Are you sure they're up here?" Charlie asked.
Moxxie had finally caved and finished explaining his situation, or at least as much as he felt comfortable sharing. He kept a few of the bigger details under wraps, but that was just because he didn't want to risk dragging anybody else into the situation.
Charlie was by his side as he followed her through the crowd, demons moving away from her like she had a forcefield around her. She wasn't kidding when she said that the other demons would show them respect. Moxxie wasn't used to being in the presence of such high nobles.
"It's the best chance we have," Moxxie said, "And thank you, Princess Magne, for escorting us."
"You can call me Charlie," she replied, "'Ms. Magne' sounds far too formal."
Her words reminded him of his first conversion with Octavia, back during their first day on the ship. How she had told him to refer to her by another name simply because her mother had tarnished her family name so much. To think, that had only been the beginning of their horrible week.
"I'm not sure I believe him," Vaggie said, "Don't you think this all sounds a little suspicious? Showing up out of nowhere with a body in his hands begging the princess of hell for help?"
The blow to his credibility wasn't unexpected, but it still hurt. Sure, from the outside, things looked shady, and he probably was going to regret talking to these two in the first place, but he decided that keeping Octavia alive was going to be more important. And the fact that Charlie had helped a random stranger like that only attested further to her compassionate personality.
"What's the worst he could do?" Charlie asked, "I don't see any weapons on him. Plus, he looks like he's been through a lot. The least we could do is escort them to a boat."
"I think he killed her," Vaggie said, pointing to Octavia's body, "Or at least he tried to before you used that potion thingy or whatever the hell it was."
"I did not!" Moxxie protested, "Everything I told you is the truth! Do you really think I could make something up like that?"
"I don't know, can you?"
"Vaggie, calm down." Charlie pleaded, "C'mon, I'm trying to get us out of here alive, and I can't have you two killing each other."
"What about our people?" Vaggie motioned broadly, "Aren't they somewhere around here too? Angel dust? Alastor? Husk? Ya know, the people that are our responsibility!"
Charlie scanned the deck, before pointing to a distant boat where a few notably taller and colorful demons were stepping inside as it was being lowered.
"They look safe to me." Charlie said, breathing what sounded like a sigh of relief.
Moxxie had no idea as to who these "others" were, but as long as they weren't trying to get him killed he couldn't care less.
Small puffs of breath began to escape from Octavia's mouth, Moxxie breathing his own sigh of relief upon realizing that his newfound companion was alive. They had been through enough brushes with death to last a lifetime, and Moxxie looked forward to possibly being back home in the safety of those he cared about. They had to be close, he knew it!
The ship's lights were bright, and the deck was abuzz with activity. A pair of officers were fumbling with the cover of a lifeboat, the boat swaying in the seaward gales.
Moxxie picked up fragments of conversation as he passed within earshot of the passengers and officers.
"...I'm not getting in that hunk of driftwood!" a woman with a particularly snobby accent and large nose hissed at one of the workers, "I'll take my chances up here, thank you very much!"
How privileged can you fucking be?
The woman had a whiney voice about her, like a child being refused dessert. It was frustrating to watch, seeing her so caught up with petty and materialistic concerns that her own life was being put at risk. Given the situation, denying a spot on a lifeboat was pure idiocy.
"Madam," the nearby officer said, ""There's a situation unfolding below deck. It's for your own safety. I assure you, we'll all be back onboard in time for breakfast in the morning."
Above their heads, a deafeningly loud hissing noise sounded from one of the funnels, white steam pouring forcefully out of the tips, coating the night sky in an even darker shade of black than before.
"I feel like we should be concerned about that," Moxxie said, pointing up to the hissing smokestack, "But then again, there's a lot that we should be concerned about."
He turned his head and covered his ears to try and drown out the noise, scanning the deck for any familiar faces. But with how enormous the crowd was, he wouldn't be able to find them if he tried.
"I give you credit," Charlie shouted over the steam, "If your story is true, then you've been through more than even I have. Nobody has ever tried to kidnap and kill me, at least not yet"
Wow.
To have the princess of hell applauding him for something he did was an even bigger shock. And if there wasn't so much chaos unfolding around him, he would've had time to process it.
His thoughts were cut short when a set of arms suddenly wrapped around his shoulders, nearly making him fall backwards.
