Warning: prepare for an epic battle.
Lord Za'lgatoth, sole ruler and leader of the Underealm, was a lot of things, but he was not scared. He had only been scared a seldom amount of times in his life. He was scared when he was announced Lord of his hellish domain and he was scared when his wife was on her deathbed. However, he was never scared of his son. He was the one who decided if you lived or not, his own blood ran through you after all. If he wanted you dead, he could have it done.
"My Lord?"
Zalgo turned his head up to be met with a simple servant girl. She had cow hooves for feet and stood fearfully in front of him. He was known to have a very fickle temper, so it was no surprise if a servant didn't show up for work after getting in a scuffle with him. "Yes, Tabitha, what is it?"
"Um, Commander Zaryin would like to confirm the troop's departure soon," she said timidly.
Zalgo ran a hand over his face and sighed. "Very well. Take me to him."
They walked in silence through the halls and to the courtyard of the castle. Tabitha kept a safe distance away from him and was looking directly at the floor the entire time. Her hooves clicked on the hard floor of the castle grounds and echoed off the walls. It was a weird sound that reminded him of when you would trot down the hallway as a little boy and run into his wife's arms and kiss her cheeks.
The demon king growled under his breath and shook his head. Now was not the time to be pitying you. Tabitha glanced sideways at the man and gulped. "Is something wrong, my Lord?"
"We're about to go to war against my all time nemesis and my son, and you ask me if something is wrong," he seethed, his eyes glowing a bright and eerie red color.
The servant gulped again and ducked her head. "I apologize," she whispered.
Zalgo sighed and waved his hand in dismissal. "You can go, I can get there on my own," he said, giving her an excuse to leave and prevent any more awkward silence between the two.
"Yes, my Lord." The servant girl curtsied and darted back the way they came.
Once he stepped foot outside into the courtyard, Commander Zaryin was waiting with five hordes of demons, twenty of them in one horde (I dare you to do the math). Zaryin smiled and bowed to Zalgo, greeting him without fear. "I am correct in saying that Tabitha retrieved you without issue?"
"Yes," Zalgo answered, "she didn't have a panic attack at the sight of me this time."
Zaryin laughed and put a hand on his shoulder. "That was an eventful moment indeed," he chuckled, "but in all seriousness, my Lord, my soldiers are ready to fight. Just say when and we'll open the portal."
"No," he held up a hand, "I gave them until sunset. They still have two more hours. I'm anything if not a man to my word."
The Commander snorted. "Yeah, and I eat babies for breakfast."
"But you do - oh..." Zalgo narrowed his eyes.
He bursted into laughter. Zalgo let a small smile tug at the end of his lips at the childish demon. That's what he loved about Zaryin: he was never afraid to give his honest opinion to Zalgo, which was a big change from he usual replies of "of course, my Lord" and "absolutely, my Lord". Sometimes it was good to have people give their honest opinion because it could help you see the situation in a better perspective. "Touché."
Zaryin stopped laughing long enough to speak. "Always prepared to tease you, Lord Zalgo."
"You find greater pleasure in it than you should," he muttered.
"My Lord, about your son..."
Zalgo's head whipped up. Zaryin hardly ever mentioned you in conversation, knowing it was a touchy subject. He had seen what happened to those who bring you up in front of the Lord and they rarely received mercy. It was one of those topics that was understood, but never spoken outloud.
"What about him?"
"Are you... do you really think...?" The Commander swallowed and started over. "Do you believe that we will win this war?"
"Yes," he said without hesitation, "my son is strong, but not stronger than me. I will strike him down with my own sword and his head will be on display on my wall."
"Right," he nodded slowly. "But don't you think that killing him is a little harsh? He's your only son, heir to the throne, and-"
Zaryin was cut off by a loud ringing from beyond the crowd. The bell of summoning was being rung by one of the smaller demon soldiers who was in charge of signaling Commander Zaryin once the clock struck six o'clock, sunset. The Commander looked from the bell to the leader and spoke
"Sir, you gave them until sunset and have not received any word of submission or truce," he said.
Lord Za'lgatoth, was a lot of things, but he wasn't scared. Not of his own son and not of anyone. "Open the portal; it's time."
***
You stood at the front lines next to Slenderman on top of the hill directly above the portal to the Underealm. Opal's grave was not far from where you stood, a comfortable distance away from where this battle was to take place. You were grateful that no blood would be shed on the beautiful marble stone that marked her resting place. And so, you and the others watched and waited. Your eyes glanced at the sunset; the blood reds, the sun kissed rays of yellow, and the bright and dark oranges all painted the sky a myraid of colors.
