The Cowboy Demon turned around and began choking the imp. His enormous and meaty fingers, wrapped around his narrow gullet.
"I hope he told you everything. I always knew you four fuckers did it, I just KNEW IT! That man was mah' goddamn friend. Mah' compadre. Mah' soul brother. And you all...erased him out of existence. You all grabbed his legacy and spat it right on its face…"
He threw Blitzo down and reloaded two guns in his hands.
"Now I'm going to show you pieces of shit how we deal with the ones that kill our own...you dirty fucking sprites."
Moxxie and Millie tried taking out their handguns, but realized they were all out of ammo. Loona tried to grab onto something in her pockets...until she realized she was all out of bombs. Her uzis were left stranded inside the fire. Worst of all, the boss had lost an arm.
It was all a set up. There was no $20 million dollar contract. There was no Psyguy. And worst of all, there was no chance. Their devious actions had caught up to them, and has now placed them in this very moment.
They were fucked.
Blitzo put his hands up as the client lowered his gun to point right at his bloodied forehead. "W-We can work something out! You want all the money we have? You want our services? W-What can we do to make you—"
The Cowboy Demon heard enough. He aimed low and shot Blitzo in the foot. The imp flinched and fell over to the ground, while the team around him screamed in immense fear. They couldn't dare challenge them. Not with the conditions they were currently in. Millie looked to her husband. The two imps were stricken with anxiety, and they grabbed the others hand to remain united when death came knocking around the corner.
Loona sat there with a scowl on her face, being the only one to defy the Cowboy Demon with her rebellious expression. The Cowboy Demon took immediate notice of this and walked over to the hound. With a gun suddenly pointed to her head, she did not reconsider her decisions.
"We have a smart one here, huh? Don't worry, missy. It'll all be over soo-"
A portal opened and from the ground rose a hand holding a gun.
Squeezing the trigger, the hand fired the gun right to the back of the Cowboy Demon's calf. Although the bullet had certainly left its mark upon him, the overlord merely turned around and fired back with a menacing frown.
The figure then dove inside the portal and came out the other way with an insanely amount of firepower strapped to her body. Grenades, rifles, mines, and even a flamethrower attached around her back.
Shrapnel.
The Cowboy Demon could not believe what he was looking at right now. He put the gun down and exploded in a fiery rage. "YOU!? WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING, SOLDIER?"
Shrapnel did not flinch. She whipped her hair back and walked in a circle around the overlord. "You tell me, cabron. I busted my ass for weeks. The only thing I wanted from you, and you're tryna' take it away from me? Fuck you mean it'll all be over soon?"
Loona turned to Shrapnel with an expression of disbelief. Just what was going on here? Whatever it was, it did not bode well for her at all.
The Cowboy Demon pointed his gun at the blue-eyed hound. "Didn't Mama tell you never to trust a fella in a ten-gallon hat? I kept you away from the city for a reason. I knew you were going to catch feelings for this degenerate piece of filth. And why shouldn't you? All you degenerates are the same, always sniffing for the next piece of ass to fill your disgusting fantasies. Here's a suggestion. Either you stand down and return to your post, or I blow Old Yeller's brains out."
Shrapnel remained where she was, refusing to absorb his words the wrong way. After a long stare, she glanced down to her fingers and scoffed. "We had a deal, hombre. You don't wanna cross me right now."
The overlord threw his arms up. "Or what? Who's got the army? Me or you, bitch!?"
The hound pointed behind her. "You mean that army?" The Cowboy Demon walked over to look inside the portal and was shocked to see that the warehouse within Pentagram City was completely abandoned. That was until he spotted the splatters of blood all over the walls. It seemed like the wardrobe was assaulted by a rival gang. A rival gang that may have possibly been formally invited with golden tickets, courtesy of Shrapnel herself.
C.D turned back to Shrapnel. "Just what the fuck did you do!?"
"Exactly what someone would do if they overheard yo' nefarious plans to kill the I.M.P."
He pointed to them. "Well can you fucking blame me? They killed the Jester Demon! It was them the whole time!"
