{"sf1_id":1912511,"sf2_id":"zeR6ajEe","title":"Hell on Earth. Chapter 12","author":"TheFieldmarshall","words":2585,"posted_at":"2022-10-27T20:07:15.000Z","tags":["Aardvark","Action","Adventure","Alternate Reality","Alternate Society","Anger","Anthro","Anthropomorphic","Authority","Bizarre","Boar","Classroom","Clean","College","Comedy","Dark","Demon","Depressing","Desperation","Destruction","Dinosaur","Disaster","Dragon","Drama","Dread","Emotional","Enchantment","Evil","Fantasy","Friendship","Goth","Gothic","Halloween","Human","Humor","London","Magic","Mammal","Mild Drama","Modern","Multiple Species","Plot Development","Real Life","Realistic","Reptile","Revenge","Satanism","Scalie","Series","Short Story","Slice of Life","Story","Story Progression","Story Series","Student","Teen","Teenager","Teenagers","Trouble","Various Species","Velociraptor","Violence","jokes","rivalry"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/1912511-hell-on-earth-chapter-12","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/s/zeR6ajEe","image_url":"https://cdn.sofurryfiles.com/submissions/thumbnails/f0/1f/f01f2c0a-1666-4b41-996e-ec436f18ff4f","description":"You can only throw so many punches before the College headmaster calls you to his office.","content":"“Hallowe'en is fast approaching,\" the teacher declared, stood behind a desk decorated with a velvet cloth, some candlesticks and a variety of glittery things. “You will need to be prepared for some very important visitors. There are certain expectations of you in both presentation and behaviour;\" he looked at Anar and his two familiars, “the dress code is non-negotiable on the night of All Hallow's Eve, Warlock, and if I or any member of staff spy you in that Ellesse jumper you're so fond of it will not end well for you!\"\n\n“Yes, sir,\" Anar nodded, making a mental note to finally get to the laundrette on the first floor so his black Nike sweater was clean. His list of tasks was getting longer than ever!\n\nCrowley preened, running his claws around the collar of his charcoal dyed Ralph Lauren polo shirt. Crowley always looked like he was off for a round of gothic golf. He made eye contact with the aardvark and made a 'slice' gesture across his scrawny throat.\n\nAnar scowled. Now, more than ever, he wanted to find a loophole in the official college dress code. Fluorescent socks or something. He wondered if there was anything about tie-dye…\n\n“The first thing you shall say upon encountering any of our guests that night shall be 'Hallowe'en salutations'. Say it with me: 'Hallowe'en salutations.'\"\n\nThe class mumbled.\n\nAnar raised his hand.\n\n“Warlock?'\n\n“What about our familiars?\" he asked. It was a given that Rap would just say 'ooooh, hello!' to any Hell bigwigs he met, and Rave would tell them to go suck eggs.\n\nThe teacher bristled; he was a big, spiral-horned boar with orcish tusks and a no-nonsense attitude, and he didn't like anyone, least of all grey, long-eared troublemakers like Anar. “If I was you, I'd keep those two in their cage, for everyone's benefit,\" he snorted.\n\nRave mumbled, sulkily, “keep you in a cage, big pig, you'd probably enjoy it…\"\n\n“But I wanna carve pumpkins!\" Rap objected with a pout. “I wanna go Trick or Treating! I got an outfit planned and everything!\"\n\nThe boar tutor's eyes widened and he bared his fangs, “Warlock, you keep that cross-dressing lizard on a leash on Hallowe'en or\"-\n\n“Yes, sir!\" he squeaked.\n\nRap turned on him, “you said I could!\"\n\n“Keep your voice down! I'm agreeing with everything to keep Master Hogden off our case, yeah?\" he hissed to the indignant raptor.\n\n“I can still carve pumpkins? Go Trick or Treating? Wear my witchy dress?\"\n\nHe nodded, holding his finger to his lips to shush the whiny dinosaur.\n\n“I ain't dressing up,\" Rave rumbled. “Not begging for lollipops, neither.