Millie poked at her food with her fork, mind abuzz with worry and stress, too exhausted to even lift her hand.

It had been a full day of searching, the sun having risen and set in the time they were away. Each hour had brought more and more worry, and little sign of her husband, the only evidence they had being the blood splattered on the wall back near their cabin. And with each passing second, the chances of him being alive went down more and more, a thought that she couldn't get out of her head no matter how hard she tried to push it away.

And it was all her fault.

If she had just been more careful at dinner, just a bit more, maybe things would've ended up better. If she had woken up with the alarm and gone out with him that night, maybe she would've been able to chase Monte off before he had gotten the chance to snatch Moxxie right up from under her nose.

The horrid visions from the other night, of Moxxie laying dead on the floor, were feeling a bit too real tonight. Even though she knew it had only been a dream, now she feared it had been foreshadowing something, as superstitious as it sounded.

Moxxie was one of the few demons in hell that seemed to have a heart and a conscience, and not one of those fake ones that the manipulative ones donned, waiting for you to let your guard down. Moxxie was genuinely kind and caring, even when it inconvenienced him. It was something that she had always admired, and sometimes she wondered how an imp like him survived in a place like hell, sticking out like a sore thumb. The poor guy was an easy target, and Monte had clearly taken advantage of that.

All of the anxiety drained her of an appetite, which was a crying shame since the food on their table was far from cheap. But the worry drained her of any energy, almost as much as the drugs had, like there was a dumbell strapped to her heart. Mixing all of that with the exhaustion from being on your feet all day, and it made for quite the shitty time.

The only good thing that had come out of the day was the GHB leaving her system, finally able to move on her own again. Which was good for both her and Blitzo, since she could tell he didn't enjoy having her piggyback on him all day.

Nobody spoke at the table, everybody picking at their food uncomfortably as the same anguish gripped them. A quiet dinner might be considered normal by others with more functional lives, but around here, a dinner without some sort of fighting or screaming was the exception, not the norm.

"So…" Loona said, "We don't have any leads, do we?"

"None," Blitzo sighed, "That cane-hoblin' motherfucker is good. Really good."

Millie took a sip out of her wine glass, hoping that a little drink might loosen her up and push the worry at bay, at least for a few short minutes. Unlike Moxxie, she knew it would take more than one glass to make any noticeable difference, so she flagged down a passing waiter and requested another glass. Blitzo shot her a glare from across the table, but not before ordering two additional glasses for himself.

"What?" Blitzo asked, "A little booze might make us feel better. One drink never hurt anyone, right?"

"Two," Millie responded, "Ya ordered two."

"Shut up."

Within minutes, a waiter came over and placed three glasses of fine red wine on the table, passing two of them to Blitzo and the last one to Millie.

Millie had sworn to herself that she would manage her drinking, especially after she had gotten married. She remembered the days when she would drink over a bottle in ka day, and then be blackout drunk for the next. It had been a dark time in her life, and it wasn't one that she wanted to repeat.

In spite of that, though, she quickly found herself guzzling down glass after glass, tuning in and out of the conversation as the night went on. Her and Blitzo exchanged a shared glance of "we're gonna be so wasted in the morning," before continuing their drinking.

"We're running out of time," Loona said, "I don't know what a rich guy like him would want to do with our little punching bag, but it's probably not good, and if we don't get to him soon, well…"

There was the slightest bit of concern in her voice, something that Millie had never heard before, especially when talking about Moxxie of all people.

"Ya sound awfully worried," Millie slurred, "Almost like ya care about him."

"Shut up!" Loona raised a hand in the air, before extending her middle finger, "I-I just don't want to have to find a new assassin. Do you know how hard it is to find those? That would just mean more shitty work for me!"

She noticed Loona stammering with her words, and although she wanted to call her out on it, she didn't have the energy. Somewhere in that dark abyss of her's, Loona had a heart, and Millie wondered if maybe the current situation would be enough to force it out of the black hole it was engulfed in.

Now THAT would be something I would pay to see.

