Three weeks had now passed since Chain's death and the resulting conflicts between the Gators, Odd Men, and upstart gangs had the Lead Crossers in disarray. By Helmet's decree, Studs was made the new leader of the Lead Crossers, being one of the more popular members, in order to help reorganize the gang and prevent the balance of power in Putang from shifting too drastically. After stabilizing the situation and moderating some negotiations between the three gangs, Helmet invited Studs to stay for a private discussion once the other leaders left.

"I must say, thou hast handled thyself quite well." He said as he poured two cups of wine.

"That's what ya picked me for, right? Get the Crossers' shit together and show those nutcases that I ain't no pushover." Studs said.

"Indeed and I am most pleased to see that I've made a wise choice." Helmet handed Studs a cup, to which he accepted, taking a sip.

"So, what did ya want to talk about?" Studs asked.

"The answer is two fold." Helmet began, "Firstly, to congratulate you on your ascendance and fine diplomatic skills. Secondly, to discuss the nature of Chain's death. As a sign of trust and a precaution, Chain allowed me to select several of his flock, their names and faces not known to him, to act as my eyes and ears and rout any possible traitors within the Crossers, be they among his subordinates...or his successors." Studs suddenly become quite nervous after hearing this. Was this discussion really an interrogation? It certainly seemed so. "So tell me, Studs. Was Chain the traitor? Was his devoted support a mere smoke screen to hide his dealings with the servants of Satan?"

"L-Look, I didn't kill him if tha-"

"That is not what I am asking you." Helmet interrupted, his voice far sterner and assertive as it echoed throughout the room. "Was? He? The Traitor?" Studs was now quite terrified of the knight as a very menacing aura appeared around Helmet. Something told him that if he didn't give a truthful answer, the knight would detect the lie and deliver a swift and painful punishment.

"N-No, he wasn't." Studs answered.

"Are you positive?"

"Yea."

"I see…" Helmet's menacing aura then dissipated, much to Studs' relief, "Then we have lost a dear friend to demonic trickery. I trust these events have taught you an important lesson, Studs."

"So, you know about Bandana's situation then? His fifth of a demon shit?"

Helmet nodded.

"Can you help him?"

"Not in any way that doesn't involve his death." Helmet answered, "All he can do now is resist his new violent nature and pray that the Lord forgives him."

"Can't ya exorcise it out of him or somethin'?"

"Exorcism is the removal of evil spirits from the body. Bandana has allowed the evil to possess his very soul. My hands, blessed as they are, cannot weave the fabric of the soul while it is still in the body. Only God has that power."

"Shit..." Studs muttered, "Well, thanks anyways." He then downed the rest of the wine and handed Helmet the cup before taking his leave.

Entering his home, Studs breathed a sigh of relief and he began to unwind himself after a long day, he heard a voice behind him.

"I see you still live." It spoke, startling Studs as he quickly turned around as he pulled out his gun at whatever was speaking. Out of the shadows, he revealed himself. His curved horns, crimson red skin, zebra colored braid, and eyes like a dark amethyst. "I take it this means the knight knows nothing?"

Studs lowered his gun. "He don't suspect me, no."

"Marvelous." Jackboot grinned, "This turn of events have proven quite favorable to my master. Now we can move on to the next phase of the plan."

Studs quickly shook his head. "Ain't gonna work. Turns out Helm's got a bunch of our guys spying for him. A precaution, he called it. So if we start buildin', he's gonna catch on real quick."

"Surely you know who?"

"Chain didn't know who, because it was agreed between them that he wouldn't. So I don't know either. He really liked suckin' dick it seems."

"Then find out who and kill them!"

"We kill them, Helm's gonna know somethin's up. We gotta be smart about this, man."

"Smart?" A vein on Jackboot's head began to throb, "Did you just insult my intelligence?!"

