Chapter Text
A mysterious man by the name of Prof. K. Solomon had invited you the once in a lifetime opportunity to contribute to studies in demonology at the laboratories of the Royal Academy of Demonology (RAD). You packed your bags and showed up to the dormitories trembling with both excitement and fear. What kinds of demons were you going to come in contact with? Were they summoned here once in a while or are they contained here? What could even go wrong in a place like this?! You were dying to know.
A few weeks went by and you got a feel for how things work around here. Some of the lowest demons are contained here while more high-tier demons are summoned for brief moments to analyze their behavior. On your one month anniversary of working here, the Director and Administrator of Research (DAR) himself, Professor K. Solomon, approached you with yet another once in a lifetime opportunity, this time to you directly. He finally explained the real reason he wanted you here: he needed another supervisor to work on top-secret research that was hidden away from everyone but three other researchers: Project DEUS. Unfortunately, one of the three researches mysteriously… disappeared. He determined that out of everyone else he recently recruited, you were the best candidate to fill their spot. After signing away what felt like your life and soul, you had some of the highest security clearance in the laboratories at only a month in. You were to work solely on this mysterious project of his and nothing else. All of your new friends and colleagues had now been replaced by two angelic elite staff members and the DAR. You even had to move dormitories to “Purgatory Hall,” dorms for staff with top-secret clearance like yourself. Even the DAR lived here.
You make it to the entrance to the underground facility off-site and step into the elevator. The doors close and open once again to a hall with a few offices. “Prof. Simeon,” “Researcher Luke,” and… “Prof. Lilith.” Huh. Must be the missing supervisor. Whatever, it’s your office now. You continue forward into what appears to resemble a pressurization chamber you might see in a sci-fi space movie. The metal door behind closes and locks behind you.
Another door in front of you opens after a few minutes, revealing a stark white hallway and nine doors. Slowly, you wander further inside. The door labeled “1” has faint whistling coming from it. A panel opens beside the door, prompting you to punch in a code with a card-reader beside it while displaying a screen. The screen depicts a demon with a large, black silhouette sitting on the floor away from the door. Their exact shape is blurry through the camera, yet another great accomplishment for modern technology. They appear to hear your approach and stop whistling, turning to face the door. “Professor?” They mumble to themselves as it’s broadcasted to you, “I’d think you would have forgotten about me by now.”
You step back, allowing the screen to move back into the wall. Must be a motion detector. You walk down the hall to the next room on the opposite side of the wall labeled “2”. You can hear the jingling of metal objects as you approach the next panel. More keypads, card readers, and camera feed. The jingling sounds rushed as the demon comes into view. This one has a pair of black and white wings sprouting from their back as well as white hair. They’re facing toward the camera as they hide what they’re doing away from your eyes behind his back. They then appear to struggle with a set of handcuffs binding their hands together behind their back. “Hey, Doc. Mind taking these things off? Or better yet letting me leave? I got debts to pay.”
You ignore their request per protocol. You head down to the next door back on the left side of the hallway. Demon “3” apparently is kept here. This one is talking loudly to themselves and laughing. The moment you approach the panel, prompting another code and card, the audio feed suddenly erupts into a loud shriek. “Hey! Human! Leave me alone!” This one is a demon with a long, scaly tail and purple hair. They’re chained to the floor like a dog. Per their request, and your protocol, you leave them alone.
This continues for some time. Neat door number “4” was lots of aggressive slamming and banging against the walls. It contained a blonde demon chained to the wall with hands chained behind their back. This one also had a long tail that appeared armored and sharp, fading to a glowing green tip. The noises you were hearing was them trying to force themselves through the wall by slamming their body weight into their shoulder into the wall. They also used their armored tail multiple times. “Why am I here you fucking quack?! Fuckin’ answer me!”
Door “5” contained a small demon with strawberry blonde hair and two pairs of black wings. This one was contained like “4”, but this one was also blindfolded. “If you’re with Solomon, I don’t wanna talk. I would do anything if you just let me go. This air is terrible for my skin!” They whine.
