you let me do this to you

[Mandy Payne]

Prompt List

• Price
• Trapped
• Perfect
• Horror
• Devil
• Believe
• Consequences
• Soul
• Destroy
• Act

[Mandy Payne]

B E L I E V E

Mandy may have been a member of Crimson, but she walked freely among the guilds. Once upon a time there was more segregation, but the need had arisen to unite them, and their leaders, and eventually the old ways had been done with and new programs arose. Mandy in particular had always been passed between the three guilds due to the nature of her abilities, and her very specific history. It allowed all three of the top trainers to impart their knowledge upon her - and their skills.

But something that none of them could factor in was the knowledge she'd already been blessed with, by Samael. That included reading into people more deeply than any of them ever wanted to be able to do; the price she'd paid for it was hideous. She'd bear the scars of those lessons for the rest of her life. But even she couldn't deny their use, despite the fact that they made her once-bright world dark as coal for all of the evil she could now see.

Zaine Martin was one such evil. She had been gone, years of her life utterly lost, during the entire disappearance of Tucker, who was easily one of her brother's best friends, and in some ways family to them both. She'd been gone when Lily had quit hunting, and she'd been gone when Zaine had convinced her to come back. But she wasn't gone now, or during the last year, and in her quiet observation of the situation she'd come to the conclusion that when it came to Lily, Zaine had his hands in everything. She honestly suspected him to have played a part in Tucker's disappearance, but that she couldn't prove, and that would be a dangerous allegation to throw out when she was always on such shaky ground with the guilds. Truth be told, she was just coming off of a temporary suspension for "unnecessary risk".

The only thing unnecessary about it, in her opinion, was the fact that they stuck her with a trainee who more than clearly couldn't do what needed to be done. Mandy had become a lot more pragmatic since her return back to civilization. And currently she was doing yet another thing that, to her, made perfect sense, but in reality would probably net her another suspension. But fuck it - that was showbiz, right?

He'd started off just trying to intimidate her by doing that bullshit stare, then he'd gotten into her personal space. She made a point to move - the training campus was big, and she wanted to give him every opportunity to walk away, but he was stubborn, and she knew he already didn't care for her. He probably suspected her of being up to no good; Zaine wasn't stupid, by any stretch. But he paled in terms of scary when it came to Samael. He just didn't realize it yet.

"Hey, if you're going to ride me this hard, why don't you buy me dinner, first?" Mandy snapped finally. She nearly dropped a quarter on his ass, but decided a brake check would be better - especially since he'd followed her into a narrow corridor between the gym area and the pool. The air was warm and wet and smelled of chlorine. She wondered how bad it would sting his eyes if she forced his head underwater, but it was a fleeting thought.

"Just think it's odd that you're here when you're barely off of suspension. Shouldn't you be at Crimson getting your briefings from Stavros?" he asked. Nosy little shit, wasn't he? No, it was distrust - it was plain as day. Between Lily going haywire and now Mandy suddenly returning from the dead with some fantastical story about being kidnapped by a "demon" who held her hostage... No, Zaine wasn't buying any more bullshit. It read all over his body, and in his face, however deadpan his voice managed to be.

"Well, I guess if that was your business, someone would have informed you. Looks like they don't trust you enough to tell you what the rest of the trainers are doing," she needled. Everyone has a sin, Samael would say. Find it, exploit it. In the end, that advice had proven true. And Zaine liked to act like his sin was wrath, but Mandy knew his type - and his sin? Pride. Implying that he wasn't trusted would piss him off. And that was what she wanted.

Zaine, true to his serpiente nature, put himself directly in front of her, and way too far into her personal space - which, to be fair, was rather large all things considered. "You need to learn your place in this guild, Payne," Zaine growled. "You're not even here two years and you think you can go toe to toe with a senior trainer? You're not even worth my time," he added. He must have had some sort of epiphany, or considered what Lucien would do if he got into another altercation so soon after his hiatus from nearly killing Lily, but whatever he had wanted to do or say, he bit it back and turned to leave.

"She will never choose you, Martin," she said to his back. It stopped him dead in his tracks. Mandy smiled, and it was an unfeeling, cold sort of smile. Gotcha, bitch. "And even though I can't prove it, I know you had a hand in this giant clusterfuck with her recently. I know you begged her to come back. You see, I know men like you, Zaine. I know how you think. I know how you act. I know how you don't see the same sort of reality the rest of us see. But I know that men like you eventually fuck up. And I will be there to see it happen," she informed him, tapping her temple lightly.

Zaine reached out, lightning fast, fully intending to grab her hand, but Mandy's training between the three hunters paid off. She moved only slightly, enough to avoid his grab for her, and in a single moment had grabbed him by the throat and lifted him up. Mandy was 5'8, so she stood four inches under Zaine, but her intention wasn't to lift him into the air - just to establish dominance. And surprise him. Which she did. Because for a second, Zaine didn't reach for her hands, to pry her fingers off of his neck - and in that second, she pressed against his windpipe so hard that any further force would crush it. And she knew that he was painfully aware of it.

"I see you now, motherfucker. And I'm not scared of you. Back the fuck off of Lily, or I will be there when you slip up, and I will not be as nice as I am right now," she told him. She spoke evenly, almost calmly, but there was something in her voice, and in her eyes, that told Zaine that she was fully prepared to kill him on the spot. "I know that you can tell when people are lying. Look into my fucking eyes, Martin. Do you believe me? Am I lying?" she whispered. Another moment passed, then suddenly she let him go. She took a step back from him, then turned on her heel and began walking away at a completely normal pace. It was as though she'd only just asked him the time, not threatened to murder him.

[Mandy Payne]

T R A P P E D

The hospital room was quiet, except for the whir of machines that were helping to keep Mandy alive. While she'd been taken out of the critical category, she still wasn't fully functioning. Taro had been holding back from Diamond, that was for sure. Mandy was a good match - for just about anyone - given her abilities, but it was like they hadn't even phased him. In the end, she'd lost. Taro hadn't killed her because he didn't feel like dealing with the fallout. What she'd done to Sophia was deserving of worse, but he'd let the guilds sort the final punishment out. He just wanted his own pound of flesh before that happened.