"I hope the children are safe," Slenderman whispered.
"Of course they are," you said, "Ben's responsible enough. He takes good care of Sally."
"You're right," he said.
You waited some more. You could tell some of the others were getting impatient by Masky and E.J.'s quick pacing and Jeff's constant mumbling string of swears. Glancing behind yourself, you saw Clockwork whispering to Jane. You cocked your head to the side in hopes of possibly catching what they were saying.
"Do you think maybe Zalgo called off the war?" The clock-eyed girl whispered.
"Not a chance," you answered her. "My dad's not one to back down from a fight. He won't stop until I'm dead."
"Oh..." she murmured.
Suddenly, a large beam of light exploded from the woods. A sea of black, red, grey, and brown poured out of the light, covering the entire plain with hideous spitting demons. You tensed, feeling the pre-battle adrenaline pulse through your veins. The rush spread like fire into your brain and lit your eyes their bright and luminous blood red.
"He's here," you smirked. "Who's ready to kick some demon ass?"
***
Lord Zalgo marched to the front line of his soldiers next to his appointed officer. Commander Zaryin stood still in front of the demons aiming his crossbow directly at your face. His eyes narrowed as he focused precisely on your neck, where he knew the shot would be more effective. "I'm ready to fire when you say so, sir," he whispered.
Zalgo took his finger and brought the weapon down. "Just hold on a second."
Zaryin nodded, but still held his weapon close to his body as a precaution. The demon lord stepped in front of his forces where all the Creepypasta's eyes were on. Smirking, he clasped his hands together. "Ah, my mortal enemy and my son, fighting against me in a war that they started. How touching," he said, sarcasm dripping off every word.
"No one started this war but you, Father," you shouted back.
"Perhaps," he shrugged, "but it is you who wants to finish it."
"To get you off my f*cking shoulders and get rid of the pesky gnat buzzing in my ear!"
He chuckled, knowing that he was getting under your skin. Zaryin chuckled as well. "I don't suppose you remember me, Your Wickedness," he resumed his crossbow's position at your neck.
You flushed angrily. "Zaryin," you seethed. "Still living in my old fart's shadow, huh? When will you ever learn? He will never replace me with you; you're just his little toy soldier that he can control. He pretends to care about you, but all he really does is plan the next suicide mission he can send you on."
Zalgo's jaw twitched. He should've watched what he told you when you were smaller. "Shut up! I was the son he wanted!" He stomped a few spaces closer, gazing up at you on the cliff top. "You're nothing but a weak, rebellious, teenage demon who-"
"Correction, I'm twenty-two, so technically not a teenager," you pointed out.
"Enough, you fools," Zalgo growled. "Zaryin."
"Yes?"
He narrowed his eyes. "Fire."
"With pleasure," the Commander smirked.
The arrow zoomed through the air, twisting and turning to strike its intended target: you. Just as it was about to strike your larynx, a white hand grabbed it mid-flight. Its slim fingers wrapped around the arrow and twirled it with its black fingernails. Jane had leapt into action, snatching the arrow before it could deliver its fatal blow.
"You need to get a modern crossbow, buddy. Anyone could stop that, going thirty miles an hour," she scoffed, snapping it and throwing it back down to the field below.
Zaryin stood in awe and fury. "H-how...? How did she-"
"Honestly, I am thoroughly disappointed in you, Zaryin. I thought you were a valuable asset to this army, but I'm beginning to wonder... if a little girl can stop your arrow, how easily can a serial killer take you out?" Zalgo frowned, not taking his eyes off of you.
The demon general turned in disbelief to his lord. "S-sir?"
He laughed. "I hate to say it, but my son is right for once. And you were the perfect toy soldier, by the way."
"M-my Lord, I don't understand-"
"Goodbye, Commander Zaryin. I will inform your family that you have been killed in battle. May your soul rest in fire." In a flash, the demon lord grabbed one of his soldier's swords and struck it into Zaryin's throat, nasty black goo staining his uniform. The Commander coughed and gagged, desperately clutching his neck and pleading inaudible words of agony. Finally, after a long minute of uncomfortable waiting for the man to die, the life faded from his dark eyes and he disintegrated into black salt.
You shook your head. "Cold-blooded."
"Naturally," Lord Za'lgatoth smiled. "And you are too."
"I choose not to embrace it."
"And that's where you fail."
