First Demonic Dragon

"Why am I always the last one to learn about the crazy shit you're about to pull?"

Belloc stared up at his father with an aggravated gaze that made him chuckle.

"Maybe come out of your room sometimes and check the family group chat. Then you can find out at the same time as everyone else."

Honestly, Belloc had long forgotten all about the family group chats. There were like three different ones and one big one with everyone in the house in it.

Belloc rubbed the back of his head as he tried not to show how nervous he felt. "Why're you doing something like this, pops..? This seems dangerous even for you."

"Oh?" Abaddon smirked. "I thought you would have been happy to see me jump into a perilous fate. Then all of my stuff would be yours."

Belloc seemed unamused by his father's joke.

He watched Abaddon kiss Mira on top of the head and embrace her in his usual fatherly manner.

After releasing her, he turned to Belloc while seemingly waiting to see if he would also require a hug.

His son's lack of amusement persisted.

Abaddon held out his hand instead, and Belloc shook it. Though he still looked like he had something to say.

"...What if I wanted to come with?"

"I wouldn't let you, but I think you knew that before you asked."

Abaddon ruffled his son's hair just as he did when he was nothing more than a small boy.

"Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere. You'll barely even notice anything amiss."

Belloc blinked, and suddenly he was staring at two very identical versions of his father.

Both of them equally handsome and infuriating.

One wrapped his arm around Belloc's shoulders without reservation. The other turned around and started walking back towards the hole in the center of the room.

Sif and Bekka, who were already waiting and dressed for travel, duplicated themselves as well.

The doppelgangers readied themselves to jump into the hole when they heard the sound of footsteps approaching.

Looking towards the doorway, they were surprised to see Asmodeus entering the room with a grim look on his face.

He said nothing to anyone, just leaned against the back wall as if he didn't want to be a disturbance.

Abaddon and Asmodeus exchanged brief eye contact.

Neither one let their gaze linger.

Finally, the duplicate bodies of Bekka, Abaddon, and Sif glanced at each other and nodded.

One after another, they jumped into the hole.

The descent into darkness was somehow long and short.

Abaddon felt like he had the time to consider many things before he reached the gates. And yet, it also felt like it had happened in the blink of an eye somehow.

He wasn't sure if time was behaving strangely, or if his mind was just running that damned fast.

As he got closer to the gates, he heard the all-too-familiar whisper of the voices.

They recognized him. Their words were welcoming and vindictive at the same time.

The closer he came, the more they were unable to hide their excitement, and their voices became louder.

Out of the corner of his eye, Abaddon saw Bekka and Sif staring at him.

They couldn't hide their worry even with sunglasses on their face.

He turned to them as they fell and winked seductively.

Slight relief and blushes replaced their worried expressions.

Bekka, Sif, and Abaddon reached the doors seconds after that.

Abaddon placed his feet against the ominous ancient wood and felt the torrential amount of dark power that was trying to seep out of it.

He didn't consider himself to be a person who was easily spooked, but this terrain did indeed give him momentary pause.

But it didn't stop him.

After making sure that Sif and Bekka were good to go, Abaddon walked towards two doorknockers the size of freight cars.

He flicked his finger, and the ancient door creaked open for the first time in eons.

Immediately, there were a slew of creatures barking at the gate.

Their eyes greeted him first. Unique and horrific with no resemblance to any man or creature above the dark.

However, their excitement was a universal language.

Abaddon bared his teeth at them.

"Back!"

The creatures hissed and threatened without end, but they acquiesced all the same.

With a clear pathway now open to them, Abaddon, Sif, and Bekka glanced at each other one final time before jumping inside, shutting the door behind them.

Above the gates, the room was deathly quiet.

Until those inside heard the bang of the doors shutting, no one dared to say a word.

Everyone kept their eyes on Abaddon, Sif, and Bekka, who were standing with their eyes closed.

Yara was the first one to speak.

"W-Well... What do you see...?"