What Taro didn't know was that Mandy had made a lot more enemies than just him, and they weren't so willing to let the guilds, or anyone else, finish the job.

A noise made Mandy's eyes flutter open, and she looked around from her limited range of movement to see what had caused it. She didn't see anything immediately, and let out a shaky sigh. A sudden knock at the door made her jump, which only caused pain. Her healing was slow, thanks to Taro's gross display of power. She would have been dead a thousand times over if she'd been just normal. The door opened, and her brother poked his head inside.

"Hey, you good?" Scott asked. He knew why she was in the hospital bed, but that didn't change anything. She was still his sister.

"Yeah," she managed. "Yeah, my throat's just a little dry from all the drugs."

"I'll get you some water before I turn in," he offered. He hesitated at the door, but Mandy weakly gestured him inside, sitting up a little.

"Come and.. hang out for a few?" she asked.

Scott grinned. "Sure," he replied. He closed the door softly behind him, and went to the chair next to her bed. His brows raised at the amount of tubes that she still had, and he shook his head, pouring her water. "You really got lucky," he said, handing the cup to her.

"I know," she said. Anyone else would have questioned how the fuck exactly this was considered lucky, but Mandy knew. She took a small sip of water, pressing the cold cup against her swollen cheek for a moment before passing it back.

"It's almost like that demon taught you a thing or two," he said, reaching out to take the cup. Water spilled over the side as her hand shifted from the cup to his wrist, clamping down tightly. Scott shifted his gaze to her, and his eyes changed - a flicker, like eyeshine, as he tilted his head and smiled.

"You're not Scott," she hissed. "Where is my brother?"

Not-Scott smiled more broadly, a perfect slasher smile in fact. Mandy felt the room began to grow colder - or was it her? A pressure was on her chest suddenly, making it hard to breathe. She couldn't keep her grip on his wrist and concentrate on staying alive, it was splitting the reserve of power she had in too many directions. However, when she tried to take her hand back, the cup fell to the ground with a loud sound, and he twisted his grip so that he was crushing her wrist instead.

She cried out, the sound weak as the air was forced out of her lungs by an unseen force. "You thought you got lucky," he said. Not-Scott's appearance changed into the face of a man she didn't recognize at all, but the power that crackled in the air smelled of Fae and Fae alone. "You thought nobody knew what you did to the gypsy, didn't you? You dumped her body in an alley and hoped that scavengers would take care of the rest."

"What are you - unh!" she cried out, tears springing from her big blue eyes as he snapped her wrist like a dry twig.

"Don't lie, demon. Because that's what you are now, isn't it? You like to say that you're still the same you, but I can smell it on you. You've got a special place reserved in the Black Book. You say you reject your master's teachings, but here you are, and here I am, and the only thing I can smell coming off of you even now in all your fear is that disgusting scent of sulfur." He leaned in, his mouth nearly on her own.  "I should kill you right now."

Mandy was paralyzed - completely trapped. The Fae had begun to distort the room around her to look like somewhere else - but it was nothing she could comprehend. It was an elsewhere, an other-realm, and things crept against the dancing shadows of the wall, dancing themselves, speaking softly - chattering. Chittering.

"But instead, I'm going to give you something," he whispered. "Something a Dark Man gave to me. And I don't think you're going to like it very much at all." He leaned down, his mouth on top of hers, and let go of her hand, fingers pressing her jaw to force it open. Mandy tried to scream, but it was exactly what Cian had wanted her to do. The darkness that Taranis had given to him passed through his body and into hers, causing him to seize for a moment as it released him. Slowly, the madness ebbed away at him, and the pressure in his head released.

Once upon a time, he'd have felt some type of way about what he'd done. But strangely, he couldn't feel much of anything at all.

Mandy lay frozen in her bed, unable to do anything but lay in abject horror as she felt that thing inside her - not just in her blood, but in her body. Her joints twitched in spite of being broken, and she found herself incapable of even crying out in pain. Slowly, the thing made its way into her head, and though her face reflected nothing, inside, she was screaming. And screaming. And screaming.

Cian whistled a cheerful tune as he patted her cheek lightly, and stood to leave the room. His appearance changed back into Scott as he walked down the hall, but it flickered as Tucker walked by him on his way to Mandy's room. The two made eye contact, and Tucker dropped the coffee he had in his hand, then broke into a run for her door.

[Mandy Payne]

A C T

Mandy stood with her brother Scott, half-listening to his story about something. She had no idea what, honestly, she had a few drinks and was sort of marinating in it. She tugged at the short shorts she wore, wondering how she let herself be talked into this costume. Honestly, Lara Croft? It was a commentary about either her tits or her ass, and since her brother suggested it, she didn't want to consider the thought process he'd had to get to that conclusion. She glanced over at him, watching for about the tenth time as someone high fived him and yelled, "I LOVE MCR!" at him as they passed.

"Aw, man," he whined, setting his empty glass down on a passing tray. "I knew I should have been something else!"

"Dude, nobody knows what the fuck The Umbrella Academy is, okay?" Mandy snapped. "You look like Gerard Way."

"But I'm supposed to be Klaus," he protested.

Another group of people passed by singing the opening notes to The Black Parade, and Scott snatched another drink off another passing tray. At least the catering was on point tonight. "Listen, maybe next year I'll take your advice on a costume, assuming you don't wait until the last minute to say you don't have one."

"I was just gonna put some black shit on my nose and go as a cat," Mandy confessed. Instead, she was in a tiny blue tanktop, shorts, boots, and had a fake set of pistols in dual side-drop holsters. She'd slung a toy shotgun across her back for good measure, but the strap only worsened how large her chest was in the baby Gap-sized shirt, and she'd discarded it early on in the evening.

"Yeah, well, I'm glad you didn't. Look, that guy's dressed like Nathan Drake! Maybe we can get a picture of you two together?"

Mandy's eyes traveled across the room to where a man stood, casually leaning against a wall and talking to men from the guilds. One of them, massive, glanced over his shoulder as the music changed, and she could lip-read enough to see him say he "hated this fuckin' song". She recognized him as Xander Ulrich, which meant that the other guy was Thomas Grimm - but who was the mystery dude? She squinted a little at him.