"Alright, I'm done with the pre-game banter," your hands shifted into long sharp claws and your eyes flashed red. "I hope you're ready to die."
"Same goes to you, my son." He took an orange and black glowing sword out from a sheath by his hip and held it defensively.
Your armies charged.
***
You sprinted off of cliff and dove into the air. Zalgo followed suit, taking your personal battle into the sky. From down below, you heard cries of battle from both your friends and the demon hordes in an epic clash of weaponry and wits.
Zalgo charged first, trying to get the upper hand. He succeeded, catching you off guard and slicing a small scratch in your cheek. You right wing whipped him back sending him tumbling a few feet away. Clenching your hand into a fist, you punched while he was still a little disoriented from flipping in midair. He ducked, connecting his free fist into your abs, earning a pained grunt from you.
Distant pain spread, but it wasn't enough to have you beat. Your claws scratched a deep into his left eye, a blow he wasn't expecting at all, causing him to desperately feel the wound. Growling, he swung his sword at your head, missing by a mile. You smirked.
"Need to touch up on your fighting skills, huh, Dad?"
He growled loudly. "You think you're so clever? Wait until I'm through with you."
His own wing, pointed at the tips, struck you. Your purple beauties stopped you and flung you back towards Zalgo. He was ready to strike, but you bolted higher into the air. As expected, he followed and you used this opportunity to kick him in his fat f*cking face. He caught your foot and swung you around, flinging you head first into a large pine tree. You hit your head hard.
"Ugh," you blinked up, holding your head. You immediately wished you hadn't looked up. There in front of you, was the monster you called "dad". He smirked, taking you the neck and flying back into the air with you.
"Oh, Creeps! I have something you might want to see!" He cooed.
When you looked down, you saw that your family had killed a good portion of the demons and now had their attention focused up above. Jane was finishing up slicing one of the enemy's throats and looked up in pure horror. You looked away in shame and frustration. She didn't deserve to see you like this.
***
"Y/N!" Jane screamed. There in the air, you were being held by your neck while kicking and thrashing at your father. She could see Zalgo closing his fist tighter around your throat, making her blood boil in hot fiery rage. "Let him go!"
"Oh, I'm afraid I can't do that, dearie," he teased. "This boy means far to much to you to just let him go."
"Dad!" You coughed. "Stop it!"
He turned his head to look you dead in your bright glowing eyes. Jane noticed that they were exactly identical to his own. It was scary, she thought, how similar fathers and sons could compare and contrast in so many different ways. Your smirks aren't the same; yours seemed more playful and flirtatious in more ways than some. His, on the other hand, was a wicked display of evil that reflected his true intentions.
"My boy," he clicked his tongue, "my sweet, precious, blood-related boy; the son who deserves to be rightful ruler and Lord of my domain. Why won't you take the crown? I've offered everything short of the world, but you still refuse. Why?" He cocked his head to the side.
You spat dark purple blood. "Because I don't want what you offered. I want something more powerful than what you could ever give me," you growled.
Jane smiled knowingly under her mask. She started jogging, then running to where you were suspended in air. "Tell him, Madness!" She yelled.
"What's that?" The demon lord brought his face close to your own.
You smiled, nodding slightly. "I think you know the answer to that, Father. I want love."
"Fool!" Zalgo screamed in your face. "You can have love in my kingdom!"
"Fake love," you struggled to say. His grip was beginning to cut off all means of oxygen from your lungs. "I want true love."
"You idiot! You stubborn little brat!" Zalgo's grasp tightened quickly before he dropped you, sending you down below like a fallen angel from Heaven.
Jane watched as you fell. It was graceful, but at the same time it was frightening. Your wings were flailing out from under you as you neared the ground, back first. If you were to land on your back from such a high distance, it would surely break your spinal cord and you would be paralyzed or worse, dead. She wouldn't let that happpen to you, not if she was there. And she was, right under you, prepared to catch her fallen angel.
***
The wind blew in your ears like a howling tornado. You felt as if you had been falling for hours. First, you were choking to death and then the next minute, you were watching Zalgo's look of satisfaction turn to anger as you fell into someone's arms. The velocity of which you fell, caused that person to fall under you.
"Ow," it whined, "get your fatass off me."
You rolled off from Jane and helped her up. "Thanks, babe."
"Anytime." She lifted her mask just a little bit to give you a quick kiss on the cheek. "Now, go finish the fight."
"Hey, f*cktard!" You looked over to see Jeff holding his knife with a maniacal grin across his carved one. His gaze was fixed on your father and he did. "Try this on for size!" He threw his signature knife right into your father's ribcage, plunging it hilt deep.
