The three of us spent the rest of the day tinkering with Frankenstein's machine. Or, more accurately, Mike and Frankenstein did, while I mostly provided more fuel for the thing to work. Not that I was complaining, mind you. It's a good thing Mike told the doctor that he was my consultant, otherwise my complete lack of knowledge would have seemed weird.

In the end, Mike decided that he should stay to help the not-so-good doctor, and after I left the two with plenty of fuel for their continued experiments, I made my way out of the mansion and back to Alexei's. The two men reassured me that things were progressing at an astonishing pace, and the machine itself should be in working order in a few days at most. To be honest, I really didn't expect Mike to keep his part of he bargain, let alone know enough about science and technology to actually keep up with Frankenstein. I guess the old adage was true, you really can't judge a god by his appearance.

When I got back to Alexei's, I came to the realization that it seemed like I was practically living in my friends place at this point, but since the place as so huge, I don't think that I was really intruding into my friend's private life. The servants were so used to me that they were treating me like I owned the place, which was probably smart of them, since the last thug that got pissy with me didn't end up too well. I did miss my little house though, but ever since the incident with Becca, I was never too comfortable being there by myself. It felt empty.

With Mike gone for the night, I went to see what Alexei and Irina were up to, but I was quickly turned away by a few nervous looking guards. It seemed that Alexei and Irina were still busy with their meetings, apparently with the people that Irina cancelled with last time, and I wouldn't be able to see them in the near future. Hel and Lilith were still out of town somewhere, and I didn't see the point of calling them back just so they could keep me company.

I sighed. It was times like these that Becca would come out of nowhere to complain about something new, or come up with some new, crazy idea to try out. Sara would probably try to talk some sense into her, but I guess neither of them are here for that any more.

Well, I had some time to kill, so I grabbed my own car and went to check up on my office. I remembered telling everyone to leave, but I never did tell anyone to actually come back to work. Well, since everyone's still getting paid, I don't think my workers will just up and leave. But then again, I didn't have a secretary write the bills up any more.

Entering the familiar building, I went up to the 13th floor and entered the now empty complex. The damages seemed to have been fixed up, although I haven't a clue who paid for it all. The door to my work place was still pretty beat-up, and I guess I'll have to replace it if I don't want customers thinking my business was a dump.

I don't even remember why I started up an exorcism business in the first place. I guess it was another one of my whims, but this one lasted a bit longer than usual. What I do remember, though, is the first day that I hired Becca. It was never going to be a day I forgot...

* * *

“What's your name?” I asked.

“Fuckette McShitz.” The girl answered, crossing her arms.

I took a long, hard look at the young lady in question; she was wearing something that would have been inappropriate in most strip clubs, but at least she was a pretty little thing. I could tell it was a mask she showed the world, to make herself seem tougher than she was. Like a little dog that was all bark and no bite.

“Ok, Ms, uh, McShits, why did you slap Mr. Kim?” I continued, trying my best to keep my gaze above shoulder level, although I'll admit my gaze did fall down a few inches after a time.

“It's McShitz, with a 'z'.” She stressed.

“Right, of course.” I said, stifling a laugh. Well, this will definitely be an interesting evening. “Can you please answer the question?”

“He was eyeing me up. Fucking pervert.”

“Right... well, your clothes do tend to attract that kind of unwanted attention.”

The gril just shrugged.

“Thankfully Mr. Kim has decided not to press charges, but it wouldn't hurt to apologize... which I am not inclined to think that you will.”

She gave me a mean looking scowl, “Fuck no! He should be glad I'm not the one who's reporting his ass for sexual assault.”

“Yes, of course. And are you here for an interview?” I continued.

“Yeah, saw the job listing, thought I'd give it a go. Gon' be a hoot'n good time. I'm probably the best candidate you'll ever have.”

“Did you schedule an appointment?” I asked, even though I knew the answer. “In fact, did we even call you at all?”

She shrugged. I wasn't surprised.

“Did you at least bring your resume?”

She tossed me a crumpled, coffee stained thing, and waltzed her way into my office. She sat down on my chair, and kicked her legs up onto the desk. I didn't bother telling her that her underwear was showing, since I doubt she actually cared. Nor did I care about getting that desk dirty, not that the old thing could possibly get any worse. Smiling, I leaned against the wall closest to her, and read her resume. This should be good.

