Something's completely off - Boadicea

He opened his eyes in the alley and sighed deeply. He wasnt sure why he had ended up here. A few glimpses of a hidden memory played past his green eyes and he couldnt figure out what it meant. He looked down at his pale arms and made a confused expression as it seemed like something was missing, "Strange," he mumbled at the lack of ink underneath his skin. He felt a deep hunger, but it was more like he was starving. He needed to find something quick. He pulled himself to his feet as he stumbled forward, grabbing a nearby person as he looked them in the eyes. The person made a pained expression as Baal seemed to consume his life energy by touch and soon they fell to the ground with a horrified and painful expression. He sighed in satisfaction but it wasnt enough, he was still starving. So he grabbed the man's jacket and put it on to cover his blank pale arms. He walked in a staggering movement as he grazed his hand along the wall, he was supposed to feel something but he felt nothing. He looked at his palm that was completely ridden of the mark, but he just moved his eyes ahead. He grabbed another person and quickly sucked their energy out, this time feeling a bit more steady on his feet. Soon a small trail of people was made as the random strangers barely noticed the dead ahead before he was on them, adding another.
He stopped as he got to an alley and felt oddly strong again. "More," he growled and sighed. Would this hunger ever end, he wondered?

Buffy made her way home after her classes had finished. She yawned, feeling her body so drowsy as she had just sat through two lectures, one after the other. Her mind was about to explode with the information she had gathered, and she just wanted to go home and sleep. That’s when she noticed the tall dark figure, leaving a trail of poor unfortunate souls. Or well, they had no soul left. Buffy pulled her backpack on her back, securing it, and grabbing her stake as she followed the dark figure. It’s back was turned to her as it sucked out another soul. ”Stop that,” she said, holding her stake by her side. Was this a rogue demon? She had to be ready for anything. The demon didn’t respond and she pulled at it’s shoulder until the familiar face looked at her. ”Baal?” she whispered, not able to process what was going on. She looked to his pale skin, void of those black swirls she was so used to feel and see as they laid close at night. ”Are you out of your mind?” she asked, not really sure how to react to all of this.

He heard a voice and turned his head slightly but not enough. He recognized the voice but kept going till he felt a hand on his shoulder that made him turn around. He smiled at her whisper but it wasnt a normal smile. He observed as she looked at his skin and lifted a hand to move some of her hair, his skin brushing against her would let him steal just a bit of her life energy which would feel quite uncomfortable. He sighed at her question and moved his hand away, turning his eyes up to the sky as he waited a bit with answering, "Am I?" he then asked as he moved his green eyes down to meet hers, a crooked smile spreading in the corner of his lip.
"You know what I am. What I live off. Why are you so surprised to see this?" he then asked tilting his head with a slight confused frown. He then eyed the trail of corpses, and made a slight smile at the sight - They were all humans. He looked at her stake and then sighed, "Would you kill me again? Could thy heart muster such heartache once more?" he said poetically and then frowned. He wasnt hostile towards her, but his body language was off. He wasnt relaxed, he wasnt jestful or happy, he just seemed like he was exsisting.

As she looked into those grey eyes so void of feeling she knew something was wrong. Her body shook a bit at the thought of who this was. Was it Baal? His touched made her move away, feeling uncomfortable at his touch. She normally found comfort in his touch, but this seemed draining. Her muscles tensed as she looked at his off-putting smile. ”Because it’s not who you are Baal,” she said. Had he lost himself again? Turned to the darkness once more and let himself drift too far? His question made her freeze, and she honestly didn’t know if she could. Her body shook as she readied herself if he were to attack her. ”My heart would break, but I still have promises to uphold,” she said, still confused about the whole situation. ”Can’t you explain? Please, Belial?” she said in an almost begging voice. She wanted to understand, but she couldn’t. Didn’t he love the humans? Didn’t he love her?

"Oh but it was, once upon a time, when Baal was Belial, and Belial was nothing but a killer. Long before I cared for humans, I had no such love for fragility. You are all weak and mortal. Your lives so short they wont even matter," he said rather coldly this time as he kept his eyes on hers, frowning with displeasure at his own mention of humans. He smiled at her answer and shook his head, "You can try to uphold it, if you dare to" he then said.
When she said his name, his eyes became a bit more lively, the green almost glowing in the light, revealing no trace of grey at all. "Ah Belial. That's more my name than Baal ever will be." he said in a toneless voice with a smirk on his face. Her begging tone didnt seem to faze him, and he turned. She wasnt supposed to be here, and he was making it quite clear with his back turned to her, "Go home Boadicea." he then said in almost a warning tone as he started walking again.