"Wha-?" he started.
But he soon realized that it was a touch that he recognized.
"There you are!" a familiar voice cooed, shrieking with joy, "We thought you were dead!"
No.
It couldn't be.
Could it?
In the depths of her despair, Millie could've sworn she saw a familiar face passing by, only for a moment. But it was long enough for her to catch a glimpse.
Enough to give her hope.
She didn't bother warning the others, they could catch up in a second. Nor did she care if the figure she was pursuing was the wrong person. It had brought back that familiar feeling of hope, and nothing could snatch that away from her now.
"Moxxie?!" Millie shouted, both nervous and excited.
At that moment, the ship's funnels began to release steam, and her voice was lost in the disorganized and overstimulating sea of voices and other sounds. The figure moved down the deck without batting her an eye, two other rich-looking demons at her side.
"Fuck." she muttered, pushing forward.
Moxxie, I'm not losing you.
Not again.
Please tell me my eyes aren't deceiving me.
"Mills!" Blitzo called out, heavily limping towards her and grabbing her shoulder, "What the hell are you doing?"
There were tears in his eyes, matching the ones in her own eyes perfectly. His mouth was pressed shut, and his cheeks were strained. The entire group looked like garbage, and it was the first time she had seen them show such raw emotion. And it was under the worst circumstances possible.
"I-I…" she started, tripping over her words as the sobs escaped, "I thought I saw...saw…"
"Let me guess. Moxxie?" Blitzo said, sounding angry but also hurt.
He sighed and put his head in his hands, discreetly wiping his eyes.
"Millie," he croaked, his words heavy, "He's fucking dead, Millie. He's fucking dead We saw them down there, remember?"
Blitzo paused before swallowing hard.
She had never known Blitzo to be an emotional man, so to have him blowing up at both her and himself in such an open and harsh way came as a massive shock. He was clearly on the verge of breaking down, and quite frankly, she was too. The numbness was quickly beginning to fade, and she wasn't ready to break down. Not in front of everybody and in such a dire situation.
The pain was so clear in Blitzo's eyes that she had to cast her head downwards, not wanting to meet his pitiful and sorrow-filled gaze. She wouldn't be able to stomach it, and was much more content with staring at the ground than having to confront this unspeakable reality.
Blitzo's next words hit her right in the heart.
"Don't put yourself through this. He's gone. And it's our fucking fault."
Our fault.
She hated that he was right. How they had wasted so much time trying to gather leads, and all the time they had wasted on rest, and how she hadn't gone out with him on the night he had been taken.
Lip quivering, she glanced into the crowd one more time, desperate for anything that could give her hope for Moxxie's safety.
And by some twist of fate, that was exactly what she got.
The figure that she had been pursuing turned around for only a second, but it was just enough for her to clearly make out the face. The white hair, striped horns, and slender figure stood out far too much for them to belong to just any other demon.
Moxxie.
I knew it!
And this time, she wasn't going to sit around waiting.
Millie took off again, leaving Blitzo in the dust and running like there was no tomorrow. She could hear his uneven and slow footsteps picking up to chase her, but she didn't care anymore.
There was only one thing that mattered in that moment, and it was disappearing down the deck.
The heavy sorrow that had weighed her down just a few short moments ago was replaced with intense jubilation, the sight of her safe husband bringing more relief than anything in her life before. To know that their efforts hadn't been in vain, and that their reunion would finally happen.
Her heart was pounding, and in spite of the cold, sweat began to pool at her forehead. She was only a few feet away now, everything else fading away as she focused on the current objective.
A smile took the place of her once heavy frown, and she couldn't have felt more alive.
Almost there!
Moxxie.
Please tell me it's you.
Don't let me down now
Anticipation ate away at her as she made the last few steps.
Finally, she leaped up and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, shouting with joy as she saw a face she hadn't seen in days.
"There you are!" she shouted, "We thought you were dead!"
Moxxie turned around and met her eyes, his familiar gaze melting her heart.
"Millie!" he shouted, wrapping his free arm around her, something slung over his other shoulder.
The two of them embraced each other, tears of joy beginning to well in her eyes, taking the place of the sorrowful tears that had overwhelmed her just a few short moments ago. After such a rollercoaster of a week, this reunion was just what she and the group needed. His body was warm, a familiar warmth that brought back that old feeling of comfort that they had both been lacking.
