I went on another gaming break even though I promised I wouldn't. I swear I'm still obsessed with this series (especially since ror manga's hot rn AND WE'RE GETTING A SPINOFF WITH MORE GODS) and the second season of PJO is coming soon I JUST REALLY LOVE GAMING TOO MUCH 😭If I ever stop updating for weeks on end, it's most likely because I went fucking gaming again and not because i lost interest in writing 💀💀💀 I'm sorry, wuwa men are just soooo 🤭

"SERIOUSLY?" PERCY SIGHED. "HANDCUFFS AGAIN?"

Beelzebub happily clicked the handcuffs around their wrists with a muted smile. "They're a necessary precaution," he reminded her for the hundredth time. "You're wearing the cloak so I cannot sense you wherever you go. Plus, I'd rather not risk you running around New York. You are still mortal, and humans can be dangerous after all."

She gave him a dry look. She was pretty sure she could handle most humans and it wasn't like she could get hurt by them anyway.

"Okay, but the handcuffs are a little embarrassing, dude," she mumbled to him, looking around warily at all the busybodies walking around the streets of New York.

As a fellow New Yorker herself, she knew that most people here normally wouldn't give a shit about two random people walking around handcuffed together—they'd seen weirder things after all. But Beelzebub's divine presence was making them catch way too much attention and it didn't help that the two of them looked like a crazy rich couple, especially with the dress she wore (in her defense, she didn't have any casual clothes appropriate for the humans of Midgard and Beelzebub didn't want to change her outfit aside from giving her a fur coat to keep her warm).

Underneath the fur coat, she wore a pale cream colored dress that seemed to be made of fine divine silk that was almost see-through at some parts. Delicate pink flowers and vines decorated the soft fabric along with a trail of pearls—and since pearls were considered a rarity for humans, she probably looked like she was worth a million bucks. And since Beelzebub was still dressed in his stupid emo priest attire, she wouldn't be surprised if people mistook him as one of those hypocritical televangelists who owned a mega church—a thought which made her cringe since she would be associated with him. Ugh.

"Nonsense," Beelzebub replied. "They go well with your outfit."

"No they don't."

"We can hold hands again, like last time," he offered smoothly. "That way, the handcuffs won't be too obvious to everyone else."

She shrugged and agreed to it.

So now there they were, walking around New York hand in hand.

Beelzebub kept a collected facade, suppressing his urge to smile. As giddy as he was to be able to hold her hand again, the ease at which she agreed to do it left him paranoid. She saw him as a friend, so did she do this with her other friends too? Was she physically affectionate with them as well? The thought of her showering love and attention to such inferiors made his ichor boil with rage. He wanted them all dead.

But fortunately for them (and unfortunately for him) he had no access to their universe.

Percy suddenly stopped walking, her head turned towards the window of a Barnes & Noble store.

Beelzebub raised a brow, "Percy?"

She didn't respond, her eyes glued onto a large poster plastered on the window talking about a book signing for some famous author... A famous author named Sally Jackson.

"Uh... gimme a second," she mumbled, walking into the store almost as if she were in a daze. Beelzebub followed along (being handcuffed and all).

Percy's heart pounded as she followed the long line of eager looking fans before finally spotting the table at the back of the store. A familiar older woman sat there, surrounded by adoring fans who were lined up to meet her and get an autograph. She had slightly curly dark hair, twinkling brown eyes, and was dressed in a prim and proper tweed suit that was a stark contrast to the casual t-shirt and jeans Percy was used to seeing her wear.

"Mom," she uttered, her mouth falling slightly ajar.

She almost couldn't believe it. She didn't think any of her loved ones had any counterparts in this universe, but she turned out to be wrong. Her mom—albeit a different version of her—existed here.

She looked almost exactly the same as her mother back home... only this one had less wrinkles on her face and less grey hairs. She was also... clearly more successful, wealthier, and happier.

She watched as her mom smiled up at every fan that approached her table. As she reached out to grab a new pen, Percy could see a glimmering diamond wedding band on her ring finger. She was married here too, and judging by the size of the diamond, the guy was just as well-off as she was. She listened as the fan gushed on and on about her latest book, how amazing it was, and how they loved everything about it.

This was everything her mom had always wanted. In here, Sally Jackson had achieved her dreams of becoming an author, and judging by the long line of fans holding her best-selling book, she was an extremely successful one too.

Percy felt as if she had been punched in the face as realization dawned on her. Oh, she thought numbly, feeling almost as if her world was being tipped over.

