Chapter 10: Another Day - A Loud Among Demons (The Loud House x Helluva Boss)

Octavia had been in slightly better spirits compared to how she was before in the past weeks.

The young yet still growing royal Goetia princess and sole heir apparent of demon Prince Stolas could still feel the extreme tension in the mansion between her still bickering parents, but her father reaffirming his undisputed love and devotion to her was like a breath of fresh air for her. That shitty theme park burning to ashes and seeing that fucking robot clown getting eaten by a dragon also brought some warmth to Hellborn soul. Nowadays, Stolas and Stella seemed to do whatever it took to avoid each other's presence, the former because he didn't want to cause anymore stress in his little owlet, while the latter just didn't want to see his cheating mug.

It was anything but perfect serenity.

But nothing in life rarely ever is, anyway.

At least she had more chances to get a full night of sleep and not get stirred awake to another heated argument that could be heard from here all the way down to the Sloth Ring, maybe the angels in Heaven were able to hear it too.

Of course, the discord in her family of demon royalty wasn't the only thing that brought her strife.

"Princess Octavia!" one of the many imp servants that live to cater to the Goetias' every whim stood in front of her bedroom doorway. "Would you have me prepare your bath?"

Octavia sighed. "No. I got it."

She brushed past the imp, only to see more of them lining up in two separate rows to allow her enough space to walk. "Breakfast will be at the ready in approximately 10 minutes or less."

"I can make my own damn breakfast."

An imp maid held cleaning supplies. "Shall I tidy up your room in the meanwhile?"

"I like my room the way it is, thank you very much! Now get out!"

"Then would that mean you won't want us to polish your new taxidermy?"

"Touch them and it'll be your fingers!" Reaching past her point, Octavia barked out her own orders to each servant imp that was able to listen to her simple requests and not have a fit over it. "Alright, enough! You all are supposed to do everything I say, right?! Well, hear me out! I don't need anyone coddling me, take my temperature, or dust away my bloody feathers! I'd like to be alone! Got it?!"

"Does that mean I don't get to clean the toilet before you go?"

With an eye glow, Octavia roared with demonic rage, hair raising up in the air, making the servants run away in fright of the Goetia heir's anger which went down when she was now by herself. Satisfied, Octavia sets her headphones in her ears to listen to today's top edgy brooding songs to help make the day more tolerable as she enters through the kitchen. Now that was way better, no more of those fussy servants invading her personal space and always thinking she expects them to handle every other little thing like she were a helpless little princess. She knows most of Hell's denizens that weren't as successful or high profile as her family would kill everyone in all seven rings of Hell to have what the Ars Goetia demons have, but really, Octavia doesn't revel in the high class lifestyle like her dad does most of the time.

As a gothic demon, she rebelled against any form of authority and that included disrespecting visiting nobles or fellow royals.

Her mother, Stella, never reacted well to that, but always pinned the blame on Stolas for not having a firmer hand on their daughter.

Eating her breakfast, the princess's father came along with his usual loose sleeping robe. No matter how many times he's been told to fix it, Stolas just loved wearing it like that, ever so prideful of his avian form.

"Morning, little Starfire!"

"Hey, dad."

Stolas fed his sentient ravenous plants. "I couldn't help but overhear you giving the help a certain earful, Via. Must you be so stern, honey?" Octavia slumped in the chair, dreading the coming lecture. "Their purpose in Hell is to cater to every whim of royalty like us have. If you're going to reprimand them for anything, then at least do it for a justifiable reason. Such as neglecting to feed my pets, or disrupting important business."

"Like what you did with Jenkins after he barged into your room? I never thought an adult could cry so much." Octavia recalled.

"The tie was hanging by the doorknob for a reason!" Stolas frowned, then asked his daughter this. "That is how the youth of today's Hell do it, correct? I wanna try being hip if I can be so bold. Or should it be more hip? Via, what do you think?"

Octavia dropped her spoon and covered her face with her beanie. "Dad!"

"What? You keep telling me to be more up to date with all the recent trends and fads you young demons are so taken with."

Right now, she felt that running away from an Exterminator sounded more appealing than this.

"Is there something you need, dad?" Octavia knew her father. His mood in the morning was as rare as him not going on and on about his imp partner like he was a smitten youth experiencing love for the first time.

Forget the Exterminator.

She'll take some bleach for her brain.

"Can't a renowned demon royal such as myself enjoy a nice morning in his quaint home with his pride and joy?" Stolas sweetly asked, ruffling Octavia's feathered head, adding more to her embarrassment.

"Dad..."

Stolas pushed her hands up in surrender. "Very well, dear. I meant this to be a surprise, but given your rather short temper, I suppose I might as well tell you right now. I got a call from Blitzy~." he giggled like a schoolgirl when he said the imp's name. "And he's made a certain arrangement-"

"Ugh, dad!" Octavia placed the cereal bowl down, gagging and holding down her innards. "Can you not tell me about you bumping uglies with the imp clown you're so hung up on?!"

"Oh, settle down now, Octavia." Stolas wrapped his arm around her. "It was nothing of that sort. I'm afraid it's not quite that time yet. No, no, you see, Blitzy has informed me that our young friend, Lincoln, has requested another magical lesson!" Ever since the first lesson, Stolas had been holding more lessons for Lincoln when he's not on the clock with I.M.P and with those lessons, he kept learning more and more useful spells.

It became a regular thing that brightened both Stolas and Octavia.

That got Octavia to light up a little "Lincoln? I get to meet him again?" Laughing, she got up and grasped both of her father's arms. "Why'd you wait until now, dad?!" she notices his teasing smile over her being so happy to know that the white haired boy would soon arrive and lets go. "Just asking."

"Have I mentioned how adorable it is that you found yourself a little friend?"

"Several times, dad, yes."

"I just can't help it!" Seeing Octavia act like that showed Stolas there was still some essence of her old sweet self inside the gruff exterior she's built up in the years of her growing up. Stella would never allow her daughter to associate with a creature she'd deem below their family, much less a young mortal, but Stolas wasn't Stella and somehow, that boy managed to connect with Octavia so much that she started to look at Stolas as a father again. For that, Stolas gives Lincoln his gratitude and his potential with magic was too interesting to pass up. "Just look at you, my precious little Via! It's almost like you see the boy as a sort of younger sibling! I seem to remember you once asked me if we could give you one when you were small enough for me to carry!"

He just had to bring that up. "I was five, okay? I just think the kid's alright. You know, for a kid. Most Earth kids can be real crappy little monsters."

"Whatever you say, dear." Stolas knowingly winked playfully. "I won't lie, I had considered scheduling another lesson myself. But, the many responsibilities that require my attention got in the way of that. It was surprising to me when Blitzy called me last evening and informed me about the young Mr. Loud's request." Stolas made sure to be more careful when he spoke to his innocent ears, but Lincoln had asked his boss for his phone and what Stolas found quite concerning was the tone of his student's voice. It almost sounded like his very life depended on it. The affairs of mortals were hardly a noteworthy matter to any other Goetia royal, but not many of them had one as a student.

Whom at the same time, worked for Stolas' lover.

"Is everything okay?" Octavia asked.

Hell mixed with a nice kid like him always left her feeling worried.

Lincoln just instilled such feelings somehow.

"I do hope so." Stolas sat and crossed his legs. "It shouldn't be too surprising, though. We can only imagine some unfortunate events transpired, as it should be given he is a child in Hell. That much is obvious."

It hasn't been forgotten by either of the two that Lincoln had been experiencing so many things that while it was treated as normal by Hellborn demons, it was completely unusual for a kid that spent his time living a mundane lifestyle. To add to their shared concern for the boy, they worried this would cause a lot of mental and emotional torment for him. Stolas saw this as unavoidable but had this unusual confidence in his student's resilient spirit, whereas Octavia felt that this proved that Lincoln needed to find a way back home as soon as possible. She thinks it's a complete nightmare having to work under an impulsive imp that kills for cash and sneaks his way into convincing her dad to let him use the grimoire, a long treasured tome of her family.

"Dad. I get that learning magic can be helpful to Lincoln, but with all the knowledge we have, couldn't we find a way to maybe find a way to break the curse that damn teacher placed on him?" Octavia figured it wouldn't be that much of a hassle.

"Via. It isn't that simple. I've told you that already." Stolas regretfully said. "Never in millennia have unique circumstances like this ever happened. A territory that is unknown even to a Goetia. I doubt even Lucifer himself would be able to solve this, let alone understand it."

"Maybe you'd have better luck if you didn't focus more on having wet dreams about what's his name? Blitzo?"

"He doesn't like the 'o' in his name, sweetheart and I've tried my best, I really have." Stolas confidently declared. "Tell you what? During the lesson, I can lend some helpful tips that will make the boy's stay in hell a little less horrifying." A deadpan frown was formed in her face. "Okay, at the very least, make sure he doesn't get killed. Hurry up and finish your breakfast, darling! Big day is ahead of us!"

Stolas left with a happy strut in his sticky legs, it's strange how much happiness he feels from teaching his goth daughter and a boy cursed to live in Hell. He'd go so far as to admit that it felt much better than wallowing alone. It brought about pleasant emotions in the owl demon and with how turbulent things are with Stella, his very quick-tempered wife, he sorely needed it in his life.

