Jasper seemed rather disheartened to see what had become of Hell. From the shittiest holes in the ground to the sparkling towers, it was all destroyed from the war and frozen over. An eternal winter had cursed a blazing inferno. In all his years, he never thought he'd see the day.

"How long do you think it'll take you?" He asked Covey.

"It could take months, even a year to undo it all. That's just the defrosting. It could take years to rebuild all of this." He responded.

"I wouldn't be so certain. You just worry about the ice. I'll worry about rebuilding."

"Where would you like me to start?" Covey questioned as he surveyed the horizon.

"Crystal Heights, then the Black Valley." He responded.

His companion looked at him with discontent. Even hearing the words Black Valley brought back memories he'd like to forget. "Why the Hell would you want to unfreeze the Valley?"

Jasper sighed, "Ah, yes. I nearly forgot your distaste for your birth place. I'm sure you would prefer to leave it a pit of ice, but I actually have much worse plans for it." He gently set his hands on Covey's hips, careful not to scare him off. "I'm going to destroy it. Well, Deacon will be doing it for me. The point is, after we're done here, the valley will be nothing more than a memory. 

I'm even tempted to influence Apollo into making a law for the new kingdom that would dictate the older generations weren't allowed to tell their children of the valley. That way, it's horrors will surely die." He twirled a lock of Covey's long black hair around his finger as he looked him directly in the eyes, deep down into his soul. "Would that be okay with you?"

Covey scoffed, "You use lust to manipulate your prey. It's demons like you that have created such an evil image of us in the eyes of humans."

"Don't be so naive. We are evil, and the valley has given birth to the worse of the worst. The demons that have come from those depths are some of the most powerful and the most cutthroat. You should know, considering you're one of them." He set his hand along the younger demon's face, turning his head to murmur in his ear, "You didn't answer my question. Will you be upset if the valley is destroyed?"

"I- I-" His breath caught in his throat when he felt Jasper kiss his temple. "I'll be fine. I would prefer to forget that place. It wouldn't hurt me to see if disappear." 

"Emotionally, that is true. Psychically, I am worried your ties to the valley will cause you pain when it's destroyed. You may be alright, considering you have Malphas' magic to protect you, but the others, I do worry for them. Regardless of what happens, I promise I'll be by your side, and I will heal your wounds should it break you." 

Jasper ran his hand from Covey's hip, down his thigh. He shuttered, "Why can't I resist you? What is it about you that my body is screaming to be closer to you?"

"That's my secret." He smirked, "If only we had the time to play, but we have work to do, my dear. Let me show you what I'm capable of. If it turns you on, that's an added bonus."

"Don't be so damn full of yourself." Covey deadpanned. 

He raised his staff once and pounded it back onto the ground. His magic sprouted out over the ice, traveling over the ground around them. Slowly, it went over the half destroyed castle that would soon become unrecognizable. Jasper didn't want anything left from Carmella's reign and that included the ugly home she had built. 

Covey continued to walk through the debris to defrost it bit by bit. By the time the entirety of Crystal Heights was dethawed, he was out of energy. His current body doesn't have the tolerance of his old one. He nearly fell over when he returned to the front of the castle grounds, but thankfully Jasper was there to catch him.

"This may be harder on you than I would've thought." He spoke with a little pity in his voice. Jasper helped Covey to sit down on the ground and rest.

"How Lumi managed to do this all in one motion is beyond me. To use this much magic at once would kill my brothers and I." He replied, "Has Croc told you his plans for Lumi's body?"

"Not directly, but I know, of course. I hear all that is said in the walls of the manor, and then some. In my opinion, it's the best course of action you could take. When a soul takes over a different body, that body adjusts to their form. He won't look like Lumi anymore, if that eases your mind." 

"That doesn't bother me as much. It's the fact that someone I don't know will now share my blood, and he's going to be given an immense amount of power. We're talking about enough power to do all of this." Covey gestured towards the frozen mountains.

Jasper rose to his feet, responding, "I'd bargain to say that with Lumi's body and power, as well as his own power, Casper will become a great force to be reckoned with. In fact, I'd even venture to say he will be amongst the top ten most powerful demons alive."

"The others being?" 

He slowly walked closer to the center of the ruins in front of them. Jasper massaged his own hands for a moment as he answered, "Ten, Croc. Nine, Apollo. Eight, it will be Casper. Seven, Shae. Six, Asher. Five, Drake. Four, Sixteen. Three, Haven. Two, Jupiter. And one?" He glanced back at Covey and grinned, "You ask me why your body craves mine so desperately? It's natural instinct. A demon, a vampire, a crow, even a human, no matter the species, it's always natural instinct to want strength. Your body falls to me as a way of winning my affection, and in turn, earning my strength."

The ground around them began to tremble. Jasper extended his hands out to his sides and allowed his power to flow. All the rubble began to float around and attach itself to the castle. He was rebuilding an entire castle and homes with just the power of his mind. Not only was he putting a puzzle back together, but he was reshaping the picture. Considering he hated the way Carmella had made it look, he wasn't going to put it back the same way.

When the bare bones were back down, pieces began to appear from thin air. He was defying all the laws of physics. No one, not even a magic user, should be able to do such a thing. Jasper wasn't messy either. Everything he created was precise, down to the atoms. Covey watched with wide eyes. He was impressed and horrified at the same time. How could someone this powerful even exist? Regardless of the answer, he knew now that his playing hard to get was foolish.

| | |

Back at the manor, Beau wasn't getting to play a little flirting game or anything like that. He was sat behind a desk, working. At least Felix kept him somewhat sane. Speaking of the pink haired vampire, he finally returned to the office with Dusk in tow. It's not exactly easy to work with her without wanting to choke her. 

"Hello, miss Asími. How are you feeling today?" He asked.

"I'll let you know after you show me how much work I have to do." She responded.

Beau moved aside his own journal to show her the to-do list Jasper had left. He handed it to the witch to read. Was it a good idea to let her do it? Probably not, but they didn't have another choice. She hopped up on his desk and crossed her legs. The saint, bear in mind a gay one at that, wasn't too fond of her... Womanly parts being on his furniture. The fabric she wore was rather thin.

"This isn't too hard. The real question is, what do I get out of this?" 

"What would you like?" Beau responded.

"I want some alone time with Ripper. Not a little bit either. I mean an hour, maybe even two." She said.

"Alright." He replied simply.

Dusk looked surprised, "Alright? You're serious? You're okay with it?"

"Yes. What's the worse you could do to him? He's already fucked up as is." Beau glanced over at Felix, "Sorry. I don't mean to speak of your brother that way."

"It's okay. Ripper and I never knew each other. I'd already run away from home by the time he was born." He explained.

"Yeah," Dusk muttered, "He's told me about it before. He never knew you or Cecil, only the stories your mom would tell. He grew up with Knox, and he did see Thana as a baby, but they left before he ever got to see her grow up. He never even got to meet Eva, and he didn't meet the twins until they came here."

"When did he tell you this?" Beau questioned, intrigued by her surprisingly accurate information.

"A few years ago, after he first came here. Back when Shae was okay with letting us out more." She seemed uncomfortable with the topic and decided to move on. Dusk grabbed a pen and paper from his desk. She jumped down and walked over to the chair in the corner to start copying things over.

The doctor was still very interested in this nugget of information. That witch could never keep her own head on right, but somehow she could get clear stories out of Ripper? Maybe it was just dumb luck that he was remembering one thing right. Or, maybe, there's something more to it. Two negatives make a positive, right?