She had no counterpart in this universe. She didn't exist here, the Fates had told her that enough. That was the biggest difference between the Sally Jackson of her universe and of this one. In here, Sally Jackson did not have a demigod child dragging her down like an anchor tied to her waist. She did not have to experience the stress of being a poor single-mother with no one to help her and a demigod daughter attracting monsters at her doorstep. She did not have to live every day fearing for her daughter's life.

In this universe, Sally Jackson was free of all her burdens—her.

"Thank you for coming," her mother's sweet voice pulled her away from her thoughts. She had just finished signing the book of a fan. The fan thanked her profusely and snapped a picture of them together and was off their merry way.

Sally briefly looked up and their eyes locked. She shot Percy a smile, but there was no recognition in her eyes. She looked away to address the next person in line.

That person stepped forward. Percy couldn't see their face, but the head of blonde curls made her heart pound even more. There's no way...

"Hi there!" Her mom greeted him brightly, taking the book from him. "And who am I signing this for?"

"Anthonius," the guy replied, and Percy had to hold on to Beelzebub's arm to keep from fainting.

"Wow, that's a name I haven't heard of," her mom chuckled. "Can you spell that out for me, please?"

He spelled his name out and she signed his book. He requested a photo with her too and finally turned around to face the camera. Percy's let out a shaky breath. It was him. It was really him. Her Anthonius was here—but... it just wasn't him.

After getting the picture, Anthonius thanked her and left. He kept a cool and collected expression, but that immediately broke away into a massive grin as he hurried over to a table at the indoor cafe where his friends were waiting for him.

Percy's breath hitched when she saw yet another familiar face. Grover. She was too far away to hear them, so all she could do was watch. Grover clapped Anthonius on the shoulder as the blonde proudly presented the autograph. Sitting on his other side was a teenage girl Percy had never seen before. She watched as the girl beamed at Anthonius before kissing him on the cheek and lovingly leaning against his shoulder.

Percy quickly cleared her throat and looked away.

Beside her, Beelzebub was none the wiser to the inner turmoil she was going through.

"Is there a reason you were in such a hurry to get in here?" He asked, looking around the shelves of books in disdain. "While I'm glad you've finally grown a fondness for reading—as miraculous as it—I'd prefer it if you read the books from my personal library instead. Human literature is rather flawed—are you alright?" He suddenly asked, finally noticing her downtrodden expression.

"Yup, just dandy," she chirped, lying straight through her teeth and momentarily forgetting that she was talking to the Father of Lies of all people. Oh well.

"You're clearly lying," he pointed out. "What ails you?" He looked around the room as if he wanted to exterminate the threat before spying all the familiar faces that he had seen in the album Mnemosyne had gifted her. "Wait... these are your—"

"—Let's go," she said, quickly tugging him out of the busy store.

"Are you alright?" He asked again, because he would've figured that seeing her loved ones again would've made her happy. And yet here she was, radiating with misery despite the forced grin on her face.

"Yeah, I'm good." She lied.

He gave her a dry look.

"No, really. I'm cool. Everything's cool." She insisted, moreso for her own sake.

"Percy, you're a really bad liar. And I'm not just saying that because I'm able to sense your lies," he told her. "You're clearly upset about something... You don't need to hide anything from me, you know."

She visibly started to falter at his coaxing. Once they were far enough from the store, Percy collapsed against the nearest bench and let out a heavy sigh. Beelzebub sat down beside her, waiting.

"My mom was there," she confessed. "And I saw Grover and Anthonius."

He nodded slowly, having seen them as well.

She cleared her throat, slightly uncomfortable. "Back home... my mom really wanted to become an author and write her own book." She began.

Beelzebub nodded again. She had told him this before during one of her rambles about her mom.

"But a lot of things got in her way—" Her parents dying, having to take care of her uncle only for him to die too, no diploma, no money. "—Like... me, for instance." Her shoulder slumped in defeat.

Luckily for her, he was able to quickly piece things together. "Ah, I see..." He murmured softly. "So after seeing a version of your mother here and seeing how successful she is without you, you believe yourself to be a burden to your mother back in your original universe."

Hearing him say it all out loud made her wince, but she nodded in confirmation.

"And as for your friends..." He trailed off.

Another wince. "They look really happy with that other girl..." She mumbled miserably. "She seems to be dating Anthonius too. How... nice..."

Beelzebub watched her intently, sensing the misery and jealousy radiating off of her. So she not only felt like a burden to her mother, but now she was feeling replaced by the unknown girl who had taken her spot in this universe. He was also quick to note that she was the jealous type, but unlike other goddesses who expressed their jealousy through murder and violence, she seemed to be the type to hold it in and mope. How cute. He couldn't wait to make her feel better.