Buffy couldn’t believe her ears, she could barely believe what the demon was saying, swallowing at his words. This wasn’t Baal. This wasn’t her Baal. His dare made her body shake shortly, but she needed to be focused. As he turned her back to her she could feel part of her heart shatter. ”Go home?” she said through her gritted teeth and grabbed Baal’s jacket, pushing him against the brick wall and taking a firm grip of her stake. ”My home is with you, you know that,” she said looking at him with hurting eyes. Was he really too far gone? Was he capable of killing her. ”Maybe it’s time you return the favor, huh?” she said with a shaking lip. She couldn’t go through with his death again. Never. Not by her hands at least. ”Eat my soul – take from me the chance to go to hell or heaven,” she said looking him in the eye. If he didn’t care about her anymore she wasn’t going to find peace in the afterlife anyways.

He grabbed her hand and pressed it into his flesh and she saw nothing come from it. Her heart skipped a beat and soon he pulled her closer. Her breathing went weaker as she felt his hand grab her, feeling her soul slip out slowly. Was she going to die? She felt herself drifting away, slowly and painfully, however she couldn’t react. ”I love you Belial,” she whispered not knowing if the real Baal could even hear her. The dark Baal had her, eating her soul piece by piece. She had realized it wasn’t the real Baal, but she was powerless. Her life slipping through her fingers like sand. She closed her eyes, readying herself for death. ”May the Lord have mercy on your soul,” she whispered, weak and far too gone at this point to even fight.

He narrowed his eyes at her at her whisper and smiled as he shook his head, "He's out there loving you as well," he then said, poking lightly at her skin just to to tease her with the impending doom that awaited her. Her energy was better than the others, maybe it was the love in her that gave it that extra spark. But that didnt matter, it would soon all be consumed by him.
That was if a giant black spirit dog hadnt thrown it's body into him, knocking him over and making him release his grip on Buffy. It growled and snapped at him, but it's bites were pointless, even if the skin was pierced, they would close as soon as it let go. Arms found their way around the human girl as a deep sigh left the real Baal's lips. "I got you," he assured her as he placed a kiss in her hair and held her up in his arms, holding her head close to his chest so she could hear his unsteady heartbeat due to his immense worry. He lifted her head up so he could look into her eyes, shifting between them, worried sick that he hadnt made it in time.

She felt herself loosing herself partly, drifting off until she felt his soft arms around him. ”Baal,” she said with a weak voice. Had the other demon eaten too much of her soul? Could she get it back? She felt so weak, slipping away at the second. Her green eyes seemed to lack color as she looked at the demon, reaching a hand up to his cheek before it fell loose with her body going limb. Her body hadn’t died yet, but so much of her soul had been taken that she was unable to move. Her eyes stared blankly as she felt herself die slowly. Could they restore her soul? She had no room to think of it.

When her body went limp, he felt a panic rush through him like nothing else. It wasnt her time yet, why was she dying. He looked at his soul fragment and frowned deeply as it all made sense. He growled in a deep almost ghastly tone as he spoke his demonic words with pure anger. The hound fastened it’s grip on the fragment and started pulling him towards Baal. He looked at Buffy and pressed his forehead against hers as he felt a unwilling tear run down his cheek, “I wont let you die on me,” he assured her but his voice was trembling with fear. He grabbed a hold of the fragment’s throat with his marked hand as he started chanting in his common tongue, making the fragment squirm and grunt as if it felt immense pain. He pulled the fragment to his body, so that Buffy would be between them and the fragment was powerless. He closed his eyes and mumbled a few words as a the hound turned into a sword that he grasped firmly. He looked at Buffy with teary eyes as he pressed her closer. “Please work, with the unholy spirit infested in me, let her live” he begged as he readied the spirit sword, pressing it through the fragment, then Buffy and lastly his own heart. He made a pained expression and clenched his jaw as hard as he could as the sword started pulling at their souls. He closed his eyes and focused, chanting demonic words as he put the mark over Buffy’s head and chanted her name. He screamed in pain as the sword retracted taking a part of his soul with it as the pointy end sank into Buffy to disappear as it gave her a part of his soul. The shaft started pulling the fragment closer to her forcing it to merge with her as the shaft slowly disappeared into her body, the same way the pointy end did.
Baal fell to his knees and grabbed Buffy as the merge completed just in time for him to fall backwards, letting her land on him as he passed out.

