Jackie opened their eyes, the scenery taking place before them. Five men were lined up as if they were a conjoined jury. Jackie couldn't remember if they had done anything or how they even got here.
"Hello, Jackson," the man in the leading chair called. His hair was red, his skin dark. His eyes were a piercing yellow. They all wore the same uniform, his being red whilst the others wore black.
"Hello?"
Jackie stuffed their hands into their hoodie pocket, their eyes becoming hot with fear.
"Welcome to the Devildom!" The man almost shouted, rising to his feet. "You're probably wondering why you're here."
Jackie accidentally locked eyes with the man to his right. He had black hair, lighter near the tips, and black eyes. There was a small line of red near the bottom. His uniform was black, but otherwise the same as the man whom was speaking.
Jackie made the note that they had thought the same thing twice. Their anxiety was starting to kick up.
"Well, first and foremost," the man continued, Jackie refocusing their attention back onto him. "My name is Diavolo. I am the future king of the Devildom. My goal is for the order between here, the Celestial Realm, and the human realm to rejoice. That being said," he turned to the man Jackie had locked eyes with, "Lucifer here, my right-hand man, literally, will kindly take over."
Lucifer rose to his feet, Jackie locking their knees so they could keep their balance.
"Hello, Jackson," Lucifer said, walking in even steps towards them. Jackie felt themself stumble. Lucifer caught them by the arm. "I'd recommend not locking your knees. It makes even the best of us light-headed."
Jackie took note that Lucifer wore clothes and hid most of his skin. They pushed their glasses back up, quietly mumbling an apology.
"As Diavolo said," Lucifer continued, Jackie's apology falling upon deaf ears. "He strives to align all three realms, as they were thousands of years ago. In order to do this, in one of the more efficient ways he came up with, was to exchange two students per realm. For example, we demons sent two demons to your world, and two to the Celestial Realm, and so forth."
Jackie watched Lucifer reached into his pocket, pulling out a cell phone.
"This is a D.D.D. It's much like the cell phones in your world. This is how you will access all tasks we give you, jobs, and much more. All of our numbers are already registered in it."
"You know, Lucifer," a much smaller male called out. His hair was styled to favor his left side of his head. Jackie tried to pin the color, thinking it was a strawberry blonde. His eyes were orange. "This one's a lot quieter than Solomon! I don't think he's said a word!"
"Good. He's an excellent listener then, Asmodeus," Lucifer said, smiling at Jackie. They didn't bother correcting being misgendered. It wasn't a big deal, anyway.
"Jackson, do you have a preferred name?"
"Jackie," they finally said. The first word out of their mouth was their primary school nickname. What a way to make a first impression.
"Jackie," Lucifer said, his deep voice almost turning childish at the name. "Good to know. I have a task for you already."
Jackie raised their head. Ready for the task. They wouldn't want to do it, but whatever got them back home worked with them.
"As you know, my name is Lucifer. I am the Avatar of Pride. Do you know what that means?"
"Seven Deadly Sins. Pride, Greed, Envy, Wrath, Lust, Gluttony and Sloth," Jackie said, confidence filling them.
"Well done," Lucifer said, impressed with them. "Solomon wasn't nearly as quiet and intelligent as you happen to be."
Jackie didn't dare take the compliment. They could tell that Lucifer wasn't done speaking.
"Intelligence isn't the only thing you need in the Devildom," he continued, watching Jackie's face for a reaction. Jackie kept their face blank. "You also need mental, emotional, and physical stability. Demons will try to eat your soul. You could die-"
"Lucifer, don't scare her," Diavolo cried, stepping beside him. "Jackie, Lucifer and his brothers will ensure that you remain safe while you're with us."
How long will I be here, they wanted to ask. Where will I be staying?
"You will be in the Devildom for a year," Diavolo said, a welcoming grin on his face. Lucifer looked shocked while he looked at Jackie's face. They touched their cheek, noticing that they were crying. Diavolo's face dropped once he realized. "Lucifer, you scared her!"
"I didn't realize that he was so sensitive," Lucifer said, bowing his head. "I apologise."
"It wasn't you," Jackie quickly squeaked. "I just cry a lot."
A lot was an understatement.
"A hug from someone as beautiful as me will make you feel sooo much better," the male with strawberry blonde hair said, throwing his arms around Jackie. Their heart began to palpitate.
"Asmodeus," Lucifer warned. Asmodeus quickly jumped back, smiling at Jackie.
"You look happier already, Jackie," Asmodeus said, still smiling. "If you were wondering how someone so beautiful can exist-"
"-that one is Asmodeus. He's the Avatar of Lust," Lucifer interrupted, earning a look of pure offense from Asmodeus.
"That one?! I can't believe you downgraded me to that one!"
