Deal with the Devil

**Summary:** Lucius makes a deal with his father, but is he ready to pay the price?

**(We open up on Lucius, walking down a forest trail at midnight. The trees are gnarled and twisted, and there's no sound sans the crunching of dry leaves under his boots. As he walks deeper into the forest, it gets even darker, until...)**

**(A man seemingly carved from darkness appears before him, bone-white hair blowingn in a sudden wind. Lucius scowls.)**

**Lucius Shadow:** Chernobog.

**Chernobog:** Will you not call me Father?

**Lucius Shadow:** You aren't my father.

**(Chernobog faux-gasps, placing a hand on his chest.)**

**Chernobog:** Oh, child! How your cutting words wound me so! What has caused you to denounce me like this?

**Lucius Shadow:** Where to start? Destroying my town, killing everyone in it, bringing me back as your loyal assassin...why did you take me in, anyway? Oh, don't answer that—it's because I see the future, right?

**Chernobog:** *\*smirks\** You've grown a brain, that's for sure. Knowing exactly what will happen and when...well, I can't very well let the other gods have that for themselves, now can I?

**(His smirk drops, and he comes closer. Lucius shivers, but stands his ground.)**

**Chernobog:** Tell me what you saw.

**Lucius Shadow:** *\*confused\** What?

**Chernobog:** I know you willingly enough to know that whenever you willingly seek me out, it's because you foresaw doom. So tell me what you saw.

**Lucius Shadow:** I...er—

**Chernobog:** I am not asking you. I am *ordering* you.

**(The darkness begins to shift and writhe. Chernobog's pale eyes harden, and Lucius steps back.)**

**Chernobog:** Tell. Me. What. You. Saw.

**Lucius Shadow:** It's you...and other dark gods. You all attacked...

**Chernobog:** I see. I assume you came here because I'm the only one who will help you avert such a dark future?

**Lucius Shadow:** I...yes.

**Chernobog:** Well. I'd be more than happy to do *anything* for my child.

**(Lucius blows out a relieved breath.)**

**Lucius Shadow:** Thank the gods, I was worried you—

**Chernobog:** But!

**(Lucius snaps to attention, and a half-smile creeps across Chernobog's face.)**

**Chernobog:** Do not think I shall do this for free. I require a price to be paid.

**Lucius Shadow:** Wh...What do you want?

**(Chernobog takes a step closer.)**

**Chernobog:** Memories.

**Lucius Shadow:** ! Wh-what?! N-no! I just got my memories back! I can't—

**Chernobog:** Not *your* memories. The memories of every student in Ever After High. Royal. Rebel. Fairytale. Myth. I desire *all* of them.

**Lucius Shadow:** ...why?

**Chernobog:** Well, clearly, taking *yours* was pointless. Why not take everyone else's instead? Oh, and no trying to loophole out of this. I've done enough deals to be able to close all loopholes before there even were any.

**Lucius Shadow:** Fa— Chernobog, I—

**Chernobog:** Oh? Do my ears deceive me? Or do you desire for *everyone* you know to perish?

**Lucius Shadow:** ...no.

**Chernobog:** Then we have a deal.

**(He summons a contract.)**

**Chernobog:** Sign here.

**(Lucius stares at the contract. He then squeezes his eyes shut, mouths "I'm sorry" and quickly signs it.)**

**Chernobog:** *\*grins\** Then we have a deal.

**(He waves a hand, and the contract turns black and morphs into a large scythe.)**

**Chernobog:** I shall speak with my fellow dark gods about not attacking. Should I fail to persuade them, use this.

**(The scythe floats towards Lucius, who reaches up and grabs it with shaky fingers.)**

**Chernobog:** It disintegrates all it touches. The ashes eventually reform, but the person is left a blank slate. Little more than an empty cup, waiting to be filled...at which point you can just kill them normally. It should solve the dark god problem quite nicely.

**Lucius Shadow:** ...thank you.

**(Keeping his eyes averted from both Chernobog and the scythe, Lucius turns around and starts heading back. However, Chernobog calls after him.)**

**Chernobog:** Completely unrelated, how many futures have you seen since you joined their merry little band?

**Lucius Shadow:** Around...twenty thousand.

**Chernobog:** *\*smirks\** And in how many did you win?

**Lucius Shadow:** ... *\*barely above a whisper\* One.*

**(He leaves the area. Cut to EAH. He approaches Huli's bedroom window. He raises the scythe and is about to strike when Huli grabs his arm and breaks it.)**

**Huli Shang:** What did you do this time?

**Lucius Shadow:** !!! *OW!*

**(He wrenches his arm from her grasp and fumbles the door open. He stumbles down the hallway.)**

**Huli Shang:** Where are you going?!

**Lucius Shadow:** *\*through gritted teeth\** Talk to me *later,* when I'm not in *excruciating pain!*

**Huli Shang:** Hey! Wait!

**(She starts storming after him.)**

**Huli Shang:** We're not done here, you...you...

**(Huli's anger melts into confusion.)**

**Huli Shang:** Why am I so mad?

**(She sees a small cut on her cursed seal. She thinks back to the scythe)**

**Huli Shang:** Whatever he's done to me, it's blurry but I think I got it! Lucius!

**(Lucius kicks down the door to Eclipse's room and is about to strike her with the scythe when Huli tackles him out of the way and kicks the scythe away. She holds him down by the wrists and is hovering over him.)**

**Huli Shang:** WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!

**Lucius Shadow:** YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND I DON'T HAVE A CHOICE!

**Huli Shang:** JUST TELL ME! WHY CAN'T YOU JUST TELL ME WHY EVERYTHING IS SO BLURRY AND WHY YOU'RE ATTACKING EVERYONE?!

**Lucius Shadow:** Wait...it didn't work that way on you?!

**Huli Shang:** Something cut me on my seal...

**(Notices the cut is now gone and her memories have returned.)**

**Lucius Shadow:** It's the seal...It's protecting you and you're basically immune to almost all mind stuff...What am I gonna do, I can't do this. I can't just take everyone's memories! I made a deal with *him*. There has to be another way to stop them from coming for us....I only saw 1 future where we all came out alright, I saw all of us...grown...happy..with careers and families and the dark gods all away in some dark space dimension... I saw so many ways things went wrong. So many futures where all of us died. But this...this is the only way we win. I'm sorry, but...

**(He raises the scythe.)**

**Lucius Shadow:** This is for your own good.

**(He swings the scythe, Huli screams—)**

**(And the seal shatters.)**

**(There is no sound. Nothing except a slow heartbeat, Huli's eyes slowly widening, she is lying on the ground and sees Lucius running off. Her fox instincts kicked in and she immediately runs after him she also notices everyone is waking up confused.)**

**Huli Shang:** OI YOU! WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME?! WHY IS EVERYTHING BLANK AND WHY DO I WANT TO EAT YOU?!

**(She jumps and tackles him, sending them both flying out a window. They all land on the ground with a loud thud She notices the scythe is glowing. Her seal unfurls, her teeth turns into fangs and her nails turn into claws that dug into Lucius's wrists.)**

**Huli Shang:** DID YOU TAKE OUR MEMORIES?!

**Lucius Shadow:** YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND! THIS IS THE ONLY WAY TO PREVENT THEM FROM COMING FOR US! AND FOR US TO GET A FUTURE WE ALL DESERVE!

**Huli Shang:** THEN AREN'T YOU JUST MAKING US EASIER TARGETS FOR THEM AND GIVING THEM OUR BATTLE PLANS?! ALSO IF THAT'S SUCH A GOOD FUTURE WHY AREN'T WE DOING IT ON OUR OWN TERMS?!

**Lucius Shadow:** You wouldn't...You CAN'T understand! If you saw *half* of what I see *every day*, you'd be willing! You'd *want* me to do what I do! I just...I can't...

**(He wrenches his wrists from Huli's claws, causing them to bleed. He quietly looks at the woods, eyes dull.)**

**Lucius Shadow:** I just *can't.*

**(He begins to cry. Huli gets up and helps him up.)**

**Huli Shang:** Then do the right thing. Nothing is set in stone. The future you saw must've come from us taking it one day at a time, one battle plan after another. Trust your judgement. And I guess. I don't wanna eat you anymore......

**(Lucius looks at the scythe he musters up the strength and breaks it over his knee. Memories all return to the students. Chernobog appears.)**

**Chernobog:** Just as I suspected. You couldn't follow through....

**(He backhands Lcius away. Huli activates her fox form and gets on all fours. She claws the god across the face and gets in frront of Lucius, growling at Chernobog.)**

**Chernobog:** Fine then. Don't expect anymore mercy.

**(He disappears. Huuli reverts back to her normal form.)**

**Lucius Shadow:** What now? If we want that future, what can we do now?

**Huli Shang:** We get stronger. You saw all the ways we can die. But also the future where we can all be happy. Use that strength. Draw from it. I know we'll beat these bastards, it's possible.

**(She puts her hand on his shoulder and he smiles at her a little. Cut to Chernobog returning to Daji and Milton Grimm. she is sitting on Milton Grimm's lab and caressing his face.)**

**Daji:** Shall we attack then? Chernobog?

**Chernobog:** You can say that. Follow through on your promise old man.

**(Milton Grimm gulps as Daji lays her head on his cheast and the screen fades black.)**