"I wouldn't," Hudson cut in, arms outstretched so he could touch both siblings on the shoulders. "Damn, you two are full of shit ideas. That's the district attorney. Kyle, Kevin, something. Anyways, I repeat, I wouldn't." He looked pointedly at Mandy. "I wouldn't," he repeated again.

Mandy slapped his hand away. "I get the point, bird-brain," she snapped. She couldn't help but glance back at him - damn though, right? She let out a wistful sigh and shook her head, looking back at them. "Listen, it'll be a cold day in hell before I talk to anymore pretty boys, okay? Tall isn't a fucking personality trait. The last time that happened I ended up gone for a fraction of my life." Just as she said that, she felt a hesitant tap on her shoulder. She immediately whipped her head towards Hudson, who had both hands on a drink, and her brother, who was too far away.

"Excuse me, miss?" came the voice from behind her.

Mandy turned, eyes narrowed as choice words rushed to her teeth. They didn't escape, though, and what also didn't escape was her brother's and Hudson's laughing at the irony of the incredibly handsome man who had tapped her on the shoulder - a pretty boy, who was towering. Even though Mandy was 5'8, he still had a gap on her, and he was close enough that she had to look up to see him, which she didn't like. "Sorry, what's up?" she asked, blinking at him expectantly.

"No, I just - I thought I recognized you from somewhere," he said. He smiled sheepishly, and held out his hand. "Chad," he introduced.

"Uh, right - I think you have me confused with someone else," she said. She didn't take his hand. "Sorry, it's a germ thing," she explained, taking a step back from him.

Chad withdrew his hand quickly, nodding. "Right. Totally understand," he said, making a gesture that it was fine and shaking his head. "Sorry to have bothered you." And with that, he spun on his heel and walked away.

"God damn, he's practically running," Hudson said. "Alexis ain't even here."

"Huh? Alexis? What's she got to do with this?" Mandy asked, puzzled.

"Dude, that's her ex boyfriend from a while back. You know, the bad breakup?" Hudson said, moving his hands around for emphasis.

"No, I don't know," she said, irritation audible in her voice. "Hudson, I was fucking gone, remember?" she reminded him, punching his arm so hard that he spilled his beer.

"Ow - Hey!" he protested, backing away and cradling his cup like it was precious ambrosia. "Okay, I'm sorry! Anyways, damn, that's Chadwick Emerson. He's uh, ah I forgot," he said, waving his hand. "But he's a shrink, and he dated Alexis for a while. Few years, I guess." He took a drink and shrugged. "Anyways, it ended up pretty rough, and now they don't talk, and we don't talk, and it's this whole Thing," he explained.

"Hudson," Mandy said.

"Yo?" he asked.

"It's.. it's really hard to take you seriously when you're dressed as Kid Rock."

"What? Shooot," he drawled. "What's wrong, Mandy? You don't like my bawitabaw?" he asked, shaking his hips seductively at her.

Mandy laughed. "No, I absolutely fucking do not, and DON'T come over here with that shit," she said, slapping at him as he tried to dance up on her. "Stop!" she giggled, running behind Scott.

"Yeeaaah, let's drop a collab album, Gerry!" Hudson screamed, grabbing onto Scott and putting him in a headlock.

With those two occupied, Mandy took the moment to slip away, saying something about the bathroom, which caused Hudson to say something lewd about her not being able to breathe and having to go re-adjust her flotation devices. She let it roll off of her; Hudson was not only drunk, but in full Kid Rock persona tonight, and honestly, he was entertaining her, and hadn't crossed any real lines yet. Yeah, she'd take her licks when it came to looking like a premenstrual pornstar in this getup, because for the other 364 days of the year, they wouldn't dare say it to her. At any rate, she cruised right the fuck past the bathroom, feeling her skin crawling as she headed to the elevator. She stepped inside and pressed the button frantically to close the door so she could be alone for the ride into the parking garage.

"Fuck," she breathed, dropping into a squat on the floor. "Fuck, fuck, FUCK!" She was yelling now, covering her face with her hands. She wretched a few times, too, but fortunately didn't vomit anything up. Her eyes and the tip of her nose was red, she observed, looking up at herself in the reflective cage she was in, suspended and slowly descending from floor 14 to B1. "Oh, fuck," she said again, this time taking deep breaths and standing up. Mandy was having her private session because, unbeknownst to those idiots she was with, she absolutely did recognize Chad. She'd seen him across the room talking intently with a dark-haired man, and she had purposely avoided that side of the room, which, consequently, was where the fucking bar was, so thanks, Chad. It might have been better that way though, given where she was standing now - she could never do this drunk. As it was, she had had a buzz, but it went away as soon as he'd approached her. Fuck, could she get into the right state of mind to do this right now, or would he see through her?

Fortunately, Mandy was both a practiced liar and tainted so heavily by Samael's touch that the triste hadn't been able to tell if she'd been telling the truth or not, and the way she had looked so confused, making her blue eyes glassy and curious and her mouth opening a little as she struggled to scrub her brain for him - no, the conclusion that she was being honest was easy to make. Unfortunately, that also meant that Chad had been traumatized by two people who didn't know him from Adam (the irony of his birth name not being lost to him in that expression). That, after serious conversations with his best friend, and choice words exchanged with Kid Rock, had been his cue to leave. At least he'd met Wren's new beau. He seemed nice; good for her, actually. He was happy she'd found someone.

As he stormed through the parking garage, unwilling and unable to process how he felt at the moment, instead just allowing anger to linger in place of everything else, he thought about what he would like to do to both of them. Deja, he absolutely would kill, with extreme prejudice. He couldn't remember hating anything so much as he hated her; not for what she'd done to him, but also for what she'd done to Alex, and no doubt others around her. Aaron didn't fucking deserve to be tethered to her, and she certainly didn't deserve to be tethered to such a good man. Mandy, though - because he'd learned her name by asking Hudson, who was ironically dressed as Kid Rock - Mandy, he didn't know about yet. If she didn't recognize him, maybe it was a good thing. He'd gone to the archives with Nicolette on a Sunday when nobody was around and educated himself a little on what the Therrayans had on her. Well, less on her and more on her demonic mentor, but still.