"Hey, I didn't mean it like that. I was just saying that-"

"You were just saying that what?! That you, a fucking human, are somehow more intelligent than me? That you're better than me?!" He grabbed Studs by the collar of his tank top and hoisted him up, "I have lived over a hundred of your lifetimes and I will live a hundred more! I am more physically capable than you, more experienced, more sophisticated and certainly more intelligent! You are LESS than NOTHING compared to me! You are very, very lucky that my master needs you because otherwise I would kill you right here, right now." He then dropped Studs, who fell to his knees, "I don't care how you blind the knight, as long as you blind him. The first pieces will arrive in a week. That should give you plenty of time. Good day, Mr. Studs." The demon then stepped back into the shadows and was gone.

'A fucking week?' Studs thought to himself as he stood up. That wasn't nearly enough time. He didn't even know where to start searching, let alone find a way to dispose of them without Helmet knowing. He wished Bandana was here, he was the smartest between them, as much as he hated to admit it, but Studs knew that Bandana would never go along with this. That's why he kept his deal with the demons a secret. It was a betrayal and he knew it. But what choice did he have? At least this way, he and Bandana would survive the inevitable victory of Hell over Heaven. Helmet's power was great, but the War of The Penis convinced Studs that his victory was meaningless.

But now was not the time for lamenting, Studs had a task to complete and spies to root out. He had spent the past weeks forming his own inner circle with men who either shared his fears or found serving demons to be far more rewarding than serving a bucket-headed knight and clearing ground for the construction of the Nullsoul machine, but if even one of these spies is allowed to roam around and ends up discovering the pieces, it'll all be for nothing. He had to suspect everyone, from the lowest recruit to his inner circle. He could simply lie about its purpose, but the designs he was shown looked very demonic, so it wouldn't fly.

He ran all possible paths of action in his head until one particular popped in his head. It was paradoxically the safest and most dangerous path. The simplest yet the most complex. The craziest and the sanest.

"Fuck no." Ruka stated bluntly as he leaned against the door into his lot.

"Why the hell not?" Studs asked.

"A myriad of reasons. A few being that my boss is fucking furious at me for not getting her a ghost as well as causing several other humans to die of alcohol poisoning, the fact Bandana that shot off part of my ear, the fact I spent a week in boiling oil, still healing from that by the way if you couldn't tell by my fucking face, and the fact that I honestly just don't fucking like you." Ruka answered, counting the reasons on his fingers.

"Come on, man!" Studs pleaded, "I really need ya! You guys are the only ones I know who can read people's souls. I need the purest motherfuckas I got in my inner circle and bodyguard and shit!"

"You just want people who'll suck the buckethead's cock just as hard as you are, if not harder! I see no reason nor have any desire to help you! Now piss off!"

With that, Ruka slammed the door. To say Studs was disappointed would be a gross understatement. In truth, he was uttered fucked. Without Ruka's help, there was no way he could find the spies in time. He needed to offer Ruka something. Something he can't refuse. Or perhaps something his superior couldn't refuse. But should he take that chance? He then thought back to the Nullsoul Procedure and what it did to humans. How it ripped out their souls and filled them with pure evil, mutating them in monsters. Another thought popped in his head. Involving Bandana. Could it help him? Could it remove the demonic essence inside him without killing him? He had read the blueprints for the machine, thought it was more so skimming, and with the way it functioned, it had to have some reverse switch or something like that.

Studs had backed himself into a corner at this point so if there was any reason to betray Beret, it was the chance to cure his lifelong friend. He knocked on the door again and Ruka was quick to answer.

"Didn't I just tell you to fuck off?!" He yelled.

Studs took a deep breath. "I'm...I'm the traitor."

"What?"

"I contacted Beret and Jackboot, I made the deal with them. Not Chain. I had planned on killing him myself, but thanks to you, Bandana did it for me. I did so because I saw the futility of fighting against Hell after the War of The Penis. If you help me build the Nullsoul machine, I'll-'' It was then that Ruka delivered a very strong punch to Studs' face, knocking him clean out.

After what seemed like an eternity of darkness, Studs woke up to the familiar sensation of being splashed with a bucket full of water.

