[center][h1][color=0054a6][b]B L U E    D E V I L[/b][/color][/h1][hr][/center]
	[sup][color=black]2:02 p.m. PST | July 5[/color][sup][color=black]th[/color][/sup] [color=black]| Los Angeles, California[/color][/sup]


Astaroth observed the human boy from the mortal body that had become his cage. The dark void that surrounded the demon's consciousness pressing in on him like a vise. Were he not an eons-old entity, he had no doubt such an indefinite existence would drive an individual mad. As it were, the former general of Hell had endured far worse, and his immediate concerns were focused elsewhere; the mission would always be the highest priority. 

Through Daniel Cassidy's eyes, Astaroth was able to see everything the boy did. His senses were now that of the human teenager, and yet he could still observe more than young Cassidy would ever have noticed. For instance, the look of adoration from Daniel's young sister, Mary, as she repeatedly sought his attention throughout the early afternoon. Where Dan saw an impetuous nuisance who repeatedly attempted to waste his precious time, Astaroth recognized what was tantamount to idol worship. Something he had witnessed even in Hell while rising through the ranks, albeit not quite as simple and innocent as was the case with this child.

"Where ya goin'?" Mary Frances, barely twelve years of age, chirped excitedly.

"Out." The dismissive one-word response didn't come from harsh intentions, but Daniel nonetheless let his frustrations over the endless questions show. She had, after all, been following him around the house ever since he had come out of his room an hour earlier.

"Okay." The smile on the young girl's face faltered only momentarily before it brightened once more. "Out where, though? Can I go?"

Astaroth watched silently as the boy hurriedly dropped the recently dirtied dishes into the sink, and wiped up the crumbs left over from his lunch. 

"I don't know yet." Daniel twisted his body, attempting to maneuver around Mary as she crowded his space. "And no. This is just for me. I don't even know how long I'll be gone for."

"Oh, okay."

"Why don't you go ask mom to use some of her paints or something? I'm sure that'll keep you busy." He added as he snatched the keys to his car off the countertop and began to head for the door.

"Maybe." A moment's pause, then, "hey, when you get home can we play a game? Maybe you can teach me how to play that Smash thing?" 

Daniel threw a quick glance back over his shoulder before popping the door open. "Yeah, sure, I guess. Listen, tell mom I might be back a little late for dinner and not to wait. 'Kay?"

Mary's cheerful face immediately lit up even more the moment her brother agreed, even if half-committedly. "Okay! Bye, Danny, see you tonight!" Her enthusiastic wave was met with the closing door as Daniel exited in a rush.

Daniel waited until he climbed into the privacy of his car before addressing his inner demon. "Okay, Astaroth. You say there are going to be things after me now, things looking to kill me to get to this Trident."

"[b]That is correct. However, as long as you remain in your mortal form I believe both your life and the Trident will remain safe and undetectable.[/b]"

"Right. Well," Dan started the car and backed out onto the street. "That's going to be a bit of a problem. That whole 'I believe' thing isn't very comforting to hear. And if I'm going to be hunted down by freaking [i]demons[/i] then I want to be prepared. I want to know how to defend myself. And since you and your precious Trident are stuck in me, I figure it's your duty to make sure I can do that. So," he paused to take a deep breath and glance up into the rearview mirror, meeting his own gaze. "You're going to train me and teach me all I need to know about demons."

Daniel Cassidy continued to be a curiosity to Astaroth. From unexplainably being drawn into his body, to his rather quick adjustment period after coming to terms with this new reality, and now to how well he was reacting to learning his life would be in constant peril for potentially the remainder of his living days. It was unusual, Astaroth found. Not that the ancient being had much personal experience in the matter before now, but from all he had observed of humans while in the lower planes, the mostly level-headed and calm manner in which Daniel was coping did not match all he had seen over the many centuries.

At no point did the young man even attempt to beg for his normal life back. There had been no grief nor disgust. No fear beyond the first few shocking minutes. And even the panic that had overtaken Daniel little over an hour before passed as quickly as it had come. Now, here was the teenager making demands of a demon with little hesitation for consequences. Furthermore, in addition to already accepting he was to be hunted down by the forces of Hell, he seemed to be more than willing to face them head-on with preparation and training.

Astaroth, though he had reservations regarding potentially drawing attention to the Trident's location, could respect that. And, he noted, these were aspects that could be molded into a great warrior with time and effort.

"[b]This I will do. But you must take care, Daniel Cassidy, to be discreet. You cannot allow our presence to be detected.[/b]"

"Don't worry," Daniel flashed a quick grin at the mirror. "I'm [i]totally[/i] discreet."



[center][b]* * *[/b][/center]	[sup][color=black]3:30 p.m. PST | July 5[/color][sup][color=black]th[/color][/sup] [color=black]| Los Angeles, California[/color][/sup]

Daniel had driven for the better part of forty minutes before he arrived at his destination. An old, abandoned construction site in Garden Grove. Back in high school, he had known of more than a few keggers held there, not that he had attended any himself. One of his old school friends had, though, and spent enough time regaling Dan of the tales for it to have stuck in his memory. It was isolated enough that no one would stumble across him or mind any noise in the area, and offered a handful of discarded items and broken girder beams that could be used in his training. 

