Rebirth

Chapter Four

Fuck! FUCK! Your back was still pressed against the door. You could hear someone coming down some stairs then a deep voice call, "Hello?" Seconds later Vanderlinde rounded the corner and come into the foyer.
He saw you shaken form and worried look painted his face, "(Y/n)? What's going on? Did something happen?"
"YES!" You blurted out. For whatever reason, you felt like you could confess in Vanderlinde. Although he was a professor at the university you attended, he was once a priest who left the church for personal reasons. Maybe he knew something? Maybe that's why Alastor was stuck outside. You stood up straight and hurried over to the window in the living room. You pulled back the curtain and saw Alastor still standing there. He looked confused even with a distorted smile on his face. It looked painful and unnatural on his human face.
Vanderlinde was close behind. He was about to ask what was going on but he found out for himself. The second his eyes came in contact with Alastor's figure, he grabbed you and yanked you away from the window, "Holy Mother of Mary!" Vanderlinde whisper-yelled, "Do you know what that is?!" His green eyes nearly jumped out of his head.
Fear was written all over his face. What was the reason? You stood beside Vanderlinde with concerned eyes, "He's a demon-"
"THE DEMON!" Vanderlinde jumped at you. He placed both his hands on your shoulder and nearly shook the life out of you, "How? How did you get him here? Why did bring him here?" Vanderlinde's voice shook in his throat, "Why did you bring The Radio Demon to earth?!"
"I-..I don't even know who he is, Van!? He- he said his name was Alastor-"
"Alastor the FREAKING AXE HUNTER!!" That sounded familiar but you didn't quite pick up what Vanderlinde was saying. Luckily he went on, "The serial killer from the 1920s? Ya know? They called him The Southern Axe Hunter? A radio host that'd trick you with a smile into a dark corner? Kidnapped his victims then take them home and dismember them? While they were still alive! He killed all those people to summon an Eldritch spirit that is not of this universe!"
"I didn't summon him!" You quickly defended yourself, "Him and his little shadow friend Eon broke into my home. He started spouting some nonsense that he knew me in a past life! He wants to take me back to hell!"
Vanderlinde stares at you with wide eyes. He didn't say anything for the longest time and it started to worry you, "He wants to take you to hell?" he repeated your words in the form of a question.
"Y-yeah. He said my soul is too pure to go right now. I think he's trying to taint me or make a sinner-"
Vanderlinde cut you off again. His face now stern and cold, "Come with me."
You silently followed after him. Less than a few days ago this was your home for what felt like lifetimes. You had been roommates with Vanderlinde and Sage for almost 3 years. The house was exactly the same way it was when you last saw it.
Vanderlinde lead you downstairs and into the basement. What could possibly be down here beside the laundry machines and dozens of canned foods? Well, a lot of things. You watched your friend head towards a door you've seen thousands of times but never dared to open when you lived here. It was always locked so you just assumed it more storage of some kind.
It was an old round wooden door with black hinges. Vanderlinde pulled a necklace out from under the collar of his shirt and snapped the key off the string. He unlocked the door and pushed it open with ease. As the door squeaked open, a deep earthy smell with the overpowering scent of herbs and chemicals wafted from within the darkness.
You were stunned by what you found inside. As Vanderlinde flicked on a light that dangled from the ceiling you came face to face with the lovechild between a science lab and a witch's hut. Dozens of herbs hung from the walls while a cauldron boiled and smoked from the center of the room. An altar made of skulls, bones,  and candles lit itself to life all by itself as Vanderlinde got close to it. In the corners of the room were benches filled with test tubes, beakers, Bunsen burners and all sorts of chemistry equipment. It looked like a haunted science lab from high school chemistry class of the undead.
You noticed the floor was made of dirt with rocks placed in circle patterns embedded into the ground. You stood beside Vanderlinde at the alter and asked "Has this been here the whole time? What is this?" He still had that stern and cold look on his face. It was odd to see him so stressed out, he was normally a very relaxed person. Seeing him like this made you worried that things were worse than you first thought.
"Yeah, it's Sage's lab. I'm not going to hide this from you anymore seeing as we have a literal code red, but we're demon hunters," He didn't take his eyes off the spinning orb at the center of the alter. Vanderlinde hovered both his hands over it as he went on to say, "Well, Sage is. She's a witch and demon slayer. I'm just the researcher, I don't actually slay anything other than words and books." How did you not know this about your two best friends? And witches? They were real too?! What's next? Vampires!? Mermaids!?
"Where is Sage?" You asked as you realized she hadn't shown up yet.
"She's on a hunt. That job she's always traveling a lot for? It's to kill demons." Huh, you wished you knew that sooner.