"Wakey wakey, motherfucker." He heard Ruka say as he shook his head. Studs then looked up and saw Ruka walking past him holding a bucket before noticing someone sitting in front of him. It was a woman, a demon woman by the look of her. Reddish violet skin, dark pink hair, and two horns stemming from the sides of her head. Her posture was straight and proper and her expression was calm.

"So," she spoke, "You're the human responsible for this mess."

Studs nodded between breaths. "Yea...I am." He then turned to face Ruka, who let out a low growl at him, before looking back at the woman. "And I'm guessing you're Ruka's boss."

The woman nodded, "Trenchcoat. Now that we've gotten introductions out of the way…" She then stood up, walking over to Studs. Clenching her fist, she delivered a swift and hard punch to Studs' gut, causing him to lurch forward and nearly throw up his lunch. "That's for going to Beret when you should've come to me for a deal!" Trenchcoat then followed up her sucker punch by grabbing the bucket from Ruka's hand and whacking Studs in the back of the head with it. "That's for trying to cause Judgement Day! And this-" She grabbed Studs' nipples and twisted hard, making Studs cry out in pain. "-IS FOR MAKING ME WASTE PRECIOUS TIME AND EFFORT DISCIPLING MY EMPLOYEES!" After Trenchcoat finished giving Studs a purple nurple, she walked back to her chair and sat down. "Now then, I'm ready to hear your offer."

"My...offer?" Studs asked.

"Yes, your offer." Trenchcoat answered. "The one you were offering Ruka before he knocked you out."

"You...You don't wanna know why I betrayed Chain? Why I'm sidin' with Hell? Why I went to Beret and not you?"

"No. With you humans, it's always either for power, a promise of returning a loved one to life, or some sense of realized futility and I, frankly, don't give two shits which it is. You went to my employee, wanting his services in exchange for something that you, the new leader of The Lead Crossers, are willing to give and fuck over Beret in the process, an event that would be most satisfying to me. That's all I really care about. Now state your offer. I'm a very busy woman."

"R-Right...well um..." Studs cleared his throat and sat up straight, "I want...I need y'all's help to root out spies in my ranks that are loyal to Helmet so I can build the Nullsoul machine without him finding out. With the way it works, I think it can help take out the demon shit from my friend's soul. In exchange, I'll pledge myself to you. All my resources, all my men, and my position on Helmet's council. All your's to do whatever crazy demonic shit you want with."

"Done." Trenchcoat said almost immediately, clasping her hands. "We'll discuss a proper contract after the machine is destroyed. Ruka, sedate him please."

Before Studs could object, Ruka delivered a swift blow to the back of his head, knocking him out once more. He eventually awoke again, this time laying in his living room instead of tied to a chair in a dark room. He picked himself up and rubbed the back of his head before he noticed a piece of paper with writing on it taped to his chest. He took it off and read it.

'Meet us at the factory when you've recovered. - Ruka

P.S. Trenchcoat is desperate for a victory over Beret. That's why she accepted your offer so quickly. If I had my way, I would've gutted you like a fish back at my lot, but Vest convinced me otherwise so consider yourself lucky. Or very unlucky if this turns out to be more manipulating bullshit because I'll make you wish you never woke up.'

"Fuck me, man…" Studs said to himself, letting the note fall out of his hand. He was already starting to regret this decision.

The following evening, Studs drove to the parking lot across from the factory, where he saw Ruka, who was in his earlier human disguise, and three others, undoubtedly his fellow demons in their own disguises, waiting for him. He took a long and deep breath before getting out and approached the hellspawn. "Ruka." He said with a nod.

Ruka said nothing however, instead hopping from the roof of his car and stood face to face with Studs, making direct eye contact. After a few moments, Ruka spoke. "Do you really think it can help him?"

The question confused Studs. "I thought you didn't give a shit about Bandana."

"Not at first, to be frank." Ruka began, taking a step back, "It was either he lose his soul or I spend the rest of eternity suffering the sights and sounds of Hell again. Wasn't a hard choice for me. But I admit throughout the weeks we've known each other, I exactly started enjoying his company and I regret how that night ended."

