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scarlett-vixen · 2 years

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Wake Up

A/n: This is the longest fic I’ve ever written and I apologize for making you read this.

Summary: A quick trip to the woods for potion ingredients takes a turn as the group is attacked by a wild creature and Mammon is injured.

Cw: no established relationship but Mammon/MC have feelings for each other, angst, death, survivor’s guilt, hallucinations, minor psychotic break, hurt/comfort, as always let me know if I missed anything.

Word count: 10k

The Devildom was full of mystery, wonder and more than anything: danger. Over the course of your stay you had grown accustom to the brothers protecting you from dangerous situations, always promising to keep you safe no matter what, but what were you supposed to do when the protecting went too far and cost them their life? What were you supposed to do when it was your fault?

“Yer sure we couldn’t have just bought this at a store in town?” Mammon asked, dodging another large tree branch. “Seems like a lotta work for two ounces of venom.”

“You didn’t have to join us Mammon. I need this for a potion and it works better fresh, if you’re scared you can always turn back and head home.” Satan offered, still looking straight ahead.

“Hey! I ain’t scared! Just think it’s a waste of MC’s time, makin’ ‘em walk all this way…it’s dangerous for humans out here ya know!!” He huffed while crossing his arms.

“I asked to join him Mammon,” You chimed in. “I wanted to see how you obtain the venom for this sleep serum and Satan said I could come along, you’re the one who suddenly started running after us!” You rolled your eyes as you teased him.

“Well, yeah! Can’t let ya wander off into the Forest of Terror! Ya might get eatin by somethin!” exaggerating his dismay, Mammon threw his hands up.

“No one calls it that Mammon,” Satan sighed, aggravation apparent in his tone. “Except for maybe children…which I guess you classify as, so never mind.”

The second born scoffed and started mumbling to himself, you simply laughed and turned back to Satan.

“Why do kids call it the Forest of Terror?”

“Probably because that’s what their parents have taught them, it’s a good way to keep young demons out of these woods, less chance of them getting attacked and injured.” The fourth born stopped, checked his surroundings, and then started off to the right.

“Young demons? But aren’t all demons born with powers?” You followed him.

“Well, yes. But young demons cannot fully control their powers and are also more susceptible to poisons and venoms than adult demons. That’s the main reason these woods are so dangerous for them, there’s a species native to this area that secretes a venom strong enough to kill a young demon.” He explained.

“W-what about an adult demon?” Mammon asked, now holding onto the back of your hoodie.

“It would paralyze them for about a week.” As Satan spoke you made a connection.

“Let me guess, that’s the creature we’re looking for?”

“Precisely,” The Avatar of Wrath beamed, he adored how well you listened to his ramblings. “Although the veonm is also very poisonous to humans as well, you would do best to stay with Mammon and let me obtain it MC.”

“Of course!” You turned to see Mammon—now holding onto your shoulders with is head right next to yours—looking over his shoulder at the trees around you. “Someone has to keep him safe.”

“Hang on a minute!” Mammon started. “Yer telling me we have to get the venom from a RedFang?! That’s insane! Those things are super aggressive!”

“Dear brother, I’m the Avatar of Wrath…I am aggression!” Satan sighed once more while shaking his head.

“What’s a RedFang?” Typically, you would have been embarrassed to ask so many questions, but you knew Satan loved to spout knowledge more than anything.

“That’s not their real name,” Satan chuckled. “That’s just what Mammon and the other fledgling demons call them. Their real name is Mors Lupus, or Death Wolf…which isn’t very comforting I suppose.”

“Huh, Death Wolf…sounds like a really great name for a death metal band!” You joked, trying to help Mammon relax. In the few moments of silence between the group after your joke, the air was filled with a horrifying noise. It started as a low deep growl, slowly rising in pitch and then transitioned into a screech so earsplitting and shrill you were sure your ear drums would rupture. “What the hell was that?”

“That would be your death metal band preparing to perform, get down!” Satan pulled you down with him behind a large bush, Mammon dove to the ground soon after. “We don’t want to be spotted.”

“How the hell do ya plan on getting venom without being spotted??” Mammon whisper shouted from the fetal positions he was in.

“I just need to obtain a small amount, typically Death Wolves leave behind trace amounts when they bite into their food, fortunately for us that was a hunting signal. We just have to wait for it to eat and then leave so I can extract the venom I need.” Satan sat up enough to see over the top of the bush. “You two stay here, I’ll go closer and be back once I have the sample.”

Satan checked his surroundings again before making his way towards the sound of some creature feeding on its prey. You looked down at Mammon to find him already scrambling to sit up, once seated upright, you could tell he was much closer to you than he intended by the obvious blush on his face.

“Hey handsome, guess we’re alone now~” You teased and winked, watching his whole face turn bright red.

“S-STOP MESSIN WITH ME!” He was whisper screaming again. “Can’t keep ya safe if you’re distractin me like that!” You tried to muffle your laughter. It was too easy to fluster him, which made it your favorite thing to do.

“I’m very sorry,” Your tone slightly sarcastic and teasing. “Please, Great Mammon, keep me safe from the big bad wolf of the woods, oh please don’t let him eat me!” You dramatically fell against him, covering your face with one arm.

“Told ya to stop being cute…” The second born mumbled, cheeks still burning and heart racing. You were busy laughing quietly to yourself and didn’t notice him watching you, your smile was breath taking to him, before he realized it he was leaning over attempting to steal a kiss without you noticing. Just as his cheek brushed against yours a nearby bush rustled, causing you to jerk your head the opposite way. “Damnit…”

“What was that?” You leaned around the bush to see if you could spot the source. You looked in the direction Satan had headed toward and saw nothing; the sound of the creature feeding had stopped and you figured he was collecting the venom finally. You turned to your left and spotted a little tail sticking out of a bush a few feet ahead, curious about the animal you left your spot behind the bush and snuck over to the other.