"You don't have to do this," a voice said from behind him. 

He paused, his footsteps slowing to a halt. He could see his car from where he stood, and for a moment, he wondered if he was about to get into a fight in the parking garage. He turned, slowly, to see Lara Croft, aka Mandy, standing a safe distance from him. She had to have run to have caught up to him, but she didn't look impacted - instead, she looked incredibly pale, making her dark eyes seem even darker. Sure, they were blue - blue like his were, actually - but in this moment, they were absolutely smoldering. He wasn't sure what to think, and reaching out with his power to see where she was mentally was useless - it was just sulfur and darkness and nothing. Fucking demons.

"What?" he asked, unsure of what she was referring to him doing.

"That's what you said me," she said, each word hitting him like a bullet. "Right before I grabbed you. You said, 'You don't have to do this'." She blinked, rocking back a little on her back foot. "But I did it anyways," she added, her voice breaking with emotion.

Okay, he didn't know what fucking emotion he felt at the moment, but it wasn't a comfortable one. His circuits went into overload for a second, and all he managed was rapid blinking. What the fuck was going on?

Mandy saw him bugging out, and sighed, her posture slumping a little. "Listen, you don't have to say anything," she said, holding her hands out as she spoke. Her eyes were wide, wet with tears that didn't quite fall. "I just - I couldn't do that. Not in front of my brother." She was silent for a second. "He thinks I'm a lot better of a person than I am," she confessed. "So, I hope you understand... Anyways, I'm sorry for making you run off like that. And for chasing you. And for, you know, blowing your mind," she said, widening her eyes and raising her eyebrows as she said the last bit. "But seriously, I uh - I'm sorry I happened to you. I hope you can forgive me."

And she turned and walked away, not even waiting for a response. Just - left him standing there, uttering some response that she didn't hear or care about. Mandy wasn't the better person, not by a long shot, and she felt like having just gone to undo one trauma meant she had to go and commit another one. Her little freakout in the elevator was more to get herself into the headspace she needed to be in than anything else. It was how she made the lies work - if she believed it, it became reality, right? What was that guy's name who looked like Nathan Drake, again? Kurt? Whatever it was, it didn't matter. That would be her goal for the night. Maybe get his number, maybe go home with him. She'd play it by ear. Her tongue played along the edge of her canine, poking the tip of the tooth with her tongue like a lion picking his teeth after a meal. She smiled into her reflection as she stepped into the elevator, and the doors closed with a ding.

She had been really fucking convincing though, hadn't she? Damn, if only Sam could see her now.

[Mandy Payne]

C O N S E Q U E N C E S

Mandy didn't think about consequences anymore. Samael had told her that worrying about the fallout would cause her to hesitate. "What ifs", he would tell her, "will drive you crazy. All you need to know is what is right in front of you. The here, and the now. Your task, and your endgame. That's it."



"What about what happens next?" she asked him. She remembered the conversation as clear as day; they were on the sidewalk, and it was late. It was dark, and the snow was flurrying around them. Mandy remembered that it had looked as though they were in a snowglobe. She had on a jacket, but she wasn't cold; Mandy didn't really get cold. She would just push her body temperature to where it needed to be to combat the cold. The clench in her teeth wasn't from the wind; it was from tension at being with Samael.

"It's just another series of decisions and an end-state," he said with a shrug. "Don't think about it in such a flowing fashion. It can be linear or it can not be. Break all of it down, the cause and effect, into separate things. Do you understand what I'm saying?" he asked, turning and raising an eyebrow at her. She nodded, but he knew that she didn't. She was still so young, so fresh at all of this.

"There she is," he said, stopping suddenly. Mandy had almost run into him. "I need you handle her."

Mandy saw the girl walking up ahead, tucked tightly into a large puffy jacket. "Why?" she asked. "What's she done?"

Samael's neutral expression flickered to one of irritation. "I don't question my orders, therefor you shouldn't question yours," he snapped. "If our Father asks for someone to be handled, then you handle it."

"Okay!" Mandy exclaimed, feeling the heat rolling off of him so much that she had to pull hers back a few, lest she burn the fuck up inside her coat. She walked towards the girl, meaning to follow her, then looked back at him again. "Handle her how?"

"Mandy, I swear Satan - " he started.

"I'm sorry," she said quickly. "I'll take care of her."

"Good," he said darkly. "See that you do."

The girl wouldn't have been any issue, except that some good Samaritan had tried to step in, which had complicated things. He saw the girl struggling, and ran over, hesitating only when he saw the glint of the knife Mandy carried.

"You don't have to do this," he warned, having NO idea what he'd just walked in on, but knowing that it was bad. The girl stank of sulfur, and though her aura was dark, he could tell that she was human. He didn't have time to assess the other one, the one she had practically in a headlock, because as soon as he interfered, Mandy made quick work of her with the knife Samael had given her. It was a special knife, one that was preferred in the eyes of the Father for sending witches that had broken their covens' laws straight back to him.

"Well, I did it anyways," Mandy said, wiping the knife clean on the navy blue jacket the woman wore. She didn't advance on him with it, though, instead putting it back into the sheath at her thigh.

The man reached out for her, still thinking she was just a human - he was fast, too. And old - she could tell as soon as she caught his arm. What was that she felt? Not a vampire, but something similar - just, something different. Was he a Fae? No matter. She had contact with him, which was more than she could have ever hoped for - he'd been dumb enough to think he could grab her up like some feral cat, hadn't he? And for that, unfortunately, she had gotten a massive advantage. Mandy's will could be forced upon people simply in close proximity to her. Touching her was like giving her the keys to the fucking kingdom, which he'd stupidly done. She could feel it, in him, when she reached in deep, that he had honestly not seen her coming.

All the more reason to blow his fucking brain to smithereens, she supposed.

