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Chapter Text

striker yawned, eyes half closed as he only partially listened to his client. some shit about a cheating husband. a pretty normal job purposal, actually. she mustve just recently died, if her husband’s birthday was january 8th. 

“was she hotter?” striker muttered, earning a glare from may-fucks-her-name. “look, our job is to go up and kill the living, and it sounds like your problem is already dead, and probably in hell with you.” not to mention the fact that humans that ended up in hell could only be permanently killed by angelic weapons. “case closed and solved. you can go find her and stab her or something.”

“not exactly. that bitch survived.” the former teacher narrowed her eyes. “she was given a check for two million bucks just for getting shot. she has a husband, kids, everything i ever wanted.” 

it wasnt until she slammed her fists down on his desk after an intense flashback, shouting, “SHE IS NOT A HERO!” that striker quickly straightened and repeatedly pressed the “DERANGED CLIENT” labeled button under his desk (one of many). the button connected to a desk in the other room with the rest of his team, letting them know what the fuck was going on before it got to them in other manners. “yep, yep, yeah, my thoughts exactly.” striker stared at her.

may-whats-her-name continued to rant about this woman, about how she was the most insufferable person on the street, even though she had lived right across from an old wrinkly homophobic. striker didnt give much of a shit, knowing he didnt care about these people and more so cared about the excitement of doing a job.

“right. well, come along and i’ll let you meet the rest of the team.” striker tilted his hat before getting up and walking to the door of his office, his spaded tail lightly swaying behind him. the client just gave a grunt and followed.

striker pushed open the door to the waiting area. “i’d like y’all to meet-”

the sound of a crossbow launching and an arrow darting around the room cut him off. the arrow came right by his face just after darting against the brand new tank of eels he had and he caught it, eyes widened slightly. “our newest client..”

mayberry watched in dead silence as the electric eel tank smashed to the floor, sparkimg and sputtering.

striker threw the arrow to the ground. “dammnit, i just bought those eels!”

one call for the fire-fighters and a taxi for mayberry later, striker leaned against the wall with his arms crossed. his co-workers surrounded him in a half-circle, recollecting themselves. “im gonna say millie took that shot?” striker raised an eyebrow.

millie only tossed him a glare.

“satan, millie, youre a good fighter, but youre worth dick when it comes to long distance.” striker groaned, running a hand over his face. “please tell me we still have the stupid book.”

“ya mean this book?” fizzarolli pulled said book (a grimoire) out of his jacket like a damn magician. his robotic arm comedically stretched over to striker, which the snake-like imp took the book from and flipped through for the portal spell.

“‘kay. for this one im thinking fizz stays behind- while your limbs n’ shit are great and all there’s a high chance this job has guns involved on both sides and no one wants your pretty little arms there getting ruined. i dont think mammon wants to replace them again. mox and mils come along, especially millie. want you to get some idea of how this business works.”

striker opened the portal with the book and closed it, a sharp-toothed grin coming across his face. “lets go fuck a bitch up.”

they trailed into the portal in a single file line. striker stayed on alert as they walked to the house in the distance, lashing his tail back and forth.

“moxxie, scout the area.” striker hissed as they came up on a window. moxxie ran off with a “yes, sir” before striker peeked inside the house.

the blonde bitch, presumably her husband, a little boy, and a little girl all sat at a dining table. striker narrowed his eyes. “this one’s fuckin’ easy, millie.” he reached for his rifle- normally he would prefer his dagger, but that was only easy in close range fights.

“are we really about to kill a family?” millie looked uneasy.

“nah. we’re killing a mother and ruining a family.” striker gave her a grin.

“h-hold on.” striker ignored her as he focused in on the target. “lets just think about this-” she moved the rifle with her hand just as the shot went off- just as moxxie came back.

“dammnit, millie!” striker growled, motioning for moxxie to get down. “what the fuck was that?”

millie bristled. “i panicked-”

“damn right- FUCK!” striker hissed as the wall blew out and a bullet scraped his shoulder. “scatter!”

striker ran off into the nearby woods, not looking back to see where the others had gone. he kept his eyes wide open, cursing the slight glowing effect they had. he flinched as he heard the scratching voice of the target coming from somewhere on his right. he scrambled behind a tree, keeping his tail close to him as he tried not to breathe too heavily.

he cursed undee his breath as his phone started ringing. he scrambled to pick it up, answering the call. “fuck, stella, this is a really bad time-”

“when isnt it a bad time, striker?” stella purred on the other side of the line.

“what is it?” striker hissed, trying to keep his voice low as martha lept calling out to him.

“ive been meaning to continue our conversation regarding my book, hmm?”

striker ducked right before a hole was blown through the tree he was leaning against. “shhhhit.” he darted off to another tree.

stella hummed. “anywho, you know i have been allowing you to use my book to access the human realm less than.. legally for quite some time now. but i do need it back to continue my duties. because of such, i have a deal, a compromise to make with you.”

“stop usin’ your fancy fuckin’ princess shit talk, im getting fucking shot at- fuck.” another hole in a damn tree.

“then let me make it simple. once a month, on the full moon, you return the book to me. you allow me to fufill my duties and… you let me give you a proper meal, made just for you imps. and you get to keep it all the rest of the time. sound fair enough?”

“fine, yes, whatever.” striker hissed, yelping as the phone was knocked out of his hands and the butt of a rifle pressed against his neck. striker could still hear stella on the other end, and martha muttering about sending him “back where he came from.”

striker found himself and moxxie tied against a pole barely a minute later with that husband pouring gasoline around them, despite striker’s efforts to jerk his way out. “i had that fuckin’ shot, goddamnit, millie.” striker muttered under his breath.

martha started yelling some ritual, not that striker was paying any attention to her over escaping.

she threw the torch over, lighting the fire.

striker sighed as the heat envoloped him. “no, sorry, thats not how fire works. you’ll have to find another way to kill us- i mean i can fake it if it’ll help y’all out here.” the last statement of which earned him a look from moxxie.

striker watched as martha rolled her eyes with a sigh, pulling her gun back out. striker shrugged. “that would be more effective.” which earned him a second glare from moxxie, right before a shot sounded and martha dropped to the forest floor.

“millie!” moxxie purred as she ran over and started untying them. striker grunted as he dropped to the ground, getting to his feet just in time to see the husband scampering away.

striker gave millie a look. “do you get it now?”

“yes.” millie gave him a light smile. “they werent any level of innocent.”

“thaaaats right, mills!” striker gave her a slap on the back. “dont ever pull a stunt like that again. are we all set to get back home?”

“just a second, striker. i need to get something i left at the house.” millie turned back to the house.

“mkay, but be quick ‘bout it.” striker dialed fizzarolli. “fiiiizz, we’re ready to come back now!”

the portal opened after millie returned not too long later. striker went through the portal without another word, yawning. 

“mission accomplished, team.”

Chapter Text

stella lightly opened her eyes to the sound of octavia’s cries coming from the nearby room. she huffed. “stolas..”
“your turn.” the owl muttered, shifting against the pillow.
stella rubbed her face with a sigh before getting out of bed, careful not to trip over her lengthy robe. she never felt as though she was good at comforting their young daughter, normally stolas was the better of the two, but it would have to do. she made her way down the hallway, the crisp hours of the early morning blurring her eyes.
she opened the door to via’s room. “what happened, little one?”
“i had a bad dream,” octavia whined from her blankets. “one where i looked everywhere and everywhere and i couldnt find you or dad.”
“oh, dear.” stella carefully padded to the bed and sat down next to her daughter. “that is troublesome.”
via climbed into her lap, clinging to her like a lifeline. stella gently combed through the five-year-old’s hair with her talons. “i would never disappear like that, via.” she lightly kissed her forehead. “even if you cant find me, you’ll be okay. i promise, my owlette.”
via looked up at her with wide eyes.
“i’ll always be with you.” stella let her hand press against octavia’s heart. “even if you cant see me. it was just a simple nightmare, darling. do you want me to sing a song, dear?”
“yes, please, mummy..” octavia nestled against her chest.
stella sung an old song, one she had memorized from her own mother. via fell asleep through about half of it, to which stella set her back down on the bed and covered with her star-patterned blanket. “there you go, my starfire. goodnight.”
stella went back to bed.

-~-~-

stella and stolas had more quiet arguments, they had agreed for the sake of their daughter, but they both knew that wouldnt stop her from overhearing.
overhearing mutters of imp-sucking, of denial, of divorce.
the three quietly ate breakfast, stella and stolas directly across from each other while octavia sat on one side of the middle.
“what’s that youre listening to, via?” stolas slid his gaze to the bird, white pupils never disappearing.
“my world is burning down around me.” octavia muttered. “its by ‘fuck you, dad.’ its a band.”
stolas gave a slightly confused grunt, slicing off another piece of his steak. “how charming.”
a moment of silence, before stella cleared her throat. “you know what we havent done in a long time?”
stolas tossed her a glare.
“we havent taken via to her favorite place.” stella gave a small trill, clapping her hands together in a single beat and holding them there. “why dont we go to loo loo land. she used to love it there.”
octavia groaned. “im not five.”
“table manners, dear.” stolas muttered.
“you were always so happy when we took you there.” stella smiled. “what do you say we go there once more?”
“i have duties today.” stolas sat more straight, moving to put on his hat, signifying taking his leave.
stella glared at him, as if to say ‘you can take a damn day off for your daughter.’
stolas only left.
stella sighed, clicking her cutlery against her plate. “we can have a day, just to ourselves. i’ll put together our security.” she moved to the telephone, already putting in a certain imp’s number.
octavia raised an eyebrow. “security for a theme park?”
“yes, dear. we’re goetia royalty. people want us.” stella purred.
octavia gave a grunt and an eye roll.
stella put the phone to her ear hole, chuckling slightly at the loud “WHAT?” from the other side of the line.
“oh, dear, is it another bad time?” stella tapped her talons against the counter with a smirk.
“no- fuck, maybe. depends on what you want me to do.”
stella hummed. “my daughter and i are going to a theme park. i assume you’d protect us, hmm?”
“you mean like security or some bullshit?”
“yes, striker.” stella drew circles with her claw.
“yeahhh, no. im an assassination business, not security for royal rich princess fucks..”
“i’ll pay you.”
silence, then a quiet. “fine.” and a click.

stella had dressed up in something lesser than her normal formal dress, not wanting to be lugging the thing around on a day as hot as it was. she strode into the theme park, I.M.P. and her daughter following behind her.
striker stayed by her side. “im only here to do my job. not to be friends. keep to your damned self.”
“of course, darling.” stella twitched her tail feathers. while stolas very much believed striker had fucked stella at some point, it was much more the opposite. stella had taken it upon herself to make sure the little imp was taking care of himself properly after stumbling upon a beaten striker in her bushes one day.
she had found that neither of them really experienced sexual attraction.
after about an hour (and several assassination attempts) stella had managed to drag via away to the circus with that robot clown-wolf.
“-Lu Lu Land spelled with O’s to avoid lawsuits. h-hit it!”
stella didnt mind the slight stuttering of the robot. in fact, it made her happier to know that it was likely the same one as over 10 years ago, making her lightly nostalgic.
the robot started to sing, clapping its hands and trying to get the small crowd to sing along. stella was the only one who did, rather enthusiastically.
the song ended (with another assassination attempt) and octavia just groaned and ran away with a “i cant do this anymore!”
stella got to her feet and followed after her. “octavia-”
she heard the faint sounds of what seemed to be striker and the robot wolf arguing, but she ignored it. she ignored the green around her, all she was focused on was via running into a ride in the theme park.
a little imp jumped on to stella, making her growl. she crossed her arms and watched as the imp was knocked to the floor. she sighed and wiped off her arms, as if cleaning the filth from them. stella turned around to see striker’s assistants. “where’s striker?”
“being a fool.” millie set a hand on her hip.
“the kind that sets shit on fire,” moxxie added.
stella gave a roll of her eyes before walking in a direction. she dodged past parts of the attraction, frowning as she headed into a room with little train tracks and a sort of apple merry go round. “octavia?”
stella spotted her huddled up on one of the apple-shaped carts and headed over, sliding in next to her. “i take it youre not having fun, are you?” she spoke in a soft way.
octavia just shifted away. “i didnt even want to come here.”
“im sorry, owlette.” stella shifted, pressing her hands into her lap. “i thought you loved it here.”
“when i was five, maybe..” octavia wiped at her eyes. “and when my parents didnt hate each other.”
“im sorry for it all, dear, your father and i..” stella sighed. “its.. complicated. we’ve tried talking so much quieter, but..”
“but it doesnt stop me from hearing.”
“exactly.” stella shook her head. “i should have listened, im so sorry, via.”
“are you gonna run off with him?” octavia buried her face back into her knees.
“no, of course not, starfire.” stella pulled octavia close and carried her out of the ride. when she felt eyes on her back, she snapped around and turned the armed imp to stone. “you are too old for this place.”
stella carried her through the fire, back to the van. she stopped as the three little imps crashed to the ground in front of them, groaning about the robot loona.
stella only chuckled and opened a portal to go home.

Chapter Text

“aw, fuck yeah! love this song!” striker turned up the volume as he drove, his tail twitching enthusiastically behind him as he tried his best to sing along. moxxie covered his ear holes with an annoyed expression in the seat behind him.
striker swerved into the parking lot, shaken off balance as a fancy blue fuck car jerked into his parking spot and made him slam on the breaks in a panic. “shit-” striker growled as he rolled his window down and peered out to see who the hell had caused that.
a shark hellborn stepped out of the vehicle, dressed from head to toe in only the fanciest of clothing. striker groaned, opening the door. “chazwick.”
chazwick raised an eyebrow. “striker.”
striker clambered out of his van, crossing his arms. “shouldve known your ass would be here-”
chazwick chuckled. “you sound so angry. no way to greet an old friend, is it?”
striker groaned. “shut up. why have you parked your ass here? this is the only parking spot my company has, so take your rich ass fancy fuck car and fuck somewhere else.”
chazwick hummed. “actually, it has my name on it.” chazwick moved his sunglasses to his forehead and pointed down to the road where he had scribbled out striker’s name. “im doing a bit of freelance for one of the infinitely more awesome companies here. im gonna be here for a week, so youd better get used to my face, doll.”
striker spat. “youre not staying in my fuckin’ parking spot for a week, dipshit.”
“aw, you mad, striker? gonna run off and leave someone else to pay for the hotel room ‘n steal their car?” chazwick leaned down slightly. “race three rings down to wrath and use my credit card on your shitty cowboy games?”
striker kept his arms crossed, watching through narrowed eyes as chaz walked away.
a second and a third being followed after him, two fish-like hell-borns with a mirror shtick going. striker assumed it was his newest bodyguards, as if anyone gave a shit about popstar-whatever-the-fuck chazwick.
striker grunted as he watched them enter the building, eyes narrowed. he nearly jumped out of his skin as the car door slammed open, fizz staring at him with wide eyes. “you know chazwick thurman??”
striker turned around, lashing his tail. “huh? oh, yeah, him, we dated, whatever.”
“was it before or after he became a popstar?” moxxie popped out, followed by millie. “you dated a popstar?”
striker groaned, throwing his hands up. “why are you all acting like its such a shock?”
“you, rough and tough cowboy, dated the… chazwick? the flirty well known popstar?” fizz crossed his arms. “its a shock.”
“y’all are making this into a way bigger deal than it needs to be.” striker muttered, letting his tail settle by his side.
“what was sex with him like?” moxxie piped up, earning a weird glance from millie, to which he returned with, “what? you wanted to know what it was like with michael crawford.”
millie frowned. “touche.”
“bad. lets just drop it, alright?” striker rubbed his face before directing. “mox, find a temporary spot for that truck.” he threw him the keys, which he jumped up and caught. “fizz, millie, lets go handle this shit.” striker turned and walked into the building, the two imps trailing behind him.
one trip up the elevator later (which involved striker aggressively tapping the floor button as if that would make it go faster), and they were walking down the hallway.
fizz focused on his phone, scrolling through sinstagram posts before bumping into that fish hellborns.
striker huffed. “where’s your shitbag of an employer, huh?”
“in his office. there wasnt enough room so he rented one here.”
striker looked over and saw the blue led lights chaz had somehow already planted on his door. “oh, come ON.”
“hm. sorry, man.” one of the twins gave a light smirk before padding away, the other following.
striker bristled, adjusting his hat. “fuck, no.”
millie started to ramble about something or another, something involving going in there to ‘talk to them’, causing striker to cross his arms. “just go in, squirt.”
“allllrighty then.” millie half-jogged into the office.
barely a minute passed before millie scrambled back out. “nope. nope, nope.” she rubbed her face, tail limp behind her, as she walked back to their own office.
striker bristled even more, aware of fizz’s gaze on him as he burst open the doors to chaz’s office. “thats IT. if youre gonna be shitty to my employees, then i challenge you to a fuckin’-” he was so mad he couldnt think of the word. normally he would try to go for some cowboy type shit like in the wrath ring, which he knew he scored top every day of the week. but he couldnt think.
“a demon duel?” one of chaz’s employees raised an eyebrow.
“whats the game, then, hm, doll?” chaz grinned.
striker grunted. “hm. i bet you sucky bitches cant fuck more than we can kill. its spring break- a time for crime of all kind.”
“game on.” chazwick flicked striker’s hat. “bitch.”