"Oh, Percy," he crooned, his thumb soothingly stroking her knuckles. "Don't think such things about yourself."

But he knew his words were just going in one ear and out the other. He didn't need to reach into her mind to know that the insecurities and doubts were eating her up and he absolutely relished in it.

Meanwhile, Percy was drowning in misery. It was a bittersweet feeling, seeing her loved ones happy and trauma-free without her. A part of her felt like maybe they would be better off without her—especially her mom, who she knew had suffered the most because of her existence. She knew her mom loved her, but she also knew that her life would've been so much better if she hadn't been sucked into the mess of gods and monsters—if she hadn't been shackled by her demigod daughter.

...But she really, really missed her mom, and seeing another version of her in this universe, so happy and free, made her smile and want to cry at the same time.

Beelzebub grasped her hands and rose to his feet, pulling her up as well.

"What is it?" She asked.

"I cannot bear to see you so sad," he said, as if he wasn't enjoying it just mere moments ago. "Come, I'll be taking you somewhere else."

"Where?" She asked, but he had already teleported the both of them away.

The sound of honking cars and people bustling through the streets was quickly replaced by shrieks of joy and laughter. The second they landed, she looked up and was face first with a towering ferris wheel. When she looked around, she saw roller coasters and all kinds of amusement park rides.

It finally clicked in her head.

"No way," she breathed out, whirling around to face him. "Are we at Luna Park on Coney Island?!"

The last time she had been here was ages ago with Grover, Anthonius, and a bunch of other friends from camp!

"We are, indeed," he confirmed, smiling softly despite how much he wanted to just grab her and hold her in his castle instead. Not even a minute had passed, but he already hated this place almost as much as he hated the city. There were too many disgusting human children and teenagers running around, their raucous laughter grating his sensitive ears. And the smell—gods, the smell—made him want to rip his own nose off.

But Percy was happy, so he would just have to grin and bear it.

"Come on, I wanna ride the Slingshot!" She squealed, dragging him over to what seemed like a death trap for mortals, in Beelzebub's opinion.

The Slingshot was... well, a slingshot. Two people would be squeezed inside a spherical cage that was strapped to some bungee cords and they would be shot up to the sky. Beelzebub could feel his shoulders tense as they fell in line for the ride. He could never understand why mortals enjoyed such dangerous thrills when they were so pathetically fragile and a part of him wanted to suggest something safer—like a teacup ride or something—but they were next in line and Percy was already dragging them to what could be her doom.

"Percy, perhaps we should try out something else," he tried to convince her. "How about the carousel ride?"

"Pssh! That's for kids!" She snorted as she pushed him down to the seat beside her and even helped buckle him up.

One of the operators, who was making sure they were safely seated, grinned in amusement. "Is it your boyfriend's first time on this?"

"He's a little nervous," Percy grinned.

If Beelzebub had a heart, it would've fluttered. She did not deny that he was her lover (she didn't confirm it either, but who cared about that). He didn't even lash out at the human for daring to suggest that he was afraid as the man left to get the ride started.

They were shot up to the air and all he could hear was Percy's excited, "AHHHHHH!" His expression would've remained neutral if it weren't for the dopey smile he was struggling to contain.

Beelzebub had hoped the roller coasters would stop there, but it didn't. For the next few hours, she proceeded to drag him onto every ride she could find.

He grew increasingly nervous and paranoid with each one. What if her seat belt broke? What if the ride malfunctioned and he couldn't get to her in time? And an even worse thought: what if she thought 'hey, this is a great time to die!' and just decided to throw herself off a moving roller coaster? Now that he knew about her concerning proclivities on dying, the possibility of her choosing to kill herself now was tormenting him nonstop.

(Of all the things they had to have in common, it just had to be their craving for death—though that was beginning to dwindle on his end. Why couldn't it be something nicer? Like his love for books and learning? Why did it have to be suicidal tendencies? The Fates must be having a field day with this.)

The sun was starting to set by the time Percy finally finished going onto every roller coaster. The two of them were now sitting outside of Coney's Cones, enjoying bubble waffle cones of ice cream together.

"Have I ever told you how much I love you?" Percy said as she giddily bit into her waffle cone.

Beelzebub nearly choked on his ice cream until he realized she meant it platonically. His eye twitched briefly. Did she say 'I love you' to her other friends too? Ugh.

"You only say that because I spoil you too much," he replied smoothly, shooting her a teasing smirk. "In fact, I believe I spoil you more than your own father does."

Her grin widened. "That's true. But no, seriously, dude, you're the best. I know you're the Devil and you're supposed to be, like, evil and stuff, but you're actually the coolest dude ever!"