"If all of you imps keep fighting, we're not going to get anywhere. How many times am I going to have to say it?" Stolas grunted, "You have no idea what you're up against. Monte has power, and he wants something. I don't know what that is, but Moxxie and my book have something to do with it."

"No shit he has power!" Blitzo screamed, already sounding tipsy, "Did you see all that blood in the hallway? That's not normal!"

As much as Millie wanted to believe that Moxxie was okay, the more she was able to dwell on the thought, the more desperate and worried she became, even with the alcohol. He was trapped with a powerful man with a taste for blood, or at least that's what she had gathered from Stolas's description. There was no telling what horrific things were being done to him behind closed doors, and she kept cursing herself for being so slow.

And as more time passed, the window of opportunity closed faster and faster. And where were they now? Drinking and eating as if nothing was happening, while Moxxie was probably tied up in some dark, secluded room out of their reach. Was nobody else as worried as she was?

She was already on the brink of blowing up, untl Blitzo startled her out of it.

"Mills, you don't look so hot," Blitzo slurred, "You alright?"

It wasn't until then that she realized just how tense she was, her shoulders nearly up to her ears and her eyes wide. The alcohol was supposed to be relaxing her, not ending her through the roof with stress. She was on glass number three, with another one hopefully on the way, by now she would normally at least be getting a faint buzz.

"Uh…" she trailed off, "Sure…"

"She's not doing too good," Loona said, "Should we be worried about that?"

"I mean, if someone I cared about got snatched up like that, I wouldn't be doing very good either," Octavia butted in, " But that's just my opinion. "

"I'd be careful drinking that much you two," Stolas said, "As much as I love my Blitzy drunk, if you guys want to find your employee again, being sober would help. If you two are just going to drink yourselves to death, you can stay back at the cabin while the rest of us go and get the job done."

And as much as Millie wanted to punch the little owl across the face for such a statement, she knew deep down that he was right. Drinking her feelings away would provide temporary relief, but wouldn't do anything to help get her husband out of Monte's dirty little hands. She cursed herself for drinking so much, vowing to control herself if it meant that Moxxie would be back with them .

"I can drink as I fuckin' please!" Blitzo hollered, "This is very STRESSFUL, and I need my booze or else I'm gonna snap."

"Nah," Millie sighed, "The owl's right. If...we want him back, we're gonna have to put the booze down. Ya want my Moxxie back, don't ya?"

"I can't afford to hire another assassin, so I guess so."

Millie reluctantly pushed her drinks aside, hoping she wasn't going to end up completely wasted. They had already squandered a full day because she had been drugged, she wasn't about to hold them back for another day. Three glasses usually only made her a bit tipsy, so as long as she kept her hands off of the alcohol for the rest of the night, she should be able to avoid getting blackout drunk.

She motioned to Blitzo, who also put his glasses aside, although not as swiftly as she had. As much as they loved their drinks, saving Moxxie took priority over their unhealthy method of escapism. It comforted her that the two of them were able to come together over the common goal, even if it was falling apart.

Stolas grinned before leaning back in his chair, like he had just won a board game or something. She never saw Stolas as the type to try and shut down drinking, so his suddenly protective and sensible demeanor was both startling but also welcome.

Octavia clearly thought the same thing, blurting out, "You've changed. I don't know what it is, but I like it."

An uncomfortable smile spread across Stolas's face, like he had just been caught in some sort of lie.

"W-Well, we have a situation on our hands. I hate Monte more than anything, and I know he hates me back tenfold. The last thing I want is to see him succeed. Plus, the little bastard has my book! I need to get that back too!"

As superficial as his reasoning sounded, Millie was just glad that Stolas was on their side. With two Goetias on their side, they had an upper hand that Monte didn't: An alliance with demon royalty. Even without their book, Stolas and Octavia carried authority, which would help them tremendously if they needed to sweet-talk somebody into giving them what they wanted, or anything else along those lines.

"And we're still gonna search more tonight, right?" Millie asked, nearly pleading.