While he was on the subject, there has been something about Stella that's been nagging in his owl head.

Lately, she has been withdrawn, distant from him and their daughter.

Not atypical of her, but Stolas felt a sense of wariness in this case.

Speaking of said scorned wife, he came across her walking down the stairs with a suitcase. "Stella. Otavia and I missed you at breakfast." he said, trying to act civil and not incite another heated argument where Octavia can hear them plain as day.

"I was preparing for my trip, false Goetia." Stella frostily answered.

Setting aside the degrading nickname she's chosen for him, Stolas couldn't help but ask. "Again? You've been out of the mansions for many a day now. I'm sure you've made enough strong ties with other noble families." He humored her front to preserve their family name.

His wife dryly chuckled. "As if that's of any importance to you." Stolas lightly glared at the subtle insult. "How I go about my days is my own business. After all, there's no possible way you can do anything to improve our family's image."

"Stella..."

"I'll be home much later on. At least try to clean up before that."

Stolas watches her go off in whatever she plans on doing and some lingering curiosity was there, but then, Stolas dismisses it with a careless shrug.

It was not as if she ever gave a hoot.

Not like she'd ever care.

Right now, his approaching student should be the primary concern and the prince wasn't going to fail on that front.

Lonna just needed to capture the right angle.

Then, her phone made a snap sound.

Another successful selfie taken by Loona the hellhound.

The minute she put on the new clothes she bought from Stylish Occult, she just had to put it on and post it online for pricks and hoes to both envy over and jerk off to, knowing full well they can never touch any of that. She found great amusement in it. Normally, she would do this more privately, but with the main hit squad of I.M.P busy on another job, she needed to kill the boredom somehow.

Checking the time, she counted down her fingers from three to one.

A magic portal being opened by her little buddy, Lincoln and then, come the tired and completely overworked assassins that she can barely stand for more than one second. Although, the sudden appearance of a large spill of water was admittedly very different, the white haired kid coughs out water and Millie spits out a small fountain of water. Moxxie pounds his chest to get the fish that were inside his mouth out that left a sour taste and Blitzo was the first to recover and proudly spins a severed head on his finger like a basketball. "Loony! We're home!"

"Another big screw up?"

"What gave it away? The water?" After this and the monster fish, Moxxie was about done with aquatic animals of all kinds. In his hand was a single MAC-10 machine pistol, fresh out of ammo and also wet.

Blitzo grabbed his shoulder. "You should've seen it, Looney! Target was just about to make a getaway and what does our Moxxie do? She shoots the glass tank holding electric eels and not only does the dick brain get electrocuted, but is beheaded when the water washed up straight to Mills' sword!"

"All in a day's work, B!" Millie proudly proclaims. "That'll show the dummy how he shouldn't have pushed our target into traffic when he caught him dumping his beer cans into the fish tanks! Plus, it was a team effort!"

"Can't argue with you there." Moxxie smiled appreciatively at Lincoln. "Thanks again for throwing me an extra ammo bag. It really came in hand when armed with a machine pistol that can fire-"

"Over a thousand rounds per minute." Moxxie perked up when Lincoln finished his sentence. "I memorized that info book about guns you got me."

"Oh. Well, very good." Moxxie smiled at his very good memory. "Just curious. I noticed that with the ammo you gave me, the rate of fire was longer. Let me guess, millimeter? That would make the rate of fire faster. The ammo I initially had were-"

"The kind that had less." Lincoln knocked on his head. "Figured more ammo would be helpful."

Chuckling, Moxxie did a bold move by ruffling his wet hair. "Heh, couldn't have done it any better myself."

"Great. You're spreading your gun nerdage, Moxxie." Loona quirks an eyebrow, unimpressed. "You want me to fetch some lotion?"

"Excuse me?"

"Just telling it how it is. You know what they say about overcompensating and shit." Loona snickered at her jokes.

"Now, Loona. Remember what I told you. Think pitiful thoughts about Moxxie's shortcomings, don't say them out loud." Blitzo gave her some fatherly counsel. "Next thing you know, he starts complaining and goes on and on about how he wished his dick was like mine."

"I have never once ever-"

"Not out loud, Mox. But, I know what goes on in your dumbass mushy brain, Mox. Don't act like you never once thought about it."

"Sir!" Moxxie pulls at his hair with rising vexation and stops himself from shouting. "Lincoln, why don't you go ahead and get something to eat? I can handle the inventory inspection myself."

"Sure. Thanks, Moxxie."

Now that truly calmed him down.

He heard giggling and saw his wife playfully smiling at him, confusing the weapons expert. "What?"

Millie found that cute, him acting all oblivious. "Don't play dumb with me, mister. I saw how you beamed up in paternal pride right there, seeing our Lincoln show gun knowledge like you always do."

"Wha-I-That was-" Moxxie fumbled in his speech patterns, knowing full well that Millie was using this as more proof that her hubby was slowly coming around to stepping up as Lincoln's father figure of Hell. It's not that Moxxie thought that being a father would be the absolute worst thing ever, and he definitely wouldn't say he wouldn't want to be one to Lincoln. He thought about praising Lynn Sr. and his wife, Rita, for raising such a bright young lad and would be honored to be considered a dad, it showed a youngster actually has respect for him for the first time. But rationale tried to sway him into thinking he couldn't possibly take that father's place as Lynn Sr. was still alive on Earth, stressed about the whereabouts of his currently missing son no doubt. It just didn't feel right to him. "I'm just glad that Lincoln's responding well to my advice and teachings."

"Now, Moxxie. You should know better to lie to your smart wife." Millie coyly grinned, tip-toeing her fingers up Moxxie's arm, making him freeze up in a heavy blush that made him look more red than even in imp standards. "In fact, seeing you acting all like a proud poppa watching his boy riding a bike. That's the kind of thing chicks really love..." She leaned in to whisper in his ear. "...daddy."

On second thought, perhaps he should take into account the perks of being a dad.

"Hey! None of that unless I'm included, you two!" Blitzo tossed a bowl of popcorn to Moxxie. "Now sit down on the couch, folks! Nothing like watching some 666 News together like a family." he pats an empty space for Loona to sit next to him. Lincoln, Millie, and Moxxie sat down, too as the boy chowed down on some cookies left on the counter.

"You just like watching for Katie Killjoy." Loona bluntly accused.

"I can't help it! She's just so great!"

Squealing, Blitzo turned the old television on and went straight to the news channel of Hell's number one news station, 666 News. It is Hell's primary news program that provides fuck loads of reports on Hell's politics, entertainment, and turf wars. The broadcast is hosted by two Sinner Demons that are easily recognizable by all other demons, Katie Killjoy and Tom Trench. Katie was a very tall and slim demon. She had short blonde hair, pure white skin, and eyes completely red with yellow pupils that were small for someone to see. Her most notable features were her long neck, thick red lips, full insect-like figure figure, and forced smile. Her attire was a red suit/dress. She moved to sit down, making cracking noises.

She served as the head anchor for the news station, while Tom was the co-anchor.

Tom's entire face and neck was an expressive gas mask with a sweep of ashy blonde hair on top. He was dressed in a gray suit and red tie over a white collared shirt, the suit had a red pocket square and black gloves.

The scrolling texts were also incredibly hilarious.

"Hello, Hell! I'm Katie Killjoy!" Katie pleasantly waved.

"And I'm Tom Trench!" the gas masked face reporter punched the air in their usual greeting. "Here's an update from other parts of Hell, such as the Greed Ring." A video played showing a lot of construction work being done on the still-burnt to the ground theme park. "Reconstruction efforts are still underway following the massive fire that destroyed the slightly famous theme park, Loo Loo Land, nearly nothing but ashes. The origins of this fire still remain unknown at this time, but eyewitness accounts claim that a robotic duplicate of a well known jester of Demon Prince Mammon, Fizzaroli, was involved in the incident. I oughtta in-jest that Ozzie's pump out a new Robo Fizz that isn't flammable like its big brother!"

Katie pretended to think his quip was hilarious. "On that we can agree, Tom! It's almost as funny as your hot date last week turning out to be a catfish spinster! And I mean a literal catfish!" Sliding back in his seat with a now soured mood, Katie unsympathetically carried on the coverage. "Adding onto this; Prince Stolas of the royal Ars Goetia had been spotted at the very same day of the fire alongside his only daughter. Could this have been a daring move perpetrated by the Goetias against one of the Seven Deadly Sins? Or just an unfortunate accident? Who can say for sure?"

"Repairs on the theme park cost a hefty penny for Mammon." Tom recovered a little as they were still on the air. "Based on rumors, it seems our mighty ruler, Lucifer, has lent a hand or two in paying for the damages. When questioned, Mammon seemed to count this as his "best friend" helping him out with a jam, and that his majesty definitely didn't agree to it so long as Mammon promised to rename the park to separate it from any form of copying of the more popular and successful Lu Lu World."

"Oh, I bet." Katie chuckled. "In other news from lands beyond the Pride Ring. Famous Succubus pop star Verosika Mayday's newest hit single, Vacay to Bonetown, has skyrocketed to enormous heights following its release after Spring Break." A photo of the Succubus posing for the cameras alongside her entourage was shown. "Even after her brief stay at rehab, she's still got it."