Abaddon's brow furrowed as if he were unsure how to answer that.

"It is... strange. Unlike anything I have ever known before."

That was the best way he knew how to describe it.

Bekka looked equally troubled. "The place feels like... It's hungry. I don't..."

At the same time, the three lovers began to experience some difficulty maintaining balance on their feet.

"H-Help them!" Someone cried.

The three of them had to be supported by their family members to stay upright. The tension in the room was rising.

Asmodeus forgot all about how mad he was at his son and rushed to his side. He took his oldest child's face in his hands and gave him a firm shake.

"Abaddon! If you can hear me, you need to extinguish that body now! Bring yourself fully back to this one! Can you hear me!?"

Abaddon opened his glowing eyes, but they were unfocused. Hazy.

He started to open his mouth when he looked down at his hand.

Right before his eyes, his body was turning back into energy. But he wasn't the one responsible for it.

"Dad, I..." He began.

"MOM!" Nubia cried.

Abaddon wasn't the only one this was happening to.

Bekka and Sif were also breaking down, and not just them, but even the other wives were beginning to revert to their truly primal states.

One by one, they transformed into masses of energy that were instantly pulled into the hole and towards the gates.

Asmodeus pushed through the crowd of his family and jumped in after them.

He was followed by Apophis, Thea, Thrudd, Kanami, and half a dozen other family members.

Asmodeus threw out his hand and created a dark barrier that was designed to keep the masses of energy from reaching the gates.

He was horrified when they passed through it without even slowing down.

His eyes stung. But he was not yet deterred.

"Together! Now!"

Several distinct powers melded into one to form a wall in the shape of a colossal dragon.

This time, when the energies clashed against the barrier, there was a great, explosive collision and a flash of light.

The masses of energy pushed against the construct, but struggled to break through. Giving Asmodeus and the rest of his family barely enough time to reach them, and hopefully pull them back before the situation worsened.

'Almost there... Almost there...!'

Asmodeus' form ripped apart.

In it's place, a great dragon with the wings of an angel and a demon roared forth- increasing his reach by leaps and bounds.

He held out his hand and just barely grazed a tendril of his son's energy.

But at that moment, cracks formed across the combined construct, and the power it had been holding back tore through it's body like bullets going through styrofoam.

They resumed their descent towards the gate at an even greater speed than before.

Apophis tried to erect another barrier on his own. Mira endeavored to stop time.

Neither of their efforts yielded any fruit.

As Asmodeus roared, the masses of energy passed through the wood of the gateway as if it weren't even there; disappearing for good.

Asmodeus had been flying at full speed, so he slammed into the door before he could stop himself.

The impact rattled even his ancient bones and briefly made him see white. He had never encountered such a hard material in his entire life.

Desperate and angry, Asmodeus grew hands from his torso and grabbed hold of the two doorknockers and pulled.

He used every tangible iota of strength within his being. Even calling on a power he did not know he possessed.

But no matter how much he pulled, he couldn't open the gates.

He heard whispers all around him, laughing and mocking his efforts. He paid them no mind.

One by one, more dragons dropped into view to aid him in his endeavor.

They grabbed the door wherever they could and pulled alongside him.

When Apophis joined, there was a brief creaking noise, and the door cracked open.

It was a small opening, not enough for one of them to enter through.

But judging by the tentacles and foul appendages that were worming their way out, other things could still escape.

Asmodeus exhaled a pillar of deep black flame, sending the fledgling horrors fleeing.

"We've almost got it! Keep pulling!"

More of Apophis' siblings flew towards the gate to help pry it open.

But as they were moving, something shot past their vision.

While Asmodeus was still giving it all of his effort, a loud bang struck the gate and shut it back, undoing all of the progress they had made.

"NO!"

He looked up with a hate-fueled gaze at the culprit.

Karliah's bright orange eyes were bloodshot, and her cheeks was wet. But her posture was firm.

"That's enough... We have to stop."