(In this long awaited episode of "Summoning Demons: Dos and Don'ts", Doppio nearly gets caught on a train- but gets an unexpected assist?!)
(After months having to shelve this AU and just getting back into it, Chapter 11 is finally finished and here! I'll work on the next chapter while I'm fighting real life shit. I'm posting this here real quick before heading to my uncle's house. Hopefully, I can bang out chapter 12 later.)
"What do you think of this so far? It's not really too much...but I've been practicing quite a bit with it."
Diavolo looked at the door, seeing Doppio in some of Diavolo's clothing- he was quietly surprised that Doppio actually managed to make himself look human. 'It's quite convincing, I'll give him that.' he muses, smiling quite fondly. "It looks fine, actually." he said, watching Doppio's face light up in delight over the complement.
As both of them got themselves ready, Doppio started to bounce around with excitement. He missed being outside with Diavolo, and it showed very well. The landline phone began ringing as they were ready to leave, leaving them confused. Diavolo left to answer it, while Doppio shuffled around nervously; who would be calling right now?
It would be a few minutes until Diavolo ended the call with a sort of surprised look on his face. "I apologize that things may not go according to plan today..." He said, running his hand through his hair.
Doppio gave a somewhat confused look, blinking. "What's happening? Is something wrong?" He asks, sounding a little worried.
"I've been asked to meet someone." Diavolo explained. "They sounded rather urgent- you'll have to go without me, but I'll try to stay safe and meet you at the nearest station."
Doppio was a bit at a loss- but maybe it was Diavolo's daughter? "It's... unexpected, but I hope you aren't falling into a trap or something." He answered, wringing his hands in worry. "It could have been someone pretending to-"
"I know." Diavolo interrupts, albeit a bit roughly. "I'm taking that risk. I'll try to meet up with you as soon as I can, but I'll try to stay safe." He could feel the collar manifest around his neck, but Doppio seemed more worried than angry; walking towards Diavolo and cupping his face in his hands.
"Promise me." Doppio pleaded, half growling as he spoke. "Promise you'll stay safe. It would hurt me if something happens to you." Diavolo could feel something washing over him, almost as if the demon's words had some affect on him.
"I-I promise I will." Diavolo answered, his voice somewhat quiet. While he wasn't sure what was going on, he gathered it might have something to do with the binding spell; while he still had his own mind about him, the words still stuck deeply in his head. Doppio seemed to relax a little at this, gingerly pressing his forehead against Diavolo's in an affectionate manner.
"I'm sorry for worrying right now." Doppio said quietly. "It's just... that son of a bitch is also out there-"
"I understand." Diavolo answered, gently touching Doppio's cheek. "I'll meet up with you as soon as I can."
~
Doppio had felt uneasy boarding the train without Diavolo, but hopefully this reprieve would be brief; as he looked for a seat, Doppio noticed people staring curiously at him. 'It feels weird to be stared at by strangers nowadays...' he mused. 'I probably didn't notice it before the whole demon hunter thing, but it feels weird now- at least I look human right now, but still...'
Doppio walked into another car, it seemed most of the seats were vacant. 'I'll just sit here until I reach the local... station? I've never really traveled by train before.' he thought, sitting down.
The train rattled intermediately, Doppio nodding off as he sat in the mostly empty car. 'I know that Diavolo wants to meet up at another station, but I feel uneasy without him.' he thought, hugging his bag as he started to drift off to sleep. 'Still, I feel sleepy... Maybe I can rest my eyes for a bit...'
As the sound of the train faded out, Doppio heard someone try to get his attention.
"... sit here?"
Doppio blinked awake, somewhat startled; he looked over to see a stranger already sitting quite close to him, staring at him; he seemed to be a young man with long lavender hair. As he stammered, the stranger only chuckled. "Is this your first time traveling alone?" The stranger asks.
Doppio merely moved over a few seats to give the stranger distance. "Um. Actually, yes." Doppio answered, somewhat terse in his response. Something was off about this person- a sort of... scholar-like aura, but somewhat warped and twisted. "I'm waiting for someone." He continues, hoping it was enough to leave him alone.
