Heaven


Heaven seemed to be in a calm state at the moment. And it didn't feel right. It wasn't very normal for heaven to be this way. There was always some problem to solve, or some massive crisis on earth or in hell. But there was nothing. It seemed that ever since the remaining members of the archangels returned, Heaven was at some sort of peace. This was rolling around in Amenadiel's head. To him something still felt wrong. But he couldn't place any sort of finger on it.

"You seem troubled," Jophiel said walking to the side of his older brother. He joined him on the balcony of one of the tallest buildings in the center of heaven. Heaven in a way was rather similar to hell, as odd as that sounds. It is made up of sections to where certain angels live. In the middle is where you would find the Archangels. The most powerful beings of heaven, and practically gods in their own way. Then you had the sections that were designated for the humans who die, but are free of sin and sent to the afterlife. Then you had areas that held other heavenly beings like the regular Angels, the Exorcists, and the Cherubs. But of course, heaven was one hundred times nicer than hell was, and if you are not careful, you could be banished from heaven for breaking one of their forbidden rules. So basically you had to be a very kind soul to not accidentally fuck up.

"No, no. Not troubled. Just concerned," Amenadiel said trying to word it.

"That seems worse than just troubled," Jophiel said.

"I guess it does, doesn't it," Amenadiel said as a small smile came to his face.

"What's on your mind?" Jophiel asked.

"I cannot place a certain source for my, distress, as you could call it. I seem to be worried about nothing," Amenadiel said.

"Okay you have lost me. You say you are concerned about nothing?" Jophiel said trying to comprehend that statement.

"You can say that. Even though nothing is wrong, I feel like this is too odd of a feeling. There always seems to be some sort of problem or dilemma I or Michael have to deal with. But...nothing," Amenadiel said with a flick of his wrist.

"Oh so you complain about having too many problems to deal with, but when they're finally are none you want a problem to solve," Jophiel said with a big grin.

"No. Well maybe you are right," Amenadiel said with a sigh.

"Look brother. You are not the only one of god's children. You do not have to be the one to pull all the weight, all the time," Jophiel said placing an arm on his shoulder.

"I do not mind it, really," Amenadiel said.

"Of course you do. You have always been the responsible one," Jophiel said. As he said that he placed his hand to his head and shook it slightly.

"Something wrong?" Amenadiel asked looking concerned again.

"No. I'm fine. That may have been what is called a head rush," Jophiel said giving one final shake of his head before coming back to normal.

"You are unsure about the term head rush?" Amenadiel said joking with him.

"No, I know what it is. I just haven't used that term before," Jophiel said straightening himself out.

"Usually us angels are of perfect health. Are you sure that you are okay?" Amenadiel said, trying to make sure his brother wasn't holding back on him.

"Yeah, I am fine. I haven't lived for eons to be affected by something now," Jophiel said.

"I guess that is a fair point," Amenadiel said, leaving it where it was.

"S-so, what do you plan on doing now?" Jophiel asked, trying to change the subject.

"I am unsure. I may check on the status of hell," Amenadiel said.

"For?" Jophiel asked.

"Just to see what has been happening. Mainly with Lucifer and his family. And I guess I am interested in how this Slayer has been fairing down there," Amenadiel said.

"Ah I must say, I have wanted to see this individual, he seems rather intriguing," Jophiel said.

"He is indeed. Even as an angel of heaven, I will admit that he is rather intimidating," Amenadiel said.

"Oh? So you are scared of him?" Jophiel said raising an eyebrow.

"I did not say that. I can call someone intimidating without being scared of that person," Amenadiel quickly spoke.

"It's okay to admit it, I won't tell anyone," Jophiel said beginning to laugh.

"I will admit nothing, because there is nothing too admit," Amenadiel said. He was going to say something else but he noticed another look of distress on his brother's face. His eyes clenched shut as he placed a hand on his head. He used his other hand and placed it on the railing to keep him from falling.

"Brother are you okay," Amenadiel asked. In that moment, Jophiel dropped down to a knee, but the impact wasn't as bad, as Amenadiel caught him.

"I...I don't know," Jophiel muttered.

"Come lie down, you may not know what's wrong, but something clearly is," Amenadiel said helping him back inside and lying him down.

"I shall be fine brother. I have overcome worse," Jophiel said as he began to breathe heavily.

"I will get some things, just stay there as long as you need," Amenadiel said.

"Thank you brother," Jophiel said.

"You do not have to thank me, I wouldn't let you die," Amenadiel said with a grin.

"Well..." Jophiel said joining in on the joke.

"Have a little faith brother," Amenadiel said as he left the room.

As Jophiel laid there on the couch. His head began to throb. He was gripping his head with both of his hands. He has thrashing his body all over the couch. Until he heard it again. The same voice speak out to him.

"Stop fighting it," a voice tells him.

"I don't want this. I can't do this," Jophiel tells the voice.

"You wanted a better heaven. Better for your whole family. Isn't that what you said?" Said the voice.

"Y-yes. I did," Jophiel said.

"We can give you that. I CAN give you that. Give you purpose again. Make it all better," said the voice.

"Okay," Jophiel said, "Okay."