"She never lost it, Katie."

"Oh, Tom. No one even asked for your shit opinion." Katie quipped, and got into really interesting subjects. "While all of this was going on, the ongoing battles over control of abandoned turfs of Hell after the last yearly Extermination still rages on." Anyone watching the channel saw recordings of various Sinners shooting, stabbing, and fighting each other in epic bloodbaths that made Millie drool over the violence. "The sad screw ups who lost many of their territories were forced out of Pentagram City and had to relocate to shitty towns like Imp City, heavily populated by the runts of Hell's liter."

"Better than Cannibal Colony."

"Agree to disagree, Tom, and don't interrupt me again, you limpy-ass shit-heel." A piece of paper is handed to the head anchor and she clenches it in her hands with her eye twitching that she had to report this, too. "For anyone that remembers our last coverage, and I wouldn't blame you if you don't. But, it looks like our charming princess of Hell has found herself a way to dazzle as on a special appearance here on 666 news for her little passion project."

"Quite amazing that of all demons, she's the one who bothers to appear, not like the other guests you let on here, Katie. I think our viewers at home know who we're talking-"

Katie was now pressing on her pen very fast and very angrily. "TOM!" she emitted a dangerous aura that scared the co-anchor. "I believe our crew on the streets have some thrilling murder scenes to show! Word is that it's the fallout of a standoff that involved weapons forged from leftover Exterminator weapons. But first, a short break. We'll return after these messages." she dropped her smiles and yelled at Tom. "What do I keep telling you, you poor excuse of a man?! Suck it up and don't look like a pussy on camera, you filthy bitch-ass-"

And the segment ends there.

"Isn't she just so fantastic?!" Blitzo gushed like an obsessed fan. "I consider my inspiration to be a fantastic boss!"

"She's a mantis whore." Loona spat on the floor.

"Just the greatest!"

"News sure is a lot more...eventful down here." Lincoln recalled some memories. "Only big thing that ever happened in Royal Woods was a burglar on the loose."

"Lame."

Blitzo's Hellphone screamed and he frowned when he saw the caller. "Oh, terrific. I'll be right back."

"Mommy and daddy will handle the gun and knives inventory for you, hon." Millie patted Lincoln's head, walking with her husband.

Lincoln observed the new clothes Loona had on. "Hey, where'd you get those?"

"They're from Stylish Occult." Loona showed him the store's web page on her phone. "It's a slick clothes store. I go there when I skip work."

"So all the time, then."

Loona smirked, affectionately messing with his hair. "Smartass. But yeah, pretty much. I should take you there, sometime. No offense, Linc, but you really do look like you could pass for an imp with that tacky suit on."

Lincoln looked at his clothing. "Millie says it makes me look mature."

"Mothers lie to their kids." Loona swiped through different looks. "I ain't kidding here, you need to update your style a bit. Every demon in Hell loves messing with suits, it gives them a feeling of dominance. Even more if it's an imp, because nothing gets them off like hassling the lowest of demons. Let me swing you there sometime, I got a good eye for these things."

"Afraid you'll have to put a rain check on that, Loona." Blitzo came back, less enthusiastic. "Got a call from his royal owl bitch-ness, and he agreed to another class of flashy magic tricks for ya, kiddo."

"Really?" Lincoln has been waiting for this. "That's great! Is it at his mansion again, right?"

"Switching things up a bit this time around." Blitzo had some more info. "He told us to take you to some fancy important place reserved only for fancy important demons like him. Said that he had the place cleared out just for you. Hurry up and get your ass in gear."

"Right away, Blitz!" Lincoln smiled apologetically at Loona. "Sorry, Loona. Maybe we can go later. It's just this is kind of a big deal for me. This could be your chance to come with us."

Loona gulped. He's acting like she'd be angry.

He was leaving soon to learn more about magic with an upper-crust silver spoon fed owl princess.

Leagues above a common Hellhound like her.

Nothing to be angry about whatsoever.

"It's cool." Loona attempted to be her usual apathetic self. Key word being 'attempted'. "I have a lot going on right now, so I'm afraid I can't. so, yeah..."

"...Right. Well, if you're so sure. Later!"

Loona sighed.

Stolas' position and royal status granted him a vast number of privileges that he proudly takes advantage of, being the type of royal who's quite flippant with his wealth and special treatment. That's just how his style goes and he's unashamed of it, and using that special treatment, he managed to book a special place of information that only the most ancient of demons had direct access too.

Signing up to a membership and official card identification takes so much time and energy and it is way simpler to just use your status to get your way.

The prince sees it as a more favorable means and all for the benefit of his precious daughter and young student, and to once again flirt with Blitzo every chance he gets, much to the imp's displeasure. "Did you catch the afternoon news, Blitzy?" Stolas rhetorically asked inside I.M.P's van. "It looks like that little skirmish in Greed has gotten more attention than we imagined. If only you were there when I had to give a statement to the proper authorities. Would've eased all the stress with you by my side~."

Blitzo mentally chanted.

Do not crash into the drug dispensers.

It was too early to get high even if it could block out Stolas.

"Proper authorities?" Lincoln never imagined hearing something like that being down here. "Like an actual police force? Here in Hell? That's as unbelievable as there being a fire department in Imp City."

Octavia was smiling amusingly. "That's just a fancy name my dad gives them, they're the mindless lower-class demons born here who answer to the powers that be. They do the dirty work of big wigs like Overlords, the Sins, and royalty to at least make sure nothing happens that can damage their reputations."

"Can only imagine how many hoops you had to go through to keep them quiet, Stolas." Blitzo said, eyes still on the road.

"Now, Blitzy. You of all delectable little imps should know, it's the least I can do for my favorite imp in Hell." Stolas poked his head teasingly.

Although, crashing into the machines could have its advantages.

But, Stolas is still his meal ticket, so that's a no-go on that idea.

Like most things in Blitzo's life that would bring him some form of happiness.

"No fucking smooth talk in the van!" Blitzo growled. "That was one of my terms!"

Stolas pouts, doing a mock-pity front. "Aw, is someone angry that they didn't get some limelight himself. I imagine your charming little operation would've gotten more recognition had it made the news."

"Please. Way better for us if we hadn't been made." Blitzo scoffed. "Our business is offing sons of bitches, not protecting them for babysitting jobs. The only coverage I want my company to get is how epic we are for what we're paid to do in the jingle. Otherwise, we'd just be hired to do pointless random junk. We save that for when we're off the clock."

Moxxie, in this one time, gave Blitzo some credit in thinking like a boss. "That...is actually pretty accurate."

Millie pressed faces with him. "And we have fun all fucking long as a family?! Right, Lincoln?"

"...Sure. Whatever you say, Millie." Not how'd Lincoln put it in his own words.

"Just say the word. You'll be in your own personal arcade/comic book shop while Dad and I sort out your whole mess." Octavia guarantees. "All the smoothies and nachos you could ever ask for."

These royals really know how to negotiate.

Childlike desires aside, Lincoln gently turned the offer down. "It really isn't all that bad, Octavia. Things just get a lot crazy, you know? You grew up here longer than I have, so you can't tell me that's not true."

"Fair enough." Octavia brings up why Lincoln wanted another lesson. "But there has to be some big issue. Dad said you really wanted to see us, again. Lincoln, is there anything going on? Anything at all?" she asked intently, setting it straight that she won't take any lies.

Lincoln saw that and he wanted to be honest with his friend, but would rather talk in a more proper setting. "It's a long story." He had a lot of discomfort about talking about what had happened with the cherubs at the opera.

"Well, dear boy, you can tell us all about it soon." Stolas respected his student's choice to not tell them, the owl has his own secrets. "I promise, where we're going will utterly enchant you. Once more, as a show of good faith, you delightful imps can accompany us instead of sneaking about like before. I do hope that's a reasonable term for you, my incorrigible little murderous rascal of an imp." he tilts his head to lay it on Blitzo's head.

"You are really trying my patience, Stolas!" Blitzo gritted.

"Mmmm..." Stolas hummed lightly, loving this whole back and forth between them. Although, he seemed oblivious to Blitzo's growing anger. "Can you blame me?"

"Very much so. Yes."

As the car drove past various scenes of beatings, thefts, and back alley deals, Blitzo neglected it all, even checking the mirrors to see a car that was following them.

There were very few things in Hell that didn't raise tons of red flags to signal Lincoln of their obvious danger.

But, there does come a time where he is welcomed to breathtaking sights that almost makes him forget that it all takes place in a literal Hellscape and there'd be a sinister to the thing which in a way, makes it even more interesting. "I take it from your awed expression, you find this quite suitable for our lesson?" Stolas teased, pleased that his student approved that was what he was hoping for.

"Yeah..."

"Meh." Octavia wasn't taken. "It's just a library."

Yes.

As Octavia puts it, it would seem like just a library to the specific class of demons it accepts.

Except regular run of the mill libraries weren't the size of a grand university, anything that's meant to serve the rich and the powerful just had to scream how freaking big it was, like one big ass show that only a few may access. "Do not insult it, Via, dear. For our quaint field trip, I feel that it is necessary that if you young little ones are to wield the magics of Hell, then you need to learn all key factors involved with it. That includes more than just a few spells here and there, but rare items that can convey magical energy, ancient tomes that require much studying. Isn't it just wonderful?!"

