Disclaimer: All characters depicted in this story are eighteen years of age or older. Any sexual content involves only consenting adults. This is a work of fiction.
A Marvelous Devil.
Chapter 71: Heist of a Lifetime.
Dante Andromalius.
"I swear I can explain," I said after a moment of receiving those blank stares from the pair.
"Can you, really?" Jean and Rogue snorted at the same time, sending matching looks my way.
"Can you?" Tandy parroted from my side, not bothering to cover herself up as she raised a perfectly groomed eyebrow at me.
"I totally can," I scoffed, looking to the side. "My only problem is that not a single one of you will like my answer."
"Try it," Rogue grunted, her eyes falling to my lap before she raised her head with a nuclear blush.
On her side, Jean's eyes widened as she dragged her hand down her face with a soul-pained groan.
"Really, Dante? Are you that fucking dumb?" she asked in disbelief.
I nodded proudly, lifting my chin to look down at them.
"What do you mean, Jean?" Rogue looked at the redhead.
"Want me to explain?" I chuckled amusedly.
"He's being petty," Jean groaned out, looking like she wanted to make paste out of me.
"Is this because I said that reverse psychology wouldn't work? Did you seriously intend to fight alone against one of the strongest peerages in the underworld, just because I called your method stupid?!" She looked like she was moments away from smacking some sense into me.
Rogue gaped from her position, her eyebrows twitching mightily as she glared at me.
Tandy, for her part, just burst out laughing.
But I didn't budge. It was a totally defensible position.
"God, I can't believe we fell for someone like you," Rogue scoffed, looking to the side.
I just smirked, waiting for her eyes to return to my body as they lowered once more.
"Oh?" I laughed. "I'm sorry, dear, I fear I didn't hear you correctly."
"Oh, fuck you," Rogue snapped with a growing blush. "You have better senses than any of us, bastard."
"Do I?" I tilted my head, barely wincing as my ear started bleeding slightly.
"Did you just rupture your own eardrum just for a lie?" Jean's jaw almost fell off. The sound was somewhat muffled, but still understandable.
Tandy smacked me on the back of my head with a glare before healing me.
"God, you're a dumbass, Dante," Tandy rolled her eyes. "Can't you admit it already so that we can go about our day? Mom was right, you were born with a dramatic need for flair."
"I fucking didn't," I looked to the side, feeling called out.
Then I rolled my eyes, looking at the girls.
"Fine, whatever, I'll be serious. We should get clothed first, though; we already drenched the bed."
"Absolutely not!" Jean and Rogue glared at me as Jean once more froze me in place, their eyes almost feral.
"You owe us this much at least," Rogue scoffed firmly.
"Oho!" I cackled, being joined by Tandy, who burst into a fit of giggles, pressing her chest against my arm as we looked at the pair with matching grins.
Good thing we weren't shy in the slightest.
"Fine," I smirked proudly. "You can continue ogling me with those glares, just don't blame me if anything happens. I'm quite mortal at the moment."
"You don't say," the mutants gulped as my dick flexed slightly under their glances thanks to the moment and the sheer want I could feel coming out of their souls.
Or thanks to Tandy's soft caresses on my arm in the valley of her supple breasts. Had they gotten fuller while I hadn't noticed? Looking down for a moment, I realized that yes, they had.
My Light was enjoying the minor shapeshifting we got as devils to the fullest.
Tandy pinched my arm, and I looked up at the mutants.
"What do you want me to say, you two? That I'm sorry? You know I'm not," I raised their chins with telekinesis to look into their eyes. "You both know what I am better than anyone in both worlds. You know what you're getting into right now. I am a believer of doing the fuck you want because there's nothing freer than that, but I can't say that I will change for the better, at least not in whatever sense you think better is."
I continued over their silence. "I am a demon, somewhat," my lips quirked slightly.
Raising my hand to stop their answers, I smiled softly. "I am; it is my essence. I am a petty, flawed, prideful, and cruel being that has learned many things during his very long life and relearned some of them differently once he was born into mortality. I might grow bored of the majority and return to what I once was, or they will change me irreparably, and the Seere of the past wouldn't be able to recognize what I become. I don't know, and that's the beauty of change."
"Then, why haven't you asked?" Jean asked quietly. "You know us better than ourselves at this point."
"I said it before, and I'll say it again," I chuckled. "I am a very, very petty man. And reverse psychology totally works."