Wraith Ring


Back again to the Rough n' Tumbleweed Ranch. For the group of I.M.P. it had certainly been a little while since they visited Millie's family. The last time they were here, it wasn't the most pleasant of visits. You see, Millie's parents, named Joe and Lin, hired a hand by the name of Striker. He seemed to be a good guy. He and also seemed to be some cool badass who seemed superior to most of the Imps. But that changed when Moxxie discovered the kind of weaponry he possessed. They soon discovered that he was a hired hitman that wanted to get back at the overlords and high class people of hell. So when they found out, he tried to kill them all, but failed.

Blitzo parked the van right in front of the house. No damages or signs of distress seemed to come from the house or the rest of the ranch, which put a smile of relief on Millie's face. As the engine to the car turned off, Millie got out of the van to locate the whereabouts of her parents. She looked around before going up to the front door and giving it a few hard knocks.

"So what are we looking for again?" Loona asked.

"Did you already forget what that thing looked like?" Moxxie questioned.

"Honestly I didn't even care enough to look at it," Loona shrugged.

"Mildred?" Lin

"Ma, Pa," Millie said, running up to them.

"Mildred. This is certainly unexpected," Lin said as she didn't expect to see her daughter.

"I was wondering if you both were still safe," Millie said looking at them both.

"Of course we would, why wouldn't we be?" Joe said, looking rather confused.

We heard that there was a lot bad creatures in this area," Millie said.

"There are always bad creatures here, what do you seem so concerned now?" Joe said still looking confused.

"Well Joe and Lin, that big guy and his robot friend warned us about dangerous demons that could destroy everything," Blitzo said.

"That big guy?" Joe asked.

"Yeah, you know, that new guy in hell who has been the non-stop talk of the town?" Blitzo said, trying to ring any bells.

"We don't pay much attention to what goes on in the news," Joe said, crossing his arms.

"All that media stuff is for them rich city folks," Lin said.

"Well that guy has been helping us and we have been helping him," Millie said with a smile.

"Think of it as a mutual agreement," Moxxie said. Although that probably didn't need to be said.

As they spoke about the Slayer, he seemed to show up on que. The portal that he conjured opened up in one of the fields on the ranch.

"Oh would you look at that, there he comes now," Blitzo said while grinning.

The Slayer exited the portal and looked at the world around him. It had been a very long time since he had been on any sort of ranch, or farm. And he didn't expect to see one in hell. But who was he kidding, he never expected to even find a hell like this one in his entire life.

"My word," Joe said looking at the Slayer.

"I have never seen someone like that before," Lin said.

"Apparently this man is a human who is able to travel through some kind of portal bullshit. Explains how he got here," Blitzo said, trying to give them some sort of context.

"So that is what a human looks like?" Lin said in amazement.

"Somewhat, but not quite," Moxxie said.

"What is that suppose to mean?" Joe asked.

"Most humans that we have come across are a bunch of weak and horny fucks. A guy like this is human, but is much bigger and stronger than most," Blitzo said.

"Didn't that robot say he was from a different world?" Millie added.

"Oh yeah, that too," Blitzo said. This was a lot of information for Joe and Lin to process. During their conversation, it bought the Slayer time to walk over to all of them. If they weren't impressed by his size, they were now. He looked very big from up close. Joe and Lin were individuals who were fond of violence and war, so they already liked the Slayer before they even met him.

"Well he certainly is a big guy indeed," Joe said with a grin. The Slayer approached the group of imps and one bored hellhound. "So you're the guy helping out my daughter?"

"I wouldn't bother with the handshake or the small talk, ya see, this guy is the pure definition of the strong and silent type," Blitzo said, as he was not wrong in that statement. The Slayer just looked down at Joe's hand and looked back to him.

"So he is not much of a talker?" Lin asked.

"I don't think he even talks at all Ma," Millie added.

"Well that is different. I don't think I have ever met someone who doesn't speak," Lin said looking over the detail of the Slayer's armor.

"So if he doesn't talk, how do we know what to address him by?" Joe asked crossing his arms.

"Apparently he goes by the name of the Slayer," Moxxie said.

"Pretty fitting name for a guy who kills things for a living," Blitzo said.

"I think it's a fine name. I mean look at the man. This is the kind of strong body that you know not to mess with," Joe said impressed by the Slayer's massive arms.

"And the kind of strong man that you marry," Lin said.

"Mom!" Millie said as they were still clearly pointing out their distaste for Moxxie.

"And if you think that is cool, he has a robot that works alongside him," Blitzo said.

"A robot?" Joe asked.

"Come to think of it, where is VEGA?" Moxxie said, as they had not heard the robotic voice yet.

"Good point Moxxie. Hey VEGA, are ya in there?" Blitzo asked waving his arm to get his attention. Even though that wouldn't make a difference.

"I am indeed," VEGA said coming to life.

"Ain't that something," Joe said.

"If you are awake from whatever robotic fucking nap you were in, this is the place," Blitzo said.

"I see. Does this location have a name?" VEGA asked.

"This is our ranch, known as the Rough n' Tumbleweed ranch," Joe said.