"Then why let it slip?"

"Cause I decided to be a dumbass and drink myself to unconsciousness. For a wrathion like me, sleeping at all runs the risk of going into a temper tantrum when I wake up and the argument we had got me so heated it negated my medicine before it could really take effect. So after tonight, if you can still reach Bandana, tell him that for what it's worth...I'm sorry for using him the way I did and I wish it had been someone else."

Studs was surprised, to say the least. He didn't expect a demon to show any regret for his actions, let alone apologize for them. "I'll...I'll let him know, but I ain't sure he'll accept it, man. He's strugglin' at the moment."

"I wouldn't blame him if he didn't. Now then, introductions." Ruka then gestured to the blue haired demon in disguise. "This is Vest, my partner here on the surface."

"Heya." Vest greeted.

Ruka then gestured to the women with a purple side cut. "Choker, my boss's second and an annoying chatterbox."

"Hey, I'm not annoying!" Choker exclaimed, "I just like conversation."

Finally, Ruka pointed to a much shorter woman with silver wavy hair who was browsing her phone as she chewed bubblegum. "And this is Thong, one of our tech experts and local midget."

Thong simply flipped Ruka off in response.

"Why so many of y'all here?" Studs asked.

"Well, considering we'll likely have to screen every Crosser in this fucking city, Trenchcoat figured it best if you had as much help as possible."

"Huh, that's nice of her."

"HA! That's a good one!" Thong commented.

"Yea, nice isn't in Trenchcoat's vocabulary." Vest added.

"Oh come on, guys!" Choker interjected. "You know she's overwhelmed these days. Can you really blame her for being a bit snippy?"

"She beat me! With a crowbar!" Vest exclaimed.

"Would you rather have been fired?!"

"As a matter of fact, yes!"

"I would too, to be frank." Thong added.

"For fuck's sake!" Ruka shouted, "Can you all shut the fuck up?!"

"Sooo, how long do ya think it'll check them all?" Studs asked.

"How long do you have until the parts arrive?" Ruka asked in return after calming himself down.

"About a week."

"Then it'll take a week. Now then…" Ruka clasped his hands and turned to his fellow demons, "You all know what we have to do and you know what's at stake here so all I'm gonna say is this: We're not just here to help the humans and expand our own influence in the mortal world. We're here to send a message to Beret and every other egotistical cocksucker back in Hell that if they encroach our turf and try to take the mortal territories we have jurisdiction over, they will get fucked. And fucked. HARD. So when that shit eater Jackboot shows his face, we're gonna send him back to his boss in a fucking casket!"

"Yeah!" The three demons cheered and, along with Ruka, began discreetly gazing into the eyes of every Lead Crosser in the city, determining who among them had the purest souls and thus potential ties to Helmet. Whenever a spy was discovered, they would be marked down a list and the list got longer and longer with every day that passed. As it turned out, those with the purest souls commanded their own slice of territory among the gang and a decent number of men, some of them knowing their superior's true allegiance and converted to Helmet's cause. So deep the infiltration was that if the Crossers split in a civil war, Studs would likely lose.

"This is some bullshit!" Studs shouted, slamming a fist on his desk.

"Sin Sight never lies, Studs." Ruka said, "Seems you weren't as popular as you thought you were."

"This is fuckin' Chain's fault! If I had know his bitch ass would suck Helmet's dick this hard, I would'a killed him a lot sooner!"

"Well it's too late for that now." Vest said, "We need to figure out what to do next."

"The fuck can we do?" Ruka asked, "We can't kill them, can't bribe them, can't send them all off on some gangbanger bullshit while we build the thing."

"There's gotta be something we can do." Choker stated, scratching her head.

"Can't Studs just, like, tell them it's not a soul sucking machine of evil?" Thong asked nonchalantly as she texted on her phone, prompting the other three demons to turn to Studs.

