This chapter is basically kind of a culmination of many things in this story, but it's not the end yet.
Chapter 4
"You deserve better"
Millie finally finished patching Moxxie's hand up. It still hurt, but at least now he could move around without as big risk of getting an infection. And thankfully their next part of the job was about to be easier than this. But before they got to it he decided to go out of this office and ask Loona about what happened while they were away.
"What do you wanna know Fatty?" Loona asked seemingly disinterested as she was checking something on her phone.
"Did Blitzo or anyone else came here while we were away?" Moxxie asked her, hoping she would actually listen
"Yeah. Some clients came here, told them to come another day. If thy didn't want to or got too grabby I beat them up." Loona explained
In that moment Moxxie noticed few bloodstains on the wall and some teeth on the carpet. Seems like her fun night with Millie was of some use for her.
"And Blitzo?" Moxxie asked
"Yeah. Him too." Those words made Moxxie a bit worried, but Loona didn't seem to care "He came back for some stuff. Said Stolas had a few ideas that didn't involve the book."
"Didn't he ask about the book?" Moxxie got a bit more worried
"Don't get your tail all riled up. I put this here..." She showed Moxxie the box he painted to look like the book of Stolas "And he didn't seem to notice."
"Wait! It actually worked?!" Moxxie was in disbelief then whispered to himself "Huh... Maybe I have some skill in art... or Blitzo is just that stupid..."
"Second one." Loona answered his quiet thought that she obviously heard
"Yeah... I figured..." Moxxie abandoned his newfound passion before it even became one "Also didn't he ask about us?"
"I just told him you were on some date. Told him you didn't tell me where." Loona said
"Thanks Loona." Moxxie said with a smile. Loona seemed... annoyed by it, but...
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Just get on with that thing you do. I want my money." Loona pointed at the doors where Clara and Millie waited. Moxxie started going back "Good luck Mox..."
Loona said it quietly. Probably didn't want him to hear it... But he did. Hearing those words was... heartwarming for him, to say the least. But he decided to not say anything. He went in and closed the doors behind him.
"Okay... For now everything seems to be okay." Moxxie said as he stood before Millie and Clara. Millie was sitting on Blitzo's desk and Clara was standing in the middle of the office "Now onto the next part..."
"Go to the living world and make sure the kids that choose to go, make it there safely." Clara was very serious about this
"And then we go back and take Mrs. Mayberry to meet them." Millie finished
"You know you can call me Clara right?" Clara said to her
"Oh... Okay Clara!" Millie seemed pleased with that.
"And you will get about an hour of time. That should be enough for you to talk and not bring any attention to yourselves..." Moxxie said to Clara. She answered with a nod, but she seemed to be not that happy about that last part. "Eh... I know you would like more, but... We also need to be very careful... Any more time could-"
"No no... I understand..." She interrupted him "I just... wish I never had to do this in the first place..."
"You know Clara... We need to make best of what we do have!" Millie tried to encourage her "I'm sure you can make best of this hour!"
"...Maybe" It seemed to help "Soon kids should start going out... If any of them will..."
"Right..." Moxxie understood and turned to his wife "Millie?"
"Ready Mox!" Millie answered as she got up from the desk and got closer to him and gave him a kiss on the cheek which seemed to give him far more energy "For good luck!"
"Thanks!" Moxxie said as he hugged her with one arm and opened the portal with the book in his other arm.
"Good luck!" Clara said to them
Both of them smiled at her and then went into the portal which then closed, leaving Mrs. Mayberry alone in this office. She decided to sit down on the desk. It was going to be a long wait... She had to mentally prepare herself... To face children she cared so much for... children that she failed.
"Can I even pray to God anymore?" She asked herself quietly "Ask for it to not be a disaster?"
But before she got to the answer doors opened and Loona stepped in and sat beside her, still in the phone in her hand. Both of them had some time to pass as they waited for Moxxie and Millie to come back for the first time and Clara decided to tell her the story of how she got there, of her life as a teacher. This Hellhound didn't seem particularly interested, but she could tell she was listening. Now she wondered why was she here... Then she felt slight bump on her shoulder.
