Don't Threaten Me With a Good Time

"This is hell, huh?" Brendon says, walking around with a certain swagger that Patrick and Tyler were no strangers to.

"Yes." Patrick says with a certain level of composure.

The demons stare at this new being with a variation of awe and confusion. It's as though time stood still; not a single soul moved.

Patrick notices this prolonged pause. He clears his throat before saying, "Everyone back to work." He walks over to Brendon, "Please come with me, I can show you more." These words slipped out of the yellow eyed demon like he had some sort of plan. He didn't.

"Alrighty." Brendon says.

Tyler watches Patrick and Brendon start to head down the main hall. For some reason, he found himself to still be shell shocked by this whole situation. Patrick looks back and gives a signal for Tyler to come with. The red eyed demon jumps briefly before quickly walking to catch up with them.

"This is the main hall," Patrick starts, "It branches off to several different parts of hell. Straight ahead however is where I am stationed just to keep everything in order."

"Ah, so you're the big boss of this place." Brendon says, giving Patrick a 'playful' punch in the shoulder. It actually hurt.

"Guess you could say that." Patrick says.

Brendon looks back, locking eyes with Tyler, "Hey, you do anything cool?"

Tyler swallows hard, "I, uh, just kinda give Patrick updates and bring him important documents. Stuff like that."

"Mm, kay." Brendon says, immediately turning back around.

In that moment Tyler gets the hint that now even in hell, Brendon still doesn't like him much.

They reach the end of the hall into the main bureau. Patrick notices Brendon's eyes widen.

"Holy shit, this place...." He looks around, "is fucking dope."

"Yeah, it's... nice." Patrick's brows furrow watching Brendon walk rather quickly over to his chair.

"Is this seat taken?" Brendon asks. Before Patrick can speak, Brendon puts a finger up signaling silence.

"Nope." He concludes before sitting in Patrick's chair. He begins to laugh. The progression of chuckles reverberate off the walls.

Patrick's jaw clenches, now feeling utterly embarrassed. The couple demons standing in the room begin to look at Patrick. It always came back to the yellow eyed demon's authority and management. One thing out of place and the souls trusted that Patrick would maintain order swiftly and strictly. This was in the case of any being defying his order, which never happened.

He couldn't have the demons question the single higher authority. No way in this hell would Brendon take his fucking place.

"Brendon, I'm sorry, but you're not allowed to-" Patrick gets cut off.

"Oh Patty, it was so irritating playing equal levels with you. Even for two fucking seconds. Look at you and I.... it's clear as fuckin day who should sit here."

Patrick's body goes stiff; his blood starting to boil, "Brendon," A pause as the slate colored demon actually becomes silent, "I am willing... to cater to your requests. Your desires. You're fresh to this place. From one yellow eyed demon to another- from a friend to a friend, I offer you my help." Those words slipping from his lips tasted bitter. He had never had to say what someone wanted to hear... not in this establishment anyway. He knew his gut instinct had to be right and there was no other way. Not now, anyway...

"Hmm" Brendon starts, looking fairly intrigued, "good. And you're right. I wouldn't know the first step. So tell me."

A small sense of relief washes over Patrick. Any hold he could have on Brendon would be essential.

"As a yellow eyed demon, we are considered the leaders. Every other demon looks to us for guidance. For order and authority. We tell them where to go and what to do. We oversee everything."

"We're not the same, Trick."

"In their eyes, we are. There used to be this idea that if your horns were bigger, that meant you were of higher stature. This isn't how that works, not anymore."

A chill runs up Tyler's spine. No demons nowadays would even think that. Brendon seemed much more ancient than even his physical presence exuded. He questions how Patrick could even emit such a calm demeanor.

"You and I are equals, and you will still give me things I want?" Brendon says with a devious smile.

"Yes." Patrick replies.

"This..." Brendon points in Patrick's direction, "is why I like you."

Patrick has the urge to choke the fucker. Never in a billion years would he imagine Brendon to be such a power hungry jackass in the afterlife. The yellow eyed demon attempts to put on a smile.

Brendon relaxes into his chair, "So, what is my first order of business?"

"Your first order of business is to relax. I can take care of what comes our way. It's all boring, technical, and routine."

Brendon grimaces, "Ew, yeah you do that." He proceeds to position himself sideways on Patrick's chair; legs crossed and eyes falling shut.

Patrick goes over to Tyler and briskly takes him down the hallway. He makes sure they're far enough away so Brendon can't hear.

The yellow eyed demon begins to pace, "This... is absolutely..."

"Shocking, crazy, insane!" Tyler exclaims, "He's a demon we've never seen before and he threatened to take your place instantly. What if he has powers we've never seen, what if he-"

"I can't even fucking begin to contemplate his powers. In fact, I don't want to! Him just barging in with his stupid fucking ego, sitting in my chair thinking his ass belongs there which it fucking doesn't." He shakes his head, "Part of me wants to just fight him, force my authority."

"I don't," Tyler says in a quiet voice, "I don't think that's the best idea."

Patrick stops pacing, "No..." He pauses, "It's not." He takes a second to think instead of continuing to blow off steam.

Tyler stands silent attempting to think as well. Unfortunately, the panic he was experiencing overpowered any clear sense of thought.

Patrick turns to Tyler, "We'll have to play this by ear. But one thing we need to have remain constant is his power of authority. We can't allow him to change a thing. Sure, giving him what he wants every once and awhile will be annoying as fucking shit, but it will be something to hold him over just long enough for us to just figure out what to do."

Tyler takes a deep breath, "Okay, yeah I think that can be do-able. But what about the other demons? They'll start questioning things, especially ones in close proximity to this facility."

"No, no, they won't stop listening to me just cuz someone else sits in my damn chair. They'll see me still placing orders and organizing things. I can torture or kill anyone who tries to defy my orders. Nothing... will change."

"Sounds good, sir."

"Let's get back, just in case he's wondering where we went." Patrick finishes before they head back inside the main bureau.

Patrick's jaw slightly drops at the sight in front of them. Three of the black eyed demons set to clean the room are plastered in various ways to Brendon's body. One on the ground stroking his leg, another having an arm draped around his neck while polishing his horns, and the third tracing circles on his palm.

They were praising him like he was made of gold. The definite power Patrick thought he had over Brendon... was now beginning to feel foreign.