"Of course we are," Stolas said, "But eating a bit wouldn't hurt, so stop picking at your food and eat. You're going to want the extra energy, even if you're not hungry."

"You had that one ready," Loona remarked, "Had to use that speech before?"
"Yes I did," Stolas grabbed Octavia by the cheek, "How do you think I got this one to eat when she was little?"

"Dad," Octavia sighed, shoving his hands away, "Do we really have to talk about this around the company?"

"It doesn't get better," Loona sighed, "Blitz still does that with me, even though he only adopted me at SEVENTEEN!"

Octavia's dynamic with Stolas always seemed similar to Loona's dynamic with Blitzo. Octavia seemed more open with her father, but other than that they were very much alike, both wanting more space and seeming like they were in a mood all the time. She wondered why the two of them didn't stick together, seeing how much they had in common. Perhaps it was the massive class difference, with one being a royal and the other being a hellhound, or maybe it was the relations their fathers were having with each other.

But, she had better things to think about, not forgetting her husband that was still trapped somewhere dark and unforgiving, in the hands of a monster. Whenever she found Monte, she wouldn't spare him any pain, fantasizing about clawing him to a pulp and listening to his dying screams as they slowly faded away. She almost felt sorry for the poor bitch. He had made a fatal mistake when he swiped Moxxie, and he was going to pay for it one way or another.

"Alright, I'll eat some," Millie gave in, "Not like I'm gonna get rich-folk food like this ever again."

"That's what I like to hear," Stolas said, giving what seemed to be a genuine smile. Millie had never seen Stolas's soft side before, but if this was what it was like, she was completely fine with it. It humanized him, allowing her to see him as another living creature as opposed to a carrier of horrific authority. He was almost lovable.

"Hey, waiter!" Blitzo blurted out, waving one of the servers down, "Can ya take this wine back and get me some lemonade?"
"Sir, this is quite expensive, are you sure-" the man started.

"I'll pay it off, don't worry," Stolas said, "I'm the one that's cutting him off, after all."

The waiter paused for a moment, clearly shocked to have a royal speaking to him.

"A-Alright then, I'll be right back."

The man disappeared into the kitchen, the door slamming shut behind him.

"I didn't know ya liked lemonade," Millie said, "Actually, I've never seen ya drink something that didn't have booze until now."

"Hey, I don't always drink booze! I drink water!" Blitzo shot back, "At least I did...that one time...ten years ago..."

"Maybe a little break from booze is just what ya need," Millie took a swig of water from a glass on the table, "I think we both need it."

"I can drink to that-"

He paused.

"Wait a minute...I take that back."

"Oh Blitzy," Stolas giggled, "You and your crew always find a way to make me laugh."

Seeing how Blitzo and Stolas interacted, she wondered sometimes why the two of them didn't just hook up and make things official. They always got together under the guise of "business affairs," but they all knew that they liked each other. Sure, with Stella in the picture things would be complicated, but it wasn't like she didn't already know about it. Might as well enjoy it if they could.

Then again, Millie had coached Blitzo through a couple of quick relationships in the past, and she also knew just how terrible he was with commitment and being emotional. And it didn't look like Stolas was any better than her boss was, so watching them dance around the big question was both suspenseful and frustrating at the same time. It was like watching two blind pilots fight over the joystick, while crashing the plane without even knowing it.

Blitzo laughed nervously, seeming a bit flustered.

"T-Thanks, Stolas," he said.

Luckily, their waiter returned and brough Blitzo his glass of lemonade before the situation could get anymore awkward, which was a blessing for them and everyone else involved. As she had said before, watching Blitzo and Stolas dance around each other was hard to watch at times, and she wasn't in the mood for it tonight.

"Anyways," Stolas cleared his throat, "I'm going to run through some cabins tonight and see if I can find anything. We won't be able to run through every one, but it's worth a shot."

Just as he finished speaking, Millie could've sworn she saw a figure in black dart out of the dining hall, but it was so faint that she couldn't tell. She had been increasingly paranoid the last couple days, and the line between imagination and reality was becoming increasingly blurred with each passing day.

But, just in case, she tried to point it out, not wanting to risk anything.

"Who the fuck is that?" Millie pointed to the now empty spot in the dining room, where the figure had just stood.

Everybody shifted their gaze to where she was pointing, but with nothing there, all she was met with was confused gazes.

"Did you see something?" Stolas asked, "Or did you just have too much to drink?"
Realizing that she was probably hallucinating, she simply sighed and gave up, not having the energy to try and argue.

"Good question," she responded, "I-I think I'm just a bit tipsy."

Or at least she hoped she was.

She stared back down at her plate and finished off what remained of her meal, which was a pasta dish coated with a thick and creamy sauce that she couldn't remember the name of. On the side was a collection of expensive-looking herbs, and a few pieces of finely-buttered garlic bread. She could only imagine how much a meal like this had cost, and she almost wanted to pay Stolas back, which felt strange to her since she was never one to care about how much she owed anybody.

The scene around her was soft and calming, with soft orchestral tunes playing in the background. If Moxxie was here, he would've been able to tell her what the names of the songs were. If she wasn't being weighed down by worry, she might've been able to enjoy the scenery, but instead she was barely managing to finish her meal and keep herself from going insane.

She was itching to get back out here and keep looking, not wanting to sit by any longer. She had eaten some, so she would have at least enough energy to do a few more hours, or however much as her body would allow her.

"Hurry up," Millie said, "I don't wanna be sittin' around much longer. He's in trouble and we need to get lookin'!"

Moxxie was awoken by Monte bursting in through the cabin door, appearing almost panicked.

It had been a few hours since he had last seen the man, having disappeared out the door shortly after the grimoire had been put away. The only other time he had come back was to give Moxxie the smallest bit of food and water to "keep the bait alive," or something along those lines.

Now, though, he looked as if he had seen a ghost, bolting across the room and grabbing the chair that Moxxie was bound to.

"What the hell are you doing?" Stella hissed, "Have you gone insane?"

"They're going to start searching the cabins," Monte barked, "I heard them talking about it at dinner. I'll get him out, and then we can stay back and wait for them."

"And where the hell do you think you're going to be taking him? I don't think you've noticed, but there aren't a lot of other places where we can hide him."

"There's a supply closet two decks down, if we hurry we hide him there and make it back here in time. Now grab a leg and help me!"

"Why don't we just stay here with him and kill his little friends once they arrive? Wasn't that the original plan?"

"Yeah, well, I don't like that one anymore. I wanna see the little bastard squirm."

"Fine. But if this fails, you aren't getting paid."

Moxxie felt the chair being picked up off the ground, before he was then carried out the door, staying dead silent the entire time. He knew now that any attempts at making noise or drawing attention were only going to lead to another beating, and that wasn't something that he could afford at the moment.

"And you'd better keep your fucking mouth shut," Monte threatengly held out a knife, "Or I'll have my way with you earler than we planned."

"Yes sir." Moxxie whispered, keeping his gaze downcast.

What an undignified position he had been placed in. Being carried off by two creeps whom he barely knew while tied up and unable to move on his own. He was only being kept alive for their own use and please, his autonomy reduced to near zero. He couldn't even speak for himself, either being forced into silence by a gag or the threat of violence.

As he was being carried down the hall, he realized how much worse the situation was getting. Didn't they say that if a kidnapper took you to a second location, your chance of death was nearly one-hundred percent? He had remembered the PSAs on TV that had warned about kidnapping and things along those lines, but he never thought it would actually happen to him. Not with Millie and Blitzo and the others around him.

Of course Monte had to come for him the one time that he was alone.

Even though he was only on day two of being away, the homesickness aws beginning to set in. He found himself thinking of home, and of his job, and of Millie, and all the others. And maybe it was the extreme blunt-force trauma to his head, or maybe it was the desperation he felt to escape, but he even found himself missing Blitzo's and Loona's crude remarks.