"Whether it's a miracle or disaster doesn't matter..." Loona said without care in her voice "As far as I know you wanted this to happen so... why bother caring how well it will go?"
Then Loona went back to her phone... Mrs. Mayberry in a way understood what she said. She wanted to meet them again... Whether it goes well or... terrible, is out of the question. What she wants is to meet them again. And she should make the best of what she gets. Even if it is a disaster...
"Thanks..." She said to Loona who didn't seem to pay attention again
The way she dressed, the way she talked and moved... Clara wondered how good of a teacher she could have been for her if she winded up being born here. But those thoughts she quickly dismissed. Now she had to focus on not screwing this up. It's now or never.
In Human World an hour later
Moxxie and Millie went to their respective sides of the city to watch over the children. Moxxie was now monitoring house of Rosie. If both Rosie and Eddie wanted to go Moxxie knew that she would be in far more danger on the way than Eddie, he looked like a strong kid who can handle himself given his skill with a gun, but Rosie was definitely far more fragile here. Moxxie was now hiding on the tree nearby, looking through the lense of his rifle. The house was mostly dark outside of one window, the window that lead to Rosie's room. He could see the girl through this window. She was putting on a pink jacket and a hat. Seems like she WAS going to the meeting, but he could also see that she looked... scared and sad. It was definitely a shock for her to get a message from her dead teacher, the one that hurt her... Then the lights in the room where turned off. Moxxie stopped looking there and put his gun down. He had to prepare now for her to come out.
But once he looked around the house he saw someone nearby going up to this house. It was Eddie. He unlike Rosie still had his usual outfit that Moxxie saw him wearing at his house. Moxxie also noticed that he had a shotgun on his back. Moxxie got a bit scared about that and decided to keep his gun ready. Maybe this news made Eddie go crazy or something. But he just stood there before the house, not doing anything, sometimes going back and forth. Finally the doors opened and Rosie quietly came out. She seemed happy to see her classmate.
"Eddie!" Rosie was as quiet as she could
She quickly came up to him and gave him a hug Eddie returned it, but...
"Ow!" just touching her neck seemed to cause her pain.
"Sorry!" Eddie quickly let go of her "Are ya okay?"
"No. It's okay..." She answered as she stopped her hugging "So... You got that too?"
"Ye... It's one creepy thing let me tell ya that!" Eddie said as he pulled out the letter from his shirt "But... It did sound like her..."
Rosie also pulled out her letter. Both of them were clearly uneasy about this whole thing. Then Rosie seemed to notice Eddie's shotgun.
"Umm...What do you need that for?" Rosie pointed at it, clearly concerned.
"There are lots of creeps out there!" He said as he pulled the gun from his back "And I felt like I should keep em away from you!"
"Oh..." Then her smile returned "Thanks Eddie."
Both of them smiled and looked in the direction of the cemetery. Eddie just pointed there with his shotgun and Rosie slowly nodded. And both of them went in that direction. This whole thing made Moxxie very relieved and happy. Eddie is a good kid and he most likely can protect her. It was quite heartwarming for the imp. It was clear for Moxxie that there was a very strong bond between them... He really hoped he would see none of them in hell. That thought made him go back to Clara, but he had to keep focus and went after them.
Millie's perspective
Millie was now wearing her Mailman hat and looked over the block where Ariel lived. When she first arrived she saw Albert going in there. Maybe they contacted each other and decided to go there together? As Millie was sitting before the block at the bench she couldn't stop shaking at what was about to happen. They are going to release a Sinner into human world. It felt all kinds of wrong. She was afraid. What if she never sees her family again? What if God suddenly notices and erases her from existence, what if... Moxxie will be killed. That last part was extremely hard for her. Especially after seeing Moxxie hurt today. She couldn't shake off her doubts about all of this, but... they went so far already. It would be wrong to stop now... Unfair, for both Moxxie and Mrs. Mayberry.
"Do you think it's safe?"
But then her moment of doubt was halted as she heard Ariel's voice. Once she looked at the entrance she saw her in a clean orange jacket and Albert beside her in a blue one. He was holding... that strange gun from his room.
"Yeah. Don't worry. Anyone comes up to us this will take care of them!" Albert said with great confidence as he tried to spin it on his finger and look cool.
