Harry Dresden

And since Dresden wanted be that way about it all.

He didn't answer or explain as his colossi broke free of rime, again, to put hand into the office through the open balcony doors. Had the dexterity and accuracy to do that without destroying the room to the building the room was in. Picking Dresden up off his chair without taking the chair, even.

He/it then proceeded to hurl Dresden like a baseball--YEET!

‘You will die alone.’

Harry shivered and awoke two hours later and with a aching back from sitting too damn long. He was breathing heavily and with beads of sweat dripping down his face. Hero? Don’t make him laugh. He felt like nothing more than dirt, lower than dirt.

Came back before the human woke. He'd gotten some kind of burn ointment applied and applied plasters and such. Then gotten to the mountain of obscure paperwork he'd let pile up the last couple of days.

Yet here Lucifer sat. Mantle ready and used everyday for quite a while. Was it fate that made Lucifer not lose his mind? Was he using the power more responsibly than the others? Or was it merely a matter of time before he too would be on the receiving end of total madness?

Then of course there was Harry’s own mantle. His own crown of thorns he wore. He could have been anything. Could have even been evil, or worse. Harry could have grown up to be a complete and total asshole, against the grain if you will. Instead, he became a fair, kind, just person who cares waaaaay too much about everything else except himself. To protect and keep the world safe from harm, even if it meant his death. Was the Mantle chosen for him by fate? Or did Harry make it himself?

Didn’t realize Philosophy 101 was in session.

“Mantle, shmantle. All I know is Burger King has some food with my name on it.” He gave Lucifer a knowing smile. Subject changed, but the smile indicated he thought much harder on it than he should have.

But some things happened and it had reeled back in.

Couldn't all be him. Even if his ego would like to think so.

"Yes. You would have." A simple affirmative statement. Appreciating that he wasn't being lied to. Harry would have. He would have come here, money or not, and faced off in Hell with a speck of Sloth's influence to be sure the world didn't collapse in on itself due to some tipped scales.

"Get some rest." Advised. The wizard earned himself a boon. He'd live.

‘You will die alone.’

Harry shivered and awoke two hours later and with a aching back from sitting too damn long. He was breathing heavily and with beads of sweat dripping down his face. Hero? Don’t make him laugh. He felt like nothing more than dirt, lower than dirt.

Or at least that was the lie he was telling himself.

The sight wasn’t working even in the slightest. Chances were that this being was probably normal. Okay, good, that means things were pretty simple then. Maybe he was altruistically hitting on him. Okay! Good enough for Harry. What’s good for the goose is good for the gander.

She got up once she finished her food and dug her keys out to go out the door with him. Find her truck a little walk away.

Then a war torn gruff undead who also doesn’t have an age old agenda to hurt people? Sign him up. He’d slept in weirder places in his time.

"Suit yourself." About the luudes. He was going to take out bottle and pop a couple himself to chew on like fucking M&Ms. Crunching like that cat on tiktok. He was in not an inconsiderable amount of pain seeing as some of his flesh had melted off. More than that, he wanted a little bit of the lost sensation of being divorced from his feelings back.

To the question, he balked slightly. Not be him? The Devil? Lucifer? Just a joe-schmo? Mortal?

"I did mortality for a few months. It was...fine." He guessed. "But I writhed against the coil. I'm not suited to live a life...that isn't...this." He roved his stare around, seeing the plane rather than the room. He was made this way, wasn't he? To Fall and Suffer. Or, maybe not. Maybe he was one of those many flaws his Father hadn't fathomed. Or...not. Still part of some larger, twisted, grand plan that one could go mad trying to decipher.

"And, anyway, if it isn't...me...then it's someone else. The Mantle will find another." Somewhat aware the Wizard knew something of the Reality beyond the Veil. "And I'll be back. Same as I ever was."

For all he really knew, it'd happened before. Another Name, another existence, another life. He withdrew from the line of thought. Nothing was ever so linear as it seemed from the ground level. He had enough of a streak of insanity to not flirt with it beyond the knowing. Outside of his purview was entire other Creations that were as true as the one that involved him. A thousand other gods and spirits responsible for existence that weren't him and his. That's all he really had to deal with on the day to day.

