The dungeon shifted and shook. Tremors and the earthy sound of rocks piling up echoed through the halls. A section of ceiling exploded, giving way to a shower of dirt and gravel which flooded the gaps between friends, debris, and the broken chairs. Underneath it all, a distant and deep drumming, rhythmic and foreboding.

Cecilia collapsed sideways, the edge of the sword buried in her face. The bullet had pushed the blade into both of her eyes. When she hit the ground, she was out, possibly dead. The sword clattered across the tiles, dripping with blood and other fluids.

Kendra stood in a low crouch, back hunched, head darting between his fallen sister and the woman who had shot her. He couldn't decide which to prioritize.

I made the decision easier for him, aiming my grappling gun at the blonde woman and-

My finger locked up around the trigger, hard against the cold metal and refusing to squeeze.

Who was this woman? Sure, she had clones, but where had the clones come from? How much of her was real? How much of her conscious was simulated? If I didn't shoot to kill...

"Addy!" I shouted, sliding one of my two guns across the floor.

Addy snatched up the gun, gripped it with two hands, and fired. The grapple embedded itself in the back of the woman's skull.

Addy fired again, and the cord connecting gun to grapple went taut, pulling Addy up from the ground and yanking the woman down. Addy knelt, pulled the grapple out of her head, and the cord zipped back into the gun.

Cecilia was bleeding out on the floor, blood seeping from the place where her eyes used to be. I averted my gaze, keeping the scene comfortably blurry in my peripheral vision. Kendra went from scrutinizing the blonde to assessing us.

"Help her," Addy prompted him.

Kendra almost did.

Maisie was up now, and she booked it towards the fallen girl. Kendra barred her path, bringing an arm up and shoving her. Maisie flew half a meter backward before collapsing in a heap.

"Keep your distance," Kendra growled, "Common decency and all that."

"Let me help! You have to help her!" Maisie argued, already halfway to her feet again.

"Stand the fuck back and I will!" Kendra bellowed.

"Okay," Maisie said, obviously not ok.

We collectively gave the siblings some space, even though one of them was dying and the dungeon was collapsing. Addy gave my shoulder a tap while Blaine and Brad clustered near me.

"What the fuck happened to Photo?" Blaine asked, tense.

"Woah, watch your language, Abercrombie and Bitch."

"Addy, please, not now," I cut in, "Blaine's question is valid. For someone as precise as Photo, this doesn't feel like part of the plan."

"Oh yeah?" Addy countered, "And how much do we actually know about Photo?"

"I-," I stopped. He had a point, for all it was worth.

"Do you think the scout got him?" Brad wondered aloud.

"It's very possible," I agreed. Meanwhile, a chunk of rock the size of a large baby fell from the ceiling. I reacted by talking faster, "Either way, we need to choose our next course of action now. Run for it? Yes? Yes?"

"Quite sagacious, I must agree," Teddy said, butting into our huddle.

"I vote we run," Blaine said, though it was unnecessary at this point. Everyone was nodding.

I glanced over my shoulder at the siblings. Kendra was shirtless. A tear-stricken Cassie was holding a black dress shirt against Cecilia's face while Kendra wrapped his red tie around to bind it in place.

A blindfold over the newly blind.

Instinct told me to stay - that we owed it to Kendra's family to help them out of here. But they would only slow us down, or worse. The look Kendra had given us...

Yeah, no.

I turned and briskly picked my way past the rubble. A parade of footsteps followed in line behind me.

"No, wait!" Maisie beckoned us, "You're leaving them behind!"

The dungeon walls shook from a distant force, and flakes of stone rained down on us. I continued plodding forward, ignoring her. I didn't know what I'd say to her if I tried.

"Your funeral!" Addy called back to her.

Definitely not that.

Plus, there wasn't much I could do for them, besides dying a meaningless death in their company. I had the carving wand and one grappling gun, but the only useful tool in this situation was the game stone, and Kendra had the game stone. He would be fine, so long as he used it.

