Gwen padded quietly through the dark of the underground until, after what seemed like hours of silence plagued by her regrets, the tunnel opened into a massive corridor with chiseled stone walls and vaulted ceiling that came to a point at least thirty feet above her head. On either side of this corridor lay a series of large furnaces with long dormant bellows and burning coals casting a wavering firelight that was the tunnel's only source of illumination. Gwen stalked silently down the massive corridor searching for her target from within the shadows. The corridor quickly branched off into countless slightly smaller tunnels that were also lined with massive furnaces. At first Gwen was concerned that she would never find anything in the maze, but she quickly realized that, unlike the burning central furnaces, the side corridors looked as though they had been neglected for years and a quick examination proved that their furnaces were indeed, cold to the touch. Since Aski was a fire demon Gwen decided that following the lit fires was her best option.

"How does nobody know this place exists?" Gwen thought as she walked. "What are all these forges even for? They have to be centuries old if nobody remembers them?"

 The muttered sound of voices pulled Gwen back to the present, and she quickened her pace to close the gap between her and the voices. As she did, Gwen finally spotted her quarry. Even though Gwen knew that the infernisk was small for her kind, she was still intimidating to say the least. Aski stood nearly nine feet tall. Her body was covered in red dragon-like scales that made clothes insignificant for her but began to recede at the neck, making her face more human than the rest of her figure. Her knees bent backwards like a dog's rather than an average demon's. Long bone-white claws extended from her hands and feet, and serrated fangs decorated her mouth. Aski's forearms were lined with spikes that could easily skewer Gwen, and her pupilless eyes glowed and flickered like flowing magma.

The demoness was talking to a man much shorter than herself - but still taller than Gwen - who, by all appearances, was a once human sinner. Wearing full plate armor with a greatsword strapped across his back, Gwen couldn't help but think that the man was dressed more like a mortal knight than a denizen of Hell. She couldn't see his face from this angle, but his brown hair was short and well-kept, and his arms and legs were as thick as tree trunks.

Gwen knew she could never beat either of these beings in a head to head fight, and Aski's skin would probably shatter her daggers before they did any real damage. That meant that Gwen's best option would be to kill the sinner quickly and figure out how to beat Aski later. Gwen retreated into the shadows as she worked out the best position to attack from as the odd pair continued to converse in hushed tones. They were speaking a language Gwen didn't recognize, but she assumed that it was infernal, and was impressed that the sinner had learned to speak Aski's native tongue, even if it sounded like they were just using it to argue. Even as she admired him, Gwen silently stalked into position. One strike to the neck would incapacitate the man if her stabbing didn't kill him outright. She waited a little longer to make sure neither of them showed signs of noticing her, before she pounced at the man's neck from behind. She had done it perfectly. A perfect silent killing from behind. She had done the same thing countless times before but somehow, somehow instead of sinking into the soft flesh of his neck Gwen's dagger clanged against his greatsword.

"Shit!" Gwen thought, as the man smirked and turned to face her, fully drawing his sword from its sheath and flinging her backwards like a rag doll as he did.

"Hello girl." He mused. "You really are quite the sneak aren't you? Shame you work for someone else."

Gwen was too stunned to answer, but now that he was facing her, Gwen was ashamed she hadn't realized it earlier: after looking into his ice blue eyes, there was no doubt. The man standing before her was the demon overlord Uthecan, the mortal knight who had earned demonhood by slaughtering the entire royal family and fracturing the last age of peace in the Mortal Realm. He was one of the only sinners to gain any true respect within hell, and he was one of the trifecta's most powerful adversaries. Mira usually kept him in check, but he had clearly decided to use Aski to tip their power balance in his favor.

"Ahh, I thought you'd recognize me." Uthecan sneered, but before Gwen could answer, he rushed forward, bringing his sword down hard toward her head. Gwen barely had time to side-step the blow, and another one was coming before her foot returned to the ground.

"You're quick, too." The man laughed as Gwen ducked under his second blow, once again attacking again before she had a chance to respond. Gwen managed to parry that one, but Uthecan's strength was insane. That single parried strike nearly knocked Gwen off her feet, and his attacks were still coming with relentless speed. Gwen wouldn't last long if she got hit like that again.