striker clapped his hands together to start the meeting. “alright, lets get started. we just need a way to get more clients and fast. those bitches dont have a restriction on humans like we do, but i think we could pull it off. are fliers an option- can we print fliers out in less than an hour?”
millie raised an eyebrow. “fliers, sir?”
“yeah, you know, little paper things-”
“i know what fliers are. im asking if that’ll be productive in the slightest.”
“of course it will be! people’ll be lining up to get the number.”
fizz cut in, looking up from his bored spot at the table. “is there any way i can come with you guys this time around? i havent been on one in a while, and it’ll probably go faster if im there too.”
“absolutely not. you know how fuck face mammon is, he wouldnt replace your limbs unless i gave him the company’s savings.” striker crossed his arms, giving a quick lash of his tail.
“i could blend in easy enough. just let me tag along.” fizz stood his ground, something striker had grown to respect about the imp.
“you can what?”
“blend in.”
“do you have a human disguise?” moxxie cut in.
“yeah, dont you??” fizz’s gaze shifted to him before he groaned. “you three have been fucking around on earth this entire time without disguises?”
striker rubbed the bridge of his snout. “okay, new plan. fizz can lead the humans to us and we go from there?”
millie scoffed. “how do we even get enough clients to win this bet? i doubt a measly flier is going to work. we arent just going up to massacre!”
striker shrugged. “i’ve seen how stupid the sinner population is. they’d go for anything- just give me a minute.”

a portal trip away, and they were on a beach. humans everywhere, the scent so strong it made striker sneeze. it was a rather hot day, and he felt immensely overdressed despite the pits of hell he lived in. he and the crew hid behind a couple of rocks, peering out at the crowd. “now, remember, we cant be seen. and loose shots will likely cause a commotion, so fizz can help with leadin’ ‘em to a quieter spot. you got the list, fizzarolli.”
fizz nodded, holding a piece of paper tightly in his claws. he tapped something on himself and transformed into a human version of himself that honestly kept most of his features.
striker grinned. “right, you know what to do.”
a quick montage later and nine people were already down. striker stretched an arm. “i’d like to see that shark fucker even have three in by now.” he chuckled, adjusting his hat and lashing his tail.
a loud noise caught his attention, his gaze darting to the stage that had been set up.
chazwick.
the fuckass shark was in a human disguise, just like fizz, and was preforming on the stage. the sight made striker’s tail rattle as he stared. “goddamnit, this stupid.. we’d better pick up the pace.” he glanced back at his crew. fizz was gone. “oh, for gods sake. he barely has an attention span. lets just..” he grabbed a crumpled up piece of paper out of his jacket pocket. “that one and that one.” he nodded to moxxie and millie, who managed to drag the two away.
striker muttered to himself, watching chazwick throw something into the sea. the imp didnt pay attention to the rest of it, the rest of anything, just scanning the area for fizz.
damnit, jester, of all the times to..
a huge ass fucking wave crashing up after a few minutes of searching caused him to flinch and turn around, seeing moxxie holding a drunk/limp/something millie in his hands.
a giant sea abomination. striker stared at it before dashing over to his employees. “FUCK, what is THAT??” right before it grabbed millie by the tongue (to which the tiny imp giggled) and ate her whole.
striker bristled and reached for his dagger, but moxxie was quicker about dashing towards the creature. striker rolled his eyes and scoffed. “youre both goners.”
moxxie climbed up the creature until he reached the mouth, prying it open just enough to grab his wife’s hand and cut her out, throwing her back towards the beach. striker caught her, sighing as he stabbed the guy next to him. millie giggled, exclaiming something of a ‘wheeeee!’ as she threw her hands back and stretched her body out in his arms.
“i love that man.” millie purred, to which striker just rolled his eyes. moxxie had killed the damned thing from the inside and trudged his way back to the beach, knife in hand. “is millie okay?” he mumbled after catching his breath.
“yeah. shes fine.” striker dropped the imp and stalked off to moxxie’s side, silently checking him for injuries. his tail gave a quick lash as moxxie picked his wife up off the sand and hugged him while she muttered about something or another.
“striker.”
striker whipped around to face chazwick and his gang, still in human disguise. “oh, perfect.” he snarked. “that must be the whores.”
“that was handled rather.. obvious, dont you think?” chaz raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms.
“i dont think this belonged to any of us.” moxxie tossed the thing chaz had thrown into the ocean back at him, to which he caught. “would be a shame if anyone found out you guys were behind a giant creature like that in the human world.”
striker grinned. “we could keep this little mishap under wraps. if you give up a parking spot.”
chaz didnt make eye contact and reluctantly muttered out a “fine.”
striker tipped his hat to him, tilting his head slightly before turning back to his crew. “lets boot up that portal.”
fizz walked over, as if he suddenly just appeared. “did i miss much?” with the book in his hands.
striker gave him a bit of a look before shrugging. “nah. just us winning that park.”
fizz gave him a smile before booting up the portal and hopping in, the rest of the crew following.

Chapter Text

striker stared at the tv, tapping his dagger against the table as he narrowed his eyes. he flung his dagger at it, cutting the commercial of the stupid angels short. he grinned as millie retrieved it and replaced the tv, aiming his dagger. millie turned on the new one, flicking through commercials until striker threw his dagger again. the weapon hit it square in the screen just as a shake started, making striker perk up in alarm.
fizz looked up from his spot at the table. “you all feel that too?”
“hell-quake.” something flashed in striker’s eyes. “get down-” right before tangled-up wires crashed into his wall and knocked it down. a sinner stood atop the rubble, a top hat above his head and a loopy mustache. “be not afraid.” he chuckled.
striker groaned. “please tell me we got that insurance thing.”
the sinner bounced over to the middle of the room, introducing himself as something striker honestly couldnt make out, alongside announcing himself as an inventor.
“we have a door.” fizz sat back in his seat, crossing his arms.
“i am eccentric, and therefore must do eccentric shit!” the sinner grinned, exclaiming such in a voice that made striker’s head ache.
striker flicked his tongue out to taste the air, quickly reeling back. “oh, dear satan, he reeks of earth. did you just die?”
“yes! moments ago, in fact, which is what brought me here! and this is the man i need you to kill.” the sinner pulled out a greyscale photo.
“barely into hell and already plotting revenge.” striker looked him over. “i can get behind that. im striker. why are we killin’ this guy?”
“he was-” the sinner placed a dramatic hand on his chest. “my business partner!” he started to monologue, pacing around the room. “you see, i was not always an old man… my partner lyle and i ran lyle-loopty robotics. a technological empire! earlier today we were testing a new machine to stop or reverse the aging process.. but we did not test it on the poor, like we usually do! we were too sure of our own genius.. the machine was set forwards! by the time we managed to get out, it was too late. at least, for me.” he sighed. “i need him dead- and in here with me.”
striker raised an eyebrow. “ah. alright. we can do that. give us a day or two.”
“im counting on it.”

striker stared out at the house through his binoculars, in a clever disguise to blend in well with humans well enough without a proper human disguise. they were stationed on top of a tour bus, which they had decided would be the best option to find the target. millie muttered, “i wonder who’s house this is.” right as the tour director announced the home that of a “lyle lipton”.
“that’s our guy.” striker elbowed millie and grabbed his dagger, hopping off the bus as his employees followed.
striker peered inside the house through the window, seeing the old fuck hooked up to a machine. he lashed his tail, grinning. “oh, this is good. he’s gonna do pur job for us.”
millie raised an eyebrow.
it was cut short by the three getting knocked back by some pink beam, landing them on the ground. striker scrambled back to the window, growling as he saw the heaven-borns from the earlier commercial. “who the fuck.. oh, shit, theyre working against us.” striker drew his dagger, glaring back at millie and moxxie. “lets get the hell in. im not lettin’ some rancid bite-size creatures stop my job.”
moxxie nodded and opened the door. “i must say its my own opinion that you continue this process, mr lyle.” striker and millie followed after him.
“is that a serious statement?” the golden lamb grinned. “no creature deserves this, dont you think?”
striker rolled his eyes, moving over to the bed, the owner of which seemed grumpy about this whole situation. the human groaned. “why wont you just let me die?”
striker grinned, patting him on the back. “i have a shiny dagger with your name on it if youre interested.”
“there are still plenty of reasons to live, mr lyle.” the second lamb spoke up, giving a soft glare to striker.
“yeah, right.” millie cut in. “smells like he hasnt been out of bed in months.”
the heaven-born rambled about something that striker honestly swore was a lesson from that one pony show, right before they wheeled the old man outside to the great outdoors. striker followed, tearing himself out of the disguise and back into his normal outfits. the other two did it as well.
striker came up on the heaven-born. “gonna take that load of shit from a baby and the sheep it fucks?”
the golden one scowled. “that is so inappropriate!”
“kiss our ass.” millie growled back from beside striker.
“nature is no picnic up close.” striker pointed out to a handful of bunnies, who were just then attacked by two wolves. “a shame. terrifying.”
the old man shook his head. “ive never wanted to die more than i do now.”
“lets check out some place else.” the baby said nervously, and they wheeled the old man away to the local mall.
striker wrinkled his snout at the gathering of children. “it reeks here.” he looked back over at the target and the heaven-born, rolling his eyes. “oh, this would go so much faster.”
“we just have to keep pushing.” moxxie nudged him. “they’ll give up eventually.”
striker nodded, watching as the three whisked lyle away yet again.
the imps followed the four up a hill titled ‘lovers lookout’. (frankly unoriginal if you asked striker), to which the old man grunted and hunched over. “this place smells of teenagers.”
“we’re here to remind you of life’s greatest joy of all.” the baby smiled, rasing his arms. to which striker rolled his eyes. he didnt see what love like that was all about.
“money.” the old man muttered.
“no-” the sheep interjected. “love.”
“ive never been in love before.” lyle looked up. “i imagine its quite nice.”
striker stepped out of the bushes, followed by the two smaller imps. he yelled to the small population on the lookout, claws cupped around his mouth. “HEY! WHO WANTS TO FUCK THIS OLD MAN?” to which the small population all scattered.
striker set his hands on his hips, grinning as the sheep crossed his arms. “you three are so utterly cruel. we’re just trying to give hope to someone in need.”
“and you three are soooo above us.” millie scoffed from her spot.
eventually the heaven-born drew the old man away to a live theatre.
striker watched from above, his tail lashing as he focused his gaze on the four below.
“how do we make this bad?” millie asked, her hands on her hips.
“we cant.” moxxie sighed. “theres literally nothing bad about opera. thats fact.”
“unless we ruin it.” striker chuckled, grabbing the stage light and moving it away from the lead singer. he moved it every time she got close, the light eventually breaking off and crushing the singer beneath it. “whoops.” he grinned, watching as the three heaven-born flew up. “i have HAD IT!” the baby exclaimed. “you three monsters have messed with us enough!”
“we’re just trying to do our job!” the sheep added with a frown.
“well, stop it.” millie rolled her eyes. “so are we!”
“enough!” the three drew crossbows. “we are saving that shitty old man whether you like it or not!”
“well, someone wants that fucker dead. so pack it up!” striker growled, lashing his tail. “he’s gotta go!”
the golden one launched herself at millie, tussling with her and spitting out insults.
striker and moxxie scattered as the other two loaded and shot their crossbows at them, drawing their own weapons. striker separated from the smaller, watching out for the angels as he moved along with his dagger drawn. “come out, little bitch, wherever you are..”
he growled as he made eye contact with the baby and threw his dagger at him. the creature exclaimed as his crossbow went off and broke the tie for the beam, dropping striker to the ground with it. striker landed with the two smaller imps behind him, the piano comedically launching up in the air and landing on lyle.
striker sighed, getting to his feet. “mission accomplished. they did our job for us.” he grinned up at the three heaven-born, flipping them off. he called up fizz to open the portal again, hopping into it with the two smaller imps behind him.

Chapter Text

striker sat on the couch, lighting a cigarette and relaxing against the back. stella hummed from beside him. “i am sorry for having to run this early, darling. but i have an engagement this month on the full moon.”
“hm. do you really need that book for this farm bullshit?” striker raised an eyebrow. “i have fifteen new clients waiting for heads to roll.”
“as shocking as it may seem, striker, my grimoire is truly important and isnt supposed to be lent out to itty-bitty imps such as yourself.” stella gave a small laugh, to which striker rolled his eyes and took a drag from his cigarette. “the harvest moon is a special occasion within the wrath ring. its been my annual duty to showcase it, its celebrated with a very charming festival with the locals.” she hummed, dragging her finger along striker’s horn. “you would know about that, wouldnt you?”
“the harvest moon festival? yeah. ‘s to help harvest season.” striker shook his head. “im in the pride ring now. they dont have..”
“harvests, yes, i know, dear.” stella hummed. “why dont you all join me this year? i can guarantee you special access..”
striker gave her a glare. “i told you that security bullshit was a one time thing.”
“not security, darling, i feel quite safe at the festival. you can just tag along.”
striker frowned. “would be nice to see home again. and its not like we can do jack shit without your book.. alright.”
stella chuckled. “there you go. now, i’d like you to try this spaghetti i managed to make..”