The first thing I saw, in big, capitol letters – written in crayon, of course – was her name: Rebecca White. Her phone number (everything else was typed at this point) was apparently the first 14 digits of pi, and she lived in an address that read, “Middle of fuck-nowhere, Earth, Milky Way Galaxy, Universe.” Well, at least she put her real name on there. Underneath was a list of her job experiences. Most of them were obviously fake, like supreme commander of the cult of Cthulhu, or the overseer of the Magratheans, but the listing on top was one for a local coffee shop. The time of employment read: 12:45pm, Monday 21st – 1:45pm, Monday 21st.

“You quit your last job in an hour?” I asked, pointing at the resume.

“Got fired.” She answered without looking at me, “Apparently threatening customers 'ruins the environment of the establishment' or some shit.”

“Right...” I muttered, reading further.

Her educational background states that she graduated High School, but that was the extent of her formal education. Unless you counted 14000 hours on the internet as an education, like she has. Under skills she only wrote “Kicking ass and being awesome”, and a brief description of herself at the end told me that she likes occult magic, anime, and video games.

“Are these hobbies real?” I asked.

“Everything on there's real.”

“Of course, Ms. White.”

She got up and said, “Don't call me that. It's just Becca.”

“But I thought it was Fuckette McShitz?”

She paused for a brief moment, but caught herself and said, “It is, but my friends still call me Becca. And what the hell's your name anyway? Didn't anyone tell you it's rude to not introduce yourself, and you know me, I'm a stickler for manners.”

“Apologies, I'm Mark Bastion.”

“Cool, but you don't look like a Mark Bastion, so I'll just call you boss, boss.”

“So you're interested in black magic, Japanese Anime, and video games?”

“Yup,” She answered with a smile, she was actually pretty cute when she's smiling, “Especially if it's all three together. Oh, and I like the internet as well.”

“And how would these hobbies help with the job?”

Becca placed her legs back on my expensive table, and answered, “Cause you'll know exactly what I'm doing when I slack off.”

I laughed at that one. This girl's certainly got spunk. I think I might actually like her.

“And why did you choose this job?”

“Cause I'm broke as shit, and I need money.”

“Ok, final question then.” I said with a smile, “Why on earth would I want to hire you? Just give me one reason. Any reason at all.”

She paused for a moment, and I wasn't sure if it was because she was giving the questions a serious thought, or thinking why I haven't called the cops on her yet. “Because,” Becca answered with a huge grin on her face, “I can make one mean cup of coffee.”

Well, I guess that makes my job easier.

“Good enough, you're hired.”

For the first time, I saw the girl named Becca stunned, “You're fucking with me, right?”

“Nope,” I answered confidently, “You're hired. Can you start tomorrow?”

“Uh...”

“Heck, you can start now if you want. I wouldn't mind a cup of the dark stuff right about now.”

“Really? Seriously not messing around?” She was still looking at me with those bright eyes as if I were joking with her.

“Nope. You're hired. Still waiting for that coffee by the way.”

“Hell, I'll start now, boss. Just show me to the coffee machine. I wasn't joking about that last part.” I knew then that bright smile she showed me then would definitely be something that I'll remember for the rest of my days.

* * *

Who knew that the girl I hired on a whim turned out to be a half decent secretary in the end. She was hard working enough, and I never did catch her slacking off... that often. But she never made a big deal out of it when I did find her being unproductive, nor did she try to hide what she was doing. At the end of the day, I guess I made the right call. My business would probably be a mess without her. Not that it really mattered at this point, I'm rich enough to not need this place, and that's assuming the universe doesn't collapse.

I walked over to my office, and sat down on my chair. I opened up my drawer, and saw that my old phone was still there. I'd replaced it a long time ago, but the dead thing was still waiting silently for me to pick it back up. I half expected Steven to give me a call, but after what happened, I doubt he'll be coming back here again. I can't say that I'll forgive the man for what he did, but I also couldn't condemn his actions either. He was just a pawn, after all, one that I didn't see coming.

I guess in the end, I'll be missing the old gentleman more than anything else. I wouldn't hear the bickering between Becca and Steven any more, and I guess I grew accustomed to that. Working here won't be the same anymore, not with everything that happened.