"God, he's an idiot," Rogue groaned. "Is your pride that big? Sure, it worked in a way since we ended up asking you to join, but it would have been nice to be asked when it's obvious you wantus."
She blushed prettily after saying the last part, unable to hide the vast array of feelings that fact stirred within her.
"I never hid the fact that I wanted both of you, and you've both known that from the start. I want you, Anna, and you, Jean. I am a covetous devil, and if you become mine, that would mean latching to me for eternity."
I stood up and walked towards them. Their eyes never left mine, even as they wanted to look below.
"Do you truly understand that?" I asked seriously. "And does that make you think twice about it? Because if so, then you aren't ready for that, and that's okay. I'd love to have you both, but I wouldn't force either of you to do something you don't feel ready for. It wouldn't be fair to any of us. So, think about it first. I will wait with open arms, and smile like the luckiest bastard in the world when you choose to join me. Because I will be."
"You corrupted me already, Dante," Jean said through gritted teeth, her hand grabbing my neck before pulling me closer, her eyes turning a blinding white as she lost control over her feelings. "You made this happen. You saved me from a rut I didn't even know I was in; you showed me the world was bigger than I ever dreamed of… You fucking tempted me by showing how happy every one of your girls was, flaunting all that love and desire and… ugh, kiss me already!"
I couldn't even smile as I shared my second kiss with the fiery redhead, hearing the small phoenix hollering through the connection she had formed between our minds in the brief lip-lock.
She tasted almost… hot, in a way. Not easy to explain at all, but still all-encompassing. All of Jean's longing, happiness, fiery anger, irritation directed at me, and the need for someone who saw her as herself instead of what she was flowed into me as my need for control, desire, possessiveness, and the want for Jean Grey flowed into her.
It made me shiver at the same time as Jean did, openly grunting as the redhead moaned with desire.
"You'll be forever mine, Jean," I whispered, and she giggled almost drunkenly.
Panting for breath, I grinned like a fool before looking at the blushing goth.
"Anything to say?" I raised an eyebrow, bringing my breathing under control.
"I want the same as she got," Rogue said in a hurry before her eyes widened as she realized what she had just said.
My lips twitched for a moment before getting an idea.
"I'll give you something better." I approached her before linking my soul with hers and kissing her deeply.
Her power came to life as she drained a minute amount of cosmic power, and I felt everything she felt about me, us, and the situation in general.
Her longing for a family, a place to belong, somewhere where she could be herself and more, a place where she could grow without the fear she caused because of what she was. A group of people that welcomed her with open arms and wouldn't hesitate even a moment to fight against gods for someone like her.
A place that would give her normalcy despite the insanity of her new life.
And she felt everything I felt for her.
A minute later, a giggling Tandy pulled the panting Jean before launching us all onto the floor.
"More Sisters!" she said excitedly. "Oh, you have no idea how long I've been waiting for you two to join!"
Rogue let out an uncharacteristic little giggle that made me turn to look down at her with a shit-eating grin.
"I thought the badass Rogue didn't giggle," I kissed the crown of her head.
She pouted before hiding her face against my chest as the other pair laughed happily.
A smile formed on my face as I felt the weight of the three pressing against my chest.
Maybe I had something to thank Red for. Not that it would save him from the beating he would get when I grew stronger than him, damnable lizard.
Dante Andromalius.
Mexico.
"Is this like a punishment for something, Dante?" Jean deadpanned, her lips twitching despite herself.
Through the connection she hadn't bothered to close from before, I could hear the Phoenix clapping in excitement as we read the sign on the… establishment in front of us.
We had come in force, Tandy, Jean, Rogue, and me, all of us looking at the scantily clad women dancing behind windows under the moon's light.
"I'm not surprised," I said after a moment. "At least we aren't under Odin's nose this time. I still remember being thrown into the void to hide my identity."
"You're supposed to say, 'just disappointed' after surprised, Dante," Rogue looked at me strangely.
"Why would I be disappointed?" I burst out laughing. "Red had spent his whole life flying around the void like an idiot; why wouldn't I be happy he's enjoying humanity's oldest profession?"
She made a disgusted expression that made me laugh even more, grabbing her and Jean's hands as Tandy climbed onto my back.
"And why did we have to dress this way?" Jean asked crossly, her hands grabbing her short dress to make sure nothing was shown.