He snorted quietly as he took another bite. Despite knowing her for a year, he still couldn't get over how lax she was around him, even referring to him as 'dude' or 'bro' as if he was just some guy and not a powerful deity responsible for many atrocities throughout his billions of years of existence who just recently confessed his undying love for her.

(Though that last part was mostly his fault since he really should've clarified that he wanted to make her his wife and that he loved her romantically and not as... you know, a friend. Ugh.)

"No one would ever bring me here," she said; 'here' being in the surface world of Midgard where all the humans resided. "My family hates humans, and Uncle Hades says it's 'too dangerous' for me. Mnemosyne and the Valkyries can't risk bringing me here either and Loki's, well... you know, Loki. So I'm really really grateful, Beel."

Beelzebub had to take a huge bite from his ice cream to hide his growing grin at his words, wanting to look as cool and collected as possible in front of her.

"It's nothing," he replied calmly, as if he wasn't currently preening at her obvious favoritism towards him.

They stayed there until they finished with their ice cream. Percy stood up after wiping her mouth.

"I need to go to the restroom, can you...?" She shook the handcuffs a bit.

He begrudgingly unlocked them. "You have five minutes or I'll assume someone's trying to kidnap you again."

"But what if there's, like, just a super long line?" She pointed out.

He gave her an exasperated look.

She grinned cheekily. "Okay, okay, fine, I'll be quick. Just don't follow me in there!"

She hurried away.

Luckily for her, there was no line inside the restrooms. After doing her business and washing her hands, she stepped out of the restroom only to find Beelzebub waiting for her just outside the door.

"Seriously? I didn't take that long." She rolled her eyes.

"It was long enough for me," he replied, before taking her hand in his. "Come, it's time to go now."

She pouted, "Awww, you're taking me back to Helheim?"

The upper corners of his eyes lifted up. "Not quite, there's one last place I wish to take you."

Her eyes lit up eagerly as she scampered closer to his side. She wondered where he would take her next. Would it be a waterpark? An Olivia Rodrigo concert? Ooh, or maybe they would watch a movie together!

The second he teleported them to the new location, her smile dimmed. He had taken her... to some cold, snowing forest in the middle of nowhere. Judging by how dark it was right now—a stark contrast to the setting sun in New York just moments ago—they were either in a different state or a whole new country.

"D-d-d-dude," she said, teeth chattering from the cold. She tried tugging the fur coat around her tighter. "Wh-w-where are we?"

Instead of answering her question, he let out a soft chuckle. "I apologize, I forgot that mortals are sensitive to the weather."

His words made Percy go still.

With a snap of his fingers, she felt as if an invisible blanket of warmth had been laid over her. Soon enough, she stopped shivering, her body temperature returning back to normal.

"Sooo..." She stretched out, squinting through the darkness. "Where exactly are we?" The trees were tall, towering over them and blocking much of the moonlight so she could hardly see her surroundings.

"Somewhere... quiet. More tranquil." He replied, shooting her an apologetic look. "Sorry, I much prefer this sort of scenery. I find the city of New York too... loud and crowded for my tastes."

She didn't mind and gave him a nod of understanding. Plus, she knew how much most gods hated big cities (or any sort of human civilization to be honest...), finding it too polluted and full of humans. If they had to pick one part of Midgard they liked, it would have to be the natural side, the parts of it that were untouched by humanity (for now).

"No, I get it. New York can get a bit... too much for some people. I don't mind strolling around the forest with you!" She beamed.

He smiled at her infectious enthusiasm. "Thank you. I appreciate it."

They walked side-by-side in the tranquil silence. Percy, unable to help it, started humming a random song, but Beelzebub didn't seem to mind.

"It's nice here," he spoke up. "Away from all of them." There was a bit of venom in his voice when he said 'them'.

She had a pretty good feeling he was talking about humans and decided not to comment.

"Can I ask you something?" He asked. "...Why did you refuse me that day? When I offered to ascend you to godhood...?" He swallowed thickly. "You know what will become of you, why do you wish to hurt yourself?"

"I just... I'm not made for godhood, Beel," she explained gently. "I can't bear to stay alive for all eternity while everyone I care about dies and goes to a place I'll never be able to reach. I could never bear to be away from them."

Being a god meant being shackled to your duties and laws. She would be all-powerful and powerless at the same time.

Back home, being a god meant being distant. It meant staying away from mortals and not interfering in their lives. And what if she ended up falling in love with a mortal—(Anthonius)—and created a demigod with them?