*SHOOT*
But then it fell to the ground and fired in Millie's direction a stream of yellow energy. She thankfully quickly ducked The sound was quiet, but Millie knew this thing would evaporate her and she got her confirmation as she looked behind her and saw the bushes next to her where burnt to a crisp and the shot went straight through one of the buildings. Then she smelled a bit of smoke and noticed that her hat had a giant smoking hole in it. Oh no...
"..." Neither of them said anything for a few seconds
"Ithinkweshouldgo!" Albert said quickly as he grabbed Ariels hand
"SORRY MR. MAILMAN!" Ariel screamed at Millie as both of them went away
"Well at least the hat still works." She said as she tapped the smoking hat, but this small touch made it completely fall apart and turn to dust "I NEED to keep an eye on them!" Millie said to herself quietly as she went after them
What she absolutely HAD to do was make sure that this kid wouldn't need to fire this things anymore so she was trying to see any kind of danger that would approach those two. Sadly, now she couldn't use a miraculous disguise so she had to make sure kids wouldn't see her. She was going through alleyways, trees and rooftops to keep an eye out on them. Every time there would be some creep starting to approach them from afar she quickly jumped on them and sliced their necks each time one of them appeared and then hide their bodies. It was tedious more than anything, but thankfully after a while they finally reached the cemetery. Good thing those kids were running too. She only had to kill about 12 suspicious creeps on their way so not that bad. In Imp city it would be at least 50.
Then she saw other 2 kids approaching the cemetery too. One of them was a small girl with neck brace and the other had a shotgun. And Moxxie was hiding in a tree... She was so happy to see him! She quickly run on the wall to make sure she isn't spotted and joined Moxxie. She quickly hugged him tightly making him squeal a little.
"Ai!" She quickly let go of him in worry, but Moxxie just laughed a little "Sorry... The hand... What happened to your hat?"
"Yeah... I wouldn't say it's a long story, but it's definitely a strange one." Millie said not really knowing what to say.
Moxxie just nodded. Millie looked through the branches and thankfully kids didn't seem to notice so both of them went down from the tree once kids entered the cemetery. As far as they could see it was 10 minutes before the promised time so Moxxie quickly opened the portal and both of them came back to the office.
Back at I.M.P.
As they went back to the office they saw Loona sitting on the desk, watching her phone and Clara sitting in the chair with her head down, but as the portal closed she looked up at them. It was clear that she very nervous, but a slight bit of hope could still be seen as well.
"All of them came without harm." Moxxie said with a nervous smile
At that message Clara's face became filled with great joy, but then it quickly vanished and worry started to show up.
"All of them..." She repeated as she looked down at the floor again "I'm going to face them... soon..."
The reality slowly started to hit her. There was no failure, no change of plans, no problems... Only now she realized how much she wished for one of those. How much a part of her wanted a way out of this... Out of something she asked for.
"It's going to be okay." Moxxie said as he put his hand on her shoulder
As she looked up she saw a reassuring smile on his face. It made her feel better. Then Millie came up to her.
"You can do it girl! We came very far already! It will be fine!" Millie was very determined, but Clara could see hints of doubt and fear in her eyes.
"Go for it! Whatever happens, happens." Loona said with rather disinterested tone, but in a way it made Clara feel better too.
"Yeah... Let's go!" Clara stood up from her chair and took a few deep breaths.
"So... Are we going with her?" Millie asked Moxxie
"I will go. You and Loona should stay here and keep an eye out for Blitzo..." Moxxie answered her "And be safe in here..."
That last part was the most genuine. It was clear that it was a great danger and by doing this he could be punished, but maybe by doing that both Loona and Millie will be fine. Millie understood immediately and tightly hugged Moxxie and kissed him, causing his tail to form a heart shape. Loona just shrugged and went out the door. Millie after this very long embrace let go of him and slowly went to the door as well. There was great worry and fear in her eyes. Clara very much hoped she wasn't causing the death to any of them. Once they were alone the air became far more cold... The time was slowly approaching.
"Well..." Moxxie looked at Clara with a small smile as he opened the book "Here goes nothing..."
