Thud thud thud

A long, drawn out scream was muffled by the door, the pounding continuing with another scream.

Thud thud thud

Zalgo pressed a hand against the door, feeling the magic pulse under his black hand. The pounding continued, but Zalgo didn't move to open the large slot in the door. They could stay in there a little longer.

Rune magic was a funny thing. Demons were the only creatures capable of reading the magic, as it had originated in hell. With the right combination of words and symbols, and a bit of magic to help support the spell, plenty of things were possible. For example, the building in hell itself was infused with the symbols between the walls, a protection spell to prevent them from being destroyed. Zalgo did have a temper, and he had broken quite a few walls before they placed the runes.

The language of the runes had been dubbed the demon language, having been used by demons for so many centuries. It was powerful, the runes enabling the power of the void to bend it to their will. Only demons could harness this power, angels were too pure of magic to use them. The power was from the void, angels were born from the light of life, not from the darkness of the empty abyss.

Humans and monsters were different in that sense. Born from the earth between the light of life and the darkness of the void, they were born with practically no power compared to those in heaven and hell. Yet, they were granted the privilege of freedom on the surface while demons and angels were cast aside into heaven and hell?

Those born on earth were different in their powers, so weak, yet so special. They were capable of walking amongst the grass and trees with their live souls, then once they perished, they then had the power to walk through the fields of heaven or the hallways of hell. Meanwhile, angels and demons could only travel through the void, unable to touch the surface world. Zalgo himself never had the privilege of being on earth physically, even he was limited.

Proxies were what he turned to as a means to gain access to earth. Possession of objects and people allowed for him to feel what the real world felt like, and deals granted him more power and souls. Zalgo did make some mistakes in the beginning, introducing the humans to runes and allowing for the tribe to write books on it was a large misstep on his part. To think an entire tribe of his proxies would die just from the runes, the power too much for even them to comprehend.

That's what made children of his so special, those from earth. They had the power to remain on earth and travel from and to, as well. That's why Lazari and Sans were special.

Oh, and his grandchildren! Absolutely adorable. Sure, Zalgo was the lord of hell, but he did like cute things. Cats were his weakness, he loved them.

Zalgo wanted to continue the plan once he had the grandchildren gathered, so he didn't hurt any of them, but it was too late for that now. One of them, Tondra Font, was dead, likely by his proxies. It would explain why he couldn't find the girl in hell, he had no idea where she was. The girl was good at hiding, but he knew once he engaged his plan and explained to Sans his daughter was gone, Sans would find her. Sans got his family love from his Father, after all.

The runes for this room were special. Locked between the walls and the door, anyone inside of the room when the door was closed couldn't leave. A simple trapping spell that was very effective, creating a barrier similar to that surrounding hell and the barrier that had trapped monsters all those years ago. Zalgo didn't think it was the right time to tell Sans that humans had learned how to create that barrier from him. Either way, monsters escaped, so it wasn't a big deal now.

Zalgo has tried to convince Sans, he really did! He wanted his beloved son to be on his side, but Sans was too smart for that. The skeleton was quick to distrust Zalgo, but who could blame him?

Thankfully, Zalgo at least had the bus up his sleeve for capturing Sans. It had the ability to lure almost anyone onto the bus, Sans would have gotten on even if it was on fire. A very helpful tool for capturing his son, but that was when Zalgo knew where he was. Doing the same to his grandchildren was rather pointless, his proxies were still searching for them. Sending them after Slenderman only cut down on his proxy numbers, so the man already had figured out he was a prime target and likely distanced himself from his children as a distraction. Smart.

Either way, he had come to the conclusion to start the plan now, even without his son's approval. If one of his grandchildren were dead, probably because of his reckless proxies (he told them not to kill any of them, but they probably did anyway), that meant earning Sans' trust was practically worthless now. One of his kids were dead, now somewhere roaming in hell, Sans would never stop trying to kill him. After all, look at him and Papyrus. 17 years later and Sans still hated his brothers gut. He was a demon, demons held grudges.

Zalgo was proud of Sans, though, either way. He made sure to praise his son! Being incredibly strong, and taming known serial killers by his own manipulation? Amazing! Then following up by not only becoming a CreepyPasta himself, but then making nine of those exact serial killers fall in love with him, have a child with him, and him running that large family? Spectacular!

"I really am proud of you, I'm so glad you managed to get that far training with your sister and Chara!" Zalgo said, a proud fatherly smile on each of his mouths. "You've gotten so far already!"