"Motherfucka, have y'all seen the designs on this thing?" Studs asked in returned, "It fuckin' screams evil. They ain't that stupid."

"No offense," Ruka began, "but if you humans can believe that shit like diet soda being healthier than regular soda, you'll believe anything."

Studs opened his mouth to speak but hesitated. "...Okay, I see your point. But I seriously doubt they'll fall for it."

"Won't know until we try." Vest commented.

Studs nodded in agreement. "Let's hope my faith in people is misplaced then."

The next day, several crates, larger than what the Crossers normally got from their partners in South America, arrived at the FizzJizz factory. Upon hearing of this, Studs immediately made his way to the storage area and opened one of them, revealing a large black metal machine component among the packages of cocaine. The Crossers around him were both stunned and confused by this.

"What the hell is that?" One of them asked.

"This," Studs began, "is part of a gift, fellas. A gift to y'all. A gift to this city! Once it's built, our lives will be made easier than ever!"

"What's it do?" Another crosser asked.

"It'll make our lives easier."

"How though?"

"Just shut the hell up and get the rest of the parts out so we can build the damn thing, aight?"

"Whatever you say, boss." With that, the Crossers started opening the rest of the crates and gathering the machine pieces from inside, bringing them to the manufacturing section of the factory. Under Studs' supervision and with help from Ruka, Vest, Choker, and Thong, they worked day in and day out, replacing the normal FizzJizz machinery with the black, spiky, and very demonic looking machinery, adjusting wires, attaching tubes, and screwing on bolts and after bolts. When the final nut was tightened on, the machine was a sight to behold.

From top to bottom, it was adorned with sickening, twisted spikes and on it's center plain for all to see was a massive 'B'. Undoubtedly for Beret. At its bottom was a door which led into a chamber where the Nullsoulifcation would take place. Studs looked on at the tool meant for this most sinister, vile, and unnatural purpose and felt a strange sort of pride having built something so impressive.

"Alright, we built the fucker. Now what?" Ruka asked, approaching Studs from behind with his fellow demons in tow.

"Now all we need is a power source." Studs answered, still gazing at the soul-sucking machine of evil.

"But we plugged all those wires and stuff into the factory's power supply." Choker commented, "Shouldn't that be enough?"

"Not really." Thong answered, "Electricity serves more as a supplement. To really power it, what we would need is-"

"A ghoststone!" A voice behind them exclaimed. Studs and the demons quickly turned around and there stood Jackboot with a smug grin on his face and holding a large ghoststone on his side. Before the four demons could unsheathe their weapons, tentacles reached out from all directions, grabbing hold of their limbs, restraining them and hoisting them up in the air. The source of tentacles revealed themselves to be octopus-like ghosts as they climbed down from the ceiling.

"You know, any other demon would be quite disappointed in you, Studs." Jackboot began as he approached the Crosser boss, "But I am not surprised in the slightest. If anything, this simply proves the stupidity of mortals and thus their inferiority. Though I do find this particular situation quite delicious. Trenchcoat's backwards and dimwitted servants putting forth hard labor to construct the very tool of her rival's success." He soon stopped in his approach, standing face to face with Studs. "And for what? Let me guess: Your miserable friend who you not allowed to damn himself, but used to do your own dirty work?"

"I didn't think he'd straight up kill Chain and I sure as hell didn't know about his deal with Ruka til after the fact." Stud retorted.

"But you knew he was a demon, didn't you? And still, you didn't even bother warning him of the consequences. You've betrayed him, lied to him, and used him. Some friend you are." Those last words cut Studs deep. It was the truth. He knew Ruka was just after Bandana's soul when he made the deal and he said nothing to warn him, he was the traitor and lied to Bandana by pinning the blame on Chain, and though it was not his intention, he had indirectly used Bandana to carry out what was an assassination. As if his guilt and despair weighed him down, he fell to his knees. The wretched state of Studs was a pleasing sight to Jackboot. The only thing he enjoyed more than manipulating mortals was breaking them and all he had to do was state simple facts.