Shrapnel's eyes widened. She turned to Loona, who returned the look with another one that was much more worrisome and nerve-wrecking.
That's when her own girlfriend walked over behind her and suddenly kicked her down to the floor with a big boot. The force of her foot nearly broke Loona's spine in two. It didn't help that she was not even anticipating the move.
Shrapnel reached to grab something strapped to her back. The flamethrower. Suddenly, a smirk reappeared within the face of the Cowboy Demon. He wagged his finger at his pawn. "Shraps, you sly devil you. I told you not to mess with daddy's things. It's okay, though. I forgive you. I forgive you for the shitstorm that you were brewing back at daddy's house. Now, be a good girl and earn your spot back in the group."
The hound nodded as she gripped the flamethrower, which was pointed down towards a grounded Loona. "With pleasure." She turned to the stunned couple next to her and winked.
Misconception.
She aimed the flamethrower back up and ignited the Cowboy Demon on fire.
"AAHHH!" C.D was caught by surprise and looked frantically for a way to put himself out. While he was too busy fighting off the flames, Shrapnel threw her arm up and signaled for everybody to enter the portal. "GO GO GO! VAMANOS CHINGADA MADRE!"
Blitzo, Moxxie, and Millie made a run for it. Shrapnel grabbed Loona off the ground and carried her along. It was going to be a hard time to explain things once they got back, but for now, they had to worry about outrunning the Cowboy Demon.
And that's exactly what they did. They left the overlord stunned and returned to Hell...specifically in Pentagram City.
They all landed on hard bloodied concrete, inside a dark warehouse with absolutely nothing left for plundering.
Blitzo was the first to get up. He looked to his arm and shook his head. "I can't fix this one, huh?" Moxxie shook his head and offered to wrap some gauze around the imp, but he politely refused. Meanwhile, Loona stormed her way towards Shrapnel and grabbed her by the collar. "What the fuck is this!? What the fuck have you done!?"
Ignoring her intense grip, Shrapnel left her arms up and made direct eye contact with the confused hound. "Mira, corazon, don't worry about it. You just gotta let me-"
"Um, how about I don't let you? Seriously, what were you and that two-faced piece of shit even talking about? He led us right into his trap, and you're telling me he's the one you work for!? Are you the one orchestra-"
Shrapnel slapped Loona's grip away and pointed her finger at her. "HELL NO! Just listen! About a month ago, your homie right there (points at Moxxie) got his ass bailed out by Lucy himself. Don't y'all remember that?"
Loona mouthed a "yes".
The hound expected a multitude of things, but she certainly did not expect Shrapnel's accent to completely drop. "Well, that day, what neither of y'all knew was that the Cowboy Demon listened to the whole thing. With his powers, he invaded Lucifer's business and scouted the whole rescue. He thought that if he can get to the I.M.P, he can get to Lucy. Knowing my background and my connection with you, he took me to Pentagram City and sent a casino 'invitation' knowing that your boss would be stupid enough to take the company out to go gambling. It took a lot of convincing, but I followed through on that. All I did was plan to infiltrate your company for the Cowboy Demon. That was all. I never expected the big red bastard to kill my friend."
After the long explanation that satisfied at least one or two lingering questions that were left hanging above the heads of the group, Moxxie put a finger up. "What happened to your voice?"
Shrapnel turned to the imp. "This is what I always sounded like. Loona doesn't know that, though."
Then came Loona with her own question. "And just what the fuck happened to you all these years? You spoke like 30% English last time we met."
"There's a lot of things you don't know about me, Loona. I know I sound like a fucking suburban white girl who owns a Jeep, but bear with me. I gotta get you all out of here, so you can go ahead and go whatever you gotta do, but we have approximately 20 minutes of road ahead of us!"
Millie put her fingers to her chin while she carried a drained Blitzo in her arms. "How do we know he ain't gonna catch up with us?"
Shrapnel shrugged. "I don't know, but he crossed over from the Hills, so we have time to spare. Now go!"
