Salym's stand for Raelyn's rights didn't last long.

With the combination of everyone's anger and hatred being directed at her and having to actually go into the Middle Realm and deal with Raelyn's insane charges, Salym's lost her nerve and caved. It lasted maybe three days out of the week the Almighty had allotted for Raelyn's vacation.

Salym appeared at the Bermuda Triangle Spa and Resort and was instantly handed a drink and had a garland of flowers around her neck, all thanks to the water nymph posted at the portals. She could smell the sea salt and she was already boiling in her long sleeved dress. This place was beautiful; it was going to be her next vacation spot. It really was too bad that she was there to cut Raelyn's vacation short. She would totally understand if Raelyn got mad at her, but she wasn't leaving without her.

Salym went to the concierge desk, a large monstrosity made of sand and sea shells, she was having trouble understanding how it was standing up. She smiled warmly to the Siren standing behind the desk just staring at her with icy blue eyes. "Are you here to check in?" she asked.

Salym took a sip of her fruity alcoholic drink. "Oh no," she said quickly. "I'm here to see my friend, a Guardian Angel by the name of Raelyn. She's on vacation here, if you can tell me where she is I'm sure I can find her on my own."

The Siren smiled politely though Salym could tell she was displeased. She looked through her registry with a dejected sigh.

"I'm sorry, Miss Raelyn never checked in," she said.

Salym frowned and shook her head. "No, no that can't be right. She's been her for four months now."

"I'm sorry, but our records show that miss Raelyn never checked in," the siren repeated firmly.

"Well your records are wrong. Check again!" Salym ordered.

The Siren's fake smiled faded completely. "I'm going to have to ask you to leave," she snarled. She snapped her fingers and two men, half human half crab appeared and glared down at her.

Salym blinked at what were the security guards and bit back the urge to laugh. Instead she headed back towards the portal zone and wondered what was going on. If Raelyn wasn't at the Bermuda Triangle then where did she go? She wouldn't have lied to Salym about where she was really going, would she? Salym had always her and Raelyn were close. Something was obviously wrong and Salym had no choice but to get to the bottom of things.

[----]

Raelyn slept for three whole days and though Lagrius didn't know why, he just let her do it. He had a feeling that she needed it, he just couldn't for the life of him figure out why he felt that way.

He did know that he had questions. Questions about how he had a blank spot in his memory. He remembered mentioning to the Queen of the Abyss that Raelyn had been summoned to the Tower of Seduction and she freaked out.

Then he remembered being worried himself and rushing to get to her. Then he didn't remember what happened, but it had been amazing, maybe, he wasn't all that sure. Then enxt thing he remembered was staring at the Evil Dude who was telling him to take Raelyn back to his place.

So something had been happened to her, he just didn't know what. He wasn't sure she was corrupted because there was still white in her hair, so could it really have been that bad?

So while he waited for her to awake, to pass the time measuring his horns. He was more than distressed to find that his horns were in fact shrinking, and he was starting to grown white roots. That bitch was redeeming him somehow and he hadn't even noticed.

On the third day of Raelyn's slumber Lagrius had been distracting himself from his boredom by re-measuring his horns and checking his ever-whitening hair. He had been so transfixed with his reflection that he hadn't even heard Raelyn get up. He hadn't even seen her at the door to his washroom.

"They don't look any smaller to me," Raelyn said.

She startled Lagrius, he yelped and turned around. He glared at her, his chest heaving. Why did she have to look so beautiful with one of his black shirts hanging off of one shoulder, shrouding her like a dress?

"For your information my horns are a whole three centimetres smaller than they used to be," he growled. "But what's worse is the fact that my hair is going white!"

Raelyn stared at him confused. Lagrius stalked forward and bent over, baring his scalp to her. He moved his part over so she could see the white hair at his roots he had tried so desperately to hide. If any of the other demons saw this he'd never hear the end of it.

"You see? You see what you've done?" he cried. "You've been redeeming me all along haven't you? Well now I've gotten wise to your little mind games little miss bitch crafty angel. Oh yeah! This means war!"

Raelyn sighed and took a hold of his hand, drawing his eyes to her. "I haven't been attempting to redeem you. Trust me, if I was trying to redeem you, you would have been redeemed by now."

"I am not that easy," he growled haughtily. "I'm insulted that you think I'd be that easy."

Raelyn shot him a dark glare and for a second of golden bit of memory flashed across his mind. Of Raely with jet black hair a darkened fiery glare the color of the sky on a summer's day directed at him. He shook it free because there was no way she had fallen and then redeemed herself that quickly.

