#mostly exposition

There’s very little someone can do to turn heads while walking through the city of London. Unfortunately, wearing a full armor suit while carrying a baby in a pink onesie is something that people tend to stare at. Centurion is aware of all the eyes on him as he tries to tug his cloak over the sleeping bundle in his arms to shield her from view, walking quickly down the street. “Oi, Centurion, where are we heading again? You haven’t told us yet, an’ that’ll be a problem if Zed or I get lost.”

The giant of a man sighs as the shorter of his two companions catches up to him, having to move at almost a jog to keep pace. “I told you, Morrison, if I tell you that, it could endanger Seraphina. I know they will not be able to capture me, but I do not know if either of you will be able to keep your mouths shut if the society catches you. We must prioritize her safety over our own until we reach Devildom.” Nathaniel sounds annoyed and offended when he responds, “What are you on about, mate? We care about ‘Phina just as much as you do–don’t we, Zed?”

“Sure, Mo, but neither of us could hold a candle to Mr. Perfect Soldier here, now could we?” The amused sarcasm in Ezekial’s voice is apparent as he strolls behind the two, thumbs loosely hanging in the pockets of his jeans as he scans the crowd for any familiar faces. “Phi-phi would never have survived with just us knuckleheads around.”

“Say what you like, but I know you two would not have made it out of the hotel room without me.” Ezekiel snorts at Centurion’s comment. “We would have eventually. You just got lucky that she wanted you to carry her this morning. I didn’t hear either of you complaining last night when she’d only settle if I was rocking her.”

“That’s because no one likes the night shift, innit? Plus, you’re the best at bedtime routine. You could get sleep too if you didn’t insist on singing her to sleep the first few weeks we had her, Zed.” Centurion tries to tune out their bickering as he searches for the next street he needs to turn down. “Says the person who was jealous when I got to feed her this mornin’. I told you she likes it when I make her bottle better–I got my special ingredient.”

“I swear to god, Zed, if you’re drugging our baby–”

“Quiet, Mo,” Ezekial immediately drops his joking tone. “We got two tails on us. How far are we from the meeting point?”

Centurion can feel his heart start to pound as he starts to speed up his walk. “We will get there in about 10 minutes at the pace we are going. Is there anyone in particular we need to worry about?”

“Don’t know, I don’t recognize either of them. Mo, you know the society better than I do, do you know ‘em?”

“Oh bloody hell, they sent Rundas and Anderson. Y’think we could throw them off the trail if we split up?” Centurion curses under his breath. “Regent’s Park, the ​​Delphinium border in Queen Mary’s gardens. I can cover ground faster without you two needing to follow me, go.”

Ezekial and Nathaniel don’t argue, immediately splitting off from him in either direction in a dead sprint–Nathaniel has moved his back into his arms to mimic the bundled form of Seraphina. Falling for it, Anderson gives chase, leaving only Rundas as a threat. Centurion begins to run, praying fervently that the baby he’s carrying won’t wake up and cry with the change in speed and noise surrounding her. Nathaniel will be alright–the road he’d chosen to run down led towards Paddington Street garden, a perfect location for the Naturomancer. However, if Seraphina gives away that he’s the one carrying her, there’ll be very little he can do to stop Rundas. Ezekial seems to have also come to that conclusion, rejoining Centurion a few moments later with his bone knife in hand. Neither of them says anything, focusing entirely on dodging confused pedestrians as they come out onto Park’s Square. 

The pavement under their street quickly turns to grass as the pair make a beeline towards the gardens–as they get closer, Centurion can feel the weak thrum of magic filling the air. They’re too early. The two men stop, both breathing heavily as Ezekial closes his eyes, most likely looking for any nearby deceased animals to pull to their defense. Centurion isn’t optimistic since the only animals he’s likely to find are pigeons and squirrels. However, a shout from Nathaniel breaks the Necromancer’s focus. “Quit standing there, you idiots, they’re both on me! We need to go now.”

Ezekial gives Centurion a side glance. “Now would be a really good time for your friend to show up, yeah?” Centurion grits his teeth, feeling the magic around him grow stronger at entirely too slow a pace. “He will be here.” 

As if on cue, the portal opens, and Nathaniel blows past both of them as he dives through, Ezekial close behind. Centurion gives them both a few seconds before he throws himself through as well, turning so his back will be to whatever he lands on to shield the baby from the impact as he shouts, “Close it, Solomon!”

He lands with a loud clattering of armor on wooden floors. For a moment, everything is silent except for the panting of the three sorcerers. Then Seraphina, who had finally been startled awake from the dramatic post-portal impact, begins to cry. Centurion scrambles to his feet, automatically pushing the baby into Ezekial’s waiting arms–he’s the best at soothing her. Unfortunately, she continues to scream, tugging on one of his hair twists in distress. Ezekial doesn’t allow this to deter him as he begins to walk around in a circle, adding a bounce to his step as he coos to her. Freed of his parental duties, Centurion takes in their surroundings. It’s a large bedroom, with a desk covered in papers and walls lined with bookcases. The darkness outside the one window confirms to him that they are indeed in Devildom, and he lets out a sigh of relief before turning to their savior. “Thank you, master Solomon. Your portal came just in time.”

The white-haired wizard just stares at him incredulously. “You know, by now, I should know you’re not joking when you send me a message saying ‘I recently became a guardian of a half-demon baby who the Sorcerer’s Society is hunting and we need your help,” but I thought for sure you’d finally developed a sense of humor.”

He wants to respond, indignancy starting to bubble up in his chest, but suddenly the door is thrown open, revealing a human wearing a uniform very similar to Solomon's, accompanied by what appears to be two Angels. “Solomon, are you alright? I heard…”

Their voice trails off as they take in the bizarre scene in front of them. Solomon immediately runs over to them, and Centurion swears he can see sweat forming on his old master’s forehead. “MC, I swear I can explain. This is–”

The other human, MC, holds up a finger, and Solomon’s mouth shuts with an audible click of teeth. “I don’t want to know what you’ve gotten us into until our guests are settled and the baby has stopped crying.”

Solomon nods, hurrying to pull out his desk chair for Nathaniel as Centurion stares at MC with fascination. “In all my years of knowing Solomon, I have never seen anyone able to order him about without a fight.”

“Oh, shut it, Centurion,” Solomon growls as he stalks past him out of the room, most likely to retrieve more chairs. The taller of the two angels, a gentle-looking man with warm blue eyes, steps towards Ezekial, who instinctively shies away from the stranger. The angel holds his hands out in a placating gesture. “My name is Simeon, and I’m one of the Seraphim–I mean no harm to you or the child. What can I do to help calm her?”

Ezekial looks to Centurion, who nods, before returning his attention to the angel. “I know you probably don’t have formula on hand, but if you could get some, warm it up, and add a few drops of vanilla, that’d be perfect. She’s still too young for cow’s milk.”

“Vanilla? That’s your big secret, Zed?” Nathaniel sounds outraged at this discovery, and Ezekial smiles sheepishly. “It’s how my mom got my little siblings to drink when they were fussy. Phi-phi seems to like it.”

“That’s cheating!” Before the argument can devolve further, Simeon cuts in. “I’m sure Luke and I can find something. Come on, Luke.”

This last statement is directed towards the other angel, a younger boy with blond hair, big blue eyes, and an almost-comically serious expression on his face. Both angels leave the room, leaving the three sorcerers with MC, who looks at them reproachfully. “There is a good reason for this, right? I mean, you didn’t just break into Solomon’s dorm room or something like that?”

“Of course not. I was an apprentice under Solomon a long time ago, and I called him for help.” MC looks slightly relieved, but concern fills their eyes. “Help with what?”

“That’s a long story.” They seem content with that answer, for now, instead sticking their hand out towards him to shake. “I’m MC, the other exchange student from the Human Realm.”

Centurion goes to take their hand but recoils immediately as he catches sight of the familiar tattoo on the inside of their wrist. “You’re a member of the Sorcerer’s Society?”

They look at the tattoo with surprise, as if seeing it for the first time. “Oh! No, I just went through the exam to get my license. I was Solomon’s apprentice and his friend. Since he doesn’t seem welcome there, that’s not a place for me either.” Centurion allows himself to relax, which they seem to notice. “I guess they’re part of why you needed his help.”

Nathaniel answers for Centurion, “More like the whole reason. This was the only place where ‘Phina would be safe.” MC’s brow furrows slightly. “And ‘Phina’ is the baby?”

“Seraphina. These two never call her by her full name.” Ezekial snorts. “Because it’s pretentious and long. I don’t know what we expected when we let a guy named Centurion name a baby.”

“Why wasn’t Seraphina safe? What could they want with a baby?” Centurion weighs how to answer carefully. “Because they want her dead.”

There’s a clattering of plastic on the floor–Simeon had returned with the bottle, which he dropped upon hearing those words. Luke scoops it up, pushing past Simeon and walking up to Ezekial. Centurion can see the concern in his eyes as he holds out the bottle of formula. Ezekial takes the bottle with a smile, cooing to Seraphina again as he holds it to her lips. Luke continues to hover next to him, watching the baby eat, which doesn’t escape Ezekial’s notice. “Do you want to feed her?”

“Yes! I mean, I’d enjoy that, thank you.” The sorcerer and the cherub walk over to Solomon’s bed, both sitting down so Ezekial can carefully place Seraphina in his arms. Simeon seems like he appreciates Ezekial’s gesture, but his expression is still predominantly horrified. “Who could want a baby dead.”

Nathaniel scratches the back of his head awkwardly, and Ezekial avoids eye contact, focusing on teaching Luke how to hold the bottle properly. Centurion expected this, but he’s still disappointed at the display of cowardice. “She’s half-demon. They tasked us with testing her magic abilities–when they weren’t as strong as the Society wanted, they declared her an abomination that needed to be killed.”

MC’s face twists to one of pure rage, and Simeon hurriedly places a hand on their shoulder in a calming gesture. They shake him off, turning to Solomon, who had just returned with two more chairs. “You knew this was happening and you didn’t tell Dia?”

The great sorcerer Solomon the Wise shrinks under this human’s gaze, mumbling something about how he was going to get around to it, and MC doesn’t seem convinced. “You have a pact with his butler! There’s absolutely no excuse for not telling him. You know he would have sent Lu or Beel to bring them here, if not me and all of the brothers, to keep them safe!” 

Centurion realizes with a start that they’re referring to the seven lords of hell, and he decides he can tolerate this bizarre human who calls two of the most powerful demons in existence ‘Lu’ and ‘Beel’, refers to the ruler of Devildom as ‘Dia’, and makes Solomon cower like a scolded child. MC stops their tirade, taking a deep breath before turning back to the three slightly-stunned sorcerers with a sweet smile. “I’m sorry for Solomon’s stupidity. When you’re ready, I’ll take you to Dia so we can sort out somewhere to stay for you all.”

The walk through the living room to the dining table where Ruben’s family sat was a long one. Mari couldn’t help but feel like she was walking into a courthouse, on trial for something as trivial as connecting with her father. If this was a courthouse, Geny was the judge (in fact, Mari could feel the judgement from that cold scowl before she had even entered the house), the two boys and who Mari could only assume was Abuelita, were the jury and the Twitter that were running around the table in circles...well, they didn’t really fit into her analogy so she would lump them in with curious family members in the audience that were barely involved with he crime being committed.

Geny sat at the table, the side directly opposite the door - Mari couldn’t help but feel this was specifically so she could size her up the moment Ruben opened the door - with an empty seat beside her, presumed to be for Ruben.

On either end of the table were their older sons. At the end on the left was a shorter boy, no older than 15, with a crisp shirt buttoned all the way up, brown hair with curls perfectly styled on top, perfect posture and hands clasped together on the table before him. The boy on the right was the polar opposite - wild, unruly hair, a t-shirt that looked frayed from age and slouched comfortably. The second boy looked older, too; about Mari’s age. The older of the two was the only one looking at her. He was curious and she couldn’t blame him. The younger wasn’t caving, treating it as though this was a business meeting. She knew who they were, Ruben had talked about them; Ruben, or Ruby for short, and Mario. She didn’t want to sound like a creep, though, so she sad nothing.

Abuelita was sitting opposite Geny, but she was twisting her torso in order to gawk openly at Mari as she entered the house. Mari assumed the spare seat beside the woman was for her, and this proved to be correct when Ruben gestured for her to sit. She did, but Abuelita didn’t stop staring until Ruben had been seated as well.

Mari had expected Ruben would then introduce her, but nothing. It was as though now he was back by Geny’s side he was speechless, unsure what to do or say. Mari didn’t know either, so she just sat. Ruby slowly turned his head to get a look in, make his judgement calls, consider the best opening statement. He didn’t have a chance to get one out, because it was Mario that spoke first.

“Mariana, right?”

Mari nodded. Overall she preferred Mari, no one ever called her by her first name, but right now her only focus was on fitting in so she wasn’t about to correct anyone.

“I’m Mario, that’s Ruby,” he said, confirming what she already knew, “Abuelita and our mom, Geny,”

“It’s nice to meet you all,”

“So, you’re our sister, huh?”

It was more of a statement than a question, something to break the ice, but Mari felt obliged to answer.

“Yep,” she said with a small nod and popping the ‘p’. What else could she say?

Mario spoke again but turned to Ruben this time, a hard look on his face.

“How?” He asked, “she can’t be much younger than me; did you cheat on mom?”

Ruben frowned and Geny shook her head.

“Of course not!” Ruben said, “I love your mother, Mario. I always have, but as ready as we thought we were to have kids, it was hard. You were a little over one, and Geny and I were struggling. We couldn’t agree on parenting methods and we weren’t getting along, so your mother thought it best we separate for a while. Give each other some space and hope the absence made our relationship stronger.

“It did, but it took a few months. I was lonely, and the times when I didn’t have you with me, Mario, I was depressed. Then, I ran into Mari’s mother. We were high school sweethearts, and it was nice to see her. Geny wasn’t giving me any indication that we would be getting back together, so I tried a new relationship. It fizzled out because I was obviously in love with Geny, so I begged her to take me back and here we are now,”

He finished with a smile and took Geny’s hand. Mari thought she should feel something like sadness, or disappointment. He had chosen Geny over her mother, after all. Maybe if he had stuck around her upbringing may have been better. She wasn’t sad though - she could consider what ifs all day, but it wouldn’t change anything. Maybe her mother would’ve dragged Ruben down the drug-induced rabbit hole with her. All she knew was that Ruben was happy, he had a happy family and all things considered, Mariana had turned out alright herself.

“How long have you known?” Mario asked next.

He didn’t respond immediately, choosing instead to look down at the table - in shame, discomfort, Mari didn’t know. What she did know was that she needed to help him out. He may not have given them all enough time to process the news, but to his own credit Mari had only managed to find him a few months ago, so she told them just as much.

“Four months,” she announced, swallowing her nerves. All eyes turned to her, including his. Abuelita and the boys’ faces were unreadable, aside from their furrowed brows. They were focused on Mari and ready to listen and take mental notes as she spoke. It was Ruben and Geny that surprised her. Geny looked shocked - maybe Ruben had told her more recently, though he doesn’t seem to be the kind to keep a secret like that from someone he loves (and Mari could tell he loved Geny) but Ruben looked...sad, almost disappointed.

Regardless, Mari continued her story. Now she had started there was no point stopping.

“I spent almost six months searching for him,” she said, “my mom never talked about him. Whenever I asked she said she didn’t know who he was, or he was dead, or she’d make up a story; anything to get me to stop asking and make sure I never found out.

“We moved around a lot when I was a kid, before settling down in San Jose, so any records of him or anyone who might have known who he could’ve been, were long gone. Then one day, about a year ago, my mom’s new boyfriend moved in and I realised I had to get out, but I didn’t want to feel alone; I just wanted to know that I had some family out there - anyone that was better than my mom. So, I called all of the hospitals from all of the towns we ever lived in, trying to find out where I was born.

“That led me to a nurse, who led me to a Planned Parenthood clinic, that led me to an old school friend of hers, who gave me a list of people it could’ve been. I tracked down everyone on the list, but they all assured me it couldn’t have been them except, well, Ruben. We emailed back and forth a few times and when I told him I was looking to move out, he asked if I would stay here, get to know him and his side of the family.

“I understand this sounds like a stupid, elaborate story just to give me a place to stay, but I swear it isn’t. I have some money, there’s a hostel nearby that I can stay at until I find a job and can find somewhere more permanent. I don’t want to cause any trouble here, with your family, but I would like to get to know you all,”

For the first time, Ruby spoke. “Those other guys who said they weren’t your dad, how do you know they weren’t lying?”

“My mom is white,” Mari didn’t miss Geny’s eye roll as she said this, “so were those other guys,”

Ruby looked her up and down once, taking in her dark features - tan skin, dark eyes, dark hair - before nodding as if to say “yeah, that makes sense”.

“Ruben,” Abuelita said, her accent was thicker than Mari expected and there was something like shock in her voice, “you never knew about this? About her?”

To say Abuelita was shocked would be an understatement. Ruben had always been responsible and reliable. When someone had a problem they went to him to know what to do. For Ruben to have a child he didn’t know about, well, that was unlike him and Abuelita couldn’t help but feel that there was more to the story than he was letting on. She didn’t say anything for the moment, but she would find out soon enough - she always did.

