”

She looked up at the she-demon, who was now positively shaking with fear.

“What is your name? I am Otiena.”

The she-demon looked at Otiena with disbelief.

How could she just write off her partner like that? Most demons wait centuries for a partner to ease their loneliness. She was made with one. Does she not realize what Hell is like with no one to bear it with you?

“I would rather be alone than have to deal with him. He is boring- too serious. And he’s mean. I’m sure you can attest to that,” she said, moving closer to the she-demon, “So, I’ll ask again: what is your name?”

The demon hesitated. Before she had died- when she was…human- there was a superstition in her clan that those who knew your name could cast spells on you. Surely this superstition came from some encounter with a demon from this place, but what choice did she have? The demon probably already knew her name. This was just a test to see if she was willing to listen to this strange demon- this “Otiena.”

“Nyoka.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Nyoka,” Otiena said with a slight nod, “Now, you realize that he is not dead, right?”

“He will be soon, though.”

“No- he won’t. He may even recover from this state. His body is made to adapt to all kinds of assaults. It is simply a matter of time before he adapts to your poison. Then he can come after you.”

She said this cheerfully. As if she was a friend revealing the fact that her crush was going to ask her out in five minutes.

The darkness of Dunkleflemme’s mind began to stir. He could almost swear he could hear voices.

“Why would he come after me? I-I was simply defending myself…”

The she-demon…she is still here. She may want to kill me, after all. I have to get up.

“I know…” Otiena said with false sympathy, “But that is the way he is- the way he was built, really. He can’t help but kill you- he can’t lose.”

Otiena?

Otiena moved to touch his wing, but pulled her hand away.

“There is only one thing to do, really,” she said, now sounding as if she was bored, “You have to kill him. Right now.”

As if to validate this statement, Dunkleflemme began to stir.

Trecherous wench! I won’t kill that other she-demon- When I get up, I’m coming after you!

Now Otiena looked concerned.

“You had better hurry. I can hear his thoughts. He is rather angry with you.”

“Why don’t you kill him?”

“You know the rules. I can’t kill my own partner. Even with this wonderful opportunity, there are too many repercussions for me. You, on the other hand, are perfectly justified.”

“I-I can’t. He is defenseless. Maybe he will have mercy if I leave him to heal himself.”

Why couldn’t she be my partner?

“Fool. He won’t show you mercy…”

Nyoka turned and began to run.

“Then I had best get as far ahead of him as possible.”

“Idiot! If he doesn’t kill you, some other demon will!”

Otiena looked down at Dunkleflemme. What a mess she was in.

The corners of Dunkleflemme’s mouth seemed to curl into a smile.

Just wait…

On what? If you are threatening me, then I will kill you. Give me the reason…I already have the perfect opportunity…

Then you had better do it now-

Dunkleflemme’s body began to spasm again. Otiena watched as dark, purple blotches formed under his skin. His body could not heal them at the rate that they were forming.

“This is interesting…”

Dunkleflemme opened his eyes. A blue, opaque liquid was seeping out of his tear ducts and the corners of his mouth. He was no longer smiling.

“Nyoka’s poison works with emotion. The more negative the emotion, the more violent the reaction. You must help him calm down or he will die.”

Otiena looked behind her. Lucifer was there, and angry.

“He was developing immunity perfectly. Now he may reap no benefits from this encounter. I am very disappointed in you, Otiena. Nyoka was right, you know. Without a partner, Hell is a most unbearable place. Without Dunkleflemme, you will have to face this realm alone. More importantly, he is your counterpart. Without him, you are ten times weaker. The same goes for him. You need each other. The next time you try to take his life, I will separate you both. The only reason I am not doing it now is because it would be punishing him, as well. He will need to recover as it is. This sets everything back…”

Otiena looked down, shame making her body feel hot and queasy.

“I-I am sorry.”

“You will help him- now.”

She looked into Lucifer’s eyes. There was no kindness. No fatherly affections. It was almost as if he hated her. She wasn’t even allowed to read some of his surface thoughts.

“Yes, sir.”

She looked at Dunkleflemme’s body. It looked almost as if it was rotting.

She closed her eyes, and entered his mind. It was a place of chaos. Wind and sand consumed blue flames that lashed out randomly, as if trying to control the wind and sand. All that the flames accomplished, however, was to make strange sculptures of glass that were quickly swept up by the wind and shattered against other such pieces of glass. Otiena could hear someone yell, or perhaps that was simply the wind?

Dunkleflemme?

Go away, wench. You have accomplished your goal.

I would love to. As it stands, I have been ordered to help you.

Dunkleflemme appeared before her. His wings were shredded.

I don’t care about your orders. I want you out of my head- right now.

You will die if I don’t help you.

Why do you care?

If you die, I become weaker. It is as simple as that.

Ah…how tempting it is to spite you…

And what would that prove?

Nothing…but killing you might…

Go for it. Then any demon will be able to make short work of you. You will be ten times weaker if you kill me. You need me, too, Dunkleflemme. We are stuck together, so we might as well make the best of it.

Dunkleflemme strode closer to the image of Otiena. He considered choking her right then and there. It was only an image, after all. He wouldn’t actually be killing her…

I tried to ‘make the best of it,’ or don’t you remember? I offered to work with you. You turned me down. Then you tried to get that she-demon to kill me. What do you have against me, Otiena?

Otiena thought about this for a moment. She had never been able to quite place what it was that she didn’t like about him.

I don’t know what I don’t like about you. You are too serious, I guess.

I’m too serious? Dunkleflemme asked incredulously, Tell me you joking. That is just too shallow- even for you. There is no other reason that you have for wanting to take my life?

You…you have something I don’t. You are just as powerful as me. Maybe you are more powerful. I don’t know. And Lucifer cares about you more. He was so angry with me…

Dunkleflemme shook his head. The fire, wind, and sand began to calm. The fire spread slowly over the settling sand, turning it into glass.

You are a sad creature, Otiena.

I am not! Is it so bad that I want to be cared about by he who made me? What about you makes you so much more appealing? Is it your fighting skill? Humans can learn such tricks of the body. Is it your abilities? Why would those be better than mine? He gave them to you, as he did me.

And for this you would have my life taken? You want to be the only one that Lucifer ‘cares’ about?

No…I simply want someone to care about me. That person was supposed to be you…

Otiena looked at the landscape of his mind. The glass and the flames seemed…beautiful to her. What would people see if they were to look into her mind?

You appear to have things under control, she thought to him, and left his mind.

She opened her eyes and looked at his body. He was now healing. The spots of decay were retreating.

Dunkleflemme tried to clench one of his hands, but still could not. It didn’t matter, and perhaps it was for the best. He could still build immunity to the poison, now.

I was supposed to care about her? Just, automatically feel some sort of obligation to her? That seems stupid. How can anyone just care for someone else? It seems like that should be earned.

He chose to stop thinking about that. Instead, he focused on healing. For right now, he didn’t need to feel any emotion. Come to think of it, he probably never needed to feel any emotion.

Otiena looked at Lucifer.

“He is safe, now. He clamed down. He may even learn how to combat the venom.”

“Good.”

She hung her head.

“I’m sorry.”

She turned and left.

Lucifer watched her go. She needed to fully appreciate what it was to be alone.

He looked back at Dunkleflemme, who was still shaking on the ground. He would recover, but he would be vulnerable until he did.

Dunkleflemme’s body lifted into the air.

He would take him to the Gray Room until he healed.