She let loose with her power, ripping through him and pushing every cell in his body to burn. More, she thought, staggering a little as he dropped to his knees. My, but he was tall still, even bent. "Stop fighting it," she hissed, dropping to one knee as he sagged. She didn't want to rip his arm out of socket - not that she couldn't, but it wasn't her goal. She just wanted to burn him up. "Just let it happen," she said, this time more softly. "Let it happen."

When he started to seize, she let his arm go, springing up and backing away from him several large steps. She stepped back far enough to bump into Samael, who dropped a hand down on her shoulder. It burned, even through her jacket.

"We need to go, now," he ordered. Before she had a chance to say anything, they were both gone, the only thing indicating they had been there a small stain of ash that disappeared rapidly beneath the snow.

When they came back into phase, which Mandy hated by the way, she had herself a coughing fit that reminded Samael of old plague patients. He merely watched her as she practically choked on her own breath, finally setting a glass of water in front of her with a loud bang. "Drink," he commanded, which she did. She did everything he said.

"Why do you seem so mad?" she asked, once she could breathe again. She dutifully took the glass to the sink, rinsing it and setting it to dry on the rack. She turned, surprised to see that Samael was practically on top of her. Fuck, hadn't he been across the kitchen just a moment ago? Fucking demons.

"Do you know what you just did?" he asked, voice dangerously quiet.

"I just - I just reacted!" she stammered. Why was she having to defend her actions right now? He'd just gotten through telling her to execute tasks and not worry about the consequences. "You said - "

"I KNOW what I said," he snapped. He was seething. "Of all the fucking people, of all the fucking places," he muttered. He backed off of her at least, throwing his hands up and walking away, still talking to himself.

Mandy was so fucking confused. Still, she was strong with the Stockholm Syndrome, and so she followed him, through the kitchen and into the living room, then beyond that into the bedroom. She kept trying to talk to him, but he kept telling her to go away, and finally she had enough. "Samael! Will you look at me?" she demanded. He whipped around, and for a second she thought he might hit her, but he didn't. Instead, he raised his hand, and stuck his finger out, pointing at her.

"Do you have any idea who that was? That man you left on the sidewalk?" he asked her.

It was rhetorical, but she was going to answer it anyways. "No!" she cried, grabbing at his finger that was still pointing at her. It was a pretty bold move, but she was still coming down off of using her power, and her blood was practically burning. It made her want to fight, like it always did, and since Samael had truncated her in the middle of killing someone, the energy had nowhere to fucking go. She wanted to break his goddamn finger, but knew if she did that, he'd probably just kill her. She settled for closing her fist around it; she was strong, but she didn't outmatch the demon, and she knew it. She was only able to stop him from pointing at her because he allowed it.

"I don't know who it was, because you pulled me out of there before I could finish him. So, whoever he is, whatever he is, he's fucking braindead now, and since we left him there on the sidewalk in about fourteen degrees, he's probably actually dead now. So fucking what? And anyways, I didn't even consider that he could be anything, because you literally just told me to stop worrying about the what-ifs! So, I just did what I needed to do!" They were still doing a little tug back and forth between hands, but both their arms had lowered until it was more or less her just holding his hand. She released it when she felt his fist slack, surprised when he took hers back to maintain that physical contact between them. When he didn't crush her hand in his own, she was relieved.

"He was a very old Triste, Mandy," Samael explained, his voice tired. "And he wasn't an adversary before, but I promise, if he's still alive, he absolutely is one, now. We don't need people that powerful meddling," he informed her. "And now, of course, I've got to explain this to the Father, and he will not be pleased."

Mandy made a face that plainly said she didn't care, complete with her free hand gesturing as she blinked rapidly. "Samael, he's fucking useless. I promise. I liquefied him. I don't know what a Triste is, but if he can come back from that, then dear old dad is going to be the least of my worries. I promise," she said again, her voice urging him to calm down. She reached her free hand up, touching his face. "Okay? I promise, it's fine."

"Mandy," he sighed. "I forget how truly young you are. Tristes of that age can withstand quite a lot - yes, even you," he told her, much to her chagrin. He placed his hand on her own, closing his eyes again. "My, but you have so much to learn." Samael had no qualms about taking advantage of the situation; Mandy wasn't the only one with abilities. Demons had charm, and lots of it. They had that black hole-like gravitational pull, the kind that (ironically) no light could escape. Not that Mandy had much light to begin with, but what she had, Samael had begun to work at diminishing. Playing to her desperation for him to care for her was only another aspect of that.

She seemed a little taken aback by his remark that she was young - actually, the look on her pale face plainly said that she took offense to it. She fixed her blue eyes on him, mouth set into a frown. "I'm not so young," she said defensively.

"But you are," he told her, letting go of her hand and pulling away from her grip. "And you should go. I've got to figure out how to explain this mess, and you need rest after blowing your circuitry like that." He turned, putting his back to her, and more importantly, putting distance between them. It was a game he was playing, one she was too fucking young to see through.

"Wh - no," she said, left standing alone. She turned, mouth dropping open as he walked across the room. He went to the door, and held it open, meaning for her to leave.

"Come on, Mandy," he said. Inwardly, the creature he was began to gloat. She was far too amped up on that bite of the Triste to leave it alone.

"I don't want to leave," she insisted. She took a shaky breath. "I want to stay."

"I don't think that's-"

Mandy approached him,  and, to his (actual) surprise, put her hand over his mouth. "Samael. I want to stay," she said firmly.

Gotcha.

  He dipped his head, causing her to drop her hand. "Out, Mandy," he snapped.

She went out, and he shut the door behind her, listening to her footsteps grow further away from his room. He hadn't been lying about being tired; he was actually exhausted, and she was fucking exhausting on top of that. He'd been given charge to collect people that could aid the Father's quest to maintain presence on their plane, and though his plan to walk among them hadn't been executed yet, Samael was but one of many demons who had undertaken the task of helping to lay the groundwork to see his plan come to fruition. Mandy didn't know any of that, and she didn't need to. He first had to rid her of that conscience she still seemed to have, then ensure that she was loyal to him, and to the cause, and to the Father. It was a fucking monumental task when one took into the equation that Mandy was incredibly powerful and headstrong to boot - some days he didn't even know how he maintained control over her, or if he did at all.