\"\n\n“Yes, fine, good. Shush! I'm trying to listen…\"\n\nThe teacher continued, “…mischief is expected but keep it outside of the College walls. Anyone caught throwing hexes or summoning spirits _inside_ will be sent to Master Leviathan's office. Anyone caught trying to get an early night, and not joining in the festivities will also be sent to Master Leviathan's office,\" he paused again, “so now we come to our lesson. You will have learnt a few basic moves in your other classes: offensive shoves, defensive shields… I know for a fact some of you have used these successfully,\" he looked sternly once more at Anar, then moved to frown at Alexis who suddenly didn't seem so cocky. He continued, “when you cross through the Abyssal Gate and sign your demon work contracts, you will not have these magical limitations upon you. You will be bestowed with all the power you should ever need. If, after your employment, you are lucky enough to visit the mortal realm on Hallowe'en then you will be able to do as you wish, in the name of the Dark Lord and his Infernal glory. As such, the same will be true of the Underworld denizens who will be gracing us here in the College with their unholy presence, and I must warn you, they _will_ harm you if they can. Your little spells will not save you against a level 8 archfiend. As such, it may be useful to know how to defend yourself against a full-power demonic force. It is my duty to reassure you that staff will be on patrol while the various clubs and parties are in full swing, so using your magic should, as ever, be a last resort. For this reason, though, we have made sure to give you amulets with enough magic allocated for not only your classes, but also emergency use for Hallowe'en. Only one!\" He held a thick finger aloft to express the importance. “If in doubt, you know how to transport yourself to a place of safety. This is what the College will expect you to use it for. However! On a night of mischief such as this, I would like to show you how to use a little more… force,\" he smiled, his tusks gleaming.\n\nAlexis had shuffled forward, eager to learn, not to defend against Hell employees but instead to use on a certain annoying aardvark.\n\nAnar had clocked him, and was also straining his ears in anticipation. If Alexis was going to use magic on him again, and it was likely, he'd make damn sure he could give as good as he got!\n\n“_What are those lizards doing?!\"_\n\nThe class whipped their heads round at the tutor's angry bark.\n\nRap paused, his hands around bones.\n\nRave quickly hid a marker pen behind his back.\n\n“It's a sign. On the bear skeleton. Says 'Hide and Seek champion 1995.' It's a joke, see? He was so good at hiding, he died before he was found,\" Rap explained, proudly.\n\n“Save the mischief for Hallowe'en! I don't want it in my class.\"\n\n“Yes, sir,\" Anar sighed. “Come on, guys.\"\n\n“It's brilliant!\" Rave hissed. “How can anyone not find that funny?\"\n\n“Master Hogden has obviously found a way,\" Anar murmured.\n\n“What you learning?\" Rap asked, brightly.\n\n“I'm not sure, yet. It's something Lex wants to use on me, that I'm sure of.\"\n\nRap pulled a face, “night of Hallowe'en will have him tucked in a blanket sucking his thumb, just you watch. He's all show. You've actually dealt with a wraith! You've been stabbed with an enchanted dagger!\"\n\n“Keep it down!\"\n\n“I'd be bragging if I were you, mate.\"\n\n“I don't brag,\" Anar insisted. “Not about that sort of thing, anyway,\" he gave a sly grin.\n\n“I don't wanna know who you're snogging!\" Rave huffed, loudly.\n\nAnar coughed as eyes turned to him yet again.\n\nThe teacher brought down a crackling bolt of energy to the floor in front of the aardvark student who was interrupting\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;him. It left a smouldering hole.\n\nAnar gulped, stumbling back from the heat and the shockwave. He didn't much fancy Alexis doing that to him! He looked up, and there was the human face he despised, with a triumphant gleam in his evil little eyes.\n\n“Now let's see you try,\" Master Hogden challenged, setting his trotters down with a stamp into a wide stance, his wings spread. “If you've been paying attention, that is, and not chatting to your overgrown geckos.\"\n\nWith a scrape, the other students all stepped back as one, eyebrows\u0026nbsp;raised in amusement.