THEY WERE SEPARATED, thrown into cells far away from each other. Greed growled as the cell door slammed shut. Through the bars he was able to make out the barely lit hallway that he'd been dragged through.
He struggled with the handcuffs, giving up only when he felt his wrists getting sore. He looked around.
Calling it the 'dungeon' made it sound worse than it actually was. Apart from the bars, and the general lack of space, there was a bed and a toilet and a sink. A few books lay stacked in the corner.
When Lust said 'dungeon', Greed expected to be thrown to the bottom of a large pit. Still, this wasn't ideal. Greed hated being caged.
It was maybe an hour or two later when he heard footsteps approaching. Greed stood up off the bed and squinted into the darkness, tensing up even more when he caught a glimpse of blonde hair and red eyes. The hallway lit behind him as Lust stood on the other side of the bars, smiling.
"Hey, doll," he said.
"Let me out," Greed demanded immediately.
"The others are fine," Lust said. "Well, I know you didn't ask, but I thought I'd let you know anyways."
They stared at each other for a few seconds.
"Lust," Greed began, "Look, about what we said back at Gluttony's house, we didn't know---"
"What?" Lust sounded genuinely confused. He furrowed his brow before realizing what Greed meant. He chuckled. "Oh, that! Yeah, I got over that an hour later. It was just a misunderstanding, I know."
Greed frowned. "What? But. . . you didn't show your face ever since."
Lust shrugged. "I was embarrassed."
Then he pulled a key out of his pocket and unlocked the cell door, stepping inside. He caught Greed's eye. "Don't even think about trying to escape. Guards are stationed at every exit. I'm just trying to make you feel less like a prisoner."
"I'll feel less like a prisoner when you un-cuff me." Greed stepped forward.
Lust bit his lip, eying him up and down. "Are you that excited to jerk me off?"
"Lust."
Lust sighed. "You're no fun."
"Are we going to be prisoners for the rest of our lives?" Greed asked.
Lust looked offended that Greed would ever think such a thing. "What? No, of course not! Well, maybe Wrath will, considering how he blew up tons of demons---"
"What?"
Lust grinned at Greed's cluelessness. "Oh, it's so like Envy and Wrath to not disclose details of their plans. Wrath had some sort of bomb rigged to blow at the touch of a button. Blew up tons of demons. Ah, only the monstrous demons, though. If it were the formerly mortal ones. . . " His eyes darkened. "There would be hell to pay."
"Pun intended?"
"I heard what you said about me in the forest, by the way," Lust said, and when Greed didn't understand, he clarified, "About me betraying you all for sex."
"It was just to get Envy mad."
"Well." Lust shrugged. "The sex is just a bonus. And Envy, well, we talked."
"He knows you're not under Lucifer's control now?"
"Everyone does. I paid them all a visit." Lust smiled sadly. "And it would've felt like old times, except that they were handcuffed and staring at me like they were afraid."
Greed noticed the heaviness in Lust's tone.
"The red eyes take a little getting used to," Greed offered as perspective. "And it's just. . . you seem so different, from when we were all last together. And you have wings. . . "
"Lucifer is generous," said Lust. "He's not evil. He punishes evil. And by erasing Heaven's hold on the world, he's simply going to bring out the true colours of mortals. He's not killing anyone nor torturing anyone who doesn't deserve it. Tell me, why did he ever seem so bad to you?"
"You and Envy were under mind control," Greed reminded.
"Negative emotions can drive you to desperate measures. Envy didn't like me becoming so close with Sloth. He became jealous, and made a deal he shouldn't have."
"He killed my—"
"There was a trace of angelic scent on them," Lust said gently. "Under control, you can't recognize anyone you know. He killed them on instinct."
"Doesn't fucking fix it," Greed spat.
"It doesn't," Lust agreed. "That's why I'm trying to fix what's going on now. I'm giving you a choice. The same one you declined before. I gave the same choice to everyone."
"You still want me to join you?"
"In the bedroom, absolutely!" Lust grinned. "But in the ranks of Hell as well."
Greed opened his mouth to answer, but Lust shook his head.
"Not now, darling. You have a few hours until we all meet in the throne room. There, you'll make your decision."
"Will Lucifer be there?"
"He has business to attend to on Earth. As much as he'd love to, he won't be here to see you make your choice. I'm calling the shots."
"If you're in charge, can't you just let us go?" Greed asked. He tugged at his handcuffs again.
"I'll be killed within an instant if I betray Hell. I'm your only path to survival, babe. Are you sure you want me dead?"
Greed clenched his jaw. Lust turned and exited the cell, shutting the door behind him and re-locking it.
"For your sake, Greed, I hope you make the right decision," Lust said genuinely. "Because if you choose to hide behind a mask instead of revealing your true nature, you'll truly be pitiful. You choose your own fate. Remember that."
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