For a few seconds, it felt like everything was going to be okay. That as long as the two of them stuck together, things would work out for the better, and nothing would be able to hurt them ever again.
Like everything else good that week, however, the feeling quickly faded.
Her eyes landed on Moxxie's shoulder, Millie realizing that the figure over his arm was Octavia, a large scar running down her side and glowing blue. Moxxie had a similar scar on his shoulder, although his was mixed with red and black, implying that he had been injured and bleeding at some point.
"Moxxie…?" Millie whispered, jaw hanging open, "What the hell happened to ya?"
Two figures stood at his side, one of them a taller demon in a red suit, while the other one had a grey color about them. The red-suited demon was smiling at her, while the grey one was giving her a look that could strike her dead.
At that same moment, Stolas ran over, and upon seeing his daughter in such a horrible state, shoved Milie to the side and began shouting at Moxxie.
"What the hell?!" he shouted, "What happened?! Did you get shot?! How are you alive?! Is she alive?! Someone fucking tell me!"
Blitzo limped weakly as he and Loona caught up from behind, but they stopped in their tracks at the sight of the figures surrounding Moxxie. And it wasn't until Blitzo spoke that Millie realized she recognized the figure's face.
"Moxxie?!" Blitzo called out, both with relief and worry, "A-And is that...the fuckin' princess?"
Holy shit.
HOLY SHIT.
Moxxie was standing with none other than the princess of hell, along with her wife. Their faces had been all over the news a few months ago, something about a "rehabilitation hotel" or something like that. It was big news, too, with such a high-ranking demon going against the typical expectations of hellborns and sinners, working towards improving the etiquettes of the damned. The prospect, although she would never say it out loud in front of the princess, was laughable at best.
With Princess Charlie in front of her, she followed that instinct and quickly shut up, not sure what to expect next.
Stolas, on the other hand, didn't give a singular shit about them, and was preoccupied with worry for his daughter. Which was understandable, but still hard to watch.
"Prince Stolas," Charlie said, awkwardly, "It's a pleasure to finally be meeting you."
Charlie turned to face Octavia's body, and then back to Stolas.
"Don't worry, your majesty," she said, still addressing him with reverence despite how heavily she outranked him, "Your, erm...I assume she is your daughter, is going to be friend brought her to us and I patched her up."
Stolas reached forward and spoke, but Millie couldn't catch what he was saying, Loona appearing behind her and shouting.
"What the hell?" Loona asked, clearly just as confused as everybody else was.
An uproar began within the group, everybody wanting answers but nobody willing to give them. The chorus of voices overlapped over and over again, Millie only catching brief understandable bits of conversations, the words coming at a million miles a minute.
"Octavia!" Stolas called out, "Can you hear me?!"
"How the hell...is he alive...with the princess of hell...what the fuck?" Blitzo gawked, "I'm too fucking sober for this."
"Everybody calm down," Charlie said, trying to ease the tensions. The effort was commendable, but it was like trying to put out a forest fire with a squirt gun, "We can't all be shouting at once-"
"EVERYBODY SHUT THE FUCK UP!" The grey demon boomed, her voice reverberating across the deck and even catching the attention of other passengers.
Millie's ears rang from the noise, but the shout had succeeded in finally bringing silence to the group, everybody frozen in place and staring back with shock. Moxxie dashed over to her side and held her arm, Millie doing the same as the grey demon stepped aside and allowed Charlie to speak, her voice barely audible over the screams coming from around the deck.
"Okay. I understand that we're all stressed here, so if we could all speak one at a time," Charlie said, "We can figure this out-"
"Lady, we don't have fucking time for it! Take a look around! We don't have any time left!" Blitzo shouted, "Come on!"
Blitzo bent over and winced in pain, holding onto the railing while clearly struggling to stand upright.
He pointed down towards the front of the ship, which had completely slipped beneath the waves. Swaths of passengers ran from the approaching flood, and it was in that instance that she realized just how quickly their window of opportunity was closing. The ship's incline was getting worse by the minute, and judging from the speed of the flooding up front, they didn't even have an hour left.
One hour to get off of the ship in one piece
This vacation has gone to utter horseshit.
"What did you do to my daughter?!" Stolas hissed, "WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO HER?!"