striker, one hand on the wheel, pulled up to the house. he had to get specific directions from moxxie because it was in the middle of bumfuck nowhere- which seemed to be what over half of the wrath ring was. the two smaller imps sat in the back and fizz in passenger, with something other than their usual work outfits put on. he pulled in, watching as moxxie’s father called to them. he hopped out, adjusting his hat (he refused to leave it behind) and watching as moxxie ran up to greet the man. millie followed with a nervous energy, fumbling over his words as he greeted crimson.
striker sighed. “watch it, mils, im the sir around here.”
“thats my boss, striker.” moxxie introduced him with a grin. “he’s from wrath, too. and that theres fizzarolli.”
striker shrugged, walking up to the group with fizz trailing behind. “havent been home in a while. think i was just a young ‘un when i last came to the festival.”
crimson narrowed his eyes. “ohh, i remember. the little snake always causing trouble.” he gave a smile and held out his hand. “i welcome you back to the ring, striker.”
fizz had already gone back to the van at that point, muttering something about the smell.
“you raised a sturdy employee.” striker lightly punched moxxie on the arm. “not too long ago he was beating up a giant sea creature.”
“thats my boy.” crimson ruffled moxxie’s hair before setting a hand on his hip. “say, you should meet my newest worker.” he turned, calling out. “EY, BLITZO!”
a crimson imp with white scars etched on once side of his face came out from the fields as if on cue, his tail twitching behind him. he couldnt be much shorter than striker himself, and his tail had spikes along the end that matched the ones on his back. “the o’s silent.” he looked over the new arrivals, a grin coming across his face as his gaze landed on moxxie. “you must be the famous mox, ey? and i’ve heard a few good things about a rattlesnake.” he held out his hand for striker to shake, to which the imp did.
striker flicked his tail. “we’re visiting for the festival. im the boss of these two here.”
“boss, huh? ohh, so youre the guy who started his own killing business!” blitzo grinned wider, showing off sharp yellow teeth. “not many imps start businesses on their own.”
“yeah, well.” striker shrugged, adjusting his bandanna. “its going well.”
“you even conned that ditzy blue blood into getting you to the surface?” blitz raised an eyebrow.
“eh, its long and complicated, but the short answer, yeah.” striker tilted his hat.
“yknow, you boys could enter the pain games.” crimson called, walking closer, which made blitz perk up. “games?”
“every harvest festival, theres a competition to be the strongest out there.” crimson explained. “you two look like you could hold up.”
“oh, i remember.” striker hummed, flicking his tail in thought. “i’d give it a shot, dont see the harm in it.”
“i can compete as well.” millie spoke up. “im plenty tough.”
“you can help be wrangle dinner, then.” blitzo pointed over to the pen, handing millie a rope and a dagger. “bullets cant pierce the shell. gotta get under it.”
“go get ‘em, tiger.” striker slapped millie on the back before shoving her inside the pen.
striker watched millie ride the hog, desperately trying to get under the hide, before blitzo jumped in on it and dug his dagger under the shell, piercing through the flesh. the hog dropped to the ground, millie left in the mud.
“boss man!” blitzo called as he walked out of the pen with the hog over his shoulder. “wanna help the men skin this thing for dinner?”
striker played with his suspender strap, grinning. “you know im down for it.”
he followed the rest of the group into the house, his tail rattling.
the harvest festival was announced to start a little over two hours later, with stella sitting on the back of the stage, book in hand. she stood up to make her speech after wally wackford was finished, holding the microphone in her hand. striker didnt pay much attention, a hand on his hip as he slowly blinked and watched her. he stood next to blitzo, finding himself sticking close to the imp through the day. he yawned and showed off his sharp teeth as stella announced the pain games to start, wishing luck to striker specifically. striker muttered a curse under his breath.
the games officially started soon after, with blitzo and striker finding themselves head to head. striker found the imp to be a strong opponent, his skills matching up closely with striker’s own. they targeted each other during physical games, biting and pinning and clawing.
finally, the games came to an end, and wally announced a tie between blitzo and striker. striker nudged blitzo on the shoulder before coming up on the stage, a sharp-toothed grin lighting his face. striker hummed after the quick announcement and went to millie and moxxie on the bleachers, having snatched up a fruit bar on his way over. “isnt this guy great?”
“false.” millie mumbled.
“its gonna be nice workin’ with him.” striker took a bite of his bar.
“you offered him a job?” millie stared.
“yeah. asked him if he wanted to join I.M.P. he said he’d think on it.” striker purred, rattling his tail. “he’d be a good addition to the team.”
“mils, i think youve had enough for now. lets get you back to the house and get you cleaned up.” moxxie ran a hand through millie’s hair. he held her hand and walked away from the area, leaving striker on the bleachers.
a few hours passed of just relaxing out in the sun (though striker, itching for something to do, did help around a bit with the farm). the rattlesnake kept an eye on blitzo, silently wondering if he’d get back to him on the offer soon. blitzo would make a fine employee, given his similar skill set and abilities.
striker closed his eyes as he sat down next to the door on the porch, yawning and resting his head against the wood.
he mustve been asleep for an hour or so. he woke up and muttered to himself, moving inside the house as a crimson glow cast over the land. he moved up, catching sight of blitzo aiming for stella with a rifle in his hands. he stared before snapping into action, drawing his dagger. “uh, excuse me.”
blitzo turned to look at him, grinning. “striker! i thought you were still at the ceremony.”
striker raised an eyebrow. “clearly not, asshole.”
“now you seem upset at me.” blitzo got to his feet, setting the rifle down.
“i offered you a job, and now youre trying to take out my ticket to do said job.” striker narrowed his eyes.
“c’mon.” blitzo started to advance towards striker, making the imp raise his dagger and back up. “you know the two of us are above most of our kind. and you were so above sucking on a disgusting rich pompous goetia..”
“shes not-” striker tried to cut in as blitzo started circling him like a vulture.
“only to sneak topside for scraps and work for bitter sinners who could care less who you are.” blitzo growled, lashing his tail. “when you could be killing overlords.”
blitzo came up behind him as he continued speaking. “why struggle to run a business that is rigged against you when you could work with me..” he moved to pin him against the wall. “and kill the unkillable.”
striker swallowed, staring down at the imp with wide eyes.
“starting with the one who treats you like a plaything.” blitzo’s yellow eyes dug into striker as the rattlesnake panted, his thoughts racing as he tried to decipher what to do.
“th-that’s kind of hot.” striker stammered as blitzo leaned in closer.
“we could be the most dangerous beings in hell, striker.” blitzo grinned softly.
striker had lowered his dagger, his tail wrapping nervously around his leg. “that was a good fucking pitch.”
“been workshopping.” blitzo gave a twitch of his tail.
“fuck it. im in.” striker breathed, grinning at the sound of a rifle cocking. “took ya long enough, mildred!”
blitzo growled, using his free hand to grab his own gun and point it at striker. blitzo grinned and grabbed striker’s dagger, using a skilled hand to throw it at millie. the smaller imp used the rifle to deflect the weapon.
“oh, you fucker-” striker growled and bit down on blitzo’s arm, making the crimson imp yelp and punch him off.
striker punched the imp in the stomach, to which blitzo tossed him back on to millie. striker landed on the ground, his hat falling on to the ground. blitzo reached for the dropped rifle. “well, this has been a blast and a half. you dumb fucks lost the upper hand fast.” he picked it up and loosely aimed it at the two.
striker growled, loudly calling for fizz. the name seemed to make blitzo freeze a little before he growled. nothing happened. typical. striker grunted as blitzo raised his weapon once again. “its a damned shame. we couldve been something. oh well.”
“in you WET DREAMS-” striker spat, kicking at blitzo’s boots before getting to his feet and tackling blitzo to the ground. the two tousled before blitzo threw striker off of him, punching him in the nose. striker felt blood running down his nose but ignored it, using his tail to throw blitzo across the room and into the corner.
millie shot at blitzo and neared him, growling. striker muttered under his breath and gripped his dagger, pointing it at blitzo.
“i still think its embarrassing.” blitzo narrowed his eyes. “youre wasting a lot of potential-”
millie shot at him again, the bullet scraping his horn. “gonna finish that fucking sentence?”
“vermin.” blitzo muttered, just as the door opened and slammed millie into the wall.
“okay, im here, what do you-” fizz caught sight of blitzo and his eyes widened. the scene sat quiet for a full ten seconds before blitzo made his way to the window. “maybe you’ll get me next time.” he gave a short laugh before disappearing into the festival crowd.
striker ran to the open window, scanning the area for the imp, but to no avail. “damnit.” he closed the window and rested his head against it, lashing his tail.

Chapter Text

striker scampered ove the dumpster, gesturing for his employees to follow. he twitched his tail, narrowing his eyes as he crept along in the dark. he saw the poral open, fizz on the other side, and he grinned before he heard a noise behind the group. moxxie had already hopped into the portal by that point. he hissed, jumping on millie and knocking her to the ground with him. “get down.”
a human with fancy sunglasses had appeared, a strange contraption in his hands. another one dropped down from the building beside them. “fizz, close it!” striker hissed, lashing his tail as he watched the imp nod and close the portal.
striker let millie up as she wielded her axe. striker drew his own dagger right before a dart shot into millie’s neck and she crashed to the ground.
striker hissed, bristling. “damnit-” he ran for the imp and picked her up, scampering down an alley and breathing hard. he ran to a dead-end and pointed his dagger at the two humans. “back off, you tuxedo-wearing fucks.” striker held millie close to him as well as he could before he felt a sharp prick in his neck and everything went dark.

striker woke tied to a chair, millie coming to behind him. striker muttered to himself, lashing his tail and growling, his snout wrinkling. shit, shit, shit.
striker flinched as a bright light suddenly shone in his face. “finally awake, huh?” the blonde human furrowed her eyebrows. “little fella?”
striker growled at her, glaring as the other shone a light in millie’s face. “could ya stop it with the lights? its fucking with my eyes.”
“who do you work for?” the brunet one questioned. “satan?”
“how did you get to our world from the afterlife?”
“why are yous killing humans?”
“when did you show up here?”
“okay, okay! thats a fuck ton of questions and your voices make my head hurt.” striker muttered, notcing the absence of his hat. “did you have to take the hat too? anyway. first of all, we just woke up from a very nasty shock and im still feeling woozy, so im gonna request a coffee, if you will.” he raised an eyebrow with a smirk, wanting to fuck with these humans. “i want straight black. mildred?”
millie listed off ingredients and specific instructions, going so fast striker honestly couldnt process it all.
“we arent getting yous coffee!” the brunet exclaimed, cutting millie off.
striker slow blinked as the blonde leaned in close. “we are willing to resort to torture methods to get answers out of you.”
“that seems counter productive.” striker sighed. “honestly, if its physical, we might like it too much, and then you have a whole new problem on your paws.”
“what d’ya mean by that?” the brunet crossed his arms.
striker looked him up and down, biting his lip. “ah, youre stupid, huh? i can work with stupid, daddy likey dummy~” to which the human recoiled and millie giggled behind him.
millie cut in. “its hard to resist, im really sorry, i mean given your questions here, youve had us tied here for what, hours? and you havent even had us confirm what exactly we are!”
the blond frowned. “well, what are you?”
“im a pisces.” millie grinned, making striker burst out into laughter.
“smartasses, huh?” the brunet crossed his arms.
“one more quip out of you and we’ll shut you up!” the blond added.
striker rolled his eyes. “getting kinkyyy.”
“we arent playing any of that!” the brunet spat.
“thats what it sounded like back there.” striker grinned, showing off his golden tooth and twitching his tail.
“please dont give them ideas, sir.” millie matched his grin.
“why not?” striker shrugged, leaned back in his chair.
“stop it!” the brunet cut in.
“calm down, one.” the blond frowned. “dont let them get to you.”
“when are we gettin’ our phone call, anyway?” striker sighed, watching as the brunet raised an eyebrow.
“who’re you gonna call, hmm?”
striker rattled his tail. “youre fat ma, thanking her for a fat time.”
“nice try, demon! his fat ma, is dead!” the blond cut in with a scoff as the brunet wiped at his sunglasses.
striker watched as the two retreated out of the room, then went back to squirming in his ropes. “i’d love to bite us out, but these ropes seem pretty damn tough. lets just keep fuckin’ with ‘em until they get tired of our bullshit.”
“im just worried about moxxie.” millie sighed, his tail wrapping around the chair leg. “he’ll be on his way by now, im sure.”
“he’ll be fine, mildred. it’d take a hell of a lot to take him down when he’s upset.” striker closed his eyes, his tail rattling.
“we’ve never dealt with the human government before. he’s in danger.” millie whined, shaking her head as green gas started to pour in.
“do you honestly ever shut up about that man? its always ‘oh, hows mox?’ ‘i cant tonight, im hanging with mox’ ‘im so worried about mox’ and hes always five FUCKING feet away from you. its pathetic.” striker sighed, trying to tug at the ropes with his tail.
“that was oddly personal.” millie frowned.
“shit, youre right.” striker sniffed. “fuck. the hell is this? a truth serum?” he growled, kicking at the green gas.
millie nodded. “i think it is. damn.”
a few minutes passed of striker struggling before his surroundings started to change. he blinked, panting hard as the ropes and the room and millie disappeared and he ended up in some sort of freak greyscale world. wisps floating around him as he trudged through the mud, his tail rattling and shaking behind him.
goo drooped on to him, and he gave it a quick sniff before recoiling. he narrowed his eyes, watching as a doodle-version of millie appeared before him. “the fuck..”
the doodle started rambling on about something or another, making striker’s head hurt so bad. “why are you talking like that? what does that even mean?” striker covered his earholes as the doodle continued to yap, squeezing his eyes shut. “fucking hell, what is..”
“i dont need you, i can do this shit on my own so easily!” striker hissed at the doodle, yelping as he was tossed into the air and grabbed by some wacky version of blitzo. “but ya dont want to do things alone, striker!” the creature giggled as tossed him over to a stretchy jester wearing fizz’s face. “you tried the solo act, didnt work out so well!” striker stared before he was thrown to the ground.
a shark demon crawled on top of him and bared his teeth. “yet you still shove away anyone who gets too close until they resent you for being a selfish shitty fuck.”
striker noticed stairs appearing behind him and he scrambled towards them, clambering up them in panic. he heard a familiar voice at the top, whispering, “are you afraid to love people, cowboy?”
striker climbed towards her, the goop disappearing and chains appearing around his neck and arms. he panted, moving on to her lap and staring up at the bird with wide eyes. striker panted, the ringing in his ears getting so much louder to the point where he covered him and wailed.
stella disappeared, voices echoing in his ears as everything wisped away. youre gonna die alone. youre gonna die alone. youre gonna-
striker whimpered as golden feathers wrapped around him, trying to wipe them off but they just kept coming. he screamed as his arms were bound, dropping to the ground and gripping his horns.

striker blinked himself awake, and he was back in the interrogation room. the gas had stopped coming.
“do you remember what you said to me, after my first day with the company?” millie sighed, speaking softly.
“not especially.” striker mumbled, his head still pulsing.
“i remember. you told me i did a good job, and that you were proud to work with me. i feel like you wanted to say something more judgmental, but you said that because i needed it. and it helped.”
“i say a lot of things.” striker leaned back, closing his eyes. “im hard on you, because i know what you’re capable of. you care too much about what everyone thinks except for me. just.. keep doing a good job. you swing and kill good, you squirm out of things easy, you can be strategic and bad-ass when you need to, and.. just keep it up.”
“thank you, sir.” millie smiled gently.
“you know my name. use it, little ‘un.” striker rattled his tail.
“thanks, striker.” millie corrected before a loud rumble interrupted them and moxxie dropped in from the floor above them, running over to millie and untying her first.
striker blinked as the window broke, with a human fizz holding the blond human to break it. “fizzarol-”
“get your asses out of here before more fuckers show up!” fizz snapped, throwing the human back at her companion. he jumped over to them and landed back in imp form, stretching his arms to trap them all in a hug. “great satan!” he exclaimed before letting them go and watching the three draw their respective weapons as an alarm sounded.
“lets fuck shit up.” striker chuckled, spinning his dagger in his claws as they were surrounded by humans.
striker initiated the fight, flinging his dagger at a human and hitting them square in the eye before drawing his gun and shooting them down. fizz climbed up and wrapped around his shoulders, using his robotic arms to stretch and fling nearby humans. striker grinned, taking down another human. “thats my fizz!”
the room erupted into fighting from there, striker with fizz on his shoulders taking down every bitch that drew near. striker lashed his tail, watching as the room started to draw empty. fizz took put the final one and striker lifted him off his shoulders and let out a yell. “FUCK yeah! everyone alright?” he set fizz on the ground, popping his neck joints as he spotted millie and moxxie.
he flinched as an alarm started to blare and the room turned a soft flashing red. “shit. we’d better bail.”
the building started to lock down as striker hissed, millie looking up beside him. “quick, the book!”
“i cant see shit in this light.” fizz growled, searching through his bag.
“you demons arent going anywhere now!” the blond and brunet humans advanced on them, firearms drawn.
striker held his arms out in front of his crew, snarling and lashing his tail.
the rattlesnake froze as an overly familiar voice echoed through the room. striker lowered his arms slightly. “fuck..”
the blond one started to twitch, her hands up in front of her as her head snapped back like an owl. “whats the matter, demon hunter? never seen a real demon before?”
the few humans left around them had started to draw out a symbol of blood, and the blond one fell to her knees and choked out a gold being made of feathers and goop. the creature spread its wings, hissing at the two agents as it swiped its paws at them and they fearfully skittered back.
the creature morphed into stella, her eyes narrowed and her feathers twitching. she pressed a button, turning on the proper lights and ending the lockdown before walking to the group of hell-born.
“how did you-?” striker stared at her, eyes wide.
“i have my ways, darling.” stella purred as she cupped his cheeks. “are you alright?”
“im fine, stella.” striker mumbled, his legs shaking ever so lightly.
“good.” the swan smiled before gripping him tighter and pressing her forehead to his. “how the fuck did you get caught up here? are you little creatures not being careful enough?” stella looked over all of them. “you know, if you get in trouble, i get in trouble. we dont want that.”
“they caught us off guard, your highness.” millie cut in with a nervous expression.
“yeah, so you can unclench your bird puss.” striker pushed her away. “its not gonna happen again.”
stella sighed, standing to her full height. “luckily for you, most dont believe the word of the demon-obsessed lunatics.” she gestured back to the agents. “they are seen as kooks.” she smiled, giggling a bit. “kooks. such a silly word! now, let us all return.” she opened a portal back to the I.M.P. office, twitching her tail feathers.
striker sighed, following the others through the portal before yelping as stella scooped him up. “im expecting you to let me care for you after that little trip.” she hummed, trailing her fingers along his horn. “warm meal and bed tonight?”
striker hesitated before shrugging. “fine. whatever. as long as you dont make me stay the night.”
“of course not, darling.” stella nuzzled her beak against his horn before chuckling and opening another portal to her estate.

