How to Save a Life (Starring Sammy and Tooki)

He hated The Pit. It reeked of alcohol and the faintest whiff of brimstone for anyone that knew what they were smelling for. Instead of thinking about those little details, he downed the dark colored whiskey in a single gulp. ”Another.” Was all he said to the bartender, more being poured into his little glass. Something that made it easier to forget pain. Physical and emotional it would seem, the slow healing gash in his side bothering him more and more. Luckily the black leather jacket and white t-shirt covered up the bandages stained with black blood. From supernatural detective that helped people to felon that served under an evil pumpkin demon. Just thinking about it made him disgusted, as if life just didn’t get enough of screwing him over. What else would happen, he didn’t know but hopefully it would actually be something good. Aside from his brother somehow breaking in and setting the damn place on holy fire. Honestly only two of the signs made sense to him, though one of them weren’t even in an earthly language.

Now that would have been a pain in the ass.

At least that pumpkin headed bastard could enjoy himself. He and his demon friend were the reason he was dragged into this. Glaring at his drink as if that would somehow cause it to fuse with him through osmosis. Instead the glass shattered in his rigid fingers. Sending shards of glass and droplets of booze splattering everywhere without bothering the flesh that broke it. ”Shit.” He cursed under his breath, looking down at the palm that had broken the glass for a few moments before back up to MAC who looked less than pleased with having it broken. As always he didn’t toss the cambion out, instead just returning to serving this obviously out of place girl. It didn’t take someone with an intimate knowledge of someone to know when they didn’t belong. Just looking at her he could see that she was just too pure to be in this demon bar.

So did many others. The depraved and vile could smell innocence a mile away, some of them even hungering for that. A low tremor shook the bar, another one happening but he didn’t know what brought that about. Maybe the bar didn’t quite like the pure individual that had walked in among them. A few approached her, most looking like your typical bikers types save for the fact that they didn’t look human. Strange, splotchy colored skin that stood out enough. Even still most would have confused them for woefully discolored metahumans rather than what they really were. Ignoring the fact the shards of glass were already being consumed into the floor, he stood up as the three to four men did their own kind of converging.

One of them grinned, teeth uncomfortably sharp. “Well, don’t you look out of place little lady.” His voice was rough like sand paper across the ear drums. He shivered just hearing that.

“Yeah.” One of the others agreed in a not so unique fashion.

”Alright, gonna stop you there.” He chimed in, pitch black eyes narrowed behind his shades.

”And who would you be? Lookin like some kind of douche bag with the glasses on here.” Their leader seemed to jeer, his pack of hyenas cackling to the lame joke. Samael didn’t laugh or even smile. Just letting his orange brows furrow.

”Someone who came here for a drink. Not to deal with some stupid demons thinking they could get an easy whatever.” More laughs, as if he had said the most novel thing in existence.

”Listen here pal, we don’t wanna have to rough you up.” They did. ”But if you don’t back down we’ll have to.” Morons really. They didn’t know what or who they were dealing with. MAC however didn’t look too happy with this.

”Your funeral.” A fist shot out, catching one in their jaw and sending them rocketing across the bar. Colliding with the wall with a resounding crash.

The impacted was solid reverberating up his arms, while the force sent the demon across the bar. At least he knew he wasn’t loosing his touch anytime soon. Didn’t need to hear his half siblings giving him hell for getting weaker. Even still, he felt the sting  that came from his wound jostling. That slight sensation of the wound opening once again. This was why he hated angels and their damn smiting the evil bit of things. Aside from a glare however Mac didn’t do anything, though he had a feeling he would need to deal with it later. Maybe get kicked out of the bar for a day until it didn’t feel nauseous from the thought of him walking through those doors again. It had happened more than once, which meant he wasn’t all that bothered by it. There were plenty of no name bars where he could drown his thoughts away, some of them also supernaturally inclined.

He looked to the poor woman...girl? He couldn’t tell how old she was but he could tell she was frightened by the sudden bout of violence. Not many normal people tended to react to the outbreaks of bar fights. She was cute in the way that J pop stars tended to be despite the fact if he touched her he was afraid she would break. That was how many humans were, even the greatest of body builders. Despite how much he wanted to be human he had to admit they were pretty weak. That was what made her actually stepping up to the fray a little odd, as if she could do something.