"As a gift for me?" I looked at her vulnerably. "You three look perfect, by the way."
Rogue just got closer to me with her dimples at full force.
I gave a short nod at the bouncer before throwing a single gold coin and waving my hand. His eyes glazed over as we stepped inside, looking around curiously.
Hm… Latinas. Haven't seen a group this big since I was summoned centuries ago as Seere for a death cult trying to revive one of their fertility gods.
It didn't end well for them, because some idiots of the cult tried to chain me with the party tricks they called magic. Every single one of them paid for the offense in the original Ashen Court after I reaped their souls, before I allowed Mictlantecuhtli to take them back.
He paid a very good price for them. Not that much of a surprise knowing how lessened they were by the lack of faith; at that point, every true believer counted.
"Where's Red?" Tandy asked absentmindedly, almost doing a double take as a woman in the distance did a split that left nothing to the imagination.
The Phoenix was looking attentively, making Jean's and my lips twitch.
This was a mistake waiting to happen, but I had given her my word.
"At the back, probably. He's using his power to hide multiple rooms around there," I chuckled, guiding the girls towards the void using my senses.
I kicked the first door open, only to see a pair of normal humans enjoying a show.
It took us four attempts, each one making my irritation with the idiot grow, but on the fifth, I saw a tuft of red hair behind a tanned woman with not a single piece of clothing on, sitting on his lap.
Motioning with my head, we stepped inside. The woman jumped in fright at the sound, covering her chest with one hand.
Customers weren't supposed to get that close to the workers, but a dragon's pheromones were a dangerous thing for normal mortals. I wasn't that surprised that he managed to talk her out of the windowed rooms and clothes, unlike the other customers.
"Are you even paying them?" I threw another gold coin at her as the idiot glared in our direction.
"Dante!" he hollered happily before an offended look grew on his face. "And of course I am!"
"And where did you get the money?" I tilted my head curiously.
"Heh," he smirked, smacking the blushing woman's ass and making it jiggle before he sent her away. "It was a bribe by the one-eyed bastard to get out of Iceland."
"Ah," I chuckled, "smart, I suppose."
"Yeah," he shrugged, taking a sip from his beer. "Funny thing, he didn't say for how long. I'll give him a month before I return, but I can't say I mind the variety."
Was this how a proud parent felt?
I ducked out of the way before the same beer that used to be in his hand could hit my face.
"So, what brings you here?" He slumped in his seat, motioning us toward the other couch.
"Red!" Tandy squealed before hugging the big lug. "It's been a while."
"That it has, firefly," he grinned toothily. "And who are these?"
"Rogue and Jean," I motioned to each of them. "This is Red, the Dragon of Dreams. And we're here for help."
"Ah," his eyes stayed fixed on Jean for a long moment. "I can already tell why."
He stayed silent for a bit, looking between the four of us before sighing.
"You'll give me mortal currency for this; I'm almost out of Odin's bribe."
Then he snapped his fingers and pulled all of us into the dimensional gap.
"This will be a pain in the ass," he muttered irritably. "Talk me through it."
"Before that, how sure are you that no one will notice us?" I looked around before I allowed the Dark Force to come out of my body in force, covering a vast amount of nothingness to hide us from any peering eyes. "We can't fuck this up, Red. It could go sideways pretty bad."
"Keep doing that until I tell you to stop; I'll reinforce it later," he grunted as the girls shivered around me until Tandy filled them with her light.
Tandy had a small, excited smile as the darkness all but danced around her.
"That's enough; I'll freeze it. Tandy, you'll be our lamp during this," he chuckled before the world went gray.
Hm. Strange application of his power to bring time to a standstill. But it worked.
Tandy pouted at Red, but she prepared herself before filling the Dark Force cocoon with her light.
"Before we start, when were you planning on telling me that Yahweh was dead?" I looked at him blankly.
Red snorted, looking at the girls who didn't look surprised in the slightest.
Good thing I had this talk with them a while ago, considering the small breakdown they had even if they weren't believers.
"Ah, you found out about that," Red said amusedly. "His insane brat killed him."
"Did he?" I pinched my brow. "How? At this point, it's obvious I shouldn't have compared Him to the one I knew, but it still shouldn't have been possible. Lucifer is supposedly weaker than Sirzechs, and any variation of Yahweh should wipe the floor with someone like that."