"Yeah!"

"No."

"Okay. Starting to feel like we're not needed." Blitzo can't think of anything more boring than this new magical teaching moment.

Millie grabbed his and her husband's sleeves to prevent any from leaving. "Oh, no! The prince is letting us watch over Lincoln and we aren't gonna pass it up! You hear that, honey? Momma bird's gonna keep all eyes on you!"

Lincoln flushes, embarrassed that Millie just had to show her overprotective nature in front of Octavia who was stifling a laugh. "Millie! Not in front of Octavia."

"And just what are you laughing at, young lady?" Stolas chides. "There's nothing to mock about a commoner imp's devotion to her adoptive child. Why, I remember when you were just three and you wet your new-"

"Dad, don't even finish that sentence!"

Blitzo wanted things to get moving so that he won't have to look at Stolas' horny owl mug any longer. "Can we please move this along? I spotted some Sinners shaking down a group of imps from around the corner. Probably belong to a boss that wants their owed money and I know how much they love picking on the little guy."

"Do not fret, Blitzy. They have the eyes of uncouth miscreants, but even they have some common sense to not accost any associated with demons of my exquisite stature." Stolas boasts, making Blitzo shake his head.

The tall owl royal just doesn't really care that much over how many other demons would jump at the chance to kill him, treating it as an everyday occurrence and nothing to really feel threatened over.

Even if they were so bold, he'd have Blitzo and his team to take care of things.

Only, Blitzo made it clear that they won't take another bodyguard gig, not after Loo Loo Land.

However, that didn't diminish the abundance of Sinners that would jump at the chance.

If Lincoln were to kick a can across the Pride Ring and it's bound to land on the head of a member of a demon gang looking to cause trouble because they just can't help themselves. For one such band of troublemakers, they saw an opportunity knocking on their door when they followed the I.M.P van and concealed themselves to not alert them to their presence.

"You sure that's them?"

"Of course I'm sure."

"Don't know, dude. A buddy of mine mistook a hawk demon for one."

"I am for real, right now. That is a Goetia demon, the owl one from the looks of it. Besides, you've only been in Hell for half a year at most, I got a good decade on you, so shut your trap and trust me on this!"

"Both of you, keep quiet! We can't make mistakes!"

The two Sinner demons that were arguing were a green skinned one-horned multi-eyed demon and a three-eyed obese red scaled demon with crab legs and had a hook for a hand. The lead Sinner was a tall headless being with the eyes, nose, and mouth being on his torso, had four arms and hind legs accompanied by a pack of scurrying red demons walking on all fours with gun turrets on their backs. "Sorry, boss. Trapper started it, though." crab legs accused.

"No way, Claws! I was the only one sure that we're looking at Goetias!"

"What did I just say, shitheads?!"

"Sorry, Face."

Face. A Sinner along with the other two all used to work under a former demon leader that was among the many who had been purged in the Extermination, which left them with no leadership. Then came the other Hell denizens that just made things worse. These three and the pack are all that's left of his team, and so, they were forced to retreat to a dump like Imp City.

But now.

Now they have a chance to get some glory back.

"Prince Stolas, sir!"

The keeper of this hallowed ground tried so hard to not piss his pants in front of a royal demon, one that can easily make living in Hell even worse if he is displeased in any sort of form. "Hello there, Keeper!" Stolas laughed on the inside when he saw the three-eyed gray-colored demons with a mop of purple hair looking so frightful in his presence, as all lower demons should. "I trust no one else is here as I requested, yes?"

"V-Very much so, sire! Very much so, indeed!" Keeper wasn't surprised that Octavia was tailing behind him, but did not expect to see imps with him, too. "I assume they are your servant detail."

Blitzo was set off by that mistake. "Servants?!" he pushes up to the counter and aims his flintlock at the cowardly Keeper to showcase that he is nor will ever degrade himself even further by being one of Stolas' submissive help. "I ain't nobody's whipping boy, you book keeping nerd!"

"Now, Blitzy. Calm yourself."

"Don't fucking tell me what to do!"

Lincoln panicked upon seeing Blitzo get violent and Octavia judgmentally glared. "Way to pick them, dad."

Keeper raised his hands in surrender, worried if some Heaven blessed gun powder was mixed into the firearm aimed at his middle eye. That was his most useful eye, not to mention his prime peeping one. "M-My apologies!" his table name tag grew legs and ran away to avoid being in Blitzo's eyesight. "Prince Stolas reserved this establishment for only himself and two others! Honest!"

"An honest Sinner in Hell?! I'll bet!"

"Yeah, boss man! Put three in all the eyes!"

"Millie, hon, you're not helping!"

All this was remarkably entertaining, but even Stolas knew the concept of business before pleasure. "Now, Blitzy, let's not cause a scene, shall we? I pulled quite a lot of strings for this to happen, so I'd like you to show a little more decorum as a show of gratitude."

Decorum was hardly taken seriously by Blitzo, but didn't want to get on the meal ticket's bat side. "Gratitude, sire. How about I leave you in the ends of a new employee that I recently hired last week?" Keeper's tongue morphed into a megaphone. "Hey, new bitch! Important assignment for you! Fuck it up and your ass is back into that crap of an apartment!"

"I heard you the first time!"

I.M.P's collective eyes widened as they heard that familiar voice.

"Mrs. Mayberry?!" Lincoln exclaims in profound shock as the former teacher found herself equally surprised to see them again, too.

"You all?!"

Stolas is intrigued by this apparent familiarity. "Blitzy, Lincoln, are you acquainted with this Sinner?"

"Better believe it. She used to be one of our clients." Blitzo has quite a few words to say to their old client about certain info that would've made a past job of theirs a lot less of a near disaster. "This bitch hired us to kill another bitch who she failed to kill after finding out her hubby was two-timing her with said second bitch ."

"My, my. How scandalous~."

"Eh, pretty boring sob story in my book. Although, looking back, it would've been nice to know that the hick bitch she wanted us to off turned out to be part of a family of batshit crazy cannibalistic Satan worshiping serial murderers that almost killed us!" Blitzo didn't take too kindly to having to be the hunted instead of the hunter during that specific job. Lincoln and Moxxie certainly didn't enjoy having to relive that incident as well, it took a lot of mental will to not allow the memories of that job make them suffer a breakdown right there.

Even harder for Lincoln.

"How was I supposed to know about that?!" Mrs. Mayberry defended. "You just wanted to know who to kill and nothing more! I didn't think you'd want to know a target's daily routine!"

"It was implied!"

"Er...is this going to be an issue, sire?" Keeper asked Stolas.

"Hmm...no, I believe not." Stolas actually found this very interesting, it's not everyday you meet a former client of your partner. "Now my dear, I believe you can lead us to where we wish to go?"

Recomposing herself to prevent looking bad in front of the obviously very important demonic figure, Mrs. Mayberry obediently nodded. "Of course, sir. Please follow me." Stolas directed Lincoln and Octavia and the former saw that his friends hadn't moved from their spots.

"Aren't you guys coming?"

"Do we really have to?"

Octavia oddly agreed with Blitzo on that. "Seriously, do they?"

Lincoln's pleading expression broke down their walls, especially Millie's. "Oh, we can't just say no to that face!"

An enlightening magical lesson was all that all parties present were expected to find today, but fate always has other plans in mind. The demon gang outside busted the door open and though he was outnumbered, the Keeper was adamant in telling them that their presence wasn't allowed. "Excuse me, but you are trespassing on reserved property! There is an important patron here and I don't need any of your-"

Face's arm broke through the glass, grabbing the Sinner by the throat and hurling him into the library stacks.

"I could never stand god damned librarians. Always giving me shit for turning in a book late." Face spat.

"If you would please follow me, I will tell you about the elegant qualities of this hallowed hall of knowledge very few are welcomed to explore." Mrs. Mayberry said in a bored out of her mind tone. The group followed her while being mindful of the floating winged eyes and two-legged walking mouths that ate scraps on the floor and frog-like tongues that ate the flying eyes. "Here, there is a vast number of magical artifacts and tools that have been passed down through the centuries, or at least important enough to be lent here unlike the exotic objects kept since Lucifer's ascension as our king and kept by our esteemed head honcho himself. All are capable of grand feats that would make even lower level demons of both types have a lot more stand as an equal in a fight." Memorizing all these lines was a hassle h to do, but if she was going to have her money's worth, she had to make due.

"Oooh..." Moxxie marveled at a case showing an old-school type of rifle.

Millie found the same feeling at a floating golden hammer. "Look at that!"

"Here is your private spot." Mrs. Mayberry opened the door. "If it's all the same to you, I hope I can still carry on being your guide."

"No problem whatsoever, miss." Stolas expectantly looks at his daughter. "Via, what do we say?"

She flipped a bird. Her dad was not amused, so with great reluctance, she gave the answer that made her want to choke out her vocal cords. "Thank you, miss."

"That's my sweet little girl. Now come, you two. No sense in any dilly dally."

Blitzo speaks for his employees. "We're fine where we are, kid. Go on and learn whatever you want, we'll be counting down the minutes until this bullshit is over and we can go back to the office and watch the nightly news." Seeing Katie Killjoy emasculating Tom Trench just made him want to stalk her at her cushy place, and maybe shoot a random Joe just to get a thrill.