"Oh?" The stranger speaks, intrigued. "Who would that be?"
Doppio swallowed heavily, trying to make up an answer- finally managing to come up with one in minutes. "An old friend." He said, trying not to sound nervous. "He said something about catching up." Unfortunately, the opposite effect seemed to be achieved, with the stranger drawing himself closer in response.
"Interesting- how long have you both known each other?" The stranger asks, once again invading Doppio's personal space. "Both of you must have been close, no?"
'Just stall, just stall until this thing stops at some point.' Doppio hissed to himself. "Oh, yeah- sort of like childhood friends." He lied, backing up slightly. "We reconnected about a few months ago." As he finished the sentence, the train lights flickered, grinding slowly to a stop as the lights died.
"Attenzione passeggeri: il treno è in panne." A echoey, crackly recording croaked over the speaker. "Stiamo lavorando per affrontare e risolvere il problema. Ci scusiamo per gli inconvenienti."
Doppio whined in fear as he looked around in the dark; what the hell was going on?! "Oh shame, it seems we'll be here for a while." The stranger growls, cupping Doppio's face. "The train won't move until it's fixed, and it could be hours until then." If Doppio's eyes had adjusted to the dark, he could see the young man smile turn almost malicious, akin to a cat toying with a captive mouse.
"Can you, um. Can you not touch me?" Doppio growled back, tensing up. "I don't want to have to hurt you, and you're not going to like-" he barely finished the sentence before he felt something wrap around his body and squeeze somewhat firmly. Panicking, Doppio tried to pull whatever was wrapping around him of, becoming horrified when he felt scales- which might imply this stranger wasn't human.
"It's a good thing no one else is in this car right now, so nothing can interrupt our business." The stranger mused aloud, tone very much amused.
"What business!? I have nothing to do with you!" Doppio responded, struggling to escape to no avail; whatever was coiling around him merely wrapped tighter to prevent him from doing so. "Hell, I don't know who you even are-"
Doppio had a bit of a dawning realization, and blurted out almost dumbly. "You're not one of those 'criminal group' people, are you?"
"Ah. Curious how sheltered you are despite having a childhood friend that has lived here..." The stranger responds, tone malicious. "However, it's a naive assumption I have joined such an organization, wouldn't you think?"
Doppio was about to respond when his eyes adjusted to the dark, confirming his suspicions; the stranger staring at him looked less human than moments ago, and he could see the thing that was coiling around him was a serpentine tail- following it sightwise from its tip to realize it belonged to the stranger.
"Where the hell are your legs?!" Doppio asked in confusion, partially forgetting he was in peril. "You have a tail but-" he was quickly quieted via the stranger placing a hand over Doppio's mouth.
"An unfortunate side effect of my parentage, but that is unimportant." The stranger states, almost hissing. "However, I am more curious about what a friend of mine was staying about you- something about leading another man around with a collared chain-"
Doppio's eyes widened; not only was this stranger not human, but was also implying that he happened to know that demon hunter bastard that had tried to kill him. He tried to mumble past the stranger's hand, equal parts terrified and surprised.
"Hmm?" The stranger asked, sounding genuinely curious. "Were you trying to say something?"
Doppio frantically nodded, waiting patiently for his captor to uncover his mouth to repeat himself. "You know that son of a bitch?!" He nearly shrieked. "He tried to kill me!"
"Well, that's quite standard in our line of work- however, you managed to escape being killed so far." The stranger answered, almost grinning manically. "However, my colleague might be pleased if I take you back to our base so he can finish what he started."
Doppio was at a loss; it seemed hopeless to escape and he feared the last moments of his life were going to be having his blood turned to metal objects again-
Doppio noticed something in the periphery of his vision; it looked like a vision of a the inside of another empty car, with the not-so-human stranger trying to find him. 'I can try to buy time.' he told himself. 'If I can see myself at least having some chance of escaping, then I can buy myself time.' Impulsively, he jabbed his captor in the eyes; it seemed to work as the hold on him was loosened up enough for him to escape. Doppio managed to run to the next car and close the door behind him, stopping for a moment to catch his breath.
