Oddity Specialist: Purgatory
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“You look like the Cheshire Cat.”
Lilith tilts her head about as far as it can go.
“You kind of look like a cat, in a way.”
Her eyebrows contort together.
“What are you talking about?”
“And this is a lovely, nice forest. Much like the Tulgey Wood.”
“...”
“A lot of nice friendly creatures, dancing in the moonlight.”
Quinn nods his head along, with what he’s saying. Lilith looks around, confused, and slightly upset.
“Are you real, or is this actually a dream?”
“Both.”
She looks up to the air, then back down at him.
“That’s what I had thought. I’ve had a couple realistic dreams; but this seemed like too much. You know, until you started speaking nonsense.”
“I was hoping to manipulate the dream, with my thoughts.”
“So then, Alice, you thought it was best to try and aim for Wonderland?”
“...Yes.”
“Ah, then, allow me to play along.”
Her eyes narrow, and her slim smile returns.
“I’ll be the Queen of Hearts. Now, off with your head.”
Quinn’s head pops off, and rolls towards Lilith. She steps on it, stopping it in place. “Oh, that’s my body over there.”
“Still, I guess, I should learn how you got in here. Definitely not thanks to that neutered demon, you have.”
Quinn’s body starts walking around, feeling things out in front of itself, with its arms.
“Hey, no, this way. Follow my voice... Wait, can you even hear?”
She presses her heel into the boy’s head.
“Ah, that was uncalled for.”
“What happened to that fear, you just had?”
“I calmed down.”
“That doesn’t seem likely, or possible.”
“Why?”
“Have you seen me?”
“Yes.”
“I am fucking terrifying.”
“I’m sure you’re a fairly nice lady, once someone gets to know you.”
“...No, that just makes people even more scared, usually.”
“I won’t be scared of you.”
“Why?”
“No reason to fear the inevitable.”
“You’re treating me like a natural disaster?”
She gets a pleased look.
“Good.”
She takes her foot off, and kicks Quinn’s head to his body. The body places his head back on, and begins screwing it back on. She then asks.
“Why show up here, devil boy?”
“That’s the thing. During our last encounter, my soul went missing.”
“I don’t see, how that’s my problem.”
“Well, it isn’t, if you don’t want it to be, I guess.”
Quinn moves his newly attached head around, before continuing.
“Something has led me to believe, that my soul ended up in a place called Purgatory.”
“Uh-huh, I still don’t see how this is my problem?”
“I ended up here in, what I would assume is, a mission to get your help.”
“And what did you bring, as a barter?”
“A hearty thanks?”
“You’re not series, right?”
“...No?”
“That’s what I thought.”
Quinn starts to concentrate. “A normal specialist would probably be contracted to help, this one though...”
“I honestly don’t have much to anything to offer; but I know how vastly important it is, to get my soul back, so I won’t give up. All I can offer is this.”
He gives a deeply serious look. Lilith leans in slightly, keen on what he is going to say. Quinn holds out his left hand, pointer finger raised.
“I’ll let you punch Lucifer once.”
“Huh?”
Quinn maintains his series look.
“If I wanted to do that, I could at any time.”
“I think you forget, that he lives inside of me, and can stay inside, without coming out.”
“So, I’d just torture you until he does.”
“I could die in the meantime, since I am very fragile.”
“I’ve tortured people more fragile than you.”
“No guarantee he will come out. What if he finds it funny, or gets scared and stays in?”
“...I take it, you have no idea how much you are asking for?”
“Nope.”
“You invade my dream, demand my help, and you are trying to pay me, with something that is already rightfully mine.”
“Yeah.”
A vein pops out of her forehead.
“You remind me of him.”
Quinn starts to get worried. “Eh, it seems I struck some sort of nerve.”
Lilith looks down, her eyes unseen.
“Fine.”
She turns back up, with a vindictive expression.
“I’ll send you to Purgatory, personally.”
“...Thank you.”
“That was a threat.”
“Yes, one where I get the thing I want.”
“Leave.”
“I don’t know how.”
“Mhh, fine.”
Lilith closes her eyes, and the realm starts melting away. Quinn wakes up. He looks around, unsure of his surroundings. “Is this reality.”
He pinches his hand.
“Yep.”
Quinn has a conversation with Lucifer, about what happened, leaving out one specific detail.
“Then, if that’s the case, shouldn’t you talk with this Alastor?”
“Yeah.”
Quinn says that, thinking of their last interaction, and as his feeling grows deeper, it turns out to be true. Alastor is nowhere to be found, come the next school day.
Chapter 7: Purgatory
Quinn is standing in his living room, staring out, with a vaguely irritated expression.
“Yo!”