"Okay, so can you get rid of Alastor then?"
"I'm going to try my best," He said with a worried smiled. As he placed his hands on the glowing orb you watched with amazement and wonder as he pressed his hands into the orb. They seeped into the glass as if it were water, "I don't have a divine weapon. I can't kill him without Sage or her rapier. So this is going to have to do," He pulled his hands from the orb and in his grasp was a black dagger, "You can only kill a demon with holy technology. The weapon's of angels work the best. If you don't kill them with a divine weapon, they just go back to Hell and then the fight starts all over again."
You watched him hold the black dagger with just the tips of his fingers. It looked like it was made of obsidian. Vanderlinde then started to pluck herb after herb while tying them to the handle of the dagger with string. He went over to a large makeshift dresser and started pulling out bird beaks and feathers, he tied those to the dagger too. Lastly, he took a large bucket from under a bench and popped the lid off. You were instantly met with the fermenting, rotting smell of animal blood as it washed around in the bucket.
The smell was awful enough to make you nearly barf. Vanderlinde didn't even seem fazed. For an Ex-preist, he sure did use a lot of dark rituals. He dipped the very tip and only the tip of the dagger into the bucket of blood then held it upright with the blade pointing to the sky. You watched the little drop of blood fall down the center of the blade then drip back into the bucket. Vanderlinde waved the dagger a few times the muttered words in a language you didn't know.
In a firey explosion of smoke and sparks, the dagger changed right before your eyes. Once black obsidian, the dagger was now crystal clear glass that you could see right through. This must be magic... You thought.
Without a word spoken between the two of you, you followed Vanderlinde upstairs and to the window. Alastor was still there but this time he was tapping his ghostly microphone onto the magic barrier keeping him off of the property. He was testing for weak spots. Vanderlinde took in a deep shaky breath then whispered a prayer to God before heading to the door.
You made sure to stay behind him as you left the house. Alastor was still standing there on the sidewalk with a twisted smile that tore apart his human flesh. His eyes were bloodshot with slivers for pupils, much like that of a cat. Anyone would have guessed that he was possessed in some kind of way.
"I thought I smelled some type of trash lingering around here!" Alastor said with a grin, "Where is the witch?" You and Vanderlinde stood in the driveway, only inches away from the sidewalk. You had only just noticed that Vanderlinde had a rosary in one hand. His thumb passing the beads through his fingers as he nervously counted each little bead. Alastor let out an evil giggle, "You're foolish if you think that can work against me, Father," You saw Vanderlinde flinch at the jab Alastor was trying to make.
"I don't work for the church anymore," He said slowly, he lifted the dagger up to Alastor's eye level and for the first time you saw an emotion plaster itself on his face.
He jerked away in disgust and hissed and spat out vile sounds, "What kind of Christian taints their soul with Voodoo!?" Alastor's smile wavered and thinned but never dropped from his face. It only shifted in size, "Did you really throw away your only chance at Heaven just for this little trick?"
Vanderlinde's eyes flashed harshly with an emotion you couldn't describe. His gaze was firmly locked with Alastor's as he brought the crystal blade to his hand, "I was never getting in anyways," He quickly sliced open the palm of his hands to let his blood flow onto the sidewalk. It splattered around Alastor's feet and even managed to get on his shoes. Ghostly transparent chains sprung from the ground and trapped Alastor there as they tangled around his legs.
Surprise coated Alastor's face and you could see Eon watching from his shadow on the ground. A pair of hollow empty holes stared up from the pavement as Eon absorbed what was going on.
"Now that I've got you stuck here," Vanderlinde started. He dropped the dagger to the ground and watched it break. He stepped on the shards and crushed them even more into little bits of broken glass, "You're going to answer some questions. First off, why are you here, demon?"
There was a battle happening on Alastor's face. He must have been under some kind of truth spell because you could tell he was fighting to keep his mouth closed. Whatever Vanderlinde did with the dagger must have worked. After a minute or two Alastor gave up. The static returned to his voice and his words were strained, "I'm here for (Y/n). I'm bringing her back home," He sounded like a robot, he even kind of looked like one. His face was stone cold and didn't move. your stomach twisted into a knot as you watched his smile grow larger and larger by the second. Even his eyes were fixed and locked on Vanderlinde. He didn't blink once or even dare to look away.
"What do you need (Y/n) for? Who is she to you?" Vanderlinde asked. All while this was going on, you made sure to stay behind your friend. You didn't want to get to close to Alastor because as ever second past more of his human features melted away.