Chapter Text

“hell, that was a fuck ton of lumberjacks.” striker marched back through the portal, millie and moxxie right behind him. striker wiped off the sleeve of his outfit, his tail giving a quick flick before he looked up.
“guess where im takin’ you tonight.” millie grinned, light punching her husband on the arm. striker raised an eyebrow as the imp continued, a hand set on her chest. “ozzie’s, in the lust ring!”
moxxie gasped, staring at her with wide eyes. “you didnt! they rarely have spots open, its always booked!”
“i know! ive been planning.” millie grinning, wiping her hands on her suit. moxxie peppered her face in kisses as striker nearly gagged. the snake imp ran a hand through his hair before he groaned. “you dont mind if i tag along, do you? i got dead nothin’ to do tonight.”
millie hesitated before answering. “it is for our one year anniversary, i’d like it to be just us. besides, the reservation is just for us.”
“oh.” striker shifted on his feet. he needed to find a way to wriggle in. “cant just sneak me in?”
“is there a reason youre so insistent on this, sir?” millie raised an eyebrow before striker groaned and stalked off to his office.

striker followed the two lovebugs out to the elevator station, being as subtle as he could. he had slapped on an outfit he didnt wear all that often, noting that mildred and mox had as well. they didnt seem to notice him- hopefully he could sneak into ozzie’s after them.
as much as he hated the concept of love and intimacy, he needed something to do tonight. anything to distract himself.
he rung up fizzarolli when he sat down, waiting for the beep before he spoke. “wont be home ‘till real late, fizz. got something planned.” he grinned before he left the message, stuffing his phone back into his pocket.
lust was an.. interesting place, he knew as much. he hopped off the elevator and followed the couple through the streets. he often avoided this ring for such reasons, knowing he wouldnt need to waste his money on things like this.
ozzie’s was shaped like a giant circus, with a heart-shaped curtain as a door for the cherry on top. there was a huge crowd waiting to be let in, and striker stood just behind moxxie and millie. he was about to scamper in after them when the employee manning the door grabbed him by the bandanna. “ey. you got a reservation?”
“yeah yeah, its with them two.” striker’s eyes darted to the curtain.
“this club is for couples only, dumbass.” the employer raised an eyebrow.
“what, so you just hate poly people?” striker retorted quickly.
“besides. only their names are on the list.” the employer tapped him with the clipboard he held before. “no date, no reservation, no entry.” before throwing him out to the dumpster.
striker groaned as he scrambled out of the trash bags, flopping on the hard ground before pulling out his phone and scrolling through the contacts. “damned..” he laid there for a few moments before calling stella, knowing he would regret it later.
the phone rang for a few minutes before he heard the bird pick up, answering with a, “hello, striker?”
“ssssstellar, whats up?” striker dragged out the nickname, his gaze darting around the alleyway. “uh. you busy tonight?”
“why do you ask?”
“i was, uh, wondering if you’d like to come with me to a club tonight?” striker twitched his tail, biting his lower lip.
“are you.. asking me on a date, striker?”
“..kind of. look, just show up to lust quick, alright?” striker didnt want to admit he just needed something to do tonight. he doubted stella actually felt anything for him anyway, given their previous discussions about how either of them rarely felt romantic attraction. they had fallen into a situation that was more platonic yet still so difficult.
“i can be ready in twenty.”
“alright, fantastic, see you soon.” striker rubbed the bridge of his snout before hanging up and pacing until the portal opened.
striker raised an eyebrow at stella’s dress. it was a light yellow and yet was simpler than her usual regal dress, the one she claimed required by the goetia family to wear.
striker found that part especially about goetia to be horse shit.
purple swirls were sewn into the bottom of the dress, giving a nice feel to striker’s eyes as he watched the swan move out of the portal and towards him. stella held out her hand towards him. “i havent worn this one in a while. its nice, isnt it?”
striker nodded and took her hand, the touch prickling at his skin as they moved towards the employee. striker had to reach his hand up a bit to continue holding hers as she stood to her full height, his tail lashing uncertainingly. the employee at the door didnt seem to give a fuss as he saw stella, not even bothering to check the reservation list as he just quietly shuffled to the side to let them through.
striker blinked as the dim purple lights came into view, moving to an empty table with stella by his side, who was giggling. striker scanned the room and spotted his employees a few tables today, grunting as he saw them staring into each others eyes. striker tapped his fingers against the table cloth.
“what, uh, made you decide to come here? i know you dont appreciate lust very much, striker.” stella hummed.
“oh, just, you know. thought we’d have a hoot.” striker avoided eye contact. he hadnt been in a fancy restaurant like this in a long time.
a waitress came around. “can i get you two off- i mean start you two off with some drinks?” she held a clipboard, a soft smirk on her face.
“yes.” stella observed the menu, humming. “hm, perhaps some wine to share.. red or white, striker?”
striker blinked at the question. he normally prefered beer. “i dont mind either.”
“red.” stella nodded to the waitress. “thank you.”
the waitress nodded and walked off.
striker slowly blinked, his eyes still adjusting to the lights. he wondered briefly if stella could tell he wasnt used to this setting. he was from wrath, damnit, the closest they had to something like this was a diner overrun with rats.
“how was your day, striker?” stella kept up a smile.
“it was fine. tiring. killed a few guys.” striker struggled, not knowing how to continue from that.
“that sounds fun.” striker couldve sworn the bird’s voice had quivered, but he shook it off. “how did you kill them?”
“how? there was a lot of them, so mostly bullets- but millie took out one with an ax.” striker rattled his tail.
“right. right. so, what made you decide to ask me out after all this time?” stella leaned on the table.
striker opened his mouth to answer but the lights suddenly turning green cut him off, with an overwhelmingly familiar voice hitting his ears.
oh no.
“ladies and gentlemen and folks! i see some sexy faces around here tonight!” fog leaked out from the stage as circus-esque music started softly playing.
please, just let it be a bot like the loo-loo one.
“welcome, welcome to ozzie’s!” a hellhound stepped out on to the stage, her movements smooth with experience. “the lust ring’s number one place for all kinds of sick, twisted fantasies.” she grinned, showing off her sharp teeth. “the gem joint of asmodeus himself- come on, give him some love!” to which the crowd started to clap.
“fuck.” striker tried to hide his face from view, biting his lower lip and staring down at the tablecloth.
“did he just say asmodeus?” stella blinked, her glowing red eyes emitting off confusion.
“i am the one and only loona.” the hellhound set a hand on her chest. “some of you might recognize this dashing face from the various toy bot replicas scattered across the rings of hell.” she gave a short bark, something that sounded like a laugh. “designed by the big man himself! we have a great line up for you tonight, the chazwick thurman-” she gestured to the shark demon, who was standing at the edge of the bar just as the tender handed him a glass, which he shoved away to pose for cameras- “wet dream, and the squirters!”
loona shrugged and chuckled, drawing striker’s attention back to her voice. “but as everyone’s warming up, i got a funny one for you all. did any of you hear about the shittery that happened at loo loo land? hm?” she looked around, her smile plastered on her face. the crowd laughed in return, to which she shook her head. “oh, yeah. wow. i’d tell you what- i’d sure love to shake the hand of the crazy son of a bitch who pulled that off!” she set her microphone back on its stand.
“that robo-me made us more money entertaining kids than the ones we sell to get you freaks off, if you know what i mean.” she let out a laugh for emphasis.
some guy rose his hand at another table, calling, “oh, oh! i know what you mean! i have four of ‘em!” to which striker saw loona mutter something into her collar before continuing. “so, without wasting any more time, our little opening act is a fresh one- coming at us is a little imp from the wrath ring- give it up for mildreeeed! with nooo creative stage name whatsoeverrrr.” she stepped back, doing a dramatic bow before millie took the stage herself, adjusting the microphone to her height.
striker watched as millie brought her guitar up with her, starting her gentle song.
fuck. that wouldnt be a good one for this bar. did she even read the description of the place? that wouldnt go over well. hell.
striker covered his face but jolted upright again as a new voice along with loona’s intruded on the song, mocking the little imp’s “i love you”s.
striker stared at the blue fog snapped away and revealed asmodeus himself, loona by his side.
“you singin’ love songs in my lustful longue?” the sin challenged.
“ozzie’s aint the place for sentimental sound!” loona chimed in, sat on the sin’s broad shoulder like a bird.
striker watched, biting his lower lip as the two continued to mock the hell out of millie. they eventually challenged her to sing a new song, one about her own experience with moxxie. to which the little imp just nervously continued her song.
the two interrupted, scowling down at her, even getting the crowd to play along with it.
striker growled, standing up. stella stared at him, whispering a “what are you doing?” before striker crossed his arms and tilted his fancy hat down. “hey now- you wouldnt believe how nasty those two can get in my own building, despite their lovey-dovey bullshit.”
millie gaped. “striker??”
“is that striker?” loona looked across and made direct eye contact with him, making the snake shiver in a bad way. “so youre showing your face?” she called to the crowd. “hey, everybody, this guy’s a total disgrace!”
a red beam of light darted over to him, making him flinch.
“some nerve you got to comment on a relationship, ‘cause last i checked, your love life’s a pile of shit!” loona jeered.
a new light darted over to chazwick, the shark moving through the tables. “oh, striker? i used to date him. i’d stroke him and i’d fellate him..” he leaned over a table. “yet when it was my turn.. he did not reciprocate it.” the shark narrowed his eyes, marching over to striker and knocking him to the ground. “a selfish imp in the sheets, and just as bad in the streets! he’s a reckless, heart-breaking, freak.”
striker stared up at him, his tail lashing. chaz backed away as asmodeus spoke once again. “who’s that at your table? is your date a demon princess?”
striker wanted to run. run away and start over. holy hell.
his gaze moved to stella, biting his lower lip as he noticed her standing up, her gaze darting around as the focus shifted to her.
“stella, is that you?” asmodeus set a hand on his hip as an imp called out, “are you sleepin’ with an imp?”
the lights shifted to stella and asmodeus walked over to her. “you used to have a smoking spouse, a kid, you had it all!” he gripped her shoulders, taunting her. “i hope you didnt give it up, so you and him could give it up…” the sin gestured to striker.
asmodeus moved back to his stage, singing once more. striker covered his ears, pressing against the side of the stage before he was lifted and plopped back into his seat by the damned clown that was loona. he hesitated greatly, avoiding eye contact.
stella just shoved the menu in her face, making striker feel worse.
the rattlesnake looked up as moxxie jumped up on the stage and knocked loona to the floor with millie’s guitar, handing it back to her with a smile. “confident enough to finish it?”
“always.” the imp purred and started her song once again. once they finished, they shared a kiss, sending an ache through striker’s bones that he had experienced time and time again.
he wanted that. but he couldnt have it.
he felt a hand reach for his, and he snatched it back, giving a sharp sniff. “this was a mistake. lets just go home.”
“oh. right. of course.” stella stood up and offered her hand, which striker ignored and just made his way for the exit.

striker pulled up to stella’s estate, one hand on the wheel as he rattled his tail. the drive had been dead silent. he couldnt help but wonder why he had even offered the bird a ride, given she could just portal herself home.
stella opened the door and stepped out, her tall frame making her stumble a bit before she managed on all two feet. she turned as she closed the door, peering through the window. “thank you. for the night.”
striker avoided her gaze.
“despite everything that happened, it was.. quite nice. i enjoy spending time with you. uh.. i have some more wine. in the house. via’s with her mother this weekend, so we could..”
“im not in the mood for whatever you have to offer me.” striker hated help. he could manage himself. he hated it. “i dont need a warm bed, or a meal, im perfectly fine on my-”
“we could talk. watch a movie. maybe.. cuddle.”
“stella. dont act like what we’re doin’ isnt some sort of.. thing you do, pretending its a charity act and youre hell’s greatest goetia.” striker glared, watching her back off the window. “its tiring. i just cant do it tonight. im sorry.”
“okay.” stella stared for a few moments before sighing and backing up, giving him a bow. “good night, striker.”
“night.” striker said shortly before pressing on the gas.

striker trudged into the apartment after what seemed like the longest night of his life. he blinked, noticing a note on fizz’s door.
“glitz and glam invited me to a party
be back late!! :p
dont wait up :3”
striker sighed before tossing the note to the floor, moving to the couch and flopping on to it. the damned thing made his back hurt like hell, sleeping on it every night, but he’d rather die than make fizz switch the bedroom for the hard ass couch.
he pulled out his phone, scrolling through old photos.
one of him and a sleeping stella.
one of him and his employees.
one of him accepting millie into I.M.P.
one of himself that fizz had taken while he was working on papers.
one of him and chaz.
an old one. one of a younger him and a teenage loona, sketching out on a whiteboard what their brand new life in pride would look like. he was ruffling loona’s hair and grinning.
that made him want to throw up.
he kept scrolling.
the oldest one of all.
one of a little him and his mami, standing close together with his mami holding him on his lap, but he could hardly be contained because of his excitement.
striker felt tears crowd his eyes and he tossed the phone on the ground, sticking his face into his arm and sobbing.

