TW: mild body horror
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It was a quiet evening, still and soundless. The hour was late, and you would assume all to be sleeping. Except, you would be wrong in that assumption. Soft, golden light seeped from a second floor window in a cozy lodge. One single noise broke the silence of the night: a pencil, scritch-scritching into paper.

Hi Pearl.

You're watching right now, right? Your moth's eyes always get that weird purpley color when you are.

I would talk right now, but Xisuma's asleep right now, and I don't want to accidentally wake him up. Writing will have to do. So much has happened, and I know I really need to fill you in on everything that I haven't told you.

I guess I should start with I'm sorry.

I know I left without warning, and I suppose that wasn't fair. You know those assignments I get? Just like you do, but for demons? I'm on one of those right now. And they broke off my communication spell for it. I tried to contact Skizz, and then you, I really tried. But, of course, it didn't work.

My assignment will be over soon though, luckily. It was that I have to collect three souls, and I've got three months to do it. I'm just about at the two month mark now I think, a little past it actually. I'll find a work around by the end of the month, easy.

Okay, now listen, (or look I guess?) I need you to pass on a message to Skizz for me.

Tell him I'm sorry, please. He probably thinks I ghosted him or something, but I didn't, I swear. It's been what– [There's a few addition equations scribbled into the margins of the paper] –3 months since I've last seen him. I think. Because there was a month between my last assignment where I saw him and the one I have now. I couldn't talk to him and I couldn't see him and void- it's been so long.

I miss him. So much, Pearl.

I need you to tell him how amazing he is for me. Skizz, he means the world to me, and if something happens at the end of this month, I need him to know that. If I can't tell him myself, he's got to know that he's the best friend I've ever had, that he's incredible and funny and charismatic and kind.

I'm not– I'm gonna be fine. But just in case I'm not, tell him he changed my life, and I'm sorry all this happened.

No no no, trust me, things are gonna be just fine though. I'll find my work around, I always do. And after I do, I'll see you guys again, you and Skizz and Grian. Maybe you guys could come up down to the overworld.

This village I'm in, you'd love it so much. All the people here are so impossibly accepting, I mean, they don't care that I'm a demon! I was so worried about being stuck in the overworld, but somehow I found this place, and it's just straight up incredible.

I'm gonna be fine, and we all can be together again and have a good time here.

I love you guys.

A pencil was set down next to an open notebook, the user, a small brown haired demon, satisfied with what had been written. He smiled at a little moth that was toddling about on his desk, and went to close the notebook. However, before he did, a fly drifted down and landed on the page.

An idea sprung up in the demon's mind that made him let out a small gasp.

The fly skittered off the paper, and he picked up his pencil again, making sure the moth was watching with its purple eyes. 

Pearl, I've figured it out, I've got my work around!

Insects have souls, I'm pretty sure.

The moth fluttered away from him, seemingly concerned, and he shook his head quickly, writing on the page again.

No, no, not you! Other bugs! I don't think I would mind killing, say, a fly for its soul. I mean, I still won't like it, but it should work.

I really am gonna be okay! Oh Pearl, I'm gonna be okay.

I'll see you again soon. And Skizz and Grian, and we'll all hang out and have a good time! I can't wait. I can't believe this either!

I'm okay! [A small smiley face is doodled next to these words. :)]

The pencil was placed down again, and its user wore a wide grin. The moth walked up and into his hand, appearing to smile as well. It nuzzled its face against his thumb once, before stepping back. Its eyes, previously a vibrant purple, darkened into a deep ebony, almost black color, beady and emotionless.

The demon gave the moth a pat and lifted it up, placing it on his head. As the moth settled in, he let out a sigh. He swiveled his head around, looking for the fly that had bothered him earlier. He started to push his chair back to stand up and search for it, when the fly buzzed its way down to his desk again.

It landed and walked around slowly. The demon stared at it, his pupils dilating. Not letting his eyes leave the fly, he groped around with one hand, eventually finding a book on the edge of his desk, a thick redstone manual.

The demon shifted to holding the book with both hands, raising it over the head. "Sorry buddy," he murmured under his breath, and he brought down the book onto the fly with a thunk, crushing it.

Letting out a shaky breath, the demon pulled his hands away, clutching them to his chest for a moment. He swallowed thickly, and reached out, gingerly lifting the book and placing it to the side. The fly's body sat broken on his desk, wings and legs splayed at odd angles, and most of its abdomen flattened into a greenish pulp of sorts. Its soul was a tiny, red and yellow thing, floating just above its squished in chest.

One of the fly's legs twitched, and the demon grimaced, before holding one hand out, palm facing the insect. The soul floated up in a streak of color, attracted to the palm of the demon's hand as if it were a magnet. Its legs ceased to twitch, and any remaining warmth left its body.

The demon closed his hand around the soul and smiled down at it, heart filling with relief. Now all he had to do was collect two more souls like these, and his assignment would be complete.

He moved to put the soul into his pocket when his hand started to ache. He opened it back up, and looked at the soul with confusion growing in his eyes.

He gasped sharply as a sudden pain stabbed through his palm before dissipating completely. The soul was then forcefully tugged back to the fly's body, disappearing inside it, and the demon watched in horror as the insect's body was pulled back together, movements like that of a marionette doll. Its legs and wings made strange, quiet cracking sounds as they were manipulated back into place.

The demon scrambled backwards, chair squeaking against the hardwood floor as it scooted away from the desk. He couldn't look away from the gruesomely re-animated fly.

The bug took a step forward, head twisting around its body like a screw in jerking movements, with blood-like goo dripping from its neck. When the head had done a full 360, its eyes began to glow a vibrant red that illuminated much of the dark room.

A voice spoke, deep and threatening, and reserved only for the demon's ears. "That's too easy, now isn't it?"

The fly's wings fluttered as the voice laughed, rough and grating.

"You have to show us that you aren't a failure. New parameter: humanoid souls only."

The voice deepened into something terrifying and sinister as it spoke the last three words. The fly's face began to tear open, its exoskeleton ripping from invisible seams, stopping when it had formed a jagged smile that stretched all the way around its head. The red glow exited through the new mouth as well as the eyes.

"Good luck," the voice spat, not meaning it in the slightest.

The fly crumpled back down, mutilated and dead once more, and the red glow dropped away.

The demon picked up his pencil with a shaky hand, and turned back to the still open notebook, writing one last thing.

Fuck.

~ end intermission ~

A/N: Surprise! Happy new year, i guess. Tee hee. (I might make art for this later)

See you in chapter 26. :)