After a brisk drive and a few suicides to fully recover, the team returned to Imp City under the protection of the supposed double agent. Of course, Loona still hung on to the hopes that Shrapnel was genuine in their relationship, while Moxxie was the only one out of everybody else who was truly skeptical of the hound. Although he was compelled to kill her once they crossed over, he understood that such an executive action would ruin Loona. He thought perhaps the relationship aspect of it was truly genuine.
The red skies were blocked off by more grey clouds, as usual. It was a bad time weather wise, and it certainly complemented their situation as of now. Through all the rain and the red lightning in the background, the van finally made it to the front steps of the headquarters. Back to where they were.
Everybody got out of the car and made their way up the stairs. They all barged through the glass doors heavily to the point where the glass just shattered behind them. From there, all four of them entered the elevator and continually pressed the number that led to their main floor.
It was an awkward elevator ride, as Loona and Shrapnel couldn't stop glimpsing towards the other and breaking eye contact the moment they looked at each other. Millie took a bottle out of her pocket and handed it to Moxxie. He took out a great number of painkillers by the hand and swallowed them whole, washing it down with a miniature flask of whiskey he kept by the shot. Blitzo turned to his side and couldn't stop poking the socket of his missing arm. It was revolting for him to see, but for some inexplicable reason, he couldn't help but feel fascinated by the absence of the limb.
The elevator doors opened slowly. They were all in for an unpleasant surprise, as Stolas and the Penguin Demon were both there to meet them. Stolas' pupils widened and the hallway that led to the briefing room began shaking under his control.
They all looked in immense confusion, as Stolas progressively shook it harder. "Blitz...What is this I hear about a coup? Against the Cowboy Demon too? Oh, Blitzy, have you no respect for the work of those up in the hierarchy? To treat our brother like that is the same as spitting on the face of those who rule over yo-what happened to your arm?" The owl pointed with his wing.
Blitzo walked past him and cracked his one knuckle by pressing it against his chest. "He went for us first. I don't know if you know this, but he knows about the Jester Demon."
Stolas gasped, while the Penguin Demon turned to him. "Wait, he knows about him? Wh-What happened?" It seemed like the other overlord was going to turn the conversation into a long interrogation, but Stolas made sure that it wouldn't by putting his wing up to his beak. "Quiet you! Blitz, you're telling me he is chasing you for all this!?"
Moxxie walked past him. "Y-Yes, Stolas. The Jester Demon was good friends with him, and now he seeks vengeance for what...well…" The imp then glanced towards the confused Penguin Demon. He decided it would be better if he just kept his mouth shut the whole way through.
It didn't take long for the overlord, however. He put his flippers on his head. "Y-You folk were the ones that disposed of the Jester Demon!? Do you know what this means!?"
Stolas shrugged.
"It means that i-if I am ever seen wi-with a renegade like yourself, then-then-"
The owl did not want to hear it. "Hey now, I am not a goddamn renegade! I was doing business with this company, alright!? That's it! That's all there was to it!"
The Penguin Demon paused and turned to the sight of all the team members including Shrapnel scrambling for the weapons that were left inside the crate. "This must be some really fucked up business then! Who the hell are you guys!"
Millie looked over her shoulder and walked towards the penguin with a big smile on her face. "Why, sir, we're the Immedia-"
Loona cut her off from the distance. "No time to give people our business cards! That fucking cowboy will show up any minute now! Get whatever you need!"
After strapping a plasma version of his AK-47, Blitzo turned to Stolas and held his wings. "Look, we need as much time as we can to set things up. We're going to take him head on, but we need the help of an overlord-"
The Penguin Demon joined in on the conversation. "Overlords! I'm in, too. I never liked the Jester Demon either. He made fun of my weight. In front of my wife and kids! Sorry, continue."
Blitzo brushed over the awkward interaction and refocused on Stolas. "So, we just need you two to take him to us. That is all. Just say...you scourged the place and all that. Once he checks the portal and his guard is down, kick him in. We're pulling all the stops here."