Chapter Text

fizz stared down at the floor of the taxi, tapping his metal hands against the jester-esque outfit he had put together. he jolted slightly as his phone vibrated, hesitating slightly as he saw striker’s contact light up the screen.
he ignored the call.
“you want me to drop you off here?” the driver looked back at him, an eyebrow raised.
“oh.” fizz’s gaze darted outside to the mansion. “yeah, yeah, this looks right. i havent been here before. thanks.” he got out of the truck, staring up at the place. there were a few imps and succubus scattered outside. he scanned over the pink and orange house, beach trees scattered alongside the walls. he frowned, texting glam.
‘hey, im here’
he sighed, turning off his phone and shoving it back into his pocket. his gaze snapped up as he heard the familiar voice of glitz. “hey, fizzarolli!” she ran over to her, a grin plastered on her face. “glad ya could make it. and in a cute jester outfit too! mammon loves those.” she gave him a punch on the arm before rubbing her shoulder. “lets go in, yeah?”
fizz followed her inside. “thanks for inviting me.”
“‘course!” glitz raised her hand and waved to the crowd. “hey, everyone! meet the new face!”
fizz shied away from the attention but gave a wave, smiling nervously.
“you want a drink or anything?” glitz set a hand on her hip.
“sure, sure, yeah. nothing too heavy.” fizz shrugged, a hand on his own arm.
glitz skittered off to get him one and fizz groaned, grabbing the ends of his hat. he had bought a new one just for this damn party- it was red and blue with stripes. it looked pretty nice with the outfit he had chosen.
the house looked to be mostly full of imps and a few hellhounds, through there were one or two succubus that fizzarolli could spot. his tail twitched as his gaze flicked to a small group of imps chattering to each other like a stereotypical group of popular girls in high school. fizz recognized them from the days before striker. he moved over to them, giving a cough as he entered himself into the conversation. “hey..”
“fizzarolli?” the lead one, vikki, raised an eyebrow. “failure fizzarolli? that you?”
“just fizz, please.” fizz laughed awkwardly, rubbing his arm. his tail curled around his legs.
“cant believe youre showin’ up to a party. not after the last one- remember the drinking bet?” a grin flashed on the vikki’s face.
“im sure you’ll remind me.” fizz rolled his eyes.
“ya, this..” vikki pulled out her phone, pulling up a photo of fizz barfing. “this you, right?”
“why is that still in your gallery?” fizz frowned, his tail squeezing his legs.
“it brings me joy.” vikki set a hand on her chest. “you know, youre supposed to keep things that bring you joy.” her gaze darted to fizz’s limbs, to which the jester immediately sparked a growl.
“youre being really negative.” vikki kept up her grin. “your aura is really aggressive right now.”
“maybe its ‘cause im in the presence of a massive bitch.” fizz rose his voice, drawing the attention of surrounding hell-born.
vikki took a step back, setting her hand on her forehead as if wounded. “oh my satan.” her companions stayed right by her side, as if she would faint at any moment. “wow.”
fizz rolled his eyes. “oh, get over it.”
glitz found him again, two red cups in hand. she looked between fizz and the three other imps. “did i miss anything?”
“no, nah, no, youre alright.” fizz turned to her and slapped on a smile, taking the cup.
fizz jolted as a rough, masculine voice spoke into some sort of speaker, the voice giving a short laugh before speaking. “how my dirty little bitches doin’ tonight, ey?”
glitz tapped fizz on the shoulder, grinning. glam came up behind her, setting a hand on her sister’s shoulder. the two exchanged a nod before following the crowd to the center of the house.
“you lot ready to party with the king mam of gluttony?”
fizz hesitated before following the two, tapping his red plastic cup with his fingers.
“hell yeah!” a being in a orange and yellow jester suit poofed on to the ground, raising a hand to gesture for the music to be turned up.
the sin pumped a fist in the air before poofing up all kinds of sweet foods, handing them out to the guests. “your king brings you the sweet stuff, so keep makin’ me that motherfucking honey, ya hear?” he even summoned up a bowl of punch so huge it worked as a pool, several imps diving into it.
the hell? fizz thought to himself.
maybe this was a bad idea.
glitz was already consuming a thing of cotton candy next to him, giving him a wink.
imps were clapping and cheering for him. fizz coughed, a piece of confetti nearly getting caught in his throat as it rained down from the ceiling.
the sin grinned, waving his hand as if gesturing for everyone to go back to partying. he made his way over to the sisters, greeting the two with a sharp-toothed grin. “glitz, glam, my favorite pair! party’s buzzin’ now, huh? i think i went a little too hard with the confetti this time- i have like.. a rainbow. in my pants.” he elbowed one of them. “yeah? oh, hey! is this the new kid you told me about? he’s got a jester fit on, thats adorable.”
fizz stared. this was the guy who paid for his limbs. yet the sin didn't seem to recognize him at all.
“where’s he been hiding, huh?” mammon looked back to glam, giving a laugh.
glam shrugged. fizz raised an eyebrow. “is there something funny?”
“nah, just high offa this tasty energy right now.” mammon flicked one of fizz’s bells. “glam says you dont get invited out much. hope this itty-bitty get together can serve as a fun first time, yeah?”
“..mhm?” fizz glanced back at the crowd of already-wasted and high imps.
“couldnt convince belphegor to let me break into her stash of party drugs.. so fuckin’ lame. usually just steal them but belle changed the locks. says im a total jackass to trying, but, ey, im proud to be one!” he gave a bark of laughter.
glam set her hands on her hips. “anyway, mam, this is fizzarolli. fizz, this is our friend, mammon.”
“nice to meetcha, bitch!” mammon pat glam on the head. “you are my new favorite person.”
“am i though?” fizz’s gaze darted away before mammon grinned.
“yeah, bitch! seriously. youre fuckin’ awesome, little dude. cool ass outfit- you know how to put one together!” mammon rose his hands. “anyway, you have a good fuckin’ time tonight, alright? get dome sweets, get some eats, drink it, tear it, fuck it up!” he pumped his fists in the air before walking off.
fizz sighed, rubbing his face with his free hand. “im might go.”
“oh, but you just got here!” glitz whined, to which glam smacked her woth the back of her hand. “let him go if he wants to, dipshit.” despite the insult, a smile graced her lips. “see you around, fizz. say hi to your old man for me.”
fizz nodded, setting the cup down on a small table and walking out the door, trying his best not to cry as he took out his phone and called striker.
the old man arrived no less than a few minutes later, driving the van around the the front. “you alright, fizz? doin’ alright?”
fizz dragged himself into the passenger seat. “just wanna go home.”
“hey, that sounds like striker!” a hellhound called from outside, waving his arm.
“fuck off!” striker called.
“fuck, man, i knew it was you! where have you been? you here for the party?” the hellhound walked closer to the van.
“no, just picking up fizz.” striker’s grip on the steering wheel tightened.
“already leaving? things just got started! come in and show us all up again.” the hellhound’s ears drooped.
“no, no, look, i think fizz just wants to head back, alright?” striker frowned.
“hottie next to ya wants to leave?” an imp with broad shoulders set an arm on the van, looking down at fizz.
“we could stay a little longer.” fizz looked back to striker with a small smile.
“its been a long night.” striker rubbed his snout. “i think we need to go.”
“these people seem to know you, strike! please?” fizz clenched his hands together, pulling off his best ‘please’ face.
“alright, alright, damnit! just stop making those goddamn eyes!” striker groaned and got out of the van. “maybe one drink.”

fizz yelled and pumped his fists, cheering striker on as the cowboy chugged a gallon of beer. the imp jumped to his feet as he finished, holding his arms out beside him with a cocky grin. “that was nothin’, bitch, give me a real challenge!”
mammon appeared beside the imp, cocking a grin. “oh yeah? wanna fuck with the big bitch, snake boy? i got a challenge for ya.”
glitz and glam carried the huge things of honey into the clearing, setting them down in front of either contestant. “from mam’s personal supply, the hardest shit there is!”
striker stretched out his arms, lashing. “you have no IDEA what kinda night ive had, brother!”
mammon grinned, lifting the jugs up with his magic and flipped them upside down, a straw snapped down on either side. “alright, shit talker. there hasnt been a soul yet who can best me at my own game. you’d better bring it on!”
striker grinned. “king mam too scared to lose to a little imp like me?”
“oh, okay, lets get it on, you little shit!” mammon held his straw at the ready as the sisters raised their arms, jerking them down as a signal for the challenge to start.
“c’mon, striker! fuck him up!” fizz called, grinning as he watched his roommate. “you can do this shit!”
striker dragged the jug to the ground and ripped the straw off, chugging it from the top. he slammed it down on the floor as he finished and climbed on top of it, raising his hands to the air. “HELL YEAH!”
“fuck yeah, thats my roommate!” fizzarolli shook the person next to him.
“well, fuck me! thats a first.” mammon grinned down at the snake imp. “magical shit, seriously, impressive!” he dropped his jug to the ground. “i tip my crown to you, snake boy.” he did a short bow before popping right back up.
the crowd carried striker around after that. fizz followed after them, cheering his name the loudest.

fizz nearly jumped out of his skin as glam tapped him on the shoulder. “i dont mean to be a buzzkill here, fizz, but ah, your roommate.. he’s seeming a bit..”
mammon cut in, stepping next to her. “out of control. a mess. i can sense it.”
“you wanna check on him or something?” glam raised an eyebrow.
“striker is always a mess.” fizz waved it off. “trust me.”
“look, hun, i see people having fun and getting fucked up all the time, but he’s just..” mammon rubbed in between his main eyes. “he’s getting wasted off his ass and causing problems on purpose, see? you should check in on him at least.”
“dont act like you know him the way i do.” fizz rolled his eyes, setting his cold hands on his hips. “striker’s a mess, socially and mentally. he gets a little tired after multiple outings, and he’s already been on one today.”
“im not saying that!” mammon glared. “im just pretty sure he’s had four tongues inside him at once. good for him, but-”
“he’s what?” fizz blinked a few times in a row out of surprise. that sure as hell didnt sound like striker.
“i can taste the flavor of people at my parties.” mammon added. “he’s giving off a very fucked up, not okay vibe.”
“and i’d bet you’d know the okay vibe, yeah? everyone seems to like you so much.” fizz growled.
“whats that supposed to mean.” mammon transformed into a large spider-like creature, growling down at fizz. “you got a problem or something, fizzie? dont fuck with me.”
fizz only tensed up further, stretching his arms in front of him and moving them like a cartoon character preparing for a fight. he caught sight of glam hiding her face in embarrassment and sighed, standing down. “sorry, yeah, i’ll check on him.”
fizz stalked away, searching through the areas to find striker. he stretched his legs to be taller and see over the crowds, his eyes narrowing. “STRIKER! striker, shithead, where are you- STRIKER- shit, there he is.” fizz spotted the cowboy hat and shrunk his legs back down to their normal height, shuffling over to him. “oh, PISS ON A DICK-” he groaned as he saw the cowboy pressed up against the wall, making out with some guy.
fizz moved over and shoved the guy off, grabbing and shaking striker. “what the fuck are you doing?”
“that guy-” striker grinned and slow blinked, pointing back to the imp, who just gave a small wave.
“fuck, striker, youre not a fucky person!” fizz shook him again before setting him down.
striker gave a small burp, wiping his mouth. his words slurred together, his movements like that of jell-o. “look, i didnt.. expect to come in here and see any of this and fizzie- im so sorry but its a party and im having fun!” striker giggled, leaning against him before looking back to the imp. “with umgh.. what y’ name?”
“dennis.” the imp said awkwardly.
“FUCK no, im not fucking a dennis, get the hell out of here-” striker waved him off, to which dennis skittered off. “give me a fuckin.. monica or alejandro!”
a hellhound snapped around the corner, pressed striker to his chest. the rattlesnake purred. “thats more like it..”
fizz punched the guy off and grabbed striker by the bandana. “fuck, striker, youre not normally like this. ever. c’mon, lets just get you back home.”
fizz dragged him back outside, tossing him into passenger seat before closing the door and getting into the other side. “asshole.” fizz buckled striker up before setting a hand on the wheel. “you need to throw up?”
“mmm-no.” striker muttered, crossing his arms like a child.
“you totally do.” fizz started up the car and started driving home.

fizz flicked the light on, striker held over his shoulder as the imp walked inside and kicked the door shut behind him. “you can take my bed for tonight. just dont throw up in it.”
“mmm..okay..” striker whined as fizz carried him to the bedroom, gently setting the snake on the bed.
striker curled up and fizz went to get him some water, bringing a glass back and setting it on the bedside table.
“i had a really shitty day.” striker mumbled, his eyes half-open with a pillow shoved over his face.
“i can tell, cowboy.” fizz took striker’s hat off and put it on the stand.
“fuck, loona was right.” striker twitched his tail, shaking his head. “‘m gonna die alone, arent i?”
fizz gently patted his back.
“just a wrinkly, old, withered, waste.. will you be there, fizzie?”
“be where?”
“i ‘unno just..” striker’s words jumbled together. “lonely.. die alone..”
fizz sighed, moving the covers over striker. “i’ll be there, striker. get the hell to sleep.” fizz turned to leave, flicking off the light and closing the door.

Chapter Text

stella blinked open her eyes, yawning and squeezing her plushie tighter before gasping and sitting up. “my birthday!” she clambered out of bed, running to the bathroom as the imp that took care of her followed. stella hopped up on the stool, bouncing excitedly.
“calm yourself, young princess. you know excitement is unbecoming of a goetia.” the imp brushed her hair and put it up in pigtails, to which stella drew in a deep breath and released it.
“mother told me that today is the day i am old enough to know my true purpose and responsibility!” stella smiled wide as the imp slid her dress over her simple night clothes and set the small crown atop her head.
“of course, i am sure that will be wonderful.” the imp tapped her back as a gesture go fix her posture. stella skittered after him as he lead her down that hall, his hands held behind his back.
stella stared at her mother sat upon a throne, giddily walking up to her with her hands neatly held in front of herself. the imp stood beside her.
“there is my little one.” her mother’s eyes gleamed. “stella, there. the swan girl.” she padded up to stella, making stella’s eyes grow wide. “it is finally your day to become a true part of the goetia family. how good for you.” she circled around the little swan. “are you ready to know what you’ll be meant to do to serve hell?”
“yes, mother!” stella kept herself still.
her mother hummed, summoning a blue book with her hand. “you will be entrusted with the study of the earth skies. the stars, the prophecies they hold. all that fun stuff.” her mother smiled. “you will begin with studies of your grimoire. which will grant you access to the mortal realm to study and observe, and you will grow to be a mighty part in hell’s workings.” her mother lifted the book to stella, who took it excitedly. “with your own legions to lead and pass your knowledge on to.”
“i will do my best, mother!” stella stood as tall as she could.
“you are as well destined to mother a precautionary addition to the goetia family.” her mother twitched her black feathers, pulling out a photo of an owl around stella’s age. he looked serious and mean, like stella’s brother andy. “you are now engaged, congratulations.”
stella whined and broke into a cry.
“ah. thats an ugly noise, there. why dont you cease this bitch crying?” her mother patted her head, which just made stella cry louder.
“hm, that usually works.. alright, alright, would you like it if i took you to the rodeo in town?” her mother raised an eyebrow. “surely you will enjoy that? would that distract you enough from your non-negotiable future marriage?”
stella sniffed and looked down at her new book.
the sick feeling in stella’s stomach had yet to cease when they arrived at the bleachers, stella sitting with her imp and a mirror that contained her mother at the very top to avoid mud. she hardly payed attention, sniffling and wiping at her eyes. she still gripped her book tightly, it being her object of control to keep herself grounded.
it wasnt until two little imps around her age came out and staged a wrestle that stella began to pay attention. one was pale with yellow eyes and a funny cowboy hat, and the other was crimson with jet black hair.
stella blinked as the two shot upright and exclaimed a very loud “TA DA!” that stella heard loud and clear all the way from the top of the bleachers. the swan slowly blinked as the pale imp started to talk about techniques in wrestling, losing the attention of the crowd fast. stella paid attention, her eyes wide.
“she gets it!” the pale imp exclaimed, pointing to stella with a wide grin before the crimson imp cut in.
“alright, alright, striker, enough with your nerd facts.” the crimson imp giggled. “i’ll win this time!” and the two jumped on each other again.
“i liked his facts.” stella commented to her mother and the imp beside her. “they were all right techniques.”