And the portal opened revealing a wall of the cemetery behind it... Clara knew where it was. He opened the portal on the back of a small mausoleum. She remembered it from that one time she played with her classroom game of hide and seek there... Rosie hid behind the Mausoleum because she was too scared to enter it... And now... she was going on Cemetery on her own to meet her. Slowly she approached the portal. The air of human world filled her dead lungs... It almost felt like she was about to choke... Just standing so close to it felt... wrong. Like the moment she was about to go through it she would combust into flames. But as Moxxie said. Here goes nothing and she closed her eyes and took a step forward into the portal...
...
Human world
...
And as she opened her eyes she was still alive (as alive as Sinner can be). She didn't combust, there was no side effects, as she looked down she could see and feel the grass underneath her feet, but her looks were still very much demonic and then she looked at the sky. There were no clouds, but no stars either. But the moon was shining really nicely today... It wasn't a full moon, but it was close. Just looking at this felt so strange... It may as well be her last time she ever looks at it. Then she felt something poke her leg. As she looked down it was Moxxie who already closed the portal and pointed at the corner of Mausoleum they were now standing behind. As she looked behind it she saw them... Her kids... Standing there in the middle of the Cemetery at... her grave. With Ariel with a flashlight, Eddie and Albert with their guns and... Her emotions were already welling up as she noticed Rosie's neck brace, but she had to be strong... Just a bit more...
"What should I say?" She quietly asked Moxxie
"I... Don't know..." Moxxie was honest here... There were no words for this kind of situation "It's up to you."
Yes... It was. She took a deep breath... and started walking towards them.
"You came to a cemetery... in the middle of the night..." She started speaking calmly as she came out gaining their attention... Their faces quickly were twisted with fear as they looked upon her, but she did not pause "Coming here alone... Because of letters from unknown person..." She moved closer and closer. Eddie pointed his shotgun at her and Albert his strange pistol... She felt her heart sink as she saw this, but she had to be strong "I thought... I thought..." She finally stopped as she looked on the ground and knelt down... tears now freely flowing from her face... Finally she looked up, mustering a smile "I thought I raised you better..."
She looked them straight in the eyes... Their fear and worry... slowly going away. Eddie and Albert slowly put down her guns and Ariel dropped her flashlight.
"Mrs..." Ariel was the first to speak "Mayberry?"
Clara just slightly nodded... Then Ariel's, Eddie's and Albert's faces changed. They were... smiling... their eyes became cloudy and small tears started welling up in them. Then they quickly run up to her and hugged her like never before. Clara was... stunned... They... They really. She couldn't even put together any thoughts and just embraced them back, tightly squeezing them.
"I ... *sob* I missed you!" She was crying now... the emotions of regret and happiness were now mixing into a terrible mess "I missed you so much!"
From Moxxie's POV
It felt... incredibly good to see this... They weren't attacking her... They were extremely happy... This scene made Moxxie very emotional. Finally... he didn't fucked up... For once in his life... But then he noticed Rosie. The small girl with neck brace still standing farther away. She seemed to be very scared and was constantly touching her neck as she watched this. Moxxie understood. She was still traumatized. But unknowingly for him this caused him to step from behind Mausoleum a bit too much which caused one of the Kids to notice him. Eddie to be exact.
"RED POSSUM!" Eddie then quickly broke off from the hug and stood before Clara and rest of the kids and pointed his shotgun at Moxxie which made him raise his hands "YOU WILL NOT SCARE MY FAMILY ANY LON-"
"EDDIE WAIT!" Then Clara quickly stood before his gun and spread her hands out "He is not going to hurt you!"
"Wha!?" Eddie was very confused
"*sigh* Moxxie" Mr. Mayberry looked at him "Come here..."
Moxxie listened and stepped a bit closer. Kids seemed to get far more scared as he approached them, but none of them did anything so far.
"Kids... This is Moxxie..." Clara said as she stood next to him "An Imp... From Hell"
"Hell?" Ariel didn't seem to understand
"Wh..what!?" Albert though seemed very afraid at those words
"Yes... from hell. And as you can see..." Mrs. Mayberry ran her hand across her body with deep shame in her eyes "I'm from there too..."
