"Pleased to meet you, Mr. Richards."

Keith still felt like laughing and being addressed as Mr. Richards didn't help. Whenever he thought he had a break, Hell just had to mess anew with him. Judith was someone he didn't know in real life and she had been refreshing odd to say the least, but this now was something he could have done without again. On the hand it was too amusing to miss out on.

Mick Jagger was the Devil.

It was so obvious, now that he thought about it. Who else would fill this part so perfectly? Well there were others of course who probably could, but none of them would have been as perfect as Mick, maybe except for Charlie Watts. The gentle drummer as the lord of the underworld sounded as fucked up as this trip had felt like for Keith.

"So you're Mr. D.?" Keith asked as Mick had taken place behind the desk. Instead of an answer however the singer turned around in his chair to glare at the receptionist who was quietly chuckling in her position next to the door. Keith frowned, not understanding what had been wrong with his question.

"I told you a million times not to call me that among other things," Mick exclaimed annoyed, but the girl seemed hardly fazed. She just shrugged and kept on smiling like her boss hadn't just told her off. Keith really wondered how she had gotten this job in the first place and he didn't seem to be the only one. Mick turned back to him sighing. " You might think you could have reasonable employees being the Devil and all, but no. I have to be punished with her..."

Judith snorted. "Excuse me if one of us is punished it's definitely me. Do you think keeping up with you was a walk in the park? You're always complaining and if something is not how you like it you throw a tantrum like you are a five year old!"

Mick turned around again towards her and Keith wondered if that was a regular occurrence between the two off them. "I maybe wouldn't, if you would do your job. I'm your boss and you have to do what I say."

"My ass."

"You know I could always hire someone else."

"Who? That bitch that was in here before? She would have you out of here in a week. You should be lucky to have me."

" Why because you're too lazy to steal my spot?"

"Among other things."

Keith cleared his throat, even if it had something funny about it watching the Devil or Mick fight with his secretary. He certainly had other worries and didn't want to spend all eternity watching them argue about nothing really. "I don't want to interrupt, but I would like to go home."

"You've always had the power to go back to Kansas, Dorothy," Judith said which earned her another glare from Mick, before he finally turned towards Keith again. 

"Excuse her, she's a handful. Well Mr. Richards I don't see a problem with your request considering I handled all the details with Persephone already."

"Persy was here?" Keith asked surprised. Judith had mentioned that Mr. D. had a visitor, but she hadn't told him it who it was. Still it made sense that Persy cleared up all the details with Mick first, considering she had a mission and made this bargain with him. She was a lot more involved in this affair than he was. Keith had just been a mean to an end and all he wanted now was to finally get back to his hotel and just forget about this adventure... 

"Yes of course. After all she was the one with a request. I don't like Raphael that much, but his employees seem to know how to make an effort and I can always use people like her," Mick remarked with a side glance at Judith, who only snorted again. Those two really didn't seem to work well with each other and Keith wondered for probably the millionth time he had meet Judith why she was working here or why Mick hadn't sacked her yet. 

"In other words you liked her ass," Judith precised and Keith nearly burst out laughing. Devil Mick and real life Mick didn't seem that different then, he thought amused. 

"If you're just here to argue with me, you can leave," Mick exclaimed turning anew towards Judith and Keith really started to question how they could even get some work done here, if they started to argue after practically every little thing. 

"I'm just being honest. Persephone is manipulative and I don't like her."

"It takes one to know one."

"Maybe, but I'm not after your position. You're an idiot, but you keep things quiet and she's only trouble."

"Only-"

"Can you two shut up now?" Keith exclaimed annoyed interrupting Mick, which probably wasn't the best idea he ever had, but he had been so fed up with their stupid banter that he just had to. Gladly the Devil didn't seem impressed by him at all and Keith sighed relieved. He surly didn't want to find out what Mick would or could do to him if he was annoyed.

"Oh you are still here. Well whatever Persephone promised you will be accorded and you can go," Mick remarked bored.

Keith couldn't believe it, not that he had expected some huge ceremony in his honour because he had successfully passed theses tests, but a little bit more excitement than this would have been nice... "That's it? I went through Hell and you hardly acknowledge me?"

"I'm a really busy man, Mr. Richards. Have some sympathy. I can't deal with everything. Judith can you please escort him out?" Mick requested of the secretary as he put his feet on the desk, rendering his busy statement rather ridiculous. 

Judith snorted. "Busy with what? Painting your nails?"