While he was lost in memory she had bitten her lip, as if to bite back her retort. Instead she took three deep breaths and said: "I'm sorry about your hair. I swear on my halo that I didn't do it on purpose."

Lagrius stared at her, he could see the sincerity in her eyes and already he was believing her and forgiving her. He wanted off of this topic, he wanted her to squirm under his questions so he blurted out the question he wanted to desperately ask.

"I want to know what's really going on with you and Lucrinda."

"We're friends," she said quickly. She had straightened and avoided eye contact. She really was a horrible liar. She shifted under his glare and sighed.

"So... something happened right? I know something happened even if I can't remember what it is, and I remember that she was really freaked out about you and rushed off to save you. Since then, both she and the Evil Dude came to see if you were alright. Both seemed really concerned about your well being and why the attack took place. That is not what they are like, they are rarely concerned with anyone other than themselves."

"As I said we're friends, I fail to see how such a reaction would not be considered common place," she shot back. She clearly had no intention to go into more detail, she was already turning away, already saying: "How about I make breakfast?"

He reached out and grabbed her, keeping her from running. "Just tell me what happened between you guys. Why are you so important to them?"

He pleaded with his eyes. He hoped if he pushed enough that fragile back bone of her would cave and she would tell him everything.

She huffed at him in her irritation. She was blinking her eyes rapidly like she was about to cry and her tongue kept licking her lips like she couldn't keep them moist. "I don't know if I'm allowed to talk about it."

Lagrius rubbed a hand up and down her arm encouragingly. "I'll take full responsibility if you get in trouble," he said.

Raelyn sighed once more, she pulled her arm out of his grasp and headed back for the bed. She flopped onto it and Lagrius just watched her from the door. He watched as she arranged herself under his black silken sheets and he approached the bed. He thought he'd have to push her for the answer but she surprised him by opened her mouth.

"I was the only angel that fell with Lucrinda when she left to purge the Middle Realm on her own. I was helping her to save them from their sins, yes there were some others, but I was her most devout and influential angel, and the only one that didn't get called away to help their charges," she explained. Lagrius nodded and she continued. "It was during this time that the Evil Dude met Lucrinda for the first time, back when his hair was navy blue."

"Whoa, wait!" Lagrius interrupted. "His hair wasn't always red?"

Raelyn half smirked. "No, but I'll explain the change in a minute," she said. "At first, the two hated each other, being sworn enemies and all. They competed in everything and did whatever they could to interfere with each other's plans. But their constant proximity bred something other than hatred."

Lagrius huffed. "Oh, I see where this is going," he interrupted once again.

This time Raelyn tsked and ignored him. "Hatred turned into lust and it didn't take long for a liaison to begin. I'm not entirely sure how long it took or the exact details that brought them to their major impasse but the gist is that the Evil Dude decided he was going to make Lucrinda his wife and she decided that the mortals needed her more and she left him. And Eddie did not take that well."

"Not surprising," Lagrius agreed.

"I was Lucrinda's constant companion and the Evil Dude decided that the best way to get back at her was to corrupt her only friend left. You don't need to know how, but with the help of his mistress, Succubus, he almost succeeded. Lucrinda intervened in time and promised to marry him if he promised to leave me alone. They were married hastily and not long after his hair change to a red color," she finished. "Lucrinda said that the only thing that could redeem him would be love and when his hair changed she knew for sure that she had his heart and that made her happy so I was happy too."

Lagrius nodded. "So it was his love for Lucrinda that made him into the soft ruler we have now. She corrupted him," he concluded.

Raelyn nodded. "It's only fair, he corrupted her too," she said.

Lagrius looked to Raelyn's blackening roots. "It's funny because that's sort of what's happening to us, except we're not in love," Lagrius said with a chuckled. Raelyn chuckled with him and together they had a little laugh over his comment.

Only then did he start to think about his comment and his strange feelings for her. His laughter stopped as did Raelyn's as she no doubt came to the same conclusion.

The two eyed each other in an uncomfortable silence. Lagrius stood quickly. "Thank you for telling me. Now I have very important, very dastardly demon work to do. You rest up, I'm sure Lucrinda and Eddie will be happy to know that you're awake." he said quickly, stumbling over a few of his words and they tumbled out of his mouth in a hurriedly fashion.