Moving a few branches and peering inside you saw a small black creature that resembled a puppy, but slightly different. It’s fur was unusually dark, two small fangs peeked out from under its lips, it looked up at you with its little red eyes and swished its tail in an excited motion.

“Oh, look how cute you are!” You cooed, keeping your voice low.

“MC get away from there! What are ya even lookin at? The Great Mammon is far more interesting than whatever is in that bush!” Mammon called.

“There’s a puppy in this bush! He’s so little and all alone!” You turned to look at Mammon and saw him pouting, one arm propped up on his knee, his chin resting in his palm, angrily scrolling through his phone, clearly annoyed that you left him to investigate. The bush in front of you rustled some more, this time several twigs snapped as well, wondering if the young pup had gotten stuck you turned back around to help it. Only the puppy was gone, in its place was a paw larger than your head attached to a tree trunk of a leg. You looked up and froze, your blood ran cold and goosebumps covered your arms, you slowed your breathing trying to move as little as possible.

Directly in front of you stood a creature with jet black fur, somewhat resembling a canine but on all four legs it stood nearly six feet high you guessed. Its hackles contained what appeared to be quills, the claws on its feet looked sharp enough to take down a small tree in one cut, its head was hung low and its lips curled upward in a snarl revealing several massive teeth and two crimson red fangs, an orange slime dripping off one and landing on the grass below causing it to shrivel and wilt.

You didn’t have to guess what this thing was.

“Run.” Your voice low and shaky, you took one step backwards.

“What? MC are ya trying to play with that thing.” Mammon looked up from his phone and caught sight of the creature. “Shit.”

“RUN!”

You took off, sprinting back the way you came, the earsplitting screech from before was now much closer and you suddenly realized what prey felt like. You turned to look over your shoulder for Mammon, he was nowhere to be seen but the RedFang was already giving chase, you were running for your life but knew your tiny legs were no match for that beast.

“Mammon!” His name ripping from your throat a little more desperately than you had planned. The growls and shrieks behind you were drawing closer, you cussed out Diavolo in your mind for not enforcing some type of gym class to keep you in shape.

“I gotcha!” His voice closer than you expected. You looked back again for your demon but only saw your hunter uncomfortably close to you, shutting your eyes in fear you suddenly felt his arms wrap around your waist and your feet left the ground. Eyes still shut you were able to turn and grab onto Mammon’s jacket, burying your face in his neck at the same time. The air started rushing past you rapidly and Mammon’s chest felt rather exposed, you lifted your head to confirm your suspicions, in his demon form Mammon had scooped you up to fly you out of harm’s way. “Told ya I couldn’t let ya get eatin!”

Reaching the outer edge of the woods, Mammon landed and set you down. Looking around you realized you were back at the entrance where the three of you had started your journey. You felt a knot in your stomach forming.

“What about Satan?” You were almost too nervous to ask.

“He’ll be alright, don’t worry.” He was trying to comfort you but seemed a little anxious himself. “Listen MC, we got lucky this time! Ya gotta be more careful, I don’t want anything bad happenin’ to ya.”

“That’s sweet Mams,” Though he avoided eye contact, you could see the blush creeping up on his cheeks. Ever since Lucifer had appointed him as your guardian, Mammon made it his personal mission to keep you safe no matter the situation. Recalling the many times he had been there to keep you out of trouble, you vowed to make it up to him once this was all over with. “Don’t worry, next time I’ll—”

Cut off by the sound of rustling leaves, you eagerly turned your head hoping to see Satan emerge from the forest, a knot formed in your stomach when a familiar sound began to accompany the rapidly approaching footsteps. A small black blur emerged from the bushes lining the edge of the woods, it was running full speed at you with no signs of stopping, instincts taking over your body you dodge the creature at the last second. Making impact with the ground, the creature stumbled a few times trying to get back up, as it did you were able to get a clear look at its form.

Jet black fur, small little legs with razor sharp claws, short quills on the back of its neck, small blood orange fangs; this had to be a juvenile RedFang. Finally regaining its balance, the small hunter set its sights on you again, a softer version of the low growl from its larger counterpart rumbling through its chest.

“HEY!,” Mammon yelled, raising his wings to intimidate the small pup. “You want them? Yer gonna have to go through me!”

As if accepting the challenge the young RedFang charged at you once more, quills raised and fangs bared, it was much faster than the adult had been. The next few moments seemed to happen in slow motion. You froze as it leapt into the air directly at your face, you felt a hand on your chest and suddenly you were falling to the ground. Mammon stood in your place, wings open wide to shield you and prevent harm.

There was a sharp yelp and suddenly the creature was falling over the second borns shoulder, as it tumbled to the ground and landed next to your own fallen form you felt a sharp sting in your right arm. The young pup met your gaze and quickly took off back into the woods, limping slightly as it did.

“Yeah that’s right! You better run punk!,” You stood up and shook your fist at your attacker. You winced as pain coursed through your arm, looking down you saw a small scratch with a thin stream of blood oozing from it. “Psh, you call that a wound? Better luck next time kid. Thanks for protecting me Mams.”

You were fidgeting with your torn sleeve awaiting his response…you quickly stopped when nothing was said in return.

“Mammon?”

A gentle wind through the trees the only response.

“Mammon…”

Your voice a combination of confusion and concern. You looked over your shoulder to see the demon laying on his side, his back facing you, one wing draped over himself with the other folded beneath his body, you watched for a second and saw no rising of his chest.

Something was wrong.

“Mammon?”

Your voice rising an octave out of fear. You scrambled over to him, placing a hand on his shoulder to gain his attention, his skin felt cold beneath your touch. Your heart began to race, your mind started to cloud with emotions, you braced yourself and pulled him towards you. His body followed your command all too easily and a pain ran through your body. His massive wing still covered his chest but his head lolled to the side and you saw your fears coming to life. His eyes shut and lips turning a light blue.

“No…”

You placed a hand on his face and your heart lurched, his usual warm skin was ice cold and color was beginning to drain.