Yet here Lucifer sat. Mantle ready and used everyday for quite a while. Was it fate that made Lucifer not lose his mind? Was he using the power more responsibly than the others? Or was it merely a matter of time before he too would be on the receiving end of total madness?

Then of course there was Harry’s own mantle. His own crown of thorns he wore. He could have been anything. Could have even been evil, or worse. Harry could have grown up to be a complete and total asshole, against the grain if you will. Instead, he became a fair, kind, just person who cares waaaaay too much about everything else except himself. To protect and keep the world safe from harm, even if it meant his death. Was the Mantle chosen for him by fate? Or did Harry make it himself?

Didn’t realize Philosophy 101 was in session.

“Mantle, shmantle. All I know is Burger King has some food with my name on it.” He gave Lucifer a knowing smile. Subject changed, but the smile indicated he thought much harder on it than he should have.

"I have quaaludes." He had the lost recipe and a personal manufacturer. "If it'll get you to sit your happy wizard ass down until you can walk."

Then 'incorrigible' came up.

"I'm the Devil. I don't corrigé." Yes, it's a fucking word. Mostly French, but it derives from the word previous used. "In fact, I expressly do things against the grain. It's the whole schtick, you know."

Harry: Yes.

Morgan: *pulls out some Polaroids* I was hula-hooping. Luccio and I attend a class for fitness and for fun.

Harry: Oh my God.

Morgan: I've mastered all the moves. The pizza toss, the tornado, the scorpion, the oopsie-doodle...

Harry: Why are you telling me this?

Morgan: Because no one...will ever believe you. *he pulls out a lighter and sets them all aflame*

What a time to be mortal. That rumble became a smash and a bang. He fell down to his knees just enough to catch himself. It hurt, but he wouldn’t admit that to Lucifer. He had an image to hold and that image was tough as fuck wizard.

But ouch.

He stood back up once the destruction was complete. He let out a sigh of relief and motioned to sit in the chair opposite of Lucifer. Just a bunch of hoopla.

He leaned his head back against the chair. He was tired, but still relevant! He just needed to catch his damn breath. Once he was done, he laughed a little. Couldn’t help but laugh. He was in Hell. A place he thought he’d never go to until he died.

Neither was it going to fix the incidental damage of 'throwing up'. He'd just have to wait for it all the knit back together the natural way.

"Marginally." Though, he supposed, the pain was pretty minor in his scale of ouch. So he wouldn't take it out on Harry. He allowed himself a small, regretful sigh. "Going to miss that high, though." A moment of raw honesty.

The rumble caught Harry off guard. Shit.

No escape from what he could see. Lucifer, for better or worse was down for the count. Which meant whatever was happening was up to him. Though, he had words to share. “I’ve been called worse, asshole. By the way, you’re welcome. Or not! Depends on what happens from here on out.” The rumble caught him off guard again and he used his staff to steady himself further.

Fuck.

He needed to think, but thinking was hard.

The Fallen, the actual Being and not the Avatar in the office, was working it's way through the ice one step heavy step at a time. It'd difficult work. The cold of the plane keep trying to rime him back solid and lock him in place. He's too fucking angry for that to work. So it keeps slogging right along. Eventually, the armor plated hip of it passes the pane glass sliding doors that lead out of the office onto a rarely used observation balcony. Lurching past on its well somewhere.

By then he/it got far enough away from the starting point to punch through the planes between Rings. Ripping a ragged split through reality to have access to the building Sloth and Lust were using as a fucking bungalow. Whereupon he smashed one of his three hands through the structure with impunity. Tearing it down to the ground and leaving behind thick ice where the hand landed in the middle of the rubble.

His anger was directed. The gash didn't stay open much longer than that and the giant form of Lucifer with all it's heads and wings and arms and such--froze right back over in place outside next to the balcony. It would be a minute before it would muster the Will to move again.

Lucifer in the chair allowed himself a satisfied growl at his revenge.