A man with blonde hair shook his head, finally speaking.
"At least he didn't totally ignore you."
"He's Satan. He's the Avatar of Wrath. Lastly," Lucifer gestured towards a muscular man with red hair. "That's Beelzebub, the Avatar of Gluttony."
Lucifer, Satan, Asmodeus, and Beelzebub. That meant three were missing.
"Where's the other three?" Jackie dared to ask.
Lucifer's face flashed with rage before he continued speaking. "Mammon is the Avatar of Greed. He's, unsurprisingly, isn't here. Leviathan's the Avatar of Envy. He attends online schooling. Belphegor, the Avatar of Sloth," Jackie saw Diavolo raise an eyebrow. "He's in the human world."
Jackie felt like that was a lie, but pressed no further.
"Speaking of Mammon," Lucifer said, a devilish smirk crossing his face. "Why don't you give him a call?"
Jackie was in shear disbelief. Call the Avatar of Greed? Obviously the buffoon was irresponsible and unreliable, but calling him could go horribly wrong!
"I'm right here. He won't dare to try anything," Lucifer said, the smirk still on his face.
Jackie took the prompt, carefully unlocking the phone. They clicked on the call icon, seeing a list of seven names pop up: Diavolo, Lucifer, Mammon, Leviathan, Satan, Asmodeus, and Beelzebub.
They clicked on Mammon's icon, putting the phone on speaker.
"Yooooo," He picked up after the third ring.
"Hello," Jackie dared.
"Huh? Who the hell are you?"
Jackie slowly breathed in. Then out. Then back in. Then back out. And so forth.
"I'm a human."
Mammon was silent on the end. Jackie swore he hung up.
Just before they spoke again, Mammon finally started talking.
"Ooohh, you're the other human for the exchange program," Mammon said, before continuing with an uninterested tone. "Good luck with that."
"Lucifer called for you," Jackie swiftly added. Lucifer seemed to hold in a chuckle.
"Hey! You think you can scare the Great Mammon with that name?!"
"Mammon, you have ten seconds. Ten.. nine.."
"Yes- yessir!"
Mammon hung up, Lucifer shaking his head.
"Mammon is on his way. He'll be taking care of you," Lucifer said, turning away from Jackie.
"You mean," Jackie said, hoping Lucifer had a sense of humor. "I'll be taking care of him?"
Lucifer laughed at Jackie's joke, a relief washing over them.
"I'm hungry," Beelzebub finally said. Lucifer shook his head, no longer laughing.
"That's too bad, now, behave."
With that, the broad doors swung open, a man with white hair in the doorway.
"Listen up, Human," it was Mammon, Jackie recognized the voice. "If you think you can tell me, Mammon, what to do, then you've got another thing coming! I will not-!"
"Mammon."
Mammon fell silent the second Lucifer started speaking.
"Do not threaten our guest."
Mammon bowed his head, giving Jackie a side-eye. Lucifer sighed, bowing to Jackie.
"We look forward to having you stay with us, Jackson," he said, his voice smooth, yet frightening. "I'll inform you of our house rules when we arrive there."
"Oh! I almost forgot," Diavolo said, a wide grin stretching across his cheeks. "You'll be staying at the House of Lamentation with the brothers."
"The House of Lamentation," Jackie said, obviously confused. "You named your home?"
"You've spoken to Mammon," Satan mused, Asmodeus giggling next to him.
"HEY! I am not the cause for lamentation," Mammon shouted at Satan. Lucifer let out another sigh, brushing against Jackie when he walked by.
"Enough, all of you," he said, Jackie remaining silent. "Before you scare Jackie out of staying with us."
"I've seen scarier," Jackie accidentally blurted out. Lucifer froze, turning on his heel to face the human. "In movies. Where they all wear really crappy special effects makeup. Not real demons. I've never seen real demons."
Lucifer stared at Jackie, his face naked of any emotions. Jackie would've been pissing down their leg had Lucifer continued staring with no words. Lucifer smiled at Jackie, fear flooding the human.
"You don't often speak without thinking first, do you?"
Jackie didn't answer. They didn't want to risk saying something stupid again. Lucifer turned back to the chairs that most of his brothers had now abandoned.
"Mammon, Satan, Asmodeus, and Beelzebub," he said, his voice causing a cold chill to run down Jackie's spine, but not as cold as the blizzard about to take them to the floor. "Since I don't trust a single one of you, I've decided that I'll see to Jackie's every need. If anyone else is needed, I trust you'll adhere to his concerns." Lucifer turned to face Jackie again, their blood cold. "Not only that, Jackie will be sleeping in my room."
"Oooh," Asmodeus teased, giggling. "I hope you two won't be getting freaky!"
