[Redd]

(Note to self this is Roja's origin)

"So what's it going to be woman?" The creature hunched over, one gnarled, purple claw resting on it's similarly twisted knee. Several clusters of red eyes blinked at her from beneath greasy black hair that was tangled between it's crown of horns. Korinne had to resist the urge to put a hand over her mouth to stifle it's acidic breath and those long sharp teeth bared in a savage grin, the once-elven face underneath now a horrid mockery, twisted and demented.

The demon took another step forward and lowered it's snout to be level with hers. She could feel the air around it grow thick and heavy, the hairs on her arm rising in response to sheer amount of static this monster generated.

"You are... the demon expert, are you not?" A second noise, distorted and laboured came from somewhere behind the purple thorned behemoth. The thing shuffled into view and though it was smaller, it was no less horrific. A disfigured human mage, from the looks of it, covered in what appeared to be fast growing cancerous growths. It's entire body was hunched over, heavy with cysts and tumours, some broken, oozing in places. The only human things that remained where the bloodied jewelry, fused into it's flesh and it's clothing, mostly destroyed by this point though.

[Redd]

The thing tilted it's head and shambled over. "You... tell us. What happens when demons are able to operate... unchecked?" it rasped. Of course it knew who she was. Every damn person from that world apparently knew who she was. "What happens when... we are able to feed with no spirits... no mages to stop us? You only leave us alone because you know this form is a... distraction."

"You can already see how we've fared on this weak planet." The larger one howled with a spine-tingling deep chuckle, balling his claws into a fist and bringing them down on the small side table. The flimsy thing shattered, sending small plywood shards everywhere.

Great, Korinne was sure the hotel wouldn't count that as fair wear and tear.

"You could destroy our forms in this world, and there's no mages here to possess but there's weak spots in their Veil. This world is old, it would be easy to bring our real forms here and the rats couldn't stop us with their fake magic. Your tin-can boyfriend couldn't stop us. None of them could. Weak. Arrogant humans." the Pride demon cackled, shaking it's head, crown of thorns raking across the ceiling. Korinne had to suppress a wince. "So, small human. Take the deal. You leave New York. We give you a new life. We stop tormenting your friends. You stop hunting us and our kind."

[Redd]

"And what's to stop you from... continuing? Or making things worse if I'm gone?" Korinne spat back, finally breaking her silence. "Forgive me but... I'm not following the train of thought too well. Or... are you actually afraid of me?" Made sense, one had called her a demon expert, and they'd never targeted her directly, just sent one very hard to catch Despair demon to give her friends nightmares.

"Darling." Another voice, singsong and oddly pleasant to listen to, chipped in. In the corner of the darkened hotel room, the shadows cast by the single grimy lamp began to twist and swirl, becoming corporeal and forming a humanoid shape. It began settling into a shape she knew all too well - human, male, early 40's. Blond hair, brown eyes and that stupid feathered tunic. "We know of the Hawk. No other person in that tower could see demon activity, let alone know how to root it out."

[Redd]

That voice was almost too perfect. Korinne's face twitched and she could feel the bite of her nails digging into her own palm. The demon did too apparently, fading into black before reforming new features. First, male, curly, blond then into the two men that had been tormenting her over the last few weeks, one tall, dark hair, green eyes with some slimy look about him, then into another, tired, bearded but neat, weird glowing device lodged in his chest.

"These aren't doing it for you, huh? How about..." the demon mused before melting away the male figure completely and forming another. Female, blonde curly hair and pulled up into a pony tail, younger. Ice blue eyes. Gold armour with white leather and a red silken scarf. "This one... does something for you? Interesting." The demon cackled, somehow mixing her own devilry with the woman's soft, accented voice, twirling a bit to examine itself in the mirror, oblivious to the furious look of the woman she stood before.

[Redd]

Cold steel whistled through the air, a knife hit the wall next to them with a audible thud. "Enough!" Korinne finally snapped, aqua eyes burning with a fire. The demon stilled, before dissolving again, this time a masculine form stepped out. Tall, purple skinned, lizard eyed and crowned with a large pair of thick, golden horns. He was barely clad, just enough to cover the necessities with a thin, lithe tail coiled around his waist. His deep, purple lips where twisted into a pout. "That... is better. Three demons though? Really?"