A pair of horns started to grow from Alastor's head as he helplessly answered the question like an automated voice message, "I want to take her home so we can get back to our afterlife in eternity. She was my wife," Alastor's hair started to fade into shades of red and black as it grew out. His skin started to turn an ashy gray color as blood soaked into his eyes, giving them the red tint they usually had. Two long and fluffy ears flipped from his hair and stood upright.
Shock jumped onto both yours and Vanderlinde's face. That was it? That's all he wanted? You felt something in your chest crack and scream. You were his wife in your past life? Or afterlife? When exactly did your past self meet him? At the same time, something in your heart made you feel extreme pity for Alastor. Another part of you felt fear, anger, and confusion. Mostly anger.
Alastor's answers only brought up more questions. Thank God that Vanderlinde was thinking the same thing as you, "When did you first meet (Y/n)? And who was (Y/n) before she was reincarnated?" He asked.
By now Alastor was looking more and more like his demonic self. His voice never wavered once and stayed uncomfortably calm, "I met her the day I died in 1933 at the seventh and final gate to Hell. She was The Crybaby Demon, (Y/n) (L/n), and Hell's Gatekeeper, similar to your Saint Peter at Heaven's gates," Alastor's words meant something to Vanderlinde because he snapped his gaze to you for only a second. You had no idea what this Crybaby Demon was or what Alastor was talking about.
There was a cold chill that slapped the back of your neck and suddenly Alastor freed himself of the chains of truth. Now fully in his demonic form, Alastor gave a quick and toothy smile as he stepped forward and place a foot onto the driveway. The magical barrier was useless against him now. He got into Vanderlinde's face and chuckled.
With a click of his tongue and dark little giggle, Alastor threatened Vanderlinde "I best hope you have your little witch around next time, Father," He said in a dark and demonic tone. Alastor's voice was so warped and demented that you could barely tell what he was saying, "The next time you see me will be your last," Alastor snapped his finger and then -POOF- he turned to dust in the wind and just like that... he was gone.
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He wasn't irritated. He wasn't mad. He wasn't angry. He was enraged. He was full of wrath and hate and malice. His little radio heart THUMB THUMB THUMBED in his ears as he peered at his own reflection through a mirror he broke seconds before.
Alastor was having an incredibly difficult time dealing with his emotions. Normally he had them under complete control. He underestimated the power of Vanderlinde and Sage. He had been keeping tabs on these silly little demons hunters and he was sorely unprepared for that little attack that Vanderlinde pulled on him.
As Alastor peered into the Water Well, he could see through the eyes of Buck, your cat and his familiar. Though Buck's eyes, Alastor watched you and Vanderlinde cleans your apartment head to toe with Voodoo rituals that were so secret and private that Alastor nearly flipped the Water Well over in a fit of rage.
"HOW!?" He yelled, baring his teeth with an ugly and large frown, "Where did he find it!? Where did he even get this kind of knowledge!?" Thank god he was alone. Alastor watched as Eon's shadowy figure formed before him.
"Calm yourself, friend," That was kind of hard to do right now, "We'll get them next time. Do not worry about it,"
Alastor ignored Eon's words and bent as close as he could to the Water Well without getting wet. His large red eyes filled with hate as he watched Vanderlinde teach you forbidden Voodoo rituals that no outsider should ever have the right to know. Voodoo was a very closed and secretive culture that didn't welcome outsiders, "Who is he!?" Alastor snapped, "Who is that stupid little bitch witch!? What clan does she belong too?"
Suddenly there was a knock on his door. Alastor stood up tall and slapped a smile onto his face. He hid any sign of his rage and opened the door to his grand hotel room.
He was going to quickly send off whoever it was, but it was Charlie. Instead of quickly dismissing her, he smiled and asked, "Something I can help you with?"
The little demon princess had a worried look on her face as she raised her brows and peered beyond Alastor and into his room. She noticed all the broken glass and furniture, "Uh, haha- um-" She weakly laughed with a sad smile, "I was wondering if I could actually help you with... whatever you're dealing with? Everyone heard a bunch of loud bangs and crashes coming from your room-"
"Yes, yes, yes," Alastor cut her off and waved his hand in her face, "Everything is fine, Charlie," He started to close the door on her when suddenly a voice snuck into Alastor's mind. It was Eon, whispering into his thoughts so only Alastor could hear him. We could use her help, Eon said, "Actually," Alastor opened the door up again. A natural yet sinister smile was on his face, "I think you can. Do you think you could de me a sweet little favor? Something nice and easy?"
Charlie lit up like a firework with a smile on her face, "Sure!" She always loved helping others, "What can I do for you, Al?"
He chuckled then leaned down to her eye level. There was an overwhelming sense of happiness and joy in his twisted smile, "Call your father for me?"