"So it's not just that son of a bitch hunting demons..." Doppio whispered to himself. "There's a group of them out there-" A somewhat sobering thought came to mind; if they were after him, then they would go after Diavolo as well...
Doppio quietly hid himself under a row of seats as best as possible, just as he heard someone enter the car; something heavy dragging against the floor rather than the sound of footfalls. From his impromptu hiding spot, Doppio could discern the stranger's tail further; it seemed to bear resemblance of a large snake. 'Right, he's a halfing, too-' he hissed to himself. 'Only this time he isn't half human, but- shit, I forgot the damn species...'
Doppio quietly shook his head, focusing on not moving whilst his possible assailant was looking for him; as this point, it didn't do well to overthink on the possible results of demons trying to crossbreed for now, or ever, really. 'I just have to wait until he leaves and the coast is clear.' he told himself. 'I'm not entirely sure this disguise will hold for that long, either...'
Something felt slightly off, though- but not like anything demonic, more so... something too light, if he could put it in words. The air started to feel as if it were overly sweet, and it hurt a little to breathe through. 'That's strange- I mean, I've read about angels before, but there's no way one would be outside of Heaven, let alone on this train.' Doppio thought, confused. 'Although, I currently look nothing like a demon right now- if there is one on the train, they won't really know the difference, right?'
The stranger seemed to also notice this, stopping slightly and swearing under his breath. Doppio kept still and quiet as he heard the train car door open, and the air became nearly to sweet to breathe through. 'I still can't give myself away, but I know I can stay here until that other guy is gone.' Doppio told himself, trying to breathe through the sweetened air. At some point, he almost drifted off to sleep; divine auras didn't actually kill demons from what Doppio read, but being around them for too long wasn't exactly ideal, either.
Doppio struggled to keep himself awake, but it proved somewhat futile; he was all but asleep when he felt someone trying to wake him up. Groggily, Doppio crawled out from under the seat, unsure if the danger was gone or if he had fallen asleep during the whole thing-
"...next station?"
Doppio snaps awake a little, still slightly confused. "Next station?" he asked, nearly mumbling his words as he stood up; whoever this person was, he was mostly clothed in write. It seemed that this person was a bit sympathetic to Doppio's confusion.
"Yes, that's what I said." the man answered, sounding somewhat kind. "Is everything alright?"
"Yeah, everything's fine." Doppio answers, rubbing his eyes sleepily. "I'm just... tired?" He quietly hid his suspections, as he hadn't really any proof that this person currently was an angel or not. "Sorry if it was weird of me to be hiding under the seat..."
"It's alright." The man answered, tone somewhat gentle. "That demon has left for now, so you don't need to worry."
Doppio quietly sighed, relieved- but he worried a little if the half-demon returned, it might be a rough situation...
"Is it okay if I- um, if I stay with you until we're at the next station?" Doppio asked the stranger quietly, figuring he could take the risk for now.
'Just stall, just stall until this thing stops at some point.' Doppio hissed to himself. "Oh, yeah- sort of like childhood friends." He lied, backing up slightly. "We reconnected about a few months ago." As he finished the sentence, the train car lights flickered, grinding slowly to a stop as the lights died.
Random Pact!AU lore: Demon hunting, as a whole, was more or less picked up by humans centuries ago, but the practice and trade began dying out in the 1900s- at least in more populated areas. There's still underground demon hunter groups in these high population areas, mainly manned by halflings and magick users. (And, like stand users, like attracts like inevitably...)
...until the candles re-lit themselves one by one; the flames a deep, poisonous violet. While there wasn't much light from the candles, Diavolo could see a figure crouched in the middle of the summoning circle, nearly still save for blinking.
Finished the chapter art for Control's 1st chapter, when Doppio was first summoned. While I think I may have fallen a bit flat with the visual execution, I am especially proud of the digital version (esp. with the lighting effects).
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the
Organization for Transformative Works
And with that at 3 in the morning and me having not fallen asleep yet, the first chapter of Control has been cross posted on AO3! (*weak, tired noisemaker sound*) I'm gonna do a laptop reset and then do a bit of a sleep.