"I see now why lesser demons fear you," Uthecan continued tauntingly as Gwen dodged every blow he swung. "But it seems that your legends have outgrown your true skills. In the end..." Uthecan landed another blow that Gwen  couldn't escape and barely managed to deflect as the force of it rattled through her arm. She felt her foot slip. She was lucky the strike had thrown her off balance and not shattered her arm outright. "You are just a girl." Uthecan grinned casually as he brought his leg sweeping across the floor, hoping to knock her off balance. Gwen wasn't ready to give him the satisfaction of tripping her like that, but as her feet left the ground to jump over the blow she instantly realized her mistake. Tripping her had been a feint and now, hanging helpless in the air, there was nothing Gwen could do to avoid the pummel of his sword as it connected with her side and sent her careening into the far wall.

Gwen gasped as the air was forced from her lungs and she felt her ribs crack under the blow. Moments later, she felt her head ricochet off a cold stone. He was strong. Stronger than she could handle. Her vision was starting to blur. She couldn't hear anything anymore. The whole world was drowned out by the sound of blood pounding in her ears. Gwen was pretty sure she screamed as pain erupted from her left shoulder when she shifted and realized her impact with the wall had broken her arm as well. Her consciousness was fading fast and even her shallowest breaths made her chest tighten. "I'm going to die here," she thought as she began to black out. "without saying sorry."

***

Angi stalked through the ancient halls of the long forgotten forge, walking faster and faster as she followed the trail of suspiciously young fires and thinking frantically of a way to help Gwen defeat an Infernisk. At first she had hoped that Aski truly wasn't with them in the tunnels, but the unnaturally high heat emanating from the forge fires was proof enough that she was. Angi's panic was sky-rocketing with every step. Infernisk were feral demons. They stood over twelve feet tall on average and their scales were hard enough to withstand volcanic eruptions. The monsters could literally get hit by a volcanic meteor and crawl out from under it unscathed. There was no way Angi and Gwen could defeat a creature like that; let alone Gwen by herself! It was a suicide mission. They were both going to die down here! Gwen was going to die before Angi could get to her! Gwen was going to die alone and underground! Without ever getting to hear her say I forgive you. Angi could yell at her later. Tell Gwen to screw off and wear winter coats to bed until she promised to stop treating her like a child, but all that could wait. Right now... right now all Angi wanted was for Gwen to be ok and for her to know that she still loved her.

Angi's fears only intensified as a loud crash rang and echoed down the corridor from up ahead. The ring of steel striking steel. Angi broke into a full sprint. Running toward the sounds of the fighting without, for the first time in her life, any sort of plan. It wasn't fair! It couldn't end like this! she wouldn't let it end like this; there must be a way out! A way to escape! A way to keep them both safe until Mira could fight alongside them. The clash of metal continued to echo in her ears and the sounds of fighting quickly came into focus as Angi neared the battle.

"What to do! What to do!" Angi's mind screamed at herself as she rounded a corner and the source of the sounds finally came into view.

Gwen was locked in a vicious sword fight with none other than the overlord Uthecan! The arrogant bastard was a good three inches taller than Gwen, and his blue eyes flashed with malice as he rained blows down upon Angi's girlfriend. Blows, said girlfriend, was dodging with incredible but inadequate skill. The man's blows were just too fast and his greatsword carried too much weight behind each attack. One wrong move, and the sheer momentum of those blows would cleave Gwen in half.

Angi's face paled even further as she watched Gwen jump out of the way of a fake attempt to trip her and she barely managed to stifle her scream with her hands as Uthecan's fist connected with Gwen's side. Her body careening into the stone wall of the corridor. Tears rolled down Angi's face as she heard Gwen's bones snap and her beloved shrieked in pain.

Angi forced herself to blink the tears away. She had to do something. But what! Angi wasn't strong enough to fight an overlord as powerful as Uthecan, and Mira was too weak to lend any of her power to the battle. Angi ran through dozens of possibilities in her head, all of them ended with both her and Gwen dead. She couldn't do anything! But maybe, just maybe, she could see something. Angi desperately wiped the tears from her face, her eyes glowing purple as she activated her magical sight. Angi's true sight was one of her biggest trump cards. When using it she could see the emotions of the people around her. If she tried hard she could even tell what virtue or goal was motivating them in that moment. Gwen sometimes thought that she used it on her but Angi had never used it like that.Gwen's feelings were her own and Angi trusted her to tell her if she wanted her to know them. Angi had no such reservations about using her sight in other situations though, and it was certainly one of her most powerful tools while negotiating deals or during one of her infiltration missions. But her sight had uses in battles like this too. Sometimes it was even more useful than Angi was expecting.