“Please Mammon, don’t…”

You lifted your other hand, shaky and hesitant to move, you reached out and lightly brushed his wing. You argued with yourself, you tried to convince your mind that you were wrong, that there was a different outcome to this, that when you moved his wing he would grab your hand and tell you it was some cruel prank and you’d both laugh while you scold him.

So, you lifted his wing. You saw his chest. You saw the quill.

And you knew.

“Please no…” The plea came out soft and broken. “Mammon…Mammon!” You jostled his shoulder knowing damn well there would be no response. Yet you begged. You grabbed his hand and felt the tears running down your face, watching them land on his jacket. Your chest grew tight, you screwed your eyes shut and your breathing became choppy. You fought back the sadness, you fought against the guilt, you fought so hard against the anger. But you lost the battle.

His name ripped from your chest like a battle cry, clawing its way out of your throat with a force that took all the air from your lungs with it, echoing into the sky as you gripped his shoulders and buried your face in his neck. Your tears began to mix with the blood that trailed his chest, apologies fell from your lips and onto an empty audience, the anger inside grew like a raging fire threatening to scorch everything around you.

Heavy footsteps and snapping twigs broke through the sound of your cries. You spun your head towards the forest, taking a defensive crouch over your fallen demon, your sadness shifted to full rage and you readied yourself for a fight.

Bring it on you bitch.

“MC! MC is that you?” a familiar voice called, laced with concern. Shortly after, Satan emerged from the tree line, covered in dirt, scrapes on his arms and neck, out of breath and in demon form. “I heard you scream and then your wrath spiked resulting in— are you okay?”

Satan slowly approached while looking you over, noticing the way you were positioned in front of his brother, the scratch on your arm, and the anger on your face. His face dropped as he saw the tears in your eyes, the blood on your hands, and he began to make the connection. Your throat felt tight and all words escaped you, the hand you still held was growing colder with each passing moment. You moved so that Satan could see just what had sent you into such a state, he dropped to his knees beside you and grabbed Mammon’s wrist, after a few seconds he reached up to Mammon’s neck. You knew what he was looking for.

You knew he wouldn’t find it.

“MC, I—” Satan’s voice was softer than you’d ever heard before, it broke your heart even more. His eyes scanned over Mammon’s body and then looked to you, he searched for words, any words at all to fill the haunting silence that surrounded you both. His mind was blank.

“He’s gone… isn’t he?” The question burned your throat like acid.

“Yes…” Voice shaky and tears brimming in his eyes. You threw your arms around Satan and let yourself breakdown, burying your face in his shoulder, tears soaking his shirt, screaming into his chest. His arms wrapped around your waist, you felt his horn gently nudge your head then his face nuzzle softly into your hair, you felt his chest heave and his fingers dig into your skin. The Avatar of Wrath began to sob violently along with you, both trying to seek comfort and unsure of what to do. One thing was clear though.

This was all your fault.

---

The sky was dark and rain began to fall onto the ground below. Umbrellas opened and people started to make their way down the sidewalk and out the gate in front of the House of Lamentation. You sat upstairs on the ledge of the massive window that overlooked the front yard, rain gently tapping against the colorful stained glass. Watching demons and succubi alike say their goodbyes and leave, the funeral had ended five hours ago but for some forsaken reason there had been a “grieving ceremony” held at the house. You wanted nothing to do with it. You wanted to hide away, none of these people knew Mammon the way you did. None of them felt the way you did about him. They all seemed so fake.

“It’s not your fault. You do know that, right?” A stoic voice broke the silence and crawled under your skin like an unwelcomed guest. What did he know? “Please, MC it’s not fair to blame yourself. The quills on RedFang younglings are incredibly poisonous, there’s nothing you could have done to save him.”

“But someone else could have saved him?” You snapped.

“Excuse me?”

“You said there was nothing I could have done, which implies that anybody else could have saved him! What you’re saying is I was too weak; I didn’t have what it took to keep him safe!” You rose to your feet and looked him dead in the eyes. “All he ever did since the day I got here was look out for me and keep me safe! But I couldn’t do the same. He was trying to protect me and I got him killed!”

The tears flowed down your cheeks once more, but this time it was mostly out of anger. You stood your ground and Lucifer seemed stunned, unprepared for you to snap at him that way.

“That’s not what I meant. I apologize. I just don’t want you to blame yourself for this.” Lucifer reached a hand out but you pulled away, side stepping to walk around him. Enough visitors had left by now that you could safely make it to your room without being stopped.

---

You stripped out of your funeral attire and threw on your pajamas, curling up on your bed you tried to force yourself to sleep, despite your attempts you were still wide awake. Staring at the ceiling and swimming in guilt, the weight on your chest increasing with each passing minute, you sat up and hugged your knees. Glancing over on your nightstand you saw the framed photo that would now haunt you, a picture of Mammon at the carnival last month, his signature smile radiating through the frame, next to the picture was a vile of sleep potion that Satan had left you. He created a decent amount using the RedFang serum he had collected and gave you a small portion to study.

“If ever there was a time…” You mumbled to yourself. Pulling the dropper out of the top, you stuck your tongue out and let one single drop fall against it. A tingly sensation crawling up your tongue and down your throat, a sweet flavor washing over your taste buds, a sudden warmth filling your body. “It…actually tastes good” You said to your empty room before placing another drop on your tongue.

Your body suddenly felt lightweight, as if you could float to the ceiling if you jumped hard enough, you could feel your muscles relaxing, your eyelids grew heavy, all sounds inside the house stopped. You managed to close the vile just before your body crashed against the mattress and you were pulled into a deep sleep.

---

This was one of the most peaceful sleeps you had experienced in a while, alone on a hilltop underneath a blanket of stars, a gentle breeze blowing, the only thing that could make this better would be—

“MC?” his voice piercing your heart.

“Mammon?” You turn and see the second born approaching you in his human form. Your chest aches, how cruel was your mind to bring him here to you like this. “I know it’s not really you, this is just a dream…”

“What? Ya mean ya don’t recognize your first man?” He sulked.