The conscience bit, though. He mulled over that, laying in bed in the absolute dark. The sun would be coming up soon, and he was thankful for the thick curtains in his room. Demons didn't necessarily need to sleep, but in this body, regretfully, it was a necessity. He was cross, of course, about what had transpired that evening - the Triste was everything he said, and would be an awful and persistent adversary if he made himself that way. Samael would have to really dress that incident up to the Father - or just omit it, altogether. In the end, Mandy was right about one thing - she had completed her tasking. The traitor witch was dead, the coven she'd left had its closure, and Lucifer had her soul to spend some quality time with.

His ears picked up on something, and he was brought from his thoughts back into the present. Footsteps, very slowly, coming closer to his door. He watched with his sharp vision as the doorknob moved slightly, as though whoever was on the other side was attempting to sneak in somewhere they weren't supposed to be. Or somewhere they'd been told to leave, he thought. It was hard not to feel victorious. Six months ago, Mandy wouldn't even look him in the eye - it had been impossible to allow her to use her free will most of the time because she was so scared. He'd been using less and less of his influence as the days went by, and he'd bet the other demons that he'd have her within the year, even though it had been a very daring bet to make.

The door opened, and no light came in from the hall, so she couldn't see that he was still awake. Mandy hesitated, heart pounding. She still felt shaky with energy; boy, she'd taken a nasty bite out of that Triste, and Samael had snatched her up before she'd had somewhere to spit it out, resulting in her simply holding onto it. With it, she could have easily taken on, and beaten, at least a handful of Samael's weaker compatriots. But right now, she felt like she had something to prove - she needed to prove that she was not young and stupid, that she was capable of making her own decisions. Obviously, sneaking into her demon captor's bedroom at night was not at all proving any of that (the fucking opposite, in fact), but you couldn't tell Mandy that.

"Samael?" she whispered.

"What, Mandy?" he asked. His tone was still harsh, even when it was heavy with the weariness that came with needing sleep.

He followed her with his eyes as she walked around the room, tiptoeing even though she'd already announced her presence. She felt in front of her, blindly, unable to remember how many steps it was from the door to the massive bed. Finally, he sighed. "Oh, for Christ's sake - three feet to your left," he finally blurted.

"Right," she said, her voice throaty, quiet, but not a whisper. "Right, I forgot you can see in the dark." She sat down at the edge of the bed, shivering, unwilling to come any closer for the moment.

He propped himself up on one elbow, swiping a hand out to touch her side. He only meant to tap her so she'd turn and face him, but instead she jumped, and he sighed again. "Mandy, go back to bed," he muttered. He dropped off his elbow suddenly. This wasn't worth it. It was like trying to seduce a fawn; she was too young, and too timid. He'd need to give it more time.

That, however, must have been the final nail in the coffin for Mandy. She was so tired of being pushed out, of being told no, to hold back - then being told to execute orders at will, to fight, to think for herself - and that fucking power still hummed, like electricity. She drew her legs up onto the bed quickly and shot her hand out, grabbing Samael harshly at his upper-arm. She didn't mean to pull him towards her, but rather used him as an anchor for her to have a landing point.

"Tell me I did a good job," she hissed, her face dangerously close to his.

"You did," he said. "Mostly."

She squeezed his arm, but again, it wasn't meant to hurt him - it was meant to get him to be serious. "Tell me," she said again.

"Okay," he agreed. "You did. You made quick work of the witch, and you dropped an ancient Triste like he was an infant." He paused. "Is that all you came back in here for? To receive accolades?"

"No," she snapped. "I want to stay."

"What if you decide that you don't want to stay?" he countered.

"What ifs will drive you crazy," she whispered, leaning into him.

"Hm, they certainly will," he agreed.



Six months. Six months. It had only taken six months for him to win her devotion, for her to give herself to him. Six months and a Triste. What possibilities were out there for her in a year? Two years? Even six? It was endless. She was endless. He cared very little for her, as he simply lacked the ability, but he was rather invested in what she could do, what possibilities she could create. Father would find use for her long after he had finished with her, he was sure of it. He watched the rise and fall of her side as she slept, and frowned a little. It was a shame she was still holding on to her former life so much. That would have to go, next. But for now, he would sleep.



"Yo, Earth to Mandy," Tucker said, waving his hands in front of her face. "Dude, where did you GO?" he demanded.

She had stalled out in the middle of their conversation. Tucker had been talking about going deep into his memory, guessing on what would really be worth pulling out - and delving into the potentials for catastrophic failure, of which there were many. In fact, there was only one scenario where his shit got put back the way it was supposed to be, and it was an option that he didn't fully believe they had. It involved Mandy making someone do it, and breaking them if they didn't. Tucker didn't know if he wanted to be part of that; it wasn't fair to whoever she went after on his behalf. He knew he shouldn't want to be part of that, but, still - his whole life was trapped in a tiny box and he didn't have the key. What was really fair?

He'd expressed all of this, and then asked her about the potential consequences from the options they had, and fuckin' way she goes, boys.

She blinked rapidly, sitting up a little, accidentally shaking the flimsy table of the outside cafe they sat at as she did so. "Sorry," she said. She took a long drink of the rose milk tea in front of her, her eyes still that strange way they got when she went wherever the fuck she went. "Sorry, what? I'm back now, I just uh, disassociated pretty hard, can you - what was the last thing you said?" Yeah, disassociated - back to the first time she'd slept with Samael. How had that even come up? Oh, right. Consequences. Of course.

"I said, 'what are the consequences we can expect if you go with option A?" he reminded her, a little frustrated. In truth, it wasn't her; he was just fried over all of this.

"Option A, or B. Doesn't really matter either way. I don't really worry about the consequences," she told him. "I'll deal with it one event at a time."

"Okay, well, that's easy for you to say, but what if I'm the one stuck holding the proverbial gun?" Tucker snapped.

She shook her head. "What ifs will drive you crazy, man," she said, a strangely playful smile appearing on her face. "Leave everything up to me, Tucker. I promise. I'll handle it. I have never failed before, and I will not fail now. Okay? Drink you tea," she said, gesturing with her hand as she leaned back in her chair and enjoyed the warm sun on her.