"I see, and who are-," VEGA began before cutting himself off, "Actually I do not believe me nor the Slayer are aware of any of your names."

"Oh, I guess we forgot that part," Moxxie said with a nervous chuckle.

"Well I am Blitz, that guy with the baby hands is Moxxie, that is Millie, and these are her parents, Joe and Lin," Blitzo said.

"Greetings," VEGA said.

"Wait if you didn't know our names and where this was, how did you find us?" Moxxie asked.

"I simply copied your life signature. After you all came to a stop, I located your life signal and opened a portal to this location," VEGA said.

"Well that's handy isn't it," Blitzo said.

"I don't mean to be a 'joy killer' as they say, but shouldn't we get back to why we are here in the first place?" Moxxie suggested using air quotes.

"Good point Mox," Millie said.

"Is that about the monster thing you were talking about?" Lin asked.

"Yeah. I think it would be better if VEGA explained it," Moxxie said giving VEGA the floor.

"Joe and Lin was it?" VEGA said double checking.

"That's right," Joe said.

"The reason why the Slayer is present is because the demons from his world have started to make their way back into his home and now into yours," VEGA said.

"Demons? Demons like us?" Joe asked, as he was confused once again. But VEGA didn't blame him. Learning something as crazy as that doesn't seem real.

"No. Demons with no sense of thought or emotion. They are bigger and stronger than all of you," VEGA said.

"Basically he comes from a whole new world, and his world is fucked up compared to ours. And apparently the demons from his hell could invade this hell," Millie said.

"So he is here to see if there are any here," Moxxie said.

"Well Slayer, I know we haven't seen anything like that. I'm not even sure what to be looking for," Joe said taking a look around his ranch.

"What do they even look like?" Lin asked.

"Ugly, nasty things," Millie said.

"Believe me, you'd know it if you saw it," Blitzo said.

"My readings are indicating demonic energy in this area, so there may be something here that neither of you are aware of," VEGA said.

"Uh VEGA, ya sure it's not reading us?" Blitzo asked as he thought the all powerful A.I. was using no common sense.

"No, I have already put that into consideration. The Slayer chooses to investigate the area, and it would be wise if the rest of you did as well," VEGA said. The Slayer then turned around and began to begin his search.

"Hmph. That's a guy who does whatever the fuck he wants too I guess," Blitzo said.

"I don't know what he expects to find. We have been all around the farm," Lin said.

"I guess while he does his thing, I'm going to go check the barn," Joe said walking towards it. The rest of the imps had nothing to really do, so they just followed too.

As they got closer they heard a bunch of odd noises coming from the barn. Confused, they all walked over. When they got to the front of the barn, they took one more moment to listen, and they heard the sounds even more. Joe and Lin opened the two big barn doors open to reveal the inside. And the sight that they put fear on their faces. They all backed up slowly at the ten foot beast that walked its way out of the barn. The beast had killed every animal that they had inside, and it was looking for more. In front of them all stood the tall beast of the Hell Knight. the Hell Knight let out a roar as it rushed at them. Blitzo and Moxxie pulled out their weapons and began to fire at it. But it was in vain as the Hell Knight leaped in the air and smashed the ground below it, leaving a large crater and releasing a shock wave that knocked them all of their feet. The Hell knight grabbed Joe by neck since he was the closest to it. Joe raised his right fist and hit the Hell Knight with a hard punch to try and break free. It slowly turned its head back to face Joe to show that it didn't faze it. His punch just made it angrier.

"Son of a bitch..." Joe muttered out as loud as he could with his air behind shut. The beast let out another roar as it grabbed Joe's lower body to rip him in half. But before it could do so, the Slayer lowered his shoulder and rammed into the Hell Knight at full speed sending it rolling over across the ground.

"PA!" Millie yelled as she went over to him. Joe was rubbing his neck, seeming to be okay.

"It's alright pumpkin spice, your old man is a tough nut," Joe said as Millie and Lin helped him to his feet. All of them stood watch at the standoff between the Slayer and the Hell Knight. The Slayer clenched his fists tight as he and the Hell Knight began to circle on another, waiting for the first move. The Slayer made no attempt to get one of his weapons. He would be getting his hands dirty for this fight. The Hell Knight charged the Slayer as it swung its large arm at the Slayer, who leaned out of the way. The Hell Knight repeated the action with his other hand, which the Slayer also avoided. He then returned with a strong blow to the Hell Knight's head. He returned with another and then a swift kick to the stomach sending it off balance. He then used his blade to get in close and slice open its stomach. He then cut open its hind leg sending it to the ground on one knee. As the Slayer went behind it, he summoned his chainsaw. With a loud rev of the motor, he cut through the Hell Knight's chest. The Hell Knight roared in pain as its torso was removed from its body entirely. The Slayer then sent away the chainsaw and returned back to the group of imps who couldn't take their eyes off of what they just witnessed. That thing was so big, it towered over the Slayer, who they thought was massive. And he took it down without breaking a sweat.

"Are you alright?" VEGA asked, directing the question to Joe who was rubbing his neck.

"Y-yeah, I'll be fine. So where did you say you come from again?"