One of the demons slung a punch at him and caught his jaw. One of the barstools came to greet his body, splintering under the sudden heavy weight. A low hissing breath came between clenched teeth, Samael springing quickly to his feet while ignoring the pain. The taste if bitter black blood pilled on the back of his mouth as he noted something else.

That weak looking girl punching someone across the room.

”Well that happened.” Another fist coming, this time the cambion ducking out of the way and bringing the back of his pale hand across their face harshly. Their head went through the bar with a loud smash. He batted away a few fragments from his jacket and kicked the down demon to show they likely didn’t want to get up. These were just small fries, ones that even their lords were ashamed of. Things that he could beat without an issue. Maybe that was why they were stuck drinking their lives away in a demon bar. ”Not the first time I knocked someone out because they were being a jackass.” Was all he said to Tyuki, sounding in his own opinion a little too gruff.

Not that he minded coming off as the anti-heroic type. Honestly a younger him would have thought that was cool, but age brought with it cynacism. ”Sorry bout the bar MAC. I’ll pay ya back.”

“With what money?” Was all he said, giving him that same look he always did when he got into a fight. The doubt was so palpable that he could have smelled it like blood. That was when one of the demons ran up to the girl, grabbing her and causing a chain of events. His eyes widened, muscles tensing as he prepared to move and then the burst of light. His eyes immediately began to burn. Not just any burn, but as if divine light had been released throughout the room.

Holy shit she’s an angel.

The cambion let a low groan ripple through his throat as he was then filled with the immediate nausea and then pain. There was no chair to greet him and he collided with the floor, futile attempts to shield his eyes failing miserably. All he knew was that by the time he could see a little, the girl was already being thrown out by the bar. With fingers braced against the broken bar he rose to his feet,, a few tears welling up to his eyes and one of them streaking invisibly down his cheek.

”What’s wrong bird boy? Sad the angel girl is go..” His joke was cut off by a kick set square in the groin.

”I’m out Mac. Just throw me out wherever the angel girl was tossed out.” The bartender said nothing but uttered a gruff affirmation as he twisted the crystal bar door knob. The scent of hell gave way to the scent of Chicago, all pollution and wind. Honestly it smelled nice. Reminded him of when his adopted family would visit when they were looking forward to doing a little shopping. Emilia always loved this place.

Except he found himself looking face to face with the angel girl herself and the bar behind him had changed rather abruptly. He really hated being teleported without prior warning. It really chapped his ass. ”Surprised to see me again?” He asked sardonically, stepping through and closing the bar behind him. ”Not often I see someone of your kind walk into The Pit. So what brought an angel around? Doubt it was the atmosphere.” He questioned without preamble, already curious what was on about that. He drew a cigarette from his back pocket, and lit it with a beaten bic lighter.

The womans immediate reaction of surprise was one that he expected. Even when people were expecting him they tended to react less than favorably and here likely he looked like some kind of creep stalking her. Flames danced over the end of the cigarette, bringing it to light and with a drag he felt the buzz if nicotine light his body up. A subtle sensation that for a moment let him forget the pain that was pulsing through his side. There were always more important things to worry about, like how an angel actually had managed to breach his damned sanctuary.

That was when the angel girl began to deny what she was. That likely meant she was just a divinely blessed nephilim or somehow a youngin. At the very least that didn’t mean he was dealing with someone that had the whole age to properly damn him. Also that whole smiting thing would have been a pain in his ass.

He blew a cloud through his nostrils as like a great dragon, smoke fading into the air. ”Sure you aren’t.” he said with a wry smirk, seemingly teaching out and plucking the feather dangling from golden locks. Now pressing it between index and thumb finger, feeling the texture of the cream colored feather. Even the smell of it was something that reeked of the divine. An essence that did not mingle well with the very stuff that coursed through his black blood. Finally she mentioned looking for someone, after having the bullshit stripped away.

”If you’re looking for someone I might be able to help.” With cigarette settled into the corner of his mouth Samael let the girl pass and followed. The two of them walked out the mundane bar, likely just talking about whatever without any real issue. Not like he expected people to call the cops just because they started talking about the logistics of how demons worked. People talked about far stranger in public without any of it being true. Besides, he had plenty of reasons that throw off suspicion that wouldn’t sound like bullshit.

The angel girl tucked hair behind her ear and revealed the face. One he had seen before, even if only through posters on a rock wall. Adam’s daughter had taken to listening to a j-pop band lately, so he could recognize the face from that. What was a j-pop idol doing in a demonic bar? ”You walked into a bar and didn’t even know what it was? Wow now that is a level of unlucky I haven’t seen yet.” He shook his head, tapping away the ashes from his cigarette. ”That was a demon bar. Where the things that go bump in the night grab a pint and unwind. Also where I go to drink until I forget my problems.” He didn’t let the conversation linger on that, instead turning it back to Tyuki.

”So who were you looking for? Must not be anyone good if you have to come around a place like that.” He was true enough in that statement. True monsters like himself and Jack were there. They were alone enough to speak for now, but he seemed to want to get this conversation into a walking format.

Samael could see that she didn’t know what she was dealing with. While it was not unheard of for a wicked human to walk into the bar, an angel unknowingly doing so was another story. He would have known considering his half brother would have been able to do so as well of that were the case. Instead that was the only place he could go where he was not constantly ambushed by the damned nephilim. Another drag, bringing with it the same temporary sensation he had been seeking. A finger wagged in his face, taking a place where nothing should have been. At least not when he was in this rare kind of mood.

”Yeah, that was as real as you or I.” he said with a small nod, turning from the angel girl and blowing the smoke from his mouth. ”As for the hows I can’t tell ya. Maybe you were doing something particularly naughty and the bar sensed that. It tends to only let the wicked in so don’t know what happened there.” He knew he was a bad person, the police knew and everyone that read the article about him escaping prison likely knew that too. Obviously they forgot what he had done. No one ever took cults seriously, until they found signs of the fucked up things.

”Demons, vampires and other creepy crawlies. The real stuff too.” He pressed down the corner of his shades, revealing what looked to be black holes where his eyes should be. Except on second glance one could see they were his eyes, lacking in white sclera and reflecting light much like any other eye. Just not looking as human as one would expect. Honestly most people tended to scream or chant verses at him once they saw the eyes. The metahuman defense rarely worked ever since people watched that damned Supernatural show.

”So you got a name for this person you’re looking for? I’m pretty good at finding people myself and I might be able to help you.” The two had been walking for what felt like minutes, Samael’s hands buried into his pockets now that the cigarette had been used up. The faint whiff of brimstone went through the air, something his senses could pick up with how sharp they were. Someone had left  The Pit the same way they did but it was faint. Enough so that he didn’t pay it much mind. Instead he was apparently helping this angel girl.

Samael expected surprise but instead he got something else entirely. The female revealing eyes that mirrored his own, glowing a brilliant white. Looking ponderously at Tyuki, wondering if he were looking into a mirror. It beat looking into silver eyes which were brimming with murderous intent. An angel with eyes of white looking to a demon with eyes that mirrored the deepest darkness. ”Feel like i’ve heard that name before. Names Samael. Pretty ironic I know but it’s mine so i’m sticking to it.” He explained, remembering the times that people had looked at him even stranger for that name. A name of evil as some would have called it.

Her eyes faded back to normal but his remained those damnable color. It filled him with an envy much akin to her irises. ”I see. So you’re looking for someone you don’t even know the name of? That makes things difficult.” His tone was questioning, confused in a sense. Why would someone do something so aimless like that? Did this girl really have no end goal or was he just being too hard on her? Looking down to the hand, he sighed and took it. Shaking the extended limb with what a human would have considered a firm grip but it was nothing to him. Retracting his hand, Samael buried the hands back into his pocket as the mention of finer bars came up.

”Well I don’t know many fine bars in the area, but could probably look it up on google.” The internet had many uses, one of them being finding places that were good to drink at. His thoughts had begun to drift towards where to go the scent of rotting food wafted through the air. His response was a sudden desire to vomit.

The ginger cambion turned to the shark demon, eyes narrowing in slits behind his sunglasses.  ”I heard something about sharks smelling blood but this is pretty sad.” He snapped, feeling through the glamour that cloaked him for the dagger strapped to his side. Hidden from mundane sight and even the sight of most supernatural beings. Luckily true sight wasn’t a common attribute among those he dealt with. Looking to the angel, he noticed her magical girl transformation.

A shroud of nano-machines formed over her and created an outfit that fit more in anime than in real life. ”Didn’t know I was working with Sailor Moon.” The brilliant flash hurt his eyes even behind his sunglasses, causing a small amount of moisture to form around the corners.  Two approached him, these unimpressive things that he had a feeling would be more annoying than anything else. Lately he was even beginning to feel a little confident that he could deal with these two.  

