It was as you were going through the portal that the first memory hit you.
You remember being in the woods, dragging a female director's body through the shrubbery, panting heavily. You had just finished with a grand performance on stage, and discovered that the director had planned to manipulate and use your fame for her own personal gain. Infuriated, you, of course, slaughtered her and brought her here.
Once you found a good spot deep in the woods, you released the body with a grunt, and got to work. You used a long, serrated blade to skillfully remove the skin from the body, after removing the clothes first, and started to chop up its limbs. You scrunched your nose from the smell.
You were tired and weak from your performance, and all you wanted to do was get this sacrifice over with and go to bed.
"Wampus!" you called out into the woods, listening to your own voice echo. "Dinner!"
The shadowy, light pink aura-ed humanoid cat materialized in front of you. It nodded, thanking you for your service, and you stepped back as it tore into its meal.
"I met that Radio Demon, you know," you said, stroking up conversation. You placed your blood-stained hands on your hips, still catching your breath. "I made the deal, just like you asked."
"Perfect," replied the Wampus between chews. It didn't leave much of its meal left, only a few limbs. Huh. You guessed she wasn't very hungry today.
"I won't remember any of this when I die, will I?" you said, a little disappointed.
"No, ageyutsa, you will not," replied the Wampus, licking its lips and licking aside the hardly-eaten corpse. "If you had not already noticed, your memory is already starting to fade. Your time is coming soon."
You sighed, recalling the haziness you felt dragging the boys up into the woods. You could hardly remember why you were doing it, and who you were doing it for. You remember now, of course.
"I wonder what I'll look like in Hell," you said, looking at your nails. They were bloody.
"Something like me, I presume," said the Wampus amusedly. "Your existence is dependent on me here on Earth, after all."
You huffed, hands on your hips. "Well, at least I know I'll be pretty."
The Wampus laughed a distorted laugh, flattered, and then the memory faded into blackness.
And then your ass hit the cold hard ground.
"Fucking hell!" you cursed, hand rubbing your back. You opened your eye, looking over to Alastor. The stench of Hell overwhelmed you, and the feeling of extreme heat enveloped your body.
Alastor looked normal, finally, with his striking red-and-black hair, ebony antlers, gray skin, yellow sharp-toothed smile, dark eyes and fluffy ears. He was wearing his typical red suit and black bow tie, and his radio stick-thingy was by his side. It was the first thing he grabbed as he rose up from the ground.
Now it was back to all-the-time smiling Alastor. You sighed. Now you wouldn't be able to read him as well as before.
You stood up, dusting off your skirt. You felt on your head, smiling as you felt your hair in the shape of cat ears atop your head, grinning as you looked at your stylish outfit, at the enlarged ribbon on your back, your leg and arm warmers, your classic leotard. It was so nice to be back to normal.
"You've got the book?" you asked once you finished checking yourself out. Alastor dusted himself off, clutching the book and the staff in his hand. He nodded, grinning his usual smile. "And the knife? The microphone?"
"Yes, my dear." He adjusted his bow tie, holding the staff in the book in his arms. "Now, I do think it's time we get some rest. Hopefully, those God-forsaken Vees got stuck back there in the Overworld."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, sugar," you said waving your arms around. Anger began to bubble up inside you. You jabbed a finger at him. "I held up my part of the deal. Now give me my soul back."
"All in good time, my love," said Alastor, folding his hands behind his back and walking towards the entrance of the hotel. You stared at him in confusion. His expression looked... odd, like he was conflicted about something. Why wouldn't he just go ahead and give you your soul back? You were pissed. What was the point of that fucking deal then?
And what was that memory you had in the portal about that... cat thing?
"Uh, no, Al, it doesn't work that way," you seethed, following him. You walked beside him as he strolled into the hotel, with that stupid ass grin on his face and his head held high. "We made a deal, dumbass, remember?"
"Yes, I recall," he said, not sparing you a glance.
Your mouth dropped, raising your hands in the air in disbelief and then dropping them. "So what's the hold up? Give it back!"
"Tomorrow," said Alastor, finally stopping and looking down at you with sultry eyes. "Let's sleep all of this off tonight. We'll do the ritual tomorrow, too, and then you'll have it back. Deal?"
You scoffed. "Deal? Are you fucking kidding me?"
"Nope."
You glared at him, too exhausted and beaten up to argue. "Fine. Whatever. Let's go to bed. We'll discuss this in the morning."