"Holler if you need us, hon!"

"Don't worry about us." Moxxie massages his suit which had a concealed weapon. "A good professional always comes prepared during and after hours."

Nodding, Lincoln goes to start the lesson inside. It was a big enough room that housed many artifacts and he can't resist the temptation to touch one of them, but reminded himself that this place follows the same rules as history museums.

"If you two will excuse me, I shall pick the wondrous toys you shall practice with. BRB!" Stolas flied up.

Lincoln quirks an eyebrow up. "BRB?"

"Please, you'd do me a great solid by forgetting he just said that." Octavia requested desperately.

With Stolas preoccupied, Lincoln talks with Mrs. Mayberry. "So, I'm surprised to see that you're still in Imp City. Didn't you say you were going to Pentagram City? What happened to that plan?"

"Need a lot of dough to afford to go there." Mrs. Mayberry crossly answers. "Even in Hell, nothing's ever really free. This gig pays well and well, asshole boss aside, not much to complain about. What about you, Lincoln? Since you're still alive, I take it my tips helped."

"Actually, it has and I've been learning tons of new stuff, too." Lincoln replied. "Sorry about Blitz. He can get very testy and if it means anything, you were right about that Martha woman, she was not pleasant at all."

Chuckling, Mrs. Mayberry patted his head. "Well, aren't you sweet? I'll go see if that tall owl broke anything. I'll be up to my ears in yelling if he did."

"I'd watch that tongue." Octavia assumed this chick must not have been in Hell long enough to recognize Goetias. "Dad's not someone you'd want to get on his bad side."

"Cut me some slack. Still new to all this."

"Honestly. I don't get why my dad bothers with your dumbass bastard boss and his whole settling old scores for Sinners that can't just let things go." Octavia said. "It's not like the idiot actually thinks he'll get far."

"That's where you're wrong, little girl!" Both Lincoln and Octavia slightly jumped when Blitzo shouted through the door, eavesdropping on them. "Difference between me and other failures, Your pops giving me free reign of his book makes my job a fuck ton more easier! We've been racking up more kills everyday and we have your imp loving daddy to thank for that!"

Aghast, Octavia furiously shouts back. "Oh, well congratulations, then, douchebag! I bet you feel like you're the king of all of Hell for ruining my family"

Blitzo shook his head. "Hey, there's more to whatever shit there is between me and him! It's grown-up stuff, princess! So, don't paint me as the bad guy here. I have you know, it's been tough for me, too."

"Wow, poor you!" Octavia ridiculed him. "My parents keep fighting, home has gone to shit, and you're the victim here, asshole?!"

"Considering I have to put up with your pops, I'd say yes."

Lincoln mediates the tense argument between his friend and his boss before Stolas could intervene himself. He doesn't even want to think about what the owl demon would do. "Blitz! You said you'd wait, so please stop antagonizing my friend!"

"She started it!"

"Blitz!"

"Alright, fine! Whatever!"

Octavia grips her beanie and shouts in frustration. "That little son of a bitch prick asshole shit fuck imp!" she moves her hands closer together to imagine wringing Blitzo's little neck.

Lincoln saw this coming. Octavia was previously furious with her father for causing the dysfunction in their family by cheating on his wife with Blitzo, but now that things are more stable between the father and daughter, Octavia needed a new target to take her anger out on and who better than the imp that caused this whole mess in the first place? "I'm back, children! Ready to begin?" Stolas felt the now tense mood in the room. "Is everything alright?"

"Fine, dad."

Stolas wasn't so oblivious to his owlet's lies. "Via, are you sure?"

"I said, it's fine!" Octavia didn't mean to blow up like that, but she did. Lincoln held her arm, silently asking her to calm down and staring into those pleading eyes amazingly worked in his favor.

"Rrrrriiiight...well..." Stolas cleared his throat and looked down to his student. "Now, Lincoln, perhaps now would be the time to explain to us why you wished for a new lesson?"

And here it is.

The expected question that Lincoln's been preparing for. He could just tell them that it wasn't a serious matter, that he had so much fun with all these teachings that he wanted to get started on the next one pronto. But, he's learned that lying leads to a lot of trouble and in Hell, that can increase twenty-fold, so he had the sense to not leave things up to chance. "Well, it's because of a past job I.M.P and I had. See, while Blitz, Moxxie, and Millie tried to kill someone like usual, three cherubs from Heaven came to save that life."

Stolas and Octavia immediately frowned and gagged when they heard the very mention of Heaven denizens. "Seriously, bloody cherubs?" the owl princess asked with displeasure. "If you wanted to rub your ears off those preachy choir songs they blast, have I got the band for the job."

"I assume there's more to it than just that." Stolas correctly guessed.

Meekly, Lincoln nodded. "That's one way to put it..."

"Okay, now, I spy with my little eye something red...very red..."

"Is it my tail, again, honey?"

"How do you keep getting it all right?!"

"Exactly how long can two imps continue a game of eye spy?"

"Well, sir, factoring in the duration of our time here. Specifically, Lincoln's lesson with the Goetias, I can surmise that Millie and I will be able to keep it going for as long as its required before said lesson is-"

"Rhetorical question, Moxxie!"

Blitzo was growing increasingly tired of having to wait for Lincoln's lesson to end, to do anything for Stolas period was easy to get him ticked off very easily, him thinking he can just call on a favor whenever he pleases just because they shag it in the sheets. He solely pins the blame on Lincoln's insistence, like he thought magic was a lot cooler than good old fashioned gunplay. What he would give to get a little excitement in this tiring waiting period, he just wants something to shoot at in addition to him currently admiring one of his horse figurines.

He shouldn't worry, the other occupants that they didn't know about will give them plenty of excitement.

Claws quietly observed the waiting imps. "Not to sound like a broken record, but are we for real about this? Gunning for a fucking Goetia may too big a job, even for us? Not even the old boss would touch those demons."

"That was one of his principle rules." Trapper also showed reluctance. "Overlords. Royalty. Those guys were strictly off-limits."

"Our leader isn't here anymore." Flinching, the two Sinners looked at their new leader, Face. "Did you two piss-buckets forget that this is our only ticket to Hell's elite? We're not gonna kill the bastard, obviously. He's just worth a lot of money, his family pays us and we move on from there."

"What about the muscle?"

If he was talking about the imps, Face didn't think they had anything to be scared of. "You're worried about three imps? Next you'll tell me you pissed your parents after seeing a bug in your room at night."

"Only happened once!"

Palming his face on the chest, Face appeased them. "Fine. We'll deal with the red pests if it means that much to you. But don't think I won't take some pieces out of both of your cuts."

"But, Face!"

"Quit complaining and follow me!"

Millie licks her lips. "Damn. All this waiting around is making me thirsty. Be right back, boys!" she frolicked away with a cheerful skip in her step and the Sinners decided to pick her off first. Finding a water dispenser, she takes a cup and pours it full. She sips, but drops the cup when Claws grabs her with his pincer arms, momentarily surprising her and the crab demon announces his success.

"Hey, fellas! I got-" Mille's legs wrap around his head and with great strength, flips him to a book shelf that broke apart when Claws impacted. "...Never mind." he groaned.

"Wow." Trapper admired. "Little bitch is tougher than she looks."

"Never underestimate a pretty face." Face folded his arms and it looked like his elbows were being aimed like guns, which became more obvious when two rifle ends formed and fired like machine guns at Millie. The female imp reached in and drew twin Steyr TMPs to get two solid shots in at the torso, Face's beasts assisted by firing their turrets, leaving Millie outgunned and outnumbered.

But not for long.

Four shots struck down four of the wild beasts and Moxxie arrived, already armed with a gun in hand, he never leaves home or the office without one. "Pardon the intrusion. But what in Satan's name do you think you're doing with my wife?" he demands, angrily.

"I'll tell you what they're doing, Mox." A dangling chandelier was shot down with explosive gunfire that landed on another beast. "Picking a fight with the wrong imps." Blitzo said, pouring more into his flintlock.

Face and his cohorts found themselves at a standoff with I.M.P.

"Let's not make this into a whole thing, shall we?" Face asked. "We're just passing through, alright? Leave here and we might just forget any of this happened and we won't have to teach you little shits a lesson."

"God, your sales' pitch needs some work." Blitzo criticized. "Also, go to Heaven!"

The minute these boys messed with Millie, they declared war on the Immediate Murder Professionals.

"After that, I felt normal again. But, I figured I should at least tell you about this. I-I think it might have something to do with the curse and well, you're the only expert on demon magic that I know."

Lincoln and the Goetias didn't hear all the commotion due to the super thick walls of the building, so nothing interrupted Lincoln when the white haired boy informed the two demons about the encounter with the cherubs. The whole competition about trying to get a decrepit mortal to either kill himself or finding the drive to keep loving got a few chuckles out of Stolas and eye rolls out of Octavia, but the last part got their undivided attention. Stolas had to make sure he was hearing it correctly, but it was true, this boy managed to summon the power of the grimoire on-command. In that instant, Lincoln described how all he could think about was his anger directed at the cherubs, acting on that feeling, and how thrilling it felt until he calmed down.

That unsettled the owls.

From the way Lincoln described it, it sounded like how demons of both the Hellborn and the Sinners would often display their growing supernatural abilities that come from negative emotions like anger and hatred.

"This sudden show of power. You say it just happened?" Stolas asked.

"I-I think so." Lincoln rubs his temple. "It's a bit harder to really explain it. Before I got here, it's not like I never got mad, it just wasn't really my style to go off like that most of the time." In his defense, the frequent troubles of living in his big family warrants a lit fuse every now and then. "I actually like to think I'm not really an angry person by nature, but being here makes it challenging. But what happened with the cherubs, I've never felt anything like that before. A part of me actually enjoyed itself, and that still scares me."

Stolas drummed his fingers in deep concentration. With all that he knows about demon curses and enchantment, he assumed that with time, breaking a soul binding curse would be a relatively easy time. But this new factor made him rethink that, for all intents and purposes, what Lincoln managed to pull off should be impossible, but then again, he was able to access a lot of magic with the book. Simple spells were a breeze, but Stolas saw a lot of potential in Lincoln with spells that required more inner strength and Lincoln always had plenty of that.

This news brought a lot more questions as to exactly what the curse was doing to his student.

It seemed to be doing more than just cursing him.

"Dad. There's an explanation for this, right?" Octavia asked, hoping that he had the answers that would comfort her friend.

"I...have a few theories." Stolas replied. "Only, none of them are very pleasant. Lincoln, during your first lesson, it was made apparent that you are able to cast spells without much difficulty when your life is in immediate danger. That relates to your natural instinct to adapt to survive. However, I feel that with the curse on your still mortal soul, it would seem that it's doing the same with Hell?"

"What?" Lincoln didn't like what that entailed. "What do you mean?"

"Unfortunately, this requires more thinking on my part. But the best that I can say for now is that Hell itself is influencing your soul in a way that's never been observed before. Bear in mind that no other mortal has had a connection to Hell like you do, dear boy. Your soul was forced to make a connection with it that would've made you like any other Sinner upon your death, but with the ritual being incomplete, and you not being departed, an unforeseen effect is taking place. You are not a demon, but part of your soul is slowly beginning to adapt to the very concept of Hell and with your growing knowledge of its magics, there is a similarly growing...power within you." Stolas would've given a more in-depth explanation, but it's too soon to be a hundred percent positive. "Like all souls of Hell, be they native born like myself and Via or the once-mortal ones, the darker aspects of emotions are what fuels us."

"So, what? Y-You're saying Hell is making me think and act like a demon?" Lincoln questioned frantically.

"Now, child. Like I said, it is-"

"Will I just forget that I'm human? Will I forget that I have a family on Earth?"

"Lincoln, please-"

"Does this mean I can never go back-"

"Lincoln!" Octavia knelt on one knee and grasped the heavily breathing boy by the shoulders to make him focus on her eyes. "Just settle down, okay, buddy? Breathe."

Her soothing instructions were followed. "Wh-What's going to happen to me?"

Stolas frowned regrettably.

"I apologize, child. Presently, I have nary an idea." This situation seemed hopeless and unpredictable, but Stolas was going to make damn sure that Lincoln knew that just because it looked that way now, didn't mean it was immune to changing down the line. "But, I believe these lessons will help us better understand it all. You wish to be free of this curse, that much can be said and understood. As your mentor, and as a Prince of the Ars Goetia, I tell you this, the only virtue you will ever find me partaking in would be patience. The real question is if you can do that?"

Patience.

In Lincoln's mind, he's been patient long enough. With all the literal Hell he's had to witness that wasn't of his own choice, the kid deserves to be cut a break and he'd gladly accept it. But he was smart enough to understand that good things come to those who are willing to wait for it, no matter how long it took, and with an important royal demon in his corner, he had a high chance.

Another reason why Hell's a better option than Heaven.

"I-I will." he earnestly said. "I have to."

"Good." Stolas nods in approval. "You'll need that confidence. Now, as a good first step, let's begin with one of the items I've brought." Snapping a finger, a table appears out of thin air and he pours the items on it. Amulets, rune stones, tea leaves, tarot cards, the whole nine yards. The grimoire can't be the only magical item that can be at Lincoln's disposal. "Rest assured, my eager younglings, the fantastical marvels of Hell can make it seem less horrible and more spectacular."

Hell can be a spectacular place.

Octavia was about to show him.

"Hey, dad. I think I recognize these." she holds a sack of purple sparkling powder inside. "It's that special transporting dust whatever."

"In layman's terms, yes. What my little owlet is holding, Lincoln, is a sack that contains an enchanting powder that allows a being to be transported to any part of Hell that comes to their mind. Usable only by Hellborn."

"AKA, the perfect thing to test first."

Stolas stopped her for a second. "Excuse me, young lady. Are you saying we should just use that particular item to explore Hell, completely disregarding all the trouble Keeper had to put himself through to let us have a stay in these hallowed halls?"

"...Pretty much. Yeah."

His stern frown became a jovial smile. "Marvelous! Where do you wish to go?"

Octavia smirks. "Some place with style."

"Can't I tell the others, first?" Lincoln asked, feeling bad about just up and leaving.

"They said they'd wait. Besides, we'll come back when we're done. Not like they're doing anything crazy right now."

"I fucking love doing this crazy thing right now!"

Blitzo flips a table over to use as a cover as bullets fly through the room. "Sir, did you have to do that to a pristine table?!" Moxxie fired with two Tec-9s.

"I'd say yes! They can bill it all the way to Heaven!"

Wild laughter came from Millie as she rode one of the beasts like it was a wild bull. This brought her back to her days back in Wrath when she had to help her daddy deal with some unruly critters on the ranch. She sliced off the turrets with her hatchet and used one to kill the beast and she jumps off before it dropped and she threw knives at all foes.

"Eat some of this!"

Trapper ducked on the floor. "Since when are imps this stubborn?!"

"Same time the female ones have very strong grips!"

Claws' normal arms was at his last clip while Trapper hunched forwards to pull off a nifty gadget, a helicopter blade pack and give him some air to shoot from a higher spot and face kept firing. "Last chance to take us up on our offer! The only blood we're looking for aren't the ones of imps!"

"I'm not a gullible dumbass like Moxxie!"

A flashbang grenade is thrown in the air and the Sinners shield their eyes and ears.

Millie jumped and spun in mid-air with two swords that sliced and diced beasts before throwing the sword at Claws' pincer arms, pinning him to the wall with him grunting. Moxxie jumped over the table and shot precisely at Trapper's helicopter blades, making him fly out of control, and Blitzo lunged at Face, keeping himself stuck to his torso. "Oof, just when I thought you Sinners couldn't look more like pieces of shit." the imp cracked. "What? Did you let someone draw a face on your fat belly?" Opening the mouth, Face lashed out his elongated tongue which had a razor sharp blade at the end of it. "Whoa there, sugar tongue! I don't kiss on the first date!" Blitzo blocked the tongue attacks with single strikes, and managed to injure him "Sorry. Did that hurt?" he mocked.

His wounds healed. "You little rats are only digging yourselves deeper graves!"

Face morphed his tongue into a small machine gun and in the process of evading the gunfire, Blitzo's horse figurine was shot by a bullet, breaking into itty bitty little pieces right before his eyes.

A beast stopped firing as it took a whiff and ran to Claws to whisper something in his ear. "What?! He's gone? Face, bad news! It looks like we lost our chance! The scent ain't here no more!"

"Damn it! Can they still track?!"

"Not while we're here!"

Grabbing a chair, Face threw it at a window to give him and his guys an escape route. "Beasts, first! We'll follow their noses in the car!"

"Who knew imps could throw a punch?"

Claws supported Trapper as they made it outside and back to the parking lot, leaving two confused imps and an angry boss. "What do you suppose that was all about?" Moxxie asks. "They just up and left."

"Not for long." Blitzo picked up the scattered remains of his figurine with fury in his eyes, refusing to let this great dishonor go unpunished. He owes it to that figurine and all the other horse figurines in Hell.

Moxxie recognized that look and shook his head. "Oh,no. Sir, please don't turn this into a revenge hunt."

"Too late, Mox! My blood's boiling and the only cure is to shed others!"

"You can count on us, B!" Millie exclaimed.

Sighing in reluctant acceptance, Moxxie pointed to the door. "What about Lincoln? Are we really going to disturb his important lesson? And I can't imagine the prince will be pleased about an abrupt leaving."

"This job we can do without the kid. Besides, he's probably too busy learning to pull a rabbit out of a hat."

Having been living in the Pride Ring and visiting the Greed Ring only once before, Lincoln has only explored Imp City in Pride, his coworkers had set a lot of ground rules for him since he's staying with them. The important rule being that Lincoln's not allowed to go out by himself, and with every other day being another job, that left Lincoln with very little chances to continue exploring.

He never would have guessed being friends with Octavia would be his salvation.

A salvation in Hell.

Now that there was a funny joke.

"Stylish Occult?" The place Octavia decided to bring her dad and Lincoln was her favorite place to shop for clothes and taxidermy. "Hey, one of my coworkers likes to shop here, too. She even said she wanted to take me here sometime."