Breaking through the veil of illusion his dagger appeared within his hand, inscribed with glowing red runes. ”Don’t think this is a really smart strategy here guys.”He purred, flipped the weapon in his hand.

“Tough talk from a bird.” The rocky skinned one growled, fingers appearing to become jagged spikes. Now that looked spooky. All at once he stepped forward, metal like a flash gliding through the air and cutting through the rocky chest with a crack. Stepping back he avoided the retaliation, blood splattering a brimstone scented ichor across the sidewalk. Whipping around, the blade threatened the red skinned one who reacted quickly enough to avoid.  “You son of a bitch!” The rocky demon growled, stepping back with their skin likely burning.

”Wasn’t bullshitting you guys.” He responded, shadows rising around the red skinned and slamming them into the other with a crack.

The two demons came together with a resounding crash, followed by what he assumed was the sound of bones creaking and cracking under the strain of impact. Both of them looked pretty dazed from the attack, one more than the other from what he could tell. The scent of blood was burning his nostrils. As if they had plunged fire into his nose, a fire that actually burned him. His lips curled into an annoyed snarl, fingers tightening around the handle of the weapon within his hand. He would let Tyuki deal with the rest as what looked to be her own elemental attack slammed one into the ground.

The one composed of stone seemed to however have something against him. Blood flowing from the deep gash within his chest, eyes burning with hatred he had seen many times before. ”Mad over that little cut? Need to threaten me with more than a little incompetence.” That really did it because they came forward with a fist whistling through the air. His body shifted, moving out of the way of the strike that seemed to skirt the front of his shirt. Bringing a leg forward, a kick slammed into the others leg which caused their stance to break somewhat.

The impact rang up through his body, this painful procession of vibrations that he felt even in his teeth. Despite being able to throw their balance somewhat, they recovered quick enough to reach back and slam a fist into his stomach. Now that hurt more than he thought it would. Knocking the breath from him and leaving the cambion winded for the span of a second. He skidded back a few inches, knowing that this would leave a bruise afterwards. It also made the demon grow overconfident in their situation.

With two fists raised together like a mallet, that left him with less than a second to react. Flipping the weapon within his hand and pushing forward,  faster than the other had expected he should have been able to move. The dagger ripped through the rocky demons side, blood splashing outwards as they seemed to let out a pained sound and fell rather quickly. Spinning quickly, he kicked them in the back of the knee and then slammed their head into the concrete in what he assumed would knock them out. Wiping away the rancid blood onto his jeans before turning to Tyuki.

”Well maybe we could tie these guys up and see if they know anything about that guy you’re looking for. We did meet them in a bar afterall, so that wouldn’t hurt.” He offered, looking to Tyuki with a single arced brow as if letting her decide if this was the right move.

Samael took a deep breath once the conflict had settled itself out and the demons were finding themselves tied by what looked to be lamp post. Deep black eyes widening in the next approximation of shock, metal loudly creaking in protest while bending.  The motion was made and he helped the angelic woman round up the demons while she muttered something about rooftops being a good place to do an interrogation. ”There are worse places to have an interrogation,” He noted, looking up before looking back around them with usual skepticism. ”I can get there myself. Would fly, but...well I like my shirt where it is.” He noted, feeling the wings against his back desiring to break free but he didn’t have an extra shirt to waste on that. Looking to the hand and then the jump he would likely have to make, the cambion shrugged.

”Well, since you showed me yours I guess i’ll have to show you mine,” Removing his jacket and the shirt, leaving him shirtless with a defined enough shape, slight patch of orange hair on his stomach and chest alongside  black feathered wings wrapped tightly against his back. All at once unfurling, releasing a vast shadow over the two of them as they stretched out the tension of being locked in place for so long. Looking to the demons that she had lifted with one hand, he then looked to Tyuki, holding both shirt and jacket bunched up within one free hand.  ”Well it looks like you don’t need my help.” He noted with a smirk, wings flapping as he ascended to the rooftop of the nearest building, landing with a faint thud.

Stretching out  limbs and his wings with the tension quickly unwinding. ”So how we doing this interrogating thing? I have a few ideas but that involves a bit of...well punching and faces until they spit up teeth or talk.” He noted, pacing a bit while looking down at the people that had gone out of their way to chase him down.  They either had something against him or this woman. ”probably a little immoral, but no ones ever accused me of being moral.” He paced around the demons, before kneeling before the shark one. Flashing canines in a threatening fashion.