He handed off the ghoststone to the octopus ghost next to him and lifted Studs' head with a finger. "Don't feel too bad, Studs. You did do one thing right: You held your end of the deal. So it's only appropriate that I held up mine." Taking his finger off Studs' chin, Jackboot reached down to grab his left boot, which transformed into a heavy pistol and pointed at Studs' head. "Enjoy demonhood." He pulled the trigger and a sound of thunder echoed throughout the room. Studs' lifeless body fell to the side and a pool of blood formed around his head as it flowed from the new hole in his skull. Everyone, including Ruka and his fellow demons, were shocked by what just happened.

Wiping the blood off his face, Jackboot turned to the surrounding Crossers, who all had their guns out and ready to kill the murdering demon. "Mortals!" Jackboot began as the octopus ghost placed the ghoststone into the main socket, "Hear me! The twilight of Heaven's rule over creation is at hand! I give you a choice!" He points to the machine's door, "Pledge your allegiance to Hell, step into the machine, and be granted power unlike any you've ever experienced!" He then gestured to Studs' corpse, "Or join not only your leader but all heaven-worshipping fools in a pointless death! In this life and the next!" As he spoke, The machine then began to rumble, groan, and finally boom as an eerie purple light emitted throughout.

"Don't listen to him! The Procedure will-" Vest said before the octopus ghost wrapped a tentacle around his mouth. Jackboot looked around for any who would accept this dark gift, but the Crossers kept their guns locked onto him. That is, until four of them step forwarded. They were members of Studs inner circle and now that they had an opportunity to take the city for themselves and give Hell it's greatest victory, they were going to take full advantage of it. They stepped inside the chamber and closed the door behind them. Jackboot then pulled a lever beside the door and the machine roared, hissed, churned, and glowed brightly as the four Crossers inside screamed in pain. Looking through the tiny round window on the door, one could see their silhouettes moving about in agony as their arms and heads contorted in a grotesque fashion, changing in shape and length.

With a final whine, the machine ceased it's churning and the screams fell silent. The door then slowly opened, a dark mist seeping out of the chamber. After a brief moment of suspense, an elongated hand reached out and grabbed the doorframe, followed by a foul mockery of the human visage with dark swirling eyes and a lack of ears. Stepping out of the chamber fully, it's sight filled the Crossers with a mixture of awe and horror, while it filled Jackboot with delight. An unholy, unnatural, and unspeakably perverse union of ghost and mortal flesh. It's sickly purple skin glistening in the bright lamp lights from the ceiling. This first horror was then followed by a second that was just as terrifying and grotesque as the first, then a third, then a fourth.

Jackboot was grinning from ear to ear as he gazed upon these fine new servants of Hell when he heard a Crossers call out.

"This is fucked up! Ain't no way I'm turnin' myself into that! You can go fuck yourself!" He then fired his pistol at Jackboot, only for one of the Nullsouled horrors to appear in front of the bullets, taking every one of them to it's chest and another to appear behind the defiant Crosser. With it's spear-like claws, the horror impaled the Crosser through the chest, hoisting him up and throwing him to the side, his body hitting the ground with a wet thud.

"Anyone else feeling brave today?!" Jackboot shouted, "No? Good! Those who do not wish for this gift, prepare yourselves for war. Tonight, we take this city! Tomorrow, all of Creation!" As if on cue, the four horrors let out a blood curdling, almost ecstatic shriek. Ruka and his fellows could look on in frustration and woe as Crossers began lowering their guns and lining up to become Nullsouled themselves.

Meanwhile, in a shanty motel in the far outskirts of Putang, a bald and shirtless man with dark maroon skin knelt before an altar to God, clutching tightly his cross necklace tightly as he mumbled various prayers of calmness and control lest the beastial creature within his soul take hold of him. As he prayed, he heard a faint noise in his ear. A whisper? No, an exhale. A dying breath. He ceased his prayers and listened for it again.

"...Bans, I fucked up big time…"

He opened his eyes, revealing their slit pupils and fiery colors.