Silence... For a minute that was all that could be heard. Moxxie wondered if kids even noticed her change in appearance in the first place before she pointed it out.
"Wh...Why are you in hell Mrs. Mayberry?" Eddie asked her "That's VERY wrong!"
"No Eddie..." Her tone became far more somber now "It's not wrong..."
Clara's POV
At she said those words Clara finally noticed something. Rosie... Where was she?
"Rosie?" Clara looked around "Rosie!?"
She started to slowly panic. Did she run away!? Alone!? No! In her state she was way too fragile to go anywhere alone! Other kids also started to look around.
"ROSIE! ROSIE!" Other kids also started calling for her
"RO-"
*Sob* *sniff* *Sob*
Then Clara finally heard it... Quiet sound of crying. It was coming from... behind her grave. As she approached it she felt extremely cold. Just looking at her tombstone. Clara Mayberry 1978 - 2021... It was hard to read for her. VERY hard. But she slowly went closer to it and then... behind it. Rosie was there. She was crying in a curled up position.
"R-Rosie?" Clara knelt next to her making her looked up from her position with her eyes red from crying "Rosie... I..."
Clara couldn't say anything... Her words just got stuck in her throat. What could she say here? What kind of apology could be given here? She felt terrible... So terrible...
"Miss..." Rosie then slowly walked up to her, she was very scared... but then she started to take something out of her pocket "I... I brought you... this..."
And she... pulled out a cookie... For her. Clara was speechless. She felt both happy and terribly ill now. She just... Clara slowly stretched out her arms and delicately hugged her... Rosie started crying again. Clara wanted to cry too, but... she had to tell her.
"I'm sorry..." She said as she caressed her hair "For everything..."
They stayed like this for a few minutes until Rosie calmed down. Once she did she looked up and showed her cookie again.
"No... I... Really don't deserve it..." She REALLY didn't...
"Please..." Her eyes were begging her just as much as her voice...
"I really..." She tried to protest, but one look into her eyes made her really Clara unable to refuse "Okay..."
Rosie smiled as Clara took the cookie and took a bite. It was... amazing. It made Clara feel so... happy. Those are the cookies that she remembered Rosie bringing, the cookies that always made her day so much better. Right now she felt as if she was taken to heaven.
"It's... Delightful." Clara praised her "I hope you brought more for your friends too."
She smiled and nodded. That... That was the Rosie she remembered. It was the angel she remembered.
Moxxie POV at the same time
Moxxie though felt really awkward now. Here he was, standing with 3 kids in the middle of the cemetery watching her client helping one of her students go through mental breakdown. He didn't know what to feel at this point.
"Hey uh..." Then Eddie started speaking to him which gained Moxxie's attention "Sorry... For trying to shoot ya... I'm Eddie"
The kid seemed very genuine and even reached out to him with his hand
"Oh..." Moxxie was very surprised, but he shook his hand "Don't worry about it"
That made Eddie smile a little
"You look like a possum thought." He pointed out
"Yeah... I get that a lot... I think..." He didn't know what to think really and stopped it before it became really awkward
"I'm... Albert" Then another kid came up and shook Moxxie's hand
"Oh... Moxxie" He felt even more weird.
"And I'm Ariel" Then the girl shook his second hand, this was getting very weird.
Then they realized there was no more crying. Both Clara and Rosie came up from behind the tombstone with Clara holding little girl's hand. Both of them approached Moxxie. This time though Moxxie reached out with his hand.
"And you must be Rosie!" Moxxie tried to sound confident, but it was VERY hard, but seemed to work on Rosie who grabbed his hand with a small smile.
"Yes... Nice to meet you mister!" She was very polite too
"Nice to meet you too" Moxxie said, then after a moment let go of her hand and looked at Clara "So... Should I leave you alone?"
Clara just looked at the kids around them and then at him... Then she smiled.
"You can sit with us if you want." She invited him with a very sweet voice...
"O...Okay" How could Moxxie refuse?
And so... They sat there. Ariel put her flashlight into the ground and Clara started talking with the kids. She said her deepest apologies to them for everything that happened and everything that her outburst caused. During this Rosie shared her cookies among them as well. Moxxie tried one of them. They tasted REALLY good. Moxxie wondered if he could one day go into this world in the future and ask her about them... But that was not important now. What was important was what Clara was saying.