Buffy tried to scream to move to do anything remotely to show she was still partly there. She wanted to comfort him, hold him close, but instead her body went numb and limb. Was this how she was going to end? I don’t wanna die she wanted to whimper. She wanted to cry, but her body had no reaction to her wishes. She felt herself drift away, the small part of her soul longing to go to the afterlife and leaving behind the soon empty body. She was about to go through with it, before she felt a sharp pain in her chest and she thought she was being ripped apart. Could she scream? Her body felt so weak and something was being pushed against her soul. She felt some weight disappear from her chest and felt the warm arms around her. She blinked a few times as she laid on him feeling her head spin and her body suddenly felt with energy, however she could barely move. Her inner had a battle going on as it tried to mend it’s own soul together, as well as adjusting to this new fragment of sorts. ”Baal,” she whispered with a hoarse voice, the pain so clear in her voice as she tried to move.

Baal's soul had already been seperated multiple times, and it had taken quite a strain on it throughout the years. He may have seemed like he had a strong soul, but it was wounded without the soul fragments that was scattered around in hell, his soul was fragile. It was a risk he had taken, by giving her a part of his soul, he had weakened himself beyond belief. His breathing was quite slow as he laid there with her in her arms, barely noticing her whisper as he had drifted off to what seemed like nothingness. He didnt dream, he couldnt think, he was just existing.
But he opened his eyes after a while, or barely. He glanced down at her and sighed in what would have sounded like relief but it was weak. He tried to lift his hand but he was slow and shaking, trying his hardest to make it find it's way to her face. His expression scrunched in pain and his hand fell down on his chest so close to her face. He moved his eyes up to the sky and felt like he could drift off in any moment again.
A person crouched down next to them and laid her hand on Baal's head. "You're a dummy," she mumbled as she turned her eyes to the human and grabbed her, easily lifting her over to a car where she put her in the backseat. Baal was sat next to her and the girl sat in the car as she drove off. She lifted her gaze to the rear mirror and looked at them both as she sighed deeply. "You both are dummies," she then said in the same mumble as she turned her eyes back on the road.

She could hear his weak heartbeat and she felt so guilty. She had hurt him again. Broken her promise, or at least she felt like it was what she had done. Buffy could barely move as her body was battling itself over who was going to take control. She heard a voice, but all she could understand was that she was getting picked up and placed in a moving vehicle and have Baal next to her. She leaned against him with a pained expression. The female demon spoke a few words, but she could hardly make out what it was she said. ”I’m not stupid,” she mumbled in a weak voice. Her head started spinning and she bent forward, gasping for air. The fragment was fighting hard to take control, but she wouldn’t let it. Her soul was slowly getting itself back together, and she wanted to stay strong. ”Who are you?” she asked with a strained voice as another attack hit her from the inside. It felt like she was burning up, but one touch of her skin and they would feel how cold she really was.

Baal had drifted off again as soon as he had been placed in the car, leaning his head over Buffy's as she leaned against him. The female demon scoffed at her mumble and looked in the rear mirror again to look at the human. She shook her head once again and moved her gaze back on the road. "You are," she said rather firmly as she kept driving, to what would seem like a long one. The human's question made her chuckle but it wasnt a happy one, it was oddly emotionless, "Friend of Baal," she simply answered before she glanced at him in the mirror, frowning at him shortly before she made a rather sharp turn at a red light. "I dont know what happened, but you're both weak, I feel it all over you," she then said as they passed a sign that let them know they had left southside. She turned down the radio but didnt leave the car in silence. Her breath was trembling with frustration and her hands tight on the driver's wheel. "He needs to feast, or he will die," she then said and tried to catch the human's eyes in the rear mirror, her expression ever so serious with a deep frown.

Buffy felt her body almost getting tossed around in the backseat of the car. Where were they going? She didn’t have to wonder long before she felt the pain again, groaning as she clenched her fists. ”Then let us get him something to eat,” she said with a strained voice. She could feel the demonic soul fragment toying with her, trying to take control, but she needed to focus. ”I can’t loose him again,” she said looking at the demon in the rearview mirror. Her eyes were burning with pain, but she was too stubborn to let that stop her. She moved her hand to grip Baal’s and looked at him shortly before looking at the female demon. ”Does the friend of Baal have a name, or?” she asked a bit sassy, but she was simply trying to stay herself.