What a time to be mortal. That rumble became a smash and a bang. He fell down to his knees just enough to catch himself. It hurt, but he wouldn’t admit that to Lucifer. He had an image to hold and that image was tough as fuck wizard.

But ouch.

He stood back up once the destruction was complete. He let out a sigh of relief and motioned to sit in the chair opposite of Lucifer. Just a bunch of hoopla.

He leaned his head back against the chair. He was tired, but still relevant! He just needed to catch his damn breath. Once he was done, he laughed a little. Couldn’t help but laugh. He was in Hell. A place he thought he’d never go to until he died.

“I banish you!” He screamed as the blade went to penetrate through the pearl. Then, the barrier, the circle, the pain, and his will vanished from the surrounding area. Everything would be as it should be and Lucifer would be fine.

When everything stopped he stayed hunched. Hand coming up to dig into some burnt off flesh. Wrath starting to focus right on Harry as the nearest thing in his vicinity that was PISSING HIM OFF.

But he reeled in it. Barely. Hissing a cold breath between teeth. He grabbed at the back of his office chair and stepped closer to it, past Harry. And sat his happy fucking ass back down.

"You are a fucking menace to society, Harry Dresden." Which was something of a compliment.

If there was anything that could get him to not lose his shit on someone, it flashing the biggest more chrome balls ever.

And Harry had them. Had to give him that.

He was still a little tired. And disappointed. Drugs come and go, but he doubted he'd find anything with a fix like that again.

The rumble caught Harry off guard. Shit.

No escape from what he could see. Lucifer, for better or worse was down for the count. Which meant whatever was happening was up to him. Though, he had words to share. “I’ve been called worse, asshole. By the way, you’re welcome. Or not! Depends on what happens from here on out.” The rumble caught him off guard again and he used his staff to steady himself further.

Fuck.

He needed to think, but thinking was hard.

Harry stood up, reached in his coat, and took out twine of copper. Why did he have twine of copper? Sue him! For instances such as this. Honestly, he had no idea why he would need it. Think of it as the powers that be to tell him he needed it. “We’re going to fix you up right. It’s going to hurt. You’re going to hate me. Just promise you won’t hate me too much.” He sighed and nodded. “At least enough to when I die I don’t end up here.” He finished the circle, closed it with his will, and surrounded his power around Lucifer. Okay! Here comes the fun part.

Harry stood outside the circle and focused his energies. With the circle closed, the power emitting, he summoned his “extra” source of power. The soul fire. Trying something new it seems.

The circle enclosed with the soul fire surrounding the copper. Not quite hot, not quite cold, just enough concentration to prevail with minimal failures. He continued until he took his staff, slammed it against the ground, and unleashed a wild amount of energy. The room began to become more warm, more inviting, homely, loved, holy. Using his will to slam it against Lucifer like a Mack truck.

Okay--that wasn't pleasant.

That's a lot of fucking love and light you're throwing into his face. Just out of the goddamn blue. He had a visceral flinch back into his chair and it smoked off the edges of his being which was still highly antithetical to those concepts.

And he was defenseless to be perfectly honest. The sheer amount of exhaustion meant he didn't have shit between him and the magic and Will that Harry was beating him with. Though he finally got enough gumption to get up, he still ended up bumped back into the edges of the circle with each consecutive, tightly timed, burst of that cumulative Positive energy.

Shouted in pain, even, when his back hit the barrier of the circle--it was most potent in a physical way there.

The shout was a good thing, the pearl from Sloth came up with it. Trying to get itself away from the forces Harry was hurling around even more than Lucifer was.

A lot of things came slamming back into the Fallen, emotionally. So he pushed away from the barrier and hunched there to endure. Even as some of his skin started to melt off of blue tinged flesh beneath. Starting to get a bit Angry. At what, he hadn't yet decided. He had a few options.

“I banish you!” He screamed as the blade went to penetrate through the pearl. Then, the barrier, the circle, the pain, and his will vanished from the surrounding area. Everything would be as it should be and Lucifer would be fine.