Lucifer shot a glare at Asmodeus, something he didn't seem to do that often, according to his brother's reactions.
"Do not stick your nose where is does not belong."
Lucifer turned back to face Jackie, gesturing them to follow. Jackie obeyed, not wanting to test Lucifer's patience. He obviously took pride in himself and his work. Jackie also couldn't help but be tempted by Lucifer's ability to hold himself high no matter what, as well as the fact he was so attractive. Jackie did like people with dark hair, high self esteem, and a good work ethic. Jackie wanted someone similar, but not too much like them.
..why were they thinking like they were interested in Lucifer?
"Yooo," Mammon said, tapping on Jackie's shoulder. "Earth to Human! Lucifer's leaving without you!"
Jackie gasped, rushing after Lucifer. Lucifer was waiting just outside the door. It was almost as if he was expecting it.
"You seemed to have been in a trance," he said, his voice alluring. "I figured you'd come to or one of my brothers would have gotten your attention."
"I'm sorry," Jackie said, not wanting to test his patience.
"No need," Lucifer suddenly said, looking sympathetic. "I've been in your position. Scared, confused, alone, and no one to turn to. You needn't worry, especially as long as we're by your side, Jackie."
Jackie looked at Lucifer's face, reading it carefully. They instead saw nothing to hint at what they were supposed to say.
"Thank you, Lucifer," Jackie said, feeling strange about the situation at hand. How was a demon so calm and forgiving? Then again, Lucifer had been God's favorite in Celestial Realm and had fallen to become a demon. He had to have understood.
"Of course, now," Lucifer held out his hand to Jackie, still smiling at them. "Would you like a tour? It appears you and I have all the same classes, as you're a human of higher caliber than Solomon."
"That would be great, thank you," Jackie said in an even tone, not wanting Lucifer to think they were afraid.
"Wonderful," Lucifer purred, Jackie taking his hand.
After wandering the Royal Academy of Diavolo, or RAD, for approximately an hour, Jackie found that they and Lucifer were arriving in front of a very large house. Jackie noted that Lucifer was still holding their hand, but they didn't mind. It was strange, but it didn't matter.
"We've arrived to the House of Lamentation, Jackie," Lucifer said, holding the door for them to enter. Jackie took the invitation, carefully not to move to far away. Lucifer followed them inside, yelling suddenly erupting ahead.
"Mammon, I vote for you to die!"
"D'AH! Levi, don't scare me like that, man," Mammon yelled, Jackie sighing.
"Give me my money back, you-!"
"What am I?! Scumbag," Mammon asked, almost daringly.
"Worthless waste of space!"
"Hey! That's even worse!"
"Jackie," Lucifer said, sounding overly annoyed. "If you follow me, we can avoid catching their stupidity."
Jackie did what they now seemed to do best, which was following Lucifer.
"Hey! Human!"
Jackie turned, looking dead at Mammon. His uniform was more dishevelled than it had been earlier. He was obviously panicking.
"So, I'm gonna give ya some advice since I'm such a nice guy," Mammon said, looking down the hallway. Lucifer followed his gaze, seeming to have spotted something in the distance. "If a demon comes at ya, to eat your soul or somethin', then you either run or die. Right now, I'm runnin' so ya can go ahead and die! Seeya!"
"Mammon," Jackie called after him. "What if I pay him back for you?"
Mammon froze. He spun back towards Jackie, his jaw dropped.
"Hello, Leviathan," Lucifer said, a young man with the RAD uniform on running down the hall. His blue, maybe purple, hair was mostly covering his eyes, making it difficult for Jackie to be able to depict the eye color. "Would you like to meet our guest for the next year?"
"No, I want my money back," Leviathan shouting at Mammon more than Lucifer.
"It appears out guest may be willing to help you and Mammon out in that endeavor of yours."
Jackie maintained self control in the situation at hand. They stared at Lucifer, now annoyed at him.
"Jackie, this is the Avatar of Envy, Leviathan," Lucifer said, before Mammon butted in. "You can call him Levi, since his name is kind of hard to say!"
"Mammon, shut up or I will punch you!"
With no further prompting, Lucifer did punch Mammon. Jackie jumped, hearing Mammon cry out in pain.
"At least give me a chance to shut up before you hit me!"
"You're polluting Jackie's mind with stupidity," Lucifer snapped. Jacked winced at the newly discovered violence the brothers were showing towards one another. "And you, Leviathan, you're not doing any better. Leviathan, I'll give you your money. Mammon, you will pay me back. You have one week."
Mammon cringed at Lucifer's voice of reasoning. Jackie thought that it was an agreeable situation, even though Mammon obviously didn't agree.
"Now, Jackie," Lucifer said, now fully focused on them. "Allow me to show you around our humble home."