Moxxie stepped up, waving his hands and trying to calm Stolas down, "Monte grabbed her and brought her into the cabin where he was keeping me," he took in a breath, "And the room began to flood. We got out and pushed through the hallway, and they found us there. He had a blessed gun or something," Moxxie paused, eyes glazing over for a split second, "And he blasted us. He got Octavia in the back, and he got me in the shoulder. We got to the grand staircase before she stopped responding, and that's when I found Charlie over here. She used some special blue potion on us," Moxxie pointed to their glowing scars, "And she patched us up before taking us up here."
"Speaking of which, before anything else, you look like you need some of this." Charlie said, taking out the same blue bottle and pouring some of the liquid on Blitzo's shoulder.
Stolas's expression relaxed slightly, and he turned to Charlie, "It's blue. Something angelic, right?"
Charlie nodded, "Juice from the plants of the Archangel's garden. I hope you don't mind my use of it."
He started back at Octavia' Moxxie handing her over to Stolas.
"She'll wake up soon," Charlie said, "It takes some time to work."
Right on cue, Octavia's eyes opened slightly, staring her father in the face.
"Dad?" she muttered weakly, "That you?"
Stolas smiled sweetly, and held his daughter close, Millie not able to help but smile at the sight of such a heartwarming reunion. First she got to see Moxxie again, and now Stolas had his daughter back. It had been a long, long time since they had been the recipient of so much good fortune.
"Yes it is," Stolas said with a voice that only a father could possess, "You're safe now."
Even the princess seemed to be having trouble containing herself, a grin spreading from ear to ear.
"Aww," Charlie cooed, "I'm a sucker for reunions."
While Stolas and Octavia were finally together again, the rest of IMP approached Moxxie, having thought he was dead just a few minutes ago. Blitzo rose to his feet as the once gaping wound in his side turned blue and began to glow, before the light began to slowly fade, whatever special potion Charlie had given him clearly doing it's job.
"Moxxie!" Blitzo exclaimed, wrapping his arms around the little imp in the first show of affection she had ever seen from the man, "You have no fucking idea how much we missed you. I'm sorry for being such an ass, Moxxie. We're never letting you out of our fucking sight ever again!"
His words had flown out fast, almost like he was on a time limit, but she could tell that he meant them.
"Thanks, Blitz," Moxxie responded, rubbing his head, "I'm glad to be back!"
Loona came up to him next, and Millie stood back and watched. She was curious as to how this was going to turn out, especially after what they had said to each other during their rescue mission.
"What did they do to you?" Loona asked with anger in her voice, noticing all the same injuries that Millie had, "WHAT THE HELL DID THEY DO?!"
Moxxie shied back at the sound of her yelling, not used to Loona screaming at anybody but him.
"N-No, I'm not yelling at you, okay?" she grunted, "Fuck. I'm sorry for the last few years, okay? It's out of the way now. Are you fucking happy?"
Man, they're just plowing through the apologies, aren't they?
I never thought I'd see them do that.
The wording was harsh, but from the look on Moxxie's face, he accepted their apologies. His easily forgiving nature backfired on him sometimes but that night it was working to his benefit, and had put to rest years upon years of high tensions and petty resentment.
"Thank you, both of you," Moxxie said, "Now, I can fill you all in, but can we try to get the hell off of this ship first? I've almost drowned enough times today and I don't want to do it again."
"I'm with you there," Charlie said, extending a hand to the rest of the group, "Princess Charlie Mange at your service."
"Alright then, let's blow this popsicle stand!" Blitzo hollered, "And fast."
He was right. The water was quickly making its way to the upper decks, and the number of lifeboats was already beginning to diminish. There was also a supply-and-demand bottleneck that was beginning to form, with only five lifeboats visible to her but thousands of passengers crowding the deck in hopes of getting a spot.
The closest boat was a decent hike forward, not too far from the approaching water on the left side of the ship. Not only was the boat listing forward, but there was a noticeable list to the left as well.
"So, um, Moxxie?" Charlie said, in an effort to make conversation, "I got that name right, right?"
"Yes," Moxxie replied, sounding awkward, "And over here we have my wife Millie, my boss Blitz, our receptionist Loona, and you seem to already know the Goetias."
Millie and the others bowed out of courtesy, not sure how to address somebody of such a high status. And Millie thought Stolas was a big shot.