She quickly started with Eddie. She told him and all the kids there about hell. About what was awaiting him if he went to the army. She warned him of all the things that will happen if he went to the army and committed the terrible acts there. About how many soldiers she met there. Eddie was listening intently and slowly looked with disgust at his shotgun. He mentioned that he could try to become a sport star. That made Clara a bit happy, but also warned him about becoming a piece of shit (of course in a polite way), but Moxxie after what he saw today knew that Eddie would be a good person.
Then she talked to Ariel. Asked her about school, about her family situation. Ariel said that recently her parents divorced and her mother became more of a control freak. She seemed to be very depressed about her current situation, but Clara quickly reassured her. She knew hos much good she can do and how much she can help. She can't let all of this discourage her from helping. Especially with her dream of helping the environment on earth. Clara believed in her wholeheartedly.
Then it came time for Albert. She also asked him about his current education, although even she admitted that it was a stupid thing to ask about. But it was definitely a surprise for her to hear that he was going to high school soon after skipping many classes and even starting to come up with theories that would help in field of medicine, especially with cure for Alzheimer which is slowly getting to his dad with his glasses or lost projects. Clara was VERY proud of him and what he achieves and wished his dad return to health.
Then she spoke to Rosie. Apologized to her again. Asked her about her health. Thankfully Rosie was getting better and would be free from her brace in a few months which made Clara very relieved. Rosie also spoke up about her goal of becoming a chef which made Clara very happy to hear. Moxxie too was very in favor of that idea. And mentioned that if it's possible he can help her if he ever has a job close to their area as dangerous as that would be. Rosie seemed to be happy about it.
This conversation also led to kids asking Moxxie about Hell and him being an Imp and all of that. Moxxie talked a bit about hell, about his home, Millie and all of that. He mentioned that it's DEFINITELY a complete and utter shithole and he wished for none of them to end up there. He also expressed his wonder with human world. And what kinds of things his job lets him see. He didn't specify what job he has though. It was for the better for them to not know.
That's how it went for a while. A bit of talking about past experiences, their lives, telling some jokes... Moxxie could tell that in this moment Clara was REALLY happy. Her expressions changed dramatically, her smile was wide and honest and her eyes were full of pure joy. This was real her and Moxxie liked what he saw there. For as many pieces of shit that his job requires him to kill he saw a pure goodness in those children. He saw the wonder this world can give... It made him feel great. But... this also made him think... Why is he an Imp? He feels so at home in this realm and yet... he doesn't belong here...
"I'm sad Simon and Kevin couldn't be here..." Moxxie's moment of reflection was then interrupted by Clara "Please... Tell them my apologies... tell them..."
"Uh... Mrs. Mayberry?" Then Ariel started to speak "Simon is not why you-"
Then she quickly stopped... What was she...
"No..." Realization hit Moxxie harder than Loona on her bad day
But Clara seemed to be lost. Then kids all got up and lead her somewhere... A bit farther from her grave they lead her to a bit smaller one...
Simon Griffith
2011 - 2021
It was... Simon's grave... Moxxie felt his heart sink as he saw this. He just... lied to her? No! NONONO! He didn't know! He couldn't know!
"I miss him too"
Simon's dad's words echoes in his head now... Oh Satan what has he done!?
Clara Mayberry POV
She fell to her knees as she read those words... Simon... He was...
"How...?" The tears of sorrow dripped down her cheeks
"He..." Ariel started to say, but she seemed to find it very hard to finish
"What happened... affected him..." Albert started to say too
"It was... worse for him..." Eddie finished
She didn't need to hear more. She just started sobbing... What has she done?! Then she felt someone hug her from behind... It was Rosie... She didn't deserve it... She didn't deserve it!
"God! I'm sorry!" She fell on Simon's grave and started to horribly cry...
"S-so..." Rosie tried to find right words "He isn't-"
"NO! Of course not!" She quickly got up once she heard it, but didn't stop looking at the grave "H-he was a good kid... He was... he was always... *sob* a good kid..."