A few minutes later, you went up to your room and changed into your bed clothes. You removed your leotard, skirt, and all of the black ribbons that decorated your body, and changed into something more comfortable. You sighed, relieved to finally be able to actually relax.
You laid on your bed, bored. You allowed your mind to recap everything that had happened... Landing in the woods, Alastor's house where he teased you, all that sexual tension... Then the radio station in New Orleans, then killing Caden back in Kentucky... then Massachusetts... the cafe, Harvard, then the portal.
So much had happened in such little time. You had been on the run from the police, and thankfully, they never caught up to you two before you were already out of their world for good. You're just glad it was over, and now you could finally get your soul back and get back to your full potential. You could be more powerful than Alastor with your soul back in your possession, you just knew it.
"Right you are, ageyutsa," said a voice echoing in your room.
You sprung up, gasp escaping you. You searched to a room, and your eyes landed upon a shadow-like creature... It was that cat thing from that memory you had coming through the portal... It looked so... familiar. What the fuck?
You quirked a brow. "What the fuck kinda Demon are you?"
The being laughed. "Oh, how you have changed, girl. You'd think by now some memories would have resurfaced of me. Haven't you ever wondered how you are so powerful, my dear? How you are such a coveted, beautiful, strong Overlord in this realm of Hell?"
You shook your head slowly in disbelief. What the fuck was happening right now? Who was this... thing? Why was she so distantly familiar? Why did you have a memory of her earlier?
"That cursed Radio Demon," she said, clicking her tongue and stepping towards you. You scrambled back, alarmed. "I learned his name for you, you know. Alastor. Such a beautiful name for a young man. Too bad you must kill him for me."
Anger boiled your blood, your face growing warm. "I don't know who the fuck you think you are, lady, but I ain't killing Alastor for you. If I kill him, it's for me. Got it?"
The creature laughed again. "Oh, you are certainly the most interesting and promising human soul I have ever come into contact with! So promising, indeed, ageyutsa, that you have managed to follow all my instructions and now I am here, in the Underworld, by your doing." The thing smiled. "And all it took was the removal of your fetus so that you could continue to dance. Such a love you have for such a meager human activity. I admire it."
"What the hell are you on about?" Your heart fluttered in your chest.
The cat thing approached you even closer, and you allowed it, frozen in place. It placed a human-like hand on your forehead, enveloping both your bodies in a pink essence. You screamed in pain from the white-hot memories overwhelming you, all coming back at an incomprehensible pace.
"Fuck!" you cursed, and the cat creature departed from you, it's eyes glowing pink.
You breathed heavily. Oh my God... I remember. I remember it all!
Caden, the rape, the two pink lines on the little white stick, your old house, climbing up the hill, the forest, the Wampus cat, the fetus being removed from your uterus, the Wampus consuming it, the talk you had, all of the blood scarifices you brought to it as payment...
You even remember it warning you about Alastor's eventual arrival into your life. You remember her telling you to accept the deal he would offer, you remember her instructing you to try and retrieve your soul when you got down here to Hell, and how the Wampus would eventually make her grand appearance.
"So... it all worked?" you said first, going through the memories in your mind. The Wampus nodded, grinning, black blood dropping from its teeth.
"Yes, child. Alastor will soon return your soul which is rightfully yours. Then, we will kill him together. We will rule this place as one."
Angered, confused, hopeful... Those were all emotions that overwhelmed you, consumed you. Without you even noticing, your eyes began to glow yellow, pink, and neon green all at once, and you were enveloped with an electricity, a pink and green electricity, all from the flurry of emotions you were experiencing.
The Wampus flinched back, growling. "The Radio Demon has infected you. Curse him... His Loa have attached himself to you."
You looked around your bed, back against the wall. Four or five of Alastor's little shadow creatures, all with various green symbols and 'X' marks on their bodies, had materialized by your side, clearly threatened by the Wampus cat's presence.
"What?" you said, shaking you head. "What the fuck are you talking about? These things?" You looked down at the creatures, who looked at you protectively. "Yeah... They helped me back at that cafe against Valentino.." You looked back up at the Wampus. "But they're not mine. They're Alastor's. I don't practice voodoo. You know that, surely."
The Wampus hissed. "A romantic connection has been formed. A sacred bond. A blood bond. Tell me, ageyutsa, did you consume his blood, and he yours?"