Just where did it all went wrong? I thought I would lead a quiet, peaceful life now that I was out of Hell. I thought that God had finally forgiven me, but now that I look at it, it seemed that living on Earth right now wasn't that far off from Hell. Maybe it would have been better if I just stayed in Hell, after all, none of this mess would have started if it wasn't because of me.

Maybe I should have just stayed out of Love in general. It's what brought this whole thing on me in the beginning, and now it's lead to this hopeless situation.

* * *

“What the hell are you doing Barbas?” Lilith was screaming at me, she seemed desperate right now. It was not an emotion that I saw often in her, if at all, but I understood where it came from.

I saw the young soul before me, an innocent man condemned to wander the pits of hell for something that he didn't do. Because of demons like me. Because I tricked and tormented him out of reason, threatened his family and friends. I've done this a hundred times before, thousands of times before, but with him, it was different. With Mark, the only thing I saw was a young man at his wits end.

We've talked before, in length about his dreams and aspirations before he met his end. He wanted to be a musician, even if his family thought that it was hopeless. But it was a dream of his to preform on the big stage, to show the world what music could do. Really, he wanted to preform so that his sister could be happy in her final moments before she died of leukaemia. At first, I didn't have the heart to tell him that I was the one to blame for his sister's sickness. But in time, I told the young man everything.

And you know what? He forgave me for it. He understood that it was just in my nature to be like this, and he blamed himself for not having the convection to avoid temptation. He didn't blame me for making his life a living hell, just so I could collect his soul and meet the quota. Even when I stripped away the voice he so cherish. Even I took away his ability to hear the one thing in his life that gave him peace: music.

I couldn't do anything now. I've already fulfilled my part of the bargain, I've given him the means to save his dying family. And now it was time for him to give up everything. And when I squeezed the very essence out of his body, he neither cursed nor screamed. He simply resigned himself for what was ahead. And never once did he blame me for it.

Only now did I realize what I've been doing all those long, hard years in Hell. Only now did I know what it really meant to be a demon. It wasn't the torment, or the torture or deception. No, it's the destruction of hope and happiness itself. But I could still save this one last soul, even if it goes against the Contract. I don't know what would happen to me after, but I didn't care.

“Barbas!” Lilith said, her voice hysterical now, “Don't do it. You know what will happen. It's not too late.”

I smiled back at her, the one person that I would have considered a friend in Hell, but I've already made up my mind. I took the contract out, and with every single fibre of my being, I tore it apart. A demon has never fulfilled their part of the deal and backed off before, but I knew what would happen.

I felt the contract burn up, and with it, so too did the Demon Barbas. There was no pain, only the ebb of my consciousness, and before I forgot all else, I saw the soul of Mark ascend the layers of Hell, hopefully going to a better place.

* * *

I don't really recall what happened after that, but I guess I had a conversation with the big man upstairs. I don't know what we said, nor do I know what happened to Mark's soul after that, but I felt like he's in a better place now. I just knew that after that incident, I was transported to Earth, and it took me many a long years to really understand what happened. It seemed that God had finally forgiven me for what I've done, but I don't think I ever did. Not even now.

I was about to get up when a phone call interrupted me. I check the caller ID, and answered.

“Mark, we have big problem!” Alexei said, his accent thicker than usual. That was generally a very bad sign.

“What happened?” I asked.

“It seems Frankenstein is not as stupid as he seems. He knew who you were all along, and he somehow has managed to capture Mike. He wants to get revenge for what happened last time. He knows that he isn't strong enough outside of his home, and now he's gloating us to come to him. It is definitely a trap.”

“Wonderful...” I muttered, “If he knew it was all a ruse then why the hell did he wait so long?”

“Probably because he was interested in the technology you brought. He doesn't like a wasted opportunity.”

“Then the machine should still be fine?”

“Most likely, my friend.”

“That's all that matters.” I said, “We just go in, get that idiot god, and save the world.”

I could practically see Alexei's big smile as he said, “Is good plan! I like it, I've already called everyone else over, and we're ready to go in. Irina and I have been itching to finish what we left off last time.”

“Great, I'll be over in half an hour. We're going in prepared this time.”

I hung up and grinned. If Frankenstein chose now to tell the world his plans, then it means that he no longer needed me for his machine. Which can only mean that it's finished. I grabbed my sword, and a few more trinkets from the basement before driving off to Alexei's, and to the final hunt.