Brendon stared at himself in his bathroom mirror. His suit jacket and dress shirt hung open, allowing the Devil's Key to breath. He eyed its reflection, bringing a hand up to hold the artifact.

After finishing his time at the museum, Brendon had taken the first flight out of the country. He hadn't slept on the flight. He hadn't slept since obtaining the Devil's Key. It provided so much energy to fuel him that he didn't need sleep.

He grinned at his reflection. He had gotten the key. He had a date with the girl who had sent him for it. Food was cooking. His suit was clean. This was a change in pace from his life before the key. It had changed Brendon in a way he couldn't fully comprehend, but whatever now resided inside of him thrived.

Brendon stretched, thinking about the museum. The museum director had been the one turning fifty, though he never made it to a full day of enjoying his new age.

Brendon actually didn't remember much of what happened after putting the key around his neck. He more remembered the feeling. It was new. It was dark. It was exhilarating.

His phone chimed from outside of the bathroom, pulling him out of his thoughts. Nicole had to be sending him a message. She was still the only one who had that number. He turned away from the mirror and began tugging at his cuff sleeves. He left his shirt open and chose to kick the door open with his foot. He looked up from his cuff sleeves to see multiple darkly dressed men standing in his bedroom.

He looked at each and every one, counting the bodies that would soon be hitting the floor. Instead of engaging, however, he buttoned his shirt and calmly walked over to where his phone sat on a shelf. A text from Nicole waited.

See you in ten

Brendon glanced back at the figures in his room, each brandishing a different weapon. As if that should be intimidating.

Make it 30

Brendon typed the message quickly before sliding his phone back onto the shelf and moving over to a slim drawer in the accompanying desk beside it. Inside were several ties, neatly folded. He pulled two out, grinning to himself as the Devil's Key whispered the plan of attack to him. Without so much as a glance away from the ties, he leaned over and turned on a wall fan in the corner.

"Give us the key and maybe you'll get to keep use of your legs." One of the figures growled.

Brendon snorted at the threat. "It's your life you should be worrying about." He replied snarkily, spinning to face his house intruders. Before any of them could respond, Brendon tightened the knot he had been making between his ties and threw it towards the nearest masked figure. They were completely caught off guard as it wrapped tightly around their neck. The figure choked, bringing hands up to pull at the fabric constricting their airway. Brendon smirked.

"Threaten me again." He shrugged before tossing the end of the ties he had held onto into the spinning fan blades.

It only took seconds for bits of the intruder to spread across the room.

Brendon grinned wickedly at all of the leftovers. "Who's next?"

They all froze for a moment, shocked by what had happened to their fallen comrade. It only lasted a moment more before someone got brave. Another figure rushed towards Brendon, making him laugh. It was just like the museum. The key took over, letting its darkness fill Brendon and use him as a vessel.

The next thing Brendon knew, he was coming back his hair in preparation for Nicole's arrival. The food for her was still cooking downstairs. Her cake still waited on the table.

He stepped out of the bathroom just as more figures stumbled into his room. Their eyes widened under their ski masks as they took in the bloody mess of their fellow fallen soldiers. Their fear soaked into Brendon's senses. Whatever now resided inside of Brendon laughed and swelled in size. It was empowering. It fueled him. He tilted his head, flashing a twitching grin.

"Come get me."

---

Nicole appeared right outside of Brendon's house. Her ears were immediately filled by the sounds of explosions and struggle. She smiled as she walked up the steps to Brendon's door. He must be near done demolishing those low level demons; she had given him a good three minutes. She tapped on his door and turned her back to it.

It only took seconds for it to open.

She spun around, playing her part and smiling at the smirking human. Though she knew he had the Devil's Key, she was surprised by the darkness that radiated off of him. It almost made her stumble in her turn.

"You got my key?" She asked with a slight flirtatious note in her tone. Directing that at a human made her want to vomit, Devil's Key taking him over or not.

"Yea, I do." He barely spoke the words before Nicole shot towards him. He caught her with a smirk, stumbling backwards as he held her. "I kind of like it though." His voice was soft and deep, as if it was the key speaking rather than Brendon.

Nicole shifted her footing, changing the direction of his backwards movement. It was almost like a dance. They ended up in the kitchen, where Brendon spun to lift her onto a countertop. His nose pressed against hers as his lips hovered inches away from hers. "What if he keeps it?"

Nicole surpressed a growl. She couldn't go back to Hell without that dammed key. She slid a hand up Brendon's side, quickly dancing her fingers into a pattern along his temple. "What if you show me?" She countered, wrapping her arms around his neck.

Brendon spun her back around, moving her towards another room in the house. She allowed it, ripping off her jacket as encouragement to Brendon to do the same. He did, keeping close to her body as he did. His eyes were glazed over, nearly taking a yellow tint.

Nicole allowed herself to be shoved down to the remains of a once luxurious bed. She looked up at Brendon eagerly, watching as he ripped open his white button up shirt and threw it to the side. Hanging around his neck, resting just against the center of his chest, was the Devil's Key. The source of Brendon's new darkness. The thing she had been ordered to retrieve.

As Brendon held his arms out at his sides to fully show off his prize, Nicole brought her boot up to the one spot all human men were vulnerable. She pushed herself up as Brendon grabbed the area with a note of pain. She roughly pushed him down to where she had been just an moment earlier. Her eyes locked on a baseball bat, most likely one of the only remains leff from one of the low levels. She scooped it up in her hand and spun back to face Brendon.

Brendon's face still showed his human pain. He was more focused on that than her. She smirked, bringing the bat up. "I'll be taking my key now." She said before swinging.

There was a sickening crack as the wood collided with Brendon's head. He was thrown to the side, ending up sprawled out on the floor. His foot twitched for a moment before he was completely still.

Nicole dropped the bat and strolled over to Brendon. She knelt beside him and grabbed hold of the key. She hissed at the energy that surged through her from the contact. She ripped the cord from around his neck before it could protest. It immediately grew heavy in her hand, trying to drop back onto Brendon's chest. She managed to pull it away, however, and pushed herself upright.

"Finder's keepers." She winked down at Brendon's still figure. She then turned and took two steps before vanishing.

Brendon remained on the floor, heart barely beating as sirens sounded in the distance.