She buried her face in her hands...
Moxxie's POV
Moxxie couldn't say anything. His guilt was now eating him deeper than ever before... Clara cried for a few minutes... It was hard to see her like this. Especially after how happy she was. Other kids also looked very sad at this, but they didn't cry, they tried to help her and talk to her. They probably already let out all their sorrow well before this, now they just have to help her. But he had to finally say something too.
"I... I didn't know..." Moxxie spoke to her full of guilt "I-I really-"
"No... I don't blame you..." She said softly "I-I should have known better..."
She seemed very defeated
"Miss...It's not your-"
"It IS!" Clara interrupted Rosie "And now you can see... why I deserve to be in hell..."
"B-But..." Rosie tried to speak "THAT'S NOT TRUE!"
Rosie screamed at her causing Clara to look in surprise at her. There were tears in her eyes again.
"Y-you always tried to help us, teach us, take care of us!You shouldn't be in hell!" Rosie sounded very furious
"YEAH! You always believed in my mind... Gave me inspiration!" Albert added
"Today you just helped me not go to hell!" Eddie also spoke up
"You've never gave up on us! Never WANTED to hurt us and always had faith in us!" Ariel joined their effort
"Clara..." Moxxie then spoke up and knelt before her " You are a good person, kind person... You made mistakes... terrible mistakes... But by all means... you don't deserve to be in hell... I know that..."
All of them... They had so much faith in her... even after...
"Why...?" She couldn't understand
"Because this mistake is NOT who you are!" Moxxie told her as he put his hands on her shoulder "It's all your good deeds and mistakes... "
Those words... made her feel... better. But that left her with one thing one her mind.
"And Kevin?" Their little Donkey
"We lost contact..." Ariel said
"We don't know where he is..." Albert added
Clara just nodded... At least it was... small hope.
*DING**DING**DING*
Then the bell tolled. An hour passed... It was time to go back. As she looked at Moxxie she saw that he knew that too.
"So... it's time" Moxxie stood up and gave her his hand
"Yes..." And she took it and stood up
"What? What's happening Miss?!" Rosie asked
"I have to go back..." Those words were heavy...
"No... Please don't go!" She grabbed her hand
Other kids too joined her grabbed both of her hands... She was touched but... That couldn't be.
"I'm sorry... But for now I DO belong there..." She said with disappointment and took her hands away
"Will you visit us again!?" Albert asked her
"I... I don't think so..." It was hard "But... If there is a way... I will find it..."
She didn't know why she said that... She can't go back to life...
"SEND OUR REGARD TO SIMON!" Eddie screamed at her
"What?" She was confused
"YOU DON'T BELONG IN THAT HOLE!" Eddie continued "THE GUY AT THE TOP WILL REALIZE THAT SOONER OR LATER!"
This... made her smile a little. Maybe... Then she heard the opening of the portal.
"Maybe... But let me tell you one more thing" She said before she stepped into the portal "If I see any of you there..." she pointed at the portal "I will give you detention for all eternity!"
That made the kids smile. Clara smiled too.
"Goodbye..." And stepped into the portal along with Moxxie
"Wait here for me and my wife!" Moxxie added before portal closed "We will escort you to your homes"
And portal closed
In hell
It was... quite emotional ride... Moxxie and Clara were now back in the Office. Millie and Loona weren't here and there was no commotion outside which means Blitzo is still away. Moxxie just stood there for a moment... Not believing what just happened. They are... alive... God did not strike them. They are not erased... They are alive! He was SO happy. But then he noticed Clara wasn't as enthusiastic... Her hands were wrapped around her and she looked everywhere, but not on him.
"Clara..." Moxxie tried to gain her attention "I'm VERY sorry for..."
"No... Don't be..." She stopped him "You couldn't know..."
"I should..." Moxxie couldn't stop blaming himself.
"Doesn't matter now..." She finally looked at him... Her eyes were cloudy. He could tell it took a great toll on her head "I'll pay you now... Go to my house and... think this through"
"And the kids?" Moxxie pointed out
"I know you can escort them safely" She said with confidence "So... about your payment"
Millie's POV
Millie was SO happy to see Moxxie back, but she decided along with Loona to not go inside yet. Loona wanted to know exactly how much Moxxie will get and Millie well... she thought it would be better for them to talk in provate for now.