Couldn't dwell on that for long.

I ducked my head as I rounded the bend so I wouldn't see them in the corner of my sight.

Had to keep moving.

It wasn't until we returned to the intersection that I realized how fucked we were. The path towards the exit was thoroughly clogged with fallen debris. That left two other options. We could enter the hallway that Cassy had tread alone, which would eventually lead us to a dead end. Or we could go right.

"You know what they say! When nothing goes left, go right!" Brad said, attempting a cheerful tone.

"I'm fairly certain no one ever said that," Addy remarked, "But nice try."

"I'm saying we should go right," Brad reaffirmed.

"Yeah, no shit," Addy said, waving for us to follow him into the distorted hallway, "Come on. Let's go say hi to Incomtox."

We fell in behind him.

The further we traveled, the more alien our surroundings became. The floor was angled thirty degrees to the side, then twisted in the other direction as we walked further. Black stone surrounded us on all sides, with wavy gray patterns encrusting them. It was as if Satan himself had pressed his dirty fingerprints into the stone half a dozen times in each spot I looked.

There were tinted mirrors worked into the walls in some areas. I paused briefly to look at one. Two black columns of stone crossed the mirror vertically, hindering the view of myself. As a result, my reflected self looked as if he were behind bars. Trapped.

The dark sounds were getting louder now. The walls shook with a little more force. The black rock surrounding us didn't crumble. We eased our pace to a walk, no longer hurried along by the imminent threat of being crushed. No one was eager to reach the demon's lair.

That said, I could see the end of the tunnel now, where it expanded into a vast underground chamber.

"When we go in there, do not engage the demon," Addy cautioned us, "Keep to the shadows. Look for an exit."

"I can carve out an exit if we find a way closer to the surface," I volunteered, tapping the wand in my pocket.

"So long as you can do it without attracting the demon's attention," Addy said.

Voices echoed down the halls from behind us. The others were catching up.

"What's this demon like, anyway?" Blaine asked.

"Ask Teddy. He was in charge of this incarnation, not me. I just added the finishing touches," Addy said.

"This 'incarnation?'" I asked, suddenly alarmed, "Are there multiple demons in there?"

Kendra came to a stop a few meters from us. A blindfolded Cecilia was leaning on his shoulder for support and direction. Cassie tugged at the corner of his shirt. Maise and Layla stood behind him, maintaining a safe distance.

Kendra cleared his throat, "Would someone please explain why the blonde one keeps apologizing? You're gonna tell me, even if I don't like the answer."

Maise was apologizing?

Oh.

Fuck.

"The answer is really complicated, but I can try-," I started.

Addy cut me off, "Save it, big shot. That girl needs a hospital, do you agree? Let's focus on that."

Kendra scowled and strode forward, shoving past Blaine. Blaine decided to take offense and swung at the giant man. Addy yanked him out of range before the punch could connect.

Kendra stopped and turned to face us once more. A fire sparked under his eyes, "Ah, we meet again, Blaingel. You wouldn't mind healing my sister here, would you?"

He said it with as much steel as he could muster.

"Yeah, so I'm not actually an angel, but if I was I would totally help you out," Blaine admitted, and Addy pulled on his shoulder, forcing him to take another step back. I took his cue, drawing the wand and the gun.

"Oh yeah? Then how did you heal her foot earlier?" Kendra challenged him.

"That was Photo," Blaine explained, "Photo is the guy you should be blaming, dude."

"Oh," Kendra said, and all of the fire vanished, "My apologies, then. Where can I find this Fo-to?"

Wait, what?

A complete tonal shift. Just like that, he had taken Blaine's word as gospel, even though he had a myriad of reasons not to trust him.

Did he not listen to the lore at all? The angels of Stooge's Folly lie and manipulate. I made that pretty clear. Didn't I?

Apparently not.