The female demon noticed how much pain the human was in. She felt the soul's struggle and some part of her felt bad for her. She had no idea why the human's soul seemed so powerful and unstable, she hadnt really felt that in a human before. She sighed as the human said she couldnt bear another loss, "Then stay alive. Your life is at stake as well," she then said and pressed her foot onto the speeder, making the car roar as it sped up.
She rasied an eyebrow as the human asked for her name. She went quiet for a while before she simply answered, "Prideux. Vanessa," and kept her eyes on the road. She sped past the buildings, cars honking and hands hanging out of the window as they flipped her off but she didnt care. She stopped as they reached a familiar street and stepped out of the car without a word. She opened the door and pulled the human out onto her feet, "Can you walk or do you need me to help you?" she asked, holding a firm grip on the human's arm to keep her up.
She turned her eyes back to Baal and grabbed his arm as she pulled him out on the street, she was happy that he wasnt a bulky blooddemon but he still had his weight. She pulled his arm over her shoulders and grabbed his wrist to keep him steady. She looked at the human. "He needs a pure soul. Nothing else can help him," she then said as she eyed the stake on the human's arm, making a confused frown yet she didnt really ask about it.

She felt the immense pain going through her body, pulling and clawing at her insides, but she refused to give in to that feeling. She wanted to be strong for him, like he had been strong in saving her. She thought he had saved her at least, however the pain told her otherwise. “I’m trying,” she said through clenched teeth when The demon told her to stay alive. She felt like she had to throw up, but she knew nothing would come from it. What was going on? She tried not to think about it, as it gave her more nausea and she just held herself close too Baal. She looked up as she said her name. “I’m Buffy... Buffy is... Buffy is fine,” she said her shoulders shaking as if she suddenly got hit by a cold windS the car stopped and she tumbled out, shaking her head when Vanessa offered help, and instead helped her with Baal’s weak body. Her next words put ice through her veins. Baal never feasted on pure souls, did he? She tried to stay awake. “Can’t ... isn’t there another way?” Buffy begged grabbing her own shoulder as she felt it move without her consent.

She lifted her gaze to the rearview as the human named herself. "Buffyyyyy-... Alright," she pulled on the name with a confused tone but seemed to be fine with the name, even though she couldnt quite believe that it was her real name. She wasnt happy to see how Buffy was struggling with something. She hated not knowing things, especially when it seemed to be affecting the human in this way.
Vanessa pulled an angry frown as Buffy seemed to be reluctant on Baal's need to get a pure soul. She groaned loudly in a sassy tone as she rolled her eyes, "If there was, I'd have said it. There's no other way," she said, clearly annoyed by the begging. She sighed and looked at Baal, "He'll hate me for it, but I am not letting him die," she said as her eyes went on the human on the last three words, a spite was present in the tone, but her eyes were carrying no hatred. "So dont worry your pretty blonde head about it," she then said as she pulled Baal with her as she placed him up against the wall. She looked at him with a frown but shook her head.
She turned her eyes back to Buffy. "Keep your distance. Starving demons would eat anything," she then said before she turned on her foot and looked ahead. "I'll bring the souls, just stay here, and make sure he doesnt do anything stupid," she said as she started walking down the street. Baal seemed to wake as Vanessa had gone and opened his eyes slightly as he weakly inhaled some air. "Buffy," he said as he turned his eyes up to meet hers. He opened his hand and turned his eyes down to look at the mark, "Help me, so I can go to hell..." he said lowly, like his voice was giving up on him.

Buffy groaned as she tried to stay focused. Why did she feel like her soul was fighting so hard to just exist? She pulled a pained face, even though she tried not to. The fragment was pulling at her like no other, and she had to fight this battle alone. She breathed out hugging her arms around her stomach as she got out of the car, stumbling a bit, but staying upright. ”You don’t have to be all wise about it, sorry I don’t eat souls, I guess,” she said in a pained voice, still trying to bite back. That was what she always did. She tried to be positive and tried to get in a witty comeback, however it was hard to focus on the things she was saying. Buffy felt the sweat start pouring from her forehead, but she helped herself to lean against the same wall as Baal was, keeping her eyes on Baal. ”I’ll worry all I want,” she said looking to Vanessa, fire behind her eyes. It was like her green eyes lit up for a moment, before she made a pained expression and looked down. ”Souls?” she said almost as a gasp, but she couldn’t move at this point, the wall being one of the only things keeping her upright. She heard his voice and she looked to him, trying so hard to hide her own pain. Hell? Why would he go to hell now? ”Baal, why?” she managed to get out as normal as she could.