"Ah… that," Red's expression turned dark.
"Is it because of that monster?" Jean's voice echoed as the Phoenix took control. "It was… strong, stronger than you, in fact. And mad; its thoughts were jumbled and focused only on destruction."
"You met it?" Red turned to look at her. "That was a mistake."
The Phoenix pouted, her bottom lip trembling as she looked to the side.
"I already had that talk with her," I assuaged Red's glare, practically shouting at him to let it be.
"Trihexa, the end of all things," Red said after a moment. "My… brother?"
"Weird family," I snorted before waving him off. "I understand. What is it?"
"I don't know. I was the third to appear, after that thing and Ophis. Then came two others, Yahweh and the dead lord of the Underworld," Red said seriously. "I don't know where we came from, or why I know for a fact that we originated similarly, all of us, but I know that I am correct."
I formed some chairs out of the darkness, and we all took our seats, the Phoenix taking the back seat for a moment.
"I am Dream," he said, pointing at himself. "Ophis is Infinity. Yahweh was Creation."
He smiled, the expression filled with a fondness that surprised all of us by its sheer depth.
"Dynamis was Potential."
"Potential?" My eyes widened.
"Made the connection?" He chuckled sadly. "Doesn't surprise me, considering your new body descends from her."
The girls looked confused, questions clear in their eyes.
"Potential as a principle… that answers a lot of questions I had, while opening many, many more," I mumbled quietly. "The Evil Pieces, that's how they work. Its ichor has the properties to turn almost all races into devils. All bar… divinity."
I didn't say how that opened another can of worms, because why did it refuse to reincarnate true divines when they were lesser than embodiments? I didn't have all the answers, and Red didn't either. He had said that he didn't know how he was born, or how all of them were. But it reminded me a lot of my own birth from Nemesis… me, Mephisto, and the other few demons that managed to reform by consuming the weakest.
Where and how did they come to be? Was it really similar?
"And Trihexa?" Rogue asked after a moment of seeing me remain silent.
"He was multiple," Red said direly. "Destruction. Entropy. The death of all things. Yahweh sealed the bastard, having planned for it for a very long time. Ever since it killed Dynamis and consumed her, that's why his brat managed to kill him; Yahweh was weakened."
"And why didn't you or Ophis help? No offense, I'm just curious," Jean waved her hands off in a hurry, afraid of offending the idiot as he burst out laughing.
"Because fighting it is not possible. He counters everything being what he is, and a battle just for a stalemate at best would have destroyed the world and all of the dimensions that everyone here calls home," he said casually. "Sealing it was the best he could have done, and he knew it from the start, including how it would end."
"This is something I should have known, Red," I glared at him.
"You know now," he shrugged uncaringly. "It's not like it is a problem; you know how the blondie works. He was very thorough with the sealing."
"And you just jinxed it, you fucking idiot," I groaned. "Whatever. Fine, let's do what we came to do. Rogue?"
She stood in a hurry, a bright smile filling her face.
I pulled out a single piece. "You'll be my first Knight if you accept me."
Her smile widened. "You know I do."
"Aw! It sounds like a marriage proposal," Tandy squealed and clapped as I sent a tired glance her way.
"Technically, it is a lot more thorough than mortal marriage," I said after a moment.
"Can't complain about that," Rogue mumbled with a blush as she touched the cool piece.
She took a deep breath before nodding.
I pushed the piece into her chest, and she gasped as her body started transforming from the inside out.
Now that I knew what I knew, I could see hints of POTENTIAL and how it worked. The Potential of what may become.
The Evil Pieces gave the destination, and the demonic power envisioned the journey.
Cell by cell for the body first, then parts of the soul changing into what a devil was. It explained why demonic power was so linked with imagination.
Holy fuck… how did I not see that before?!
"Magnificent, right? That friend of yours is a genius, even if I don't like seeing pieces of herself used this way," Red said quietly as we all observed Rogue finally finishing the transformation.
She didn't change outwardly, but I could feel the very moment when she was linked to me.
"Thank you," I hugged her close. "You are now undeniably mine, Anna."
Her eyes were shining as she returned the hug, happy tears escaping her eyes as the girls joined us with excited squeals.
"That he is," I told Red, looking at my Evil Pieces for a moment, "but I can't say I fault you."