A Desire Demon. Though she figured that out pretty early on. Probably the same one playing around in their fun time in the Fade a few days earlier. At least he was easier on the eyes than his abomination friends.

"Fine dear, I can tell when I've touched a nerve." He didn't seem all to pleased to be in it's true form but she didn't really care. "And sorry to disappoint, there's actually four but our dear little Despair friend is far too important to risk your... violent tendencies."

[Redd]

The comment prompted nothing more than a scowl and her fingers impulsively twitching but the amused rumbling from the Pride demon in the background meant it definitely had been noted. Fuck. She dearly would have loved to run them through right there and then but they were right. It would be nothing but banishment and it wouldn't solve her haunting problem.

She'd seen her friends suffer traumatic nightmares for weeks and it was starting to wear morale at best and she was seeing cracks in her friends sanity at worst. It was one thing for the man 'protecting' (used loosely here, between the two of them, they caused far more problems than necessary) her to be having bad nightmares, it was another for her best friend of three years to be panicking and doubting herself on a near-daily level.

She hated it, but they were right. She would have to go. She didn't need to see their tired, weary faces being worn by an impostor to realise that. If that was the price she had to pay for them, so be it.

Maybe that'd finally tip her scales towards good. Get that red off her ledger.

[Redd]

The Desire demon carefully weaved his way across the room, his poise and the way he picked his pathing delicate and thoughtful. He curiously tapped his golden claws over a few objects foreign to the land he came from, the television, the lamp, before coming to a stop in front of the woman who was still wrestling with the ultimatum she'd been delivered.

"Although my ugly friends have done terribly to deliver the message, we do not want conflict. We just want to live. There was never any real harm done to your friends... well, yet. Say if there was a conflict as is often in this world, they... may not be equipped to deal with it in their current state and you, away from Thedas, do not have the resources to hunt and track down a problem demon. But you will try." The demon nodded to himself, as if to reaffirm what he was saying. And it was true, that had been their game for the last few weeks. "So, this is our proposal. A deal, not with me but with them. Those more powerful than myself. Those who can offer more." He paused, tilting his body ever so slightly to once again remind Korinne of the elven-pride abomination behind. "A new life! Away from this city, somewhere you can and will fit in. Somewhere away where we do not have to worry about you hunting us down so we do not have to hold your friends hostage for our lives! Somewhere you can not sabotage and distract your friends from their efforts to get home, because secretly, deep down, you like this place and you don't want to go back."

[Redd]

Korinne started, making for her blade at that. "How... dare you." she growled, whipping out the knife, the sharp edge glowing red hot, the air around it shimmering. Even here it's runes still worked. There was no follow through though, the demons words, silken and tempting as they were music to her ears. She was intrigued by what they were offering.

"Now now..." The demon stepped back, claws raised in a gesture of defeat. "It is but a simple observation. You have been leading their best brain back there around on a leash, distracting him from purpose. You're a wanted woman back there, correct? For something you didn't even do. And despite correcting the problem, you are still hunted. Here is... a fresh start, somewhere without the previous bias. You could remain, but your friends could get back this way. And they should get back, their timeline is doomed without them."

[Redd]

"So you can pull a few things from my head." Korinne replied, the passion from before only just there now. Familiarity wasn't necessary to understand she was scared, and tempted. When you were the cause of so many issues, when... this demon was presenting her with damning facts about her very deliberate sabotage. It was so very tempting to take up the offer.

She rubbed her temples and looked between the three monsters in the room. "Maker, fine. Say I do take the offer. What happens from there?" she grumbled, stowing away the blade and leaning against the wall.

"We take control-"

"Temporarily, Vanitas. To you, it will be a short dream walk."

Vanitas gave the Desire a withering look before continuing. "- and take you somewhere, set the groundwork for a new life, wake you up and leave you be. Easy."

If only it were.