"Save your wits, he's dying," she said sternly as she placed Baal against the wall, turning her eyes back on Buffy as she stared at her for a bit. She wasnt sure that she had to say anything to her condition as it was quite obvious that something was wrong. Buffy's answer about her worry made Vanessa lift her eyebrow slightly, yet she kept her mouth shut, trying to avoid angering the human girl further. She left them with the hope that she could come back soon.

Baal's eyes were only on his mark in his hand, even as Buffy spoke to him. He felt too weak to even try to move or lift his hand. His eyes slowly went up to hers and he exhaled weakly. "I gave you.... a part of... my soul," he tried to say in a rather strained yet tired tone. His eyes moved down to his hand again. "Vanessa wants.. me... to eat a pure soul... But I cant... I..." he gritted his teeth and tried to keep his head up. "It's not the kind.. of person.. I want to be," he then finished on the verge to drifting off again. He felt a panic spread inside him, but he was too weak to even express it - He didnt want to leave her again.

Buffy felt the chilly wind brush against her, but she hardly reacted to it. Vanessa left and Buffy looked down, feeling like she should have fought harder, but how could she when her body was going crazy. As Baal spoke she took his marked hand in hers, looking at him, trying so desperately not to show that she was in pain too. ”You did what?” she asked, it was like she finally knew, at least part of, what was going on with her. Was her body trying to fight for it’s human side? She breathed out, her lips shaking. Could she risk becoming what she had hunted for so many years? The thought scared her, but she looked at him, giving his hand a squeeze. ”If you go, I go with you,” she demanded. This wasn’t a yes or no answer. It was a take it or leave it situation. She wasn’t happy about Baal eating a pure soul, that would be more wrong than anything else. Her hand was starting to shake, placing a soft kiss at the centre of the pentagram before she cut his hand open and letting him open the portal. She took a deep breath. Something in her told her to not go through that portal, but the other part was yelling at her to go through. She placed Baal’s arm around her shoulder and guided him through the portal.

Baal didnt like that Buffy wanted to go with him but he was too weak to object or attempt to stop her at this point, and he really just wanted to get to hell before he would be forced to consume the pure souls. He wasnt sure if this was going to work. And with that followed the possibility that it could have a worse outcome than what Vanessa would have planned. She was turning the corner as she saw them go through the portal, her eyes widening as she started running towards them, “No you fucking idiots! DONT!” She screamed but as she reached them the portal had closed and they were gone. She frowned deeply and threw a fist at the wall, making a deep dent in the stones.

When they got to hell, Baal suddenly felt weaker as his feet gave up and made him stumble onto the ground. He groaned loudly and reached for his chest, just as the marks on his body all started flaring, the mark on his hand glowing with a fierce red glow. The dark energy was strong in this place and as much as it gave him life, it was also tearing him apart. He gritted his teeth and inhaled sharply as it just seemed to worsen, pained grunts and groans unwillingly bursting out of him. His body was in a complete panic, the fragility of his soul wanted to give in to the dark but his mind wouldnt, leaving him in an immense pain that gradually increased the more he refused it.
He lifted his head with a pained expression as he looked ahead and gritted his teeth as hard as he could, the pain in his gums however couldnt outweigh the inner pain. “I was getting tired of waiting,” a deep voice said as eyes shining like the bluest eyes shone in the dark. Ramsay stepped out of the dark but he looked nothing like a human anymore. His skin scorched off, showing his demon side, broken horns that were misplaced stuck out of his deformed head. He looked at Baal. “You’re going to help me escape, sweet little prince of hell,” he said as he then turned his eyes on the human, a sinister grin revealed his mouth scrambled with sharp and human teeth, “And if you intervene, I’ll have no problem making your stay here permanent, girl,” he warned her as he approached them and laid a hand around Baal’s wrist, pulling him up so they were face to face. Baal could feel his darkened spirit, even more so by the fleshed contact, a pained scream left his mouth from the bottom of his stomach before he exhaled shakingly trying to control his body and stop it from reacting to the pain.