Moxxie grabbed a handful of things from his office, including his bullet repellent gun and a set of Holy Hand Grenades that he crafted with the purchase of forbidden holy magic, stuffed inside with gunpowder.
In the ritual room, Loona and Shrapnel grabbed some heavy firepower. Bazookas, cluster grenades, and even a nuclear warhead that they were able to get their hands on in case of emergencies. It was probably more than enough to kill the Cowboy Demon. As long as they kept strong for ten minutes while the warhead was snuck away along with the portal, they had a good chance.
The diversion was themselves. They all knew that they could not actually manage to kill the Cowboy Demon. Nevertheless, it was worth the effort. Clear their names up by killing one of the most powerful demons that the depths of Hell has ever seen. Now that they think about it, though, they should have probably just settled somewhere off the grid.
They all entered the ritual room and surrounded the portal that awaited them. This was going to take them back exactly where they were. Nothing clever about it at all. Hopefully Stolas and the Penguin Demon can lead them into the bait. Blitzo took one last look at his teammates before he crossed over, along with Shrapnel, who was supposedly now on the team as well. Millie put on her glove, Loona picked at her teeth, Moxxie cracked his neck, and Shrapnel cocked a plasma rifle in her hands.
Then they hopped in.
The door that led to the headquarters was crumpled with the clench of the Cowboy Demon's fist. It took a mere motion of his arm to throw the door five hundred feet above. In a huff, he entered the building and smashed the button for the elevator.
Once he arrived on the floor of the briefing room, he was met with Stolas and the Penguin Demon. Both overlords appeared to be holding their own glass of wine. The Cowboy Demon was not pleased to see their presence.
Stolas cracked a smile and raised his glass. "Ah, my Southern chum! How's the pastures?"
No response.
The Penguin Demon looked to the owl with a visibly concerned expression on his face. He did not sign up for this at all. Had they waited a little longer for the I.M.P, the Penguin Demon would have bounced and gone back to his penthouse. Instead, he was forced into playing charades with one of Hell's most feared overlords. Despite his peer's nerves getting the best of him, Stolas continued on with his mirage. "So, I take it you received the news as well? Quite a shame. A damn shame."
Still no response. It looked like the Cowboy Demon was only getting angrier and angrier with every word that escaped the owl's beak.
After his second attempt, Stolas started to feel a little more flustered. There was only so much effort for his act. While he calculated his next move, the Penguin Demon sighed and put his arms out, which immediately caught the overlord's attention.
"Cowboy Demon, we're just very glad you're here. We tried to get our hands on those damn imps, but they haven't arrived yet…" Once he finished the sentence, the Penguin Demon's left eye took a quick glance at the open door of the ritual room. The portal was gone, a relief.
It seemed like the big bad was in no mood to listen to the Penguin Demon. Instead, he walked past the two and slowly crept up towards the open crate in the middle of the hallway. Son of a bitch. They absolutely forgot about the crate. None of them wanted to protest since it would only raise his suspicions, so they just stood there frozen still.
The Cowboy Demon took a quick look at the emptiness inside and turned his head back to the two overlords with a toothy grin on his face. He fixed his hat and chuckled.
"So, let's get sumn' straight here, fellas. The furry whore that took mah' prime ribs and yanked em' right inside a warehouse, MAH' WAREHOUSE, managed to magically take mah' guns n' everythin' all in a thirty minute span? I just saw the bitch forty minutes ago!"
Silence fell over them. The Penguin Demon and Stolas looked at each other. They both knew what was about to happen.
Which is why the penguin reached for his back…
…before getting shot to the wall by a long extended arm, summoned by the Cowboy Demon in record time.
Stolas knew he was in for it, so he chose to run off into the elevator with all the speed he could possibly gather. He was panting heavily, focusing on nothing but that elevator door. The Penguin Demon swung his fist in anger, trying to catch the attention of the owl. "HEY! GET BACK HERE YOU JERK! GET THE HELL-"
Then, with just a clench, the hand that latched onto the Penguin Demon squeezed him to death. His head and eyeballs all exploded and left a visually gruesome mess in the hallway. Then, the Cowboy Demon walked over and rose his finger up.