She would have to go through what her dad went through—forced to watch her child from afar, never able to reach out to them in fear of Zeus' retaliation. Her child would grow up without a mother, resenting her as she had once done with Poseidon. And any child of hers would never be able to live freely—Zeus was already displeased with her existence. A child of hers would have him breathing down their neck, waiting for the moment to strike them down.

And she had seen what immortality had done to Dionysus and countless other mortal-turned-immortals. Their stories had been lessons for her to learn, and she knew long before Zeus offered her divinity that she would never want to put herself through that.

"You're a fool," Beelzebub said coldly. "Clinging onto those mortals who aren't even here."

"I trust that you'll find a way for me to go back home." She replied evenly.

"Then you're an even bigger fool than I thought."

"Yeah?" She smiled wryly. "Then why am I able to see right through you?"

He frowned and looked at her. "What are you talking about?"

She stopped walking and looked at him, perfectly expressionless. "I know it's you, Loki."

He went still. "...What?"

"'I apologize, I forgot that mortals are sensitive to the weather'," she repeated his previous words to her in a deep mocking voice before scoffing. "Nice try, but my safety has always been Beel's top priority. He never would've forgotten something as important as me freezing to death."

He stared at her, before a deranged smile crawled over his face. Seeing the way Beelzebub's lips stretch out made her shudder. It just looked so wrong with his face.

"How cute. You really know him that well, hmm? I'm almost jealous~" Beelzebub crooned with the voice of Loki. His body started to melt away, revealing the true form of the Norse god beneath it.

She stared back at him, unimpressed.

"You know, now would be the best time to remove that necklace of yours," he suggested. "Don't you want your Beelie to come to your rescue?"

Percy casually fiddled with the aforementioned necklace—it was originally Loki's cloak, but was temporarily disguised by Beelzebub since no human in the modern era wore cloaks anymore.

"And risk my dad realizing that I've been on land all along? No thanks," she sorted. "Besides, I don't need Beel's help dealing with you. No offense, but you're hardly a blip on my radar."

"It truly is a miracle that none of your gods ever smited you with that mouth of yours."

She smiled sarcastically, "Oh, trust me, many have tried. So, are you gonna get straight to the point and tell me why you brought me here? I can tell by the way your hands are shaking that you're either afraid, or just really excited about this."

Loki tensed up when she mentioned his trembling hands. He balled them into fists to hide their shakiness and stared at her with a dark look.

Something was off about Loki, she noted. This wasn't the annoying, pesky god who was sometimes nice to her that she was used to. He looked like a man ready to commit something drastic. There were already alarm bells ringing in her head, but now they were basically a siren. Her instincts were telling her to get ready to fight or flight.

Two small portals appeared above him. Loki stretched his arms out, the sound of metal clinking as his dual-chained hooks fell from the portal and into his awaiting hands. He brandished them, the glint of his blades shining even in the darkness.

He opened his mouth to speak but Percy beat him to it, "Oh, I see. You're gonna try and kill me like how you killed Baldur, huh?" She taunted.

"Shut up," he seethed. "You know nothing of what happened."

"I see right through you. Baldur died millennia ago, and you still haven't learned how to handle having a wittle cwush," she cooed mockingly. "For a god, you're kind of a huge loser."

He lunged at her, driving one blade forward. She ducked her head and stepped to the side. There was a loud FWOOM, BOOM! as a thicket of trees were thrown back from the force of his attack.

He whirled around to look at her, his face twisted with insanity as he smiled. "You think I like you?! YOU?! And BALDUR?!" He broke out into laughter, the twisted sound echoing throughout the forest. "Baldur was a piece of shit who had all of Valhalla fawning over him!" He spat. "And as for you?! I've been wanting to crush you like the damn bug you are ever since we met!"

Green magic was blasted her way. The earth beneath them erupted as a geyser burst forth, shielding her from his attacks. Water sprayed all around them.

Loki disappeared from her view. She quickly manipulated the water to form a protective ring around her, but he flickered into existence and body slammed her against a tree. She could hear the bark moan as it was forcefully up-rooted. It toppled down, she and Loki following after it.

Loki's forearm was pressed against her throat, keeping her pinned underneath him as his other hand held his blade.

"You delusional little girl," he hissed, purple eyes glowing. "I don't love you! You mean nothing to me!"

Now it was her turn to go still. She stared up at him in wide-eyed surprise. "Uh...I-I didn't say anything about love..."

Her mind went blank. Did Loki just accidentally admit to loving her?

He froze, the rage in his expression momentarily disappearing. He turned blank-faced, but then every emotion seemed to hit him all at once. She watched as horror, fear, and humiliation crossed his features.

"...Fuck you," he said shakily, his lips trembling.