\n\nAnar froze.\n\nHe hadn't been paying attention. Of course he hadn't! When did he ever?\n\nMagic was all about belief, wasn't it? You had to see what you were doing\u0026nbsp;clearly in your mind's eye, to have faith in your actions. A bit of luck never did any harm, neither!\n\nHe reached up to Sharon. She was hanging a little lopsidedly now\u0026nbsp;since he'd had to tie a knot in the back of the broken chain. Still as lovely, though. True to her name.\n\nAnar didn't particularly like this bore – geddit? boar/bore? ah funny joke. So, closing his eyes and picturing him as a pile of tasty crispy bacon wasn't so hard.\n\nHis blood bubbled. His hand spread open. He opened his eyes and let loose a burst of magical energy that split the teacher's desk in two and left a scorch mark up the wall behind.\n\nHe almost didn't want to stop. There was an urge to do it again, to do it harder, to destroy everything in his path.\n\nHis hand wobbled. His ears drooped. Magic felt so GOOD.\n\nMutters of 'bloody Hell!' could be heard.\n\nMaster Hogden stared dumbfounded at his sturdy old desk that had seen him many years of education in this establishment. This was going to be an awkward expenses form to fill out. Not to mention, he'd probably end up with some Ikea crap replacement due to diminishing budgets.\n\n“Very good, Warlock,\" he said faintly. “Now the rest of you give it a try.\"\n\nCrackles and sparks flew around the room. Unlike Anar, the other students had targets to hit that weren't staff members.\n\nThrough it all, the big boar demon stared at Anar, making the young aardvark very uncomfortable.\n\nFor distraction, he pulled his Tamagotchi out of his bag and began attempt number one hundred and five of keeping it alive.\n\nAlexis trod purposefully towards him, his shiny black shoes tap tapping as he strode. He'd take Anar's ears off with no hesitation.\n\nRave swung his tail with a sharp crack! and rounded on the red-skinned human.\n\nAlexis was a little more hesitant to take on one of his familiars.\n\n“I'll get you on Hallowe'en,\" Crowley\u0026nbsp;promised the trio with a growl. “I heard you; carving pumpkins and Trick or Treating – what are you, twelve? I'll be with the Inner Circle I will. Proper elite. Not sipping pumpkin punch and getting giggly like you girls! My father has a limousine on order, we're travelling to the capital in style; going to scare the mortals out of their wits and make them worship the Dark Lord whether they want to or not!\"\n\nAnar sighed, “sounds great, Lex. Now piss off, yeah?\"\n\n“My name is _Alexis_! How dare you disgrace your family name with your stupid 'couldn't care less' attitude?!\"\n\nThe class fell quiet as Anar stood up from his seat, dropping his Tamagotchi. “You know nothing of my family! You know nothing of what we stand for! How dare you?!\" his hands trembled again, his blood rushing and fizzing.\n\nHe mustn't. Alexis wanted him to, didn't he? He wanted him to lose his cool and just let one of his magical bolts loose. It was so easy. He didn't even have to close his eyes, not really, it was just what they were trained to do. He could see in his mind a pile of char with Crowley's stupid face in it. All he had to do was let it flow…\n\n“Pathetic,\" Alexis spat. “The son of a director, too…\"\n\n“These chairs are hard! My bum's gone numb!\" Rave complained.\n\nAnar sat, dejectedly, waiting for the door to open. He couldn't even rustle up the energy for a joke at the big raptor's expense.\n\n“Look, if worst comes to worst, there's always room for you in our little forest camp,\" Rap assured him, patting his knee gently. “We'll always be with you, no matter what, you know that.\"\n\n“Thanks, mate,\" Anar sniffed.\n\nIt was a long, empty corridor. These were the only seats available and they were rigid plastic; the kind that reminded you that it was a punishment to sit on them. You had done bad things. The _wrong_ sort of bad things.\n\nThe wall shook; the floor beneath them trembled.\n\nThe door slowly opened.