This was, miraculously, one of those times. Angi's sight showed her some of what she expected, Gwen's emotions were largely overpowered by her pain and fear, but Angi could still see Gwen's sorrow and sense her need to apologize, presumably to her. Uthecan was similarly predictable, He felt nothing but a casual sense of happiness and excitement after a good fight and, oddly, a bit of relief. Apparently Gwen had been a better fighter than he expected. Aski however, was a swirl of unexpected emotions. A vortex of pity, fear, resentment, loss, sadness, and a quickly fading sense of hope surrounded the Infernisk. Angi was more than perplexed. What did Aski have to be afraid of? She was undoubtedly the strongest being here, so why did she seem to be rooting for Gwen when she could just kill Uthecan herself? Then Angi spotted the brand on her neck. A simple but permanent accessory made of burned flesh that the Hellfire siblings forced on their subjects for one reason or another as a metaphorical collar to signify their disgrace before they were banished into the freezing climate of the border Fell. Aski was scared, because she wasn't supposed to be here! If the Hellfire siblings found her she'd be killed, and she was being forced to work for Uthecan because he was hiding her. That's why Gwen and Angi had had such a hard time tracking her down! Suddenly a horrible plan began to worm its way into Angi's mind.

It was a reckless and stupid plan, and under any other circumstances Angi would have scolded Gwen for coming up with it, but right now, it was their only shot. Without a second thought, Angi dashed forward quietly as the wind and aimed her claws for Uthecan's blind spot. In doing so Angi was forced to run through Aski's field of vision. If she wanted to, the Infernisk could easily intercept Angi's attack or simply kill her with one of her own, but based on the emotions Angi had just seen swirling in Aski's head, Angi was willing to put her life in her hands.

***

Angi had never liked killing. She was no stranger to death; she understood that murder was sometimes an unavoidable part of her life and she had never regretted murdering the monsters she had hunted. She had always approached death with stoic indifference, but the moment she felt her claws pierce Uthecan's skin, the moment she felt her hand scrape against his ribs, Angi finally understood that thin smile that crept onto Jade Morgane's face whenever her father allowed her to execute a human. She finally understood the uncontrollable hatred, the endless wrath that the princess held towards her entire race. Angi suddenly felt it too.

Moments ago Angi had been terrified that she had been too late. That Uthecan would kill the love of her life and there would be nothing she could do to stop it. Terrified that the bastard would kill her next and that her death would leave Mira alone and steal Angi's only chance at closure or vengeance. Moments ago Angi had thought her plan was insane, but as she ran forward, as she got closer and closer to the end of this nightmare, her confidence grew with every step that Aski did not interfere; Angi couldn't help but smile. And she laughed out loud when she felt warm blood on her skin. Uthecan screamed and moved to strike Angi with his massive sword but Angi was completely feral. Her vision had gone red and her body moved faster than it ever had before, viciously and thoughtlessly lashing out at her opponent. Her only goal, the only thread of sanity left in her mind, was to protect her beloved. To kill Uthecan before he killed Gwen. Angi's body reacted to his attack without her input, gracefully severing Uthecan's arm from his shoulder before descending upon him with wild fury. Angi lost all sense of herself and the world, as she clawed and ravaged Uthecan's body. When she finally recovered her control, the horrible screech of her own laughter was the only thing she remembered.

Once her vision returned and she regained some semblance of self-control, Angi was covered from head to toe in blood and gore, straddling a body far beyond recognition. She nearly vomited at the sight of it all, and she quickly scrambled to her feet, gagging as she pulled her claws out of the corpse's viscera and felt warm blood and flesh drip off of her clothes, hair, and face. Frantically, Angi scanned the room for Gwenothin and found her slumped in the corner, battered but breathing, where Uthecan had thrown her. Despite her disgust, Angi couldn't help but smile. She had done it! Gwen was safe! She was still alive! Angi was still alive! Uthecan was beyond dead! Her nightmare was finally... Angi's revelry was interrupted by the sight of Aski still standing on the far side of the corridor leaning close to the flames of one of the forges.