DO IT, he screamed at himself. Now was the time to kill her. He could just flip her over and plunge the blade straight into her mortal spot. He knew where it was now. He could do it and finally be rid of her and crush Beelzebub's heart at the same time!

He could already sense the other god getting closer to locating them. The Devil would be here any second now, and he would have front row seats to watch the life drain away from his beloved's eyes.

The hand holding her down moved to grasp her shoulder, nails digging into her skin as he prepared to turn her around. To reveal her back to him, where that fragile little mortal spot laid...

But he couldn't do it.

His eyes grew glassy, his tears starting to fall down to her face. The rage slowly returned to him as he raised his blade above his head. "FUCK YOU!"

He slammed the blade down, just inches away from her head. She stared at him in shock as he wrenched it out of the tree trunk before raising it over his head again.

"FUCK YOU, FUCK YOU, FUCK YOU, FUCK YOU!" He shrieked deliriously, stabbing the same spot over and over again.

He was furious and grief-stricken at the same time, screaming at her while crying. His tears were spilling down her face.

Suddenly, Loki's mental breakdown was interrupted. Just as he was about to bring the blade down again, there was a FWOOSH sound and he was suddenly thrown off of her, crashing into several trees. She heard him scream in agony. Something wet splashed over her.

A dark figure loomed over her.

Beelzebub.

Except he was different now. Razor sharp rows of teeth were bared out and his eyeballs had turned completely dark red with a mosaic pattern over them—like a fly's. Atop his head were long, thin horns that resembled a fly's antennae. Her eyes trailed down. It looked as if an exoskeleton had grown over his hands and arms, covering his once pale skin with hardened black flesh that made sharp points at certain areas. Golden ichor dripped down from his arm, and held within his grasp... was a dismembered arm.

She slowly looked down at herself. Her cream colored dress was stained with ichor.

Loki let out a guttural groan that turned into a vicious growl. She snapped her head towards him. His body radiated with green magic, the glow allowing her to see that his arm had been ripped off from the elbow below. She watched, feeling sickened as his arm slowly regrew back.

The sound of buzzing forced her to turn back to Beelzebub. He leaned down, and she could see her wide-eyed expression in each of the mosaic pieces in his eerie red eyes. The buzzing sound intensified as he reached out to cup her cheek with his blood-soaked hands, careful not to hurt her with his claws despite knowing her skin was near-indestructible. It was hard to tell where exactly he was looking at thanks to his new eyes, but she had a feeling he was scanning her for any injuries.

He spoke up, speaking in English but sounding so ancient now, "Are you—?"

"—I'm okay," she assured him quickly. "He just... caught me off guard."

The sound of buzzing flies grew louder, as if to express his fury. "I'm getting you out of here," Beelzebub said darkly. "And I will deal with him."

"Wait, hold on—" she tried to say, but Beelzebub was already teleporting her straight to the bifrost.

‧₊˚✩彡𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟‧₊˚✩彡๋ ࣭ ⭑ ࣭ ⭑

MOMENTS BEFORE
CONEY ISLAND; BROOKLYN, NEW YORK

Beelzebub remained seated at the table as he waited for Percy to return from the restroom. But less than a minute after she left, he tensed up, sensing the presence of a god coming down to Midgard—specifically, here.

They materialized onto Percy's seat and Beelzebub's face darkened upon realizing who it was.

"Loki," he said tonelessly. "What do you want?"

"Just wanted to have a chat," he simpered. "I've been watching you and Percy, you know. It's been very entertaining."

"Leave," he growled, not at all eager for a conversation. He instinctively stretched out his senses, trying to find Percy to make sure she was okay only to internally curse when he remembered that her presence would be hidden.

"I gotta hand it to you," Loki snickered, ignoring his demands. "That was a real nice trick you pulled back there. Messing with her head and making her think those stupid mortals of hers were really in that bookstore? Hah! She actually looked like she was gonna cry, hahaha! You broke her down... and then built her back up to make yourself look like the hero. Gods, I'm almost impressed!"

"I did what I needed to do," Beelzebub said stoically.

Controlling her mind and making her see the people she loved flourishing without her was all too easy for him, a low risk with a high reward. He didn't even need to probe her mind to know what sort of self-deprecating thoughts she was thinking about. He would feed on her fears and insecurities, use them against her, make her believe that she was better off staying here then going back to them.

Sure he was hurting her, but it was a necessary evil. Besides, it was just like what Loki said: he could just build her back up again.

"You're so desperate it's disgusting," Loki giggled. "Of all the people you could've fallen in love with, and it's some stupid half-breed? Yuck."

"I will tear you from limb to limb if you dare speak of her that way," Beelzebub hissed. "Leave, Loki. This is your final warning."