“No I, I know it’s you but its not…you. You’re not real… you’re not alive.” The last three words becoming a whisper.

“ME? Course I’m alive!” Mammon beamed, throwing one arm over your shoulder.

“No, Mammon! You’re not! I was there, I saw it happen! I went to your funeral!” Your voice wavering. His touch felt so real, like his hand was actually there, like maybe this wasn’t a dream…but you knew it was. You hated how wrong this all felt.

“Then I’ll prove I’m alive, I’ll tell ya something that only I would know!” He leaned in closer to your ear and yet when he spoke it was almost like an echo being heard from a distance. “I gotcha a gift, I bought it off Akuzon so it took a while to get here. It’s in the trunk of my car, I was gonna give it to you before we left but I got nervous.”

He turned and suddenly the car from his room was parked right beside him, Mammon opened the trunk and pulled out a small pink box with a gold ribbon tied around it. Holding it in one hand he held it out towards you, as you took the box you noticed the familiar blush on his cheeks, he was always so sweet on you and you took it for granted. You felt tears making their way to the surface but you fought them back as you held the small box in your hands.

“It’s very pretty… can I open it?” You asked hesitantly.

“Course ya can! There’s just one thing I need ya to do first.” Mammon’s face switched from his typical goofy grin to a more serious look.

“What?”

“I need ya to wake up.” His voice soft. He took one of your hands and held it gently in his. His touch was warm and soft, just the way it had always been.

“Wake up? But I don’t—”

A sudden gasp for air and your eyes flew open. You were back in your room, on your bed in your pajamas, the lights were off now though. Assuming one of the brother’s—probably Beelzebub on his way to the kitchen—had turned them off, you tried to make sense of everything else that had happened. It was only three a.m. so no one else was up yet but you saw no point in going back to sleep, not after that.

---

“MC don’t you think this is a little…odd?”

The brothers had been concerned about your silence at breakfast but were hardly prepared for you to tell them about the dream you had last night. They were leery of what actual truth it held but they had followed you to Mammon’s room regardless. Now you and five of the brothers stood gathered around the trunk of Mammon’s car—Levi had been absent from breakfast per usual.

“No, I don’t.” You placed a hand on the trunk of the car and took a deep breath. “In my dream Mammon told me he left a gift inside here just for me. If it’s there then that proves there must be some part of him that still exists!”

“Well duh he still exists…as a corpse in the ground.” Belphie smirked but Satan quickly elbowed him.

“Are you proud of yourself for that?” The fourth born snarled.

“No… I just made myself sad again.” The youngest crossed his arms and leaned against his twin for comfort.

“Whatever, I’m opening it.” Using both hands you slowly lifted the trunk open. With bated breath the brothers all leaned in to see what it held, inside you found nothing but an old tire jack and a receipt from Majolish. “Damn.” You muttered; collective groans filled the room. Despite their skepticism, the brothers had all hoped there would be something inside worth finding.

“Geez I’ve been looking for you guys all over the place! I just got back from pawning all that crap in Mammon’s trunk and got enough money to cover what he owed me plus more! You guys want to go the new maid café?” Leviathan entered the room with a large wad of money in hand, looking at his brothers he realized he just walked in on something sensitive. “Uh…w-what happened?”

“You idiot…” Satan shook his head.

“Was there anything in the pile of crap that could’ve been a gift for me Levi?” You pushed your way through the brothers and walked down the stairs towards the third born.

“O-oh uh, y-yeah actually,” Levi dug in his pocket and pulled out a small pink box with a gold ribbon on it, just like the one Mammon gave you last night. His cheeks burned bright red as he handed it to you. “H-here, sorry. I was going to give it to you later but I—”

You shushed his rambling and slowly opened the small package. Inside the pretty pink box was a crow plushie with little golden eyes and a tag with your initials on it, your heart ached once more holding the soft bird in your hand.

“That proves it! Somehow Mammon is still alive! He’s out there somewhere and he’s speaking to me in my dreams!” You turned to face the others with an eager smile.

“MC, that seems highly unlikely. A lot of strange things happen down here but there’s never been an instance where a deceased person was able to make contact through dreams.” Lucifer looked pained as he spoke, he knew it wasn’t what you wanted to hear. “I’m afraid it was a dream and nothing more.”

“Well how else would I know about the gift in Mammon’s car??” You argued.

“Simple,” Satan started. “He must have told you about it before we went into the woods and your mind blocked it out due to grief.”

“So what, are you saying I’m going crazy? That I’m just making this all up?” You became defensive.

“No not at all dear, no one thinks you’re crazy.” Asmo made his way over to you and attempted to give you comfort. “This is just hard on you that’s all. Maybe you just need a little more rest.”

“Yeah,” You looked down at the small crow. You knew there was no way Mammon had mentioned this before, he was always too excited to watch you open gifts once you knew about them. “Maybe you’re right.”

---

You found yourself back on the hilltop, the stars above you shining bright, the breeze blowing softly once again. You closed your eyes and tried to concentrate, this place felt comforting, it felt familiar, it felt somewhat real but you couldn’t place why.

“Hey MC,” His voice filling your ears once more. You decided not to engage this time, it would only cause you more heart ache anyway. Keeping your eyes shut, you hear him approach you and sit down beside you. “I’m not sure if you can hear me, but I’m just gonna keep talkin’ alright?”

The former Avatar of Greed starts telling you some made up story, you squeeze your eyes shut tighter and try to will him away but it doesn’t work, why is it that you have no control over his appearance here? Frustration continues to boil in your stomach and you finally snap.

“Would you shut up?!” You opened your eyes and looked at him, that damn smile on his face like always. “Lucifer says you’re not real, you’re just a dream, and Satan says you’re only here because I feel guilty!”

“Oh yeah?,” Mammon smirks. “Well could a dream take ya on a romantic getaway to Paris?” He grabs your hand and pulls you to your feet, the hilltop and stars disappear, instead a gorgeous pink sunset and the Eiffel tower appear in their place. The air feels light and warm, a familiar scent is wafting through the air and for a moment you think of that one perfume Asmo always wears.

“Yeah, technically it could…it’s still sweet of you.” You intertwine your fingers with his and lean against his chest, you know it’s not real but you want to pretend it is, even if just for a moment.

“Then what if we shared a sleigh ride across the Antarctic?” Mammon spins you gently and as you stop, you fall seated onto a soft cushion. A large red and gold sleigh beneath you with a massive polar bear pulling you across the snow, Mammon hands you a mug of hot chocolate and you feel the warmth of the cup on the palm of your hands. He gives you a soft smile and pulls you close to him, resting your head on his shoulder you feel his warm skin against your cheeks, the faint scent of his cologne dancing its way into your mind. Your body feels relaxed, for the first time since the accident you feel happy, it’s the kind of happiness that only Mammon could bring you. Lucifer be damned, this was more proof than you needed.

“Oh Mammon, you have to be alive. I could never imagine something so sweet and romantic on my own.” You feel your face begin to heat up.

“Take my jacket treasure, ya look a little cold.” The second born removes his jacket, places it around your shoulders and presses a soft kiss on your forehead.

“Thank you Mams,” Pulling his jacket tightly around your shoulders you sighed. “I just wish I could convince your brothers that you’re alive!”

“You can,” He took your chin in his hand and lifted it to meet his gaze. “All ya gotta do is wake up.”

“No!” You pulled away from his hold, your heart racing. This time felt so different than the last, his touch, his jacket, the warmth on your hands, all of it felt so real. There was no way this was a dream again. “Don’t say that to me! This isn’t a dream!”

Another sharp gasp of air and you were back in your room, you sat up on the bed in a panic.

“Damnit!” You threw your head in your hands. The dark room covered you as tears quietly streamed down your face. Why was this happening? Why couldn’t you just have a normal night of sleep?

You moved your hands to wrap around your shoulders but flinched when you touched an extra layer of fabric. Pulling it off your shoulders you shuttered, there in your hands was Mammon’s jacket, the same one from your dream. “He really is contacting me…I knew it… he is alive!”

---

A few hours later once your alarm went off and you ran towards the dining room, ready to show off your evidence. You barged in so quickly that you nearly tripped on the rug in the hall, a few brothers tried to greet you but you cut them off quickly.

“Mammon is alive and I have proof! He gave me his jacket last night in my dream and here it is!” You threw the jacket on the table in triumph, waiting for them to apologize for doubting you before.

“MC, that’s not Mammon’s jacket.” Asmo retorted, picking up the article of clothing and turning it over. “Mammon’s jacket is an autumn brown. This is Satan’s jacket, a hideous fashion disaster blue.”

“What?” You snatched the jacket from him and looked at it in disbelief. This jacket had been brown ten minutes ago in your room.

“Oh? I wondered where I left that!” Satan casually took the jacket. “Sorry MC, I must have left it in your room the other day.”

“But Mammon—in my dream he—when I woke up it was on me!” You protested, still trying to piece together what was happening. How could it change colors like that?

“Look MC, you’re under a lot of stress. Why don’t you sit down and join us for breakfast?” Lucifer offered.

“I don’t want breakfast! I want to know what’s going on!” You snapped.

“Everything is going to be alright hun.” You were looking directly at Asmo as he spoke but heard Beel’s voice come out instead.

“What?” You panicked.

“I said, everything’s going to be alright.” Asmo repeated in his normal voice, tilting his head in concern. “Are you sure you’re okay dear?”

“I don’t know, maybe I am freaking out a little bit.”

“A little bit? I know freak shows that aren’t this freaky.” Beel smacked his twin on the shoulder and gave him a glare.

“Be nice!” The sixth born ordered.

“I just need to relax,” You took your seat at the table finally. “Maybe I should take more of the RedFang serum.”

“You’ve been drinking RedFang serum?” Levi screeched.

“MC you need to be careful with that!” Lucifer added.

“He’s right, one drop calms you down, two drops help you sleep, but three drops and it could send you into a sleep so deep you never wake up!” Satan informed you. “MC please, do be cautious with it.”

---

Later that evening, unable to relax and desperately wanting some rest, you took your vile of serum and headed to Mammon’s room. Everything was just the same way it had been before the accident, clothes still thrown on the floor, unopened packages from one of his shopping sprees, no one dared to come in here so it all remained the same. You took your usual spot on his couch and sighed heavily, it felt so different sitting here alone, no laughter, no music, no new scheme planning. Just you and the white noise of the room.

“Let’s hope this helps.” You opened the vile and pulled out the dropper. “One drop calms you,” Placing a single drop on your tongue you feel the familiar calm returning to you, the same warmth you felt before creeping slowing up your body. Your arms felt both heavy and loose, your vision starting to blur slightly. “Feeling a strong ‘calm’ today, but two drops will help me actually sleep.”

You place another drop on your tongue and wait for sleep to kick in. Time feels slow and your breathing becomes shallow but you’re still awake and longing for your best friend to be by your side. The guilt eating away at you.

“Well, three drops can’t hurt. I’m sure Satan was over exaggerating anyway…” You reached for the vile once more but your arm felt like a steel bar, your control over it was less than perfect and you accidentally swung too far to the left completely knocking the vile over. The iridescent glass shattered, serum sprayed all over the couch and rug below. “Shit!”

You panicked, not only did you just break an entire bottle of hard-to-get serum but you also just stained Mammon’s incredibly expensive couch…not that he would ever know. You jumped from the couch and ran to the bathroom in search of a towel, part of you wondered how you were able to move so quickly when moments prior your whole body felt like cement, but the other part of you was too busy freaking out to care.

You rummaged through Mammon’s cabinets for a towel yet found nothing, finally you spotted one thrown on the floor near his shower, not stopping to question why it still felt damp you ran back out to the couch. A sharp squeal escaped you and you froze in your tracks.

“Hey, treasure!”

“Mammon?” You were stunned for a moment, then something similar to relief washed over you. “Is it really you?”

“In the flesh!” He gave you a wink accompanied by his signature smirk. You didn’t understand how nor did you really care, that smile was more real than anything, he was here, he was really here! You ran to the couch and threw your arms around his neck; you felt his hand gently touch your back and you nearly melted.

“MC is everything alright? We heard you yell— Mammon?” In the doorway stood the twins, both wide eyed and in shock. Belphie, who stood slightly behind his larger half, turned and called out down the hall. Moments later you and Mammon were joined by all the brothers, each one flabbergasted by the return of the second born, questions flying out every direction. The room soon became a cacophony of noise and Lucifer was forming a headache larger than ever.

“ENOUGH!” The first born commanded. “Satan, what’s the meaning of this?”

“Me?! Why do you think I know what’s going on? Do you think this is some elaborate prank on you, because it’s not! Though it would make for a good one…” Satan trailed off.

“Hold your temper for five seconds, please!” Lucifer sighed. “I was not accusing you, I simply thought you may know what would cause this. You were at the accident with Mammon and MC, plus you have the most knowledge on Mors Lupus and the venom they secrete.”

“Right, well…” The Avatar of Wrath coughed, slightly embarrassed by his reaction. “I do have a pretty extensive knowledge on these creatures and the many uses for their venom but…I’ve never heard of this happening…”

“OOOOOOOH, this is totally like ‘That Time I Went Into The Woods And Was Attacked By A Wolf Only To Later Be Reincarnated By The Same Wolf’s Blood’!” Leviathan said in awe.

“The manga or the anime?” Belphie asked mockingly.

“The manga obviously! The anime was overrated and poorly produced.” The third born scoffed.

“Anyway,” Irritated by the interruption, Satan continued. “The only possible explanation I could give is that somehow the serum mixed with DNA on Mammon’s couch and created…this…it sounds just as idiotic out loud as it did in my mind.”

“It sounds absolutely repulsive! I don’t want to know how much of your DNA was on this couch to recreate you!” Asmo nearly gagged at the thought

“Who cares how it happened,” Beelzebub spoke up, pulling Mammon to his chest and hugging him tightly. “Mammon is back and now we’re all together again! Let’s go celebrate.”

The others all quickly agreed and headed out the door, leaving just you and Mammon alone again. Your mind was a little fuzzy from trying to understand what happened still, but your heart was happy to have him back.

“Mams I’m so glad you’re alive and okay! The guilt of me getting you killed was starting to get to me! But you’re here and you’re alive and everything is alright!” Your smile stretched from ear to ear, maybe after dinner you could finally rest peacefully.

“Well, not everything…” A solemn look covering Mammon’s face. He took your hands in his and gently ran his thumb across your palm.

“What? What do you mean?” You felt him squeeze your hands gently.

“Ya have to wake up.” This time you could see the tears threatening to spill from his blue eyes. You started to panic again.

“Wake up? No! No! I’m not—“

A bright flash of light and your eyes flew open, franticly you looked around the room. You were still in Mammon’s room, still on his couch, vile still in one piece, and still alone. Your heart dropped and your stomach churned, the line between fantasy and reality was starting to blur, at this rate you were afraid to go back to sleep. You hated not being able to tell when your mind was tricking you anymore, not knowing if you were speaking to a real person or just an illusion inside your head. You felt yourself breaking and knew being alone was only going to make it worse.

You ran upstairs and asked Lucifer to hold a family meeting, maybe talking about all this would help put your mind at ease. Once all gathered, the brothers listened to you explain your most recent reality slip, they wouldn’t voice it but you could tell Lucifer and Satan were both growing increasingly concerned about your mental state. You weren’t sure which was scarier: losing your grip on reality or the two of them getting along for once.

“I know I’m losing it, when I fall asleep I feel happy and at peace because Mammon is alive and with me, but when I’m awake my mind plays tricks on me and I can’t keep up with them anymore. In the beginning it was easy, I could tell what was fantasy and what was really happening but now…now I just don’t know anymore.” You slumped against the table and put your head in your hands.

“Please, try and take it easy MC.” Lucifer spoke calmly. “I know this is difficult, you and Mammon had a very strong bond and losing him has caused you great stress.” His voice had started off like normal but gradually rose in pitch as he spoke, by the end of his sentence it sounded as if he had inhaled helium before speaking.

“Say that again?” You raised your head to look at him, something seemed…off. He repeated his sentence to you in the unusually high voice, you started to question it but then heard Asmo speaking to you…only Asmodeus wasn’t the one talking. Turning you saw Leviathan’s mouth moving and yet for some reason Asmo’s voice was coming out, confusion covered your face but before you could say anything you noticed something odd in front of you.

The vase that sat in the center of the massive table contained seven Hell Roses, only now each rose had a tiny face and was waving its little leaves at you. Mesmerized by watching them sway back and forth you tuned out the various brothers giving you advice from the wrong bodies, all their voices were horribly distorted anyway. You watched as one rose in particular pushed itself up from the vase and crawled onto the tabletop, its roots splitting off to make little legs and using them to walk towards you, as it got closer you felt your skin crawl.

“GET AWAY FROM ME!” You jumped to your feet, hurling the dinner plate before you at the mobile plant, the plate shattered with no sign of the rose underneath. You looked around the table and saw six sets of eyes staring at you with deep concern.

“Darling are you alright?”

“I-I just…” Your mind was racing, your adrenaline started to pump fast and you felt nearly claustrophobic in the giant dining hall. “I need some air!”

You made a mad dash out of the house and took off into the nearby woods, there was only one way to end this, only one way to find out if you were truly crazy. You had to go back to his grave. You had to make sure he was really there.

Your feet were moving faster than your mind could keep up with, as if some unknown force was pulling you to straight to your goal, it was dark and you had no source of light but somehow you knew exactly where you were going. Stopping abruptly, you spotted his headstone, your heart raced and you questioned yourself on if this was wrong. Only for a moment though. You scrambled over to the freshly dug grave, the dirt still loose on top, and you started to dig.