Tucker drank his tea, but it was because he was thirsty, not because she told him to.

[Mandy Payne]

D E V I L

Tucker was screaming. Sophia was screaming. Mandy was - well, she wasn't screaming. She was standing there, chest heaving, beads of sweat on her forehead, hair that was usually perfectly coiffed puffed out like she was some kind of wild animal. Her eyes suggested that she was wild, too; they were wide, bright, pupils dilated like she'd put drops of belladonna in them. Something far, far deep in the recesses of her mind, so quietly that she could barely hear it, asked What did I just do? In truth, she didn't know.



"I'm not so sure about this," Tucker said, his voice full of the hesitation that he felt. His companion clearly felt differently than him, and Mandy whipped around, brown hair almost smacking him in the face as she suddenly turned on him when he hadn't expected her to.

"Tucker!" she snapped. She was getting tired of his waffling back and forth. "Do you want to recover everything, or don't you? This is option A, homie, and option B is not far behind if this fails - which I don't think it will," she added. She took a deep breath, closing her eyes and trying to calm herself. If she freaked out, he'd definitely freak out, and that might actually kill him. And honestly? Mandy had grown too attached to him for him to just die after all of this. He was the only one she could relate to. Not even her own brother, her own flesh and blood, could truly understand what it had been like for her. But Tucker could. And though Mandy hadn't been in some weird trance, she certainly knew what brainwashing was. Ironically, it was that brainwashing - teaching as Samael had called it - that was going to help assist Tucker get his shit back together. She ignored that aspect of it. She wasn't brainwashed - she was in control.

"Listen," she said, slowing her roll. She placed both hands on his shoulders, forcing him to look at her. No tricks, no influence. "Tucker, do you want your life back or not? If not, we can turn around and go right now, and nobody will ever have to know we were here. No fault, no loss, no foul," she said.

"I want my fucking life back," he said, voice resolute.

"Good," she said. "Hold on to that, no matter what. If you don't, this could kill all of us." She paused. "No pressure though. Now come on," she commanded, jerking him into the elevator.

They were at an apartment that Tucker had never been to before, but he knew about where in town they were. At least, he thought he did. He'd been back for a few months now, mostly getting his orientation with everything. It was all familiar to him, he was just having trouble connecting some of the dots. He had only seen Lily a few times, and he hadn't been allowed to see Alice yet, at all. They didn't trust him to be around her. He couldn't stand the way Lily looked at him, and he really couldn't stand the way Zaine looked at Lily. Apparently that was still a thing, much to his dismay. It was one of the many, many factors that pushed him to make this decision.

They rode the elevator up in total silence, Mandy looking more calm than any other time Tucker had ever seen her. He wanted to say something, but knew better. Before, when he'd worked with Midnight, he'd noticed the same look on a handful of the people he'd been sent out with on hunting parties. A vampire in particular, Kronos, had that same expression on his face right before Tucker had been in some of the most extreme bloodbaths of his career - and that was saying something. It was a dangerous calm; a disquiet that didn't translate on her face so much as it did in her eyes. With Mandy, it was always her eyes. He could feel the energy around her picking up, and he wondered if he touched her, would he get a little shock? He found a way to fight the urge, knowing that she was already doing a lot for him and he shouldn't fuck with her.

When the door dinged, she turned to look at him. "Stay behind me, and do exactly as I say," she warned, a finger up. "Don't question my commands, or we'll all die. Do you understand?"

He nodded, swallowing. Honestly, still with one foot in under Niall's influence, he felt less nervous and more confidant. If he looked at this like another skirmish, he could handle it just fine. Imagine that, he thought dryly. Getting my memories back is a fucking fight, maybe to the death. He couldn't think of anything more typical for his luck, actually.

They stopped in front of a door with decorations on it, and Mandy exhaled and inhaled quickly. In that instant, her entire demeanor shifted. She went from looking predatory to - well, normal. A smile plastered itself on her face, and she nodded, fluffing her brown hair. "It's showtime," she said softly. Then, she raised her hand and knocked on the door. She motioned behind her back for Tucker to stand off to the side, which he did.

The door opened, and the whimsical Korean bartender from Hellcat's Hollow answered the door. "Mandy, hi," she said, though she sounded surprised, like she hadn't been expecting company. "Is everything okay?"

So, Mandy had told Tucker that there had been Option A and Option B. He realized, standing there, that Sophia was Option A. He also realized that Option B was the other girl, who also worked at the Hollow - the redhead who had aided them, previously. The Oh fuck moment hit him like a ton of bricks, but he clenched his teeth and pushed his feelings on the matter aside. The end justified the means. Mandy had said it, and so had he. He believed it.

"Yeah, it's - actually, it's funny, I've been thinking. I have a problem, and I think you could help me with it. Can I come in?" she asked, her voice sweet, non-threatening, nice.

Sophia studied her for a moment. "Well, I don't think that's such a good idea. My place is a mess and - Hey!" she cried. Mandy had taken hold of her arm, and locked her grip onto it. "Mandy, what the fuck!" she yelled. She was pushed backwards into the apartment, and immediately had lost control of the situation from there on out. Mandy was forcing her to stumble backwards, and Sophia felt like she was in danger of falling, so she was splitting her concentration between Mandy and, y'know, not falling.

Mandy glanced over her shoulder, nodding her head to Tucker, and he followed her in, securing the door behind them.

"Stop talking," Mandy instructed, and when Sophia struggled, Mandy squeezed down on her arm. "I will fucking break it, Sophia," she warned.

Sophia cried and fought back, or at least, she was doing that when Mandy issued the threat of breaking her arm. She stopped trying to pull away, in that moment fully believing that Mandy would do it. "What do you want, then?" she asked tearfully.

"You're gonna fix my friend," Mandy said matter-of-factly.

Sophia looked past her to Tucker, then let out a depressed sigh. She inhaled, her breath shaking, and looked at Mandy, trying to reason with her. "I can't," she insisted. "Listen, I'm sorry about whatever happened to you, Tucker, I really am. But after what happened with Alexander, I just - I can't do a deep dive like that again. It will, literally, kill me."