I remained silent for a moment, closing my eyes. Then I sighed.
"She was Lucifer's mother, right?" I asked quietly.
And Red dipped his head with a small smile.
Later.
"Now, we reach the complicated part," I looked at Jean, who shifted nervously in her seat.
"The big mess, yes," Red nodded. "How the fuck do you plan on doing this?"
That didn't help Jean's nerves at all.
"I hoped you would have some ideas, honestly," I snorted.
"Dante, before we start, Rogue and I thought of someone you might be interested in," she said in a hurry, trying to deflect her reincarnation for a moment to gather her nerves. "There's someone back home that is in a genuinely bad spot thanks to her powers and could use your specific brand of help."
"Oh?" I lifted an eyebrow, "What's with that?"
"Professor Charles tends to visit her a lot in a mental hospital, fearing her power just as he did mine," she said darkly, almost like she was doing this out of sheer pettiness.
I barely avoided rolling my eyes. She had been acting offended when she could be just as petty as I was.
"And you want to swoop her out before they can get through her?" I smirked amusedly.
"Exactly," she grinned viciously before she winced, "but she also needs the help, and I know you can help her. I'm sure you will be interested, considering that she made our team back down by herself once, before she was put in holding and sedated to the gills. She's strong as hell… and a woman."
"Why the last part?" I my eye twitched.
She stared blankly at me, then looked at Rogue, Tandy, and finally pointed at herself.
She had a point… but still.
"Fine, we'll check her out later. Thank you for bringing that to my attention, dear. But it is your moment, not anyone else's." I motioned Jean towards us.
She walked nervously as the other two retreated into their seats.
"Phoenix, can we talk?" I asked softly.
Jean's eyes turned white.
"I want to be your Queen, Seere!" she said excitedly, "it looked like it was fun!"
"No," Red and I replied almost immediately, "absolutely not."
"But whyyy?!" she whined pitifully, "you don't want me?!"
She was already crying.
"We literally can't," I slumped tiredly, "even if I did want to, you're not someone who can be reincarnated."
She pouted, sitting on my lap, and I could feel Jean's cheeks reddening through the connection from embarrassment. "You're lying. You don't want me!"
"I'm not," once more, she reminded me of a cat. A very, very dangerous cat that could erase us all if she lost control. It was good that I had some experience with this thanks to all the times I visited her with Jean, so I began patting her head to calm her down. "You are too strong and too important to turn, Phoenix."
"You're cheating," she all but slumped against my body, radiating contentment, "but you're right! I'm the Phoenix! I'm the best and cutest firebird in the cosmos!"
She did a complete one-eighty in an instant.
She was way too stressful despite being adorable. I could feel Jean facepalming through the connection.
"Even if you weren't all that, which you totally are," I tickled her sides with a bright grin to hide my nerves, "I wouldn't be able to reincarnate Jean even if I melded all my remaining pieces together, and you know that."
"I was always stronger than you, silly!" she laughed happily, making me hide a groan as Red began laughing like the bastard he was, "so it totally makes sense that you wouldn't be able to reincarnate this Queen!"
"Yes, my Queen," I said dryly, since at this point she wouldn't even notice, being too deep in her own delusions.
Which weren't wrong, but they were still delusions, and I wouldn't hear anything to the contrary.
"So, what do you need for you to reincarnate Jean? I want her to be happy because that makes me happy, and she is the happiest ever when she's with you!"
Cue more embarrassment from the mutant.
"I need to separate you two for an instant," I winced.
"No." The Phoenix said blankly.
The sudden temperature rise was alarming but expected. Her grip on my shirt tightened to the point that it sizzled my skin.
"I am her, and she is me," her voice echoed with a terrifying lack of sentiment, making the void around us tremble. "We don't separate. It hurts, and I won't leave her."
I took a deep breath. Time to bribe a cosmic brat.
"What if I promise you things?" I offered slowly, keeping my hands gentle on her hair even as she burned my skin.
She blinked, the heat vanishing instantly as curiosity took over. "Things? Like what things?"
"Yes, things." I said firmly. "Cuddles whenever you want. A front row seat whenever we visit places like the one we just left in the human world. Jean will eat anything you want at least once a week."
I ignored Jean's mental screaming through our link. We had to make sacrifices for this, damn it. But she wouldn't understand that as a mortal.
I barely avoided my lips from twitching at the curses flying my way.