"Wish I could tell you, man. Photo was protecting us, but then the guy up and left," Blaine explained.

"You keep calling Photo a guy," Brad observed, "Photo isn't human."

"What do you mean he isn't human?" Kendra asked.

A blast of hot air blew through the tunnel. I distinctly heard sand swishing around just ahead of us.

Now wasn't the time for explanations. We had to move.

"He's more of an alien-God-type figure. Looks sort of like a game of connect-the-dots, only the dots are glowy and flying all over the damn place. Kinda freaky if you ask me, but I think you'd like him."

"And he's the one to blame? Why is the blonde one apologizing then?"

"Well, you see, Photo made us help him with his plan. But we're on board because it's for a good cause."

"So you are to blame?" Kendra surmised.

Addy swore under his breath and said, "Fuck me, Brad. Stop being helpful!"

"The bad parts of what happened to you aren't our fault," Brad explained, "Only the good parts."

"Mhmm. Ok, then," Kendra said. He gave Brad a hard pat on the shoulder, "We'll talk later, Father. I have a demon to slay. See to it that the blonde girl looks after the kids?"

"Yeah, sure...," Brad started, but Kendra was already gone, charging down the hallway with his pendulum blade raised.

"What? No, he'll die if he fights that thing!" Addy said, jerking his head back and forth between us and the charging man.

"No he won't," Cassie argued, "He's strong!"

Maisie skittered over to where the girls stood and offered Cecilia a hand.

"No, the demon is literally unkillable without the sword of an angel. He won't even scratch it," Addy clarified.

"He's strong!" Cassie restated with vigor, "He's my angel, and he has a sword!"

"Deus vult!" came a distant scream.

Somewhere in the cavern beyond, an infernal laugh answered the scream. The walls and the air vibrated with each 'ha,' giving me the slightest headache.

"Fuck. Blaine, hold my beer," Addy said, scooping up a rock and chucking it at Blaine's face. Blaine recoiled and Addy tore down the hall after Kendra.

"The fuck?" Blaine said, blinking fast.

A gasp escaped my lips and I realized my legs were shaking. Not out of fear. Restlessness.

Move. Now. Addy needs backup.

I sucked air into my nostrils, trying to find my center.

No. I should breathe, right? Take a break?

Yeah, that's what I'd been doing lately. Following Brad's example of taking things easy. Going easy on myself.

I looked at Brad for inspiration. He stood apart from the rest of us, arms folded and shoulders raised in a perpetual shrug. Immobile. There was no fight or flight instinct there. He was just... passive.

Gears ground against one another in my head. My worldview tilted.

Fuck. Fuck me.

I couldn't do this anymore. Going against my nature. I didn't want to be passive.

"I'm going to go help," I said, legs still bouncing.

Heads turned. I took in the various expressions with wide eyes. Confusion, condescension, appreciation.

Enough of this. Move!

I ran, leaving myself and the others behind me.

The cavern I entered had no discernible shape. Three stories tall, half a kilometer in diameter. The walls were red, glassy, and crying black ichor. The terrain was all over the place - plateaus mixed with craters and steep inclines. Eighty percent of the terrain was blood-tinted glass, and the rest was scattered red sand. The only true light source were the demon's eyes.

Two spinning orbs of fire lay embedded in the eye sockets of the grinning face. He had gnarled facial features and two twisted horns protruding from the forehead. He wasn't tall. Maybe twice the height of a human and carved from the same charcoal-like material as the imp. Something was written on his chest in blood, but it was hard to read from this distance.

Incomtox's claws sliced at the only wall that wasn't made from red glass. Black minerals tumbled away from its surface, accumulating in a pile. Incomtox removed the largest chunk from the pile and swallowed it whole.

Kendra was maintaining his charge, and Addy scrambled to keep up, vaulting over a low wall of glass.

"Down, puppy!" Addy shouted after Kendra, "Don't poke the bear!"

Of course, Kendra ignored him.