So far, that training had not been quite as exciting as the montage he had envisioned during the drive over. Five minutes of scouting the area. Ten minutes of stretching and light, poorly performed exercises while waiting for Astaroth to begin making suggestions and give guidance. Followed by the last ten minutes in which he had shifted to the hybrid, demonic form for only the second time and began to test the limits of his newfound strength. 

During this entire period, Astaroth had spoken only once, immediately after Daniel willed the transformation to take place. A one-sentence warning about remaining in this form for too long. Nothing more. Not exactly what Daniel had had in mind. 

Taking initiative, Daniel had used what remained of the lengths of steel, first lifting a girder as if it were a dumbbell, then, after discovering how light it felt in his grip, he had moved onto bending it with his bare hands. The feeling of pure power that continually surged through every fiber of his being was almost intoxicating. Intellectually he understood that this wasn't truly his own strength, but to be able to feel himself physically rend thick steel into essentially a pretzel was unlike anything he had ever imagined. Pure, raw, immense strength was at his every beck and whim now, and the more he witnessed these new capabilities the more his head was flooded with new, fantastical ideas and wild notions.

He stepped up to an unfinished, concrete pillar. It rose about a dozen feet before abruptly ending, and with nothing to support, Daniel felt it best suited for his next test. 

Glancing down at the nearly one inch long, sharp claws that tipped his fingers, Daniel brought his right hand palm forward towards the concrete. The tiny blue daggers clicked and scraped against the surface. He felt resistance at first, just lightly dragging his claws across, but Dan soon began to apply pressure. It took only a few seconds before he first felt the tips begin to dig in. And only a few seconds longer before he saw the deep grooves he etched into the concrete. 

He fought to keep his jaw closed as he sunk the nails deep into the material until his fingertips nudged the surface. The display of awesome might continually surprising and exciting him. He slowly brought his fingers together, the razor-like nails tearing into the concrete now as if it were nothing. Giving a slight twist, he pulled back his grip and watched as a large chunk of the concrete came away with it. Most of the substance crumbled to the ground as it was removed, but a sizeable portion remained in his oversized palm. 

With a sudden movement, Daniel brought his fist together and felt the satisfying crunch of the concrete as it gave way from the extreme pressure he was exerting. Opening his hand, Daniel saw the tiny concrete pebbles and dust that remained fall to the ground. That surge of power coursed through him, stronger, pulsing. The euphoria over this display reaching a new height. His gaze flicked up towards the mostly in-tact, partial pillar and a thought crossed his mind.

"Hey, Astaroth." He began, closing and opening his right fist several times, and tensing his biceps. "You're pretty tough, right? Like, this body, is it difficult to hurt?"

There was no answer. 

Daniel eyed the concrete shaft, sizing it up as one would an opponent in a fight. Tightening his fist further. "I mean, you'd stop me if I were going to hurt this body, yeah?"

Silence.

"Okay." A deep breath in, slowly inhaling through the nose before expelling it in one short burst. "Yeah. Okay," the teenager continued, psyching himself up. "I can do this. I can [i]do[/i] this."

A brief pause, the slightest of hesitations. Then the blue, muscular arm of a demon shot forward with surprising speed and connected with the concrete. 

Daniel wasn't entirely sure what he expected. He knew what he hoped. What he had reasoned to be likely. He understood that the strength of this hybrid body was on a scale above that of even the most intense human bodybuilders. He also reasoned if he could twist steel out of shape and crush concrete in his palm, he could probably put enough force into a punch to dent or smash a piece of it free.

He did not expect, however, to completely obliterate the area surrounding where his fist impacted. 

A cloud of concrete dust erupted from the collision, shards launching forward in a spray similar to grenade shrapnel. The resounding crack as he impacted was followed shortly after by a dull thud as the top four feet of the column post collapsed to the ground, no longer having a portion below to connect to. As the dust settled, the once twelve-foot obelisk was now less than half its original size as a large portion of the center was completely destroyed. 

"Jesus fucking Christ," Daniel glanced down at his wholly unmarred fist. No bruising or scapes of any kind. No sight of blood, assuming, he thought, if demons even bled. Not even any pain.

"Holy fucking shit. That was... that was..." He let out a victorious whoop, thrusting his fist high into the air in celebration. "That was insane! My God, was that real? Holy—"

"[b]That is enough, Daniel Cassidy.[/b]" Astaroth's deep voice interrupted, breaking his silence. 

Dan froze mid-celebration, momentarily wondering if his use of Heavenly phrases had upset the demon. 

"[b]You have taken this form for too long. It is time to revert back before you call attention to our presence.[/b]"

Releasing a small sigh of relief, he reached into his pocket and produced his phone. Strange, he noted, it looked so small and foreign in his demonic grasp. Carefully using his thumb to avoid damaging the device with his claws, he glanced at the time. Almost quarter till four, which meant he had spent over twenty minutes like this already. Astaroth was right, Daniel imagined he had already pushed it past the optimal period of safety as it was, better not needlessly risk it more right now. After all, he figured, he had plenty of time to continue testing his limits in the future. 

Closing his eyes like earlier today, he allowed that sensation of expanded awareness to wash over him. Seconds later, he was back in his own body once more. 

"You know," Dan began, sparing one last glance at the rubble of concrete and twisted girder. "I could get used to this."