"Good thing I beat her to the punch." Octavia playfully winked. "Not to hound you, Linc, but a complete renovation on your look is really needed if you want to fit in around here."

Loona said almost the exact same thing, another reason why Lincoln felt the two of them should meet officially. "Ooh, how delightful." Stolas clapped in encouragement. "Just make sure you spend a huge amount, sweetheart. After all, if deep enough..."

Octavia chorused with her father. "...then empty the whole damn pocket."

"It's just a new look, dad. Come on, Linc. Hopefully, they have something that fits you."

Stolas smiles, opting to wait until they were done. Once again, he's amazed by how friendly Octavia was acting, she really did seem like a big sister from his eyes and he won't deny that in another life, he'd be fine with that, though he sees himself in more of an uncle-like role to Lincoln. But, he won't go as far as to have Lincoln be placed under Goetia's supervision. It's clear that Blitzo and his team have truly grown fond of the lad, the female imp obviously has taken on the task of being his mother and though there was some reluctance, he recognized the eyes of a burgeoning father in the other male one. Even Blitzo was heading towards his own way of caring for Lincoln in a familial sense, even if he wouldn't show it.

Lincoln doesn't know it, yet, but he has found a family in Hell.

He's just focused on the family he still has on Earth and the personal mission to return to them.

The couple who sired the boy must be fully committed to each other to have sired a child that is willing to endure Hell long enough until he's reunited with them. Perhaps in a similar vein to Moxxie and Millie.

A commitment between two partners with genuine love and not just because of expectations and responsibility.

Guess even mortals can get more lucky than demon royalty.

"Hey, dad! Come here!"

He was thinking so much, he didn't realize a lot of time had passed.

"Coming, Via!"

From an alley, Face and his crew watched their prey. "This ain't a place you'd expect a big wig to go." Trapper commented.

"Makes things easier for us." Face glared. "Alright, now we-"

They shouted when their vehicle was pushed forward into a food stand by another car, the I.M.P van. "BAM! That's what you get, you fucking assholes!" Blitzo cackled from the driver's seat.

Face pulled the window shard out of his chest. "You grub eating little vermin! You asked for this"

Being the first to get out, Face opened the broken trunk and was relieved to see the briefcase inside was still intact. Opening it were bullet rounds that glowed heavenly and he inserted the clips into his grown guns. A memento from the old boss, bullets that were formed from the melted down Heaven weapons that were hard to come by, but easily bought on the black market. He fired the Heaven bullets, and the imps saw exactly what they were in for when a flurry of bullets struck down a random Sinner jaywalking on the street. The demon ceased to exist, leaving no trace of his body and a supernatural force exited from the husk and entered into a mailbox that then grew legs, teeth, and multiple eyes to run off.

The once inanimate object achieved sentience after the dark energy inside the now permanently departed Sinner possessed it.

"Oh, crumbs." Moxxie turned white.

Blitzo blinked. and his mouth inched upwards with a snarl. "Everyone but us seems to always have Heaven weapons!"

"Yeah! That's right, imps! For once, God's on our side, whether he knows it or not!" Trapper went up with his copter back, loading up his own Heaven projectiles. "This is our show, and there ain't room for your kind!"

Just because he was in the air didn't mean it was a problem to Blitzo, it only made him an easier target.

"Mills, knife!"

She tossed a throwing knife over to her boss and he grabbed it with his tail and threw it at Trapper, the bladed weapon struck the barrel of his gun, and it blew up, making the bullets inside go to him instead. "AAGH!"

"Trapper!" Claws shouts in shock as he sees his comrade dissolve in the air.

"Guys! Help me...!"

His plea went unanswered as it was too late, his erasing form crashed down into another car.

Gaping, Claws clenched his teeth and unleashed his hat. "You'll pay for that, you damned assholes! You hear me?!" he won't rest until all three are nothing but just more corpses in the streets of Hell. Face had more sense, they were down a man and not even Heaven bullets gave the imps justifiable cause to run away like any other sensible demons like the ones running away from the gunfight.

"Moxxie! Time to really show your real strength to these shitheads! Give them Hell, you beautiful gun expert!"

"RPG!"

"Claws, get clear!"

Face led his crew to get clear when Moxxie fired the flying projectile, blowing up their car and some beasts that got caught in the blast radius. Looking at Stylish Occult, Face cursed his rotten luck. "I'm calling it We gotta pull back!"

"After what they did to Trapper! These little bastards are not getting away with that!"

"This isn't up for debate! Now, come on!"

Blitzo snickered, watching them run off. "Oh, yeah! Look at you scared pussies! What happened to all that hot shit you were spitting before, huh?! Now come on, guys! Hunt ain't over just yet!"

I.M.P's van drove past Stylish Occult and inside Stolas looked back slightly over the noise. "Seems some unscrupulous Sinners are going at it again. I swear, it's bound to be over a petty matter." Nobody in the shop was concerned by the gunfire outside, it was a regular sight everyday, so it was hardly any cause for any fanfare or to be afraid of, except no one was aware of the Heaven bullets involved. Otherwise, that would've been enough reason for a few pissed on pants. Not even Stolas realized what really just happened.

"Just ignore it, dad." Octavia looked to the changing rooms. "Lincoln, you done yet?"

"I don't know. I'm not sure if this really screams me."

"Come on. You'll be fine. It's not like you'll get crowded by paparazzi."

The white haired boy excited and Octavia lit up in pride over his new apparel. He had a dark gray t-shirt on with an orange colored happy face emoji face with horns on its head and a tail extended out the back. Comfortable looking black pants were also included with ripped holes in them, and on his wrist was a band with spikes and a dangling chained tag that was an upside down pentagram and black and white shoes. "Won't lie, I thought you'd go overboard, but this seems a little normal."

"What? You thought I'd give you an instant makeover? Make you into someone you're not? Don't know where you got that idea from. Just one last touch." Octavia lays her hand on top of his head and styles it to be more loose and less combed. "Well, what do you think?"

"Hmm..." Lincoln gave himself a once over. "...You know what? I think I can dig this."

"See? What'd I tell ya?" Pleased with herself, she addressed the cashier. "We''l take that to go."

"I for one think you make the look work, dear boy." Stolas praises. "I bet you'll be beating off hordes of Succubi with a stick."

"Heh-heh, I guess." Lincoln laughed awkwardly. "Where to next?"

"This was my turn. Now it's yours." Octavia handed him a unique mirror. "This mirror will show you parts of the city, just pick the one you want to go to and the powder will do the rest. Take your pick, Linc."

After the Satanist cannibal family job, the one thing that calmed Lincoln down was the spot on the roof Loona showed him that gave him a clear view of Hell's skies, a sight that to this day, was still pretty to him. With the mirror, he was thinking of a spot that took him even higher and could show him a view of the whole city and the magic item didn't disappoint. "Enjoying the scenery, I take it?" Stolas asked the sitting boy.

"Yeah. Sorry if this seems too random, but going up to a building like this and just watching silence. It can be very calm and no offense to your home, Stolas, sir, but I always need a dose of that." Lincoln jerked a thumb at Octavia who was having fun painting graffiti on the roof, sending a message to the owner and what she thinks of Sinners like him. "At least Octavia found a way to enjoy herself."

"And that is more than enough reason to let this slide." Stolas contently sat down himself. "Admittedly, this can be very soothing. I should perhaps do the same when things get too hectic at my mansion."

"Er, with your wife?"

"With my wife."

This was far from being his business and he doesn't really have a right, but that curiosity of his needed to be sated.

Lincoln just hopes Stolas won't get mad.

"If you don't mind me asking, but exactly, what's the deal between you and Blitz? Are you two, you know...together?" All evidence points to it, but then Lincoln recalls Stolas already being married and that troubles with his wife was what led to Octavis having issues with him in the first place. "Look, I've gotten the message that cheating is as normal as murder in Hell, and I get not every marriage lasts forever, but-"

"You wish to know exactly why I decided to do such a thing that caused much pain for Via, don't you?" Lincoln nodded worriedly and Stolas gave a hollow laugh. "Always so curious." Stolas gazes at the sky. "Lincoln. Have you ever fallen in love before?"

Lincoln heats up at the question. "Uh, well, maybe, I think?" He sees Ronnie Anne in his head and a few former crushes he's had. "Well, I'm still a kid, alright? Some of my sisters are love experts, I just try to provide moral support and stuff."

"...I assume you also have a girl waiting on Earth?" Stolas teasingly smiled.

"J-Just get to the point, please."

Stolas chuckles. "Very well, then. You see, my boy, falling in love here in Hell comes with great risk. It softens the spirit in a world that requires that spirit to be more cold and ruthless. For me, I was born into royalty, and in that life, it was expected of me to meet those requirements. All other luxuries of life weren't as important as keeping up appearances, so when the decision was made that I would form a union with someone from a noble house, whether I wished for it or not didn't matter."

"So, it was an arranged marriage?" Lincoln's only heard of those in school plays and movies.