There was another bang, Sans' muffled voice screaming at his Father to let him out.

Thud thud

Zalgo knew what Sans was doing the moment his son led him away from his office. It wasn't that the lie wasn't believable, no, it was a very good manipulation tactic! If only Sans knew that Zalgo had a soul tie with his office, he sensed Hewey's wheels drag against the carpet the moment they started walking away.

There was no doubt by now that Hewey had probably found Tondra's file. After all, it was the single file Zalgo hid from him, naturally Hewey and Sans would investigate, as it involved their family. And it was nice to see how Sans trusted his disabled son enough to let him on his own, even though it was for a simple investigation, it showed that Sans knew to an extent that his child could act on his own.

"Sans, you aren't getting out of there," Zalgo hummed out, "The walls and doors are infused with runes. You can't teleport or use magic to break through, you're stuck in there for now. I'll let you out after my plan is done, then we can go look for Tondra together! And if any of your children or family dies, we'll get them, too! It might take awhile, hell is pretty big, but we can find them eventually!"

It wasn't like Sans hadn't been in that room before. The door had been propped open when Chara and him practiced his magic, so the runes hadn't been connected and activated. The room wasn't suspicious to either of them before, even Chara had been unaware of how they would have become trapped in they happened to let the door close. Zalgo simply let the skeleton lead the way, and when he walked into the room, he closed it behind him. Simple enough plan, and the door didn't even have any locks, so Sans hadn't been afraid if Zalgo did pull that stunt. Not until the runes magic had activated. They were hidden within the walls and door, only high level demons knew runes were even located within the walls of the building. Sans wouldn't have expected that, neither would have Chara or Lazari. Information was power, after all.

"Zalgo?"

Hewey's sharp voice cut through the air, the demon looking to his side, amused. He had felt Hewey leave his office rather quickly, the boy had found the file easily. Once he saw what was on the file, he probably had left in a hurry. It would explain his abandoned gun, still residing within his office.

"Where's Dad?" Hewey demanded, his blue eyes narrowing.

Thud, thud

"Dad?" Hewey yelled, quickly rolling up to the door. "Why is Dad in there?"

"Think of it like a time out," Zalgo said, "I missed his his childhood, so I might as well catch up now."

Sans' muffled voice yelled again, causing Zalgo to reach over and pull back the small window slot in the door. Sans was quick to react, moving his eye sockets to fill the gap and look out.

"Hewey? Are you alright?" Sans' first reaction was to make sure his child was safe before himself.

"I'm fine, what about you? Zalgo, why is Dad in there?"

"It won't be for long, just until my plan is done," Zalgo said, sticking up his hands in defense.

"You can't keep me in here!" Sans yelled, banging against the door. "I'm not letting you near Hewey alone, not when I can't be with him!"

"Dad, Tondra is dead!" Hewey said, voice choking.

"I know, Zalgo told me," Sans said, his own voice light and pained. "But we're in hell, that means she's here somewhere! Go find her!"

"Don't worry, I've already told all of my demons to not hurt her if they see her," Zaglo hummed, seeming amused by this situation. "But I wouldn't recommend you roam around, you're in a wheelchair, after all."

Sans had been what Zalgo was really worried about. His son was strong, and if he did manage to unlock his demonic powers, then he would have posed a serious threat to Zalgo. Now that he was safely tucked into a room, Zalgo could continue his plans with no interruptions or worries. Then, afterwards, he could free Sans and the two could go searching for his children.

"Let him out!" Hewey said to his grandfather, giving him a glare.

With an amused chuckle, Zalgo bent over, face closing in towards Hewey's until they were inches apart.

"Then tell me, Hewey," Zalgo chuckled, "What are you going to do about it?"

"I'll stop you," Hewey said, voice fighting to remain calm.

"You're Father is locked away, Chara and Lazari are both working in the basement levels with the sinners, and your gun is gone. You have no magic, no working legs, and your sister is lost in hell somewhere" Zalgo taunted, "What could you even do about it?"

Sans and Hewey had fallen silent, the two staring at him with wide eye sockets and eyes. That was it, he got them.

With a sinister suckle, Zalgo straightened, a hand reaching out to ruffle Hewey's hair. "Don't look so down about it! We're family, of course I'd keep your cute little faces safe!"

After that was stated, the demon lord walked away, his tail swinging gently behind him. The air was cold and stiff, the taste of defeat lingering on Hewey's silent tongue. Sans rested his skull against the door, eye sockets closing as his fists shook.

That's it.

He got them.

They lost.