Loki's mischievous grin only widened. "What do you mean? I've already left." He said slyly.

"What?" Beelzebub scowled, but then he froze.

The godly presence... it had disappeared. But Loki was still here. His stomach dropped when it clicked in his head. Angrily, he swiped his hand through Loki and his form dissipated like smoke.

It had been a decoy all along.

"No, no, no," he muttered frantically, rising up and flashing into the girl's restroom. The stall doors swung open at his arrival, making the women and girls inside them shriek in terror.

Percy wasn't here.

She had been taken, yet again, by Loki. He could feel his body ripple grotesquely, his form changing as rage consumed him.

A loud, monstrous roar was heard throughout Coney Island before the entire place burst into flames. The ground shook and cracked open. Buildings and rides blew up. The skies above turned into a fierce blood orange as if even the heavens were on fire. The shrieks of joy turned into screams of torture as people's bodies burned and melted. The Devil was angry and all of Coney Island was feeling his wrath.

Destruction and death surrounded Beelzebub as he shook with anger. Quickly, he split his consciousness and spread it throughout all of Midgard, using his Sight to search every inch of the realm for Loki. He wouldn't be able to sense Percy, but he knew Loki was still in Midgard.

And then he finally pinpointed his location: Finnskogen, Norway.

Without wasting another second, he teleported there, leaving the rest of Coney Island to suffer in agony.

He nearly made the forest explode when he saw what was happening; Percy, pinned down against a fallen tree with Loki on top of her screaming like a maniac and trying to stab her in the face. He appeared at Loki's side and grabbed his arm before he could bring the knife down again, and then, too fast for the human eye to catch, he ripped him off of her, severing his arm in the act.

Loki's cry of pain went ignored as he put all his focus on Percy. She laid against the fallen tree, shocked, but unharmed. She's okay, she's okay, she's okay, he tried to tell himself, but he was just so furious that he couldn't calm down.

He leaned down to caress her cheek, "Are you—?"

"—I'm okay," she rasped. "He just... caught me off guard."

"I'm getting you out of here," he said darkly, the sound of buzzing overpowering everything else. "And I will deal with him."

Her eyes widened and she began to protest, "Wait, hold on—" but he flicked a hand out and teleported her to the bifrost, urging her to travel through and wait for him in Helheim.

Beelzebub's expression hardened as he turned to face Loki.

Loki's arm was slowly restoring itself. He let out a delirious laugh, tears still spilling down his eyes. "You took your sweet time to get here."

Beelzebub was in front of him in a blink of an eye, one clawed hand grasping him by the throat and lifting him up into the air. "I told you," Beelzebub growled before slamming him into the ground, creating a large crater beneath them. "To—stay—away."

"HAHAHAHAHAHA!" Loki continued to cackle madly, his voice echoing throughout the forest.

Beelzebub glared down at him in disdain. It seemed like the god had finally cracked.

"I ought to kill you," he spat.

Loki gazed up at him with a wide grin that nearly cracked his face apart. He didn't try to defend himself or even bother to summon his own divine weapon.

"You know something, Devil?" He licked his lips. "I just had an epiphany."

"..." Beelzebub just stared.

He went on, "She may be part human, but that stupid girl turned out to not be as stupid as I thought."

Beelzebub was seething, his sharp teeth bared. "You dare to insult her even now?"

Loki continued on as if he had never spoken, "I used to get so angry at how close the two of you were, at how well you both knew each other," he made a face of disgust at that before he beamed again. "But she knows me just as well~ Hehe, she's been paying attention to me too~!"

The dark haired god scowled in anger, "What are you going on about?"

Loki's face fell. "...Baldur," he whispered. "That stupid girl, she figured it all out..."

Beelzebub was getting sick of listening to him. Just as he was about to blast him and end him for good, he froze, realization dawning on him as he registered Loki's words.

...Percy's theory about Loki actually liking Baldur and killing him out of petty jealousy was actually right?

Beelzebub angrily grabbed the front of Loki's shirt and lifted him up slightly. The god of mischief only grinned in response.

"Are you being serious right now?" Beelzebub demanded. "You liked Baldur all along and you killed him because he wasn't paying attention to you?!"

Because if that was right, then Percy's theory about Loki liking her too would be true as well—and that was the last thing Beelzebub wanted.

"And now you've set your sights on Percy," he grew angrier. "But you couldn't understand your own feelings so you've been trying to kill her out of denial. You're such a fucking child!"

Loki just giggled maniacally. Beelzebub snarled and slammed him back down again, making the crater cave in deeper.

"Do you think this is funny?!" Beelzebub roared demonically. "Your immaturity could've gotten her KILLED!"