stella stared as she stood next to her mother, shifting on his feet as he watched a hunched over old man that had pale red skin and big horns hold the hand of the young pale imp from the day before. her mother had brought her out, claiming she had a very special surprise.
“here’s your new friend, my daughter.” her mother nudged stella. “happy birthday.”
“a friend?” stella blinked.
“i guess.” striker shoved his hands in his pockets, standing at the same height as stella. “hi. im striker.”
“im stella!” the swan squeaked, moving into a sparkly bow. “its nice to-”
her mother popped her on the back of her head. “dont bow to that one! he bows to us. idiot.”
“oh, right.” stella wrung her hands together. “sorry, mother.”
they stood their in awkward silence before her mother led the two inside, herding them to the library.
stella dragged down a few of her favorite books, stacking them up beside her. “this is my book on the differences between frogs and toads.” she announced to striker. “theres a lot of differences. and this is my book on colors!” stella showed the snake-like imp a thick book.
“this is all boring stuff.” striker complained, throwing his hands up.
“oh. im sorry.” stella set the book down. “normally i only talk to andy about this stuff.”
“you know what would be fun? a game!” striker crept towards him. “lets play treasure hunt!”
“whats that?” stella raised an eyebrow, though intrigued.
“its where we pretend to be pirates!” striker flicked his tail back and forth. “and we go around the house collecting all the nicest things.” he picked up a book for emphasis. “and then we throw them out the window!”
“what?” stella tilted her head. “i dont think pirates ever..”
“well, in this game, they do!” striker set his hands on his hips.
“i dont think they even had windows.” stella set her book down. “this is odd. is this an imp game?”
“sure.” striker hummed. he grabbed stella by the hand and ran with her out the library, dragging a large sack he had found along the way. they giggled, running close together even though stella’s dress only allowed herself to go so fast. stella showed him the room with the most sparkly things, eventually clearing it of everything and piling it all into the sack.
stella walked with striker, dragging him along to the chandelier room. “look!” the swan squeaked. she ran her fingers across the jewels, making a pretty sound with it. they eventually laid next to each other on the floor, staring up at the jewels with wide eyes.
they ran into the next room over ten minutes later, stella scrambling up on the counter and trying to reach for something. “striker, over here!”

stella read through her new book as striker climbed up the tree, scrambling on to a branch. he hung from the branch like a possum, his tail holding him in place. “that your diary?”
“no!” stella giggled. “this is my new grimoire. its a spell book. i have to learn it so that i can access the living world.”
“living world? like where sinners come from?” striker swung a bit.
“yeah!” stella held her book up.
“thats cool!” striker dropped from the branch, landing on his feet. he sat like a cat on one of the roots, his tail moving behind him.
“im supposed to learn to use it to study the sky.”
“why?”
“my mama says i can find prophecies. but.. i dont really know. but im supposed to. thats what my job will be when i grow up. to join the rest of the goetia family.”
“you know what im gonna do when i grow up?” striker stood on his feet, crossing his arms. “im gonna run my own rodeo! and im gonna be the most famous imp ever!” striker climbed back up the tree. “and i’ll be able to do what i wanna do! all day!!”
he sat down, crossing his legs. “im gonna make so much money and buy myself a huge building with a huge office.”
“a huge office? for a rodeo?” stella smiled.
“heck yeah!” striker grinned. “rodeo business with rodeo clowns and rodeo horses!”
“im sure you will.” stella leaned against the bark of the tree. “that sounds like a good business.”
“and if you apply, i’ll hire ya! maybe.”
“you’ll hire me?”
“if i feel like it!”
“i hope i qualify.” stella giggled as striker jumped down from the tree. “you’d be a good boss.”
“you say that with sarcasm.” striker crossed his arms, though stella had not said it that way in the slightest. “but i totally would.

25 years later.

stella groaned as she woke, near flopping out of bed as she took notice of stolas, already gone. typical.
stella made her way to the bathroom, rubbing at her eyes as she fixed her hair and downed one or two pills. she walked to her small bookcase after that, grabbing her grimoire and opening the thick book. she looked through it quickly before placing it back in its spot, sighing. she walked out of the room and down the hallway, giving a quick check-in on octavia before making her way to the dining room.
she poured herself a cup of tea, tuning out stolas’ proper voice. the owl was on the phone, discussing matters stella didnt care enough about. she walked to the coffee table and sat down, lifting the newspaper with her magic and reading through it. she raised an eyebrow at the headline.
NOT DIVORCED ANNIVERSARY PARTY! COUPLES ONLY
“stolas. what in the hell is this?” stella moved the paper down to see the owl, who just gave a quick scoff.
“oh, stella, its just a quick get-together. you can come if you want.”
stella rubbed the bridge of her beak before drinking her tea.
its not like she had anything better to do, anyway.

stella stood in the corner of the room, grunting to herself as she sipped from her wine glass. she tried to ignore the sound of stolas chatting with his friends. she turned to one of the imps roaming, gesturing to her wine glass. “do you have anything stronger than this?”
“we have absinthe, your highness.” the imp raised an eyebrow.
“bring me all of it.” stella narrowed her eyes as the imp walked away with a quick nod. she grabbed the container of the green substance as a different imp walked back out, muttering to herself as she uncapped it and drank.
“stella, ma’am!”
stella coughed, sputtering as she lowered the container. she wiped at her mouth, turning to the two hellhounds carrying a beat-up imp, who seemed to be barely struggling. the poor thing looked exhausted and had wounds all over his body, yet he looked strangely familiar…
“we caught this nasty imp just outside your estate, sneaking around in the bushes. what should we do with him?”
stella raised an eyebrow. “let me handle him. i doubt he was doing much sneaking in this state.” she picked the imp up by the scruff on his neck, lifting him over his shoulder as the creature gave a grumble. stella walked to her chambers, careful not to jostle the thing too much.
she opened the door, setting the imp on the couch. “very concerning. i recognize you from all those years ago.” she stood and fetched a first-aid kit, coming back to the imp. “can you speak?”
“just fine.” the pale imp puffed, lashing his tail.
stella wrapped a bandage around striker’s arm, the least nasty of all the wounds. “how did this even happen?”
“hmmgh.. street fight.” striker closed his eyes.
“youre still skilled in wrestling techniques, arent you?” stella dabbed antiseptic on the wounds.
“sure.” striker muttered.
“quite the party crasher, my dear.” stella gave a small laugh, cleaning a cut on striker’s chin. the pale imp let out a low growl as stella lifted his head. “do relax. im helping you here. so, all these years. are you still working for the rodeo?”
“mmn, no, not anymore.. i kill people now.” striker grumbled.
“how afraid should i be?” stella started to clean striker’s horns.
“..not very..” striker sighed.
“well.” stella cleaned the dirt and grit from striker’s horns, making them look shiny and new. “you’ll have to stay here for the night so i can observe your injuries.”
striker grumbled, moving to curl up.
“oh, yes, yes, i know. youre a tough little imp who can take care of himself. but i cant have my first ever friend dying from blood loss, can i?” stella flicked striker on the forehead.
stella woke the next morning watching the imp scamper off her balcony. she heard the crash and stolas giving a loud yell, rubbing her eyes. she hoped striker would have enough sense to let his wounds heal before doing anything dangerous.

NOW.

stella stared out at the dawn scapes of hell from her balcony, still in her dress from the pervious night. she felt horrible. she felt sick and light-headed. she had looked through a book, looking at asmodean crystals. she closed her eyes, sighing.
“the hell are you doing?” stolas snapped from behind her.
“reflecting.” stella mumbled.
“well, stop. its annoying to hear you stomping through the house in the early hours on the night.” the owl hooted angrily.
“why are you still here?” stella turned to look at him. “you leave with via on weekends, but then you stay around the house despite everything.”
“someone has to keep you in check.” stolas took a step forward. “you with your silly bouts of anger. besides, you need to be reminded of what you did.”
“i did not ‘do’ anything!” stella bristled. “i helped an old friend out. we did not do anything, despite what you seem to think. i would feel bad if i had hurt you, but we both know that didnt happen! we were arranged for one reason, stolas, to give life to a precautionary heir. nothing more.”
“and i tried many years to make it comfortable for us, to have this family.” stolas rubbed his beak.
“youre hardly around for your own daughter!” stella snapped. “you leave during breakfast and dont care for her! much less me! i cannot do this anymore. i want you out. now.”
“what so you mean, out?” stolas scrunched up his face, advancing towards stella.
“i mean out! out of this palace, out of my life! we are getting a divorce!” stella crossed her arms and stared at stolas.
“what do you think the rest if the family will think? and andrealphus?” stolas pointed out with a glare.
“my brother knows i know whats best for my health.” stella stood her ground, hardly backing down. “the only thing the family wanted from our marriage is already 17 years old, goddamnit! its over, im done!”
stolas stepped back. “fine. i do not care to stay here. you have fallen from what little grace you had.”
stella watched him leave, grunting as she turned back to the view of hell.

Chapter Text

“yes, i know! it will be there shortly.” stella paced outside, one of the butlers following her and holding up the phone. “of course theyre being careful!”
she looked up as she heard octavia’s voice. “mama, what’s going on?”
stella scoffed, twitching her tail feathers. “apparently your father cant exist somewhere two minutes without the entirety of her possession before he- what? no, im not turning her against you! and im not sleeping with that imp- yes, stolas!” stella tightened her grip on the phone.
“..this is going to be done before tonight, right?” octavia walked closer to her.
“i could hardly think so. knowing your father, this could take all weekend.” stella brushed back her frazzled hair as she turned to the imps packing the van. “dont be gentle about it now! break whatever you have to to get it in there.”
“but tonight we’re supposed to-”
“owlette, can we talk about this later? your father is being difficult- maybe if he got his beak out of his damned books-!” stella growled, speaking back into the phone.
via huffed and hurried back into the house, pulling her beanie over her eyes as she stalked back into her room. grabbing her calender, she crumpled it up, throwing it to the ground.
she frowned and grabbed her backpack, slinging it over her shoulder before leaving her bedroom.

striker dodged the flying dagger, peaking over the top of the couch before ducking back down again. “asshole! all i asked is for you to be nicer to clients when they come in!”
striker hissed and ducked again as the water refiller was thrown at him, following by fizz tackling him to the ground. striker tousled with the imp, lashing his tail as they rolled around together on the floor.
“whats this all about?” moxxie walked into the breakroom, raising an eyebrow.
“striker finally talked to him about his attitude with clients.” millie answered from the couch.
“some tweaks would help!” striker argued, rolling over so that he was on atop of fizz. he was thrown to the wall after fizz extended his arms to do so.
“if im so terrible, how about you just grow a pair and replace me?” fizz huffed, grabbing striker by the bandana and towering over him using his extendable legs.
“maybe i might!” striker snapped back.
“what?” fizz dropped him, shrinking down to his normal height.
striker crossed his arms. “maybe i will, asshole. go to your desk!”
fizz groaned and stalked off.
striker didnt seem to notice as octavia opened the front door and stalked through the room to his office.
“..the fuck?” striker turned towards his office as a purple light emitted from it. he scampered over, moxxie and millie on his tail as he shoved into the small area and drew his dagger.
the only thing he saw was stella’s daughter clutching the grimoire and heading through a glowing portal.
“FIZZAROLLI!” striker snapped, turning around.
“oh yeah, you have a visitor.” the imp called back in a tone of boredom.
striker sighed, starting to pace. he clutched at his horns. “fuck, what am i supposed to tell stella?” he grabbed millie and shook her before taking off his hat and fidgeting with it.
millie spoke up with a nervous smile. “she seems to like you, sir, maybe she would understand-”
“oh, satan, i look good, mildred, but not that good.” striker shook his head.
“i dont think we really have a choice.” millie pointed out.
“oh, you just want me to call her up and be like ‘hey, stella, your daughter came by, took your book, and teleported off to who the fuck knows where, we have no way of getting either of them back-’”
and yet, he ended up doing just that.
“-okay? okay! good talk, byeee..” striker slammed down the phone and backed away from it before the front door slammed open and a familiar creature form appeared in the office.
stella transformed into her normal form, albeit with a few black feathers and goop peeking out, pacing around the office. “how could this happen? do you just let anyone waltz into your office and grab infinitely powerful artifacts? why would she do this? how are we supposed to find her? where would she go?”
striker stared at the panicking bird, quietly offering his har for her to squeeze. “it reeks of urine and desperation, so.. l.a.?”
striker sighed as stella opened the portal, tossing fizz into it before following after him. “lets be quick about this.” he looked over his shoulder as the three others followed through. “we’ll need disguises, firstly. fizz already has one and..”
fizz booted up his spell, changing into the human disguise he had taken on against chaz. stella, surprisingly, followed suit and changed into a human form unfamiliar to striker’s eyes.
satan, was it pretty.
“..no chance you have conjure up a couple of those for us, can you?” striker blinked.
“im afraid without my grimoire, my powers are limited here.” stella ran a soft hand through her hair.
“cant memorize your spells?” striker crossed his arms.
“oh, your memory’s so great? whats her phone number?” stella gestured to millie.
“ffffffuck you…”
“exactly.” stella purred, walking down the alley.
striker rolled his eyes and followed, his hat returned to him a few moments later as stella found a different hat to mimic her crown. striker followed her and fizz, moxxie and millie being lost behind them on the way.
striker eventually found a costume shop, stepping out of it dressed up in human clothes and a wig. he flinched as he heard a scream, his gaze darting to the woman who had yelled.
“look everyone! its hollywood star, eduard kondo!”
“the fuck is an eduard-” striker looked around before his gaze darted to a billboard with a human plastered on it.
“oh, dear.” stella’s eyes widened as a group gathered around striker.
striker covered his ear holes and squeezed his eyes shut, the flashing lights and screams of joy rather than fear catching him off guard. he flinched harder as a whistle sounded to silence the yells. striker lashed his tail, slowly opening his eyes before yelping as he was grabbed as thrown into a car, some old guy rambling about a tv show and taping tonight.
striker pressed into the corner as stella was tossed in after him, his eyes widening as he moved to the exit only for the doors to slam in his face.
“we dont have time for this- via could be anywhere!” stella shook her head.
striker stared at her for a few moments before using his horns to break the glass and call out towards fizz. “fizzarolli- find octavia! we’ll be back as soon as possible!”

striker growled and clawed at the walls as one of the security guards dragged him, along with stella, into the building. they tossed him into a room where so many people tended to his appearance, the smells and sights and noises overwhelming his senses to the point of wanting to shut down. they threw him and stella behind the stage after that, yelling that he was on in five.
“fuck no. no, no, no, fuck, no-” striker clutched at his horns, staring down at fhe floorboards. “not again. no. fuck.”
“striker.”
“i-i haven’t preformed since-”
“striker, if your performance is half as good as you are for me, you’ll leave them breathless.” stella used a finger to lift striker’s chin. “you’ll do wonderful, i promise. go out and wow them, we need to get back to finding via.”
striker could hardly breathe as he was pushed out on to the stage, eyes widened as he was met with at least 30 pairs of eyes staring back at him.

fizz leaned against the wall and scrolled through sinstagram, stumbling across octavia’s page. he raised an eyebrow, scrolling through her recent posts of herself next to some landmarks. he followed along the posts, hoping he could be quick enough to keep up with the owl.

striker stared down at the dog, flinching as he put his head in his hands.
“loona, im sorry..” he mumbled under his breath, squeezing his eyes shut as a memory flashed through his mind.
“look, striker, i made you a necklace!”
“thats cool, kid. how’d you learn to do that?”
“my friend.”
striker’s tail coiled around himself as he clutched at the dog, holding it to his chest. voices were drowned out. striker panted as people surrounded him, eyes digging into his back. he drew his dagger, growling as one of them laaunched at him.
striker could barely hear. he knew that seconds later, the place was burning and he had dropped the dog at some point. he managed to spot stella and grabbed her, looking around for an exit.

fizz checked his phone before shoving it in his pocket before sighing, heading up the stairs. he blinked as he spotted a familiar owlette sat upon the edge of the rails at the top. fizz shifted back into his usual form. “hey, kid.”
octavia wiped at her eyes. “hey. how did you find me?”
“your sinstagram.” fizz leaned against the rail. “nice pictures.”
“oh. thanks." octavia sniffed.
“you alright?” fizz turned his head towards her.
“i cant believe i was so.. stupid. i spent all day looking for a place where i could see some dumb meteor shower.” octavia sighed. “and all i get is this.” she pointed to the sky.
“yeah.. smog’s a shithead.” fizz shook his head, propping his chin on his hands. “your ma’s really worried about you, yknow.”
“right! thats why youre here instead of him.” octavia scoffed. “he couldnt be bothered to keep his promise and now he couldnt be bothered to get me himself. she’d rather spend her time just screaming at my dad. why does she hate him more than she loves me?”
“sometimes it isnt as simple as that.” fizz stared out at the city. “i know you dont want to hear that from someone a decade and a half older than you, but, ah.. this kinda shit gets messy. we all have issues. especially moms and dads and roommates. and sometimes they fuck up. doesnt mean they dont care.”
“if he cares, where is she?” octavia retorted.
“somewhere down there.”
“she’s here?”
“looking for ya. try to cut your mom some slack. she may not always get it right, but she’s trying. that’s more important than you think.” fizz gave a small laugh. “of course youre allowed to feel upset. so much is happening. but, yknow. theyre trying.”
octavia stared at him before looking up as the clouds parted to reveal the moon.
fizz stood up and stretched. “you ready to go?” he held out his hand towards via, sticking out his forked tongue.
octavia gave him the book before giving him a tight hug, which fizz returned. the jester smiled as she drew away.

striker paced through the streets, frowning down at his phone as he held stella’s hand. he yelped as stella stopped and jerked him back, though he gasped as a portal appeared and fizz stepped through, holding the grimoire. followed by octavia.
striker ran towards fizz, tackling him to the ground in a hug.
octavia rubbed her arms. “mum, im.. im so sorry-”
stella captured her in a hug as she transformed back into her usual demon form. “im just glad youre okay, dear! what could possess you to do such a thing? you know i havent taught you spells like this yet.”
“i just wanted to see the stars you promised.” octavia lowered her head.
“the stars? oh- azathoth’s tears! oh my, im so sorry, my owle-”
she squeaked as octavia hugged her. “i know, mama, its okay. youre here now.”
stella smiled softly and hugged her back.
striker looked up as a loud boom sounded in the skies, and he scrambled off fizz to hide behind him. “fuck is that?”
colors flashed across the sky, followed by booms. it seemed almost as if the stars were exploding.
maybe a nice ending.
…now just to find moxxie and millie.