"Mori mori mori. Vos autem non vivet. Mori mori mori. Di non custodiat te. Mori mori mori. Relinquam in vacui. Mori mori mori. Vos mos evanui in nusquam."
From there, whatever remained of the Penguin Demon's mangled corpse shone brightly and suddenly disappeared after the light had worn off.
The Cowboy Demon shook his head and turned to the elevator. He knew he let Stolas go, but it was fine. He didn't pose a threat to him at all. Nothing immediate was going to come between him and the open portal.
—
Blitzo was already rallying the troops on the other side of the portal. Within the menacingly dark swamp was a group ready to go out guns blazin'. Millie and Moxxie held each other's hand, armed to the teeth. As for Loona and Shrapnel, they kind of just kept their distance, but they were in a prepared stance opposite to the other end of the portal. If it took hours just to corner Psyguy, then they had no idea how long it would take them to corner the Cowboy Demon, which is an even harder task by itself.
Suddenly, they heard a warping noise from the other end. All five of them tensed up. The grips on their weapons had just hardened.
And out came the Cowboy Demon, who naturally just strolled right in, throwing off the entire team and instantly cancelling their plans to fire on sight. A major part of each individual team member prevented them from lighting up the overlord. That part was fear. Did he come to negotiate, or was he just walking in to show off his lack of need to prepare himself once he came right in?
The demon raised his pants up a little and put his hands behind his back. There was no telling what he was about to do. What everyone else knew though was that he was strong enough to take them all out, armed or unarmed. All it took was a few spells.
Instead, the Cowboy Demon crossed his arms and turned to a heavy-shaken Blitzo. "Mmm, ya' know, I've been thinkin' about it. You crazy kids caused enough trouble, which is why I am askin' at the last minute if y'all are ready to back down and work under my command. Social benefits, paid va-"
"We're not going anywhere." Everybody turned to Loona, whose voice came from the back.
Silence.
"Hmmph. Your loss, young buck."
Then the Cowboy Demon reached into his holster and drew a gun with a ridiculously wide barrel. The weapon was pointed right between the eyes of the hound, ready to be fired. Suddenly, the overlord's ears perked up as he heard a sizzle right behind him.
If only he hadn't turned around. The Holy Hand Grenade would have simply grazed his back. Instead, the Cowboy Demon took a faceblast from the front, but not before each member of I.M.P jumped the other direction and tucked their heads in.
The blast was enough to swallow the demon, but it quickly expanded out to the lower halves of each member. Luckily, their distant range left a mere burning sensation as the flames began to clear.
Once the smoke settled, the Cowboy Demon was aching on the floor, holding his stomach as his entrails were blown out from the counterattack.
"Y-Y-You pieces...of SHIT! FUCK!" The Cowboy Demon could no longer play fool with his menacing and cocky grin anymore. Now, he was at death's doorstep, clawing with everything he had to take everybody else with him.
The I.M.P helped themselves up and stared down the injured boss. Moxxie turned to Loona and gave her a nod, prompting her to hoist her bazooka and finish off C.D. With a little pressure, the projectile blasted off and went straight to their target.
And instead, a shadow arm projecting from the back of the Cowboy Demon captured the rocket in mid-air. The entire team was in shock. Though his wounds appear to be fatal, it was clear the overlord still had enough gas left in the tank to dispose of the I.M.P and return to Hell before he croaks.
Blitzo couldn't believe it . "Shit! How'd he do that! Loona…"
The hound turned to him. "What?"
"Your aim is shit."
Her expression was blank. There's no reason to fight his words. They were all going to be blasted off the face of the living world in mere seconds. However, Millie was not going down without a fight. She dug into her husband's pockets and reeled in the repelling gun.
"Millie, w-what are you doing? That thing isn't calibrated for large projectiles! MILLIE!"
No response. His wife pointed the gun towards C.D with determination, waiting for him to fire the projectile.