But Loki kept laughing and laughing, driving himself to insanity. Beelzebub's wrath burst forth once again, the entire forest falling to destruction. Trees burned down, wildlife died out en masse, and massive cracks formed on the ground, revealing hellish depths underneath. The forest burned down, but it didn't stop there. The chaos continued to spread and spread, reaching nearby towns, then dense cities farther away, and even surging forth into bordering countries. Eventually, all of Scandinavia was experiencing Hell on Earth.

"YOU CANNOT HAVE HER!" Beelzebub's demonic voice was nearly drowned by the sound of starving flies.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Loki was cackling with glee even as he was thrown around like a ragdoll.

Beelzebub picked him up again and threw him once more, but this time, it was more powerful than the last.

He was propelled through the air, at a mach speed that would've liquified any human. He finally started to lose velocity and lower down. As his body was slammed into a series of trees, he flipped over in mid-air, his feet skidding against the scorched ground.

He didn't know where he had been thrown, probably somewhere in Sweden now. Large cracks on the ground chased after him, and he happily hopped around to dodge the hellfire spewing from the cracks. Beelzebub was nowhere to be found, most likely still in Norway but he knew he would get here soon.

"Oh, Beelie~" He sang, purposely mimicking Percy's voice to rile him up. "Where'd you go~?"

There was a demonic roar that came from the distance. Loki managed to catch a glimpse of the Devil speeding through the dark skies, a pair of large fly wings sticking out of his back. Loki grinned widely and stayed still, allowing for the collision to happen.

They crashed through several houses before finally stopping at one. The family had most likely wasted away already thanks to Beelzebub, and his flies were currently buzzing around the burning neighborhood to devour everything in sight.

Beelzebub snarled, opening his jaws wide to reveal sharp rows of teeth. He prepared to bite Loki's head off, but the other god quickly reached into his mouth, both hands pressing against his jaws and forcing him back. Ichor poured out of the wounds, trickling into Beelzebub's throat.

"Oh, if only Percy could see you now," Loki crooned, not at all terrified. "I think she'd be more afraid of you than me."

He let out a giggle. "And guess what? I think I'm gonna keep her for myself now. And I'm gonna get rid of everyone else in my way. Starting with you."

Loki harshly pushed Beelzebub off of him, sending his body slamming into a wall at the farther side of the house. The Norse god quickly appeared before him, a sadistic smile on his face as he grasped the Devil by the head.

Beelzebub snarled, ready to rip his hands off until Loki forced a vision in his head.

Percy's debutante ball. Her and Loki dancing. His hand lowering to the small of her back as he dipped her... and the way she reacted when he touched her there.

Beelzebub let out a haggard breath when he was forced back into reality. Instantly, all his anger left him. He felt shaken.

Loki smiled deviously as he dropped his hands.

Beelzebub stumbled back. "W... what did you just do?"

"Nothing much," Loki shrugged innocently. "I found out where her Achilles Heel is and I just thought you should know."

His face fell. "W-what?"

"You thought I was the one who needed to stay away from her?" Loki chuckled cruelly, now having the upper hand. "No, no. You're the one who needs to stay away. Because if you don't, then you're going to be the one to kill her. And the Curse of Achilles won't save her from you now that you know where her mortal spot lies."

Loki relished in the utter despair on Beelzebub's face. He let out a grand laugh before shooting him a vindictive grin.

"I told you I'd make you regret ever tricking me," he hissed excitedly. "How does it feel to get fucked over on your own deal?"

He finished with a wicked laugh before teleporting away, leaving Beelzebub alone in the wake of destruction. 

— author's note —

Hehehe, who thought that was actually Beelzebub during that scene in the forest? I tried to leave very very vague hints that it wasn't really him aside from the whole 'forgetting she could freeze to death' thing. The other hint was him asking why she refused godhood. We the readers already know that the real Beel already figured out that (part of) the reason was because she wished to die.

If you were there to watch me spiral on Tumblr over that stupid little fucker then you probably understand this meme. I apologize once again for the long ass wait I just really, really, really, REALLY wanted to build my beloved husband, Calcharo 😭😭

Fanart of Percy's baby (baby daddy unknown 👀) by JustYourAverageReader12:

Percy and Posy from fandomriders:

Lieveux MADE PERCY FIGURES!!! AND IF YOU LOOK AT THE BACKGROUND YOU CAN SEE ACYLIC STANDEES OF MY GRAPHICS:

THEY ALSO MADE DUCKSEIDON AND PERSEALA 😭💖💖:

Percy from wisetimewasted:

Baby Percy from doodlesleeps: