~~~~~

A thin white jumpsuit, fitted with restraints and buckles and paired with a long straightjacket. Shackles around the ankles and wrists, as well as a thick metal collar clasped around the neck. A muzzle fitted around the face, keeping the mouth shut. Wings strapped down tight, tail coiled and tied in place. Hands forced together with metal restraints. Leather belts binding the jumpsuit to a wheelchair.

Why was all of this on Cobalt...?!

He shook his head, and opened his eyes once more.

The Incubus was standing in his Deepest Refuge, staring directly at the far wall. There, mounted above a name plaque, was an old mirror, reflecting his puzzled face right back at him. Looking down, he found himself wearing the same dull grey robes he always wore here.

What...?

"Back again? It's been a while."

Over by the ajar door, the black cat was sitting on the splintered remains of an old bookshelf, looking as pleased with itself as ever. The floor underfoot looked blackened and crisp, while the once-stately walls were scorched. However, the room was bitterly cold.

"What's going on? I thought Deepest Refuges were safe places," Cobalt muttered, rubbing his arms to keep warm.

"Generally, yes. But yours is... not holding up too well, what with all you've been putting yourself through. I take it you're going through another life or death situation out there?"

His eyes widened.

"Jelli! I- I have to get back out to Jelli!" Cobalt suddenly cried, stumbling over the discarded tarpaulin on the floor in an effort to reach the hallway.

The cat arched its back.

"Again, so focused on the pains of others you refuse to see what's right in front of you. Cobalt, have you not stopped to think what's going on here?" the cat said, fixing him with its emerald eyes.

He stopped just as he reached for the door.

"I... No, I haven't," the Incubus sighed, pulling away.

"Such is your greatest fault, derived from your greatest strength. Well, perhaps not your greatest strength exactly. Perhaps not even yours at all..."

He rolled his eyes.

"I don't have time-"

"Time? No, you don't."

The cat nodded to the damage all around them. The cracks in the plaster, the splinters in the floorboards, the burns and the scorchmarks...

"It seems the more you learn about yourself, the less able you are to handle it. To hold it back," explained the cat, gingerly stepping over a sharp piece of broken wood.

He raised an eyebrow.

"To hold what back...?" asked the Incubus.

The cat's eyes glinted.

"You. To hold you back."

Irritated by the cat's vaguery and concerned for his student, Cobalt pushed through the door and out into the hallway. Just like the room, it was in a terrible state, and he could see that the fire was no longer burning in his study. Shredded paper covered the floor, each page torn from the many blank books.

He could see another door further down the hall, its padlock lying broken on the floor atop a pile of ripped paper.

"Finding who you are, bit by bit. I wonder, is it because of them?" called the cat from behind him.

It slunk out past his legs and meandered down the hall.

"First the Oni, now the Glutton. It doesn't take a genius to see how she looks at you. I wonder if your heroics during Valentines shifted something within her?" it mused, looking up at the door.

"Don't be ridiculous."

"Is the notion as ridiculous as you knowing a spell that you've never studied?"

Cobalt froze in place as the cat casually groomed itself.

"Why would your tongue know words of binding, if you did not learn them? Why would your skin know the kiss of flame, if you've never seen a blaze? Why would your teeth remember fondly the give of flesh, if you abhor yourself for letting yourself taste it?"

"Shut up! Please, just shut up!" the Incubus suddenly yelled, stomping his foot.

"You know as well as I do that there's a part of you that loves the thrill of hunt,"

"There is not!"

Reaching down, Cobalt wrapped his fingers tightly around the cat's neck and lifted it high into the air. It didn't struggle and instead just continued to stare at the Incubus.

"I am not like that! I am not going to ever be like that! Incupsychosis will not take me, and it never will! I am free, I am safe, and I am not going to argue with you about this any more! Do you hear me?!" he screamed, tears blurring the edges of his vision.

The cat cocked its head as much as Cobalt's tight grip would allow it.

"You won't stand to be fettered again, correct?" it said in a low and insidious tone.

Baring his teeth, the Incubus dropped it onto the floor and marched towards the door. Barging it open, he found himself standing in another small, ruined room, filled with destroyed books and scorched papers. Sitting on a sunken table was a small wooden chest, wrapped in chains and held shut by a weathered lock. Like the mirror in the previous chamber, this one also bore a filthy nameplate.

"I'm getting sick of these games... Jelli needs me out there...!" he murmured, spitting onto the edge of his robe.

As he began to vigorously clean the plaque, the black cat staggered back to his side. Licking its paw, it began to clean itself and smooth out the fur Cobalt had ruffled.

"No games here, Cobalt. Just forgotten truths," it commented, watching as the Incubus' grimace deepened.

Wiping away the last of the dirt, the Incubus narrowed his eyes at the word written upon the nameplate.

Passion

"This is ridiculous," the Incubus hissed, pulling at the chains fruitlessly.

"You already have the key, you know. You needn't-"

"I don't have time for this!"

Before the cat could finish, he picked the chest up off the table and tossed it across the room with an angered grunt. Upon striking the wall, the chains snapped and clattered to the floor, allowing Cobalt to stomp over and throw the lid open.

A bright light shone forth, forcing him to shield his eyes as everything went white.

~~~~~

"Oh my- Hey, he's awake!"

When Cobalt's eyes snapped open, he found himself gazing into the eyes of several paramedics, each wearing faces of worry.

"Mr. Trayer, can you hear me?" one asked, his voice sounding strangely distant.

"W- What...?" Cobalt murmured, blinking a couple of times in an effort to clear his vision.

"You've taken a bad blow to the back of your head. We suspect a small fracture, but you've lost a lot of blood. We're going to take you to the hospital, alright?" said the paramedic.

The Incubus glanced around. He was lying on the tiles by the poolside, but he was strangely cold.

"J- Jelli... Where is she...?"

"Who's that?"

"Um... Adeline... Adeline Pharmine..."

"She's had a bad outburst, but the police and firefighters are doing everything they can to get her out."

His eyes widened as a surge of adrenaline suddenly shot through his body. Pushing the latex-swathed hands of the paramedics away, the Incubus rolled onto his side and unsteadily got to his feet, much to their alarm.

"S- Sir, you can't-! How are you-?!"

Cobalt squinted and looked around at the swimming pool, his vision still a little blurred.

A lot had changed in what felt like an instant. People were either panicking or holding each other in little huddles, shivering in the unnaturally cold air. Paramedics and police officers consoled terrified children, while a team of firefighters were preparing saws, axes and a large set of mechanical jaws. The children's pool and the lap pool were both completely frozen, while the largest one - the one he and Jelli were swimming in - looked as though it had frozen solid mid-explosion. A huge edifice of spiked ice rose from the pool, stabbing into the tiles and almost reaching as high as the vaulted ceiling. Firefighters were trying to chip away at the ice, but their tools were just bouncing off it.

"What the...?" breathed Cobalt, rubbing the back of his head.

His hand felt warm. When he brought it back in front of his face, he was alarmed to find it covered in blood. The Incubus glanced around and spotted a large blood splatter on a cracked section of the wall, right where he had struck his head.

How the Hell did he survive that...?

"Sir, I'd advise you to get back," a stern looking Nymph in a police uniform said, raising his hand to stop Cobalt drawing any closer.

"What happened?" he asked, still dazed.

"Not wholly sure. Witnesses say they saw a Glutton girl go through an outburst; a bad one, judging by the state of this... thing," he explained, pointing to the crystalline structure.

Cobalt watched as a pair of firemen tried and failed to cut through the ice with a saw.

"Haven't had to deal with a bad outburst in a while. It always seems to be second-stagers, though..." the policeman mused.

"They're at a stressful point in their life..." the Incubus responded absentmindedly, staring as the light played off the icy spikes.

His eyes widened.

"Did you find her?! Did you find that Glutton?!" he suddenly cried, grabbing the policeman's shoulders.

"Woah there, calm down! No, we're still trying to get access to her inside, but right now most of us are trying to deal with the casualties. One lad got the worst of it; damn near split his skull open, right over-"

He suddenly stopped dead upon realising who he was talking to.

"Wait a minute, how are you up and talking so quick? W- Wait, sir, stop! Sir!" cried the Nymph as Cobalt pushed past him.

Reaching the frosted edge of the pool basin, the Incubus jumped down, grunting as he felt his bare feet crunch against chips of ice. Gluttons could control the element of water, but he had never heard of one freezing it like this.

Taking a step closer, he laid his hand against one of the larger icy shards. A nearby firefighter took notice.

"It's as tough as steel, sir. You need to get back, for your own safety," she called, swinging her fire axe over her head.

Sure enough, it felt tougher than regular ice, and its spiky form looked both dangerous and discouraging.

But Jelli was in there. He couldn't just leave her alone when she was in need of someone the most.

Curling his hand into a fist, Cobalt took a deep breath and wound it back. He clenched his teeth and swiftly punched the ice, hissing through his teeth as the impact jarred his entire arm. The firefighters watched on, awestruck and confused.

"S- Sir?!" one called in a concerned tone.

He pulled back, only to strike once more. Cobalt then balled his other fist and punched at the ice with that one too. Feeling his knuckles beginning to bruise, the Incubus' assault continued with increased fervor, his jaw setting firmer as that tumultuous, boiling sensation made itself known in his stomach once more.

"Sir, please stop! We need to get you to a hospital!"

One of the firefighters grabbed him beneath the arms and pulled him away, just as the skin on his knuckles split. It was strange, he couldn't feel it.

"I understand your concern, but you have to leave this to the professionals! We're going to come in with the jaws of life and-"

A loud cracking noise suddenly interrupted the firefighter. Raising the visor on her helmet, she turned around and gasped as a large crack slowly grew across the surface of the ice shard, growing larger and larger as it spidered out. Her grip loosened enough for Cobalt to shake himself free, and without thinking about what he was doing, he threw himself at the frozen edifice, fists flying.

Everyone was staring at him now, but he didn't care. With each strike, more of the ice chipped away, until he broke through the outer layer and into the thorny interior of the strange frozen structure. The maddening sensation was burning hot now, but not with anger as before. What was it? Panic? Desperation? Worry?

Ripping a sizable icicle away, Cobalt smashed his foot against the spiked wall, cutting the sole badly but breaking a hole leading to the interior. With a loud roar that didn't sound quite right, the Incubus threw himself at the wall, shattering it into pieces as the entire structure groaned.

"Gah...! J- Jelli...?!" he gasped, shivering all over as he climbed back to his feet.

As he had suspected, the inside was hollow. The entire thing was like a giant spiked cocoon, made to protect its lone inhabitant from the outside world. Jelli herself lay in the fetal position on the tiled base of the pool, shrunk down to less than half her normal height.

Cobalt frowned. Magnimorphisis too. It seemed that her panic-attack caused multiple kinds of magic to run wild.

"Ich kann das nicht... Ich kann das nicht...!" she gasped to herself, shaking all over as she held her legs tight.

Swallowing hard, Cobalt ignored his throbbing head and bleeding knuckles in order to kneel by Jelli's side. He had to be careful; this must be a seriously bad panic attack if it caused a magical outburst.

"Jelli? Are you listening?" he said softly, keeping his voice as steady as he could.

"Stefan ist wahrscheinlich tot... Und jetzt hasst Cobalt mich wahrscheinlich...!"

"Hey, it's going to be alright. Help's here; they're just outside."

He swallowed hard and looked around at the inside of the cocoon. Her outburst was likely caused by internal panic as well as social anxiety, which would explain why the cocoon was spiked. Jelli didn't want anybody near her.

Shuffling back a little, Cobalt took a deep breath.

"But they'll stay out there. It's just you and me in here. I'll stay until you're ready, okay? I'm not going anywhere."

For a few minutes, the Incubus stayed where he was, silently weathering the cold. At one point, the firefighter team tried to get in through the hole he smashed through the icy cocoon, but he just raised a hand and urgently gestured for them to stay back.

Jelli's whispered beratements eventually gave way to muffled sobbing. One of her hands flopped down, prompting Cobalt to gently take it. It was so small.

"... Es tut mir Leid..." he heard her mumble.

He had no idea what she said, but it sounded apologetic.

"You've nothing to apologise for, Jelli. I'm here for you," Cobalt responded softly, giving her hand a gentle squeeze.

"... I'm s- sorry..."

With a quiet sigh, Cobalt shuffled closer.

"Like I said, there's nothing to be-"

"I- I'm scared. Of everything, a- and everyone. H- He was gonna teach me to be brave, but n- now he's gone... A- And it's all my fault..."

The Incubus laid a hand on her shoulder.

"Your stepbrother?" he asked, aiming to steer her away from apologies.

"Mmhm. H- He was brave and strong, b- but I... He was nice, but he m- missed his own papa, a- and I think he didn't like us really... That's why he left..."

Cobalt remembered Jelli's parents; two women, a Glutton and a Fallen. If this man was her stepbrother, then he was probably the latter.

"What's his name?" pressed the Incubus.

"S- Stefan. H- He was Hellborne, I think... Ja, Stefan Blackwell."

The Incubus' brow furrowed. No, he had definitely heard that name before, back when he was studying to be a teacher in Oxford. There was a small population of demons secretly supplanted into the university staff, and he remembered speaking to one about future career guidance for demons on Earth. That man specifically mentioned a Stefan Blackwell, a Hellborne Fallen that wound up running a successful pharmaceutical firm in Plymouth.

"I've heard of him. He's doing well for himself," Cobalt said.

Jelli stirred.

"He... He is...?"

"I'd say so. Runs his own company, from what I hear."

The Glutton sniffled and hugged herself a little closer.

"H- He hasn't called or anything... He probably doesn't want anything to do with me..." she murmured, her tail curling up between her legs.

He felt her hand briefly unclench before her it tightened around two of his fingers.

"H- He hates me... Everyone hates me..."

Cobalt shook his head and squeezed her back.

"No they don't, Jelli."

"Yes they do... E- Everything always wants to hurt me..."

"I don't."

She looked up, her deep hazel eyes wet and glimmering with frosted tears.

"Y- You're just being nice..."

"I'm not, Jelli. I genuinely care about you, just as much as Izzbelle or Karazelle or any of the others. You have a whole host of friends that love and support you, and I'm proud to count myself among them," Cobalt told her.

Her eyes widened.

"You...?"

He nodded in response.

"Yes, I do. I care about you and I want to see you succeed. I don't know what the situation is with your stepbrother, but if he's missing out on your life, then that's his loss. I for one feel lucky to know such a brilliantly smart and sweet woman like yourself," he continued, still holding Jelli's hand.

She didn't respond, but she didn't let go either. After a few moments of silence, Cobalt heard the ice crack all around him. As it began to splinter and fall away, Jelli's body began to glow and slowly return to its normal size.

"Are you ready to go?" he asked quietly.

Jelli nodded.

Taking care not to get any blood on her swimsuit, the Incubus lifted her into his arms. Bit by bit, the frozen cocoon fell apart, widening the hole enough for the pair of them to step out unscathed. Bystanders and emergency service personnel watched on, shocked by the sight. Handing the hypothermic Glutton over to one of the paramedics, Cobalt took a deep breath and wiped the blood off the back of his hands.

"Get her warmed up, quick," he said, climbing out of the pool basin.

"O- Of course, but sir... we need to get you to an ambulance too," they responded, pointing at his wounds.

Cobalt nodded absentmindedly.

"Of course, just... One second. I need to make a call..."

Before he could go, however, Jelli reached over and grabbed his wrist.

"Sir...?" she murmured.

"Yes?"

The Glutton took a deep breath.

"I, um... I... Ich liebe... dich..." she breathed, staring at him with quivering eyes.

Cobalt just smiled in response and patted her hand, not quite sure what she had just said. Sending her off with the paramedics, he made for the exit.

Staggering out into the changing area, Cobalt fumbled about for the locker with his and Jelli's belongings. Eventually finding it, he pulled it open and fished about in his bag, eventually locating his phone.

He flipped it open and dialled one of his contacts.

"Hey, Alison? I'm calling in a favour. I need you to find me some phone numbers..."