"Well, it's a pleasure to meet all of you," Charlie said, "You seem like good people."
She was even more awestruck at the idea of somebody like Charlie addressing imps and hellhounds with such respect. To have a member of the Magne royal family talking to them as if they were equals, was something that she thought she would never see. Imps and hellhounds were used to being society's scapegoats, not being seen as equals.
"Thank you," Millie said, piping up before Blitzo said something inappropriate like he always did, "You seem nice too."
"I understand that you guys have some...issues with a couple of rich folks? Stella and, er, what was the other one's name?" Charlie asked, "Your friend mentioned it but I can't remember it anymore."
"Monte," Moxxie replied, his voice darkening with an edge that Millie had never heard in him before, "Monte Heish."
There was a pause as the words sank in, nobody wanting to send Moxxie or Octavia over the edge. She didn't even want to think about what those two had been through, and all she wanted to do was snap her finger and make it better for them, even though she knew it was impossible.
"...right, okay," Charlie said, "From what I've been told, these guys are out to get you for some reason, right?"
"Yep," Blitzo said, "Bastards have been trying to kill us for the last five days."
"And I'm not lettin' them get to my Mox!" Millie said, keeping Moxxie close to her, "I'm not losin' you again."
"Well, I'll do anything I can to get you all out of here safely. I swear on it," Charlie said, "And you'll help too, right Vaggie?"
The grey demon, apparently named Vaggie, sighed and reluctantly raised a hand, "Yes, fine, whatever."
"Great!" Charlie beamed, pecking her wife on the cheek.
A bang coming from above their heads caught Millie's attention, looking up to see a bright light coming from the sky, a firework going off and casting the ship in a white glow.
"Distress flares," Vaggie sighed, "We're running out of time."
They picked up the pace until the crowd forced them to stop. The lifeboat was packed to near capacity, and there was a crowd of officers standing in front of the boat trying to maintain order, holding up threatening looking guns and shouting orders, their navy-blue uniforms matching the color of the water below.
"Keep order!" one of them shouted, "I will happily shoot each and every one of you if I have to!"
"Fuck off, copper!" a demon shouted, only to be greeted by three shots to the chest, falling to the ground with a thud.
The officer shouted back, "Any other takers?!"
To her right, Stolas lowered Octavia out of his arms and onto the ground, finally appearing strong enough to walk. Her eyes had heavy bags beneath them, and she had many of the same bruises and scratches as Moxxie did. It made her sick to think of those two treating innocents so cruelly, over something as petty as an affair. She gave Charlie and Vaggie a surprised look, but quickly turned away to focus on the survival situation.
"Come on," Charlie called out, pushing through the crowd and trying to make a mad dash for the front, "We're going!"
As they inched closer, they saw the lifeboat being lowered down the side of the ship, and the group took off to try and squeeze themselves in, only to be met by the cold stare of one of the ship's officers.
"What do you want?" the man barked with an annoyed tone. He peered over the edge, "This boat's taken."
"It's not even half full, dipshit!" Blitzo suddenly spoke up, "Look at it!"
Millie peered over the edge of the ship, and saw the faces of shivering passengers huddled together in a large lifeboat. They were all congregated towards the back of the boat, which made the boat appear slanted as it went down.
What caught her attention though, was the emptiness of the boat. Sure, there was a group of passengers at the back side, but other than that, the raft was empty. There couldn't have been more than twelve demons in the group, and possibly even less than that. It wasn't like they were early on in the sinking, either, the ship was clearly going down. Why would they waste such precious space? Especially with the ship's severe lack of lifeboats. Did the officers not know that their incompetence was going to get people killed?
"Listen to me, buckaroo," Blitzo shouted again, getting up in the officer's face, "I'm not one to make a scene…"
Millie rolled his eyes at the comment.
"...actually fuck that, I am. I'll gouge your eyes out and skullfuck you if it means you and your blue friends can bring that godforsaken raft up and get us the hell out of here!"
"Sorry," the officer shrugged, clearly not caring, "There's nothing I can do."
"Bullshit!"
While Blitzo bickered with the officer, Millie turned around and looked over to Stolas, who had been eerily silent the entire time.
"Excuse me, sir," Charlie said, extending a hand, "Charlie Magne. You might know me as-"
"The Princess of Hell!" the officer shouted, suddenly completely forgetting about Blitzo and focusing all of his attention on Charlie, stammering and tripping over his words, "I'm so sorry, please go right ahead!"