Your mouth was dropped, and you could hear your heart pounding in your ears. Caden's house. You kissed Alastor, and you're certain the two of you had shared blood. You didn't have to say it aloud, for the Wampus already knew what you were thinking.
"Shit," you heard it curse for the first time. "This is a problem."
"How is this a problem?" you asked, your brows stitched together. What the fuck was even happening right now?
The Wampus took a small step towards you, and the Loa reacted, lurching forward. She hissed and went back, glaring at them with yellow and pink eyes.
"Alastor likely does not even realize it," she began in distaste, "but in his religion, in his practice of voodoo, blood sharing is a sacred practice between two potential lovers. When it is done, it is irreversible." She looked up, extremely angry and grave. "But a romantic bond must first exist for a blood bond to be created."
"What are you saying?" you asked, shaking your head. "I don't have feelings for fucking Alastor! I hate him! And if you really have been latched onto me this entire time, you would know that."
"Contradictory to that, ageyutsa," said the Wampus with a sigh. "I do know that, but there is something more. You must know, if Alastor dies, because of this blood bond, you die with him."
You froze. No. No way.
The Wampus shook her head. "So we cannot kill him, but we can lock him away and contain him while we overtake Hell." The Wampus sighed. "Ah, the idiocy of you, child. This is why I do not favor voodoo."
"I'm not doing any of that!" you exclaimed, throwing your hand out. The Loa reacted, curling around you to protect you. You glared at them, annoyed at the entire situation. "I'm not going to lock Alastor away. I-..." You trailed off.
Wait. What are you saying? Didn't you just want to kill him, like, four seconds ago? The Wampus sighed for the thousandth time.
"See, girl?" it said. "Your feelings for this boy have consumed you. This is going to make this entire process much more difficult. And I know how you are when you are in love. You are a murderer, remember? And now a cannibal, I hear."
You glared burning holes into the Wampus, snarling. "Shut up. I did what you asked of me when I was alive. I brought you scarificies as payment for helping me. I don't owe you anything now."
The Wampus nodded, and then grinned, flashing its sharp yellow teeth. "That is true, yet here I am. No matter it all, I am still permanently attached to your soul, [Y/N], and I will carry out my plan no matter what it takes." It grinned even wider, if humanely possible, so much so you shivered and tears began to pool in your eyes from fear. "Even if it means I must possess your soul temporarily for myself to eradicate and entrap him, and overtake Hell on my own."
It was the first time the Wampus had ever said your actual name.
"No.." you said defeatedly, a tear slipping from your eye. You shriveled up into a hall, bringing your knees to your chest, wrapping your arms around your legs. The Loa laid on you, staring at the Wampus cat soullessly, yet furiously, and you felt equally repulsed and comforted by their presence.
The Wampus laughed. "When you have your soul back, I will be able to take action. For now, I am dormant and awaiting your awakening. Farewell, ageyutsa. I will see you tomorrow with your soul back in your rightful possession."
The Wampus disappeared, and you burst into tears. You never cried, ever, but right now you couldn't help it. You were too overwhelmed by all of it — your journey to the Overworld all to get your soul back, just to learn that even without Alastor, it was never yours in the first place. You choked on a sob. You were royally fucked, to say the least.
You had no idea why you were so upset at the prospect of Alastor being hurt. One minute, you were obsessing over the idea of murdering him in cold blood, and the next, you would do anything to protect him. Was the murderous intent all because of the Wampus cat? Were all the bad things you done in life all to blame on that stupid Cherokee entity?
The Loa laid on you, comforting you. They were quite friendly, you had learned, and you were grateful for them. You thought at first that they may be evil little creatures, but in the contrary, they are very caring beings.
You tangled a hand in your long hair. Why me? What have I done to deserve this? To have my soul ripped away from me like I never owned it? Then you realized. You've done everything terrible to deserve this. You deserve this and much worse.
A rapping at your door made your spine lengthen. You rapidly wiped your tears away and weakly called: "Come in!"
The knob turned and the door creaked open.
୨୧
[A/N] - SMUT NEXT CHAPPY GUYS AHSHDHSUSH hope y'all are exciteddddd!
anyway i hope all of this is making sense. i know the Wampus cat is a pretty big bomb to drop on y'all this late into the story but it had always been a concept i had in store for this book, and i have loved building on it so far.
if you guys have any questions about the story or [y/n] or anything your confused about, please ask them here! i will do my best to answer<3
as always, thank you for reading, and stay tuned for the next chapter my lovelies <3
-R.J