Lilith the Oddity Hunter is sat down on his couch. “Is that my food?”
“Lilith, what are you doing here?”
“Sending you to Purgatory.”
“Ah, and I see that you did not call ahead.”
She somehow manages to look down at Quinn, while looking up at him.
“I don’t need to call ahead. Do you even begin to know who I am?”
“A person who is not very courteous?”
“I could kill you, without thinking about it.”
“...I mean, you would have to think about it, otherwise your brain wouldn’t give the signal to do anything.”
“I’d figure it out.”
“Which, would take thinking about it.”
“Okay, sending you to Purgatory the long way.”
“Hang on.”
Quinn raises his hand, while writing a message out on his phone.
“I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
“Huh?”
“Don’t eat more of my food.”
“Do you understand, how busy of a person I am?”
“Not very, if you are just going to randomly show up, without even bothering to tell me you’re here.”
“You can’t just leave though.”
“Maybe, this wouldn’t have happened, if you called ahead.”
“...Leave, and get back before I kill you.”
“I’ll try to make it quick.”
Quinn heads outside.
“Well, that was unexpected.”
Lucifer says, walking beside Quinn.
“Mh-hmm, took you a while to show up.”
“I think it would be for the best, if she doesn’t see me, for the duration of her time here.”
“That might be a little hard.”
“Hm, why is that?”
“Ah, well, I guess you’ll find out sooner or later.”
Quinn lets him in on the deal. Lucifer gives a forlorn look.
“Why have you done this?”
; “It’s all I could think of, at the time.”
“You didn’t even give me appropriate time to mentally prepare myself.”
“I thought that might make it worse.”
“It would have; but still. Ooohhh, why me?”
While walking, the person he is going to see appears on the path.
“Hey.”
“Hey.”
Neri is standing there. She has on a dark pink, unzipped athletic hoodie, over a white jersey, with black leggings, and her orange running shoes.
“I take it, you’re heading to Purgatory?”
“Yes.”
“Alright.”
Quinn glances away and then back.
“I just wanted to tell you, before I head out. Since, I’m not sure when I will be coming back.”
“Uh-huh.”
“And, uhh.”
Quinn struggles to figure out what to do with his hands. “Why is this sometimes so difficult?”
“You know.”
Neri interrupts.
“I’m not letting you head off alone.”
“Huh? But it’s dangerous.”
“And?”
“I mean, that is a fairly solid reason, I believe.”
“Besides the fact, that heading to Purgatory will be interesting, I can’t let you go alone. This isn’t a mission we can fail. We have to get your soul back, before it’s too late.”
“I know that, and I appreciate the help-”
“Then why not take it?”
“Why?”
Quinn thinks. “I need my souls back. I also don’t want to have to put others in danger, to get it... What if, there was a situation where I had to?”
Quinn realizes something looking at Neri. “What if?”
“If I was in a situation, where the only way to get my soul back, was to put you into danger, what would I do then?”
“You would avoid it at all costs, till the point where you realize you can’t.”
“Then what?”
“You tell me.”
“...I see.”
Quinn stares up at nothing in particular.
“Alright.”
“Hm, okay. Let’s head to Purgatory then.”
As they are walking, Lucifer asks a question, or perhaps more of a statement.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea to take her, are you sure about this?”
Quinn gives the man a smile.
“Nope.”
“...Hm.”
Quinn looks back to Neri.
“Your hair has grown longer, hasn’t it?”
“Oh, yeah. I haven’t cut it in a while.”
“I hadn’t seen it this long before.”
“Usually, I keep it short, since it’s easier to deal with. Though, recently I haven’t felt like cutting it.”
“Is this a walk to Sunday brunch, or a trip to a place beyond this realm?”
Lucifer asks, to no response.
“Who’s this?”
Lilith gives her wide-eyed stare to Neri.
“Hello, I’m Neri Minerva.”
Lilith gets a disgusted look, and sticks her tongue out.
“Ick.”
“An odd reaction.”
“Yes, yes, your eyes bother me, close them.”
“Uh.”
“Or I’ll rip them out.”
“Yes, miss.”
Neri gives a salute, and closes her eyes.
“Ehh. Can we get started?”
Quinn asks.
“Hmm, I guess.”
She looks around.
“That will do.”
She kicks down a closet door.
“That sounded like a door being kicked.”
“My door...”
“Okay head in.”
She points into the closet with her thumb. On the other side of the doorway, seems to be a bright light.
“That’s it?”
“That’s it.”
“Okay then.”
Quinn starts to walk forward, then stops realizing Neri can’t see. Quinn grabs her wrist, and leads her to the door.
“Any last words of encouragement.”
“Not to you devil boy.”
“I see.”