She and Vaggie stepped into the boat, while Octavia and Stolas were close behind. Millie held Moxxie's hand and followed, with Blitzo and Loona trailing the pack.
However, once Vaggie and Charlie stepped on, it was like a switch went off in the crowd.
Demon after demon swarmed the and rushed into the boat, Millie falling to the ground and feeling the sharp heels and shoes of the passengers digging into her neck and spine. Moxxie hit the ground with her, winching with each step.
"Hey!" she shouted, "Get off us! We were here first!"
The crowd stepped over them for what felt like forever, before she was finally able to catch a break and pull herself up, Moxxie doing the same, rubbing his head and brushing footprints off of his battered clothing.
"Have some manners!" Moxxie shouted, "It's very rude to step on people!"
Millie's heart sank when she saw what had happened in the short few minutes they were on the ground.
The boat was now almost full to capacity, and the officers were forming a blockade and preparing to lower it into the sea, Charlie and Vaggie shooting them desperate and fearful looks from inside.
"Officer, wait!" Charlie called out, pointing to Millie and the rest of the group, "Let them on!"
The officers turned around and faced them, the one that had arrested Blitzo scoffing and waving a hand dismissively at them.
To his left, however, the other officer seemed a tad bit more compassionate.
"How many do we have in this one?" he asked.
"Seventy three. We can't take anymore weight," the other officer responded.
There was indecision in the sympathetic officer's face, while his companion looked ready to kill. Millie held her breath as the seconds ticked by, waiting to see what the man would say, his next words about to make or break them.
"I'm sorry, but we can't safely allow anyone else on. We could maybe push for one.. We're already overloaded as it is and any more weight could sink the boat," he hung his head, "I'm sorry."
"Who's it gonna be?" Blitzo hollered, turning around and waving a hand, "I can stay on, at least for now."
Millie wasn't leaving without Moxxie,, and Loona didn't seem to be making any swift moves to hop on either. Blitzo wasn't going anywhere as long as Loona was on the ship, which only left a few people.
She heard Stolas shout from behind, "What about Octavia?!"
"Dad, no!" Octavia shouted, still seeming delirious and tired, barely able to stand up straight, "I'm not going without you!"
Stolas seemed to swallow hard, looking down at his daughter with remorse, the screams of passengers filling the painful silence. His brow furrowed in concentration, looking behind him at the few lifeboats that remained, and then towards the officer.
He knelt down to Octavia's eye level, and spoke gently to her, putting his hands around her shoulders and breathing deeply. Although Millie was having trouble hearing over the shouts floating across the deck, she managed to make out his words.
"Via…" Stolas breathed again, his voice low and solemn, "You go in. I'll catch up with you."
"No!" she demanded, clinging to him even tighter. It was one of the few times Millie had seen her openly showing affection towards Stolas without seeming disgusted, and knowing the circumstances that had led to that moment, she felt like she was going to be sick. No parent should have to send their child off like this, ever.
"There'll be another boat for me, I promise." he said, knowing full-well that there was a fifty-fifty chance that he would be dead in an hour., "Get in."
"Bu-" Octavia started.
"Get in. I'm not asking you."
Octavia gave him one last hug before reluctantly climbing into the overflowing lifeboat with the help of an officer. Even in such a delirious state, Octavia still cared about her father, refusing to leave him until the very end. And seeing it broke her heart.
Another distress flare suddenly illuminated the sky, each one of their desperate cries for help going unanswered. She wondered if the flares were going to do the ship any good, since she wasn't able to make out any other ships nearby. Then again, for all she knew there was probably some vessel nearby that was obscured by the fog or something, and the flares would get their attention. If it was doing anything to increase their chances of survival, she would take it, no matter what it was.
Millie could only stand by and watch with defeat, as the Goetias were once again separated only a few short moments after being reunited. She couldn't imagine the pain Stolas and Octavia were going through.
"Goodbye, Via," Stolas said solemnly, before pointing to Vaggie and Charlie, "Keep an eye on her, you two, okay?"
"Yes sir," Charlie responded, "She's in good hands."
"Lower away," the officer ordered, as two seamen at either side of the boat slowly released the wad of rope in their hands, the boat sinking lower and lower beneath the deck.