"That it was. You must understand that while such practice is very archaic in your world, Hell plays by many different rules. So yes, I was arranged to Stella and vice versa, all as part of fulfilling our roles in the hierarchy." Stolas sighed. "Being married meant to spend the rest of eternity with someone of whom you love and cherished, that sort of feeling was...enticing for me. It's just, I never really felt anything for her. She certainly held nothing but contempt for me. How young and naive I was." he frowns sadly. "Life always finds ways of disappointing you, Lincoln. Instead of love, I found a marriage that was treated like a business practice. At the very least, I wanted Stella to at least tolerate me. But, she only cared about making my life Heaven. Even when Octavia was born. Ironically, that may as well be the single greatest moment of our marriage." Stolas fondly remembers holding little baby Via in his arms. "Even so, I still craved that feeling. Not even my status was enough to quench my thirst, no, I wanted to feel that sweet love just once. And then, Blitzy broke into my palace."

"Didn't he steal the grimoire?"

"That he did, that he did." Stolas dreamily sighed. "Looking back, I suppose I was desperate. It shocked me that he was there, but I didn't complain. One thing led to another and I couldn't keep him out of my head. It was the first time in such a long loveless marriage, I actually felt some fulfillment and well, I just couldn't resist wanting more. The rest, shall we say, is history."

"Wow. That is and I know I've said this about a lot of other stuff in Hell, but that is very messed up."

"This is Hell, boy."

"I know, I know. But still." Lincoln then came to a realization. "Huh. You know, that's something you and Blitz have in common."

"Pardon?"

When he started working as I.M.P's unpaid intern, Lincoln couldn't figure Blitzo out. The guy was just all over the place and acted on a whim with every choice, but then came the jobs that gave Lincoln clues about the imp's past that he'd rather be kept in the dark. First, it was when they had to deal with Robo Fizz, not only did Lincoln learn to work as a circus clown but apparently, he wasn't a popular one, with no kid loving his jokes. Then came Verosika Mayday. When she came to mind, it didn't take long for him to lightly blush. The Succubus pop star who used to be Blitzo's girlfriend, which was still hard to believe. The best he could gather and surmise was that it was pretty serious, serious enough to leave a lot of old wounds.

Maybe because Blitzo believed the love Verosika seemingly had for him wasn't real.

Due to her fame, Blitzo also could've felt threatened by his girlfriend being more well known than him.

All he can be sure of is that because Blitzo believed she didn't love him, their relationship soured.

Blitzo also got into his employees' personal lives, as if desiring to see how love is displayed with them. Him coddling Loona also looked like desperate pleas to have the hellhound love him like a father.

All in all, Blitzo was really in the market to be loved, but thinks it's impossible.

"Blitz doesn't believe anyone really loves him, or even cares about him." Lincoln found that very sad, and a little inaccurate, Millie thinks of him more than just a boss but an actual friend, and Loona, well, she's still learning to be more open with her emotions. "But he still tries to look for it, only he ends up making things a lot worse. I guess that's something you two actually have some common ground."

"...Well. That is something I have never considered before." Stolas scratched his feathery head. "If that is the case, I'm surprised he never responds well when I simply adore his sexiness."

"The pet names and the blatant flirting does get overboard."

"Really? I never noticed." Stolas smirked. "Must say, you truly can be perceptive as well. Certainly sets you apart from the rest of humanity, I can't imagine many would approve of you conversing with literal demons of Hell."

"I've learned not to judge you guys that much." Explosions were heard. "What's going on down there?"

"More Sinners going about their days, killing each other." Stolas surmised, disinterested. "Pay that no mind. I am truly enjoying this heart-to-heart."

Sinners were in the middle of a battle, but it wasn't against fellow Sinners, but the Hellborn imps of I.M.P. "You fuckers! You dirty, dirty, fuckers! You killed Trapper!" Claws cried in anguish. Both of them lived through Exterminations together, but it was imps that ended up taking him out for good. Past him would find that to be a joke. One he couldn't find any humor in.

"You struck first when you got your mitts on me!" Millie countered, using a sword to slice a pincer claw off that had her trapped. Claws was pushed back when Moxxie blasted buck shots at him. Blitzo, meanwhile, shot and killed dozens of the Hellborn animals with gun turrets and Face fired explosive grenades from his mouth also made from the weapons of Angels. Blitzo ran forward and slid on his knees to duck under the fire and shot point blank at two beasts, then fired a grappling hook that got him stuck to Face again.

"Won't lie, I'm actually having the time of my life!" he punched Face hard. "Consider that my thanks!" Blitzo jumps off as soon as Face fires again and he hears a grunt, thinking he hit one of them. But when he opens his eyes, he sees a bleeding out Claws who collapses, his afterlife now cut.

"Boss..."

Face was all alone.

Roaring, Face's body parts morphed. His legs became the wheel of a tank, while more guns sprouted from his shoulders, back, and chest, firing various rounds at the imp assassins and any other, not caring who he had to kill. He just wants any and all demons in his way to disappear, so that he can continue his journey back to success in Hell, he's negligent of his own afterlife. But without that sense, it left him as a vulnerable target, all that anger never does anyone good in a fight and Blitzo showed it by throwing grenades that blasted him into a fire hydrant. "Shouldn't have danced with these devils, ass-wipe!"

"This wasn't supposed to happen! I-I still need to carry on the boss' work! I-I need to keep on until I bring the old crew's name back to among the greats!"

"Oh, so this is about a buddy of yours getting killed in the purge, yeah? Don't worry." Blitzo ferociously smiles. "I'm sure if he were here, he'd understand that you'd screw up. A good boss is forgiving."

"You never follow your own advice." Moxxie deadpanned.

"Think you're the one walking away as the winner?! Not when I'm done with you!" In Face's mouth was an explosive. Thinking fast, Blitz wraps a chain around Face and ties it to the company van. Stepping on the pedal, he drives fast while dragging Face along the street and stomps on the brakes, making Face be flung up and the chain breaks, leaving him to scream as he flies to the next block.

"You goddamned imps-"

The heavenly explosive went off in the sky.

"Pretty." Millie cooed.

"Okay, pack it in, M&M." Blitzo instructed, the bloodlust going away. "Linc should be about done by now."

Back up top, Stolas came to a similar decision. "Now, while this has been enjoyable, I do believe we've had enough of it for today. Now, Lincoln, feel free to keep these items for yourself. Consider them a gift. They may prove helpful."

"Awesome. Thanks!"

"Before I forget." he lowers a book to him. Some kind of instruction manual for potions and other concoctions, along with rituals and other spells that can be learned through specific processes. "If you ever feel like delving into magic by yourself, consider this a beginners' guide."

"I got my own gift." Octavia bought something else for Lincoln at Stylish Occult in a tiny bag.

Lincoln took whatever was inside out, which was a package containing a cell phone device. "A new phone? Cool!"

"Hellphone, actually." Octavia ruffles his head. "Way cooler than Earth phones, trust me."

"Come along now, children!"

With the powder, Stolas whisks them all away.

Both parties made it back to the building they left at almost the exact same time and neither group were aware of the others' excursions in Hell and it was very unlikely they ever will. But that hardly matters, what did matter was for I.M.P to go back home in case a new client checks in and the Goetias to go back to living in the lap of luxury, just regularly living their individual lives.

"Lincoln, it's time to come home~!" Millie opens the door and gasps upon seeing Lincoln in his slick new thread. "Now where did you get those, little mister?"

"Uh...Octavia had them ready for me here." Lincoln convincingly said. "She meant it to be a surprise."

Moxxie gave his honest opinion. "It's different, but I must say, it's a good look for you."

"Makes you look more handsome!" Millie gives a pinch. "Hopin' to get some attention from little demon fillies, I reckon?" she giggles over his flustered blush, happily hugging him tightly.

"Alright, are we done here?" Blitzo asked Stolas, never intimidated by his height. "This is getting too wholesome for my liking."

"This has been a productive day, Blitzy. You should never rush things, especially on the bed." Stolas cups his chin with a single finger which Blitzo slaps away. Nevertheless, I...thank you for allowing the boy to continue learning under me."

Blitzo never expected to be thanked, least of all from a Goetia.

"...Uh." Blitzo fought back the light blush.

"L-Let's just get out of here!"

"Music to my ears." Before they left, Lincoln unboxed the Hellphone and she gave him a direct line to the Goetias' mansion, along with some recommendations on what music he should listen to with the headphones.

"Getting a Goetian Princess's digits." Blitzo observed. "I'd watch myself, intern. If she's anything like her pops-"

"Blitz, come on! She's more like a big sister."

Octavia was within hearing range and before she knew it, she felt her heart skip a beat and she smiled.

That kid.

He certainly had a way with sneaking into demons' hearts to form bonds with the, just look at I.M.P.

"Farewell, Blitzy and company!" Stolas waved. He honestly felt great, his little sharing session with his pupil made it feel like a lot of weights were lifted off his shoulders, perhaps he should do the whole sharing thing more often.

"Come on, dad. Let's go home."

"Brilliant day, by the way, Via. Showing the boy how life in Hell doesn't have to be all anger and hatred to soothe his soul."

Octavia laughed in response. "Don't know what you're talking about." Guess she should've known her father had a clue.

In the company van, Lincoln said. "Not mad about having to wait around?"

Moxxie shrugs, thinking it was best to keep their own field trip a secret to not worry the boy. "Eh, it wasn't all bad." They drove across town, where many parts of it were still in shambles over the damages caused by the imps and the Sinners.

This was just another day in Hell.

Chapter 11 - Chapter 10: Another Day