Buffy heard Vanessa clear as day, but it was too late. The portal was open and in her stubbornness she just had to do this for Baal. He wished for it, and part of her were happy that he didn’t want to consume a pure soul. Hell hit her like a ton of bricks and she stumbled to the ground, laying flat on her stomach as her insides felt like burning, but she picked herself up. Now was not a time to think about herself. With a pained expression she looked at Baal, cupping his face in her hands and trying to let him focus on her eyes. ”It’s okay, we’ll figure this out,” she said still trying to hide the massive storm forming inside her. Something was almost pulling at her to get out and she feared what it might be if she lost focus for a second. The dark voice roared through the emptiness of hell and she looked to the deformed demon. He didn’t need to introduce himself. Her people had tried catching that guys for what seemed forever, but he was smart and cunning; and not to mention extremely dangerous. ”Don’t you dare touch him,” she snared, her green eyes lighting up as she pushed Ramsay backwards with a force she didn’t know she had. Her body was shaking as she felt another pressence, but it felt so light.

”The itsy bitsy cockroach,” a sweet angelic voice sung throung the darkness. Enid skipped forward with a smile and looked at what was going on. She felt so much darkness from this demon that she just had to let curiosity take over. ”Now, we can’t have you leave hell like that, could we, Ramsay Deverux,” her sweet voice said, walking closer. In hell she was safer than most, having grown up here, the darkness didn’t affect her soul as much. Besides, her aura was enough to keep the souls around her far away. ”Leave my brother and his playtoy be, I could have some use for you,” she said. She looked to Baal and the shape his body was in with a sigh. ”Brother dear, I trust you know what you are doing, so don’t let me come back to get you,” she said calmly, before turning her gaze to Buffy. Their green eyes met and she chuckled to herself. ”She’s pretty, I hope she’s winning the battle inside her,” she said tilting her head to the side before turning her attention to Ramsay once more. She started walking away, looking back at the trio. ”Come on, I don’t have all day; Besides my sister has to reassemble your body, so we’ll have some time to play,” she said with a smile.

Buffy didn’t know what was going on. One moment she felt in control, the next she didn’t. It was like a constant rollercoaster with too many twsts and turns to count. ”What do you need?” she asked, looking at Baal and the weak body he was trying to keep control off.

Even if Baal tried, he couldnt focus at this point. He had gotten strength to stay awake down here, but his dark spirit had come to live and wanted out. He put his hand on hers and made a trembling exhale filled with pain, as he looked at her eyes, but it was clear that he couldnt see her. "I'm blinded by the cruelty and my spirit longs for the darkness," his hand squeezed hers weakly before he let it go as Ramsay approached. He was about to touch the demon as he was shoved away, staggering a little before he easily recovered, grinning at the human, "You've got a spark. Oh ohhh oh, I'll enjoy ripping it out of you piece by piece," he growled as he started nearing the human, lifting his clawed hand.

Ramsay heard the angelic voice and turned his head with a impatient expression as the little angel skipped forward, stopping himself in clawing the human in front of him. A small demonic growl left his lips as she spoke to him. Baal lifted his tired gaze but had to look down again as he hid his teeth gritting, just to not seem weak. He however deepened his frown a bit as Enid called Buffy his playtoy, but he couldnt really be mad at her, as he thought that she probably didnt understand why he would choose to be with a human of all. He staggered to his feet, swaying a little as he was trying to keep his balance, "I'll be fine," he mumbled but it was clear that he was in a lot of pain, turning his eyes to Buffy as Enid mentioned a battle. Ramsay starred at the little angel, completely ignoring the pair as he started walking towards the girl. "I have a hybrid angel waiting up there for me," he said as he got a sinister smile on his face. He knew that he had to get back to the earth, he had seen Karmena's memories of how he was there in their present. He wouldnt like to be late for it.

Baal closed his eyes for a bit as they had left and felt the sharp pain in his chest lighten a little but it wasnt enough. Hell's air was filled with regret and hatred, making the artifact long for returning to it's rightful place. He opened his eyes as Buffy asked him what he needed and he wasnt sure what to say. He moved his gaze away and started walking in a slow unsteady walk, "To get you somewhere safe," he replied after a while in a strained tone as he clutched at his chest, the marks on his body moving around like flames as they shimmered with a burning fire. It was hurtful, but he was holding back the pain, making a few pained scrunches as he halted and gasped for air, like had he been punched in the stomach.
He suddenly stopped and fell to his knees as he felt an overload of dark energy appear out of nowhere. Spirits of deceased, people who had been trapped in hell for eternity crawled from every corner to make a ring around them, most of them staring at the pair like they were a fresh meal. "Artifact, artiiiifaaaact" they chanted in chorus as they neared them. "They want what's inside me..." Baal said weakly as he lifted his eyes to look around them. He gritted his teeth again and made a pained gasp, "I am losing my battle, I have to give it what it wants, or it will take my body and my soul to keep for eternity," he admitted, another sharp inhale and a gasp followed.