Chapter Text

moxxie pushed open the door, muttering to himself as he drank his coffee. he grunted, downing the burning liquid in one go and lashing his tail.
“everything alright?” millie looked over at him from the table.
“bumped into an old ex.” moxxie groaned, rubbing the space in between his eyes. “she just kept going on and on about how she has money and a bright future and demons lined up to fuck her!”
striker crossed his arms as he stepped outside his office. “fuck is all the noise about? im on a phone call, y’all need to shut the fuck up.” he growled before stepping back inside his office, holding the flip phone to his ear. “sorry. you said you dont want us going to earth at all for this job?”
“correct.” a thick southern accent snarled. “i’d like to meet you and your entire crew at my estate.”
“you want us killin’ someone in hell? i dont think thats the speed my company is on, not anymore.”
“i’ll tell y’all about it when youre here. its in regards to a business venture im sure will be with your time.”
“how omnious.” striker rolled his eyes. “whats the address?”
“dont worry about transportation, now. i’ve sent some people over to pick y’all up.”
striker’s gaze flicked to the window as a helicopter flew past. “ah.” he shut his flip phone and moved to the main office, peering out the window at the helicopter. a ramp unfurled from its side and crashed into the window, causing striker to scramble back. “enough with the goddamned walls, we have a door!” the rattlesnake hissed before stalking out on to the ramp and into the helicopter with m&m on his tail.
“what is this?” millie blinked as they boarded.
“just some fancy shit from greed. they wanna do business with us.” striker dusted off his sleeves.
striker mostly slept on that ride, his leg twitching as moxxie and millie idly whispered to each other. the nap was much needed, with the paperwork piled up on his desk from previous missions.
striker slowly blinked his eyes open as he heard millie say, “i hate this place.”
striker dug through his coat pockets for a cigarette. “these are your old stompin’ grounds, right, mildred?”
“unfortunately.” millie rubbed her arm. “i grew up just over there and i swore i’d never come back and.. why are we heading this way? striker, who did you say this meeting was with?”
“dunno, some guy who wanted to discuss here.” striker shrugged and frowned at the absence of cigarettes.
the helicopter landed, and the guards opened the door to reveal a mansion, much to millie’s dismay.
striker pushed her out of the copter and walked with his hands in his pockets, trying to straighten as a burly imp stepped out of the doors, followed by an imp with a bandanna wrapped around her neck. “there she is!” the burly imp called with a grin. “come over and give your old pops and mama a hug, eh?”
millie took a step back as striker and moxxie stared in confusion.
“uh. guys, this is my mother and father, lin and joe.” millie adjusted her hair so that shadows covered her eyes as she stared down at the ground. “this is my boss, striker. and my-”
“moxxie. im her spouse.” moxxie held out his hand with a small smile.
“and a handsome husband you are.” lin commented, a hand on joe’s shoulder and the other giving mox’s a good shake. “mills, where have you been hiding this little thing?”
“im sure he would have introduced us eventually.” moxxie rubbed the back of his neck.
“im sure.” joe chuckled, nodding towards striker. “you must be striker, the big boss man. ive heard a lot of good things about you and your work.” he guided the rattlesnake towards the door.
“really?” a frown tugged at striker’s mouth.
“good things, i promise.” joe patted his back. “youre building a bit of a name for yourself, ya see? hope youre all hungry, lin put together a strong meal for us all.”
millie rubbed her arm as she followed the others inside. moxxie fell behind with her. “hey, sweetheart? why havent i met your parents before?”
“its never.. been the right time.” millie bit her lower lip before she quieted down and went inside the mansion.

lin poured a shot, handing it to striker. “you always been a hitman?”
“nah. i was in rodeos for a long time.” striker stared down at the shot, raising an eyebrow as he looked back to lin.
“show business, i can get behind that.” lin sat down in her chair.
“what are we doing here, ma’am?” millie’s gaze darted to lin from her spot on the couch next to moxxie.
“i raised you better than that.” lin shook her head with a smile. “theres never any business before dinner. ‘sides, we’re still waiting on one more.”
the front door slammed up. “whats up, all?” a smooth voice purred as the succubus made her way into the living room, a hand on her hip.
“verosika?!” moxxie and millie snapped in unision, making them both freeze and look at each other.
“you know her??”
“remember that ex i was talking about?”
“looks like i have two reunions today.” verosika purred, tapping the two imps om the nose before standing at her full height.
striker wrinkled his snout. “theres no fuckin’ way- theres someone whos fucked both of you?”
“was a long time ago.” millie gritted her teeth and put her head in one of her hands.
“yet i still remember it like it was yesterday.” verosika adjusted her sunglasses, setting them atop her head. “you in the mafia and me making songs to our beat.”
striker rolled his eyes, downing his shot. “mildred in the mafia, thats fuckin’ rich.” the snake mostly zoned out as millie started rambling about how her and the succubus met.
striker zoned back in when millie mentioned something about jail. “oh, fuck, aint that how we met?”
“yeah. once i got out, i never looked back.” millie twitched the tip of her tail.
a maid stepped into the room. “dinner is ready.”
striker looked over, sniffing and taking in the scents of foods that seemed all too familiar to his senses.

striker didnt eat, due to his personal gag reflex on mashed potatoes and how the meat was too seasoned for his tongue (one swallow and he’d probably start crying, though he’d never admit that). instead he spent his time keeping an eye on millie, who was seated opposite of her father. eventually he looked to joe. “why are we here? we usually kill people on earth.”
“i dont want to do that kinda business.” joe rolled his eyes. “not with i.m.p. i want do business with my daughter.”
millie’s gaze shot up, but she didnt say a word.
“yes, you. i summoned i.m.p. to be sure you’d show up. we’re bringing ver into the family.” joe jabbed a thumb in verosika’s direction.
“what? since when do you just take people in?” millie frowned, tapping her fork against her plate.
“once you left, your sister, sallie mae, had to pick up your responsibilities. she’s already got so much on her back now that me and your ma are older. ver is going to lighten the road.”
millie winced at the mention of sallie mae.
“ive matured and grown and come into millions, so.” verosika shrugged.
“..so she gets a little moolah and suddenly its worth wasting my time?” striker raised an eyebrow.
“what does any of this have to do with millie?” moxxie rolled his eyes.
“there will be a ceremony tomorrow.” lin interjected. “millie will release her holdings in the organization. then she can go back to ignoring her family.”
“tensions have been high tonight.” joe continued. “how about y’all stay here and get some rest? i have your rooms all prepared.”
“yes, sir.” millie said quietly as she retreated from the table.
lin waited for the others to move off before calling for millie. “a moment, mildred.”
millie winced and turned back towards the table. “yes ma’am?”
“you think youre too good for this family now?” joe frowned, sitting back in his chair.
“what?”
“come here.”
millie did as she was told, only to yelp as joe stood up and slapped her to the ground. “you dont get to walk away from this family, you hear me, girl? the only way that piss stain can get made is by marrying in.”
“but who would he-”
“you, dumbfuck! this family needs that goddamned money.” joe returned to his seat, watching as millie returned to her feet.
“im already married, i-”
“do you think i give a shit about your slim fuckin’ husband? i even went through the trouble of making the house more to.. yknow, your kind’s liking.” joe nodded to lin, who pressed a button on the table that made all the decorations invert to rubber dicks.
“fuck do you think im into?” millie stared at the display.
“this is the kind of shit gays like, isnt it?” joe rolled his eyes.
“first off, im not even- im straight, first of all. verosika was an experiment on that.” millie rubbed the space inbetween her eyes.
“..and? once a girl kisser, always a girl kisser.”
“oh, for fuck’s sake. secondly, i dont know a single person of any sexuality who would enjoy this.”
she was proven wrong by striker’s laugh from upstairs. “theres dicks in the walls, oh thats fuckin’ hilarious-”
joe grabbed her by the chin. “look at me, girl. one way or another, youre gonna do what i fucking say. dont cross me.”
there was a moment of silence before joe released her. “get to bed.”
“yes sir.” millie clutched her arms close to herself.
“dont fuck this up.” joe tilted his head. “if you ever talk back to me again, you and that little thing you brought here are going home in boxes.”
millie nodded quickly and backed away to the doors, scrambling out and upstairs.

striker opened his door, staring up at verosika with an unamused glare. “fuck do you want?”
“mind if i take you down to a pleasure town?” the succubus looked him up and down.
“FUCK no, you look like you were picked up out of a dumpster and thrown into cat’s litter.” striker crossed his arms and rattled his tail. “besides, do you think i would violate my friends trust by sleeping with their ex?”
“i’ll show you all the things they liked-”
“fine.” striker snapped, grabbing the hellborn and dragging her inside the room.

striker muttered to himself as he slid off the bed. fucking hell, why did he agree to that?
he grabbed verosika’s leftover jacket, searching through it for anything. “no one whos that poor in bed can score two hotties that easily.” he frowned before grinning as he snatched up car keys. “gotcha.”
striker slid on his tank top and pants before leaving out the window, narrowing his eyes as he stalked through the parking lot. he tapped the car keys, perking up as a car went off. he scrambled towards it, opening the door and sniffing through it. he opened the compartment, frowning as papers tumbled out. including an eviction notice and debt papers.
striker stared down at them, crushing them in his claws as he growled. “oh, that fucker.”
he dropped the papers and moved around to the trunk, digging through the trash and empty alcohol bottles. he yelped as a needle pricked into his skin and he was pushed into the trunk, a sense of loopiness overcoming his senses. he barely caught verosika before she slammed the trunk closed.
he yawned as the trunk was pushed open a few hours later, tilting his head. “hey, mox.. ya found me.. who’s your friend?”
“friend?” millie frowned before he turned around to see two shark demons standing over here. “ah.” he drew his knife and stabbed them both, watching as they dropped to the ground. “fuck is going on?” moxxie helped striker out of the trunk, who was still wobbly on his feet.
“that seductive asshlle is tryin’ to marry millie and hes not even rich-” striker coughed into his hand and groaned as he was dropped to the ground when moxxie left.
every entrance to the house shut just as he turned the corner. “everything’s locked down! how are we gonna get in?”
striker mumbled as he grabbed the car keys from his pocket and climbed into driver’s seat, pushing moxxie over to passenger. “buckle up.” he booted up the car, changing the station to some sick ass kick-some-ass music. “we’re doin’ a shrek.”
striker drove the car into the brick wall, opening the door and announcing, “I OBJECT!” before falling to the ground. he rolled over and watched moxxie slay like, 15 hellborn in a row with nothing but a dagger. he yelped as moxxie circled back to him and used him to slice open a guy with his horns. striker landed back on the car’s hood, moving to a sitting position as he watched moxxie grab a restrained millie from the front with a snarl. “this one is mine.”
striker grinned as moxxie came around and grabbed him as well. “bu the way, ver isnt even rich, alright? check his car. later, assholes.” striker threw the keys at them just before moxxie made his way through the gaping hole in the brick fence.

striker brushed off his clothes as they entered the office once again, using his tail to wrap the two up in a hug. “happy everything turned out okay. good t’ know we both have parental issues, mildred.” striker ruffled her hair before releasing them from the hug. “now we’ve alllll fucked the same guy.”

Chapter Text

stella lifted her cup to her beak, tapping her fingers against the table. the restaurant stolas had insisted they meet at was quiet and small, yet only full of goetias and royals. “stolas.”
“stella.” the owl quirked an eyebrow.
stella muttered an insult under her breath and stolas quipped back with, “witch.” which earned a groan from stella’s brother.
“why did you want to meet me here so badly?” stella put her teacup down.
andy cleared his throat. “we wanted to properly discuss the terms of this divorce. i feel as though we could work out an agreement here. stella did cheat on you, but..”
“i’ve already told you both that there was no such transaction.” stella flicked a feather away from her face. “yet, cheating implies there was a betrayal, andrealphus. stolas clearly never gave two shits about me or our very arranged marriage. this is far overdue.”
“up yours.” stolas grunted.
stella flinched as the sound of glass breaking caught her attention. she looked up to see a cloaked crimson imp upon one of the tables, a gun drawn in one hand. he rose to his full height and fired the shotgun, causing stella to yelp and shift into her secondary form to dodge.
the swan caught a glimpse of stolas’ smirk right before a lasso wrapped around her waist, launching her backwards and out the doors.
stella blinked as she fell on the hard ground. “this is worrisome.”