Towards door “6,” you could hear quiet sobbing. A very large demon laid curled up into a ball facing the corner. Their hair is feiry red and a pair of wings like that of a fly’s twitch behind their back. The panel comes up and they turn around. Their arms are bound behind them not just in cuffs, but as if they’re wearing a straitjacket. What looks like a dog muzzle is also covering their mouth. “I’m so hungry,” He whines, “Can I please just have one more snack? More rations? Please?”
Reluctantly, you keep going. Door “7” is silent. Even when you open the panel, which you think makes an audible noise, the demon inside doesn’t respond. Their fluffy black tail doesn’t even twitch. If it weren’t for the subtle movement of their breathing, you’d think they were dead. Asleep, probably. This one appears to literally be strapped to the floor.
Then come the two other doors not given numbers. Door “A” has a tanned demon with brown hair inside, multiple black and gold wings seem to wrap around him as they look upwards towards the camera. Reluctantly, they wave to you. Door “B” has another demon with a long, smooth tail and black and green hair. “Welcome back, Professor,” They say, “Is everything alright? You’ve been away for some time.”
You step away and make your way back to the transition room. Passing through, you return to your new office. A clipboard was placed on your dusty old desk. The top page read as follows:
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PROCEDURE FOR INTRODUCTORY OVERVIEW
XXMAY2X
Royal Academy of Demonology -- Site 111 -- Project DEUS
Order given directly by Prof. K. Solomon: The following instructions are to be conducted within two weeks. Recommended pace: one introductory overview per day over 9 days. Breaks permitted. You will not perform overviews more than three times in a day.
You will don proper minimum personnel protective equipment (PPE) before engaging with any subjects. These subjects in particular are highly unpredictable and dangerous. The lack of PPE was a probable cause in the disappearance of the researcher you are replacing: Prof. Esther H. Lilith.
You will not perform these steps without a standby. [ Researcher Luke ] has offered to be your standby and will be available [ after 1200 ]. Contact info available in DAR Office [ 29A ].
CONTENTS OF INTRODUCTORY OVERVIEW
- Introductory Interview: Bring subject into Multi-Purpose Room (MPR). If subject is not permitted free-roam and refuses lead and/or subject refuses cooperation, interviews may be conducted within cell, given that proper measures are taken for interviews. Brief subject on the following actions to be taken. (Duration: 10 minutes)
- Physical Summary: Non-invasive physical assessment. Do not remove restraints on subjects during the assessment. Ensure that subject appears healthy (eg. eyes bright and clear, no complaints of any physical pain, no unusual discoloration not otherwise noted, clear airways, typical heartbeat, etc.). (Duration: 30 minutes)
- Magical Summary: Subject will be brought to MPR and assessed on the quality of magic spells casted on targets. Exercise extreme caution for subjects who require >50% magic inhibitors. Perform steps in the Scheduled Magical Assessment procedure only up to 1.D.xv. (Duration: 1.5 hours)
- “Icebreaker” Interview: Subject will be interviewed by the Professor to provide a more hands-on introduction to said subject to understand typical behaviors up close. Second researcher may not step outside of the room and is to be armed with a fully charged Emergency Magic Inhibitor Ray (EMIRa). Neither interviewer will wear nametags or address each other by name, only by title (Researcher, Professor, etc.). Subject is to only be referred to by the symbol on its door. “A” and “B” in particular are pronounced “Alpha” and “Beta” respectively. After interview has been conducted, subject may be returned to its cell. (Duration: 30 minutes MIN, 2 hours MAX)
Total duration of interview will last no longer than 3 hours 30 minutes. If subject becomes non-compliant and is unable to be interviewed or assessed at all, make note in the Misc. Log before returning it to its cell. If subject attacks, cease all assessments and subdue subject as soon as possible. Return subject to cell and follow steps to
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What the hell were you about to get into?!