The overlord scoffed and coughed out some blood. "Heh, lookin' to fulfill yer' deathwish?"
No response.
The overarching arm then threw the projectile back straight to the group.
Suddenly, Loona and Shrapnel drew their rifles and began firing right in front of Millie, who enabled the power of the repelling gun to harvest a gigantic ball of bullets into one.
"Oh shit! Millie! Throw it quick! We'll be fried if we don-"
Before he could finish, the imp threw her gun back and released like it was a fishing pole. The ball came in direct contact with the rocket and managed to spare the team from the large explosion…
...somewhat.
The blast threw the team further back and even torched their clothing a little bit. Moxxie took a quick hold of Millie from behind and cushioned her fall by forcing her to land on her back (for the sake of their child). Loona and Shrapnel rolled back on the grass and somehow hit their heads together in process. As for Blitzo, he used his only arm to grab onto a bush nearby.
Unbeknownst to them, that was merely a smokescreen for the Cowboy Demon's aerial assault. Drops of dark bullets from his harnessed energy began falling onto the team members. Those who were conscious took cover once again.
Although the attack was ineffective as a whole, it still managed to pierce Loona's torso twice, who howled in pain afterward. Millie raised herself from her husband and got into her stance once more. Two plasma pistols were drawn from her pockets, initiating a sole attack against C.D.
The bullets were deflected by a wall generated from the overlord's dark energy. None of them could even pierce through the shield.
This was once again a one-sided battle in favor of the Cowboy Demon.
Blitzo, Moxxie, and Shrapnel raised up and ran to catch up with the battle, attending Millie's side.
"What's the plan now?" The boss was struggling to formulate a strategy.
But not even the brains of the I.M.P could help in that matter. Moxxie himself was stumped as well. "I have no idea, sir. Kill kill kill."
Shrapnel and Millie chuckled. Although they were vastly different from each other, they were similar in their disapproval of relying on strategy. They've been begging to lash out in a frenzy from the start.
"Right then. FUCK HIM UP!" Blitzo barked what he felt would probably be his final order.
The Cowboy Demon let out a hysterical laugh as the remaining members of the I.M.P rushed after him.
In a cocky manner, he pointed his revolver and was ready to take them out one by one. "Ya' fuckin' dick'eads! I won this round!"
BANG!
Blitzo, Moxxie, Shrapnel, and Millie all stopped dead in their tracks. Their hands covered their bodies.
They all put their hands away…
...and realized that none of them just became a casualty of the first shot.
Instead, the Cowboy Demon fell to his side and collapsed. The entire group was thrown back by this. The overlord began to dissolve into the sky. All the dark energy hiding within his body carried his particles into the air.
They turned behind them. It was Loona, holding a plasma revolver of her own. Although she was greatly limited in movement due to her injuries, she managed to get herself up for one more shot.
"F-Fuck. We did it." Loona was panting heavily. She couldn't wait any longer to return back.
Blitzo smiled, as Shrapnel, Moxxie, and Millie rejoiced and gave out a collective sigh. With their combined determination to make it out with their lives, they managed to knock the Cowboy Demon down.
4 HOURS LATER
"Blitzy...slow down. Start from the beginning."
"I don't need to start anywhere, Stolas! We fucking killed him! In the living world!"
After repairing themselves of their injuries and substituting Blitzo's arm with one of Moxxie's prototype limbs, the boss came out of the situation with one arm and three legs now. Literally. It wasn't exactly Moxxie's fault that he was not given enough funds to research an arm. Landmines put the former at the top of the priority list for sure. And here he was, calling up Stolas and informing him of the news.
Moxxie and Millie called it a day and came back home without a word spoken to each other. They only had the energy to wrap their arms around each other and hold on to their hands tight. The couple knew they were in for a ride, and there was only so much time before the consequences of their actions would catch up to them.
"Blitzo…"
The boss hummed as he swiveled around in his office chair. "Stolas?"
"You need to come to my palace. Immediately."
Blitzo could do nothing more but repeat himself. "Stolas?"
"Now."
END OF VOLUME 2