Angi's smile only widened, twisting from relief into a much darker emotion as her sight activated again and she witnessed the horrible fear emanating off of the demoness. The realization that Aski was afraid of her made Angi feel more powerful than ever before. She suddenly felt like she could burn all of hell to the ground if she wanted to and not even the Lord Morgane would dare to stop her. Angi held that feeling close as she stalked towards Aski, her clothes and body still dripping with blood. Angi knew that she probably looked like a living nightmare, smiling and laughing like a lunatic while covered in the blood of a dead man but she couldn’t help it. Her normally calm demeanor had vanished, replaced entirely by hot-headed adrenaline. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't make herself stop smiling, and she knew that despite her attempts to sound calm her voice was still eerily cold. Her most successful effort at appearing personable was to stop using her True Sight and let her eyes return to their natural brown.

"You're hiding from the siblings right?" Angi asked, stopping just inches away from her. She wasn't trying to scare Aski, necessarily, but Angi knew that by killing Uthecan, she already had, so she chose to press that advantage as much as she could.

Aski nodded slowly, looking anxious.

"Mira could help you, you know?"

Aski looked perplexed but nodded again, clearly unsure of where this was going.

"She could demand that they pardon you, stop your execution." Angi couldn't help but notice how detached her voice sounded and she honestly thought it might be freaking her out more than her prey. "You might not be able to go home, but you could live in the city without fear. All you have to do," Angi gave a slight curtsy and held out her hand, "Is sell her your soul."

Aski’s face was unreadable as she stared blankly at Angi's hand. Then she glanced at Uthecan's body and back to Angi's offer.

Realizing she'd need a bit more reassurance, Angi spoke again, trying but only partially succeeding to make her voice sound normal again. "Mira is a much better master than he was." Aski's eyes roved skeptically between Angi's blood soaked clothes and Gwen's unconscious body still sprawled on the other side of the corridor. Angi wished she could see exactly what Aski was thinking but she feared how Aski would react if her magic pushed the infernisk any closer to her fight or flight response. "She only sends her favorites to certain death." Angi answered, after a moment's thought, humor seemed like her most relatable tool. "And even we get to spend most of our time living normal lives. Mira keeps us safe," Angi said earnestly, a little warmth finally returning to her voice. "She could keep you safe too." 

Angi's heart swelled as Aski reached out her hand and shook. Magic erupted around the pair of them. A pink smoke billowed around them as Angi channeled Mira's magic. She felt all of her stress and adrenaline melt away as she bound Aski's Soul to her master's. Now she had truly won. As the smoke dissipated, Angi curtsied to Aski one final time before turning on her heels and walking over to her girlfriend. Angi gently scooped Gwen into her arms and began the long trek out of the gloom of the underground, leaving the evil she’d encountered there to rot in its tomb as she finally turned her face toward home. Aski could go or stay, it didn't matter, she wasn’t her problem.

"Let's go home Darling," she whispered. 

***

Gwen awoke with a start, her heart pounding in her ears as she searched wildly for her opponent! How long had she been unconscious? Where was Uthecan? Where was Aski? Did they leave her to hunt Angi? Where was Angi? Why... Why was she sitting in her bed wrapped in blankets and bandages?

"Hey, Hey hey hey," It was Angi's voice coming from beside her bed as her girlfriend crawled, from the chair where she'd been sleeping in her nightgown, on to the bed. "It's ok just breathe Gweny. Just breathe. It's all ok now."

Gwen's mind raced as Angi gently stroked her back and nuzzled her head into the crook of Gwen's shoulder. Her hair was damp and smelled of lavender as if she had just gotten out of the shower. But as the memories flooded back to her, and with them the pain of her injuries, Gwen found it impossible to enjoy Angi's closeness. Her head ached worse than any hangover ever could, the shattered bones in her arm, which was already tied in a sling over her shoulder, sounded like dice rolling whenever she moved, and her chest felt like someone had left a boulder on it. Gwen slowly lay back down. Angi gracefully followed her so they were lying side by side, just like they had been only a couple hours before. Just like they had been when they woke up for breakfast, except Gwen's body was shattered like glass, and Angi's face was... distant.