\n\nAnar hastily wiped his blurred eyes with his sleeve and left his backpack behind as he stood, gesturing for his faithful companions to stay here, outside. This was his meeting. This was his ordeal.\n\nThe antelope lady in the doorway pursed her thin lips and looked down upon him, sourly. “Master leviathan will see you now,\" she snipped. “I _would_\u0026nbsp;warn you he is not in a good mood, but he has not been in a good mood since 1562.\"\u0026nbsp;\n\nStanding aside, she allowed Anar to step into the small reception. She opened another door further inside, and, giving him one last disapproving look, sat back down at her desk with typewriter and phone, clattering away.\u0026nbsp;\n\nA piece of thick, expensive looking paper with the College emblem embossed at its corner popped up as she worked.\n\nHe had a feeling this was _his_ piece of correspondence that was going home to his house in Ilchester.\n\nWith heavy yet comfortable footsteps Anar crossed the threshold into the Headmaster's domain. He kept his gaze at the floor; you didn't look directly at him, he was too terrible to behold.\n\nThe room was dim and the air was thick, feelings of claustrophobia crept in – the demon on the other side was too great in mass to leave much space for anything else.\n\nA low rumble signalled the start of speech. Leviathan was so colossal that he had to wind up to talk. “Warlock…\" he breathed. “I know that name. We expect… great things from you. Tell me… why did you assault a prince of Hell in front of a tutor?\"\n\nAnar rubbed his snout, still staring at carpet, “well, your immenseness, I didn't want to waste my magic by blowing him up.\"\n\nThe floor lurched. The air was sucked out of the room.\n\nA roar like a maelstrom swept through the room, through the reception, through the whole corridor.\n\nLeviathan was laughing.\n\nAnar swallowed. His mental hamster, who had been taking a well-deserved break, jumped on the wheel and began running like never before.\n\n“I don't usually throw my punches, but Crowley looks like a peanut so he got _a-salted_! Stands to reason, being a student, he's lost his _faculties_. It's hard to _essay_, but I think for a prince he's a _class clown._ Chances of him becoming a demon are one in a _minion!_ _Imp-_ly impossible!\"\n\nVibrations spread like a shockwave. “No-one has ever stood in my office and told jokes before… what to do? What to do with you?\"\n\nThere was a pause. Anar could hear the receptionist outside the door on the phone reassuring whoever she was talking to that everything was fine, and Leviathan had been laughing, and _yes_ she knew how hard that was to believe.\n\n“Look at me…\" the deep, large voice commanded.\n\nAnar held his breath, genuinely afraid. He lifted his head. His body trembled. Would he go mad? Would he die? Nobody had ever looked at Master Leviathan!\n\nThe head was long and narrow. Scaly. Eyes blazing like suns looked down upon Anar's\u0026nbsp;tiny, frail form. There were small wings. A long tail with a gracefully curved, arrow-shaped tip.\n\nLeviathan didn't fit inside the room; instead, he was occupying a space outside of it. A pocket dimension of sorts. Another illusion to add to the rest of the misshapen, crooked building.\n\n“How interesting…\" he boomed.\n\nAnar had heard that exact same phrase a few times lately.\n\n“I know who you are… I know who your father is… I can promise you, no matter what you do there is no escape… there will be punishments, yes… but your rebellion will be in vain… Anarchy Warlock.\"\n\nOrbs of fire, scorching the senses, burning into his very soul, blazing into his core, his soul, even. He wanted to look away. He couldn't take the light a moment more.\n\nIt was a dragon.\n\nGreat. Terrible. Powerful. Awful. Enduring.\n\nThe light was everywhere now. A blinding whiteness. A vision of eternity.\n\nHe was lost in the void.\n\nA speck amongst the stars.\n\nAlone.","series":{"name":"Demon Days","previous":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/1911947-hell-on-earth-chapter-11.json","next":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/1913233-hell-on-earth-chapter-13.json"}}