The Phoenix tapped her chin, looking at me with calculating eyes. "I want to sleep in the middle of the bed."
"Done," I dipped my head. It was time to buy a bigger bed either way.
"Plus," I beamed, "I had Ajuka craft something special for you. It was a surprise, so I wasn't going to tell you until it was ready, but he messaged me yesterday saying that it was almost done. It's a spell that links your senses with Jean one-to-one. Soon, after returning to her body, you'll be able to feel everything she does just the way she does. Doesn't it sound fun?"
Her glowing white eyes widened, making me fear they would fall out. Her bratty demeanor melted into pure, excited awe.
"Real feelings?" she whispered.
"Every single one," I promised. "Also taste, touch, heat, everything just as Jean does."
She stayed quiet for a long moment, looking down at her hands.
"If I do this," she started quietly, not looking up, "I want a name. I'm not just the Phoenix anymore. I don't just want to be a force of the universe. I want a name to start a new life with you guys."
Damn… she was so cute. She even blushed as the girls cooed behind her.
"Of course. Do you have one in mind?"
She shook her head timidly.
"Ignis the Annihilator," Red offered from his seat with a proud grin.
The Phoenix looked at him with pure disgust. "Gross. Absolutely not. Yuck."
Red looked way too disappointed for it to be a joke. Fucking idiot.
"What about Hope?" Tandy offered helpfully from the side, smiling warmly. "It sounds beautiful."
"Too soft," the firebird pouted, crossing her arms. "I need something badass. I'm a cosmic being of destruction and life, not a child."
I grabbed the Phoenix's chin and locked eyes with her before she noticed Tandy's deadpan expression.
We tried with over twenty names, each one disgusting the firebird until a suggestion came directly through the psychic link from Jean, who was watching the exchange from the passenger seat of her own body with a mix of fondness and exasperation.
"Nova," I said aloud.
The Phoenix froze. She tested the word on her tongue, her white eyes blinking rapidly.
"Nova," she repeated, a beaming smile breaking across her face. "A dying star exploding. I love it! I'm Nova!"
"Nova it is," I chuckled, looking over at the dragon. "Red, you can start."
Red grunted, standing up from his chair. His eyes glowed with a blue light as he raised his hands. The fabric of the dimensional gap warped and folded in front of him, The Dream pulling a dream-like concept out of nothingness.
A body formed in the air. It looked like a perfect replica of Jean, just deathly pale and completely motionless.
"Get ready, boy," Red warned, his voice straining slightly as he enveloped Jean's body with his energy. "This might explode in our faces, but I can't say I don't approve."
"I'm older than you, immature brat," I scoffed before letting the Cosmic Power flood my system, wrapping it around Jean's body like a vice.
"Now!" Red roared after sending an excited grin my way.
I pulled, twisting reality with brute force while Red used the dream to sever the truth of their connection for a microsecond.
Nova gasped, her essence violently tearing out of Jean's chest and slamming into the pale, ethereal body floating nearby. The moment she hit the vessel, the fake Jean took a confused breath, her cheeks flushing with color as she looked down at her hands in wonder.
I didn't waste a single second.
As Jean's real body slumped forward, not being able to bear the Phoenix leaving her body so violently, I pulled out all eight improved Pawns.
I shoved them directly into her chest.
The eight pieces sank into her body, and a blinding wave of gold demonic power exploded outward, mixed with the raw, untethered potential of her psionic energy.
The sudden influx of demonic power acted like a vacuum. Nova barely had time to let out a squeak of surprise before the temporary dream body dissolved into mist, and she was violently yanked back across the void, slamming back into Jean's soul.
The explosion blasted Tandy, Rogue, me, and even the prepared Red backward.
Jean levitated into the air, her back arched as a literal cosmic tsunami of psionic energy erupted from her core, washing away the gray void of the time-stop and the Dark Force at once. For one brief second, a blindingly white crown manifested above her head. Her eyes snapped open, glowing with a pure light that could only be called life.
Then, just as quickly as it exploded, the energy collapsed inwards.
And I felt a glance peering through the void, following Jean's connection with Nova.
The crown and suit vanished, and the flames died down as the glance retreated.
I fucking slumped in relief after sensing the curiosity from the whole.
Jean's eyes rolled back into her head, and she fell from the air.