striker tapped the steering wheel as he drove, nearly jumping as his phone went off. he sighed roughly and grabbed it, holding it to his ear. “princess? its really, ah, not a good time.” striker glanced at fizz, who was pressed against the car door in the passenger seat as if ready to bolt.
“im truly sorry its a bad time again, striker, but i seem to have found myself on the back of a horse.”
“lucky fucker.” striker muttered, keeping his yellow eyes on the road.
“unlucky, unfortunately. i seem to have been stolen by that little.. clown friend of yours.”
“..which one?”
“how many clowns do you know?” millie quirked an eyebrow from the backseat before sighing and speaking to stella. “what does he look like, your highness?”
“hm. hot?”
“thats blitzo, sir!”
striker rolled his eyes. “oh, for fuck’s sake. cant you just use that fancy form of yours?”
“i seem to be restrained by magical bonds at the moment. theyre limiting my powers, it seems. i think you and your little gang should come save me.”
“today’s not really the day.” striker glanced at fizz. “shit, birdie, of all days to get kidnapped.. im on my way to take fizz in for his doctor’s appointment. this shit takes forever to schedule, and hes had this date on the calender for the last five years.”
“would you shut up already?” a familiar voice snarled through the speaker. “i can hear you, yknow.” the voice got louder, as if the phone was now held up to the imp’s ear hole. “dont worry about your lanky swan, she’s in good claws.”
the line cut off after that.
striker growled and put his phone down. “damnit.”
“striker. let me and mils handle this one.” moxxie flicked his tail back and forth, yellow eyes wide.
“youre sure? no bullshit, you can handle this one?” striker glanced over his shoulder at them.
“we can pull it off.” millie confirmed. “together, we’re a lethal combo. and we both have a score to settle with that dick.”
striker scoffed before nodding. “fine. knowing that guy’s schtick, he’s probably down in wrath.” he pulled up to the hospital’s parking lot, putting the car in park before tossing moxxie the keys. “get yer asses down there and look for some rodeo clown crap or somethin’.” striker got out of the driver’s seat and padded over to passenger, picking fizz up bridal style.
moxxie gave him a thumbs-up before driving off.
striker sighed, looking down at fizz. “ready?”
fizz gave a quiet nod.
striker carried the imp into the building, groaning to himself as he opened the doors. “godDAMN, of all days to get kidnapped.” he tossed fizz on to a chair in the waiting room before setting up with the receptionist.
striker stalked back over to the seats, crossing his arms as he sat down. a weight pressed into his side and he sighed as he looked down to see fizzarolli. “it’ll be alright, fizz. it’ll just be a little prick, and then it’ll be done. ya wont feel it.”
the woman next to them grunted. “dont say that, it sounds vulgar.”
“excuse me?” striker drew his lips back in a snarl.
“pervert!” the woman snapped.
striker growled before leaning against his chair, rattling his tail as if hoping that would make her fuck off.
her little 6-something-year-old tugged on his mother’s arm and pointed to striker. “look, mama! they let possums in here!”
“fuck did you just call me?” striker bristled his short fur.
“its not polite to call them that to their face, hon.” the hellborn drew her son closer to her. “we’ll do so when we’re outside.”
“have you got a problem with me, bitch?” striker grunted.
“there is a child present, you filthy pridian!” the woman gasped.
“wrath, actually.” striker set a hand on his hip. “close guess.”
the woman rolled her eyes and looked to the receptionist. “is there any way we can reschedule for a time when less of the unemployed rabble are out?”
“oh, yeah, sure, i bet the hardest work you’ve ever done is convincing your spouse that little fucker’s theirs.” striker rolled his eyes and adjusted his hat crossly.
“and what do you do thats so important?”
striker drew his dagger. “oh, i kill people! want me to make a special appointment?” he was interrupted when the doors that let further into the building opened. “mister striker! the doc will see your imp now!”
striker turned to pick up fizz and walked down the hallway.

stella muttered, feeling the blood rush to her head as blitzo tied her to a rock, upside down. she ruffled her tail feathers, only blinking when she noticed the imp had backed away to sharpen his fancy dagger.
“stolas paid you for this, didnt he?” stella frowned. “wouldnt a holy bullet have sufficed? or could you not afford those?”
“he ordered a special treatment.” blitzo let the stone drop from his claws. “your husband must really hate you.”
“you have no idea.” stella rolled her eyes. “so, uh.. train tracks? really?”
“‘s a classic.”
“is the giant statue of yourself also a classic?”
blitzo grunted. “youre in no place to judge me, miss royal robes.”
“im just surprised you want to suck your own dick this badly.” stella gave a light smirk, prickling her feathers.
“not every ring is some fancy fucking city, with fancy fucking mansion, that only fancy fucking birds get to live in.” blitzo let out a deep growl, tightly gripping his knife. “some of us have hard lives to live. some of us have had everything we care about taken away by fuckers like you.” he stalked over to her.
“i am not the-” stella was cut off by a scream as blitzo stabbed his knife into her shoulder, just before slashing the ropes that bound her to the rock.
“you dont get to talk over me.” blitz straddled her with a growl. “none of you assholes get to talk over me. thats all you all ever do!”
stella glared at him, wincing as blitzo wasnt turned to stone.
“dont bother. those ropes arent gonna let you do anything.” blitzo hummed. “got anything to say about that.”
“you seem to be forgetting.” stella puffed. “you are working for a royal right now!” stella shoved blitzo off with a kick of her leg, causing the lizard to recoil in disgust.
the lizard chuckled before grabbing stella by the leg and shoving his knife through it.
stella rolled her eyes. “striker could handle me rougher.”
“dont compare me to that lowlife cowboy!” blitzo withdrew his dagger, snarling down at the bird. “once i split your neck open and let you choke on your own blue blood, you wont be smart any more, hmm?”
“striker’s threatened me where it hurts.” stella purred.
blitz shoved her to the ground and walked off, returning to the statue.
stella pushed herself on to her back, drawing in a deep breath and releasing it to force back her tears.

the goat-like doctor flipped through the papers on his clipboard. “welcome, striker. and this must be fizzarolli?”
“yeah, sure. can we make this quick? we both have somewhere we need to be.” striker crossed his arms, twitching his tail.
“come now. i see imps every day and there hasnt been one who’s caused a problem for a simple shot.” the goat moved over to his basket, digging through and pulling out a comically large needle.
fizz bristled immediately, shoving his hat over his eyes.
striker patted his back. “it’ll be alright, fizz. just a quick prick, like i said. no need to get worked up.”

blitzo chuckled, kicking stella against the railroad. “this has been fun, birdie, but every good thing has to come to an end. shame you wont see your kid again…”
“dont you dare.” stella panted. “dont you dare breathe a word about via.”
blitzo chuckled, crouching down. “finally hit a cord, huh?”
“i swear, if you go near her-”
blitzo returned his dagger to her shoulder, plunging in deep. “big talk.” he narrowed his eyes. “but just that. any last words, birdie?”
“striker.. will..”
“i told you, that cowboy isnt coming.” blitzo lifted his dagger. “nobody. is. comi-” he paused as his phone rang, echoing through the caverns. he awkwardly answered it, scratching behind his head. “yeah?”
stella tilted her head as she heard stolas’ voice come through the phone. “change of plans, dear, i need the bitch alive.”
blitzo stared down at stella in confusion, staring blankly before turning away in embarrassment. “im sorta in the middle of killing her.”
“well, stop. i need her alive to get some affairs in order. i’ll pay you twice to bring him back here, alive.”
blitzo groaned. “yes’sir.”
“glorious. bye, darling!”
blitzo waited until the phone clicked before he threw and smashed it against the rock. “good news for you, swan. your royal dick says he doesnt want you dead anymore. though.. he didnt say in what state to bring you back in..” blitzo drew his knife along stella’s eyes. “these pearly pinks would look nice in a jar.”
blitzo drew back as he heard a car horn in the distance. he got to his feet, looking around with a growl. he jumped back as the i.m.p. van crashed through the ceiling and ran along the tracks before landing on the cave grounds.
blitzo bolted as shots were fired in his direction, throwing his dagger at the weapon drawn. he chuckled as the bullet landed in the radio and started up an old rock song.
blitzo tapped his foot to the beat of the song before drawing his firearm, spotting a hiding millie behind a tall rock. he grinned and shot at her before bolting past a dagger swung from behind. his yellow gaze met with moxxie’s, and he grinned.
the knife thrown barely missed his spikes as he moved aside, blinking as the weapon hit the radio and changed it to bubblegum pop.
blitzo just groaned and fired his gun, watching with mere amusement as millie moved to the side.
the next few minutes were a blur of dodging, shooting, falling, and clinking of metal for the three of them. the smaller imps were definitely more agile while blitzo held his own on the strength side.
the crimson had millie pinned as the song ended, squeezing at her airway. “i forgot how easy you are to choke the life out of.” he muttered darkly, lashing his tail.
millie groaned, before leaning up. “haaarder…”
blitzo froze before recoiling, backing off the imp. “what the-”
the lizard yelped as the lasso looped around his neck and he was launched into the ground. he wiped at his mouth, moving to his feet and drawing his firearm once more. he froze just as the statue came crashing down in his direction, bolting just in the nick of time.
millie limped over to the crumbled stone, hissing when she saw the skull necklace left behind. “shit.”
her gaze lifted to stella, who was panting hard on the railways with moxxie at her side.
“oh, fuck. we need- we need to get her to a hospital.”

striker adjusted his hat as he walked out of the hospital, looking at fizz who had acquired a lollipop. “was it worth it?” he muttered under his breath before he saw the familiar business van pull up. “satan, finally.”
he was knocked under a crowd as people burst out of the building and trampled him.
he just barely managed to catch a glimpse of white feathers over his head as they did.
millie helped striker to his feet. “are you alright, striker?”
“yeah, no, fuck, im fine. the fuck was that?” striker gestured to the hospital, raising an eyebrow.
“stella got hurt really bad.” moxxie responded quietly.
“..what? she- she can get hurt?”

Chapter Text

striker climbed up the pipe, lashing his tail as he shifted along the walls and coming to the window. he pried it open and climbed inside, squeezing through and falling on to the floor.
striker yelped as an electrical shock went through him, the source coming from behind.
“well, if it isnt the deadbeat.” a monotone voice made striker growl. “how many times do i have to sodomize you with a tazer before you take a hint?”
“where’s stardrop?” striker got to his feet, crossing his arms.
“they checked out months ago, but thats none of your business, is it?” the nurse hissed.
“the fuck did he go?”
“im not telling ya.”
striker rolled his eyes, hissing once against before stalking back to the door.
“striker. hes got a job now, a life. dont go fucking it up.”
striker flipped her off before carefully crawling back down to the ground.

striker muttered to himself as he walked into the office, blinking as millie said something about a client. he rattled his tail before walking into his personal office and slamming the door behind him.
moxxie blinked before turning back to the aquatic-looking sinner. “sorry. you were saying?”
“well, its just that im sure one of the other camp counselors killed me.” the sinner crossed their arms. “im just not sure which one.”
“how could you not know?” millie raised an eyebrow.
“i was out on the lake when my boat started to sink. someone had drilled holes in it and the counselors are the only ones with keys to the boathouse, and theyre the only ones who knew i couldnt swim.”
millie hummed, running a hand through her hair. “we dont usually do investigations, i’ll check with the boss about it.” she moved over to striker’s door, opening it. “sir?”
“not now, mildred.” striker growled from his spot.
“theres a client that needs us to investigate their death.. we dont usually do that-”
“no time!” striker hissed.
“we do really need the cashflow, and-”
“mildred! im working! fuck! off! handle it yourself!”
millie quickly nodded before closing the door and heading back to the desk. “we’ll take the case. with me handling it personally.”
“striker said you could?” moxxie tilted his head.
millie nodded proudly.

millie adjusted her beanie as she stared out at the camp as they hid behind the bushes in disguise. “right. you know your persona.”
moxxie nodded, grinning. “i am moxxine, the hottest, most popular girl at my school, and you are..?”
millie grinned. “your brother millerd, i like sports and shit.”
moxxie nudged her, pointing to a cabin and a guy sneaking around behind it. “look at that shady one over there. i think thats our guy.”
“oh, shit, you might be right, mox.” millie’s eyes widened. “but i still think we should continue with this investigation.”
“hes got a bag full of money and drugs and what looks like a drill to poke holes in a boat.” moxxie hummed before looking back to millie. “but, ah.. we can continue with it if you want. to double check.”
“we just have to find the kids with the most influence.” millie narrowed her eyes.

the mission continued, with millie (unfortunately) being somehow hated by all of the kids there and moxxie being the direct opposite. there were multiple competitions, including a singing one, which moxxie of course aced. all the campers seemed to parade after moxxie, something millie wasnt ecstatic about.
but she’d be happy for him.
millie hid behind one of the cabins, only opening her eyes when moxxie came around with a giggle. “oh, that was so fun! no wonder you mess with sports all of the time.”
“not really low profile.” millie stared at the ground.
a moment of silence passed before moxxie shrugged. “i know. but its exciting to have people cheer for me for once.”
“dont forget what we’re here to do.” millie sighed.
“i havent. im waiting until youre ready.” moxxie shook his head, creeping closer. “have you been able to eliminate anyone?”
“no, of course not! i cant get anything from anyone because theyre too busy about you.” millie rubbed the space inbetween her eyes. “i have to do this right. for.. striker.”
moxxie fell quiet before setting a hand on her shoulder. “lets take a breather, mils. we’ll find a spot away from the camp, and we’ll quiet down for a bit. its been a few days. we can take a few more, striker wont mind.”

it did, in fact, take all week to even get close to finding a lead. millie was getting frustrated with herself and moxxie had managed to score a performance on a stage, which honest to go made millie snap and yell.
she had rarely ever yelled at moxxie.
after that millie had snuck upon to the intercom just before moxxie’s performance and announced him as the lovely being he was.
millie skittered off to the boathouse after the announcement, following two shadows to it. she bumped into striker in the bushes.
“millie? christ, youre still on this case?” striker raised an eyebrow. “its been like a fucking week.”
the rattlesnake groaned and squeezed through the bushes, moving over to the building.
“and what are you doing?” millie followed him.
“apparently helping finish your botched job.” striker flicked her on the beanie before muttering. “but mostly im looking for an old friend.”
striker jerked the door open. “STARDROP!”
the crimson imp looked over, their white hair splotched with black near their small horns. “STRIKER?”
“you know him?” millie interjected.
“do i know him? thats my rodeo friend, fuckface!” striker hissed, rattling his tail.
“the fuck are you doing here?” stardrop hissed, a hand dipping into their breast window and taking out a dagger.
“oh, chill out, star, i could ask you the same thing?” striker roughly pointed out, setting a hand on his hip. “you check yourself out of rehab, no call, no note, and i have to track you down to earth of all places with- fuck is this?” the rattlesnake gestured to the nervous human next to stardrop.
“no one!” stardrop giggled with a roll of their eyes. “he works for me. and whos the little girltwink here, huh?” stardrop’s gaze shifted to millie.
millie opened his mouth to speak before striker interrupted. “no one. she works for me.”
“that guy’s the target.” millie grunted, crossing her arms.
“the shit? you got an assassin job?” stardrop looked to striker once again. “jeez, didnt find you the type, snake.”
“looks like your little boy toy got himself into some trouble.” striker drew his lips back in a snarl.
“he killed our client. and now our client wants to kill him back.” millie rubbed at her face, already getting frustrated with this back and forth.
“i dont care, youre not killing my fucking supplier.” stardrop scoffed, setting a hand on their waist.
“youre not back on that H-8, are you?” striker raised an eyebrow.
“no! ‘s just heroin.” stardrop rolled his eyes.
“thank satan. why that shit, anyway? it barely gets rid of a headache.” striker looked stardrop up and down.
“honest work, alright? and i thought it would be sure to keep me as far away from you as possible.” stardrop huffed, tapping his foot. “clearly not!”
“and you teamed up with genius here because..” millie gave a sharp roll of her eyes.
“have you got any idea how easy it is to manipluate these little fucks?” stardrop laughed.
“hey! no, im not!” the human protested.
“ohhh, jimmy-wimmy can you pwease keep loading up deez dwuggie-wuggies for me?” stardrop hummed, pulling down his breast window ever so slightly.
“whatever you want, star..”
millie sighed, shaking her head. “ive spent a whole week on this. im finishing it, one way or another.” she drew her ax from seemingly out of nowhere.
“dont you dare!” stardrop snapped, stalking off and over to their side of the boathouse.
the imp hissed as millie launched for the human, grabbing her with their tail and launching her into the water. “shit, striker, havent you fucked up both of our lives enough already?”
stardrop tousled with millie as she climbed out of the water, hissing as she threw her ax. striker seemed to be trying to be as gentle as possible with stardrop despite the small imp refusing to do the same with him.
the teenager threw a pack of heroin at them, which only made the three go bug-eyed and fight harder.
millie just fucking stared as a firework crashed through the window and exploded right on the teenager.
stardrop threw their dagger at the floor. “satan fucking damnit! now im out of a job!”
striker managed to his feet. “star, please, i want to help you. let me help you. youre clean now. lets grab dinner, we’ll catch up, we’ll talk about-”
“dear satan, you dont get it.” stardrop hissed. “just ‘cause im out of rehab doesnt mean i want to see you! i never want to see you, striker! ever!” he summoned up a portal, stalking through it.
leaving striker and millie alone in the boathouse.