“I’m just doing this, because I thought it might lead to a hilarious result.”
“Ah. Well, thanks anyways.”
“Yes, thank you.”
Neri adds.
“Enough of this.”
Lilith sends a sweeping kick into Quinn’s back, sending him through the door way. Quinn stammers forward on the other side. He looks around with a sense of awe. They are in the middle of the ocean. A dark, blue water, with unnatural mist rolling across the floors, in the distance. The two are standing on top of what looks to be an incredibly long, ethereal, shark back.
“Oh, you can open your eyes.”
Neri does so, she looks around for a moment, then focus back on Quinn.
“It seems, it worked.”
“Not quite.”
Lucifer states.
“This is just a crossroads, one of many.”
“Okay, then where do we go from here?”
“Hmm. A moment.”
“Alright.”
“Does the devil know where we are headed next?”
“It seems like it; but he needs a minute.”
“Alright.”
Lucifer turns to the girl, with an exaggerated, surprised expression, he then turns to Quinn.
“What’s that look-...”
Quinn looks at the girl, with wide eyes.
“Huh?”
“Hm, what?”
“What did you just say?”
“Alright.”
“Before that?”
“Does the devil know where we are headed next?”
“Yes, that is what I thought you said.”
Quinn nods his head a couple times.
“What?!”
“Ah, yes, I figured that one out a while ago. Though, I didn’t want to bring it up without a more concrete connection.”
“You, I, uh.”
Lucifer tightens his gaze.
“How?”
“Let me tell you how.”
“Are you sure she can’t see me?”
Quinn just stares at the man.
“The major factor to this whole thing, is the fact that a high-ranking demon showed up interested in your oddity. It’s most logical, that they would be focused on another important demon. Since they left empty handed, that means whoever they were after, was a demon of equal or higher rank.”
She points to Quinn.
“Then, there was the time that when you were about to talk to your oddity, you said Lu- In such a way that led me to believe, that it must have been the first part of their name. Adding these two concepts together, narrows down the options dramatically.”
She holds up two fingers.
“To be precise, it brought it down to two options. Lucifer Morningstar, and Lucifuge Rofocale. The thing about those two is, one is drastically less popular, meaning less oddity potential. They are also are known as opposites. That means, that the first choice seemed like the clearer choice.”
“Okay, I’m starting to get the picture.”
“It being a demon, also makes sense, from the standpoint of being able to make deals with random humans, such as yours did. It was also strange, that a specialist opted to refer to your oddity with such little detail.”
“You really don’t let anything slide, do you?”
“And of course, the thing to set it over the edge. What the hunter called you, it confirmed the connection to demons, at the least.”
“Wait, I thought that was what made you decide between the choices. If that wasn’t, what was?”
She looks out with clear eyes.
“This seemed like the correct answer.”
“Huh…”
“I’m right, right?”
Quinn gives a nervous side eye to Lucifer, who lets out a sigh
in return.
“Fine, whatever, the cat’s already out of the bag, no way to wrangle it back in now.”
“Yes, you’re right.”
“Hehe, alright.”
She looks over to Lucifer.
“Then, back on topic. What now?”
“Oh, that’s right, I got distracted.”
He starts looking around. Quinn does the same.
Soon the boy gets a serious look, as he examines the path.
“This is... This is...”
Quinn looks up to the girl, next to him.
“Kind of like Snake Way.”
“Yeah, it sort of is. I kind of want to run the length of it, and see if my next martial arts master is at the end.”
“I know I could use a Spirit Bomb, or Kaioken, to deal with Lilith, out there. Though, I kind of feal like, neither would be enough to stop her.”
“She must be scary strong.”
“…Yes.”
“Under normal circumstances, I would have destroyed her completely, because she is a weakling.”
Lucifer states. “He seems a little salty.”
“Uh-huh.”
“Oh, by the way.”
Lucifer points down at the water.
“This water leads to Purgatory.”
“Really?”
“It would seem to be the case.”
“Then, what do we do?”
“Jump in, I would assume.”
“And you’re sure that is a good idea?”
“…Define, good?”
“Safe, practical, likely to succeed.”
“That’s seems like a high bar.”
“It is not.”
“I can guarantee, one of those.”
“…Which one?”
“Mhh.”
“This conversation has served to make this seem worse, then I had thought it was at the start.”
“What’s worse?”
Neri asks.
“He says we need to jump in, to get to Purgatory.”
“Then let’s go.”
Quinn closes his eyes and begins to talk.
“Listen-”
Quinn feels his hand get pulled in a direction, soon he feels his body follow along. Opening his eyes, he sees the water right in front of his face. “Ah.”
Splashing through the surface layer, a cold stream of energy sweeps the two down and away. “Where… When are we?”