"Angi," Gwen breathed, surprised that she had gathered enough air in her lungs to even say that. "What happened?"

Angi rolled over onto her back but never let her hand leave Gwen's shoulder as she sighed, "I killed Uthecan."

"What!" Gwen hissed. "How?"

"I don't know really, I saw him standing over you and blacked out. Next thing I knew I had my hands buried in his chest." Angi's eyes glazed over and Gwen realized just how shaken she was. "He was disgusting, Gwenothin. There was nothing left of him when I woke up. Just a beaten pulp." Angi shuddered, "All I remember is my own laughter."

Gwen pulled Angi back against her grunting at the exertion but ignoring the crushing pain in her broken arm as she held Angi even tighter. "You've killed before, Darling. This time was no different."

Angi took a deep breath, letting Gwen's warmth calm her nerves. "But this time was different Gweny," She choked, her voice muffled by Gwen's embrace. "I enjoyed killing him, like really loved it. I was drenched in blood and you were lying in a heap in the corner and I couldn't do anything but smile like a maniac. I couldn't stop myself. I hated that feeling. It took Mira's magic to finally bring me back to normal."

Gwen wasn't sure what to say to that, so instead she said, "I'm sorry Angelisia. I'm sorry, for everything. I'm sorry I told you to stay outside. I'm sorry I said those things to you. I didn't mean it. I never should have tried to push you away. I obviously needed you, and I'm sorry for that. I should have done better. I should have been more careful. I never should have put you in a position extreme enough to snap you like that. I'm sorry that I somehow managed to ruin our anniversary even after Mira got hurt saving us from blowing up. I- I'm... I'm just sorry. I would be nothing without you, I would've died today without you." Gwen's words caught in her throat, "but I still spent all that time pushing you away."

Angi looked up horrified and propped herself on her hands as she caged Gwen beneath her. "This is not your fault Gwen. None of it. You were only trying to protect me and I love you for that, but you're not invincible either. You’re my favorite person in all the world. My only beloved. But above all else you are my partner, Gwenothin, and I can't be if you won't let me. We’re a team. No matter what we do, we do it together, and if you ever forget that again," Angi leaned down and kissed Gwen playfully before her face grew dramatically serious. "I will cut you off for at least a month."

Gwen didn't laugh, "I deserve more than a warning Angi," she said solemnly. "How are you so calm? You have every right to be screaming at me." Gwen turned her head away, "You have every right to leave."

Angi cocked her head and scrunched her nose in her signature puzzled expression. "I thought I watched you die today, Gwen. I always knew I loved you, but I didn't realize how much I truly needed you until I thought I'd already lost you. After experiencing that," Angi gently titled Gwen's face back to meet her eye. "I can't be mad at you, and I'm not going to leave either, Gwen. We all have monsters in our closets." Angi grinned and and scrambled off the bed to their actual bedroom closest, "and I'm willing to live with yours so long as you are willing to accept that despite your girlfriend’s overwhelming empathy and forgiveness," Angi paused for dramatic effect before pulling a heavy winter trench coat out of the closet and slipping it over her shoulders. It was a beautiful jacket, one of a matching set Mira had gotten them both when she sent them on a mission to the Fell. It was soft and trimmed with Luna Wolf fur from the far north of Requiem. It was a beautiful jacket, yes, but it also covered nearly every inch of Angi's skin, which, Gwen suspected, was why the little minx had chosen it. "She is also very petty and will be wearing this jacket to bed for the next week." Angi finished confirming Gwen's suspicions.

This time Gwen couldn't help but laugh as Angi buttoned the coat all the way up to her neck and smirked. "Won't that be very hot?" Gwen pointed out, still giggling, "It seems like more of a punishment for you than me."

Angi's smirk only widened. "That's true, both of us will be hot," Angi conceded as she slid into bed and threw all the covers onto Gwen's side, "but I assure you, only one of us will really be suffering." Angi leaned in one more time to kiss Gwen goodnight before rolling over to sleep. "At least until our make-up anniversary."

Gwen chuckled to herself one last time before pulling the covers up with her good arm and finally, finally, after one of the most painful and stressful days of her life, falling asleep.

"Sleep well, Darling." she murmured, answered only by the sounds of Angi's quiet sleeping.