Tears poured down your face and dirt caught under your nails; you were terrified. Terrified of how you were behaving and terrified of not knowing what to do once you reached his coffin. All too quickly you hit something hard, clearing away a few more handfuls of dirt you uncovered the final resting place of your love. That’s what he was after all. That’s what all this was about.

You had been plunged into a deep guilt, not only because you got your best friend killed, but because you were never honest about your feelings, with him or yourself. Love makes you do crazy things right? So it must be natural to dig up the grave of a lost love, or so you try to convince yourself. You hesitated for a minute, your hands resting against the black wood below you.

“I have to do it,” You told yourself; a pep talk of sorts before crossing a very dark line. “I have to open it and know!” You shuttered at the thought of what you’re about to do, of what you’re about to see, but tell yourself it’s the only way. “I’m so sorry Mammon…”

You closed your eyes and with one good pull you ripped the coffin open, you let out a shaky breath and opened your eyes to peer inside the box, only the box was gone.

You were back in your bedroom.

“What?” You grabbed your sheets, somehow you were back in your room and seated on your bed. Confusion and anger swirled inside your mind, what the hell was going on? “I don’t understand, how did I get here? Why am I back at the house?”

“Isn’t it obvious dear?” A sickeningly sweet voice called out. “You killed Mammon.”

A pain ran through your chest, you had felt that way all along but to hear it out loud hurt worse. You whipped your head around searching for the fifth born, ready to demand an explanation for his words. But there was no one in your room but yourself.

“Where are you…” You muttered.

“Right where you left me, killer.” You turned in the direction of his voice but only found the wall of pictures in your room. Photographs of you and the brothers from various outings and events over the last few years, your eyes scanned wildly in search of him and finally spotted your tormenter. There on your wall, inside a picture taken in the public gardens, was Asmodeus.

Only he was moving.

“What’s going on…” You backed away slightly.

“You killed our brother MC.” Asmo purred with a wicked grin on his face.

“No, I didn’t mean to! You know that!” You begged nearly.

“You killed Mammon, just like a wretched human. Always making our family smaller.” In a nearby photograph Belphegor started to speak. You shook your head in defiance, you never meant to hurt anyone. The more you pleaded for them to stop the more photos came to life, each brother was now bashing you and calling you a killer, their voices were growing louder and louder, their words repeating and echoing off each other.

Something inside you snapped, you let out a frustrated scream, ran at your wall and started ripping down the photos. Tearing them to shreds and smashing the frames onto the floor, the voices slowly faded with each destroyed picture, finally stopping when the last one was ripped in half.

“Okay, so I am insane. At least I’m sane enough to realize it.” Catching your breath you sat down on your bed again, you were more scared now than you had been during this entire ordeal. You looked over at the framed picture on your nightstand, the one with Mammon from the carnival, your eyes started to water. “Mammon, I don’t know what to do…the only time I feel safe is in my dreams with you.”

The vile next to his portrait caught your eye, you remembered what Satan said about being cautious with the serum, and you found your solution. Even if it was a grim one.

“Three drops, that’s all it takes…then maybe I can stay with you in my dreams forever.” You hesitate, holding the glass vile in your hands, turning it over a few times before opening it. You consider your options, staying here and continuing to battle against your own mind, unable to differentiate fantasy and reality while slowly slipping into madness. Or take your chances with the serum and slip blissfully into an eternal slumber where Mammon was still alive. “Here goes nothing.”

You raise the dropper to your mouth for the final time, slowly releasing the first drop.

One.

The tingling sensation makes its way through your body once more, warming you up along the way and bringing back the sweet flavor to your tastebuds. You let your body settle some and release the second drop.

Two.

Your body feels heavy again, weighing you down just like before. Your mind starts to cloud but you fight it long enough to keep the dropper still. Your hand shakes out of fear and exhaustion, you close your eyes and are met with vivid memories of the time you spent with the brothers both good and bad, you wouldn’t trade your time down here for anything in the world but living like this now is unbearable. You just need some sleep, that will fix everything. You start to squeeze the dropper.

“MC, LOOK OUT!”

Startled you let go of the dropper and it falls to the floor, you looked over and saw Mammon in the frame waving his arms wildly and pointing towards your window. You turned to see the window of your bedroom opening, as it does a large beast slinks its way into your space, the large claws and black fur send your body into shock. What the hell was that thing doing here?

“Listen to me treasure, ya don’t wanna lie in bed forever! Ya gotta stay strong!” A slight panic in his tone.

“Then what am I supposed to do?” You broke. All the frustration, all the tears, it came boiling over. You started sobbing into your hands, you just wanted this all to stop, you just wanted to feel okay again. The RedFang in your room was now standing opposite of you, staring you down as if to challenge you.

“FIGHT IT!” Mammon yelled.

“I can’t! It’s too hard!” Ignoring the massive creature, you turned back to the little demon beside you.

“Yes you can! There ain’t no way my human would give up this easily! Ya gotta try MC, for me!” He leaned against the edge of the frame; a pleading look in his eye. You wanted to give up but you couldn’t, not when he was still fighting for you. You nodded your head in agreement but as you did a sound you knew all too well filled your room. The RedFang was now standing in the same stance it took before chasing you and Mammon, a low growl in its throat and drool dripping off its fangs, you screamed as it lunged toward you.

“GO AWAY! LEAVE ME ALONE!” You grabbed a nearby textbook off your nightstand and chunked it at the beast. On impact the massive creature bursts, creating hundreds of smaller RedFangs all snarling at you from the ground, a few jumped up to try and climb onto the bed but fell backwards instead. You grabbed the portrait of Mammon and pulled your knees in close; the sound of growling filled your ears, you could feel your heart beating wildly in your chest.

“Look MC, I dunno if you can actually hear me…but there’s somethin’ I wanna tell ya.” Mammon’s voice was soft but it cut through the loud room like a hot knife. “I love you…and I wish I’d told ya sooner.”