Rather than pick my way across the terrain, I chose the most direct path to the demon and charged. A glass plateau stood in my way, and I traced a diagonal line across its base with the carving wand. The yellow line became red, creating the incision. When I reached it, I kicked, and most of the obstacle slid sideways. I climbed over what remained.

Kendra reached the demon and swung. No hesitation. Whirlwind clanged against the demon’s skin like a pickaxe striking bedrock. No effect.

Incomtox regarded Kendra for all of two seconds before delivering a kick to the chest. Kendra soared backward through the air and crashed into a wall of glass, sending shards everywhere. Addy - having been the target of the kick - dodged out of the way of the spray of shards.

Distracted, I lost my footing and tumbled down an incline, rolling into an Alec-sized crater. I huffed, filling my lungs with air and climbing to my feet.

Keep moving.

This time, I kept one eye trained on the precarious terrain, while the other tracked the unfolding battle. Keeping two things in focus was a skill I hadn't known I had, but it came to me with natural ease.

I lunged forward and slid between dual stalagmites. I was halfway to the demon now. Halfway to Addy and Kendra.

Addy grabbed Kendra’s forearm and hefted the burly man up from the ground. Then, he said something to him. Kendra shook his head and grunted out a reply.

Whatever Addy said next gave Kendra some pause. Kendra let go of his hand and returned to his two-handed grip on Whirlwind. Incomtox was back to eating rocks from the wall. Whatever he was eating, it matched the look of his charcoal skin perfectly.

Kendra shoved Addy into the nest of shattered glass, and Addy wailed as a hundred sharp fragments were forced into his back.

“Hey!” I called out to him.

Kendra curb-stomped his chest for good measure, then pivoted to face the demon, roaring and raising his weapon. He advanced on Incomtox-

-but a sweeping kick from Addy sent him sprawling. He landed at the demon's feet, weapon skidding across the floor and out of reach. Incomtox halted his feast and looked down at the easy prey.

The closer I got, the larger the demon appeared to be. My previous assessment had been wrong. He was at least three times the height of a human.

I was three-quarters there now, but I wasn't going to make it in time. My eyes scanned the environment for something I could carve or grapple. They fell on the wall of black stone.

We didn't have the angel's sword. Photo wasn't here to summon it. But perhaps we didn't need it? If the wall was made out of the same material as the demon...

I stopped running so I could focus my aim. A yellow outline traced the protrusion of black rock.

Incomtox raised a claw the size of a forklift, preparing to swipe at the man who was struggling to get up and out of the way.

"Kendra, get out of the way!" I warned, finishing the shape on the wall.

I clicked the red button.

Red light spread across the yellow outline, marking the points where the shelf of rock would be severed. Kendra saw the wall begin to shift and ran, heeding my warning. Incomtox chuckled darkly.

And two stories of black coal cascaded over the demon.

Crushing. Burying. Destroying.

My laugh was one-note. Breathless and full of relief.

Alec, you goddamn genius.

I was wary of pride and what it could do to people. But I felt fantastic. So what if I was a little proud? An invincible demon was dead, defeated by my own cunning.

I continued towards Addy, rushing because he still lay among the glass, bleeding from a hundred tiny wounds.

"Shit! You did it!" Brad's voice echoed from the other side of the cavern. I turned my head while running and saw the rest of the group flowing into the room at the top of a plateau.

Addy saw me approaching and tried to stand. But there were no good handholds. The ground was littered in hazards.

I offered a hand and he took it, arm shaky. The moment he was standing again, he fell back into a crouch, hands on knees. He gasped a few times, coughed out a glob of blood, and then met my eyes.

"Alec... you fucking idiot..."

My relieved smile became a frown.

"I'm sorry?" I said, confused.

Behind me, the dungeon shifted again, with more force than ever. It hadn't been doing that since we’d entered the distorted tunnel. Why was it starting up-

I turned and my eyes fell into my throat.