Tucker would later admit that part of him felt like he should hesitate - mind you, he didn't actually hesitate, but he felt like maybe he should. It was strange, knowing that you should feel something like guilt or discomfort, but instead you felt nothing. And he was more worried about the nothing than he was about any other small emotion. He just stared at Sophia, then looked at Mandy, brows raised.

Mandy shrugged. "I'm good with it."

"Fantastic. We doing this?" he asked.

Mandy looked back at him, and then Sophia again. "Oh yeah," she said, voice heavy. "We're doin' this. Get a chair," she said. She looked back at Sophia. "She's gonna need one."

With the chair in place, Mandy forced Sophia down into it. Sophia wasn't crying anymore; actually, she was pretty quiet. She had no idea that Mandy could force her to do anything, and instead thought that she was just going to threaten to mangle her if she didn't comply. Taro's blood could heal her, so regardless of what Mandy did, Sophia knew that she would be okay. After having survived years of being hunted by various people trying to drive her kind to extinction for their ability, Sophia's outer fear had melted away, that strong resolve in its place.

"You're not gonna tie me up?" she asked, taunting Mandy.

"Oh, I don't need to," Mandy said, like she'd said she didn't need a receipt. The way she switched back and forth between that psychosis and a normal girl was downright frightening. Which was the real version? Nobody knew, not even Mandy.

"Okay, Tucker. Take her hand," she instructed. "Don't stand - just, get a pillow or something and be as close to the floor as you comfortably can."

"You really think I'm going to do this," Sophia said, her voice full of wonder. "You crazy bitch, you can't make me go into his head, you do know that, don't you? You can beat me up if you want, shit, feel free to break a few fingers. It won't make a difference. No dice," she snapped.

"Oh, but that's where you're wrong," Mandy said, letting go of Sophia's arm for a moment to reposition herself; she hovered over her now, both hands on her shoulders. "You're going to do what I want you to do, and you're not going to stop me. It'll hurt more, if you make it difficult. My suggestion is just to relax, and let it happen. Otherwise..." she trailed off.

"Otherwise what?" Sophia spat.

"Mandy," Tucker said. "Hate to interrupt your creepy, strangely rapey speech, but uh, we're on a budget," he reminded her, tipping his head to the his watch.

"Right," Mandy said, smiling. "I got you, pal." She winked at him, and Tucker found it unsettling as fuck. She directed her attention back to Sophia. "See, here's the thing. Right about now, your little boytoy just got called into a meeting with his fellow Diamonds. He's going to be unavailable for the next few hours while they try to unfuck some things that I probably shouldn't know about. Anyways, point is... no hero vampire is coming to save you."

Sophia responded by spitting - actually spitting - at Mandy. It hit her in the face, and Mandy just laughed. She wiped it on her upper arm, still holding onto Sophia while she did it. "Next time, get it in my mouth," she told her.  "So, I take that as a no on the 'letting it happen'? Good. Fuck, I was hoping you'd fight. It's always better that way." She began to push with her power, forcing Sophia to open the connection to Tucker.

"Come on, keep fighting," Mandy urged, moving to straddle Sophia so she could better control her. Also, putting all her weight down on locked arms was hell on her back - plus, who didn't love a little girl on girl?  "Don't give up now, remember, you thought I couldn't get it out of you!" The more Sophia fought, the easier it would be for Mandy to supercharge her power, because it made her clumsy and scared, which were Mandy's bread and butter. She needed her terrified. She needed her hopeless. And boy, did she fucking have that in spades.

Tucker felt himself being dragged away into some darkness, and from his position on the floor, looked up to Mandy. His free hand shot up, as if to grasp at her for help, but when he saw her eyes, he saw reflected in them the goddamn devil, and pulled his hand back like he'd been burned. It was all the same; she hadn't reached for him, anyways. She merely watched as he sank, lower, lower, beneath the floor, through the apartments, down into the dark recesses of the nothing that was all of the empty space of his mind.

"See you soon!" she called.

He heard screaming, and could not tell if the voice belonged to Sophia, or to him. And then, it was just pain. And then black.



"Fuck," he gasped, sitting up. There was blood. Why was there blood? Whose blood was it? He pushed himself up, squatting, then standing, then immediately stumbling back into a small table, knocking off a plant and a lamp, both of which shattered as they hit the floor. "Fuck," he said again. He touched his face, then inspected his body, trembling. No, not his blood.

"We need to go. Can you walk in a straight line?" Mandy's voice cut into his haze.

"I feel like I got hit with a flashbang," he said. He stumbled to the direction she pointed, holding onto anything he could find on the way for support.

"Yeah, I bet you do," Mandy said with a snort. "Here, let me help you." She took his arm, throwing it over her shoulder, and helped to bear some of his weight. "We need to bounce. That took longer than I thought. Taro is going to be on the move, and trust me, neither of us want to be here when that happens," she warned him.

Tucker glanced over his shoulder as they went out the door, and what he saw made his knees buckle. What the fuck had they done to Sophia?

"Don't," Mandy barked. "Don't look back. Don't think back. We made a choice. We stick with it," she said, her voice firm. "You feel whole again? Yeah?" she asked, nodding as he managed to nod, despite his pounding head. "Okay, then good. End, means - you know the drill. Now let's fucking move."

As long as Tucker was alive, and for as many things as he'd seen (and done), he would never, ever, forget two things: seeing Sophia's twisted body on the floor, and that look in Mandy's eyes as he'd slipped away. He didn't vocalize this to Mandy as they drove away, knowing she'd just look at him and shrug and say, "Hey, at least you know where the mystery blood came from, right?"

Mandy was as quiet as he was, and though it looked like she was concentrating on driving, the wheels inside her head were turning. End, means. End, means. Over and over again. If she thought it enough, she'd shut that stupid little voice up. That little voice that asked what the fuck she did, the one that wanted to look at Sophia's fucked up body even though Mandy said it was time to go. That little voice was overstaying its welcome, and Mandy was going to go on a mission of her own, next, to get rid of it.