As Lagrius left, hurrying to get as far away from Raelyn as he could, he thought about what was happening to him. "I can't be in love with Raelyn," he whispered to himself. "I just can't."

[----]

Lucrinda stalked into the torture room that she had the Master of Torture put aside for her. She smiled at a very battered and writhing Succubus. Lucrinda knew that Succubus' power and beauty was directly linked to how many souls she had devoured, and the only way for a Succubus to devour a soul was to have sex with it. She had deprived her of sex for five days now; this left the proud Succubus nothing but a husk of her former self.

Her long curly black hair had started to go grey and fall out. There were bag under her eyes, her cheeks were sunken and her skin was oily and sallow-looking, age spots had begun to form all over her body. Her teeth had blackened and her breasts had begun to sag. She was covered in bruises and cuts, blood leaked from her foul smelling mouth as she had been throwing her frail body against the mirrors that comprised her room.

She smiled up to Lucrinda tauntingly, trying to show her that Lucrinda hadn't broken her at all. Though they both knew better Lucrinda let her have this pathetic mask.

"Why hello, Majesty," she snarled. "Excuse me, but I am too weak to grovel at your feet."

"Tell me why. Why Raelyn? She was nothing to you," Lucrinda demanded.

Succubus laughed, her voice hoarse and the sound crackling in the back of her throat. "It was never about Raelyn. It was all about you. I wanted to get to you, and what better way to do that then to have your little pet fall the way you did?"

Lucrinda sneered at her. "That was not how I was corrupted, you twit. Your plan wouldn't have worked," she growled.

"I know that now. But it proved something," Succubus said a sort of mocking lilt to her voice. "The rumours are true."

Lucrinda stared at her, trying to hide the fear that creeping up the back on her neck and onto her face.

"No one ever really believed the cover story, you know. It was too cookie-cutter to be true. Not after Sodom all the way to Gomorrah were smote by the rage of the Almighty. They said it was because the cities were bedlams of sin, but the stories speak of Godyn and his black flaming sword and bronzing hair."

Praise the Almighty. She knew.

"There were whispers. Whispers that he fell for something not quite mortal and not quite divine. Something you created without your mother's permission. That he hid her away in a palace in Sodom and when the Almighty found out she smote the whole city."

Lucrinda took a step back.

"I'm right aren't I? It's her. Your favourite pet. You fell to protect her! Didn't you?!"

Lucrinda didn't give her an answer, she just left her there, racing out of the torture ring, Succubus' smug laughter ringing in her ears.

She rushed all the way back to the castle and found her husband awaiting her in the throne room. He smiled to her as he always did, but his smile faded when he saw the troubled look on her face.

"Lucy, what's wrong?" he asked, coming to her side.

He put a hand on her shaking shoulder, then a hand went to cup her cheek. When he realized her truly upset by something he pulled her close to him and held her tight.

He always held her when she was scared, something about his strength calmed her. He was the only man who could make her feel safe. "I went to see Succubus," Lucrinda answered.

"I told you not to go."

"I know but I needed to hear why. And I needed to hear from her."

The Evil Dude stared at her, he sighed. "It wasn't what you wanted to hear?"

"Of course it wasn't!" she cried. "Eddie, you have to send her back. You have to send her back now!"

The Evil Dude winced. "Now? Like right this second? She still on vacation!"

"Eddie, you promised me you wouldn't try to corrupt her anymore!" Lucrinda reminded him. Tears were forming in her eyes.

"Yes, and I am not trying to corrupt her. I am attempting to teach your bull-headed mother a lesson, while giving the hard working Raelyn the vacation she deserves. I should be rewarded not scolded!"

Lucrinda shoved herself out of his arms, a stray tear falling from her eyes. The Evil Dude hated it when she cried.

"Why won't you listen to me?" she asked. "If you truly loved me, you'd do this one thing for me!"

The Evil Dude jumped to console her. His grip tightening on her arms as he tried to pull her back to him.

"Of course I love you," he ensured. "I... I just need to ensure a few things before I send her back. Your mother needs to think I kidnapped her. Wouldn't want her to get into any trouble because of us. Please don't cry, I promise you I'll have her home before the week is up."

Lucrinda smiled, she leant him and kissed him quickly. "You're so good to me," she said with a content sight. "Just please try to be quick about it. Her hair gets darker every day and Succubus guessed what happened, I don't know who else she's told her story to."

The Evil dude nodded. He leant in and kissed her lightly on the lips before leaving the room to do exactly as she asked.