A cold seat overtook his body as he hoped that the others would be smart enough to come armed. If his own run-in with Monte was enough evidence, this man would be able to take them all out within a few seconds if they had no other means of defending themselves. He didn't even care if it meant having to stay with these crazies for even longer. Because if Monte and Stella killed them, nobody would be able to come to his rescue, and right now, they were his only hope at getting out of here.

The only comfort he had was knowing now that they were even looking for him in the first place. Sometimes, he would get it in his head that the team was better off without him, regardless of what they said or told him. Even now, he couldn't help but feel like a burden, forcing the team to come and look for him after a mistake that he himself had made. If he hadn't been an idiot that night, maybe they would've found the book and been able to get off without anything bad happening.

If it hadn't been for him.

I should've been more careful.

I shouldn't have been such an idiot.

Why do I keep fucking things up?

First, he had nearly gotten his group killed on Earth after trying to stop Blitzo from killing one of their targets, insisting that they were innocent. Then, he had gotten himself wasted on the beach and nearly gotten Millie killed in an attempt to rescue him. After that, he had let Striker get away with his blessed weapons. And most recently, he had gotten himself kidnapped and was focing the others to come rescue him.

As morbid as it sounded, he wondered just how bad it would be if he didn't make it out of here. After all, it would finally free the group of his, as Loona had put it, "obnoxious" presence. Plus, they would finally be able to find a new assassin, one that was much more useful and skilled than he was. One that wouldn't get picked off as easily as he had been.

"Shove him in here!" Monte hissed, throwing open a supply closet door and throwing him inside, shoving a gag into his mouth before casting him into darkness.

The door slammed shut, and Moxxie heard the unsettling click of a magazine being loaded, Monte's and Stella's footsteps fading down the hall.

Desperately, he tried to scream for help, his screams once again being muffled by the gag. He shuffled around in his chair, only moving a few inches before falling down onto his side, hoping that maybe the crash would draw some attention to him.

But nobody came.

After only a few minutes, the claustrophobia began to set it. It was one thing being tied up in a reasonably sized cabin with enough room to breathe and shuffle around, but he didn't have that luxury in here. Moxxie had never been particularly fond of tight spaces, but tonight his sanity was truly being put to the test.

First, he took in a deep breath through his nose, but quickly felt the sensation of the cloth in his mouth, only causing him to panic more. He didn't realize just how truly suffocating these things could be until he had been quite literally thrown into the dark with them.

It felt like the room was spinning around him, and that the walls were closing in at the same time. The darkness didn't help, either, only magnifying the feeling of helplessness that he felt.

Deep breaths, Moxxie…

Deep breaths…

Deep breaths-

I can't breathe..

Help me!
Somebody get me out of here.

Please…

Somebody…

Help me….

Moxxie whimpered silently to himself, still unable to move and feeling as hopeless as ever. He couldn't even move his hands up to wipe his eyes, forced to remain still on the floor as the seconds ticked by, his own muffled sobs being his only company in the darkness.

If something happened to the others because of him, he would never forgive himself. He no longer cared what happened to him, as long as those he cared about still had a chance at getting off of this godforsaken ship alive. As long as they were able to carry on, even if he was out of the picture, it would be enough.

But now that he knew that they were out looking for him, things only became more stressful. First, it was only his life at stake, then it was Stolas's, and now everybody he cared about was in danger too.

Monte was going to pay for this, that was if Moxxie even got the chance to fight back. Putting his friends in danger was not something that he would take standing down, despite him currently being tied up. If that rich bastard wanted an easy target, he was going to have to try harder than that. Because as long as he knew the team was out there, he would keep fighting, not for himself, but to keep his comrades alive.

And although he was running on almost zero strength, that little bit of motivation was enough to boost what little energy he had left, at least enough to keep himself from passing out from a panic attack.

Moxxie wasn't going down without a fight.

You guys had better stay alive…

I'll be out soon.

But if you die...

I won't have anything left.