He staggered back in surprise, his wings flapping persistently and restlessly behind him. E.J. followed suit and threw his scalpel into his left eye, the same one you scratched, earning an angry curse from the demon lord. Soon, everyone had their weapon lodged someplace into Zalgo's body, even L.J. stuffed a piece of deadly candy into his mouth by teleporting up to him and back.
"Slender, now!" You commanded.
Slenderman nodded and shot his multiple tendrils into the air, wrapping them around Zalgo's body and throwing him into the ground. He coughed up blood and struggled into a standing position. His breath rattled and his teeth were clenched so tightly, it looked as if they were going to crack under the immense pressure.
You jutted your wings out and flew up in the air. Your lungs filled with sweet oxygen and when you exhaled, a flood of purple light spread from your head to your toes. From your shoulders grew an indigo cape made from the finest of silk. On the ground, a flurry of leaves swirled in a tornado like pattern and rose to encompass your head in a crown of red, yellow, and orange leaves. For once, your eyes weren't their human e/c color or the angry red color; they turned a righteous and magnificent shade of purple.
"Lord Za'lgatoth of the Underealm," your voice boomed, a mixture of anger and tranquility. "You have led your kingdom cruelly and with an unhealthy amount of unforgiveness. You make Hell look like a cakewalk. Opal Ambrosia, a servant girl of yours, was sent to deliver your judgement, but was unable to do so. With her blood and her anointment upon my soul, I shall deliver it promptly."
Zalgo stood quietly with a scowl as dark as night permanently implanted on his face. His body posture was stiff and painful and to your point of view, it looked like it was taking him every inch of himself to not scream.
"By the blood of Domina Justitia Opaline Gwynne Ambrosia, I hereby sentence you to eternal damnation, where not even God can save you. Your kingdom will be saved by the price of your life, unless you are willing to sacrifice everything to walk among the earth as an outcast for eternity. The choice is yours."
Zalgo sighed, plucking a knife out from his leg and throwing it on the ground. He did the same to multitude of weapons potruding out from him until he was left with gashes and bleeding spots all over. He looked back up at your face, as stone cold and beautiful as an angel, and winced. "So, I can either die and be trapped in eternal darkness, or I can give up my kingdom, my title, and my dignity left to wander forever."
"Precisely."
"If those are the only choices I have, then I chose death," he said. He sank to his knees, raising his hands above his head in surrender like a criminal caught in his final crime.
"Very well," you said, "I advise all of you to stand back."
The Pastas backed up in both obedience and understood fear of your power. Slenderman guarded all them in the front and ushered them behind himself. He nodded giving you permission to continue. Jane stood the closest up next to Slender and watched the scene play out with a curious tilt of the head.
"May I speak my final words?" Zalgo asked, a chuckle painting the edges of his tone.
You narrowed your purple eyes, afriad of where he would take this. "If you must."
Your father took a deep breath. And he smiled. "Good job, Y/N," he chuckled, "you beat me fair and square."
A smirk made its way onto your face. "I learned from the best. Goodbye, Dad." You aimed your pointer finger at Zalgo's face.
"Goodbye, my son."
A blast of purple shot from your hand, coating and blinding the entire plain in a violets, lavenders, amethysts, and magentas. You heard several of the Creeps cry out, but they were immediately hushed. The energy wiped the field in an eerie and sad atmosphere. Once your hand was put down, your crown of leaves dispersed on top of your head and your cape shrunk up into a little ball of silk onto the ground. You dropped down onto the ground and looked around to try and spot some of the others. From a distance, you could see a slim figure silhouetted in black as their dress and hair flew in the wind. They came closer, dragging something sharp and long behind them.
Finally, the familiar pair of hips were in your hands and soft fingers were tracing shapes on the nape of your neck. You smiled and passed your dazed and tired eyes over the woman you loved. "Finally," Jane said. "Our Prince is finally home." She let go of you and lifted your father's sword into your palms gently and carefully.
The moment the sword touched your finger tips, a glowing line of opal traced its way up the patterns of the blade and shone a bright golden color. Soon, the glowing line had started forming shapes into the blades that, upon sudden realization, were actually letters.
Quae totis justitiam,
Beati hoc ferrum.
Justice has been delivered,
Blessed is this blade.
Happy Thanksgiving, y'all! Hope you eat lots of food and count your blessings while your at it! (One more chapter to go!)
-SquishySmithIII