I dashed forward, catching her firmly in my arms before she could fall more. She was breathing softly, completely unconscious.
She was finally mine.
I couldn't help it; I laughed like a fool, smiling like the luckiest bastard in existence.
Dante Andromalius.
The Ashen Court.
"Holy fuck, I felt like seven bastards looking our way in an instant," I panted, clutching Jean's body against my chest as the Dark Force retreated into my body, having pulled everyone back into my castle as soon as I could. "You think they noticed?"
Red wore the brightest expression on his face after obtaining a piece that would shape the deal we had originally made. Having Jean as part of my peerage, knowing her strength would be called for when the time came, had him drunker than ever before.
"Nah, don't worry about that; I muddled our area with my energy as soon as I could," he was almost bouncing before he sobered up. "Dante, what the fuck was that crown?! It broke through our combined power in an instant."
"I have no idea," I said after a moment. "I never saw that state in all the times I met one of her avatars. Did you feel the eyes?"
Red shuddered for a moment before he burst out laughing once more.
"Yeah, yeah, I know," I shuddered even as I smiled. Then I laughed with him.
We did it. Literally fucking pulled the heist of a lifetime.
Damn.
"Are you two okay?" I looked at Rogue and Tandy, noticing they were singed but already healing.
"We'll be," Rogue said dryly. "Damn… didn't know Red was like that."
"Me?" the dragon in human form pointed at himself. "I'm built like that."
Idiot practically puffed his chest out.
"No, the other Red," Rogue dragged her hand over her face. "This will get confusing fast; I might need a better nickname for Jean."
Tandy chuckled tiredly.
"Right, payment." I snapped my fingers and pulled a mountain of gold for Red. "Go wild, and thank you. Wouldn't have done it without your help."
"Of course you wouldn't," he scoffed even as he drooled over the gold. He waved his hand, and it all disappeared somewhere. "If you need help reincarnating someone like that again, make sure to call me! I might even give you a discount."
Then he opened a rift to somewhere in the human world, stepped through, and waved at the girls without looking back.
"As if I didn't use my luck of a lifetime getting these two," I chuckled, feeling tired as I pulled Rogue into a hug, squashing the redhead between us. "You have no idea how glad you've made me today, Rogue."
There was no way in hell, any of them, that I'd find someone like these two in the future. It was a miracle that I did, and even more so the fact that we pulled it off.
As much as I hated to admit it, I couldn't see it happening once more.
"I doubt it's as happy as I am," she chuckled, pushing me away before kicking the door to my room open and pulling us inside. "But you promised Nova something, and I don't want that crown to return because she got angry."
"True." Tandy shivered for a moment before taking off her dress and jumping into the bed.
Rogue blushed before doing the same, staying in just her panties.
Her pale breasts bounced just slightly as her blush traveled all the way to her chest.
"Beautiful." I smiled before lowering Jean gently into the bed, right in the middle of the two.
"I doubt we will see that anytime soon, though. That form was… too much for her current body to bear at all, and it only happened because the Phoenix from back home linked with Nova for just a moment after she returned to Jean's body." I assuaged their worries.
Taking off my shirt and jeans, I lowered myself next to the fully clothed Jean, also in my underwear.
Tandy seemed disappointed for a moment before giggling.
Rogue looked at me before smiling beautifully, getting closer to me as she dropped her head against my chest.
"Thank you for changing my life, Dante." She kissed my chest, looking up with wide, clear eyes.
"None of that." I poked her in the nose playfully.
Then her eyes widened for another whole reason.
"Dante, will we go for…" she asked after a moment.
I blocked her lips with a finger. "None of that, dear. Let us enjoy being together for the first time. Everything else can wait, yes?"
Tandy moved to Rogue's side before pressing her bare chest against Rogue's back, her hands tracing circles around her tight abdomen.
She had a six-pack and was muscled in a mouthwatering way. Her usual clothing hid it normally, but this way we could see every outline. And Tandy and I were almost drooling.
Celestine could iron shirts in there…
"I always thought you were so beautiful, Rogue." My Light nipped Rogue's shoulder playfully.
The goth shivered at once before holding Tandy's hand in place and tracing circles around Tandy's slim fingers.
She nodded firmly, once more resting her head against my chest.
"Yes… sleep. Everything else can wait." She imitated what Tandy was doing to her on my chest, and I pulled them closer.
It was good to be me.
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