“Mammon I’m scared!” Your ears were ringing, you could practically hear your own heartbeat, the growling continued to get louder, as did your sobs. “I don’t know what to do!”

“Just wake up darlin’ please…just wake up.” His voice wavered and you watched his eyes become glossy.

“Mammon please!” You begged. “I don’t understand! How do I wake up? What do you mean?”

“Just wake up, for me…” A few tears started to make their way down his cheeks. You couldn’t stand it, watching him cry, hearing his voice break like that, this was like being stuck in your own personal hell. You squeezed your eyes shut and pressed the frame against your chest, the growling below grew louder and then started to fade, in its place you heard a soft and steady beep while Mammon’s words continued. You felt something wet touch the back of your hand, afraid of what you might find you opened your eyes slowly. There was a soft light and your vision was incredibly fuzzy, blinking a few times the room started to straighten out, though it wasn’t your bedroom. You glanced around the dimly lit room and saw a tv, a wall clock, dozens of flowers, around sixteen stuffed animals, an oversized basket full of sweets, a few empty chairs and next to you was a white-haired demon, holding your hand and crying softly with his head against the bed.

“Mammon?” You called softly, afraid to find out if he was real or not.

His head jerked up, revealing bloodshot eyes and tear-stained cheeks. His hair was unkempt and he looked in desperate need of caffeine, his mouth hung open slightly and he blinked a few times before responding.

“You’re awake!” His face lit up and he did his best to erase any evidence of the tears he had shed.

“Of course, I’m awake. You wouldn’t stop waking me.” You chuckled softly. You wanted to believe this time but you were so scared to do so. Looking down you realized you were laying in an unfamiliar bed. “Where am I anyway?”

“In the hospital! Lucifer and Lord Diavolo rushed ya here right after the RedFang got ya!”

“What? No, the RedFang got you! I saw the quill in your chest, it barely scraped me with its claw!” You sat up and winced in pain, a strong heat ran through your right arm. Looking over you saw the bloody bandages covering your shoulder and bicep.

“Ya mean this?” Mammon lifted his shirt to reveal not only his incredibly toned abs and chest, but a small bandage placed exactly where you had seen the quill the day of the accident. “RedFang quills ain’t venomous to demons, but the poison in the claws on the young ones are fatal to humans turns out…”

Your mind was still a little hazy, you had a ton of questions you wanted to ask but before you could the door opened softly. Leviathan and Asmodeus entered the room, saw you sitting up and darted out the door again, shortly after all six remaining brothers were surrounding your bed and excitedly talking over each other. Asmodeus was practically vibrating with joy, Levi was updating who knows how many social media accounts right now, and Belphie was comforting Beelzebub who was in tears. Lucifer stood at the foot of your bed and gave a soft smile.

“I’m thrilled to see you’re awake MC, I’ll make sure to inform Lord Diavolo as well, he’s been most concerned about your condition.” For a brief second you thought you heard his voice shake.

“I don’t understand, it’s just a scratch. I blacked out for a little bit but I’m fine, why is Diavolo so concerned?” You expected the brothers to behave this way over an injury— they threw a table out one time because you stubbed your toe on it— but couldn’t imagine why Diavolo would be worried about a small scratch like this, surely he had better things to do.

“MC, you didn’t just black out…” Satan sat next to the bed, opposite side from Mammon. “You’ve been in a coma. Since you’re human the doctors did their best to treat your wound and administered antivenom but they were unsure if you would ever actually wake up.”

“Wait…seriously?”

“Indeed, when they told us that there was a possibility you may remain unconscious for— well…that was when Diavolo became concerned. He’s been beside himself about this, so learning you’re awake will be a huge relief.” Lucifer let out a content sigh.

“How long was I actually out?” You questioned, curious to know exactly how long you’d been laying in this bed.

“Three weeks,” Asmo answered. “and Mammon stayed by your side the entire time.”

“Really?” You turned to look at the second born. A light blush covered his cheeks and he turned his face slightly away from you but his hand was still holding firmly onto yours.

“It was twenty-two days technically…I couldn’t just leave my hum—I couldn’t just leave you alone.” Mammon glanced at you from the corner of his eye and his blush deepened, a coy smile appearing on his lips.

“Mammon talked so much that I’m surprised you didn’t wake up sooner. There’s no way I could’ve slept through his constant rambling.” Belphie joked.

“Hey! I only did it cause Satan’s book said it might help!” Mammon barked defensively. He shifted in his seat a little and then turned to face you fully. “Just thought that, y-ya know maybe if ya heard a familiar voice it might help.” He looked down bashfully at your hands that were still intertwined. “But it probably didn’t even help, who knows.”

You watched as he gently rubbed his thumb against your hand, a smile still plastered on his face, even though he was trying to act nonchalant you knew he was ecstatic to have you awake. While studying his relaxed form you noticed the jacket he normally wore was missing, adjusting yourself on the bed you felt an extra layer of fabric against your shoulders, looking over you found that Mammon’s jacket was placed carefully around you.

Then you started to take in the rest of the room.

A sweet fragrance filled the air, you immediately recognized it as Asmo’s perfume but also the sweet dream of Paris. A vase of Hell Roses sat on the counter beside the tv, though these were faceless and quite still. Next to you on the bed was a small little crow, just as soft and plush as the one from the box Levi had kept after selling everything else.

You couldn’t help but smile as everything started to come together, you yanked Mammon closer to you and threw your arms around his neck. You took comfort in holding him close to you and knowing it was really him this time, not just another horrible dream. Tears started to form in your eyes and you let out a soft chuckle.

“It helped Mams…it helped.”

Mammon had sworn to always protect you when you first met, now you knew he really would, no matter the circumstance.

Even in your dreams.

#obey me #obey me shall we date #omswd #obey me mammon #obey me fanfic #obey me lucifer #obey me mc #obey me satan #obey me beelzebub #obey me leviathan #obey me asmodeus #obey me belphegor #obey me hurt/comfort #obey me angst

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