Stolas stood at the front of the crowd, watching with tearful eyes as his daughter drifted further and further away from him. Millie's heart ached at the sight of such a distraught man, who had done nothing to deserve such hell being imposed on him. They both knew that there was a decent chance neither of them would see the light of day ever again, and Octavia was aware of it too, only making their separation more painful and heart wrenching. And Millie was an assassin for a living, it took a lot to get her to tear up.
Charlie and Vaggie were pleading with the officers all the way down, their requests being met with stoic silence. The last thing she saw was their defeated expressions as the boat hit the water, disappearing over the side of the ship and sailing away to safety.
Stolas turned up to the sky, as if waiting for something to happen, before turning back to join them, Blitzo placing a comforting hand on his shoulder with the help of Loona giving him a boost.
One of the officers in charge of lowering ran up to the group with lifejackets, the white material embroidered with the ship's signature outline in the top right corner.
"Here," he said, "Best we can do. You'll want these."
Millie graciously accepted the jackets, passing them around as they ditched the lifeboat and moved on to try and find another, watching as water foamed only a couple decks down.
"Lucky bastards…" Blitzo muttered. He turned and shouted to the boat, "Hey, floaty-bitches, got any room for one more?"
The only response he received was a middle finger from a sharply dressed demon with a fedora., shouting something at them that Millie couldn't hear. Blitzo raised his fist and took in a breath, preparing to scream, before suddenly stopping and instead spitting in the direction of the boat.
"What exactly did that solve?" Moxxie huffed, "It's not like they're going to magically turn around and save us because you spit at them."
"Shut up, possum!"
"I am not a possum!"
Blitzo shook his head.
"C'mon, M&M, these bitches aren't coming back for us."
Stolas looked distraught, but moved along anyway, his attention seeming to be somewhere else other than on them.
Millie caught one last glance of the boat before they ran away, spotting Octavia's small figure amongst the passengers, with Charlie and Vaggie at her side.
At least one of us is going to survive.
She took Moxxie's hand, and they began their search for another lifeboat, not wanting to let him out of her sight for so much as a second. She wasn't going to let him get taken, not after all they had been through.
"Stay with me, Mox," she said, "I'm not letting us get separated again."
Octavia stared back at the ship, fading in and out of lucidity.
She had no memory of coming up on deck, nor did she have any memory of somehow meeting up with the Princess of hell. The last thing she remembered was being in the hallway with Moxxie, and feeling terribly dizzy.
The next thing she knew, she was being taken into a lifeboat and away from her father, and now she stared back at him with sorry eyes as the officers began the lowering process, feeling helpless as they stood on the deck with no other options than to try and fight through the crowd.
"Dad!" she called out weakly, not caring anymore how childish she sounded, "I'm not leaving you behind!"
But it was no use. No amount of pleading would get him off the ship. Even the Princess was shouting out, although Octavia wasn't sure what they had to do with her group yet. If she didn't know any better, she would've assumed she was trapped in some sort of horrible dream.
"Let them on!" Princess Charlie shouted, "Let them take my spot!"
Of course Charlie was the one trying to give up her spot. After all she had heard about her, it didn't come as any surprise. Such compassion had been wasted on a demon instead of going to a more heavenly being. If she didn't know better, she would've assumed that she was some angel in disguise, or something along those lines. It didn't make sense for a demon to embody such noble values.
Recovering from a shot from a blessed bullet wasn't as easy as once thought, however, and Octavia found herself struggling to stay lucid and on the brink of passing out again, the pain noticeably duller than before.
"Hey, Charlie, she ain't looking that good," a grey demon, whose name Octavia remembered as being "Vaggie" said, "You might want to look at that."
The world suddenly began to spin, and Octavia found herself gripping the side of the lifeboat to keep herself from going over the edge. It was like she was in the middle of a whirlpool.
"Hey, are you-" Charlie started, before Octavia fell over and into one of the other lifeboat's seats, her vision clouding.
Confused passengers murmured around her as she fell face-first into a seat, her back exploding once again into pain. The gentle rocking of the boat only furthered her descent into a deep slumber, although this one was injury-induced as opposed to induced by a need for sleep.
"Octavia?" Charlie asked, the last thing Octavia remembered hearing before everything went black for the second time.