Incomtox was standing again, six humans tall and growing. The jagged plates of his body were being forced apart, allowing more to fill in the gaps. Cracking, restructuring, and shedding ash everywhere. Eight humans tall. Ten.

Addy pulled me away from the expanding threat, but the most he could muster was a power walk. The glass in his back and the backs of his legs were inhibiting his movement.

"Great thinking, dumbass. I love it when you get creative," Addy commended me, huffing and coughing up dust.

I adjusted my stance so that he could lean into my elbow for support.

"What are you talking about? What happened?" I asked, still very lost.

"I thought you heard me mention to Photo. His special abilities?" he asked me.

I thought back to the break room when we had all whispered our ideas to Photo. Addy hadn't whispered.

"Heat vision and something about ingesting fuel sources," I remembered, with a hint of comprehension creeping into my voice, "Does eating stuff like... like coal... cause him to grow?"

"Right on the money and a minute too late!" Addy mock cheered, "That was kind of you, breaking his food into smaller pieces so that he could chew it. You'd make a great parent! Here you go, baby Incomtox! Eat your pebbles so you can grow up big and strong!"

"Ok, ok, point made," I said, gruffly. I didn't need this right now.

I looked over my shoulder at the demon. Still growing, his body maintaining its proportions as he grew ever taller. Kendra stood off to our right, gawking at the beast and taking continual steps backward. He still hadn't retrieved Whirlwind, and likely wouldn't get the chance.

The demon's bloody tattoo remained, despite the shifting landscape of his chest. In the low light, I could vaguely make out the words.

PROPERTY OF BLAINE IRVING

Dumb, tasteless, and quintessentially Addy. I rolled my eyes.

"I know I'm being rude, but can you move any faster?" I asked the tattoo's artist.

"Not without the glass digging deeper into my ass," Addy replied, voice hoarse, "But I'd be charmed if you gave me the option to move slower."

"Not an option," I grunted, pulling him along.

♣

'Death is forever!'

My mind exploded with crystalline clarity, and all of the wind went out of my chest. My heartbeat suddenly felt like a wind-up cooking timer, tick-tick tick-tick ticking at twice the rate of a normal clock. Addy slipped from my grasp and I fumbled to keep him from toppling over. I stopped for a few seconds to get my breath under control, and Addy gratefully slumped against my side.

Death is forever. A buried truth, brought to bear by a dissonant shaking and soothing of my bones. I felt the message. I recognized the message. I hated the message.

Behind us, something shattered. I turned in time to see red glass falling around the demon like waterfalls. A pillar of sunlight beamed down from where his head had forced its way through the ceiling. Two black claws reached through the gap and pulled the rest of the body upward.

"Um," I said, stopping and commanding Addy to look. By the time he did, the demon was already gone, his clawed toes disappearing through the hole. All became quiet.

For twenty seconds, the only audible sounds were the demon's footsteps above. Muffled shuffling. Pause. More shuffling. Another pause.

The silence hung. Then...

Sprinting.

I listened as the footfalls became distant.

"Hey...," I said to Addy, feeling my stomach turn, "Did we just... set an invincible demon loose... on the surface?"

Addy was still staring up at the ceiling. When he snapped his head towards me, he wore a look of pure comedy, "Nope! That was all you, pal! Congratulations! Your kid is all grown up and has left the nest!"

A sickly chill washed over me.

Yeah. He certainly has.

Disturbing. Very concerning. I knew it wasn't actually my 'child.' I knew that. But...

Fuuuuuck.

But it was my fault. My fault for letting it grow in size and enter the real world. I certainly hadn't meant to do it, but my actions had created a monster.

Addy was too busy cracking jokes to understand. Expanding his parenting metaphor to ridiculous lengths. He wasn't one to back down or shut up, even the worst situation. But I knew he would do both, if only he understood what I was feeling.

That demon. My 'child.' I would feel responsible for the destruction it wreaked.