"Judith!" Mick exclaimed enraged, making her just roll her eyes at him. "Can you for once just do what I tell you?"

"Yes I'm on it. If you want you can follow me," She said directed at Keith and finally got moving. Keith got up from his chair as well and followed her out, but before they left the room, he looked back one last time over his shoulder at Mick, who he could have sworn was grinning at him.

Even though they left through the same door they  had entered, they didn't end up in the lobby where Keith had meet Judith. Instead they were in a long hallway with antique sculptures along the walls, he didn't even wonder how that came to. Keith had finally accepted that everything could happen and it was just a waste of time to question it. 

He looked ahead to find out where the hallway lead to, but he couldn't see an end to it. It just seemed to go and on forever, Keith just hoped that wasn't the case, but nothing ever was like it seemed.

"Can I ask you something?" Keith asked, finally breaking the silence. Before in the lobby, Judith had seemed so lively and her calmness now unnerved him. He wasn't sure why, but it made him feel like something was wrong or maybe he was just finally going insane. Maybe Judith just wanted to finish this affair like him and there was nothing suspicious behind it. 

"Sure,"she replied.

In reality Keith had about a million questions about Hell and everything that had happened to him,  but one thing or one person to be exact had made him curious the most. "Well you seem to know Persepon and I'm a bit curious. Can you tell me more about her?"

"Per-se-pho-ne," She nearly spelled her name out for him sighing. "If I were you, I would stay away from her. I wouldn't even think about her.  She really is trouble, but I suppose you already figured that out on your own."

Keith couldn't agree more with and still there was a part of  him that wanted to know more about the manipulative devil that had so sudden appeared in his hotel room and had turned his life upside-down. "You could say that again... still she's... I don't know... Sometimes she's a total bitch and then she seems sad and tired and it makes me wonder."

"That's hardly a surprise that she is behaving that way after what she went through... I probably shouldn't be telling you this, but I doubt it matters anyway. Well when she was still human she made a deal with Osiris and he cruelly tricked her. He promised her eternal youth and beauty and in return she had to kill someone. She kept her part of the bargain and Osiris... he did as well in a way. He let her get executed for it and she ended up here working for him. Eternal beauty and youth included."

Keith wasn't sure what he should feel. Pity perhaps, that she had been tricked and damned to be a Devil for all eternity, but after what he had gone through because of her, he had problems feeling sorry for her or at least the person she was now. In the past she might have earned his sympathy, but at the moment he had next to none for her. Instead another thought made itself known inside his mind. "Is she going to trick me as well?"

"No, she knows how hard that is and her deals are always fair. That's one of her good habits. Well her only one," Judith said and stopped. At first Keith didn't see why, the hallway was still going on with no end in sight, but then he looked down to the floor. There was a hole and Keith seriously hoped that wasn't his way out, even if he had a strong feeling it was, but jumping inside a dark hole in the middle of Hell with no idea where he was going to end up to, sounded like a horrible plan. His relief over the fact that Persy's deals were fair nearly was forgotten over this dreadful perspective. 

" You can't expect me to jump down there!" Keith exclaimed and had never meant anything more in his life. 

"Through the rabbit hole, Alice," Judith replied smiling and Keith could have strangled her.

"Seriously?"

She took a deep breath, clearly fed up with this discussion. "Obviously or why else would I show you this enormous hole in the floor? You jump in and land in your hotel bed where everything has started off. The End."

"Will I remember this?"

"At first yes, but soon the details will fade like it had only been a strange dream,"Judith explained and Keith wasn't sure if he wanted that. Not that he had enjoyed this adventure, but just forgetting about it seemed like a shame. 

"Is there no other way? he wondered.

"No mortals are not supposed to remember this place. Sorry. Look on the bright side you can leave and don't have to die in the next 40 years or so. Contrary to me I need to stay here for all eternity and deal with Mr. D."

"I can see why that's a burden,"Keith laughed. "Sorry for you."

"You don't have to feel sympathy for me or any other devil. You won't get any in return. Let me tell you a secret: There's no sympathy for the living down here," Judith said and it was the last thing Keith heard before she pushed him down into the hole and everything went black.

So that was it! (well there's still an Epilogue, but well...) I hope everyone had as much fun reading this than I had fun writing it. Feedback, votes and everything else is as always greatly appreciated and welcome. 

Thanks for keeping up with this story and following Keith on his journey through Hell. If you liked this, you're always welcome to check out my other works. (;

 Woo woo~