Geny, who hadn’t said a word to Mari since earlier that afternoon, was having none of it. Without a word, she stood up, glanced down at Ruben and stormed into the bedroom. The door closed with a resounding slam, causing Ruben to flinch.

Mari’s heart dropped to her stomach. If Geny was his rock then Mari was a hard place and right now, he was forced to choose. His wife was clearly unhappy with the situation, but he so obviously wanted to know Mariana.

“It’s okay,” she said to him with a small nod, “you should go after her,”

Hesitation lingered on his features. “But...you came all this way,”

“And now I’m here; we have time to get to know each other. Go talk to her, give everyone some time to process, and we can try this family dinner again next weekend. I’ll even cook,”

Ruben smiled and reached across the table to grab her hand. How was he so lucky to end up with such a mature daughter? He was grateful to her, he just hoped he could make it up.

“Ruby, Mario,” he said, looking between his boys, “can you two be nice to Mari? Get to know her, maybe show her around Freeridge a bit?”

The moment the boys agree, Ruben was up and gone. Though she wanted him to go and be with Geny, her anxiety had suddenly peaked at being alone with her long lost half brothers and Abuelita.

The four of them sat at the table in silence. Before Mari had a chance to speak to the older lady or properly introduce herself, Abuelita threw her hands up and muttered something under her breath that sounded to Mari like “I’m not needed here” and left the table.

And then there were three. Until Mario stood too, that is.

“I actually have a date with Angelica,” he said and with a small smile and a shrug sorry, he left too.

Ruby glanced across at Mari, unsure. They both shifted uncomfortably in their seats - neither had been in this position before. What were they supposed to do now.

“You don’t have to-” and “I was going to-” they spoke at the same time.

“You go,” Ruby said. “Ladies first,”

The sentiment was funny coming from a boy his age, but he seemed genuine. He had manners, and Mari wondered if that was something that was raised in them or if it was just him.

“I just wanted to say that you don’t have to do anything. I can show myself around, really, and I wouldn’t tell Ruben if you had better things to do,”

“I mean, I’m meant to be hanging with Cesar and Jamal today,” he stated with a sort of half shrug,  as if those names meant anything to her, “Cesar’s brother just got outta prison a few days ago though, so we don’t know it he can chill,”

At this point, Mari could tell Ruby was just talking to himself, but she nodded along anyway. She was in no position to argue with anyone. This was their life she had walked into, how could she ask them to drop anything?

“Oh,” Ruby said (and to be honest, Mari was so in her own mind that she hadn’t realised he was still talking), “you can come, if you want,”

He shrugged nonchalantly, as though he hadn’t invited her as an afterthought. She smiled though. She could tell that behind that unconcerned mask he was putting on, he was curious about her - maybe even a little excited. From fear of scaring him off, she didn’t say anything about it, but agreed nonetheless. She was curious, and even excited, about them too.

The walk to Jamal’s was a short one but Mari picked at her cuticles, a nervous habit she’d had her whole life, the entire time. The tension left the moment she met the boy. He was tall and lanky with a bright smile and hyperactive personality and she could tell they would get along fine.

He stared a little when they first met.

“You look alike,” he said.

“It’s the babyface,” she replied with a shrug and a halfhearted “sorry, man,” to Ruby. Ruby only agreed and muttered something about Ruben’s genes.

The three of them chatted as they headed toward Cesar’s house, but Mari’s heart wasn’t in it. Mari had never been good with directions, but something about this road was familiar. She was trying to put her finger on it but she was struggling. Maybe it only seemed familiar because nothing was, or maybe it was deja vu.

It didn’t dawn on her until they had already arrived - they were at Spooky’s house.

.

Taglist: @grayberrydolan (I’m sorry I’ve had you tagged the whole time the chapter has been up but just saw it didn’t actually tag you????) @lostgirl219 @atomicgardendeaneagle @kseniainneverland @ravengreystone @kcrollinasdean @titogerebito @xolourdesxo @uniquelynormal92 @weediskindabad @dkbatv2 @moistdollerbills @javoqetal @kenzie44469 @mygloomytearrs @batgirl099 @goddessate @cherrythingz @blackdepressoexpresso @classyputa @babygirl-htx @wonderlandlovelove @cacapoodlepoo @friedpicklesoups @agent-femmefatale