"So... What do you want?" She asked Moxxie "How many Hellars?"
At that part Loona's ear moved and listened far more intently
"I don't want Hellars!" Moxxie said in a defensive tone and reached out into his tux
"WHAT!?" Loona was both quiet and loud at this moment
"shh" Millie wanted her to keep it down
"Oh..." Mrs. Mayberry seemed to have an idea about the payment "...Well... Can't say I'm... that surprised."
Her tone was sad for some reason and then she... Started to UNBUTTON HER SHIRT! WHAT THE FUCK!? Millie was about to burst in there, but then...
Moxxie's POV
"WOWOWOW!" Moxxie quickly waved his hands and averted his gaze "What are you doing?!"
"Hmm? Is that not-"
"NO!" Moxxie said in a rather insulted tone as he blushed in bright pink
"Oh... I'm... So sorry!" She also started blushing and quickly put her shirt back
"No... It's my fault... I just wanted to get..." He started to look again in his pocket and finally pulled it out "THIS!"
A piece of paper. He gave it to her. She looked at it and...
"A booty call for lonely Imps?" She seemed... greatly confused
"WHAT!? NO!" Moxxie blushed again "On the other side!"
And she turned it back and... her expression didn't change much
"Happy hotel? That doesn't sound much better you know?" She was pretty blunt about this
"Yeah... I know..." he scratched his head
"Wait... How is that MY payment?" She asked him
"Well... what those kids said was correct..." He looked her in the eyes as he was saying it "You deserve better... And that place... Maybe can help you."
"Wh-what?" She was still lost
"This place... It's run by our Princess Charlie... I heard that it's supposed to help Sinners..." Moxxie explained "Help them redeem themselves and... leave this place."
That made Clara shake her head. Her eyes were wide and she seemed to be in great shock...
"Wait... You... want me to..." The disbelief was real in her voice
"As a payment I want you to go to that hotel and redeem yourself" He grabbed her hand and made her clench that piece of paper "And apologize to Simon as real you."
He smiled at her. Her state of shock did not disappear for a while, but then... a big smile formed on her face as she grabbed Moxxie up and hugged him tightly, making him start to suffocate.
"THANK YOU!" Her voice was extremely happy now" THANK YOU SO MUCH!"
"You.. *GASP* Wel... *GAG*" He was suffocating and Clara seemed to notice and quickly let him go
He was regaining his breath all the while Clara was looking at the Happy Hotel commercial. As Moxxie stood up she looked at him with a smile.
"You know... Maybe there is a reason you are an Imp..." She said as she knelt down and kissed him in the face causing Moxxie to become stiff in shock
Millie's POV
Millie was now both happy and really, REALLY angry in her heart. What is that woman doing to HIS MOXXIE!? But at the same time... She could tell why. This is the Moxxie she loves... Loona was no longer beside her and went back angry towards the desk, but Millie could tell. For a moment... She smiled too. Yeah... This is Moxxie you don't know.
"Told you" Millie said to her with a smile
Loona didn't say anything and looked away from her. But her tail was wagging a little. It was pretty cute. Then the doors opened and Mrs. Mayberry came out. Moxxie came out after her and waved. Then he noticed Millie still clinging to the door.
"What are you doing up there?" he asked
Millie smiled and came down leaving claw markings behind on the doors.
"Thank you. For everything" She said to them as she came to the doors "And please. Take care of the kids!"
"We will!" Moxxie said to her "Are you sure you can go there by yourself?"
"Yes. I think I can." She said with a smile and then looked at Loona for a moment.
At first it seemed like she was ignoring her, but for a moment she looked back and... smiled. On that she went out the doors, looking for redemption.
"Okay... One last thing and we can go to sleep!" Moxxie said as he grabbed Millie's hand and opened the portal and both hoped into it leaving Loona alone.
"Good job..." Loona said making sure no one hears her
TBC in Epilogue
Yeah. I will do a small epilogue in the future. There you will have a surprise of this fic. And I VERY hope you enjoyed this small story.