[Redd]

Korinne bit the corner of her lip and shifted her weight, considering the implications of both the offers here. She was... poison, she always had been. Pushing her own selfish agenda onto other people, ruining other people's plans... it was obvious from the get-go that's what she'd been doing here. From the moment she made the decision to seduce their only friend in this strange world and distract him with her drama, instead of letting him build the machine he had to, to get them all home.

"Fine. I'll do it." she finally said, standing up and starting to gather her belongings together.

Collectively, the three demons looked a little taken aback that she'd agree to it so quickly but after sharing a glance and a dismissive shrug, the Desire demon and the Sloth demon moved to leave. Vanitas exhaled a raspy breath, before opening their palms and collecting mana. "Any requests human?"

"Oh! Somewhere near a Starbucks." Korinne quipped back, unable to keep serious, despite the fact she'd just signed her consciousness away to a demon.

Vanitas stared blankly at the woman for a moment, before making a huffing noise. "You have a problem. Nevertheless, fine. Close your eyes. Count to ten, then open them. You will experience... discomfort, it will pass. Charity will meet you on the other side. He will explain the next part."

[Redd]

Next was darkness.

One, two, three - she could feel her mind swimming, the light behind her eyelids fading away.

Four, five, six - next was a feeling of weightlessness. Like being stuck in a void, no sound, smells, feeling.

Seven, eight, nine - things were... starting to happen, she could feel ground beneath her again. Air but it was heavy. Light behind her eyelids. Distant rumbling of rock. Footsteps of something coming towards her.

Ten.

She opened her eyes, before squinting and raising a hand to her face. It was pretty much what she expected, yellow rock as far as the eye could see formed in impossible paths, some sideways, some upside-down. A weaving, crisscrossing mess. Here and there, objects of the waking world were scattered, thoughts of the dreamers. She'd been here before, the Fade but even though it had been mostly barren, she still had felt... more.

[Redd]

"Taking it all in?" The Desire demon, Charity if the Pride was to be believed, lingered a little further ahead, also turning around to take it in. "I am sure it looks different to a mortal but the empty... vastness. That's what got me when we first were pulled here. Nasty business, we were just passengers of the self-proclaimed god's spell. Like you."

Korinne remembered, though she gave no indication. She remembered a fight, in a temple, old as hell and haunted by demons. They'd used Ashe as a trap to lure the rest in, though after being ambushed by a Despair demon bold enough to torment her, she had been out for blood, trap or no. Charity noted the thoughtful expression and waved his hand, turning the scenery into the splitting image of her thoughts.

"Ah, you were thinking of it. Come, we have to walk."

[Redd]

"Maker, you really have no respect for privacy." Korinne grumbled, but started picking her way through the rubble. Despite the complaining, it was a welcome change. This was the closest she'd been to home in ages, and without the blasted cold nipping at her, she had time to appreciate the view. She still missed it, even if she couldn't stomach the thought of going back.

Was she a coward? Probably.

"Hmm, the Maker... Are you religious?" Charity mused, inclining a head back to continue the conversation.

"Religious. Hah, that's a question." Korinne snorted, shaking her head. She didn't know where this was going but... what harm could it do, indulging the demon? Desire's were pretty straight forward, find what you wanted most and feed off it. It was scheming Pride's that you had to worry about. Charity might feed off something for a small while maybe but they'd promised to leave her be after and she believed them on that. Their motive felt true enough. "I used to be. Now I'm... lost. Where would a Maker fit in with different worlds?"

[Redd]

"You know... humans here have a similar faith. One creator, not really present but prayed to." Charity explained, though Korinne knew some of this already. "Perhaps they are one and the same. Where we are leaving you, there is a church. If you need safehaven or an ear, seek it out."

The woman gave a short shrug but filed the information away. She wasn't really a repent and pray sort of person. When most of her younger years was full of thievery and assassinations... she never believed herself worthy of it. It was only these days that she'd started assuming the same of regular mortals.

"I'll consider it, I guess. If I feel some burning need to confess my deepest darkest sins." Then she'd have to kill them though. Just as an act of mercy.